Title: (Revised) Guardians Chapter 2 "Answers Breathe the Comfort of Lies"
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): June 26, 1999 - October 5, 1999

*Summary: Joined by our favorite XF trio and a rookie FBI
agent, the case takes unexpected turns, where answers to questions
asked lead to even more questions; leaving the Good Guys little
choices but to push their way forward through a bloody path. 

*Keywords: Memory Losses, Mulder Torture, Scully Torture, Minor Character Torture

*The following are my own creations: Henry Barrington
Hospitals, the unnamed French architectural firm and its members; the
equally-unnamed Jake's architectural firm and its twelve partners (esp.
Chunovic); Shuster Hotel, The Pequod, Pandora's Joint, Bionix Cancer Research
Center, Genesis International Fairfield Central Hospital, Clarence Country
Golf Club, Jarvis family, Chunovic family, Brace, Crockets, Dr Will
Ashman, Dr. Claiborne, Clive Shaw, Linda Lowry Daniel Sims, Nurse
Mary, Amanda Dutton Star Dutton, Keneally, Nicole Hedgwick / Eve
Austin, Richard Melbrick, Agent Thomas Hall, Agent Steele, and Brace the
accountant. 

*If you recognize any name or character you recognize from
those listed above, either living or dead, are strictly
coincidental. Also, I've created Jake's last name, Kathler
(modified from 'Brian Kessler' in the motion picture
"Kalifornia"), Cindy and Samuel Kathlers, and the
housekeeper's name Elly.

*The rest of my legal 'disclaimers obligation' is in the
Disclaimers for Chapter 1.

* Additional Notes: Please be conscious about the dates
during which this story was written. Just like Jake in my story,
I'm afraid the most of false accusations.
- I didn't get the idea of brain tumor and cancer from Kevin J.
Anderson's "Antibodies". The book was on sale in the second week of
September and I was already into the writing of the last trial part.
I didn't even read the book until months after the original version's
release, and if you should care to know, the idea of brain tumor used
in this book, which was tied to Memento Mori, came from the movie
"Phenomenon" and the XF's "Pusher".
- I also like to point out that when I didn't make this
posting before the Xmas episode aired, I literally burst out
of my room and ran a whole block yelling, because I thought people
would think of this story (or at least suspect that I've got the
idea for this story) from "Emily". No, I didn't. Because at
the time, I was too busy cursing at the world for not
having Mac-equipped offices and web sites. 


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

Hall was finishing up the journals written by the late
Jarvis' when his cell phone demanded his attention yet
again. Sparing a clearly irritated look at the devise, Hall
wanted to ignore it. The journals seemed far more
interesting and important than listening to another one of
his colleague or a superior criticize their young
subordinate for leaving his original post without
sufficiently discussing with them first. 
Threats of reprimands were made, with the usual
'punishment package': loss of opportunities for a bright
future in the bureau, pay-cut, demotion, transfer, loss of
vacation time, loss of pension plans, etc., etc. Now that
he'd had the first taste of what involving oneself with the
X-Files meant, he felt a renewed respect for Special Agent
Dana Katherine Scully, MD, and Special Agent Fox William
Mulder, Ph.D. 
Against his initial prediction, the Highway Patrol's voice
greeted Hall when he grudgingly answered the phone. The
tension-ridden voice on the other end of the line shot
Hall's adrenaline level through the roof. The Rambo-in-suit
in front of him was already on his feet, ready to bolt.
Hall told the burly man to sit down and dialed Mulder's
number.
	Finally, a break they've been yearning for.


En Route
Fairfield, CA
3 PM Same Day

Mulder was doing 75 MPH on the highway that led him to his
destination. 'We aren't sure, yet' they said. 'But it
definitely looks like the one you've been waiting for'.
Mulder bolted from Jake's room the moment Hall began his
report, arriving at the front lobby by the time he hang up.
He knew Skinner had a chopper to fly him to the location.
Mulder jumped in the car and turned on the ignition while
the other hand pressed the speed-dial for Scully. But when
he shut the car door on the third ring, he cut the
connection. 'What the hell was I thinking?' Mulder thought,
smacking himself in the head. He was now thankful for the
fitful, undisturbed rest he got in Jake's room, or he'd
have left a few mutilated cars on the side of the road by
now. He had been driving about an hour, and he already
received blaring horns from about three drivers for his
driving manner.
	"Do you know that most car accidents happen because the
driver falls asleep?" Mulder remembered bitterly of his
former partner's words. Krychek even had the statistics off
the top of his head. Mulder sighed while trying to keep
strict attention to the road and ignore the radio playing
Indigo Girls song called "Ghost". The lyrics were much too
close to home than he'd have liked. Not only that, he had
the damn CD himself, thus he remembered every single word
the two women sang. He couldn't start crying like he
sometimes did while listening to this number.
Scully would have insisted on driving if she was to
witness his condition. But they were in the opposite sides
of the continent. He knew she wasn't 'fine' as she oh so
persistently told him. For months now, he had to look the
other way while dark circles appeared under her eyes;
ignoring his mind's constant warnings every time she
shifted or fidgeted uncomfortably, all because of her back
pain from the chemo-therapy's side effects. Besides,
considering how much strain she put over herself on this
case, everything had to be twice as tough as they usually
were.
	He dialed Skinner's number but it was busy as expected.
He then dialed the 
Highway Patrol and was put on hold while the call was
transferred directly to the scene. When he got the officer
who was with the girl, Mulder was told she was on the
process of being transferred to a nearby hospital. He got
the location, and soon dialed back to Skinner. Mulder got
him on the first ring.
	"Is it her?" Mulder asked the moment Skinner answered.
Mulder's rapid breathing and blurring vision made further
driving impossible, forcing him to pull over to the
shoulder of the highway.
	"Yes." Skinner's reply was short.
	"You're sure?" The moment felt like an eternity.
	"Yes, I'm sure. Agent Mulder, in the future, I suggest
you consider updating your professional courtesy skills." 
Mulder couldn't answer. Another eternity later, Skinner
continued in a somewhat softer voice. 
"The Highway Patrol found her wandering around in the
woods just minutes before Agent Hall got the news. She's in
the Emergency Room right now, and I'm right outside the
trauma room she's in. She's dehydrated and exhausted, but
relatively responsive to the people around her. Now, I've
read your report on the therapy sessions, and I know it
will worsen her condition if she stays here longer than
absolutely necessary. 
"I've ordered her to be set up in a pediatric's ICU. Only
the doctors in charge of her care were ordered to dress in
civilian clothes, but they'll be carrying the necessary
IDs. The nurses are still in their required uniform, but
they're wearing little dinosaurs and lapel pins with
cartoon characters that they usually wear on them. 
"They were also decorating her room with flowers and toys,
so it wouldn't look like much of a hospital room. But all
this is still waiting for Vera to get out of the ER. She's
still in there, surrounded by uniformed doctors. Don't kill
yourself getting here, Agent Mulder. But you get here
ASAP." Skinner didn't wait for Mulder's reply before ending
the call on his end.
	"Thank you, sir." Mulder muttered anyway, and hang up the
phone. He couldn't breathe, his mind refused to function,
and his body refused to move. 
All he could do was to hold onto his phone, the steering
wheel, and rest his head on it. He wanted to black out on
the spot. He hardly noticed when his trench coat began
absorbing his tears.
	A blaring car horn demanded Mulder's attention only
moments later. Apparently his parking job was less than
perfect, and he was blocking the highway. Mulder lifted his
head, and again turned on the ignition. He dried his eyes
with the coat sleeve and pulled out onto the highway again.
The speed meter quickly rose to 80MPH.


Fairfield Central Hospital
Fairfield, CA
8PM

Mulder dashed in with his FBI badge constantly at his
right hand while he ran up the stairs to the pediatric ICU.
The security was very tight, just as he desired. Mulder
knew exactly which room he needed to stop at when he ran
through the metal door, because a few groups of agents were
at their posts and talking into their radio. Mulder's
footsteps were louder than their taste, and he was quickly
warned of the noise. 
Mulder skidded to a complete stop and looked inside the
room through the glass wall and net wire. He had to be sure
for himself that it was in fact Vera Maxine Jarvis. After
all, no one here but Mulder had ever met Vera in person.
Mulder's attention went from the tiny form lying on the
bed, to a man dressed in a brown turtle neck and a pair of
black jeans, sitting cross-legged in a chair beside the
bed. Mulder's eyes narrowed. He knocked on the door, waving
his hand. Skinner motioned for him to quickly enter and
close the door. Mulder nodded, opening the door just wide
enough for him to squeeze through sideways.
	"Agent Mulder, I assume this is her?" Skinner said,
nodding toward the figure on the bed. Mulder took a deep
breath before approaching closer. 'Please, let it be her.'
He muttered and looked in from behind Skinner's broad
shoulders. Skinner breathed with relief as Mulder's
expression held his rare radiant smile. Mulder quickly
approached her, running his hand gently on the side of her
face, kissing her quickly on her forehead. At this point,
he didn't care who was looking at him. What lay before him
was his hope for the future.
	"How is Vera?" Now that Mulder was free to call the girl
by her name, he was going to use it as often as he wanted.
	"As I said before, she's responsive, but exhausted. They
sedated her and they'll be taking her through all kinds of
tests from A to Z. I suggest you follow her to each
location as a precaution. The medical team is notified, and
they are expecting you there. I didn't call Agent Scully,
and I suggest that you won't, either. Not until she's off
her leave. Understood?"
	"Yes, sir. I agree." Mulder nodded with understanding,
and studied Vera's face closely as if she would disappear
again at any second. "I'm so ...relieved, that it's
actually her." Said Mulder, shaking his head. "Sam didn't
come back. So ...to tell you the truth, neither Kathler nor
myself expected this to happen." Suddenly realizing Jake
hadn't yet been contacted, Mulder asked for the permission.
	"Mr. Kathler is the closest person to Miss Jarvis. Go for
it." 
Skinner said, returning his gaze to Vera. Mulder shed his
tear-splattered coat, and pulled his cellular phone out of
his trousers pocket.
	"Sir?" Mulder asked, suddenly stopping his hand that held
the phone. Skinner fixed his gaze on the agent. "I
appreciate your taking the precaution." Mulder said,
indicating the man's casual attire. To his surprise,
Skinner let out a laugh.
	"This was the only off-duty outfit I had with me. I knew
I had to be as non-threatening to her as I possibly could."
	"So, you've actually finished reading my lengthy report?"
Mulder raised his eyebrows, honestly impressed with his
boss. Skinner shrugged.
	"Not every single page, yet. I just read whatever seemed
the most important. I've also watched a little of the taped
Martin sessions." Skinner said, releasing Vera's tiny hand
he'd been holding since he took the seat. Mulder's eyebrows
rose again, noticing their linked hands for the first time.
	"I'll call Mr. Kathler. If he's well enough, and I think
he is, I'll have 
him transported here..." 
	"I can't do that, Agent Mulder. Not unless the doctors
there give him the release order." Skinner said as he stood
up from the seat and motioned for Mulder to take the seat.
	"Sir? Where will you be if anything changes?" Mulder
asked, noting Skinner was putting on his black trench coat.
	"I'll be personally conducting the site's combing search,
which is already in progress at the forest. I was only
waiting for you to got here." Skinner said as he exited
through the door. Mulder nodded and rested his head on the
bed beside Vera's small head. He wanted to savor the moment
a little longer before calling anybody. He knew it was
selfish, but he couldn't help it. 
'Some day...' Mulder thought. 'Some day, it'll be my
sister in this bed. She'll be in her early thirties, but it
wouldn't matter. Samantha is still my sister.'
	The pediatric surgeon came in about half an hour later,
bearing a little white box of what looked to be a suture
kit. Mulder had just finished talking to a very excited
Jake Kathler, and was about to leave for the restroom with
his over-night bag to get changed. The surgeon told Mulder
to stay still, because she was instructed to come to take
the stitches out of his scalp and arm. Startled, Mulder
asked whom she was ordered from.
	"Assistant Director Skinner instructed me to, but he told
me to tell you it was originally an order issued from a Dr.
Dana Scully yesterday, before she left for D.C. ...Well, at
least that's what I've been told. They said you had the
stitches for nearly two weeks." 
The doctor replied as she got ready with the tweezers and
scissors. Mulder was at a complete loss of words,
overwhelmed by the level of concern his partner showed for
him. When she was done, she shifted a little uncomfortably.
When asked, she indicated his rumpled appearance.
	"Agent Mulder, this is a hospital. Especially, this room
is an ICU. We need to keep this place as sanitary as
possible. We'll appreciate it if you could take a shower in
the basement, in the staff shower room." 
Personal hygiene was something that escaped his mind for
the last two days. Mulder quickly apologized and agreed to
do so before Vera was to leave for her tests. The doctor
thanked him and made her swift exit. 
Mulder soon realized he'd had no 'absolutely clean'
clothes with him. When he mentioned this problem to the
guards at the door, they called down to the information
desk and arranged for a volunteer to clean up his clothes
at the laundry room, along with other hospital laundry
while Mulder got dressed in a pair of scrubs. 
Mulder was extremely embarrassed, wanting instead to go
out for a quick shopping in a mall. The guards refused,
insisting that they had strict orders for Mulder to stay
with Vera. Mulder finally figured if he had to put up with
the indignity of the situation in order to assure Vera's
safety, he'd do it.


Fairfield Central Hospital
Fairfield, CA
1AM Next Day

Assistant Director Skinner walked into the appointed room
where Vera 
Jarvis was to be scheduled for blood work. He found
Mulder, now dressed in his khaki pants and a black denim
shirt. Mulder's appearance had considerably improved ever
since he issued the man a clean-up order. But when Mulder
turned around to face him, Skinner knew something was very,
very wrong.
	"What is it, Agent Mulder?" Skinner hid his apprehension
behind his mask of professionalism. Mulder dropped his gaze
and handed him a folder with some of the test results that
had already been returned.
	"I can't be absolutely certain without having Scully
here, but I've been around long enough to recognize certain
medical terms and procedures." Mulder's voice revealed none
of the troubles that clearly showed in his eyes. Skinner
sat down on the edge of a counter in front of the various
DNA films.
	"Then, tell me what you can." Skinner straightened as if
the counter suddenly grew too hot to remain seated.
	"In her X-ray films, you'll see the clear image of an
implant placed in the back of her neck. In her Chem-7 and
Coag-Panel test, there are signs of prolonged
weightlessness, but that's nothing new. I've had them
taking an extra vial of blood for me to have it tested by
our outside sources. I hope you can keep that bit of
information confidential, because that maybe the only way
to save her life."
	"Excuse me?"
	"She's got the brain tumor. I think you've already
learned that from the computer files I gave you. If you
look at the MRI and CAT scan right now, you'll see the
distinct mass growth between her sinus cavity and cerebrum.
Just like Scully's. It's growing, and it's not just a
possibility any more. It's there. 
"Its advance stage and growth speed increased dramatically
during her time spent in captivity. Someone did something
to Vera to cause this. She was only missing for less than
two weeks, sir. If the tumor keeps growing at this
speed..." Mulder lost his will to speak. He was surprised
when Skinner actually listened without interrupting him.
When it was clear Mulder was unable to continue, Skinner
sighed and shook his head.
	"Agent Mulder, I hope you have gained enough insight to
understand me when 
I say that you can't mention any word that directly
suggests this case as an alien abduction case in our
official report. You'll have to get around that, and stick
to the facts. I'm not telling you to lie, but you just
can't make it too obvious. You do that, and you can have
all resources the bureau has to offer for the rest of the
investigation." Seeing that Mulder was about to protest,
Skinner held up his hand to silence the younger man. 
"The only course of action I can suggest, Agent Mulder, is
to get that blood sample sent to your sources ASAP. Get
that serum made in our Quantico labs, or in any medical
facility that is equipped adequately to handle this. Leave
the witness issues with my special forces, Agent Mulder.
Now we're really racing against time." If looked close
enough, Skinner's veins could be seen bulging out of his
scalps.
	"Sir, I have no objection to your suggestions, except for
the witness protection part. We all know that Cancer Man's
behind this. He could come in at any time and snatch them
away. I won't deny my fears of losing them. I'm scared,
because I've seen what they do. I don't want anybody else
to be hurt in this. I can't... I can't trust anybody else
but us to assure these people's safety; especially for
people like Vera, Shaw, and Kathler..."
	"You told me something a while ago that I remember. 'If
you don't start trusting someone, you don't stand a
chance.' I'm asking you to trust me. Trust me that I'll do
my very best. They're my experts, and they're ready to
sacrifice their lives for the sake of justice, just as we
are. Mulder, I want you to go. Go save Vera. Go save
Scully. Go save those women who are still out there with
the cancer. Focus on priorities." 
Mulder nodded his understanding, and told Skinner he
intended to call when the genetic work-ups were done. In
all the five years Mulder had known Assistant 
Director Skinner, he had rarely seen the man reveal his
emotions. This was how Mulder came to see just how deeply
and personally this case affected the man.
	Vera was sedated and presented no problem to the hospital
staff. Mulder hated the idea, but he didn't want anything
to worsen her conditions. He missed Scully, so much that he
could feel his cellular phone ready to jump into his hand
and make him press that first speed-dial button. 
Mulder had been dragging his body, willing it to move to
wherever it needed to be, ever since learning about the
tumor that is growing at an explosive rate in Vera's body.
He had the CAT scan and MRI films copied, ready to be sent
to the Lone Gunmen for verification. He needed to be
absolutely certain that Vera's tumor was an identical type
and placement as all the other female subjects in the
Bionix studies, as was the case with Scully.
	Though Mulder missed his partner, he was really thankful
for the time off she got. If their circumstances spared
them no such luxury and Mulder would have to deliver this
terrible news to Scully at this very moment, he was sure
he'd fall apart. This was the only reason stopping Mulder
from informing Jake of the development. So far, Jake was
only told that Vera was found alive and relatively safe. To
make matters worse, Mulder had promised Jake that he would
call in periodically with updates. Now, Mulder wondered if
Skinner could do this for him, but Mulder knew he couldn't
press this responsibility on the AD. Jake was none other
than Mulder's responsibility.


Exact Location Unknown
Lone Gunmen Office
Washington D.C.
9AM Eastern Time

Langly hugged Mulder just inside their heavily secured
front door, before Byers patted him on the back, and
Frohiki finally had his turn.
	"Oh, you've been our biggest help. I'm sorry that you
couldn't be there to hear Skinner thanking you guys, but
the man's still a devil's advocate." Mulder said as he
fished inside his bag, grabbing several of the recent
X-Files case files. Mulder even made a stop at his office
in J. Edgar Hoover building for the files, the price for
making the Three Stooges do their espionage act in
Sacramento earlier.
	"So, what's up this time? You said you found the girl?"
Byers asked, eyeing not the case files that Frohike
immediately dove into, but Mulder's hand that still
remained concealed inside his leather jacket pocket. Mulder
gave the bearded man a grin that said 'you just know when
someone's hiding something', then took it out and handed
over the vial.
	"It's taken right before I left Fairfield. It's her blood
sample. I want you to check it out, because Fairfield isn't
equipped to do it. Besides, you all know about Cancer Man's
involvement in this case. I need you to copy anything that
you ever find into computer disks, with two more sets of
copies for safekeeping. I want you to compare the blood
analysis from the previous sample with this new one."
	"What have they done this time?" Frohike was always
sharp. Mulder dropped his shoulders, dreading the words he
now had to speak aloud, thus admit this fact to himself.
	"They've put the implant in her. It's practically the
same one found in Scully and in other women."
	"Jesus. Did they...?"
	"We don't know." Mulder didn't want to hear the end of
Langry's sentence. "She may have been used as a guinea pig.
Except this time, they spared her no mercy." 
	"What do you mean?" Byers asked with a pained look,
already guessing the truth.
"This time, they returned her with a full-fledged brain
tumor. So, look for any indication of genetic
experimentation been done on her. It's growing rapidly, and
she may not have much time. I..."
	"Sons of bitches!" Frohike spat his words, kicking a leg
of a nearby desk.
	"Let me finish!" Mulder snapped, and all four men froze.
"Sorry. Anyway, 
I don't know if you turned up anything new on the cancer
treatment, but Skinner's backing us up on this. He wants it
made in time to save Vera, Shaw, and Scully. Shaw is in the
worst shape of the other two, but Vera's not so far behind.
Skinner told me to come here and give you that vial. I
don't have a clue as to why he takes it so personally, but
we don't have time to form any theories on his actions.
I've been forced to leave and trust our witnesses with
Skinner, so please hurry."
	"Mulder, breathe." Byers warned, indicating Mulder's
oxygen-starved face. Mulder obediently took a few deep
breaths before handing over the Zip disks.
	"Where's the lovely Agent Scully?" Frohike asked at the
mentioning of her name. Langly looked up from the vial and
stared at Mulder.
	"She has two days off by Skinner's direct orders. I don't
know if you heard about what she's done to herself in
Vancouver, but..."
	"We've heard." Frohike said, shaking his head in awe.
"She's already a legend among us. She could be the next
Bond Girl, for all I know." Mulder chuckled at the image,
then thanked them all as his parting gesture.

	"What? You just got here." Langly protested, seeing the
agent heading for the door. Mulder shrugged.
	"I've got to go visit somebody, but I'll need to go home
and get my clothes before hand. I'm already far behind
schedule." Mulder thanked them again before leaving the
building. Once he was inside his car, he dialed another
familiar number and set up a meeting.
	Mulder opened the door to his apartment, wondering why he
had to pay a full rent when he hardly lived there that
month. He filled up the newly acquired automatic-feeder for
the aquarium, seeing that his fish had miraculously
survived. 
Mulder wanted to be ready to go for at least another two
weeks. First, he emptied his suitcase and isolated all his
dirty laundry from the rest of the items. Out of the pile,
he sorted out the dry-clean laundry from the machine-wash
laundry, then gathered them into the two plastic bags.
Placing them at his door, he took on the task of stuffing
the same suitcase with clean clothes, packing two pairs of
blue jeans and a pair of black jeans, followed by two denim
shirts and undergarments. 
On the top, he packed all his business clothes: six sets
of business suit, dress shirts, ties, and belts. 
After much unheard grumbling, he took the time to clean up
his place and check all the messages. He then heated up a
frozen dinner in his microwave while sorting through the
mountain of his mail. By the time he left the apartment,
dropped off his dry-clean laundry and pulled up at the
airport without his luggage, the plane was ready for
take-off.
	Mulder was risking precious few hours for this de-tour to
New York City, but it was a necessary business. He pulled
up in his rental car at the convention center where the
nation's young teenage scientists exhibited their latest
inventions. It wasn't easy finding his informant, but it
was easy enough for her to find him.
	"Why did you call me this time?" Her voice came out of
nowhere. Mulder turned around to face the familiar honey
golden hair and the mysterious blue eyes.
	"I need your help on the new cancer treatment we've been
pursuing. I have the formula and partial instructions on
how to make it. You've got to tell me who can help us
create it. We lost Pendrell, and I can't afford to trust
anyone at the Headquarters. I think you already know what
we've been after, and I think you've seen enough news
reports on the fires Cancer Man's been playing with. We
retrieved our missing girl yesterday, but now she has the
same brain tumor that Scully and other women abductees are
suffering from. If you don't help me right now, we'll lose
two vital federal witnesses."
	"Two?" She turned to face him, questions flying through
her sorrowful blue eyes, so unlike Scully's challenging
ones. Mulder nodded.
	"Clive Shaw is alive, though I'm afraid it won't be for
long. He's the last surviving member of the Jarvis'
research staff. Shaw was found in Vancouver with Dr.
Claiborne, who was staying with him as the designated
personal physician. Scully returned wounded with them."
	"I know that she'd been attacked." Seeing Marita turn her
back, Mulder took her arm to stop her.
	"Miss Covarrubias, wait." 
	"Agent Mulder." The harshness of her gaze was for show,
and he knew it. He freed her arm.
	"I'm sorry about that. But like I said, you're the only
one who can help us. 
Skinner's backing up this one personally, and I'm under
his direct order to deliver them the serum. I can't leave
here without it. I won't."
	"Your passion is overwhelming, Agent Mulder. But you are
yet to understand the magnitude of this case." She turned
again to leave. Mulder caught up quickly, and this time, he
grabbed her shoulders to turn her around.
	"Miss Covarrubias, please. I know what you're risking
here, and you know that I don't want to lose you like I
lost your predecessors. You also know that these people are
all depending on you, because you're the last hope for
them. I'm sure we'll eventually find the cure, but these
people don't have another second to spare. If we could keep
them alive long enough for the trials, you'll give the rest
of them a chance to live, and reduce the number of these
acquired-cancer victims." 
A tension-ridden Mulder was hard to deny for anyone.
Marita held his gaze for several seconds before looking
away, but proceeded to tell him to come by at her place
around 21:30 this same day. She was gone before he could
thank her.
	When he arrived back at the Gunmen's office, all three
were deeply engrossed in computer images and busily talking
on the phone. Upon seeing Mulder, they ushered him in, and
led him directly toward the computers without a word.
	"Bring it on, boys." Mulder's eyes were more persistent
than his tone. Byers motioned for Mulder to take a look at
the screen. The sight gave him a shock of chills that froze
his heart. He looked at the other two, and knew he wasn't
hallucinating. No matter how much though he wished he was.
	"The branched DNA?!" Mulder barked, equal parts of fury
and shock mixing in his expression. Myriad questions and
theories immediately began flying through his overworked
brain. "But... how could she have survived this? Even
Scully was down for weeks. How could a ten-year old...?"
Frustrated, Mulder waved his hand in the air.
	"That was nearly three years ago, Mulder." Commented
Frohike, who took the first look at Scully's blood work
documents in the ICU when the agent was returned. "They may
have found a way to bring Vera's immune system back to
normal, even with the damaged DNA. They may even know how
to reverse the reaction, and are keeping it secret."
	"We know how to fix the branched DNA. Just follow
Scully's example, and Vera will be fine." Mulder replied,
thoughtfully touching his jaw with a clasped hand.
	"I suggest you consult Scully about this." Byers said,
caressing his mustache.
	"I will. Just not now. One word of this gets out, and
Vera is history."
	"You should call Skinner before 'they' get real neurotic
about neatness, and start 'cleaning house'." Langly
mumbled, to which all the four men sighed dejectedly.
	"I've contacted someone who's willing to give me the
names and locations of suitable facilities for developing
the serum. Once I get the list, I'll contact you again."
	"Mulder. We'd love to, but we can't." Byers said, shaking
his head 'no'. 
Mulder knew how far off the Three Musketeers had gone for
this investigation, taking enough risks to get on the top
hit list. Mulder nodded in understanding and took the
finished disks from them. He gave them a round of hugs, and
promised Frohike that the next time he visit this office,
Scully will be with him. 
The extra vial of Vera's blood stayed with them.


Marita Covarrubias Residence
Upper East Side, New York City, NY
9:30 PM (Eastern Time)

The last time he came here, he was pursuing the Black
Cancer case in Tunguska, Russia. He knocked on the white
door for the second time, and met her through the clack of
the door. Soon, the chain came off and the door reopened to
reveal the neatly organized living room. As Marita locked
her front door, Mulder saw that she was dressed in her
familiar white silk robe.
	"If you would wait for a short while on the couch." She
said, already walking toward the back room, where he knew
her private office was located. Mulder thanked her. Instead
of sitting down, he grabbed a glass vase that was sitting
atop one of the shorter bookshelves. He quickly filled it
with the water from her kitchen.
	"What are you doing?" Marita came out of the office,
watching with a decidedly displeased expression as Mulder
decorated the water-filled vase with a dozen white lily.
Embarrassed, Mulder smiled sheepishly.
	"White suits you. These flowers were from a floral shop
about two miles away from here." Mulder produced several
small pieces of paper and handed her one. She read it
quickly, and realized it was the receipt from the subjected
floral shop. It had the price of flowers scratched off with
a ballpoint pen. She opened her mouth, but he continued on
before she could utter a word. 
Mulder handed her another paper, and Marita saw that it
was the receipt from the cab. The part of the fare was left
untouched on this one, supposedly to prove the mileage of
his ride. She suppressed a smile, realizing that this man
knew exactly what questions she would have. She also knew
Mulder was trying, in his own way, to apologize for his
earlier behavior toward her. 
"I caught a cab from the floral shop, and this..." Mulder
said as he handed Marita a tall box of top-class brandy.
"...is also for you. It's from an import goods shop that
was located ten blocks away from here. Forgive me for my
typical assumption that most Russians are fond of good
brandy and cognac. ...I was on foot the rest of the way,
and no one followed me on my way to this place." With an
incredibly boyish smile, he handed her the last piece of
paper. She knew what it was for before she ever read it.
She wasn't disappointed.
Mulder watched as Marita's expression turned into a
resigned forgiving look for a long moment before she
replaced it with her mask of professionalism. She placed
the liquor bottle behind the glass door of her liquor
cabinet, where a rather small collection of bottles was
housed. She then placed the flowers on the center of her
round dining table, and headed back into her office. Mulder
took his seat in the offered couch, crossing his legs and
leaning back. His hands rested clasped atop his knee. 
	He was beginning to doze off when Marita returned with a
A4 paper, listing a name of the researcher and the location
of her lab. He wasn't surprised to find the facility to be
inside a women's clinic. Marita explained that the building
had a built-in reproductive medicine research lab, which
was used only to store computers and walls full of medical
files. No lab equipment. 
Mulder looked up with a questioning gaze, and Marita
quickly reassured him that this doctor would have
everything that was needed for the development of this
serum. Apparently, the woman was getting everything set-up
and ready for action right this minuite. Mulder released a
deep breath of relief, and felt an honest smile breaking
over his face.
	"She's an old friend of mine. She's expecting your
arrival at midnight. She knows who you are, and what you're
there for." Marita said and motioned for the door, but
Mulder beat her to it.
	"Thank you, Marita. Thank you very, very much." Mulder
said his parting words, reaching for a handshake. But
instead, he drew her into his arms for an embrace. "You
know that if something happens to me, I'll pass the torch
over to Scully, and our ally like yourself." His muffled
words were not lost on Marita, for he felt her swallow
hard. 
It was rather awkward for Mulder to be in this position
with Marita, but he couldn't help reaching out to someone
who had a full knowledge regarding the complexity of this
case without direct involvement. Suddenly, he wanted to
tell her everything. He desperately wanted to start
screaming and sobbing in her arms. He knew she would
probably let him, because she knew that everyone he'd ever
loved and cared for was either dead, dying, or in mortal
danger. She knew she was in the last category.
	"Not everyone has to die, Agent Mulder." Marita said,
breaking their embrace. 
She never smiled, never showed anger, or abject hatred.
She didn't need to, because Mulder knew where they were
hidden. He thanked her again and left for the clinic.



Fairfield Central Hospital
Fairfield, CA
11:45 PM

Walter Skinner had been dozing off for the past two hours
beside Vera's bed when the call came.
	"Skinner." His trained voice showed only a touch of
exhaustion.
	"Sir? Can we talk?" Mulder's voice dove him back into
reality.
	"Go on." He replied, giving a glance around the room and
outside the glass wall.
	"Sir, for the record, Vera Jarvis has the same type of
branched DNA that Scully was returned with three years ago.
Scully's off of her leave in fifteen minutes, and I would
like for you to contact her. She knows the recommended
method of treatment from her personal experiences. She
hasn't been informed of any of the past two days'
incidents, and by my outside source's recommendation, I'm
at a women's clinic where the serum will be made." Skinner
narrowed his eyes at what he was told, but he understood it
all.
	"All right, Agent Mulder. Good work." Skinner tried to
add something else, but Mulder was already gone.


Women's Clinic / Reproductive Medicine Research Center
Annapolis, Virginia
3 AM Eastern Time

"Are you saying that this is definitely the one?" Mulder
barely managed to ask. The shock from the previous
revelations was yet to settle. The doctor shook her head in
awe.
	"I've never seen anything like this before. This
treatment method is especially unique. But it's killing the
cancer cells and the body's metabolizing them. About a
dozen injection is necessary according to the reading
material you showed me. Just follow my recommended
dosages."
	The doctor who'd been working in front of him had stayed
perfectly calm. They had been working on the serum for the
past three hours, under the dim lights of the research lab.
Marita and this doctor even found a willing test subject
who now lay under the CAT scan machine. The images on the
computer screen indicated the desired results. 
When Mulder thanked and told the doctor that her name
would be on record should the treatment succeed, she
quickly dismissed the idea for obvious reason. However, she
told him to "Take good care of the girl". Mulder swore that
he would, then gave her a hug of thanks. Mulder left the
place just an hour later with the padded metal case.
	It was his idea to stop at Margaret Scully's residence in
Baltimore. He knew it was an outrageous hour to knock on
her door. But he also knew that Dana Scully was there, and
she desperately needed to be updated. He knew Skinner
briefed her with some of the news, leaving Mulder fend for
himself in the face of her wrath. He phoned and awakened
Margaret Scully just long enough to announce his impending
arrival, then called Hall in Los Angels for an update. Hall
had nothing too important, but told him that the hospital
would finally discharge Jake by eight in the morning.
Mulder thanked the young agent and told the man agent to
get some rest.


Margaret Scully Residence
Exact Location Unknown
Baltimore, Maryland
6AM Eastern Time


Mulder knocked on the door lightly, hearing the door get
unlocked in no time.
	"What the hell's going on, Mulder?!" Scully, now in her
brown pant suit, barked the moment she saw her partner.
	"I'm sorry I had to come in like this." Mulder apologized
as he gathered her into his arms. She returned the gesture
only briefly before leading him toward a living room couch.
He sipped the fresh coffee Scully brewed for them, and
watched her settle down next to him. He first told her
about the serum that he'd asked Marita's friend to whip up.
If that didn't shock her enough, then telling her about the
full technical manual to administer the serum certainly
did. 
Next, Mulder opened his briefcase and gave her the padded
metal case he'd been carrying. She peered into the case,
seeing that it was neatly lined up with the bottled serum.
While she examined them, he broke her the news about Vera's
branched DNA, which as he thought, she was informed about.
He then told her that he was returning to Fairfield with
the eight o'clock flight, and that she should maybe take a
little more time. But she refused this flat-out, indicating
the over-night bag she had ready.
	"I'm coming with you. I know which flight you're taking,
because I checked with the airline half an hour ago. I'm
also guessing you're the George Hale who went to New York
twice and back. All I have to do is pick up my ticket at
the gate. I'm well rested, well fed, and well cared for.
Let's go." She was already standing up, leaving an
open-mouthed Mulder at the couch.
	"Dana? Is Fox here?" Margaret came out of the bedroom,
her white nightshirt covering her to her ankles. Tying the
belt on her navy blue nightgown, she came into the living
room and smiled warmly at Mulder.
	"Good morning, Mrs. Scully. I'm very sorry to have
bothered you and your daughter so early." His apology was
half muffled inside the confinement of Maggy's embrace.
Scully gave her mother her good-bye kisses before tugging
at Mulder's shirt.
	"You two take care of each other, and be careful."
Margaret Scully cautioned as she looked from Dana and
Mulder back and forth. Mulder smiled and promised her he
would do his best, as Dana would for him. 
	Once in their rental car, he told Scully everything he
could about the time he spent in Sacramento. Scully
listened, knowing what was coming. Mulder explained Vera's
condition in extensive detail. True to his guess, Scully
was surprised to find Skinner's depth of involvement in the
case as Mulder was.
	"You know something? They chose a convenient location for
Vera to be dropped off. Fairfield is right next door to
Sacramento, and a short flight away from LA."
	"Maybe they knew where she wanted to be returned to, but
they couldn't risk getting the kind of attention that her
first journey to LA got for them. ...I don't think Vera
misses her home, Scully. Think about it. A kid survives the
horror of witnessing his or her parents tortured. Father
was strangled, and mother was supposedly raped before
watching them being butchered to pieces. ...I don't think a
world filled with EBEs would be the most traumatic
experience of the kid's life. Maybe this time they knew she
wanted to come back to Los Angels. To Jake, and to us." 
Mulder's right hand briefly left the steering wheel and
pointed to their chests. Scully shifted uneasily in her
seat.
	"Or, it could be just a coincidence. Almost all the alien
abductees were released miles away from their homes in the
woods. Vera was dehydrated, exhausted, and she was barely
responsive. She couldn't even move much by the time the
police found her and contacted the Highway Patrol. There's
an implant in her neck, and she's got a rapidly growing
brain tumor. All this fits to your MUFON women's alien
abduction profile."
	Mulder shrugged, finally deciding to get into his
theories about Hall's drawing analysis. This got them into
a continuous debate session. Twice, Mulder had to pull the
car up to the shoulder of the road to calm down.
Nevertheless, it continued until they reached the ticket
counter at the airport, where they had been forced to stop
their argument. Neither gave in to the other, and the
debate inevitably restarted once they were airborne, until
they finally reached a compromise. Mulder got Scully to
agree to have Vera take a look at Hall's drawing analysis,
but she got him to agree to never do so without having Jake
'and' Skinner present.
	Soon, Scully gave him two strong sleeping pills and
ordered him to go to sleep. When questioned, she answered
it was because Skinner ordered her to check Mulder out
since he'd only had seven hours of sleep in the past three
days combined. Mulder reluctantly took the order,
considering all the things he put her through at once. 
By the time she began reviewing the cancer treatment
procedures, he was deeply asleep. His head tilted slightly
toward her shoulder. His head began tilting further with
each bump or a turbulence. She pushed him far enough every
time his head bumped into her shoulder, until his body got
the idea and chose to tilt the other way. A small smile
escaped her lips.


Fairfield Central Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Room 10
Fairfield Central, CA 2PM Pacific Time Same Day

"Did you get it?" Skinner was never a one to waste time.
	"Yes, sir." The two agents answered simultaneously.
Scully handed Skinner the analysis and the test results
that Mulder got for them from the women's clinic in D.C. At
the same time, Mulder presented Skinner with the metal
casing of the serums. Skinner looked through them, nodding
his approval.
	"Good work, to both of you. We can't move everybody out
of here without trouble, so I've arranged Clive Shaw, Dr.
Claiborne, and you to try the procedures in one of the
Operation Rooms upstairs. You're the doctor, Scully. You
need to witness how it's done and decide if this course of
treatment should be tried on anyone. They also discharged
Kathler this morning, and Karen Kosseff is heading to his
house for the third interview. So far, Kosseff had close to
zero objection to have him take care of Vera."
	"Excuse me, sir? What kind of problem did she raise on
Kathler?" Mulder couldn't help asking.
	"His fiance's suicide that took place three years ago.
The violence occurred at the house two weeks ago. He's got
no experience in marriage, or in raising children. His
growing up as the only child doesn't help his case,
either."
	"Also, because we'll never know when the next attack
comes." Mulder added, shaking his head. "It was never his
fault! It was ours. Why blame him?!"
	"Agent Mulder, I'm not the one you should be yapping at!
Try the procedure, see if it really works, and if it does,
go for it." With those words, Skinner turned around and
quickly left the room. Mulder buried his face in his hands.
Until he raised his head to look around, he never realized
Scully's presence in the same room. She was apparently in
the process of studying Vera. Scully seemed to have been
completely oblivious to the heated exchange between him and
Skinner.
	"This is definitely the oldest ten-year old I've ever
seen." She said as she caressed Vera's hollow cheeks.
Mulder calmed himself down before joining his partner.
	"She's been through hell and back, Scully. I..." His
voice suddenly lost itself.
	"We'll find her, Mulder. We'll find her." Scully said as
she gently patted him on his arm. She knew exactly what
Mulder was thinking, and thanked the fact that this time,
there really were targets, the clear picture of individuals
who deserved all the blame for all their misery. "I'll head
up to the OR. You stay here and watch over her."
	"Scully, maybe you should stay here and observe. I'm not
the medical doctor..."
	"Mulder, you know how antibiotics treatments work, and
you know what goes where, because you've been with me when
I went through it. You know the right questions to ask. I
need to go up to the OR. Call Jake when it's done. You know
that if he could stretch his neck from where he is, he'll
be right here watching Vera." Scully smiled at the image
and patted Mulder on his shoulder before leaving. Mulder
stayed silent, never moving until his back complained.


Jake's Loft
Canoga Park, CA
Same Time

He hadn't seen the house since the intruders had
carelessly redecorated it. Skinner had promised him in
person that Uncle Sam would repair all the damages
sustained by this building prior to his discharge from the
hospital. In a way, having Jake's hospital stay for much
longer than originally anticipated had benefited the
government. When he opened the door and entered, he
detected none of the mess that had been described to him by
Mulder and Scully.
	"This is great. You guys did a real good job." Jake said
as he surveyed the house. A closer inspection revealed
several paint drops left here and there, but there was
nothing that he and Elly couldn't fix with a couple of
cleaning tools. Jake returned his gaze to Hall, who settled
Stella down on one of the four beds. 
It was Jake's suggestion to have the FBI investigation
team move into the house with him, since they were no
longer allowed to use the hospital conference room as their
temporary office. During nights, Hall was ordered to stay
with Jake, along with four other agents to guard him, Elly,
and the evidence. Jake had the security system updated into
a voice-activated, password-required system as an attempt
to strengthen the protection. The improved loft became more
like a fortress.
	Jake called his office and told his partners to come down
to the house for a much-needed business meeting. Now that
Jake was home, he was ready to start catching up with his
work. He informed the firm of the FBI's arrival at his
house, and telling them all to put up with it or keep all
meetings to a strict on-line basis as it had been for the
past weeks. Sensing Jake's determination, they complied
without further complaint. The agents were still reluctant
with the arrangement, but they knew Jake's business was
important. Karen Kosseff also supported the change since
Jake couldn't afford to lose his job if he was to become
Vera's legal guardian. 
In fact, things got so messy in the past two weeks, one of
Skinner's agents had to fly to Nice with one of Jake's
business partners to explain just what had been going on,
stressing the point that the FBI would do its best to
restore order to this chaos.
	Although so much had changed in the house, Jake still
could remember the time when Vera was staying with him.
Jake stared down at the hard wood floor, remembering how
they used to sit on the floor, with Vera held securely in
his arms. As he stretched out onto the floor to gaze up at
his miniature city, he could remember when he explained to
her about why he'd decided to become an architect, and why
he wanted to encourage her to pursue art. Jake missed
seeing her giggle, just like a normal child of her age. He
missed playing basketball with Stella and Elly as audience.
He missed reading her many stories and poems at bedtime
when she requested. 
Jake never guessed Vera to be ten years old. She looked
seven or eight at the most. 'Is that the famous
missing-time thing?' Jake wondered, knowing this was an
alien abduction case.
	Jake was in the middle of a heated argument with his
partners when an agent approached them and broke it up.
Jake looked ready to pounce on the man's face until he was
given the news. The group of men around him immediately
aimed their growing anger toward the agent who told Jake to
pack up and leave immediately with Hall. Jake was out of
the door in less than five minutes.
	"When?" Jake asked as he got himself buckled in.
	"I just got the word from Agent Mulder." Hall said as he
turned on the ignition. "He wants both of us at the
hospital. He's been watching over her since they began
treating her with a load of antibiotics to fix her up."
	"Where's Dana? I hear she's back."
	"She is. She's currently testing the serum with Dr.
Claiborne up in an OR. No one else knows how it really
works except for the doctor who made it in the first place.
Dr. Claiborne has a complete understanding of the
procedures, and the hospital oncologist can legally
administer the serum. Dr. Claiborne's the personal
physician of Clive Shaw, and he's not licensed to practice
in California. Agent Scully is a medical doctor, but she's
on the security team to protect them." 
	"Them?" Jake's eyebrows furrowed, but Hall kept his
attention on the road.
	"The doctors, Clive Shaw, and the serum. They're on top
of it."
	"Fine. Where's Skinner?" Jake felt no need to address the
man with his rank, either in this car or in front of other
agents. Jake didn't know why, but somehow it felt right and
so far, Skinner raised no objection.
	"He's still conducting the combing search in the forest
where Vera turned up."
	"How's that going?" Jake surprised himself to find how
casual he'd grown with the agents, as if asking one of his
business partners about how his son was doing in school or
in the little league.
	"No word on it, yet. These criminals are so careful; I
doubt anything would turn out of it. Skinner has his own
hand-picked team of evidence collection experts, so if
there's anything, they'll find it." Hall spoke with an
equal air of casualness, but the young man's profile still
spoke 'FBI' loud enough. 
When asked how Hall became involved in this investigation
in the first place, the agent gave Jake the Reader's Digest
version of their first encounter. Hall stressed that the
X-Files team needed a computer expert who hadn't yet been
contaminated by a covert political group, which they
referred to as 'Consortium'. 
Hall went to the extent of telling Jake that there was no
doubt that this group was behind this alien colonization
fiasco for decades. Since Hall was a computer crime
specialist, he knew how to track down lost files and how to
operate Jake's VR machine adequately enough to analyze
Vera's drawings. Hall assured Jake that he got along with
Vera once he met her.
	"Mulder said he wasn't surprised that the first request
from Vera was you." Hall said, taking a turn that made the
tires squeal. Jake blushed and laughed, wondering if this
was how a father felt.
	"I bet she's mistaken Mulder with me, at first." Jake
said, adjusting himself for a better position. Hall shook
his head 'no'.
	"Apparently, she immediately recognized Mulder and shook
her head 'no'. She'd touched his face, but she still kept
shaking her head 'no'. When Mulder asked if she wanted you
to come over, she began nodding and still kept touching his
face. She remembers you, which tells us that there
shouldn't be too much damage done to her memory. However,
she still hasn't spoken a single word."
	"I don't think she'll need that much spoken language to
communicate with me." Jake answered before turning to look
out of the side window. Hall nodded an agreement.
	"No, probably not." Hall recalled Fox Mulder's wild
theories. He'd also made a promise that he wouldn't utter a
word of them to anyone, except for Scully. 
The rest of the drive went on in silence, with Jake deep
in thoughts and Hall keeping alert for anything or anyone
that might suddenly dash out to start chasing them or block
their way. Scully told Hall enough about her past
experiences to make him jumpy, but they met no resistance
as Hall parked the car in front of the general entrance of
the six-story hospital building. 
Jake ran up the stairs with the speed and strength of an
Olympic athlete, making Hall gasp for air as they stumbled
inside the Pediatrics ICU hallway. It was easy to spot
Vera's room, since it was under guard by two armed agents.
Jake looked in from the glass wall, meeting Mulder's bright
eyes and a large smile with unconcealed anticipation. Jake
nearly knocked down the guards in his haste to open the
door and close it behind him.
	A pair of sparkling green eyes met the equally sparkling
hazel eyes. Time froze and blood raced inside Jake as his
legs closed in the remaining distance between him and the
small figure reaching out to him from the bed. His heart
rate soared sky-high the moment his fingers touched the
fragile body of Vera Jarvis. Jake hardly noticed when the
doctor who'd been inside the room began shooting a series
of complaints before Mulder hushed her. Vera had no IV at
this time, because it was in between treatments. 
Jake lifted Vera in his arms, cherishing the feed of her
familiar death-grip on his shoulders and neck. Jake was
alarmed the moment her shoulder jerked, and got scared as a
wave of tremor took on her entire body. But just as he
opened his eyes and glanced back at Mulder, a short choking
sound shot through his ear. It instantly grew into a series
of violent sobs, and they didn't take long to escalate into
a constant wailing. Feeling her exertion, Jake's own tears
followed soon. Mulder nodded with understanding, and led
the doctor and himself out of the door.
	"I've missed you, Vera. Welcome back." Jake kept talking
as he walked around the room. Wrapping both his arms
securely around her, Jake caressed her small back in a
constant circular motion, in exactly the same way that his
nanny used to do whenever she tried to calm him down or
sooth his tension away. His mind didn't remember this, but
his body took the initiative.
	Outside the glass door, Mulder watched the scene
displayed in front of him with mixed feelings. He'd
dismissed the attending doctor from the room when he saw no
sign of Jake nor Vera letting go of each other. He'd
promised the doctor that she'd be called in as soon as they
calmed down, so that she could continue with the treatment.
For a while, Mulder leaned heavily on the nearby wall for
support, but when another agent asked after him, Mulder
convinced the agent that all he needed was to get freshen
up. He also informed them of his plan to join Skinner's
site search. Mulder headed for an elevator to go check on
Scully, but stopped himself tad short and headed for the
stairs to the parking lot, instead. The agents standing
guard at the door to Vera's room didn't question Mulder
when he appeared with his overnight bag.
	"What's going on?" Jake asked Mulder as the agent drew
the shades and poked his head out of the door to tell the
guards that no one would be allowed for the next thirty
minutes, no questions asked. The guards shrugged and told
him to 'make it quick'. Mulder thanked them and shut the
door. 
	"I have an idea on how to keep you in this room without
ever getting yourself kicked out." Mulder began stripping
his clothes as he spoke. Jake rounded his eyes. "Give me
your clothes that you don't have on you right now, then
wear my suit. We're switching places." 
Jake began shaking his head in protest, but Mulder ignored
Jake's discomfort. Mulder unclipped his hip holster and
placed it on the bed next to him. 
"I don't give a rat's ass about what you're thinking right
now. Get out of your clothes and put on my suit. Hand me
your clothes, and I'll wear them. Now, move your ass!"
Mulder ordered, now stripping down to his boxers. Mulder
waited impatiently until Jake pulled his suitcase out and
began throwing the agent a pair of black slacks, a white
button-down shirt, and a dark sport jacket. 
In the background, the radio Skinner switched on earlier
began playing 'Disarm' by Smashing Pumpkins. Fearing what
effect the song could have on a traumatized little girl, he
reached for it and switched the station. This time, 'Power
of Two' by Indigo Girls was playing, and Mulder left the
radio alone. Jake rolled his eyes behind the agent.
Jake never tried to let Vera out from his arms while he
completed the task, and it was obvious to Mulder that
should they have tried, the girl would have put up a good
fight. Mulder got dressed quickly, smiling as he found
Jake's clothes to be perfect fit. 'Eve Austin will be
proud.' Mulder mentally smirked.
	"I usually wear that shirt without tie." Jake instructed
as Mulder buttoned the top button. Mulder quickly nodded
and unbuttoned it to the third button. Jake then quickly
stepped into the restroom and came out with a paper cup
half full with water. Mulder saw a can of mousse in the
man's other hand. Mulder eyed them uneasily, but Jake
splashed water and the mousse all over the agent's hair
before the man had a chance to protest. Jake ran his
fingers through Mulder's hair with his gelled hands,
gesturing the man's hair to get the idea of where they
should go. 
When Jake was done, he told Mulder to go dry his hair and
brush it a little. Jake had a little more volume in his
hair compared to Mulder's. Mulder obliged, trying to mimic
Jake's hairstyle as much as possible within three minutes.
Mulder then handed Jake his I.D., wallet, wristwatch,
shoes, cellular phone, and finally his gun.
	"Clip the holster on your right side. My gun hand is the
right one, and never pull out your badge with that hand.
Always present your badge when requested, but don't
announce that too loudly. You don't want to be like one of
those gun-ho movie heroes and go, 'FBI! I've got the power,
and you've got no fucking right!!'" Mulder saw Jake laugh,
and returned a grin. "...You want to be alert, yet always
stay neutral. That way, people won't be inclined to grow
afraid of you or be suspicious of you." Jake nodded deeply
for answer, the grimaced as he realized what their next
task was.
	With the anticipated protest from Vera, Mulder
practically peeled her off of Jake for a minute as Jake got
dressed in Mulder's business suit. Mulder held Vera as
gingerly as he could and the girl seemed to notice his
concern, because she soon placed her arms around Mulder's
neck. Mulder smiled a bit, and thanked her for being so
patient. Jake hesitated only for a brief second before
following Mulder's instruction for the handling of the gun
and I.D.
The same radio station began playing Loreena McKennitt's
'The Mummer's Dance', and he made a series of slow turns in
time with the music to hopefully smooth out her feathers a
bit while Jake was busy. Even as he smiled at Vera as he
danced with her in his arms, Mulder couldn't believe such a
little girl was being forced to battle with such powerful
enemies. He tried to push the thoughts out of him as he
remembered about her suspected ability to scan his mind.
Beside them, Jake straightened Mulder's tie and shook his
head in wonder.
	"Where do you get your ties? They're rather conservative,
but..." He saw Mulder smile at the question.
	"You know, I've been asked that a lot. ...My often
unconventional taste in ties probably has to do with my
color-blindness."
	"Are you?" Jake asked in surprise. Mulder nodded and
handed Vera back to him.
	"I changed my tie preference recently. I used to wear
ones that screamed my personality, which in turn begged for
attention. I don't know why I felt the need. I stopped
doing it a while ago. I often don't want to draw too much
attention to myself, and I've noticed that sometimes when I
meet people outside my work, they remember my ties more
than me. That's sad." Mulder shook his head resignedly, to
which Jake nodded with understanding.
	"Kinda like me and my car, maybe? I drive a BMW, because
I love to speed, but it doesn't mean that I'm trying to be
bossy to anyone, or trying to conquer the world of
capitalism. I'm not Mr. Scrooge, either. I've done pro-bono
work on many occasions." Mulder nodded, pausing for a long
moment to consider the wisdom of his next revelation before
making up his mind.
	"You said something about your not understanding why I
don't feel anything less than utmost pride or self-respect
after all my accomplishment. Well, I've had this supervisor
named Agent Bill Patterson while I was assigned to VCU. He
was an old man who thrived on stress. His idea of fun was
to keep pushing me and pushing me. That is, until I
collapsed with madness, exhaustion, and stress."
	"But, you are all right now. Aren't you?" As Jake asked,
sincere concern removed most of the man's air of
casualness. Mulder nodded as he headed back into the
restroom to get shaved. Jake turned down the radio, which
was now playing 'Healing Hands' by Mark Cohn, in order to
better hear Mulder's voice. Mulder's talking while shaving
caused some difficulty on Jake's part, but the man's New
Englander accent still carried through.
"I had to get inside the minds of the most dangerous of
serial killers known to man. It's no glorious work. It's
downright nasty, even though people praise me for my job
well done. I knew they considered me to take over the
entire VCU after Patterson's eventual retirement. I was
only twenty-eight at the time I heard the news. It was
probably only natural that my colleagues should fear me or
hate my gut. They talked and called me names behind my
back, mostly because of the hideous and cruel nature of the
crimes I dealt with. 
"They kept shoving to me the kinds of cases that no one
wanted to touch, mostly due to the extreme circumstances
those cases held. It was typical of them to terminate all
possible personal contact with me after they surrendered
those case files to me.
	"Even now, look at Scully. I mean, she was originally
assigned to spy on me to find a way to shut down the
X-Files. It wasn't her choice to be assigned with me or
with my department, and the higher-ups never liked it when
she began supporting the purpose behind all my work. She
doesn't deserve to be stuck in that basement office for the
reasons they got her in. She's putting up with a lot of
crap because of me. The X-Files deserve her, but I don't." 
Jake grimaced at the way that last statement sounded to
his ears. Mulder was clearly successful in convincing
himself of this blatant lie. Sitting on the edge of Vera's
bed, Jake pondered how to best word his thoughts. 
"Mulder, you're being awfully judgmental in there. Has it
ever occurred to you, that maybe she thinks otherwise? I
already have a feeling that she's going to pursue you, find
you wherever you go to." Jake heard Mulder's sigh as the
agent cleaned the razor, now talking as he worked some
after-shave into his sensitized facial skin.
"If only they could clearly mark the office door as
'Department of the X-Files', I'll be glad to put both of
our names up on it, and get Scully her own desk. But for as
long as that door is marked 'Fox Mulder, Special Agent',
her name shouldn't be there." 
Mulder came out of the restroom shaking his head,
remembering Scully's remarks about wanting to install her
own desk and name plate in their cramped office. He made
lame excuses that the other sparsely furnished half of
their office space, albeit crowded by the slide-glass
shelves and the x-ray projector, was hers. He didn't dare
tell her his true reasons, but it was only matter of time
before she began remodeling the office during a weekend or
on a holiday. She would either do the job by herself, or
maybe by forcing him to help her with it, probably dragging
him into the room by his ear. It could be worse and she
might decide do so by pointing her gun at his groin, or by
kicking his butt out of his apartment door and all the way
into the damn office. 
	'There, again.' Jake thought as he caught the look on
Mulder's face, now watching Jake as he moved around the
room with Vera. Mulder carefully masked it, but there was a
tone of either worry or fear in the man's eyes. Jake
narrowed his eyes momentarily but refrained from raising
questions.
	"I get into a lot of similar situations. I mean,
sometimes I work and I do great work. I get invited to
parties, interviews, and I introduce myself. Then, no one
there believes me. They expect someone older, or maybe they
want someone from the more plausible ethnic background.
Sometimes, they want someone who's more neurotic about our
work than I'd like to be. ...They make certain assumptions
about how much I know about architecture by looking at my
work, and they assume what kind of person I am just from my
age. I'm not made of concrete blocks, metal wires, bricks,
or glass panels; and my heart isn't made of stone or tar." 
Jake shifted Vera into a more comfortable position as his
arms began to cramp. The radio began playing "What A
Difference A Day Makes" by Dinah Washington. Soon again,
Jake recognized Mulder looking at Vera in the way it Jake
asking 'why'. Jake noticed it ever since he'd recovered
from the aftershocks of being reunited with Vera. 'There's
something he's not telling me.' Jake thought as he wetted
and parted his hair from a side, before pushing it up above
his hairline in the way Mulder preferred to do his own
hair.
When Agent Hall returned from the OR, Jake roughly yanked
him into the room.
	"What's going on, Mulder?" Hall stared at Jake in
confusion as he spoke. The man still had Vera in his arms.
"Where's Jake? I thought he'd be with her and you'd be up
in the OR with Scully."
	"Hall? Fox Mulder is right here." Mulder answered from
the restroom, coming out from behind a door at a corner of
the room, where he'd been making the last-minute
adjustments. Hall's eyes widened with realization and
accompanying shock.
	"Don't blame me. It's Mulder's idea." Jake in Mulder's
business suit commented, shaking his head. "He thinks it's
the safest way for me to stay with Vera. Only the three of
us know about this." Hall was shaking his head in disbelief
before Jake finished the last statement.
	"Oh, no. No, no, no, no. I'll get my butt kicked out of
here if Skinner finds out about any of this!" Hall backed
away and slumped against the nearby wall.
	"That's 'if', and 'only if'. Relax. It's just a little
trick. I had Kathler hand me his suit from his suitcase,
which was placed under the bed. He has my Sig Sauer, my
badge, and my wristwatch. He even has my wallet, for crying
out loud! I have his identification, his wallet, and his
car keys. However, I still have my back-up piece and the
clip-on FBI ID for emergencies. We also exchanged cellular
phones as a precaution. ...Again, it's just for a little
while. There's no need to worry, for as long as we all keep
our mouths shut." 
Mulder spoke rapidly, indicating that he didn't want an
argument. Hall dropped his shoulders in defeat, and waved a
hand in a gesture of dismissal.
	"It's your case. You're the boss." Hall said. Mulder gave
the poor man an apologetic smile, then pointed to Jake. 
"Will you also think of a way to trim Jake's hair? I
apologize to Jake about this, but it's necessary if he
doesn't want to remain a 'visitor' forever. It's at least
two inches longer than the Bureau regulation, and anyone
with a trained eye would see through the cover. I need to
join Skinner right now, and see the site for myself. You
stay here and guard them with your life." Mulder indicated
Vera and Jake with a nod. Hall nodded back, now with the
seriousness that earned Mulder's trust from the start.
Mulder approached Jake, dropping his voice so low, Hall
didn't hear.
	"There's something I need to talk to you about, but not
when she needs you this much, and never when you can't be
absolutely alone. Just focus on taking care of Vera for
now. ...I wouldn't have pulled a stunt like this if I
didn't know how much she needs you. All right?" 
Mulder's laser-edge gaze spoke volumes. Jake agreed,
watching as Mulder left the room. Hall could hear Mulder's
lame excuses to the guards for changing his clothes, and
the guards stayed quiet. It didn't make Hall feel any
better to hear Jake's comment about Mulder holding
something back from them.
	"What the hell is he up to?" Hall muttered aloud, but
Jake gestured him to be quiet, indicating the small figure
attached to his upper body. Hall nodded his understanding
and took a seat in a chair by the bed.


Exact Location Unknown
Combing Search Site
2:30 PM

"Agent Mulder, I thought I ordered you to stay with the
girl." Skinner barked the first moment he saw the agent.
	"Yes, sir. Agent Hall is currently with them, along with
the two guards at the door. Besides, Kathler is with Vera
to give her emotional support that she needs."
	"Any changes?" Skinner's angry eyes softened somewhat
upon hearing the news.
	"Nothing notable, sir. But it seems to me that Kathler
and Vera have become inseparable. They were still attached
to each other when I left." Mulder pressed both his palms
together in front to emphasize his point.
	"What do you want in here? This site is under my strict
observation."
	"Yes, sir. But as a primary agent in this case, I needed
to see the site for myself before anything goes missing."
Mulder indicated the group of black-clad men bent at their
backs, all busy scavenging for whatever worthy to be called
evidence.
	"Mulder, these are hand-picked specialists, chosen for
this specific case by myself. Anything needs to be found
will be found." Skinner bared his teeth, having had his ego
damaged. Mulder backed away, raising his hand with the
palms facing front in a mock gesture of submission.
However, Mulder still insisted he at least be allowed to
look around. "Don't touch anything." Skinner's hiss was
only a show of the man's irritation.
	The site bore a vague resemblance to Lake Okabogee. It
was clear to Mulder's trained eye that the tops of the
trees had been scorched. A layer of ash covered the soil
around the area, and there was a circular clearing of about
twelve feet in diameter.
	Mulder closed his eyes and tried to imagine Vera at the
scene: opening her eyes to find herself in a middle of a
forest, left with no sense of direction, no one in sight.
Her reduced vision due to the darkness of the night only
fuels her growing fear. Next, hunger and thirst attack.
Terror takes over her as she begins to wander among the
trees and all that a wilderness had in stock. The
overwhelming sensation of being lost stalks her closely.
Helplessness sneaks up her tiny body and fills her
exhausted mind. She trips and falls repeatedly; her skin
covered by various scratches, cuts, and bruises. Splinters
sting her feet and hands as she grabs for...
	"Agent Mulder?" Skinner's voice from behind him shocked
Mulder out of his profiler mode. Mulder jumped slightly and
turned to face the intruder.
	"Yes, sir?" Mulder asked while trying to control his
breathing. Skinner narrowed his eyes in question, but
continued when Mulder silently urged him on.
	"...If you found whatever you are looking for in here, I
want you out of here. Leave it all to me." Skinner declared
his territory as he changed his latex gloves.
	"Sir, if I may make a couple of notes." Mulder said,
straightening a little. Skinner motioned for him to
continue, and Mulder nodded the man a thank-you.
	"Almost five years ago, Agent Scully and I investigated a
case of Ruby Morris, at Lake Okaborgee. In the surrounding
woods around the lake, we've found an area where the tops
of the trees were scorched. We've also found crystallized
sand on that lake's shore. 
"In our first case in Oregon, we've found an ash-covered
clearing that was suspected to be an alien landing site. It
was very much like the ones your team's been crowding over,
which brings me to another point with the Morris case. The
roof of the roof of the camping car that was owned by the
victim's family was found scorched. The vehicle's roof
paint had turned to nothing but a black layer of powder."
	"What are you saying?" Skinner gave Mulder the narrowed
eyes again.
	"I'm just saying that you should recognize those scorched
tree tops over there, because that's most likely the area
that we should be looking at. The clearing is also in a
complete textbook shape of a circle, revealing the earth
while its surrounding area is full of fresh grass and
foliage. The conditions of these clearings here are
completely unnatural." Mulder resisted the urge to add
'even to the untrained eyes of a child' at the end of the
last sentence.
	"We've been covering the clearings extensively. I'll take
your suggestion into consideration, only because of your
experiences. Now, will you go back to the hospital and
leave us to do our job in peace?" Mulder looked up the
towering body in front of him for a second before
reluctantly leaving the scene. Mulder knew Skinner was
right, and he already had much more pressing matters at
hand. 
Although it seemed he'd succeeded in fooling everyone in
sight with his tricks to hide his true motive, the cover
will be blown once Scully returned from the OR. He decided
to play Skinner's dutiful son, and started up the awfully
out-of-place white BMW. He surfed through all available
stations on the radio, and began tapping the steering wheel
to "Not Fade Away" by The Rolling Stones. He grabbed Jake's
cellular phone to call the Lone Gunmen to update them.
	"You went to Marita Covarrubias again, didn't you?"
Mulder froze for a moment in surprise. Frohike's accusatory
tone wasn't lost on him. 
	"How'd you know?" He asked, seriousness clear in his
tone.
	"Because the doctor you've contacted at the women's
clinic has gone missing. Nowhere to be found. Her office
and lab were trashed." Mulder inhaled sharply.
	"How...? How did they find out?!"
	"They must have known where you'd go for the serum. Don't
worry too much, though. Miss Covarrubias is not suspected
in this." Mulder hoped against hope that his friend was
right. 
	"What if the doctor talks? You should maybe let Marita
know about this." It was in Mulder's nature to be
suspicious of everyone, and he usually had good excuses for
his paranoia.
	"She may have escaped on her own." Langry jumped in their
conversation, trying to comfort Mulder. 
	"Try everything you can to find her. We'll take the
doctor into our protective custody at Jake's loft. Clive
Shaw and Elly should be joining her there. I'll call
Skinner, and the moment we find the doctor, she'll be
loaded into the chopper with an army of FBI Special Forces
that will be assigned to guard her."
	"We're not sure if we can do any rescue operation by
ourselves, Mulder."
	"Skinner will send someone the moment he learns of our
situation. I'm heading back to the hospital, so keep me
posted." Mulder barely finished before he ended the call
and dialed Skinner's number. Mulder was ready to tango with
Skinner when the man reluctantly agreed with him. 
Mulder was about to take the turn that lead him back to
Fairfield while humming to No Doubt's "Don't Speak" when
the car was bumped on the right side. The impact of this
collision knocked Jake's cellular phone out of Mulder's
hand, sending it bouncing on the passenger seat before
landing on the floor mat. Mulder skidded off the road to
the shoulder before returning to the main road. 
Mulder spotted the blue Honda Escort that was speeding up
to his right, obviously in preparation for another attack.
Mulder quickly drew his back-up weapon, but before he could
even remove the safety, another car attacked him from
behind. Since no vehicle was visible when Mulder spoke with
the Lone Gunmen, he figured they must've been ambushing
this BMW from behind the trees at both sides of the road.
	Mulder never hated himself for being right more than this
moment. When he came up with this plan in the first place,
he just didn't have the heart to tell anyone about what
kind of danger Jake might have been in. It was very likely,
though no one was sure yet, that Vera's memory was severely
affected by whatever unknown medical experiments her body
had undergone. 
Mulder was certain from the moment Vera was abducted for
the second time that they would put Vera though a series of
memory repression sessions to make sure she wouldn't recall
anything or anyone from her second abduction. Her
remembering Jake could have been a coincidence, or she
could have been returned to the man on purpose. Their
initial intention could have been to modify her memories
except for her memories about Jake Kathler. 
'If this is true', Mulder hoped, 'then, Vera will remember
her drawings.' Despite his own encounter with their
selective memory-drain technology, he refused to give up
hope.
	Sport BMWs were made for its ability to run fast. Mulder
immediately took the advantage, putting the gear on max as
he leveled the gas to the floor. The two cars, one the blue
Honda and the other a black 4X4 truck, never gave up as
they did their damnest to catch up with him. 
Just when Mulder grabbed Jake's cellular to dial 911 to
report his danger, a sudden burst was heard from somewhere
underneath him and the steering wheel lost its control.
Mulder cursed and threw the phone back to the passenger
seat. He desperately tried to take control of the steering
wheel, but another burst followed that sent the car into a
violent spinning cycle. The vehicle finally stumbled off of
the road and dove into the woods. 
It harshly came to a stop as it crashed head-on into the
trees at a dangerously high speed. The airbag was deployed
in Mulder's face, catching him on his face and chest as his
body repeatedly bounced against it. Mulder barely noticed
when the driver side's door was yanked open, and four men
in a black non-descriptive uniform pulled him out. They lay
him down on the cool forest floor and began fishing inside
his clothes. Mulder fought their offending hands as best he
could, stopping the moment he got a kick in his groin and
gasped for air.
	"It's him." One of them said from behind his black hut
and shades.
	"Good. You keep him talking. You hear?" Another one,
obviously the leader of the pack, ordered the other three
as they hoisted Mulder up over their shoulders and loaded
him into the back of their 4X4. Mulder fought to stay
conscious, trying to commit the men's faces into his
memory. Mulder heard the faint noise of duct tape being
cut. Before his fading mind registered their purpose, he
felt an excruciating pain shoot through his upper body.
Soon the men had his wrists bound behind his back, followed
by his ankles. 
Once Mulder was tied up and the pain shocked his mind back
to consciousness, he realized he should've blacked out upon
impact. The growing pain rushing through his torso with
every heartbeat told him he had more than one broken rib.
However, he knew there was nothing wrong with his legs,
because he felt no agonizing pain while the MIBs messed
with them. He tried not to respond to them while they
rained profanity and inflicted more damages on his already
battered body, but it was difficult. He didn't want to give
any of them the pleasure of showing his pain, so he gritted
his teeth and tried his best not to make a sound.
	"You naive, mother-fucking son of a bitch. Do you think
that just because you ride in a fancy sports car, live in a
fancy house, have lots of money, and have a group of FBI in
your house, you can be safe from us?" The man sat next to
Mulder hissed in his ear from no more than an inch away.
Mulder jerked, wanting to get away without success. The man
giggled into his ear again. 
Without warning, another man planted an elbow into
Mulder's back, hitting a spot directly above his spinal
cord. Mulder's body jumped in response, eliciting a scream
of agony from his lips before he could censor it. Mulder
found himself unable to breathe the next moment. He gagged
as he began reciting his assumed identity in his mind to
keep from fading. His eidetic memory would be of little
help in this situation. If they used drugs in order to make
him talk as they occasionally did, Jake was history.
	"What do you know about the girl?" The man who elbowed
Mulder asked, pulling Mulder's head up by a handful of his
hair. Mulder let out a groan, but stayed silent. Mulder
tried to concentrate on his breathing, but he nearly bit
off his tongue as his head was dropped to the ground.
Mulder had to think quickly. 
'What would Jake do? What would he say?' Jake wasn't used
to people grabbing him in the middle of a day, especially
right after being forced off of a road. If Jake was in
Mulder's shoes, Jake would be scared.
	"Please! What do you want from me?!" Mulder asked,
speaking as if begging. 
He heard another giggle at his ear and felt his skin crawl
with terror. Mulder had been aquatinted with the extent to
which these men would go to in order to make any death look
like a serial murder, sexual assault, or a robbery. He
hoped these men were professional enough to avoid
gang-raping him. If they were psychotic enough to crouch
down on a floor beside some homeless young girl's body long
enough to melt her face so carefully with drips of acid
solution, they surely wouldn't hesitate to put him through
'the works'. These MIBs were completely different in their
methods and work ethics from the ones Mulder was most
familiar with, and that was what scared him the most at
this point. Another man who'd been standing somewhere close
to Mulder's right foot burst into laughter. Mulder felt
renewed tide of chills run up and down his spine at the
purely joyful sound.
	"Look, our pretty boy's talking! ...Tell us everything
you know about the girl. I know that those agents had you
involved way too far into the case." The man grabbed
Mulder's crotch and squeezed as if he was trying to crash
them with his bear hand. Mulder had been fortunate to miss
the way he thoroughly enjoyed watching his victim scream.
Mulder was in no way faking when his voice trembled, or the
way his words stumbled. His eyes were rapidly filling with
tears out of reflex, but he had no presence of mind to
censor them.
	"All right, all right! She... She loves blueberry
muffins, and my dog adores her. She can te... tell me what
she's thinking by looking at me long enough. I don't even
need words from her to... to understand her. ...Aw!" Mulder
gasped as his crotch was released. 
	"Go on." The same man ordered, and as much as Mulder
hated to obey these men, he didn't dare want a repeat
performance of the last torture. Mulder closed his eyes and
continued.
"...She's about two sizes smaller than the average kids of
her age. She loves to have me braid her hair in mornings.
She eats sweet potato pies that my housekeeper loves to
bake for us. She loves to watch documentaries on TV while
brushing my dog's fir. She..." Mulder was cut off by the
tip of a combat boot that slipped beneath his jaw,
successfully shutting him up.
	"We don't give a shit about all that! Give us what's
important, or you won't see that girl again. It's very
unlikely that you'll ever see her again, anyway. You better
behave, or you'll end up on Mulder's list of dead friends."

This was a wrong button to be pressed in this situation.
Mulder jerked his jaw off of the man's boot.
	"You look! I don't know who the hell you are, but you
can't take Vera from us again. She's sick. Really, really
sick! She won't have long to live! Please, just let us be!"
The same boot immediately pressed Mulder's head hard
against the ground.
	"How much about her past have you heard?" A man crouching
by Mulder's head asked, sounding a little alarmed. Mulder
quickly searched for the best response.
	"Not enough. All I know is that she's an orphan. Her
parents were murdered by a serial killer, and her real name
is Vera Maxine Jarvis. Her and her family lived in
Sacramento. She's a ten-year old, and she loves to draw."
Mulder bit back a curse at this last slip. The next
question was almost inevitable.
	"Yeah, let's hear some more about that. What does she
draw? I know your expertise with the virtual reality
machine, so don't even think for one second that you can
get away with another 'I don't know' bullshit." The man
grabbed Mulder's hair again, lifting his head inches above
ground.
	"All right! Okay!! Just don't grab my hair again, please.
My head hurts." Mulder didn't dare tell them the original
reasons for this plea, and hoped they wouldn't discover the
trace of stitches on his healing scalp.
	"Just answer the fucking question." The stone-cold voice
of the first man echoed through Mulder's head. 
	"Agent Mulder brought in a computer expert, so I don't
know too much about them. From what I saw, it had a couple
of human figures, chopped to pieces and colored in red.
There were a few drawing where she drew some tables with
people on them. A couple of other drawings had a few
burning buildings drawn in. She drew many aliens in a lot
of these, but nothing more." 
Mulder silently cursed again at his last words. By clearly
stating 'nothing more' without covering up with a few more
information, they might finally see through his desperate
cover. Much to his relief, the man lifted his foot, thus
freeing Mulder's head.
	"You know what? I think I like you. You're much easier to
handle than Mulder, and what's more convenient? You look
exactly like that bastard!" Mulder felt his world swirl as
another man's foot embedded deeply into his ribs. A furious
fit of cough overtook Mulder, while a familiar foot
returned to pin his head down on the ground. This time, it
was enough to immobilize Mulder entirely.
	"I'm flattered." Mulder replied, still coughing as he
tried to calm himself down.
	"Who were you calling when we got you?"
	"My business partners."
	"Do they have a habit of tracing phone calls? This ain't
a spy novel!"
	"I honestly don't know!" Mulder fought panic. They no
doubt had Jake's cellular, and very kindly pressed the
redial button. Mulder knew that the Lone Gunmen were too
smart to get caught by these thugs, but their phone number
was no longer safe. Mulder needed to get out of this, and
quickly.
	"What do you know about the serum?"
	"I don't know what you're talking about! ...Is that the
new cancer treatment they're working on?" The MIB nodded
deeply.
	"That's right. Do you know who made the formula?"
	"No. They were real tight-lipped about that when I asked
them."
	"Well, you better hope we can find that out, because your
life depends on it." 'Trouble' Mulder thought, 'with a
capital T.'
	"Mulder and Scully told me that the FBI never negotiates
with terrorists. If the serum is as important as they or
you think it is, then they won't give it up." Mulder hated
digging his own grave as last-resort, because nothing good
ever followed this action. He wasn't disappointed. When a
foot came crashing down on his head, Mulder thought his
skull would break. The blood in his head complained as
circulation were cut off in several places simultaneously.
	"Tell you what. If you find out all they know about the
serum, we'll never bother you again. You and the girl can
live happily without fear for the rest of your short
lives." Mulder had to answer this one carefully, because he
didn't know what this guy meant by saying 'short lives'.
Although Mulder was supposed to be Jake here, the
experienced federal investigator in Mulder knew better.
These people never kept their promises, and Vera would
still be dying in that hospital bed. This time, Mulder used
his pent-up frustration and rage to his advantage even if
this got him an additional kick or two.
	"You've killed her already! I live alone in that house
with my dog! My fiancee committed suicide three years ago!
My business is going down the drain because of you! My
housekeeper will probably resign, leaving me to live in a
mess! I don't even have a family to spend holidays with,
for God's sakes! What the hell were you thinking, calling
me a nice rich boy? My life downright sucks! It fucking
sucks!! I'll trade places with you any day, you sons of
bitches!!" 
Mulder raised his voice as much as he could in order to
convince them. Familiar cold giggles came through Mulder's
eardrums before he felt the same man's stale breath on his
ear. Mulder suppressed a shudder.
	"You know what? I don't think you need to be talking any
more." 
The statement barely reached Mulder before the familiar
booted foot came into contact with Mulder's jaw, sending
him spiraling into darkness.




Fairfield Central Hospital
Fairfield, CA
5:30PM

Scully was ready to scream and start tearing everything in
her sight into shreds.
	"Come on. We'll try this again." The elder doctor sat
next to her and patted her on her back. Scully exhaled a
frustrated sigh before nodding her agreement and apology
for her outburst. The issues were clear.
	"We need to find a willing test subject, and quickly.
Unless we can get a hold of that test subject Mulder's seen
at the Women's Clinic..." Scully shook her head.
	"I told you that I'll be happy to..." Clive Shaw offered
himself, peeking from behind them. Shaw stared into
Scully's stress-induced red eyes in an attempt to convey
his request. Scully stubbornly shook her head 'no'.
	"There's no way in hell Skinner will allow that. Not even
Mulder will go for this kind of risky procedure, especially
under the circumstances. We can't use you, because we
really need you. You're an extremely vital witness for us,
just as Vera and myself. We need to find out everything
about the doctor and get her in here with the test
subject."
	"So, call Mulder." Shaw shrugged, as if asking what was
stopping Scully.
	"I've been trying to, but I can't get through to Mulder.
He may have forgotten to take his portable phone again.
He's supposed to be downstairs, staying with Vera. He's
also there for additional security measure, and I feel
nervous about leaving Vera in there without someone I can
trust being inside the room."
	"Maybe your sources know something." Shaw suggested,
staring at the test results in front of them. They proved
themselves to be no more plausible or useful than what
Mulder came up with on his own. Scully sighed, and took out
her phone.
	"It's me, guys. Turn off the tape." Scully said the
moment the phone was answered. "I'm with some company,
though you have nothing to worry about them. They're on our
side." She knew how they hated the word 'company' in any
sentence without an assurance.
"The tape's off. ...That'll be fine, Agent Scully. I
assume it's about that doctor Mulder consulted with?"
Frohike was a sharp-minded man, despite his obvious
inclination toward alcoholism.
	"Y... yeah. Actually, that's exactly... How'd you know?"
	"Because I was talking about that with Mulder. The
doctor's gone, and her office's trashed. We're not even
sure if she made it to safety on her own. If she hasn't,
you can consider her dead. We were all concerned about
these recent turn of events, because they pose some
significant risk to Miss Covarrubias's safety."
	"Is she's the one?" Thoroughly surprised, Scully couldn't
help yelling. "What do you mean 'may have'? Are you saying
there's still a chance we might find this doctor?"
	"Yes. All we know is that the doctor's gone, and nobody's
gotten to her, yet."
	"You should track down Marita Covarrubias. She's the only
one except for Mulder who knows about this doctor."
Scully's overworked brains were reeling again, playing all
the possible scenarios inside her head. 
	"Miss Covarrubias works for the UN, she's at her office
daily."
	"I suppose I should just call her up, then. I can't get
through to Mulder, and Skinner's line is busy. I've been
ordered to stay in our temporary lab in this OR, and that's
where I'm calling. ...How long ago did he call?"
	"About an hour ago." Scully furrowed her eyebrows. If
Mulder decided to go on a rampage on his own again, that
beautiful face of his had something unpleasant to expect
from her.
	"Thanks, guys. I promise to keep in touch." Scully hanged
up and brought her hand to her mouth as her mind processed
her next course of action. She called Agent Hall, who
answered on the first ring. "Tom? It's Scully. Where are
you?"
	"With Vera and ...Mulder." Hall nearly choked at the last
word. Scully narrowed her eyes.
	"Put him on, then. It's very urgent. ...When did you get
there, by the way?"
	"Just a couple of hours ago." Why would Hall be there, if
they had the guards and Mulder to secure the room?
	"Scully?" Scully breathed easier at the sound of a
familiar voice.
	"Mulder? What the hell do you think you're doing by not
answering the phone?! Look, I need to find that doctor who
completed the serum. Nothing can be certain without a test
subject, and we're running short on time." She listened,
but all that Mulder gave her was silence. "Mulder?! I'm
ready to shoot you again, if you don't!"
	"Uhmmm... Hall's gonna come up to see you. We need to
talk." Mulder barely finished before hanging up. Scully
stared into the phone in disbelief. Nevertheless, she
resigned herself to take a seat.




Fairfield Central Hospital
OR waiting room
5:35PM

Hall was about to burst into the OR in their temporary
laboratory, but stopped himself at the door. He knew he was
ruining whatever the plan Mulder had in mind, but he
couldn't keep out the persistent fear in his gut. He felt
guilty about betraying their trust in him, but he finally
dialed Skinner via his cellular.
	"Skinner." Skinner answered no later than two seconds
after he'd hanged up on the last call. Of course, Hall
never knew his misfortune of getting the AD in one of his
bad moods.
	"Sir? This is Agent Thomas Hall. I was wondering if Agent
Mulder has left your location."
	"About two hours ago. What is this, Agent Hall?" 'Score
One.' Hall thought.
	"Nothing, sir. I couldn't get through to Agent Mulder,
and I believe he's headed back this way." 
	"Just keep me posted." With that, the AD immediately cut
the call. After staring at the phone for a second, Hall
leaned on the window in front of him and prayed Mulder
would be all right. When he pressed open the temporary
lab's double doors, he was greeted immediately by a very
exhausted Clive Shaw, and two very stressed-out doctors.
Hall hated himself when he took Scully aside and told her
about the switch they made.
	"What?! God damn it, Mulder!!" She spat her words out as
she raked her hands through her hair. The two men in the
room stared at her, concern making them look ten years
older than their ages. Scully gritted her teeth and glared
up at Hall.
	"Don't you tell that me that Skinner..." Hall shook his
head in defiance, not needing to, or wanting to hear the
end of her sentence.
	"No, he doesn't know. I wanted to buy Mulder some time to
straighten things out if he's still working on... whatever
he's working on right now." Scully sighed, seeing some
reason and merit in Hall's argument.
	"All right. I'll find Miss Covarrubias right now, and
inform her of this development. You go alert the Highway
Patrol, and tell them that Jake is the one who's gone
missing. If Mulder has Jake's ID and his car, the white
sports BMW wouldn't be very hard to spot." Hall kept
nodding as Scully issued orders, probably ready to get down
on his hands and knees to get her to forgive them for this
mission gone awry.
Scully hated herself for getting in on this little trick
of Mulder, but she couldn't help herself from backing him
up. "I've been around that man way too long." Scully
muttered as she rolled her eyes. 
Marita Covarrubias was a hard person to get a hold of, as
Scully anticipated. The office was closed, and the UN
operator told Scully that the number was classified.
	"Madam, I know this is late, and I don't mean to be
difficult. But Miss Covarrubias's name is listed as the
emergency contact in George's file. George's her old friend
from college, and he might not last for long with the
cancer and all..." 
Scully couldn't believe the lying words that flew out of
her mouth, and from the other's reactions, neither could
they. Lying through her teeth was not Scully's favorite
trick to use, but she just didn't see any other choice in
this particular case. It was a gamble that Marita would
know some if not all of Mulder's code names, and what the
word "cancer" meant in this message. 
In the end, Scully had to tell the UN operator to patch
her call through to Marita's cellular number, tell Marita
that George Hale and his sister are in dire need of her
help. The UN operator was still reluctant, but then in case
of such medical emergency, the woman thought Scully's
reason was a legitimate one.
	"All right, Miss Hale. I'll see what I can do."
	"Thank you, Madam. Your help is most appreciated." Scully
sincerely thanked the woman.
	The call was returned within five minutes. The woman's
smooth, silky tone of voice demanded just what the
emergency was.
	"Miss Covarrubias? I'm very sorry to have had to reach
you in such a manner, but I need to know where to get a
hold of the female oncologist you introduced to my brother
years ago. She's our last hope." Scully did her best to
sound as desperate as she could make herself sound to be.
Assuming that someone uninvited might be listening in on
this conversation, Scully kept playing the role of a
desperate sister. Scully hoped Marita wouldn't hang up on
them, that the woman would 'get it' if only she conveyed
the message right.
"We can't be sure of how this new treatment really works
for George without the assistant of that woman I believe my
brother has met at the office. If you can't get the doctor,
we can still trust her assistant. ...At this point, we just
can't risk taking any more chances with other researchers."
	"...Miss Hale? I haven't been in touch with her for
months, but I've been in touch with your brother." Scully
released a breath of relief the moment Marita began
speaking. "I can try, but I'll make no promises. Contact
your brother's oncologist first, and we'll go from there."
Knowing that by now, Marita probably realized the level of
danger she was committing herself to, Scully actually felt
grateful.
	"Thank you very much, Miss Covarrubias. George and I
would like to visit you sometime, but I haven't been able
to contact him for days. In fact, no one knows where to
find him. He's been feeling down, but next time when he
calls, I'll have this good news for him. Thank you again,
Miss Covarrubias. Thank you very much." Although many of
Scully's words were full of lies, her show of gratitude was
in no way a fake.
	"I'll call around. I hope you will find your brother, and
good luck with the treatment." 
Marita apparently wasn't one to show too much emotion.
However, Scully also knew that the woman had to have some
in order to do what she just promised. When the dial tone
returned, Scully dropped into her seat and rested her hands
on her lap.
	"So, how'd it go?" Clive Shaw was all ears, and so were
the other two occupants of the lab. She dropped her gaze to
the floor, hating God for doing this to them.
	"She doesn't know. She didn't make any promises, but she
told me she would keep an eye open on Mulder's possible
locations and help us learn the doctor's whereabouts.
Everything's still up in the air, but this is as a place as
any to start."
	"I'll go back down stairs."
	"No, wait. I'll go. I need to talk to Jake, so you stay
here and guard the door. There's nothing more we can do
right now." Scully said, heading out of the door. 
The agents on guard duty seemed slightly taken off guard
at the sight of Scully, but they let her in without asking
questions. Jake looked up from his position on Vera's bed.
Vera was still in his arms, apparently in the middle of
listening to Jake reading poems. 
Jake smiled broadly at Scully the moment he recognized his
visitor's identity. Scully returned him a smile of her own,
but only for a moment. She quickly updated Jake on their
situations at hand, then sat down on the edge of the bed
where Jake and Vera were laying down.
	"So 'his oncologist' means AD Skinner?" Jake raised his
eyebrows, seeing Scully nod in response.
	"Probably. Jake, I think I know why Mulder has done this.
In our past cases, alien abductees have returned with
missing memories of various lengths."
	"Hall was talking about something like that. He said that
Mulder had a very small portion of his memory surgically
removed through his eyes. He said it wasn't a lobotomy."
Scully could almost see a light bulb being turned on inside
Jake's head.
	"No, that was in another case. We're not sure of anything
until we put Vera through some tests to see how much she
remembers. If Mulder's theory proves itself correct,
however, Vera's not going to remember a thing about our
investigation. You and Vera were the only ones at the scene
when you found her. Because of this, you'll be next on
their hit list, and I know my partner well enough to know
that he would never trust Skinner or any of the man's
agents completely. Not even after all this. Mulder's gonna
want to go over there, and take a look at the site for
himself."
	"Is that why Mulder requested to even carry my wallet and
drive my car? So that if someone wanted me dead, they would
get him, instead?"
	"Jake, don't do anything rush. Right now, we really need
you here. Vera won't cooperate with any of us without you
being beside her. In every alien abduction case, there has
to be a complete set of proof and evidence just to fight
off mistrial. These cases always struggle for credibility,
for the reasons you already know."
	"So... we'll know more once the test results come back."
As he spoke the words, Jake realized there was no way to
get around 'the tests' on Vera. Jake drew Vera even closer
in order to comfort not the girl, but him. Scully nodded
her admission.
	"Yes. I hate to tell you this, but nothing's clear. For
now continue posing as Mulder."
	Suddenly Scully's cellular trilled, making them both
jump. Vera tightened her already tight grip on Jake's
shoulder when Scully answered.
 

Exact Location Unknown
 Los Angels, CA
 8 PM Same Day

The cellular phone stopped ringing a while ago. They could
have gone on with the task of finding out exactly what was
going on with the FBI investigation and find out how much
Jake Kathler knew about it. However, that seemed impossible
now, given the fact that their youngest and the most
impatient member had kicked Kathler in the jaw. Now, it
looked like any attempts of talking by Jake Kathler would
be useless for at least a month. 
About an hour ago, they'd received an order from some
high-ups in D.C., telling them not to harm their hostage.
Whoever issued that particular order was a little too late.
So far, Jake Kathler had been unconscious for a few hours.
He'd sustained a few broken ribs, the mentioned jaw
fracture, a few dozens of bruises, and half a dozen second
to third degree electrical burns. All they wanted was the
money. They couldn't care less about an architect who
didn't see what was coming to him.
	They kept waiting for the next call, which would tell
them the place, the time, and the location of the exchange.
They talked of the bonfire spree they'd participated
earlier in the month, just around the time the FBI
investigations started. They've talked about the little
mute girl who'd screamed once she saw the van, and another
time when she saw the helicopter. 
They talked about the other sniper team that had been
creamed by the FBI's own 007-wannabe's. They talked about
their Morley smoking boss; then they talked about what to
do with the ten million US dollars, which they were going
to get upon completion of this mission. 
When the long awaited call finally came, they could hardly
conceal their excitement.

Fairfield Central Hospital OR
Fairfield, CA
8:30 PM

About half an hour ago, Marita called and gave Scully the
location of the test subject heading out for Miami. Skinner
managed to send someone from the Miami field office and had
the test subject brought into a safe house nearby, then
transported her by air. Marita told Scully she'd try for
the doctor, but she might very well be out of the country.
Scully thanked the woman for all her efforts, anyway.
Scully sat in her chair and watched the pair of long legs
as they kept pacing in tight circles in front of her.
	"How could you allow this to happen?!" Skinner never
looked up, but everyone knew to whom this question was
addressed to.
	"I'm sorry, sir. Ever since I began to get to know agents
Mulder and Scully, I've begun to understand their need for
confidentiality. I didn't know what was the best thing to
do in this situation. If I..." Hall tried his best to
explain himself to Skinner, but Scully beat him to it.
	"Sir, with all due respect, I agree that the courses of
action taken by agents Hall and Mulder may have been
careless. But I also believe that they were the right
course of action to take in their particular situations. If
Mr. Kathler is on the hit list and we lose him, no one else
in any court of law would be eligible to testify under
oath. 
"Mr. Kathler is the only one who can provide the court
with the intimate details on how exactly Vera Jarvis had
been found, and how she ended up there. Vera isn't a
credible witness unless she can speak, sign, or write for
herself. Considering Agent Mulder was right, it is very
likely that Vera has lost memories of the incidents that
had happened during the past two years. It maybe said that
she didn't lose her memory of drawing pictures, because
they didn't repress or erase her memories adequately
enough. 
"Sir, I speak for both Agent Mulder and myself when I say
that Vera wouldn't be able to handle regression
hypnotherapy. Even Mulder wouldn't go to this extent at
this time. We've witnessed one of her episodes of mal grand
seizure induced by a panic attack. ...Mulder also wanted to
take a look at the search site for himself."
	"What about your informants?" Skinner furrowed his
eyebrows in question.
	"They are still working tremendously on our side. They've
been trying to find Mulder, but there hasn't been any sign
of him so far."
	"What we discuss here will never leave this room."
Skinner stopped his pacing at once and turned to Jake,
who'd been called over to the OR for this meeting. "Mr.
Kathler, you will continue to pose as Agent Mulder, and not
a word to any of your business partners." Skinner hissed
the words while fixing Jake with a frigid glare that would
have frozen up the entire Pacific Ocean. 
Eventually, it was decided that since Jake couldn't leave
Vera behind, Jake was told to let the guards stay behind to
do his best to convince whoever passed by of his assumed
identity. Jake was to use the stairs, and with Mulder's gun
holstered securely at his waist just as Mulder taught him
to.
	"The only question is if we really kept playing their
game while letting Mulder pose as Jake Kathler, there's a
lot more chance for Mulder to get hurt or even killed. They
don't know whom they really have. Jake is an innocent
bystander who had nothing to do with them other than
becoming threat to them for being named a federal witness.
That's no match for kidnapping an FBI's special agent,
especially one with Mulder's track records. They know how
serious the consequences they'll be facing once his cover's
blown." Scully protested, deep worry lines now being etched
in her face.
	"Agent Scully, the very act of playing this kind of a
game will summon us severe consequences. All of you should
have consulted me on this before hand." 
Skinner's presence made the already small room grow even
smaller. The oppressing rage emanating from the man like a
river of red-hot lava hardly left any air to breathe for
the room's occupants. 
Jake couldn't help wincing at Scully's previous statement
about his having had nothing to do with their enemies.
However, that never changed the fact that Jake was
witnessing first hand just what the X-Files investigations
offered its members. Now, Skinner's rage sprang on him
mercilessly as a consequence. He could tell it was giving a
good scare to Vera, whose body was coiled tight with the
consistently high level of tension in the room.
	"They'll believe that you're the one who's missing. Keep
it that way, or I won't guarantee that your precious
skyscraper will remain standing for another day."
	"Yes, sir." Jake answered, keeping his arms around Vera.
'I'll have a hell of a back pain tomorrow', he thought. The
continual pressure applied to his shoulders from Vera's
grip already managed to bruise them. He quickly excused
himself and returned to Vera's room. 
Jake missed home, missed his office, missed his
skyscraper, and he missed the diner. He also missed Elly,
Stella, and he even missed his business associates. He
missed the act of getting up in the mornings and going to
work. Missed coming home and see his dinner prepared by
Elly waiting for him. Sometimes he was home too late and
missed Elly, but his dinner and Stella were always there.
He missed the normalcy and the comfort that he used to take
in tiny little routines of each day; and with each passing
day, it became clearer to him just what he'd come to lose
as the result of involving himself in this growing FBI
case. 
One of the agents was retrieving the personal mail for
Jake daily, but so far, they've remained out of reach. When
Jake had Hall call his home for him, Hall reported that
Elly was happy that Vera was with him again. Stella was
recovering nicely, and she was already scheduled to start
her physical therapy sessions from tomorrow. Stella was
apparently with a physical therapist that had been
appointed by the best veterinarian clinic in the city. Hall
assured Jake that the physical therapist had been cleared
with an extensive FBI background check. 
Skinner ordered Hall to remain in the temporary lab to
stand guard for them. The test patient was scheduled to
arrive by mid-morning, and Jake was supposed to guard him
upon his arrival. Jake nodded and left the room. He was a
bit disappointed to miss the opportunity of observing a
real hostage negotiation procedures live, but he didn't
have the guts to voice his complaint. After all, what he
already saw and heard were more than he had ever dreamed
of.
	Jake was surprised when Scully knocked on the door and
entered the room. She was bearing a can of root beer in her
right hand, and a can of cola in the other. Jake smiled
gratefully, immediately offering her to sit in the chair
next to the bed. The radio began playing "Ghost" by Indigo
Girls, but having to listen to it for the first time, Jake
left it undisturbed. 
	"I just wanted to apologize for what I said about you
back there." Scully's eyes spoke of her guilt.
	"No, it's okay. I deserve all the blame and flame for my
stupidity. I never should have agreed so readily with
Mulder. I didn't know that this was his plan. Besides, you
have to be a FBI agent at all times; no matter what the
situation is, or who's around you. I look like Mulder, so
it must've made things even more complicated for you. I
believe that Mulder brings out the best in you, and if
you're standing next to someone who looks exactly like him,
then it's inevitable for your FBI training to kick in."
Jake shrugged, seeing Scully arch her eyebrow and lower her
gaze in deep thoughts.
	"Thanks, Jake. ...Which brings me to another point. You
have to act like, speak like, and even move like my partner
until this situation is resolved. It might be difficult for
you, but just take all this as a huge play, where you
happened to have a huge role in. We're not trying to change
you to become another Mulder, but for you to be able to
utilize your own interpretation of his character and
behaviors." 
The moment Jake heard that magic key word
'interpretation'; he tensed a bit and nodded. Scully nodded
back, but then froze for a moment as she recognized the
song and winced. Seeing her reaction, Jake narrowed his
eyes in order to try identifying the source, but soon
realized it as lyrics began registering in his ears.
Slamming his fingers over the tuning buttons, he managed to
hit an Enya song called "Hope Has A Place" and gladly left
it at that. 
Next, Jake stood from his seat and positioned himself
directly in front of Scully. His straight posture and the
'ready to face the music' stance reminded Scully of Mulder
so much, her jaw almost dropped open. 
	"You'll have to give me a couple of places to start
with." Said Jake, placing his hands at his waist. Scully
shrugged an 'okay'.
	"I believe you'll be just fine in a relatively short
time. You two have a lot in common besides your physical
features. ...Umm, I'll start with Mulder's behavioral
pattern. He moves very gracefully, though not many people
notice it. He often brings his hand to his mouth or chin
when he's thinking and planning the next move. He rolls up
his shirtsleeves when he's working late. 
"Mulder occasionally snacks on roasted sunflower seeds
while reading or even driving. They're his food for
thought, although I haven't seen him eating them as much.
He told me a childhood story about waking up in the middle
of a night from a nightmare, thinking he's the only person
left in the world. That is, until he is brought back to
reality by the sound of his father cracking open some
sunflower seeds in the study."
"Does he still have this nightmare?" Jake knew he was
prying, but he needed all the help Scully could give him.
Scully pouted and shrugged her shoulders.
"I admit that he does have nightmares frequently. But I
rarely get to learn the details of them. He has such
variety of experiences to have nightmares from, and he
wants to shield me from them, so he just sucks it all up.
He very rarely allows me to comfort him, because he doesn't
believe he deserves my comfort." Scully gave a frustrated
sigh, and Jake understood how that felt, because he'd been
in a similar position in his own life.
"That's gotta be twice as tough on you, because you keep
wondering and worrying yourself sick over what's keeping
him in his shell. ...Alex was like that, sometimes. Instead
of coming to me with problems, she went out and got herself
a diary. I guess I didn't earn enough trust in her. But
Mulder's a fool if he doesn't allow himself to need you for
a confidante." 
For a moment, Jake wondered if he'd gone too far with his
last remarks, but the look on Scully's face calmed his
rising fears. Jake brought his hands to rest at the belt,
and felt his fingers graze over the still unfamiliar weight
of Mulder's Sig. Scully took that as her door to escape,
and began before Jake could drown her in another emotion
cocktail.
	"Mulder handles his Sig Sauer like it's a part of his
body, although he hates it. He's someone who never feels
comfortable with it, but accepts its necessity in the life
that he leads. Actually, he takes care of it really well.
He makes sure that every time he pulls it out for use, it's
absolutely necessary to do so. He also does everything he
can to assure the safety of anybody around in the scene.
But as a consequence, he gets careless about his own
safety." 
Jake noticed where Scully's course of conversation was
going, and sensed her need to talk about what made Fox
William Mulder the eccentric man that he'd become. Jake
knew that she was afraid, and that the best thing for him
to do was listening to her.
	"Mulder has an incredibly dry sense of humor, and he uses
it as a shield; or an weapon against situations that he
finds are particularly trying for him. This isn't a man
with a happy childhood or adulthood. He grins, he smirks,
he clenches his jaws, he giggles, and he chuckles. He very
rarely smiles, and seldom laughs. He mostly stays calm, but
everybody who's around us takes perverse pleasure in
pushing the right buttons to get him worked up. As a
consequence, he appears to be acting irrationally or
inappropriately." 
She stopped, looking as if words were stuck in her throat.
Jake knew how that felt like, and took this as his cue.
	"He's a mind-hunter who's constantly being ridiculed by
half the bureau, while the other half fears him for being a
genius. The man got his Ph.D. in four years, for crying out
loud! ...We the allies come somewhere around one percent of
the general FBI population." 
Jake chuckled and stared down at Vera. Scully smiled
briefly. The radio now played Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Not
Forget You". Finally realizing just how much she was
rumbling on about her partner, she apologized and brought
the subject to a close. Scully took out the folders that
she was carrying under her arms and asked him if they could
go over them. Jake nodded, if not a little apprehensively.
	Scully spread folders full of Vera's medical documents
and films out on the table before breaking the news Jake
about the ordered test results.
"The test indeed indicated an almost undetectable flow of
spinal fluid that's leaking out of a band of optical nerves
located in the retinal cavity. This leakage of fluids won't
cause any damage or pain, and we are yet to determine the
full extent of damage this condition may cause to Vera's
body." 
"...Thank you, Dana." Jake managed to get the words out of
his mouth. He was profoundly grateful for Scully's efforts
to convey her 'all's fine, and under control' image, but
she was failing miserably. Jake also saw in her eyes that
she wanted to stay longer, and that there was something
more to say, but she couldn't find the right place to
start. Jake popped open the coke can she brought with her,
and took a large sip. Seeing Vera's reaction, Jake brought
the can to her hand and watched as she took a few sips. 
Scully's face lit up with a small smile at the sight. Jake
decided to stay quiet and give Scully as much time as she
needed. She shed her jacket and placed it neatly on her
lap, then her fingers began playing with the buttons. This
displayed awkwardness was so unlike Scully, Jake narrowed
his eyes.
	"Mulder was right. You are an excellent care-taker for
Vera." She started. Jake smiled but stayed silent. "I
didn't trust you in the beginning. When Mulder called me on
the case and I took a look at our case file, I thought you
were orchestrating this fiasco. I ...thought you were
holding Vera in captivity, and was making her stay with
you. ...I didn't know you at the time, but it embarrasses
me every time I think about it."
	Jake dropped his gaze on Vera and took another sip of the
soda when Vera offered the can back to him. When he was
about to reply, her gaze told him to let her continue. Jake
blinked a 'okay'. Her expression still held a trace of
soft, warm, and genuine smile, that Jake was completely
unprepared for her next statement.
	"Jake, I have cancer. A Nasal Pharyngeal Mass, just like
those acquired by all the other reported abductees after
their return with unidentified metallic implants found in
their bodies. They've taken them out, mostly from the back
of their necks. I've been avoiding to tell you about this,
and so did Mulder, but only because I told him not to. But
now, it's important for me to tell you. 
"Statistically speaking, there's a little to zero chance
of surviving this cancer. Mulder and I are gathering
evidence to prove that these implants are the direct cause
of this cancer. I've been pushing myself over the edge,
because this serum isn't just for Clive Shaw; but it is
also for the rest of the victims of this cancer nearly all
of whom are female, myself included." Seeing that Jake was
too stunned to respond, she offered him a weak smile of
understanding.
	"I know it comes as a surprise to you that I'm even
working. But I'd appreciate it if you won't let it bother
you. I'm still myself, and I want you to communicate with
me the same way as you have been since we first met.
Promise me that you would do that for me. Only a few of us
know about this."
	Scully was asking him for a favor, and Jake had no
intention of giving it less than his best. He nodded and
reached out for her to draw her into his embrace. She
returned the gesture, but not long enough to let the guards
get a glance.
	"I pressed Mulder about that. I knew there was something
going on in between you two, but he told me to let you
start talking about it on your own. I was pretty mean to
Mulder, but only because I was trying to get to his nerves.
I yelled at him, I called him 'Mr. FBI' and pissed him off
to get him to blow his mask. Needless to say, it worked. In
return, he gave me his lecture about Alex's suicide not
being my fault." 
A sad matching smile floated over both of them at Jake's
recollection, both of them wondering how they could get
Mulder back as safely and as quickly as possible. Scully
nodded to let Jake know her appreciation for all his
efforts.
	"Mulder's a very hard man to reach, because he's
extremely guarded. But once you do get to know him... once
you see him at rock bottom and then see him fly... you'll
learn to respect him." Scully nodded slowly, letting the
words sink in.
	"They took Mulder, didn't they?" Jake wasn't really
asking a question.
	"If you are talking about 'they' as in the people who
attacked you, that's what it looks like." She answered,
reaching out to touch Vera. The child stirred, but didn't
make a move to stop Scully's hand.
	"If they're serious enough to actually attack me
personally, I don't think they're just yearning for a
payback for your shooting three of their friends. Do they
just want the serum? Or, do they want Vera in exchange for
my life?" 
Jake watched quietly as Scully contemplated the answer and
told him it was probably both. At the inevitable mention of
her name, Vera squeezed Jake even tighter, and he winced.
One look at Jake's eyes, his small apologetic smile that
said 'please?' worked. Vera slid her tiny hands down to his
chest, moving instead to grip onto his shirt. But Jake took
her hands in his and gently turned her around, so that her
back faced his chest. Vera's eyes were slightly droopy from
crying so hard in the beginning, but the moment her eyes
met with Scully's warm ocean blue eyes, she seemed to
relax. Scully's smile broadened, and Jake thought he saw
tears welling up in Scully's eyes.
	Two survivors regarded each other.
 

Fairfield Central Hospital
Vera's Room
Fairfield, CA
Midnight Same Day

After three more hours of searching and turning
empty-handed, Skinner declared a full-fledged nation-wide
search for Jake Kathler: the federal witness. He hated to
keep Mulder's true identity behind the mask, but it
couldn't be helped. He called the agents at Jake's place to
set up all necessary surveillance and wiretap equipment
since they were very likely to receive the kidnappers'
calls. The Highway Patrol called Skinner shortly and told
him Jake's BMW had been found. Skinner's heart sank now
that he had to tell Scully.
	"Agent Scully?" He asked as he opened the door to Vera's
room. When she turned, all he said was "Can we have a word
in private?" Scully quickly exited the room and pulled
Skinner aside to the staff lounge room three doors down the
hall.
	"They found Mr. Kathler's BMW, abandoned in the middle of
a forest not far from our search site."
	"Where is Mulder?" Scully was determined to remain
professional.
	"The car was abandoned, and the Highway Patrol is on full
alert, searching the area for any evidence or bodies."
	"Bodies?" The fire in her eyes flared. Skinner shifted
his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot.
	"They don't know if anyone else besides Mulder was in the
car. The trace of a plastic explosive was found at the
bottom of the over-turned car. There's really little to
look at. Even if there was somebody trapped inside, they'll
be using tweezers to pick anything up."
	"Sir, you can't give up on him! They wouldn't go through
this much trouble just to assassinate Jake Kathler." Scully
was ready to spring into action, and Skinner held up a hand
to halt her.
	"I need you right here to wait for the arrival of the
test patient."
	"Even if they believe they have Jake Kathler, I'm the one
they most likely to call for details. If they want the
serum, it's here. If they want the girl, she's here. If
they want Mulder, he's here." Scully slashed her good arm
in the air with each point she made, but Skinner shook his
head 'no'.
	"I'm not going anywhere, Agent Scully. I've told my team
to head down to the scene as soon as they have something.
As a matter of fact, I believe they're already at the
scene. Do not inform Kathler about any of this. He needs to
stay inside unless the assailants request him on the line.
Take him through every step of hostage negotiation
procedures. You've been there, and they know Mulder's
experience in this type of situation. Kathler needs to get
every detail of the procedure burned into his memory, and
he needs to be able to perform at his very best. I'll watch
Vera while they run tests on her. Vera shouldn't be hearing
about any of this."
	"Yes, sir. ...It might present some difficulties, though.
Jake and Vera are inseparable."
	"This is a matter of life and death. She's an intelligent
girl, Scully. She'll understand."
	"I'll tell him, sir. But please give Jake some time alone
with Vera. I've seen him connect with her, and he usually
takes as much time as he believes is necessary."
	"Do it right away, Agent Scully. I'll get changed,
and..."
	"Sir, I don't think that's really necessary. She's
already seen you in your suit."
	"Yes, and what image did I present to her?" Skinner
asked, bringing his hands to his hips. Scully blinked in
pleasant surprise, seeing more of this softer side of
Skinner than she'd ever been acquainted in the past four
years.
	"If Mulder's theories are correct, this girl possesses
the ability to scan our minds. Not a psychic, but she knows
who to trust." 
Seeing Skinner's uneasiness, Scully's face broke into a
faint smile. They returned to Vera's room and were greeted
by the searching gaze from Jake and Vera. The radio was now
set on some request program and they both recognized The
Rolling Stones' "Shine A Light" playing in the background.
Scully decided to speak up, thinking it for the better.
Jake's eyes widened at her words, but soon he nodded in
understanding.
	As soon as the door closed behind them, Jake faced Vera
with the harsh reality they each needed to face. She knew
what was coming and gripped both of Jake's much larger
hands tightly. 'She doesn't like it one bit', thought Jake.
He turned her around again to face him, then planted a kiss
on her forehead to relax her.
	"Okay, Vera. You know that I have to step outside for a
little while, so that I can go study with Dana. Do you
remember that big man with the glasses? His name is Walter
Skinner, and he'll keep you safe. You can trust that man,
because we both know that he's a nice man. While I'm gone,
he and the doctors will take you for testing. You know you
have to do these tests to get better, right? Dana and two
other doctors are trying to come up with a way to make you
healthy again, and they're almost done.
	"The real reason I have to go with Dana is because nobody
can find that really nice man, Fox. They will need my help
in finding him. Everybody has to pretend that I'm Mulder
until we find him. Once I come back from studying with
Dana, I'll stay with you until they need me again and
finish reading 'Oliver Twist' to you. 
"Just remember that I'm not going anywhere you can't
reach. It's like me going to my office to work. It's no big
deal, and if I don't go, Mulder will be in big, big
trouble. If that happens, we'll all miss him. Stella loves
him, Dana loves him a whole lot more than anybody else, and
Skinner respects him. Many people like him and need him,
Vera. Please let me help him."
	The seriousness of his gaze must have worked, for she
touched his face and held him, or as much of him as her
tiny body allowed to. He laughed softly and climbed off of
the bed with Vera still clinging to his shoulders. Jake
opened the door for Skinner, and handed her into Skinner's
much more masculine arms. Skinner smiled awkwardly as he
faced, again, those penetrating green eyes.
	"I'll be fine." Skinner said, trying to convince himself
more than anybody else. Behind them, Scully released an
inaudible laughter at the sight. Jake copied the gesture,
but quickly hid it when Skinner's eyes met his.
	"Sir? If you want to make communication a little easier,
address us including yourself with first names." 
Mulder's dislike of his first name didn't apply for Jake.
Vera's arms were now on her lap, having been held in a
cradling position. 'Like a baby', Jake thought as he exited
the room. Skinner kept his eyes on the door as they went
out of his sight. Next, Skinner sat down on the bed with
Vera and gazed again into the green abyss. He sighed after
a moment, and closed his eyes for a long moment before
putting her down on the bed. The radio now played Elton
John's "Believe".
Skinner felt guilty, almost nauseous, about what he had to
do. He took out Mulder's cellular phone, but stopped
himself and met with Vera's piercing gaze fixed on him. He
swore he could feel her eyes searching through his mind,
and he felt an overwhelming need to explain himself.
Although she would know what it was about, or what she
could understand of it, he knew that he still owed
explanations. Skinner laid his phone next to the small lamp
on the night table and took Vera's hands in his.
	"Vera? You know what I am about to do is in itself very
wrong. But I have to do this to save Fox Mulder's life. I
don't expect you to keep it a secret for too long, but I
need you to trust me on this. I am doing absolutely
everything I can to save his life. I feel silly asking you
for your forgiveness before doing anything wrong, but I
have to do this. I hope you'll understand."
 Skinner's gaze never faltered, but Vera's gaze was hard
to hold. Skinner let go of her hands and picked up the
phone again. His learned fingers knew exactly where to go.
	"...It's me. I'm willing to accept the deal if you are."
	"Playing with matches got you burned, Mr. Skinner?" The
familiar hoarse and flat alto voice was unmistakable.
	"You told me that if we play the game, the hostage won't
be harmed, and the game board will be ours regardless of
how we play it." Skinner gritted his teeth when the bastard
didn't reply right away. 
	"How is Miss Jarvis doing, by the way? A little tired
from her ...journey?" With this, Skinner kissed his
professionalism good-bye. The smoking bastard even had the
nerve to not respond with an answer, but instead, he opted
for getting Skinner off the main course.
	"I'll do whatever I have to do to make you keep your
promise for once, and assure the safety of the hostage."
	"Wishing for too much wouldn't get you anywhere,
Assistant Director Skinner. 
But yes, all the players in the game, yours or theirs, is
none of my concern."
	"That's a deal." Skinner motioned to hang up the phone
before he was stopped.
	"How is the serum coming?"
	"What do you think?! You've been eliminating witnesses
after witnesses, there's no one left to tell us what to
do!"
	"Plan your moves carefully, Mr. Skinner." The line went
dead before Skinner could bark at his sworn enemy again. He
bellowed in rage, barely suppressing the urge to smash the
damn phone against the nearby wall before he realized where
he was, and more importantly, whom he was with. Skinner
released a deep breath and buried his head in the
bedcovers. He couldn't bring himself to face Vera. 
'She probably wants me out of the room', he thought. But
just when he moved to apologize to her again, he felt the
warmth of soft skin make contact with his aging and
slightly oily skin. He snapped his head up, and was greeted
with Vera's tiny hands touching on his cheek. 
'Oh, God', Skinner thought. 'Kathler was right'. The
girl's hands spoke a thousand words. When he noticed Vera
slightly smiling at him, then at the door, Skinner finally
noticed Jake Kathler standing by it with an undeterminable
expression on his face. Skinner was visibly stunned at
being discovered, and made a hasty retreat into his old
mask of professionalism.
	"What can I do for you, Agent Mulder?" Skinner spoke for
the benefit of the listening ears of the guards. Jake's
quizzical expression quickly changed to a Mulder-grin he
mastered to near perfection.
	"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask you if I could get
you anything from the vending machine in the corner."
	"Oh, nothing for me. Thanks." Skinner's reply came a
little quicker than usual, still a little punchy after
embarrassing himself by exposing his vulnerability, as well
as his 'secret plans' and the shady deals he'd been making
with Cancer Man.
	"Okay. I'll let you know as soon as we have something."
Jake's eyes were still curious, but not enough to voice a
question. Skinner took another deep breath as the door
closed behind them. 
As soon as Skinner calmed down, he reached over and
changed the radio station to an easy listening station.
Vera stopped moving her hands over his face, but she didn't
attempt to pull them back. Skinner's much larger hands soon
covered hers, and he gently pressed her shoulder down to
make her lay back down on the bed. 
"I know it's hard to do, but try to get some sleep. I will
do everything I can to keep you and everybody safe,
including Mulder." With that, Skinner leaned back in his
chair. Their hands remained clasped as Vera closed her
eyes.

	
Fairfield Central Hospital 
ICU Staff Meeting Room 
9:15 PM Same Day

They were in the middle of rehearsing the hostage
negotiation technique when 
Scully's phone rang.
"Miss Hale?" An unmistakably familiar silky voice slipped
into her ears.
	"Miss Covarubbias? Have you found anything?" Scully
couldn't care about niceties at a time like this, and she
also didn't know if Marita wanted them to continue on with
their 'role-playing' tactic even now. Marita gave a
pregnant pause before putting Scully out of her misery by
speaking again.
	"...I've called around, and George is currently staying
with a group of his friends from high school." Scully
released a deep sigh, realizing Marita was plaing her part.
"I haven't yet spoken to George directly, but I've spoken
to one of the people who's with him. They will be in touch
with you shortly. They said George is having a little
difficulty, but that he is safe." Scully gasped audibly.
	"Oh, God." Scully didn't want to think about what
'little' difficulty Mulder was having at the moment. Scully
felt a renewed determination in finding her partner as the
news settled in. 'Contacting you' must mean that Mulder's
captors had finally put together the terms of their demand.
	"I wish I could tell you more, but I can't." For once,
Marita sounded sincere.
"Thank you very much for the information. Did you say they
will call me?"
	"Yes, that's for certain. Did you call George's
oncologist?"
	"I did. He's with us, now."
	"That's about all I can do for you, Miss Hale. I wish you
good luck."
	After hanging up, Scully immediately called Skinner on
his cellular and notified him of the impending contact from
the abductors. Skinner in turn assured her that Vera was
fine, knowing she'd been itching to know about Vera's
condition. 
While Scully went on talking with Skinner, Jake reviewed
the protocol again. Scully pushed back the waves of nausea
working its way up her throat. Air suddenly tasted stale
and the ground felt a little too soft.
	"Dana? Are you okay?" Jake asked, noticing her pale
complexion and unsteady feet. Scully put Skinner on hold
and turned to Jake to respond, but she closed her eyes as
the room began to spin. Leading her to a chair, Jake sat
her down into it, letting her bury her head in her hands.
She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut.
	"I'm fine, Jake. Really. I'm sorry, it's ...been a long
day, you know?"
	"Mulder's okay, isn't he?" Jake asked, but he already
knew the man was hurt.
	"Yes and no." Scully answered before putting her phone
back against her ear. "Sir, I'm sorry about that. Mulder's
alive, although she said he was 'having a little
difficulty', whatever the hell that means. ...I have no
idea. Mulder might have sustained a couple of bruises with
some broken ribs. At least he's not shot or killed. We've
come close to that many times." Scully said as she pressed
her free hand against the bridge of her nose and massaged
the area in between her eyes, oblivious to the gaping look
Jake shot at her. With a promise of updates as soon as
anything new occurs, Scully ended the connection with
Skinner and slowly leaned back into the chair.
Jake couldn't believe what he was hearing. In Jake's
opinion, 'okay' meant a bruise and a couple of scratches.
To them, if a person was still alive, it was 'okay'. He
shook his head and reached out to place his arm around her
shoulder. She broke the move off after a few seconds. "I'm
fine, Jake." She nodded an assurance, then picked up the
hostage negotiation script again. Jake nodded back an
understanding.
	"Shall we go over it one more time?" Jake offered,
sitting down again and pulling up his chair. Scully nodded
and took a sip of her bottled water.
	Precisely at eight-thirty, Scully's phone rang. All
attention turned to Scully, whose concentration went
entirely to the voices on the line. Jake called Skinner on
Mulder's cellular, who came hurrying into the room. To
everyone's surprise, Vera was clinging to Skinner's leg.
Skinner looked serious, maybe a little annoyed, but never
making a move to break their connection. Jake released a
chuckle, but stopped himself before it became a sob. The
camera was rolling, he was the main star, and they only had
one shot.
	"This is Special Agent Dana Scully with the Federal
Bureau of Investigation." Scully declared with an
authoritative tone Jake recognized.
	"Agent Scully, we have your witness." The male voice was
clearly through a scrambler.
	"How do we know if you haven't already eliminated the
hostage?" Scully knew this would give Mulder a punch or
two, but until she could confirm with her own ears, she
couldn't trust that Mulder was with them.
	"The pretty boy's alive, and he's still with us. Here,
say something." Scully swallowed hard when no response was
given to the man's request. A moment later, she heard
something suspiciously resembling a scream. She assumed
they'd shut off the scramblers. She closed her eyes at the
God-awful sound, but that could have been from anyone.
"Hey, there. You heard him?" The mechanical voice was back.
	"Yes, but how do I know that it's him? All I heard was a
scream. It could have been anyone." Scully looked around
the room, seeing the fear in others' eyes, especially in
Vera.
	"Hey, the lady wants to hear you speak. Screaming won't
do it." Another groan sound was heard through the
scrambler, and Scully winced.
	"Don't hurt him. Just press the phone against his mouth,
and let him speak."
	"All right. Hey, the lady wants to hear your voice."
Scully heard the sounds of quick shallow breaths, and she
kept her eyes closed. It was easier to picture him without
distraction, even if the picture killed her inside.
	"Jake?" She hoped Mulder had enough senses left to
remember about Jake Kathler. "Jake? This is Dana Scully.
Can you hear me? I need you to say something to me to
confirm that it's really you."
	"Da ...na? Don't. Whatever it is, ...don't deal." Scully
bit her lower lip at the sound of Mulder's haggard voice.
	"Don't worry, Jake. We're gonna get you out of there."
Scully barely finished before she was cut off.
	"The pretty boy hasn't been talkative, but he sure sings
pretty good."
	"What is your demand? " It was clear to everyone that
Mulder had already been put through 'the works'. 'Singing'
in this situation usually meant a typical vocal exercise,
consisting of a combination of any of the other following
elements: a few rounds of cussing-match, pleading for
mercy, confessions, moaning, screaming, even pleading for
death. Scully shook her head clear before she lost it.
	"I think you already know what we want. The girl and the
serum."
	"Release the hostage into our custody, and we can work
something out."
	"No serum, no girl, no service."
	"You know that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has
zero tolerance for terrorism, but we can get around that.
However, you'll have to understand that you cannot have..."
	"We don't give a shit about what your policy says. We
give shit about what you can do."
	"Let the hostage go, and we'll give you the best of what
we can offer."
	"The girl and the serum are all we want, or this man here
dies. Come on, Special 'Angel' Scully. You surely can do
better."
	"It's Special Agent Scully to you." Scully furrowed her
eyes, not knowing what they were getting at.
	"Well, you're a Catholic. You believe in saints and
guardians angels."
	"I don't have a clue of where you're going with this, but
like I said, we need to have your hostage safely in our
custody before making any kind of..."
"I'm sure your heart's in a very good place, so maybe
they'll call you up to heaven pretty soon." The man lowered
his tone to a mere whisper, the scrambler masking the man's
giggles somewhat. 
Scully slammed her fist into the desk and growled. These
thugs already knew about her having the same cancer, which
meant they knew they could play on her own desperation to
find a cure for the cancer. She also assumed that these men
despised women in any positions of power, especially one as
much in control as her. They were attacking her
self-control by toying with her like a cat's foreplay
before putting their prey out of its misery.
Witnessing the progress of this negotiation, Skinner
winced, realizing they'd chosen the wrong negotiator for
this mission. Looking at Scully, he knew she was barely
holding up. Skinner looked to Jake, who was decidedly pale,
but still waiting for his orders. Jake had grown
surprisingly tougher in the past few days, and Skinner was
actually beginning to count on the man to get his head
together at stressful situations such as this.
"This is a discussion for some other time. We need your
hostage released before we can do anything for you, and
depending on the level of damage your hostage has sustained
so far, you may have a chance of sharing the serum with us
afterwards. But like I said, the safety of the hostage is
the utmost priority."
"I bet you'll look damn hot with a pair of nice wings."
The bastards weren't even listening to her any more, but
were just enjoying the verbal assault they're inflicting on
her. Finally, she slapped the desk with both of her palms,
her eyes flaring with anger, and her cheeks flushing from
embarrassment.
	"Cut the crap! Just give us the time and place!" Scully
fought for self- control, but she knew she was losing it.
Dana Scully: the master of self-control was losing her
temper. 
Jake clenched and unclenched his fists as an attempt to
control his building temper against the senseless men. Jake
thought she'd lasted long enough. If Jake were on the line,
he would've snapped at their first response. Skinner
clenched his jaw and leaned close to the speakerphone that
had been connected to Scully's cellular.
	"This is Walter Skinner, Assistant Director of the FBI.
You heard what we said. The bureau has zero tolerance
policy, but I can get us around that. However, you can't
have the serum or the girl. Think of something else to
demand." Skinner's voice was surprisingly calm and even. 
Under the table, Vera tightened her arms around Skinner's
masculine leg and stared up at Jake, whose eyes met with
hers. Jake understood what Vera had in mind, and nodded to
reassure her that she was right. He wasn't her Jake right
now. Her Jake went away for a little while, but he'll be
back.
	"Oooh. Gee, the Big Man. I'm sorry, sir. Our bosses were
very specific about their orders." The man's playful tone
added another crease on Skinner's face.
	"All right. Get me your bosses, and I'll speak to them
personally."
	"I'm afraid no one can speak to them. I personally never
met them, and never will. So, it's the girl and serum, or
your pretty boy... Well, he's not so pretty right now, and
he'll be a real mess after we get through with him. Like we
said; no girl, no serum, and no deal. We'll be in touch,
but remember that time's running out. Every fifteen
minutes, every time you say 'no', this man's gonna have
another broken bone. Counting now." With that, the line
went dead. Scully began pacing around the room in tight
circles.
	"What can we do?! What can we offer that matches their
demand?!" Scully 
yelled to no one in particular, and no one dare answered.
She turned sharply to 
face Skinner, her gaze freezing Skinner's blood for a
brief moment before he adjusted himself to it. "What the
fuck can we offer them?! Closure of the X-Files?! Our
resignations from the FBI?! What does that smoking son of a
stinking bitch want?!?!" She spat her words out, the impact
jerking her head forward.
	"So far, we only know what Mulder wants." Skinner said
bitterly. Scully placed her hands on her hips and glared at
the towering man again. Jake looked away and pinched the
bridge of his nose.
	"You mean, just let him die?" Her voice felt like a block
of ice to Jake.
	"No, Agent Scully. We'll do absolutely everything we can
to assure Agent Mulder's safety. But at this point, Mulder
doesn't want us to trade him with the serum or Vera. God
knows he's right."
	"What if I go?" Jake's voice cut through the curtain of
heavy air depositing between the two agents.
	"What?!" Skinner snapped.
	"What if I 'really' traded myself with Mulder? Just tell
them to let Mulder go and make a switch with me. Having
Agent Mulder should be much more profitable to them;
instead of getting stuck with Jake Kathler, an witness."
	"Jake, you know better than that. You're the only one who
can really be with Vera." Scully growled, but Jake nodded
at Skinner reassuringly.
	"I think Skinner's doing a hell of a good job, and
Mulder's been through some tough training to help her with
the psychological aspects of her recovery. I will give my
statements on my witness accounts regarding the night I've
met Vera. I'll do it either on paper or on tape, maybe
both, before I head out; just in case something does happen
to me." As he spoke, Jake surprised himself by managing an
encouraging smile. Skinner was shaking his head before Jake
finished, the head motion matching that of Vera by his leg.
Jake swallowed hard at the sight, looking away to escape
Vera's accusatory gaze.
	"Mr. Kathler, this is strictly a bureau business. I'll
even place you in handcuffs in order stop you." Skinner
growled. 
	"What other way?" Jake asked, his arms open. Scully
stopped her resumed act of pacing and looked up at Skinner
again.
	"I think it's about time we call our friends." She said,
picking up her cellular phone, but deciding to use Mulder's
in case the kidnappers called on hers again. 
Scully quickly dialed the Lone Gunmen's number and asked
them to locate Mulder. Shocked at the situation at hand,
the Gunmen promised to do what they could, but they made no
promises. Scully thanked them and quickly dialed up the UN
again to locate Miss Covarrubias. However, the same nice
lady, had already been instructed by Marita not to patch
through any more calls from Scully. She sighed and thanked
the woman, anyway. 
"Damnit!" Shouting, Scully nearly threw her phone across
the room.
	"Come on, Dana. At least let me talk to them and see what
they'll say? If Cancer Man hired the terrorists, they'll
want Mulder. We go on fooling him, and you'll get your real
Mulder back." Jake clasped his hands in front of him, his
eyebrows raised as if to say, 'and we'll go on living
happily ever after'.
	"Mr. Kathler..." Skinner began, but Jake's raised hand
stopped the man.
	"No, please listen. We'll put on a show. If they agree to
the exchange, you get your chance to tackle them. It is
clear that both Mulder and me will be in considerable
danger during this mission, but it's worth a shot. Just let
them talk to me. 
"Another thing is, they keep calling Vera 'the girl'. Do
they really know what she looks like, or even her real
name, for that matter? If their bosses are so careful as to
not even revealing the identity of 'the girl', we don't
even have to show up there with Vera. 
"Speaking of the serum, have they any idea what it looks
like? Smells like? Works like, or maybe even tastes like?
If we find that they are clueless, we can fake it, and if
they do in fact really know what they're talking about,
can't you at least modify the serum to deactivate it? Or to
even make it poisonous?"
	"What if they decide to test the serum on a living test
subject? It's easy for them to snatch one of their victims
right out of their homes, and who's going to pretend as
Vera?" Scully added.
	"You're the FBI. They're just ideas." Realizing that he
might have taken himself too far into his ever loved 'ego
heaven' he used to visit on regular basis in his older
days; Jake shook his head and walked over to the window.
	"It won't work. We don't..." the ringing phone cut off
Scully's statement. Scully held her breath and picked it
up. 'Fifteen minutes already?' She belated herself for not
keeping a closer eye on the clock as her stomach twisted.
	"Miss Hale?" It was Miss Covarrubias. Scully released a
breath of relief.
	"Yes, Miss Covarrubias."
	"I've asked around for your brother's location. They will
be moving around, stopping at bars that your brother
visited during his time in collage with his friends,
looking for the old day's fun. Apparently, there's a great
bar with a little grill and a weekly live concert by a nice
band. No one's sure if the place is still open for
business, but they'll drive by. The bar closes every
morning at three. They said to go around the back door,
because parked cars and the crowd usually block the front
door. I hear they're a noisy bunch. 
"The other bar they'll be going to has an old beer brewery
machine and a wine cellar in the basement, though they
mostly restrict themselves to hard liquors. The building is
a historical landmark, and has some underground tunnels.
They said that your brother's a little tired, and he can't
talk to me. That's all I can tell you, Miss Hale. Good luck
to you again." With that, Marita hanged up on Scully before
she could even thank her. Skinner stared at her, deep in
thought.
	"Where are the maps of Los Angels and Sacramento? I don't
think they're talking about Fairfield."
	"Jake? You're the expert in Canoga Park City's geography.
Does anything ring a bell?" Scully's hopeful gaze held Jake
on the spot.
	"Ahh... You're gonna have to give me a little time to
remember..." Jake closed his eyes, squinting hard in an
effort to try to pull out anything that could be a clue
from his memory.
	"She said something about 'three in the morning'. Is that
when they'll move out of their current location?" Skinner
asked Scully and saw her nod in agreement.
	"I don't see why else she would have added that info.
Jake, start calling your business partners your friends
...and whomever that can provide us with some answers.
Don't tell them anything, just..." the ring or her phone
cut off Scully's voice again, but she instantly knew who
the caller was. "Agent Scully." She answered grimly.
	"'Agent'? No, no, no. You should be called 'Angel
Scully'. Pretty soon, you..."
	"Listen, whoever you are, I have a proposal." Jake cut
them off, knowing what they were referring to. From the
looks of it, Skinner and Vera also knew exactly what he was
enraged about.
	"A proposal? We told you, we make no fancy deals here.
Hey guys, it's a no!" Before anyone could intervene, a
piercing scream came from somewhere nearby. Jake's eyes
immediately dilated with rage, giving his voice a little
tremble.
	"This is Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI. I'm Agent
Dana Scully's partner. I'm sure you've heard of me." Jake
raised his voice, trying his best to mimic Mulder's New
England accent and his speech pattern. The line went silent
for a little while.
	"You have the serum?" Asked a different voice, his tone
low and raspy.
	"We haven't tested it, yet. We don't know if it really
works. We do have the manual on how to make it. I'm asking
you to listen to me, because I have an idea that can surely
benefit all of us." Business deals were Jake's specialty,
and this part of him came much easier to him than all the
other technicalities that come with common hostage
negotiation guidelines. The first terrorist was back on the
line as he grumbled.
	"Just what part of our demand didn't you understand? We
told you, we won't change a..." Jake shook his head by
habit, opening his arms as if he was talking to them
face-to-face. Jake didn't care, for as long as the
familiarity of his body language could better his
performance. Besides, moving his body parts took some of
the edge off of the stress and the pressure Jake was under.
	"Humor me. All I want is to switch us. I'm asking you to
let me trade myself with our witness." When Jake heard no
reply from the other end, he decided to put his 'wild card'
on the table. "Come on, I already know who you guys work
for. Your breaths stink of Morley from this end of the
line." 
Skinner's head jerked in alarm at Jake's words, wondering
how Jake came to know about Cancer Man. Skinner glared at
Scully, whose expression mirrored his own.
	"What?!"
	"I know you work for the cigarette man. It's pretty hard
to keep it a secret; don't you think? You boys have been
running around the country while torching houses and
buildings like a lowly gang in the Medieval Age;
terrorizing an innocent housekeeper and a dog in the
process. You were thoughtful enough to retrieve your friend
right out of the ambulance, although I doubt he's still
alive. 
"Don't you think that your boss is going to let you take
the blame if we catch you? What did he promise you? Money?
Do you have any idea just how many lives this man
sacrificed in the course of his life? This man trades
secrets with lies, and sleeps with the meanest fishes. How
can you be so stupid as to trust him?" 
Jake did his best to divert their anger and hatred from
their hostage to himself. He was trying to piss them off,
even scare them a little, so that they just might agree to
turn their backs on Cancer Man. If Jake pissed them off
long enough, they might just want to trade their hostage
with him. 
Scully moved to stop Jake, but Skinner prevented her. 'Let
him speak', Skinner's eyes said. Scully sighed and bowed
her head. Jake was walking on a very thin ice, heading
further into the center of the bottomless lake.
	"We can deal by ourselves. You don't have to go to the
Morley Man. Just deal with us directly and rip your asses
off of your boss. He never kept promises when we dealt with
him on prior occasions. Why would he start now, with you
guys? I know it'll do no good for you to have the girl or
the serum, because you'd have to find a buyer for the
serum, and you've got no use for the girl."
	"Don't you get too smart on us, you cock-sucker! You're
bluffing!" Jake knew he hit a sore spot, and realized how
close he could've been to the target.
	"By the way, describe 'the girl' to me. I want to know if
your boss even provided you with description. If he hasn't,
then it only shows us how incomplete his offer was to you.
Also speaking of the serum, describe it to me. What does it
look like? What does it supposed to smell like? If you
don't know, then how do you even know if you got what you
needed when we hand it over to you?"
	"...All information will be disclosed on the need-to-know
basis." Jake inwardly smiled at these words, knowing they
were testing the waters. However, Jake didn't have time to
put them on hold and ask Skinner for a permission to do
what Jake was planning to do next. Jake faced the ceiling
and sent up a prayer to the heavens to render him some of
their powers.
	"Gentlemen, we can offer money and a personal guarantee
by our own Assistant Director Walter Skinner that you'll
never be followed. You'll be forever left alone from the
hands of the FBI. In fact, he'll give you a chopper to fly
you out. Return it unharmed, and it'll be all right. Where
you're going to leave the chopper for us to retrieve isn't
any of my concern. Now, that's a good deal." 
Skinner rounded his eyes at the 'come-get-me' smirk that
was now breaking over Jake's face. That was when Scully
realized they had the right man for this job. Jake knew how
to bargain, and he had the patience that Mulder just
didn't.
	"Where's Skinner?" Another voice demanded, and Skinner
moved in closer to the speaker.
	"I'm right here, and I'm ready to deal. I trust that at
least one of you is a pilot. You are extremely well trained
in your respective professions, and you certainly know how
to find bugs or bombs on the chopper if there is one. I'm a
man of my words. I'm willing to provide whatever necessary
for the safety of everyone on board." Catching up with the
game, Skinner threw another piece of cheese on the
mousetrap.
	"All right. Send Mulder down here to exchange with our
hostage. I've heard of your reputations, Agent Mulder.
We'll keep you for insurance until we're assured of our own
safety, in which time we'll return you and the chopper. Our
boss will certainly appreciate the chance for some personal
payback if something goes wrong." 
Jake sighed inaudibly and stared into Skinner's face.
Then, Jake turned to Scully before finally turning to meet
Vera's eyes. He saw fear and genuine concern in those green
eyes. No one said a word for a long moment. Jake nodded to
assure Vera that he would be all right, even though he was
terrified of what he'd just gotten himself into.
	"That's just fine. I believe five million would be a just
price?"
	"We were getting paid ten million, and that's a fact."
	"Hey, choppers cost three and a half million each, and we
don't have a guarantee that nothing will go wrong. We don't
have any insurance if the aircraft gets damaged, so give us
a break here, please? After all, you have Fox Mulder: the
FBI's most unwanted, for insurance. I'm your boss's sworn
enemy, so that's a good enough fun for the old man." 
Jake knew he was practically attempting suicide here, but
he also knew 
That Skinner wouldn't let these terrorists go unpunished.
Besides, if something does indeed happen to him, Skinner
would take care of Vera. Karen Kosseff wouldn't even
question the man's credibility. Besides, he was a married
man. He wore the gold band with an obvious air of pride and
affection. Even though Skinner was in a high-stress
profession, he held a non-threatening management position
in stark contrast to the dangerous ones held by most agents
on active duties. It might even be better for Jake to leave
Vera in Skinner's hands than place the burden of taking
care of Vera on Scully alone. 
	"I demand that you not harm Agent Mulder's life in any
way unless we cross you." Skinner joined, completing the
mousetrap. Scully continuously tried to object, but the two
men sitting in front of her kept her quiet. 
Although Scully didn't like it one bit, it was true that
she was going to have Mulder back, to be transported
straight into the nearest hospital. She knew it took a lot
to make Fox Mulder scream in pain. Mulder moans, groans,
yelps, cusses, and cries. But he very rarely screams, and
she never personally heard those horrific unrestrained
screams from him before. 
'He could be bleeding internally. They could have crashed
a half of his rib cage. Maybe his legs are shot or broken.
Maybe it's his shoulders that have been injured, or maybe
he's sustained a facial skull fracture. They said he
couldn't talk, so his jaws maybe broken and they need
wires. Or, maybe they could have been perverse enough to
pull every tooth out of his mouth, or rip all his nails off
with toothpicks...' Mercifully, she was brought out of her
horrifying thoughts by the terrorists' voice.
	"Bring the money in cash, with unregistered serial
numbers." The terrorist demanded. "Put Mulder in handcuffs,
and let him carry the money toward us. Have Angel Scully
walking beside Mulder and let Skinner stand by at the other
end. We'll need the angel to carry the hostage back to you
people after we make the transaction. Have the chopper
deliver you to the location, and leave the craft ready for
flight while we have our pilot examine it for safety. No
fancy tricks, or all of you will end up dead."
	"We understand, gentlemen. Where and when?" Jake
persisted, trying to finish this conversation as fast as he
could. He still fumed at their habit of name-calling, a
constant reminder of Scully's mortality.
	"We need a little time to clean things up on our side,
but let's set it for the second hall of Clarence Country
Golf Course at midnight tomorrow. It's about twelve miles
out of Fairfield." The terrorists obviously had been
thinking hard about this latest detail, and Jake felt a bit
better for getting them hooked into the mousetrap. Now it
was time for the big cat to find its prey.
	"We need a little more time to have the money ready..."
Skinner began, but they cut him off.
	"Don't push your luck, old man, or this not-so pretty boy
here gets another one. Although I won't be surprised if he
begged for a bullet in his head by now." Scully swore she
heard a low, dragging sound that sounded very close to a
sob in the background. Her body shook with such blinding
fury, that Jake was forced to tear his eyes away from her.
Jake was honestly afraid of her wrath that kept radiating
out of her, but this prevented him from seeing Scully bolt
out of her chair.
	"Listen, you fucking son of a stinking bitch! If you harm
this man any...!"
	"Scully, keep your mouth shut!!" Skinner bellowed, firmly
resting his hand over her trembling shoulder. Scully
slightly jumped at her boss's tone, but at Skinner was also
desperate at this point. She quickly began muttering an
apology to Skinner, but he only shook his head and patted
her on her shoulder as a gesture of forgiveness.
"...Gentlemen, I'll do what I can about the money, but
don't harm the hostage any further. You know Agent Mulder
is one of the finest in the FBI, and I won't risk his life
unnecessarily. I..."	
"Gentlemen? This is Agent Scully again." Cutting off
Skinner, Scully spoke. She answered Skinner's warning look
with a calm nod. Jake noted her use of the first word.
'She's composed', Jake thought as he watched Scully ready
herself to continue. 
"I apologize to you for my earlier behavior. Now, as a
medical doctor, I need to know what equipment I have to be
ready with in order to give him an adequate first aid. Do I
need splints, or air casts? A suture kit? How about some
blood for in-vitro transfusion? Whatever it is, you can
tell us. I guarantee that it won't affect our deal at all.
Right now, I'm not speaking as an agent, but as a medical
doctor." She carefully controlled her voice.
	"Bring whatever you want. But we allow no ambulance, and
no EMTs at the scene. Just the three of you are allowed on
the scene. That means just you and Skinner, with Agent
Mulder in handcuffs." The man's voice was devoid of any
trace of emotion.
	"Yes, we all got that part." Skinner cut in again, trying
to keep Scully quiet in case she gave them another piece of
her mind.
	"It's a deal." The man concluded, finally severing the
connection.



Exact Location Unknown
Los Angels, CA
9:30 PM Same Day

The surgery was supposed to be held at ten. The doctors
brought their equipment out of a van and set up their
temporary OR. The four terrorists were lucky to have hanged
up the phone when they did, or else the whole plan would
have been discovered and they'd be dead men. The doctors
weren't very specific on what they were about to do, but
they promised nothing bad was going to happen to the
hostage. Their every move was well coordinated, and well
practiced. 
The hostage was strapped onto a temporary operating table
in no time, and was heavily sedated within minutes. The
guard watched the doctors work in wonder, seeing that
whatever the doctors immobilized the hostage with looked
and worked like an eye-drop.
	The old Grill & Bar had many rooms in the upstairs of the
building, and the immobilized hostage was stashed in one of
them. The terrorists heard the doctors would be moving the
hostage into another location for three hours, long enough
for the surgery to be done. Then the hostage was to be
returned in their hands. 
The terrorists protested, saying that they had no way of
making sure if the hostage was harmed. The doctors only
said that the hostage wouldn't be harmed during this little
brain surgery, because this technology existed for decades
and they were experts on these matters. The men were
surprised at first, but they decided to keep their mouths
shut and pretend this never happened upon hearing that the
hostage wouldn't be harmed.
	Cancer Man's untrustworthiness was the only reason that
motivated the terrorists to make the deal with the FBI.
When they've agreed to kidnap Jake Kathler, Cancer Man gave
them directions over the phone. The instructions on
bringing in the doctors for their little operation had been
added only when the woman called and requested it to them.
She had been the one brought up the idea of, and
authorized, this little addition in their deal package. 
The terrorists had seen this mystery woman only once.
Working as a part of the covert organization generally
called Consortium, which was made of a few selected top men
from the Capitol Hill, and the blonde woman from the UN
Headquarters in New York. She was rarely called in on field
assignments, but Cancer Man wanted her in for this one. 



Fairfield Central Hospital
ICU Staff Meeting Room
Same Time

"I've got it! I've got it!" Jake came storming into the
room, startling Scully and Skinner who'd been sitting at
the table while keeping Vera as company.
	"What?!" Scully bolted from her seat, nearly knocking
down the folding chair.
	"The name of the grill & bar! I've called one of my
friends, ...well, my former friends from Alex's office, and
she refreshed my memory. The bar is called the Pequod, or
the Humble Boat, and it's about half an hour drive away
from my house. 
"Miss Covarrubias said that she didn't know if it's still
open for business, and it's because the bar was shut down
just a couple of months ago. The owner sold it to some
classy restaurant franchise, but the construction hasn't
started, yet. I remembered them, because they've approached
us to do the job. We turned it down because of our
skyscraper project." 
Jake handed Skinner the address of the bar. Skinner
immediately began barking orders over his cellular phone
and his radio, assembling as much of his team as he could
to be sent over to the location. Skinner wanted to be there
himself, but he was needed at the golf course. In case they
couldn't get Mulder safely out of there, the deal will go
on as scheduled. Scully secretly wondered why in the world
a bar in California was named after the ship in 'Moby Dick'
that was set in Nantucket Island. Her thoughts returned to
her Ahab momentarily before she focused back on their
crisis at hand.
	To get the requested five million US dollars ready in
time, no one with any possibility of getting help was
spared. Senator Matheson, of course, hadn't returned
Scully's calls ever since his re-election ended with a very
slim victory. Scully despised him for abandoning the
X-Files duo. But she knew she couldn't blame the senator,
and Mulder never spoke about the man in an ill manner.
	With the negotiation over, Skinner took Vera back to her
room for an ordered bed rest and IV. They all laughed when
Vera demanded Skinner to pick her up and into his masculine
arms. Jake kissed her good night, and she touched his face
in return. Scully never missed the way Jake smiled at Vera,
or the way he leaned into the girl's tiny palms.
	"I should've taken Mulder much more seriously." Scully
mumbled not for the first time. She pushed her can of root
beer with both of her index fingers around the smooth
Formica table surface. 
"After all, he just might have been right, again. He was
right about Vera having the cancer, and he was right about
her memory loss about her experiences, though the condition
was premature. She hasn't asked you for blank papers or
coloring pencils ever since her return. He was right about
her parents getting murdered, and he knew that with all
this crap going on all around us, we couldn't protect you
enough; so he'd had to go on and use himself as a decoy. I
don't know. Maybe he didn't plan any of this at all, and it
was all just a coincidence. Maybe all he wanted to do was
to go down to the search site to give Skinner a few tips." 
Scully's words sounded as if they had been through a
compressor: flat and continuous. Jake patted her on her
shoulder, but quickly pulled his hand away as she began to
giggle. His eyes narrowed when her giggles grew into a fit
of soft laughter.
	"What's so funny?" Jake seriously didn't know. To be
honest, Jake was afraid that Scully was finally going mad.
She shook her head in defiance to his obvious worries, but
she just kept on laughing.
	"I just remembered what Mulder used to say. I apologized
to him once for not taking him seriously. Then he said to
me, 'Why? Nobody else does.'" With that, Scully laughed
harder, to which Jake couldn't help himself but chuckle. 
When her laughter ceased a long moment later, she buried
her face into her palms and took a deep breath. Not knowing
what would be an appropriate response at this moment, Jake
just stayed close to her and waited. He didn't have to wait
for long. 
"At another time, he told me that he needed me to keep him
on the ground; to keep him in control, so that he wouldn't
end up hurting or embarrassing himself." Scully's hand was
now on her mouth, moving to pat herself lightly on her
cheek. Jake stood up and sat on the edge of the Formica
table that was now missing all the surveillance equipment.
Jake quickly fished for the right words to reassure her as
well as himself that everything was going to be all right.
	"We'll get him back. I know it, you know it, and Mulder
knows it. He'll be all right once the bank opens for
business, and we get the wire transaction. We're not going
to lose it, because Skinner's going to take care of the
situation at the bar." Jake wasn't sure what the 'it'
referred to in this situation. Whether it was their chances
of successfully executing this mission, or whether it was
their cool, or their sanity.
	"Mulder will hate us for making a deal with the devil.
But then, we did it without risking Vera's life, or the
serum. When all is over and done with, he'll be embarrassed
more than flattered to know how far we've gone to save his
life."
	"Good. Everybody will know just how valuable he is." Jake
tossed her a smile.
	"Thanks, Jake. I'm sorry that we can't give you all
updates on our related cases. You're not even entitled to
read about what he's done."
	"It's all right. I was interested before, and I still am.
But you know what? To be quite honest with you, I don't
think I can handle it. By saying 'it', I meant the
sensitive daily dealings with life and death that you go
through. ...Especially under such serious and unique
circumstances. 
"In your world, people die without coincidences; without
such explanation as 'it just happened', and without the
open-and-shut simplicity of 'deaths by natural causes'.
Your work might be fun to look at for those who look at it
skin-deep. But once you get under the skin and down to the
real flesh, it's a whole new world. Every little cell plays
its vital part in the system. In this world, things are
amazing, beautiful, exciting, and complex. But it's bloody,
so bloody." Jake shook his head and saw Scully look away. 
"I can't handle the blood, Dana. Once I'm soaked in it,
I'm sure I'll be lost and left to wander forever without
knowing how to clean myself off of it." Jake's sorrowful
tone and equally sorrowful gaze burned into Scully's
memory, making her wonder if she would someday clean
herself off of the blood herself. She doubted it. Her
cellular rang just then, making both Jake and Scully jump.
Scully grabbed it, instinctively pressing the record button
on the tape recorder.
	"This is Agent Scully." She said, stopping Jake who
jumped off of the table to get Skinner. She held up her
hand to him, and the familiar tone of a young man came
through the reciever.
	"Agent Scully, I think we've got something here. We've
been screening our in-coming calls, and there was one that
didn't get answered, because whoever it was hanged up on us
the moment we picked it up. The number registered on the
number is Jake's cellular, and Mulder knows us well enough
not to just hang it up after being answered." Byers spoke
rapidly, indicating his urgency. Scully paled instantly,
the sight making Jake swallow bile.
	"Oh, God. That's it!" Scully stood, her eyebrows
furrowing in concentration.
	"We'll need to change our numbers right away, and I'm
afraid we're gonna have to cut our connection for a week or
so. We'll probably need to move out of here." Langly was
freaking out, not bothering with formalities.
	"Do whatever is necessary to keep yourselves on the safe
side, okay? We don't want you in further trouble because of
us."
	"Oh, if this isn't our Agent Scully. My angel, we'll miss
you." Frohike's melancholy tone would've been humorous,
even charming, if not for their current circumstances.
Scully's pale complexion didn't change after the old man's
sentiments. Jake noticed this, and began speaking into the
speakerphone before the Three Stooges hanged up on them.
	"Hey, guys?" Jake began, knowing these men were the
ever-famous X-Files supporters called 'The Lone Gunmen'.
	"Oh, Mulder! We'll miss you, too!" Frohike joked.
	"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Jake responded, but Byers cut him
off.
	"You're Jake Kathler, aren't you?" Byers asked, and Jake
nodded into the phone out of habit.
	"Yes, I am. But for now, everybody else thinks that I'm
Fox Mulder, so please remember to keep calling me Mulder."
	"We usually allow no outsider on the line, but under the
circumstances..."
	"Guys, give Jake a break. I know you want the update on
the case before cutting off the line and haul off." Scully
jumped in, having to get over the little remark from
Frohike. Jake excused himself to go check on Skinner and
Vera. 
Truth be told, Jake was already missing Vera. Should their
plans end in success, he was going to be Vera's adopted
father and her best friend. Once he entered the floor
hallway, he noticed that the guards at the door had been
changed, so he produced Mulder's FBI budge before peeking
through the glass. The doctors continued with the treatment
of aggressive antibiotics they pumped regularly into Vera's
IV.
Skinner had apparently fallen asleep. His head leaned
back, and was supported by the back of the reclining chair
that was provided by one of the kinder nurses. Jake noticed
Skinner's large hand was holding Vera's tiny hand,
eliciting a smile from him. But then, he also noticed
Skinner's other hand resting over the holster clipped onto
the man's hip. Its dark leather form was now exposed in
plain sight, with the weapon's safety removed. Skinner's
weapon looked slightly larger than Mulder's Sig Sauer.
Jake's smile vanished the moment his tired brain registered
the meaning of this, but he didn't feel any abject fear or
excitement from it. What he felt was something akin to
sorrow. 
Jake wondered how much of Skinner's current behavior came
straight out of his military experiences. Jake knew Skinner
fought in the Vietnam War, and recalled some of what he'd
heard from his late father about returned US POWs from
Vietnam. Samuel Kathler had defended and sued a fair number
of Vietnam War veterans in his career, not out of
compassion for these people, but purely out of necessity or
coincidences. 
In schools, Jake read some textbooks and attended guest
lectures regarding the subject, all very carefully editing
out the gory details. Skinner's life must have been hell
ever since the man volunteered for the job, but at least
Skinner knew how to get soaked in blood and not drown in
it.
	Stopping himself from going inside the hospital room was
in no way an easy task for Jake right now, and walking away
from the door was even harder. But Vera needed the rest,
and God knew Skinner deserved one. They would be disturbed
from their sleep soon enough. 
This was precisely why Jake stopped them from calling on
Skinner when Hall called on Scully's cellular phone to
inform her of their test subject's arrival. Jake was
assured that Scully, Shaw, and Dr. Claiborne could manage
the situation by themselves.
 


Fairfield Central Hospital
ICU Staff Meeting Room
11PM

Jake's thoughtfulness didn't hold its value for long,
because Skinner called Jake from the room. Jake had been
'advised' by Skinner to stand watch at their temporary lab,
while other agents stood guard at the door. Jake was told
that Skinner's team contacted on their AD's cellular. 
Both Jake and Scully bolted out of the door upon listening
to the report and ran down the stairs, leaving Hall with
Dr. Claiborne and the test subject with the experimental
serum.
	"Here's the plan. None of us can be at the scene, or
Kathler will be history." Skinner commented. Jake raised an
eyebrow and pointed to himself, but then he saw that the
man's index finger was pointing to a small earpiece he wore
that was connected to a radio, which was strapped onto the
man's belt. Jake threw his head backward in realization and
nodded. Skinner nodded back, and kept on with the rest of
debriefing.
	"The SWAT team's surrounding the building with a few
undercover officers around the area. They've been trying to
place a surveillance camera inside, but I told them to get
rid of it. These terrorists might have one of their own
already set up to cover the street corners. A few selected
agents have already gone in from the basement to assess the
situations from inside. I'm directly connected to their
line, and I'm hearing their movement as I speak." 
Skinner kept onto the staff meeting room, where three
officers were checking their equipment. The SWAT agent's
voice came clear through the speaker connected to the
radio.
	"I see a group of four, maybe five men. We've detected
some movements earlier, but we got here too late to get
anything out of it. Looks like this place has many small
rooms upstairs, and I believe that's where the hostage is
being held. We've found only two possible entrance to the
upstairs rooms, and neither is accessible without their
seeing us. 
"We have another group of officers positioned in the
building to our right. On the roof, there were two enemy
guards posted for watch. We took care of them and replaced
them with our guards. They kept in touch with their radio,
but no one's yet to come check."
	"All right. How many more targets, and where are they
located?" Skinner asked while taking notes.
	"We've detected five of them, so far. They're walking
around regularly, but they seem to concentrate on the north
side." Skinner shook his head slightly at this info. "The
target I'm aiming at right now, is just one of their
guards. We still do not have the exact locations of the
entire group. ...Hold it, there's another guard coming
around this way." 
The meeting room was held in silence as they all held
their breaths, listening to the heavy creaking noise of the
old wooden floor as the wood responded to the weight of the
approaching guard. 
Jake supported his weight with his hand on the table; the
rest of his faculties completely focused on the series of
static noises and the sound of the agents on the other side
of the line. Jake have never heard a man breathe over the
line in a combat situation. It told Jake a lot of what went
inside the SWAT officer's mind, and how the man's body was
responding to it. The officer was tense with concentration,
but there was not a trace of fear. 
	"All right. I want the numbers right away. Take every
necessary precaution, and wait for my command. Get ready
for our tactic plan." Skinner's voice was just as calm as
that of the SWAT officer's. 'If I was in there', Jake
thought, 'I would've lost my nerve a long time ago'.
While the SWAT team positioned themselves, Jake wrote down
in his legal pad: "Where's Vera?" then slid it across the
table to Skinner, who read it quickly. 
Skinner then took out his pen and began writing his
response in his legal pad: "She's sedated and under
treatment. Don't blame me, I didn't order it." Both Scully
and Jake looked at each other as they read the message and
shrugged. Almost as an after thought, Skinner grabbed the
legal pad again and began writing: "I had the guards
deliver a box of coloring pencils and a blank sketch book.
She asked for them before falling a sleep." Neither Jake
nor Scully had time to respond to this before the
tension-ridden voice of the SWAT agent called for the AD.
	"Sir, we'll need a diversion. Can we request the officers
on the other building to come up with something?"
	"I'll see what I can do." Skinner said, picking up a
radio lying next to him. Within minutes, they all heard the
unmistakable sound of an explosion.
	"Down!! Down!!" Voices from somewhere far echoed over the
line.
	"Go, go, go!" The SWAT leader ordered the two officers
following behind him.
	"Send in two more men, and stand guard at the first
floor. Now." Skinner's eyes focused on the only clear spot
on table in front of him, his military experience enabling
him to picture the locations of his men without the
assistant of a map. Two dozen foot steps and ten minutes
later, the static of the radio came back to the deathly
silence of the meeting room.
	"Sir, we're standing outside of the third room on the
second floor. We've detected at least four men in black
uniforms, and another figure who seems to be the hostage.
We need another diversion to distract them long enough to
retrieve the hostage."
	"What is the hostage's condition?" Skinner asked,
breathing somewhat easier now that the second hurdle was
over.
	"The hostage is immobilized, non-responsive, and seems to
be strapped down onto a stretcher. We can't say anything
more from our vantage point. It's too dark."
	"All right. Resume your position. We'll be ready for
another diversion." Skinner again picked up the radio and
commanded another attack. In no time, they all heard a
series of gunfire through the speaker. Jake jumped, not
being used to the horrible sounds.
	"Sir, they're coming back in! We're preparing for a
retreat."
	"Retrieve the hostage. To all stand-by units, this is
your cue. Go!"
	Another wave of gunfire was heard through the speaker,
and Jake flinched every time someone screamed. His palms
grew sweaty and he had to steady himself when they slipped
over the surface of the table. Skinner didn't move, nor
breathe. Scully breathed in rapid and shallow succession;
keeping her eyes closed while her ears fully concentrated
on the sounds. Everyone in the meeting room was visualizing
their own version of this bloodshed.
	"Sir! We've got the situation under control. We've taken
a total of six of their men in our custody, but we're going
to need ambulances. The exact number of casualties is yet
to be determined, but there's least three, from both
sides."
	"Did you secure the witness?" Skinner's gaze would have
drilled a hole on the table.
	"Just a moment, sir. I've received confirmation that the
man on the stretcher we've mentioned to you earlier was one
of the enemy troop members who was napping. I've got the
rest of the guys checking the other rooms. ...Here they
are." 
	Everyone held their breath as they heard the SWAT team
mumbling and exchanging hushed cussing words. There were a
few voices in the background that decidedly belonged to the
guilty party. It sounded like the good guys were bullying
the bad guys into tipping the hostage's location. Skinner's
heart fell as his hunches told him what this meant. He
hated to be right at times like this.
"...It's a no, sir. We don't have the hostage. I repeat.
We don't have the hostage." Panic exploded in the meeting
room as the exasperated officer's words registered in their
minds, but Skinner quickly hushed them all.
	"Are you sure? You better be right about this!" Skinner
barked, shouting 
commands into the other radio. Jake slammed his fist into
a nearby wall, squeezing his eyes shut. As Jake dropped his
head, he saw Scully bury her head in her palms and release
a shuddering breath. 
'How could we be so stupid as to believe every word Marita
told us?!'
	"Retreat immediately. I repeat, leave the scene
immediately. EMTs are being contacted. Take everybody you
can out of the building, then take whoever's in need of
medical attention and wait on the first floor entrance for
further command. This whole thing could have been a trap.
If they plan on returning to the building later with their
hostage, we can't leave any trace of what has happened just
now. Have four or five of our people around the building at
all times and keep watch. You all did a good job. Let's do
better on the next one." Skinner's tone was very carefully
controlled, but his expression betrayed his words.
	"Where was the other bar Miss Covarrubias mentioned?"
Jake asked, his 
anger strictly confined in his eyes. Scully swallowed hard
and shook her head, 'no.'
	"Don't. We can't trust that woman again. All this must
have been her plan."
	"She was right about the location, and the SWAT guys said
they detected a 
movement before they went inside. Maybe they found out
about her contacting us, and decided to haul their asses
while taking Mulder with them."
	"He's right." Skinner cut in. "These men worked for ten
million. I don't think they'll let the deal go away so
easily. They may have left their guards behind for cover
and moved out."
	"So, are we just gonna wait for further contact?"
Frustrated, Scully threw her arms in the air. Skinner shook
his head 'no', and spared a glance in Jake's way.
	"Now we check for the other location. Rewind the tape and
analyze it." Jake took the first move and pressed the
'rewind' button on the tape recorder. Soon, the silky
smooth voice of Miss Covarrubias filled the room.
	"The other bar they'll be going to has an old beer
brewery machine and a wine cellar in the basement, though
they mostly restrict themselves to hard liquors. The
building is a historical landmark, and it has some
underground tunnels. They said that your brother's a little
tired, and he can't talk to me. That's all I can tell you,
Miss Hale. Good luck to you again." 
	"A historical landmark?" Jake mumbled, searching through
his memory. "I'll start calling around again. I'm fond of
wine, and so are my friends. They have a few connections
with winery workers, and they might be able to drop me a
hint or two." With that, Jake excused himself from the room
to go check on Vera. But in truth, he was ready to start
wailing with desperation. Mulder's life was hanging by a
thread, and all he could do to help Mulder at this point
was to locate the terrorists' hideout. 
As Jake pushed through the glass door, he could see the
welcoming sight of the tiny figure laying under the covers.
As Skinner wrote in his note earlier, there was a blank
sketchbook and a brand new box of coloring pencils. One
look at them made it obvious that the both items were from
the hospital gift shop located on the first floor. The two
items sat side by side on the side table. The moment he
recognized a drawing of Stella in a sitting position, his
eyes began to water.
	Jake leaned in and gave Vera a kiss on her forehead, but
he couldn't find the strength to pull himself back up. He
stayed hunched over, his forehead now 
touching hers. He felt as if their minds were silently in
communication, even when she was asleep. He was in dire
need of her strength. 
Jake remembered how Skinner looked after arguing over the
phone about their 'game'. He remembered how the AD reacted
the moment Jake spoke to him, and realized instantly that
he'd been listening in on something that was never meant to
be heard by anyone outside the room. Jake shook his head,
wondering what the man couldn't talk to him or anyone
about, but which was all right to be heard by Vera.
Jake would never forget how Vera expressed her concern and
fear with her eyes. Even harder to forget was how Vera
never complained or began screaming. He let his head bury
on the pillows next to her small head, and heard her deep
slow breathing. Jake knew he was never as strong as Vera
ever was, but she'd grown stronger for the both of them as
if to even them out. 
Vera had been a witness to the horrors hidden behind the
conversations that had been held in the staff meeting room
regarding hostage negotiations. His right arm moved on its
own accord and wrapped around Vera's body through the
covers. He gently pulled her toward him, so he could hug
her. He tried to keep himself quiet, but he had to bite his
lips just to fight the tears that threatened to break
through his barriers.
	"Agent Mulder?" A man's voice called behind him, bringing
Jake out of his tears. Somehow, being called by Mulder's
name helped Jake snap out of whatever he had let himself
wallow in.
	"Yes?" Jake turned to be greeted by the genuinely
concerned look from one of the guards at the door. Jake
motioned for the man to come inside, then nodded once to
reassure the man that he was still sane and ready enough to
handle his job.
	"The doctors want to run another test on Miss Jarvis.
They need to take a blood sample from her arm." The guard
said as he motioned for the female doctor Jake had seen
before. Jake quickly wiped his eyes dry and gestured for
her to come inside.
	"Yes, of course. Thank you." Jake gave them both a brief
smile of thanks, and stepped out of the door to start
making the calls he'd promised Skinner to make earlier. He
took out Mulder's cellular phone, and began punching
numbers while walking around in the hallway. The guard sat
back down into his seat and began cleaning his weapon. 
It took Jake nearly half an hour of calling around for
anyone with any clue, plus another half an hour of waiting
for anyone to call back, before he'd found what he was
looking for. He quickly jotted down the name and the
address of the building and handed it to Scully. Her
eyebrows rose in curiosity.
	"'Pandora's Joint'?" Scully asked him as if to make sure
she read it right. Jake grinned an excellent imitation of a
Mulder-grin, and stashed his hands in the trousers pockets
for answer. Dressing in Mulder's suit and tie helped Jake
portraying the man better. Scully smiled briefly at the
sight.


Fairfield Central Hospital
Fairfield, CA
12:05AM Next Day

In the one hour it took for Jake's calls to be returned,
it gave enough room for Skinner's team to regroup. They'd
sent the arrested terrorists off to be subjected to
immediate hospitalization at Prescott Hospital, to join the
troop of burned SWAT agents that had been taken in on much
earlier occasion. The rest of the suspects in the FBI
custody had been sent to the police station for processing
and interrogation.
Skinner posted FBI agents assigned to guard each hospital
room as a precautionary measure. Although they couldn't
care less about the well being and safety of the
terrorists, the FBI needed them alive for testimony in
court against Cancer Man.
	'Pandora's Joint' was still open for business. With the
exception of the counter bar section and the new
arrangement of tables, the place was remodeled into a
rather classy bistro. The locals at first diligently
protested against remodeling the one-hundred-years-plus-old
building, wanting to preserve the landmark as it was.
However, when the owner proposed to reach a compromise with
the local regulars, they reluctantly accepted whatever
parts of the building's renovation plans that they could.
These include remodeling the parts of walls that showed
signs of deterioration, modernizing the kitchen, laying a
few necessary new wires, and to newly install the plumbing
system to fit the current safety regulations of the city.
	The owner was contacted a few hours ago, having been
informed of the sudden unpleasant development in the bar's
basement cellar section. Skinner had to speak to the man
personally at his insistence, and made sure that Uncle Sam
would be billed for any damages done to the building by
this catastrophe. The owner agreed to let the good guys
have a show, telling Skinner repeatedly at great length
that all the 'mess' should be kept out of the bistro's main
dining area.
	They were greeted by an welcoming surprise when the owner
of the pizza restaurant just across the corner from the
hospital building showed up for a visit before he closed
the restaurant for the night. The man had personally
delivered about a dozen extra large, freshly baked pizzas
in delivery boxes to the starving agents. When Skinner
asked for the check, the old man announced that the pizzas
were on the house this time. Since no one had the spare
room in their mind to worry about dinner, each forced to
ignore the repeated protests of their empty stomachs; the
cook received a word of thanks from everyone present before
he'd been escorted out of the door. 
Although the agents' appetite were never enough to consume
every slice of the complimentary pizzas, the surprise gifts
served as great stress reducers to everyone in the room.
Skinner made a mental note to personally thank the man when
this madness of a case is finally over and the time comes
for him to return to D.C. 
The agents who'd been checking over the radio and the
wiretap equipment mumbled something about the FBI hard to
be loved by the general public. Jake couldn't help himself
from laughing at it, knowing how true they were. They
grabbed bites out of the left-over pizzas in between
maintaining communication with the SWAT team, getting ready
for another round of cat-and-mouse game.
	They tensed up immediately when the reported sighting of
approximately three guards, each fully armed and dangerous,
standing watch at every entry / exit in the old building.
The SWAT team has gone through the basement tunnel and took
down two guards, placing them both under arrest. Skinner
resumed his calm, never once looking up from his legal pad
lying open in front of him. The SWAT team set up a
surveillance camera to survey the scenes awaiting them at
the cellar stairs.
	When Skinner gave the team a go, Scully and Jake listened
to the heated exchange between the SWAT team agents. This
time, there was no diversion plan and Scully knew that this
had the AD worked up. Soon, the images from the camera
began appearing on the small monitor's bluish screen.
Scully squinted and counted at least five men in familiar
hospital scrubs, lab coats, and surgical uniforms.
	"Sir!" Scully's warning froze everyone in the room. At
Skinner's questioning gaze, she pointed to the man moving
in the far right corner of the screen. "This is the
neurology technician I've seen working in Henry
Barrington's Hospital. He was listed as one of the 'missing
/ possibly deceased' workers since his house went up in
flame." Jake tensed as he vaguely recognized the man.
Skinner wiped his forehead and made another note in his
legal pad. The camera moved, now showing a table where two
people in scrubs were busying themselves with the handling
of an array of surgical instruments. It was apparent to
everyone that these medical staff was about to leave the
scene.
	"Sir, the hostage is nowhere in the room. We have another
team in the back, but so far, they received no sign of
anyone..." The SWAT leader stopped and kept absolute
silence for several minutes as another agent kept on with
the report to the AD. Unable to hear whatever is going on,
Scully and Jake looked at each other and waited. Skinner
kept asking for the SWAT leader on the other end, but when
the man finally replied, there was a gunshot in the
background. Jake flinched again at the sound.
	"Sir, we're under attack! The other guys caught whoever
came running out of the back door, but the suckers came out
firing semi-automatic weapons. They're loading into a van
along with a stretcher, and it looks like the hostage."
	"Hold fire! Do not fire! Keep them in sight, but do not
attempt to attack." Skinner commanded, hoping Mulder was
still alive and safe. Scully kept her seat, her mind racing
for any clue as to what the doctors have just done to her
partner. She had her suspicions, but they were nothing more
than vague ideas.	
"Do you think they know about the other bar that got
creamed by the SWAT team?" Jake asked to no one in
particular, and nobody dared to answer him. 'Of course they
know.' Jake thought. 'Why would they leave in such a hurry
otherwise?' But then, there was the question of why it took
the doctors an hour to pack up and leave the place. If they
received the news, probably moments after it occurred, why
would they wait until the SWAT team got there? Jake felt a
familiar chill travel down his spine.
	"Sir? We've placed three of their men under arrest, but
two others ran off with the van. We're keeping right up."
The SWAT leader reported over the noise of the skidding
tires. Jake's palms began to sweat again, and he wiped then
against the shirt.
	"Good. Send the suspects to either the county-lockup, or
to the hospital. Don't hand them over to the local
authorities until you get there." Skinner spoke into the
radio and made yet another note in the legal pad.
	"Shit! Sir, they're taking gravel roads. We have no idea
where they're leading us." The sounds of tiny rocks
crashing against tires echoed in the background, and the
noise grew louder every ten to fifteen seconds as the
racing cars took sharp turns. 
Jake knew that the bar these men fled from was located a
mile or so out of the business district of Canoga Park, and
knew that any stranger who got oneself into these tricky
back road paths will almost always get lost. Skinner buried
his head in his hands as he tried to get their general
locations on the map, but Jake knew those narrow paths
wouldn't be on any map. 
When the AD met Jake's shaking head, he released a deep
sigh. Jake approached him, and took the radio from the AD's
hand. 
	"This is Agent Mulder. Describe to me whatever landmark
you can spot as you go on. Be quick, or you'll lose them."
Jake spoke without looking back to Skinner or Scully.
	"Uh... I just passed by an ad of a motel that's next to a
pie restaurant. ...An white old house just went by..." Jake
nodded as he recognized the area.
	"Okay, I think I know where you are. They're trying to
get to the freeway. 
Don't lose them at the train track, because the path will
split in two directions from there." Jake closed his eyes,
replaying the scenes in his mind while visualizing the map
of the city. Skinner looked at Jake, stunned but hopeful.
	"I'm passing through some industrial area with warehouses
and abandoned mobile homes." Jake's head kept nodding at
the SWAT leader's words.
	"Yeah, that's right. Soon, you'll see the lights from the
train tracks. Speed up if there's a signal for an incoming
train. How far behind are you from the van?"
	"No more than twenty feet." Jake was shocked at the man's
words, enough to open his eyes. 'Jesus.' There was another
sound of gunfire in the background and Jake jumped.
	"Four shots were fired, and they're preparing for another
round."
	"Don't slow down, and don't lose them." Skinner
commanded.
	"Sir, they might just try to eliminate the hostage if we
do."
	"If you stop, they'll get away and eliminate the hostage.
Either way, the risk's the same."
	"Yes, sir. Oh, there's the train track. The bars are
down, but no train is visible. We'll keep going." Jake
heard a loud cracking noise as the first car tore down the
bars, then another noise as the SWAT car rode over it.
Scully winced at the image, wondering what that had done to
Mulder.
	"Oh, shit!" The SWAT leader yelled, the words followed
closely by the sound of car brake being floored. Absolute
silence filled the meeting room as everyone listened to the
noise of skidding tires as they tried to come to a stop.
Skinner demanded status reports when the noise somewhat
quieted, but nobody answered the distressed AD's orders. 
As the room again came to silence, sounds of explosions
filled the silent meeting room through the speaker. The
room instantly filled with panic the first explosion was
followed by the second, and soon by the third.
	"Does anybody copy?!" Skinner yelled at the radio for the
fifth time after all the hell broke loose. When the
familiar static of the radio finally came to a break.
	"Sir? We've been attacked, and both of our cars had been
...designated." The 
SWAT leader's voice was now hoarse.
	"What happened!?" Skinner openly demonstrated his
frustration.
	"They're still on the run, sir. They threw us a couple of
full plastic gasoline containers with torched rags on them.
I swiveled off to the left to avoid hitting the guys behind
us, but then they threw another one, and it hit the other
car squarely in the front."
	"Was anyone injured?" Scully finally spoke as her doctor
mode kicked in.
	"No. Just a couple of scratches, Ma'm. Nothing major,
thank you."
	"Request the chopper to keep a close eye on them. It
shouldn't be too far behind you. Regroup, and get back to
Pandora's Joint immediately. Secure the place until the
evidence-collection team gets there."
	"Yes, sir. ...I'm sorry we couldn't get it done." The
SWAT leader's statement could be for anyone. Scully beat
Skinner to a response.
	"It's all right, commander. You've done an excellent
job." With that, she stood from her seat and excused
herself to a trip for the restroom. Jake closed his eyes
and followed Scully to make sure she was all right. Now
that he only needed the radio, Skinner dropped his
headpiece and slammed his fist hard into the table.
	Jake knew Scully was upset, and expected to see her in
tears standing in front of a restroom mirror. But when he
gently knocked on the single-person restroom, he heard
nothing but her standard response. 
"I'll be right there, Mulder." In the chaos of the moment,
it took a second for Jake to remember his assumed identity.
	"Scully, take your time. I just wanted to make sure you
were all right."
	"I'm fine, Mulder. Go back in there. I only needed a
couple of minutes until..." Scully stopped abruptly, and
Jake could hear her sigh. He waited there patiently.
"...Until I can catch my breath." She finished the
statement, and Jake heard water running from the sink. 'Oh,
God'. He thought. 'Don't tell me she was throwing up in
there.'
	"Scully, do you need something to drink? Maybe some
crackers, or is there some medicine I can get for you?" It
took a few moments for her to answer.
	"Mulder, I told you that I'm fine. I admit that I'm sick,
but not that sick." Her persistent tone told Jake not to
bother her for a while. He sighed.
	"Okay. I'll meet you back in the staff room."

	"Thanks, Mulder." Scully said. 
"Yeah, sure." Jake left it at that. Jake noticed how
exhausted she was, more than ever since the shooting
incident in Vancouver. She wasn't eating nor sleeping
properly. Jake always kept in mind Mulder's comments about
her not eating enough, but in between the chain of crisis
happening here in Fairfield, he couldn't always keep an eye
on her condition. Scully would probably tell him to leave
her alone at once. 
The moment Jake stepped back into the staff meeting room,
he was greeted back by the same chaos, with Skinner glued
to his seat and to the radio. The abductor's Explorer was
still suspected to be progressing toward the freeway, but
no one so far found the car. 'If the driver is desperate
enough to turn all the lights off during the drive...' Jake
wondered, 'he's got a hell of a lot of guts.'
	When Scully returned to the room about fifteen minutes
later, she came running with her phone raised in her hands.
She rushed to Skinner's side, and plugged her cellular
phone in with the tape recorder. She pressed the 'Record'
button as Skinner stared at her with shocked recognition.
She only nodded a confirmation to the AD's silent question.
Jake rounded his eyes as realization dawned on him.
	"You boys put on a real circus tonight." An unfamiliar
voice of a man filled the tense-ridden air of the meeting
room. Scully forced herself to calm down, knowing this man
could belong with the fleeing group of the medical staff.
	"We have the life of a witness in your hands. We've
promised him we'd do everything we can to get him back
safe."
	"Fuck you, bitch! You people dishonored the deal." The
man hissed.
	"The deal?" Surprised that the doctor would know the
detail, Scully turned to look at Skinner who was still
seated in the chair next to her. Jake carefully observed
the two agents.
	"Yeah. At the golf course. Second hall, tomorrow night."
	"It had nothing to do with you. How did you come to learn
of this?" Skinner asked, clearly frustrated, but
recognizing the two remaining terrorists might be willing
to cut a deal of their own. Jake stepped in closer to the
table to stand next to the AD
	"When they cut the deal, it automatically included us."
	"All right, what is your demand?" Jake cut in,
recognizing the man's challenging tone.
	"Same. But the plan changes. We'll keep in touch."
	"Wait!" Jake yelled. "We promise you that we're not
tracing this call. We didn't bother, because we knew it
would be useless. Please. Is the hostage with you?" Jake
had half-expected for Mulder to be dead by now. Scully
swallowed hard as Jake waited for the answer.
	"Yeah. He's got a pulse, but it won't last if you screw
up this time."
	"I'm sorry, but we can never be sure of the safety of the
hostage until we can talk to him. Please let him talk to
us." Jake was no longer acting as he pleaded.
	"He's sedated." The doctor's response nauseated Jake.
	"What have you done to him?" Scully asked, her voice
remarkably under control.
	"We can't tell you that, Agent Scully. The other guys
called you Angel 
Scully, but..." Scully gritted her teeth. Jake was about
to cut in when she took his hand in hers to stop him. 
	"I need to know what you have done to him this time. He
was barely functional the last time we spoke to him."
	"He's unconscious, and I am very much against the idea of
waking him up right now." The doctor stood firm on the
subject, his tone getting decidedly annoyed.
	"Did you work for the neurology department in Henry
Barrington Hospital?" It wasn't a good idea to start an
interrogation over the phone, but it kept them talking. As
she spoke, Scully listened for any kind of sign in the
background that could confirm that Mulder was indeed alive.
Skinner recognized her tactic and gave her a warning look.
Jake stayed silent, watching the two agents.
	"Hell, no! That wasn't me. Like I said, don't screw this
up, 'cause this is your very last chance." Suddenly
breaking into accent, Scully knew she'd bought the man's
confidence, because the doctor sounded as if he believed
he'd become the leader of the pack.
	"We're willing to listen to whatever you have in your
mind. You have my word that there'll be no more setbacks
from us." Skinner cut in and threw in his pennies
	"We'll be in touch." With that, their connection was cut.
Scully sighed and dropped into her seat, scratching the
point of her chin with her index finger. Jake recognized
Scully was lost in deep thoughts. 
'If the doctors are still willing to deal and keep Mulder
alive...' Scully thought as her mind raced to find answers,
'...there has to be a reason that none of us are aware of,
yet. Something that reduced the risks Jake Kathler's
presence was posing over them.' Scully looked up at Jake,
who kept his eyes on Skinner. She pulled Jake aside and
headed for Vera's door. Both peeked into the room from the
hallway, watching the girl's sleeping form.
	"What is wrong?" Scully asked, but Jake only shook his
head 'no'.
	"It's probably nothing." Jake mumbled, but Scully placed
her hands on her waist, the gesture he learned was her
gesture of disagreement or a challenge.
	"You know what? Whenever Mulder told me that, a big
trouble followed us." Her penetrating gaze had a very
similar power to that of Vera's. Jake shook his head 'no'
again.
	"That's where you're wrong, Dana. I'm only a stand-in for
him." When Scully crossed her arms in front of her chest,
Jake sighed and apologized for the low blow. But when she
persisted, he still kept shaking his head 'no', denying her
access to his growing suspicions.
	"I was just wondering why they hadn't killed Mulder, yet.
They had a million and one reasons to do it." Jake saw
Scully nodding an agreement.
	"That's true. I can't think of any other reason than that
they're so close from getting five million, and they want
to cash it all in before Consortium gets the reward."
Scully's searching gaze pinned Jake to the spot. He looked
away and returned his gaze to Vera.
	"I only know that Skinner was desperate, and whatever the
reason, Vera wasn't affected by it, or was able to forgive
him for it."
	"What do you mean?" Thoroughly puzzled, Scully kept still
as Jake reported his witness accounts to her. This
surprised Scully, but she knew the AD had a lot of pain in
his life, both professionally as well as privately.
	"There were doctors dressed in scrubs and lab coats. They
had equipment fit for a small OR. If Mulder was really in
that room with those doctors, I think they've done some
kind of operation on him." Jake bent forward and whispered
the words in Scully's ear, so that the agents standing
beside the door wouldn't hear them. Scully looked up at him
in surprise.
	"You're catching right up, Jake. That's what I was
thinking, too. There's just so many possibilities of what
could have been done to him, that I don't know what to
expect."
	"What do you mean? Surely, Mulder doesn't have to sell a
kidney." The case of the Chinese immigrants lit a dark
corner of her memory. Selling body parts, gambling on their
non-existent chances until death. Scully shuddered at the
memory.
	"No, I was thinking more in line of ...the brain surgery
that Vera was put through. On the band of optical nerves in
one of Vera's eyes, doctors found some non-threatening
scars. These scars were probably from the same operation
Mulder was once put through."
	"You mean, at the Ellens Airbase?" Jake remembered Mulder
mentioning the case.

	"Yeah. The surgical technique was used to remove parts of
the subject's memory. It makes sense, Jake. You were a
vital federal witness. They'd already erased Vera's memory,
though they didn't go far enough. But then, they sent her
back with the growing, or more like exploding, brain tumor
in her system. If you became useless to us, then they just
might disqualify both of you as our witnesses."
	"Mulder is also a vital witness, because he's your expert
witness. I should've been there, Dana. If they disabled
whatever parts of his memory and Mulder can't even remember
us, what good does that do to the trial?"
	"Mulder's already written reports on everything he's ever
done on this case, and submitted them to Skinner. I kept up
with all the case details, and I'm his partner.  We'll be
fine, Jake."
	"Will Skinner testify on Mulder's behalf?"
	"I believe we can cover the grounds." Scully said,
patting Jake gently on his upper arm. This gesture got Jake
to remember something very important. Jake nodded to
Scully, then told her to stay where she was. She stayed on
the spot as requested, deciding to observe Vera. 
It was still a wonder how well Vera still functioned after
all she'd been through. Scully had no idea how tough a
child has to be to deal with such violent deaths of
parents, begin abducted and spend over two years in a
completely new world, then returned to strangers who
offered her help. The question was, would she, Dana
Katherine Scully, be able to handle the responsibilities?
	"Here, munch on this." Jake's voice brought her back to
reality, and she was met with Jake holding two paper plates
with two slices of the pizzas on each. Scully shook her
head 'no', smiling; but Jake kept his own head shaking 'no'
in response. "You know you have to eat, Dana. I'm Mulder's
replacement, so I'll do everything I can to be him. Here.
...I'll stuff them into your mouth, if I have to." Jake's
expression was kept in a smile, but his eyes were serious.
Scully pursed her lips. 
'Why in hell did Jake have to copy one of Mulder's most
annoying habits?' Scully wondered as she watched Jake take
a large bite of his pizza before he pushed the other plate
in her way. She resigned from the useless argument and took
the plate. They ate in silence, but they both kept their
eyes on Vera who lay motionless beyond the glass wall.
	"Dana, did you get your bandages changed?" The moment he
asked, she widened her eyes. Jake nodded briefly. "Go have
them changed. This place is crawling with doctors and
nurses. They won't make you wait for long. You're pretty
famous around here." Jake said, directing her to the
elevator.
	"No, Jake. We're in the middle of a crisis here. I'll go
once we finish."
	"You know that's not going to be anytime soon. They said
they'd call, and if they're keeping the deal, then they
know we have to wait until the bank opens for business,
then wait until the sun's down, so that they wouldn't be
tracked easily. We've got hours to go, and if you're ever
to go, then the time is now." Jake said as he took her left
arm and nudged her gently toward the visible elevator door.

The guards looked up to see just what they were arguing
about. Jake shrugged at them as if to say 'just the usual',
and they shrugged back. Scully dropped her shoulders and
walked briskly toward the elevator door.
	"All right. You win, but you better keep me informed."
Scully ordered, pressing the 'Down' call button on the
wall.
	"You know I will, partner." Jake smiled and waved lightly
as she disappeared behind the metal doors.

Fairfield Central Hospital
Temporary OR lab
Fairfield, CA
3: 30 AM

Jake was catching a nap in a chair set next to Vera's bed.
Skinner was still at the meeting room, keeping up with the
reports from the aerial search, but turning up nothing, so
far. After her return from the ER, Scully had posted
herself in their temporary lab and observed the progress of
Vera's tests. 
Dr. Claiborne's detailed explanation on the progress of
the test patient had been beyond Scully's imagination. The
serum injection was to be delivered twelve times daily in a
normal adult, and it was to be delivered directly into the
site of the tumor. Although progress always varied with
each individual, unless the body resisted the serum with
violent allergic reaction and severe headache, the patients
would experience a slow improvement. 
This process would go on until they hit a certain point
when the effect of the serum will kick in. When this
happens, the serum was supposed to kill off the patient's
cancer cells within a period of ten to fourteen days. Then
the anti-cancer agent would neutralize itself and the dead
cancer cells, changing them into a form of sugar. 
Their test subject was now almost completely cured. Scully
was full of hopes until Dr. Claiborne began explaining the
limitation of the serum's function. The ages of the
surviving test subjects varied, but they were generally in
their early twenties. They'd also been treated at the
beginning of the cancer's second stage at the latest. This
info was a part of the files in Jarvis' research file, but
the research reports hadn't provided the X-Files team with
a detailed treatment log that would tell them what each
patient was treated with, and by how much. This had been a
setback. 
Vera Jarvis was almost ten years old, which ranked her far
below the survivors' age group. Dr. Claiborne was generally
against the idea of treating such a young child, especially
one with her history, by an experimental serum that might
kill her in her current condition. 
"It wouldn't be worth it. Not only that, I find this
treatment outrageous given my patient's current condition."
Dr. Claiborn claimed. Scully also had to keep in mind about
the branched DNA Vera had returned with. Although they
hadn't made her fall as sick as Scully had been three years
ago, this complication placed Vera's health in further
danger, because this serum treatment delivers a bio-toxin
directly into her system. Accepting the treatment would be
more like a suicide attempt than a step toward recovery.
Scully informed Skinner of the development, but decided to
deliver the news to Jake personally, because Jake and Vera
are the ones who must make this decision.
	It was another half an hour before her cellular phone
summoned Scully's attention. The moment she heard the
familiar voice, she raced down the flight of stairs. She
came storming inside the meeting room, where she again
hooked up her phone with the recorder.
	"Angel Scully, you listen real good. I want the money,
all the five million of it. Agent Mulder is to be dropped
off at the ninth hall of the same golf course, but then you
have to leave the scene."
	"Wait." Skinner raised his voice. "If it's Mulder alone,
and we're not there, how do we know everything will be
under control? How do we know if you'll even keep your..."
	"Shut the fuck up, you Mother-fucker! Don't you dare
forget you're the one who screwed up, and decided to break
the original deal!" The voice grew hoarse, and the obvious
rage in the man's voice gave Scully a shudder.
	"All right, all right!" Jake quickly cut in. "This is
Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI. I'll be joining you
shortly. I will agree to your demand of my being exchanged
with your hostage. That is our main objective here, as well
as to deliver you the money and the chopper, so that your
hostage can go home safely. Okay? That's all I want from
this deal, and I'm sorry it didn't go as originally
planned."
	"We don't want to take you with us for too long, Agent
Mulder. But we'll drop the hostage off and have you hand
over the money to us at the golf course."
	"That's fine with me, gentlemen. Could I at least leave
my handcuffs behind?" 
	"No can do. You're too dangerous." Jake's hopeful look
fell from his face.
	"That's fine. Can Scully be with me at the exchange site?
You said that she could administer first aid to the
hostage."
	"No to that, either. Just to be on the safe side."
	"That's not what you told us!" Scully barked before
anyone could stop it.
	"Shut the fuck up, bitch! We can blow his brains out
right here and now, if we want to! Hey, want to know if
he's alive? Then listen to this!" The man was away from the
phone for a moment before a familiar horrible sound of an
unrestrained scream filled the meeting room. 
	"We told you not to harm the hostage any further!"
Skinner yelled into the speakerphone.
	"Well, well. Was that the Big Man I just heard? Hey, you
guys wanted the guy to talk, right? I think he's awake now.
You, say something. Your friend wants to talk to you."
Scully hoped it won't be another scream.
	"Scullllly...! ...Dana, please get me out!" The agony
Mulder had been through was evident to everyone. Mulder's
every word followed a few rapid, shallow breaths,
indicating his dehydration and exhaustion. He even forgot
to call Scully by her first name in the beginning. To
everyone else's surprise, she remained perfectly calm.
	"We're going to get you out of there. Hang on." Said
Scully, not trusting Mulder's memory at this point.
Everyone waited for the terrorists to speak again.
	"He's pretty ugly lookin' now, but you know what's
important."
	"We got that part loud and clear. I'll go with your plans
this time, but please, don't harm him further. Next time we
speak, just press the phone against his face."
	"All right, Angel Scully. In turn, I'll allow Mulder to
carry his cellular phone with him, so he can contact you
once we're off. Come get the hostage only after we're
safely airborne."
	"That's great. How about the chopper?" Scully got to the
point, knowing it was now Jake's job to assess the damages
done to her partner once he retrieved Mulder. She hoped
Jake's stomach was strong enough for the task. The whole
irony of this negotiation was that they were the ones who
broke their promise of not following the terrorists in the
first place, and the terrorists broke their promise of not
harming the hostage further by supposedly operating on
Mulder's memory. These were precisely the reasons why both
sides stayed in the shaky deal.
	"Leave the chopper with the keys in the ignition. First,
we'll fly it to a safe location by ourselves to run a
thorough check on the craft for any damage or funny tricks.
Next, we'll retrieve Agent Mulder and the five million.
When you send him out here, I want him to drive down to the
ninth hall alone in a Jeep Wrangler, with one of his wrists
in the handcuffs. 
"Once he gets there, Agent Mulder is to unload the money
from the back of the trunk and place it at the foot of a
tree that's standing closest to the hole. This tree's the
tallest one around the area, so he can't miss it. He is to
wait there for our arrival, and once we do, I want him to
step away from the tree and the money. Then he is to snap
the other handcuff on his other wrist, and he is to do so
behind his back. This might require some flexibility, but
it has to be done. Oh, by the way, have him leave his
jacket behind, and he'd better be smarter than to bring his
weapon to the location."
	"I won't." Jake replied, but the connection was already
cut. Jake closed his eyes and released his breath. Skinner
immediately began issuing orders on his radio, keeping the
aerial search open, but no longer expecting them to come up
with break-through reports. 
Next, Skinner gathered the temporary X-Files duo and asked
them who should go get the money from the bank. The money
was to be withdrawn from an account that was specifically
created for this mission. Jake immediately appointed
Scully, since she was the X-Files agent, and he was the
designated hostage. Although Jake never said this aloud,
Skinner knew what he meant and readily agreed with him.


Clarence Country Golf Course
Ninth Hall
Los Angels
10PM Same Day

Jake drove in a tension-ridden silence. He had on a pair
of Mulder's dark blue jeans, Mulder's white dress shirt,
and an old black leather jacket that was also Mulder's
favorite casual outfit. Jake didn't think this particular
ride on the chopper would be requiring a business suit.
Jake also had Mulder's I.D., had Mulder's cellular phone
stashed in the borrowed jacket pocket, and had a motion
detector placed on an inner cuff of the borrowed shirt. He
looked at the grimmer of the round silver metal object as
it reflected the moonlight while holding his left wrist
captive. 
Jake had never driven a Jeep Wrangler before, and it took
a little getting used to. It was a pleasant night for a
drive if not for the circumstances. The money Skinner
managed to borrow from the bureau thus relieving everyone
from the stress of debt was in the two metal briefcases in
the trunk. Jake really wished he wouldn't have to use the
pen loaded full of plastic explosives that was tucked in
the breast pocket of his borrowed dress shirt.
	In their last communication, the terrorists informed them
of the slight change of plan. They now wanted Jake to leave
the hostage in the back of the Jeep and take off with them
in the chopper. No one, including Scully, was to step a
foot into the golf course. Also, Jake was instructed to
bring a pocketknife, but never to exceed the size of a
small Swiss Army knife. As oddly as this last detail
sounded to the FBI team, 'Don't mess with us. We're
watching', were their exact words.
	Jake was instructed to wait at the foot of the tree they
pointed out as the tallest and the closest one around. It
wasn't hard to find. Jake came to a halt, the briefcases
held in both hands. He put them down on the ground and
leaned them against the trunk of the tree. He took out the
cellular phone and dialed Scully's number. He knew the
terrorists probably heard his every word. The trees made it
virtually impossible for him to see much of anything.
	"Scully? It's me. I'm standing at the tree. ...No sign of
them, yet. I have my left wrist cuffed, and everything's
done as was instructed. ...No sign of Kathler anywhe..."
Jake stopped when he heard a slight creaking noise coming
from somewhere directly above his head. He knew it was not
the squirrels, and there was close to zero wind on the golf
course, that no branch swayed enough to creak. He
immediately stepped away, finally getting himself enough
under control to answer Scully's persistent demand for
response.
	"Yeah, Scully I'm all right. Sorry, I thought I heard a
noise from somewhere... No, it's probably nothing too
dramatic, but I could use a flashlight. ...Oh, hold on.
I'll use the Jeep's headlight. They didn't place any
restriction on them, did they? ...Fine, hold on." Jake
hopped back into the car and repositioned it to directly
face the tree. Then wished he could have been blind, if
just for this mission.
	"Mulder? ...Mulder!? Answer me, damnit! Mulder!!"
Scully's insistent questions were heard from the cellular
phone, now dropped onto the floor of the driver's seat
beside Jake's feet. But Jake was too busy just trying to
breathe. It was too much.
"God damnit!! Mulder!? Answer me!!!" Jake managed to move
his mouth to respond to her pleading, but he could manage
nothing else. It was when his cold sweat began to sting his
eyes that he'd recovered enough to hop out of the car and
dash toward the tree. 
Jake hadn't climbed a tree in nearly twenty years, and
there was no branch to grab onto in order to reach the
object left hanging from one of the lower branches. After a
few failed attempts, he'd climbed back to the car and
pulled it closer to the damn tree. This was going to be
tricky, and Jake mentally mulled over the right person to
sue if he got himself injured. 
Jake climbed onto the back of the driver's seat, barely
holding his balance as he grabbed onto the top edge of the
windshield for support. He then placed his right foot over
the glass shield while his left foot was still keeping its
position on the top of the driver's seat. His
basketball-trained legs told him how to jump, and to pull
himself up high enough to straddle over it. 
Jake now had learned why they told him to bring a knife.
At the sight of such a close-up of the object, the
butterflies in Jake's stomach began behaving like a swarm
of moss attracted to a street light.
	Jake wrapped his cuffed left hand around the center of
the object, and with his free right hand, he began cutting
the thick rope that held the object's full weight. He knew
he couldn't possibly support the object's weight by
himself. Getting desperate, Jake looked down to his feet
and stopped his hands. He moved the vehicle about three
feet backwards, inching toward the tree trunk before he
restarted the sawing job. 
The object, with its fair length and narrow width, slid
roughly but nicely into the jeep's back seat with a push
from Jake's dangling feet. It fell like a sack of potatoes,
but damages sustained by it shouldn't be too much. Once the
job was done, he quickly got to the back seat and began
cutting the rest of the rope off of the object, which now
could safely be called a person; specifically, a person who
used to be Jake Kathler's mirror image.
"Oh, dear." Jake mumbled as he tried to find a pulse and
found a thready one. Jake's long-forgotten CPR/First Aid
training in summer collage course kicked in at perfect
time, surprising himself that he'd remembered. 
"Never forget your ABCs." Jake told himself aloud to help
him concentrate. "Airway, Breathing, Circulation." He
checked all three, and was horrified further to find the
patient wasn't breathing. Closing his eyes for a moment to
remember the proper procedure of CPR, he tilted the
patient's chin, opening the lower jaw to check for any
blockage to the airway. Finding it clogged; Jake stuck his
finger to secure it with difficulty. Once it was clear but
still recognizing no breathing movement, he pinched the
patient's nose to prevent any inhaled air from leaking out
of there. 
Jake was one step close from puking his guts the moment
his lips closed over the patient's horribly disfigured ones
and breathed as much air as possible into the other man's
mouth. Jake wouldn't have had a problem if he hadn't
smelled then tasted bile and blood covering the patient's
face. Before the nausea could overtake him, Jake pumped air
into the dying man's lungs repeatedly until he felt
resistance. With one last try, Jake felt the man's body
jerk and jump slightly off of the ground before a fierce
fit of coughing took over the man's entire body.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." Jake's overjoyed
greeting was answered by a pained look from the patient's
battered face. Jake resisted the urge to call Mulder by his
true name, no longer trusting the man's memory. Jake
quickly cut away the patient's ruined clothes, checking for
outer injuries and finding the sight of the battered body
purely horrifying. Jake used the discarded dress shirt to
start tending to the several bleeding wounds. Mulder had
passed out during this process, and Jake checked for the
patient's ABCs again to make sure that the man was still
breathing on his own.
No longer in a fear-ridden trance, Jake was finally
coherent enough to pick up the abandoned cellular phone. It
was still connected to Scully, whose voice had grown hoarse
in the past nine minutes that it took for him to return. 
	"Scully? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ditch you. ...No,
I'm fine. Just a few scratch marks from the branches ...Is
Skinner there?" Jake's voice was calm enough, but it still
left a little tremble. "Sir?" Jake swallowed hard as the AD
demanded answers Jake didn't know how to give. "I have the
hostage, sir. He had tough time breathing, so I stuck a
finger down his throat and cleared his airway. He's trying
to breathe on his own now, but he's not doing a very good
job. ...Yes, I assisted his breathing in the beginning."
	Just when he was about to start his detailed reports on
Mulder's condition, a loud rumbling noise was heard from
beyond the trees on the other sided of the clearing and a
bright beam of the helicopter's headlight lit up the area
around him. He hurriedly picked up the phone again. 
"Sir, I see the chopper heading this way. Scully? I'll
tell you before I get loaded up. He is barely alive. He's
hardly recognizable. I'm sorry, I panicked. ...I found him
hanging upside down from the tree, so I saw his face first.
I think you ought to bring down an entire ER down here.
...I don't know, I'm not a doctor! ...All right." Jake
tucked the phone in between his shoulder and his face,
listening to the chopper hover and descend. Following
Scully's instructions, he gently ran his hands over the
fallen man's rib cage, and felt a few bones that were out
of place.
	"Scully? I hope you can still hear me over the noise of
the chopper. He's got about two, three fractured ribs and a
dozen bad bruises, but that's not the biggest problem. He's
got burn marks, all of them probably third-degree burns. I
see about three of them on his upper body, most decidedly
from electric shock. ...How do I know? Because I can smell
it!" 
Jake gently touched Mulder's swollen jaws and immediately
knew that they were broken. "Scully? I don't have much time
here. They're loading off the chopper. He's got a real bad
broken jaw. No wonder I had hard time clearing his airway
earlier. It's a miracle he spoke a word to us over the
phone. It's all black and red. ...Yes, he's unconscious.
His skin feels dump and cold, but I don't know if he's in
shock."
	"Hang it up now, Agent Mulder." One of the black-clad men
roughly grabbed Jake's arm and yanked his cellular phone
out from underneath his jaw.
	"I'm sorry, Angel Scully. We've got to go." Without
another word, the man hanged it up. The rest of the men
followed, and Jake's right hand was soon cuffed in. They
checked the briefcases and nodded to each other. Jake
watched the money getting loaded up, until all had turned
pitch dark as a hood was placed over his head. This wasn't
something that had been discussed earlier, but Jake was
expecting to be blindfolded since the beginning. He nearly
stumbled a few times as he was tossed into the chopper. The
old smell of dirt, sweat, and metal greeted him even as he
was strapped into a leather seat. Someone covered his ears
with headphones as sound shield. 'Oh, how thoughtful.' Jake
snickered.
	Once ensured of Mulder's safety, Jake began fearing for
his own, now that he'd witnessed first-hand what these
people were capable of doing. The electrical burn marks
decorating Mulder's torso alone shocked Jake out of his
mind for a minute. He'd always thought those stuff happened
only in bad gang movies or war movies. 
What he'd read of POW's witness accounts reported from
across the world when he took a history course in college
taught him enough horror stories of the games people play
upon each other. But what made this experience far worse
for Jake was the fact that this was an act done by a group
of American citizens against one particular helpless
American citizen. Jake tried and failed to put the image of
Mulder's battered body out of his mind, so he chose to face
it, just as the time when he'd faced Alex's lifeless body
soaking in a bloody bath water. 
Jake could never forget the sight of Alex's wrists slit so
deeply, that he saw the severed tendons, muscles, and the
drained blood vessels from the scar. On her left wrist,
Jake saw that the razor blade had scarred the bone. After
he got off the wet white tiled floor, his body soaked
nearly as much as the corpse that lay next to him, he
called the police. He didn't remember what was said. The
Sheriff eventually found him huddled next to the body, his
phone in his limp hand. He remembered little of the
questions asked to him, and even less of his answers. He
was in shock, and the doctors and friends succeeded in
bringing him back in time to make funeral arrangements. To
this day, he saw that horrifying image in his sleep. Still,
he'd kept facing them, because there was no escaping them.
Probably not even in death.
	The darkness in front of him helped Jake focus. He
desperately needed to get his mind off of the people he was
with, and the thoughts of what could happen to him until he
was dropped off in the middle of somewhere either alive or
dead. The fact that they inflicted such level of violence
toward a stranger like Jake Kathler was enough to provide
Jake with the sneak preview of what they would do to Fox
Mulder in case anything went wrong. Jake was rather
thankful now for the hood that prevented the monsters
around him to see his fear. 
Jake wondered what if it was really him who was in
Mulder's current condition. Jake decided he'd probably kill
himself by biting his tongue off, or by begging his captors
for a quick death, as they'd said over the phone.
	Jake felt the chopper tilt in one direction, then to
another from time to 
Time; but he tried not to think about where they were
taking him.
	"Hey, Spooky! You're awfully quiet there. Don't tell me
you fell asleep!" 
The man who hanged up his phone yelled into his ear. Jake
tensed up in an instant, but managed to shrug. He had no
clue as to what the hell he was supposed to say or do. But
as he thought about Mulder's reputation, his investigative
methods, and his stubbornness, ideas began popping into his
head. If he was in fact Fox Mulder, Jake knew that the man
would start asking questions. Dangerous questions. Jake
took a deep inaudible breath as he made up his mind.
	"Since you brought it up, I do have a question!" Jake
practically had to scream for them to hear him.
	"Whatever it is, you know you won't get any answers!" The
man replied, and Jake swallowed hard.
	"What did Skinner exactly do? I know he's talked directly
to you guys or to your boss in private. What did he say?"
It was the perfect time for Jake to voice his suspicions.
If he wasn't going to get anything out of Skinner or
Scully, these guys were the ones to talk to. They actually
derived pleasure in breaking people's trust, especially one
as tight and as strong as the one connecting the X-Files
investigation team. The men around him laughed aloud before
Jake heard another man in front of him yell the answers
into his ears.
	"I knew you didn't know shit about what was going on!
Skinner cut a deal with our boss!"
	"What deal?!" Jake felt the attack of the nausea he'd
been suppressing.
	"I'd spare the fun for you, but not in this one! Skinner
approached our boss and agreed to let the medical staff
perform brain surgery on the hostage! You guys won't make
it to trial if the guy's brains were Swiss-cheezed!!"
	"What the hell does that supposed to mean?!" 'Scully was
right', Jake thought bitterly while his palms began
perspiring profusely.
	"It means that the guy won't remember a thing about your
investigations or about the case!!" 
	"What have you done to him?! How much did you take away
from him?!" A bone-freezing chill welled up from somewhere
deep in Jake's gut, creeping higher as it spread around his
lungs. A majority part of Jake's brain wanted no part of
his current line of questioning, but the rest of him wanted
to learn answers even if they killed him. 
	"It ain't our business, and neither is yours! All we know
is, Skinner's the one who cut the deal authorizing the
surgery! With both your star witnesses Swiss-cheesed, you
won't stand a chance at the trial!!"
	"That's not true! Skinner's been nothing but supportive,
and you guys got a stack of charges against you!" Jake
refused to believe what he'd just heard. 'Why Skinner? The
man had trust from everyone including Vera. How dare he to
break that?!'
	"Skinner's been pampering you from the beginning, because
that was included in the contract! The game board was
supposed to be his once he agreed to let the operation go
as scheduled. The boss then let Skinner cream the guys at
the bar but we ripped our asses off our boss when we
transported the hostage into the other place. Skinner
screwed up when he let us get away."
	"What do you mean, 'game board'?! Do you mean that all
this shit was just a big game of chess to him?! Somehow I
find that hard to accept!!" Jake spat his words in rage,
wanting to chew through the damn velvet hood and through
the man's face.
	"You're after the truth, aren't you?!" The man's testing
tone was bait for lulling Jake.
	"Always!" Jake answered with conviction that surprised
even him.
	"You're only one of the many pieces that the big man
plays on board. You caught Skinner red-handed once, and he
was in for some deep shit. You realize this isn't the only
time he used you, just like we all use you for the Uncle
Sam's dirty work."
	"I still think Skinner is a decent man! A hell of a lot
more decent than any of you!!" Jake screamed, and was
rewarded by a startling blow to his jaw. It was strong
enough to knock his head backwards, driving it into the
wall behind him. Jake shook his head to clear it, then
belated himself for making himself vulnerable for such an
attack. 
Jake knew that if Mulder were in this situation, he'd
probably start asking even more questions. But Jake wasn't
Mulder, and he'd heard enough for one night. 'Smile, smile,
and be a villain.' Jake recited the line from Hamlet in
silence, his anger now a boiling red-hot lava threatening
to swallow them whole. Jake quietly swore to deliver
Skinner a personal hell if he really got out of this alive.
	It took over an hour of flying before the chopper finally
touched the ground again. Jake knew that they were now
somewhere in the woods, because of the way the trees
complained of the harsh attack of air dispersed from the
chopper's propellers. Jake barely heard the terrorists as
they loaded off of the chopper and headed into the waiting
car. The chopper's engine died shortly after, and
eventually the propeller followed. He'd thought they would
take him with them, but soon he heard the terrorists' car
driving off.
	Now, silence surrounded Jake. But he still waited for
about five minutes before finally reaching up to remove his
headphones and the velvet hood off of his head. He was
surrounded instantly by a welcoming symphony of the woods.
Birds, insects, and wild animals all played their tunes;
slowly soothing away the accumulated tension from Jake's
tired body and mind. As Jake listened further, he
distinguished each fragment of the whole symphony. As he
kept listening, it was as if the entire forest was
assembled by these various noises, tunes, tones, sounds,
and chords. 
When Jake was convinced that he had been left alone in
safety, he found Mulder's cellular phone lying next to his
feet on the floor. His hands shook slightly as he pressed
the 'Redial' button.
	"Scully? It's me. I'm safe. ...Yeah, they've left. How's
the hostage? ...No surprise there. Come get me. I have no
idea where I am, but I'm in the woods. ...You're already on
your way? Good." Jake was thankful that the terrorists
never noticed the motion detector placed on the cuff of his
borrowed shirt. But he never let his guard down even after
this latest call. He knew that Skinner was somewhere close
by, listening in on their conversation. "Scully, I'll need
to talk to you when I get there. ...All right, I
understand. See you soon." Jake hanged up before ever
hearing Skinner's voice. Right now, Jake felt really lucky
that Skinner wasn't anywhere visible, or else he'd have
personally snapped the man's wide neck off.


Prescott Hospital Emergency Room
Los Angels, CA
2AM Same Day

It took nearly two hours for the SWAT team to find Jake
with the chopper abandoned in the depth of the woods in Los
Padres National Forest. There was a Mountain Search And
Rescue heliport near Mt. Pinos, and Jake suspected that was
where the team had been standing by this whole time. 
The news of Mulder being transported to Prescott came as
no surprise to Jake, considering that the hospital was
closer than Fairfield Central, and because it had been
involved in caring for their investigation team for a long
time. He walked into the hospital escorted by two SWAT
agents as his guards, who led him into ER. Jake hadn't had
the chance to talk to Scully, yet; because she'd followed
the doctors as they took Mulder into surgery for his broken
jaw and ribs. Jake decided to stay in ER until he himself
was released.
	Jake was treated for his swollen jaw, which he never
complained about, considering how much worse the situation
could have been for him. The same elderly doctor who
treated Mulder approached Jake and asked him if he had been
'playing with the bad guys again'. Jake shrugged in an
apologetic gesture. Jake knew that the doctor knew about
the switching game, because this particular physician was
an off-limit one who'd been specifically appointed by
Skinner. 
Even just a mere thought of the bulky man was sickening
Jake, and he was itching all over to pull Scully aside and
tell her the truth about the Good Ol' AD, because she
needed to know. But the moment he saw Scully and Skinner
standing side by side in the OR waiting room, Jake had to
physically restrain himself from bolting from his bed and
pounce on the man. They seemed to be talking to each other
in hushed whispers, watching the next room through the
glass window, where Mulder was about to be moved from.
	From what Jake could see, Scully was at her sharpest.
There was no doubt that she had been with Mulder since the
moment he arrived with the chopper, and judging by her
scrubs, possibly during the treatment in the ER. Mulder had
told Jake she would probably know every health problem he'd
ever had, and possibly knew more about his body than he
himself cared to know. After all, she'd revived him from
death. 
>From where Jake stood, Scully seemed utterly oblivious to
her own exhaustion, of how dark the circles underneath her
ocean eyes had grown, of how much her body demanded rest,
and of Jake's eyes observing her. Jake belated himself for
not having the guts to remind her of her own illness, even
if it was for her own good.
	Scully protested when Skinner told her to stay behind to
be with Mulder, since both Jake and the AD needed to return
to the Fairfield Central to guard the serum and Vera.
Scully wanted to observe the serum trial on Clive Shaw, now
that they'd discovered it could still work for him. Also
very fortunately, Clive Shaw didn't have any accompanying
illness, yet. 
Soon, Hall reported that Dr. Claiborne and the test
subject had hit it off smoothly. Skinner asked Scully if
she was willing to try the treatment on herself if she was
to go. Scully couldn't make a decision on the spot, but
she'd agreed to try it, since her cancer was just about to
reach the middle of its second stage.
Jake secretly congratulated himself for not rushing off to
deck Skinner, because it was hard to even watch Skinner
with a straight face while the man talked about Scully's
cancer to Scully herself. 
When Jake was finally given a clean bill of health and was
free to go, he saw a chance to sneak up behind Scully
without being noticed by her. He had no idea why he felt
the need to hold her so badly, but figured he needed the
contact to draw strengths from her. Not wanting to wait a
moment longer, Jake approached her and treated himself to a
long embrace with Scully. 
"Mulder! Oh, thank God, you're all right!" Scully
exclaimed with delight, though her eyes spoke her
resentment at not being able to call him by his real name.
He nearly choked in tears at the feel of her small frame
and her warmth. It wasn't fair that she had to be played
over with Mulder as game pieces. When she broke the
embrace, she finally asked him about the swollen jaw. He
shook his head and told her it was nothing compared to what
Mulder put up with. 
Skinner watched their exchange in silence, not
interfering, but still carefully observing. He wasn't used
to being ignored, Jake assumed. But then the trilling of
his cellular phone broke his gaze off of them, and the AD
reluctantly excused himself. When he returned from the
hallway, he informed them both that the terrorists' van had
been found at the side of a back road that led to the
freeway. The vehicle had been used for the owners' escape
during their first hostage recovery mission, but that it
somehow ended up shuttering in pieces from a suspected car
bomb. The bodies, or what was left of them, were being
recovered, and the money had been returned unharmed. Thanks
to the bulletproof and fireproof Hulliverton briefcases.
	"Sir, I believe we should all return to Fairfield, or you
should stay here and observe Mulder and my house. I believe
you've carried in the evidences from Fairfield except for
what's necessary in the serum experiments?" Jake ignored
the look of sheer shock from Skinner.
	"Agent Mulder, I don't take your orders." The man looked
ready to chew on his face.
	"Sir, I'm needed beside Vera. Agent Scully's needed in
the lab. Everybody needs you. But no one's with Mulder and
you haven't been to my place ever since we departed for
Fairfield. Your SWAT team's still turning up evidences from
the two bars. There's more reason for you to stay. I can't
do anything besides staying in the room with the witness."
	"Sir, I believe Agent Mulder is right. I will leave after
Mr. Kathler's tests come back. I'll review them on the way
and at the hospital to compare with Miss Jarvis's test
results. If my guess is true, then he'd have the same
damaged optical nerves as in Miss Jarvis's tests." Scully
backed him up, much to Jake's delight and Skinner's dismay.
	"All right, Agents. I'll be at Mr. Kathler's house 'till
things at the bar clears up. You two keep in touch, and
watch your backs."
	"Thank you, sir." With that, Scully guided Jake to the
elevator leading them to Mulder's new temporary home. Once
they were alone, Jake faced Scully and tried to come up
with a suitable way to explain what the terrorists had told
him, especially now that the terrorists were all presumed
deceased. He couldn't help wondering if Skinner planned it
on purpose. But Scully beat him to a conversation.
	"You know, whatever the reason you give yourself to
believe you didn't deal well back there, doesn't matter.
You came back alive, and you were very, very good at
playing Mulder. We cannot thank you enough, Jake." Scully
said, leaning heavily on the back wall of the elevator car.
Jake shook his head as if to clear it.
	"I panicked, and I'm sorry I worried you half to death."
	"Jake, I nearly panicked when I saw him being loaded off
the chopper upstairs! Me, a certified medical doctor and a
special agent with the FBI, almost panicked. I knew what I
expected since hearing your reports, and still it was hard
for me to even look at him straight in the eyes. You are
someone who's never used to witnessing this kind of
violence." 
	"But I'm not supposed to be myself right now. I'm
supposed to... Well, at least I remembered how to do CPR."
Jake paled instantly, remembering how Mulder smelled and
tasted. Scully recognized the signs, and quickly searched a
way to divert Jake's shock.
"You were right about the burns on him, though. There were
a total of six electrical burn marks, a broken jaw, several
loosened teeth, and two broken ribs. There's also a few
larcerasions that required stitches, plus the bruises that
you've seen were covering his body. They're also sending in
a specialist on reproductive organs to check for damages."
Jake's eyes widened in horror. 
"What the hell have they done to him? Are you saying that
they've sexually assaulted him?" His mouth agape, Jake was
relieved to see her shake her head 'no'.
"What? No, that's not... Well, hopefully that's not it."
The shocked look was back on Jake's face in an instant.
"What do you mean? Do you have evidences to that respect?"
"Not really. It's just that, one of the electrical burn
marks was on his testicle, and his genitals were pretty
badly swollen as if they'd been squeezed together. Must've
been one of theirs attempts to make him talk." Scully shook
her head in disbelief, while Jake shuddered.
"I'd consider getting my balls bruised as a sexual
assault. Just getting them kneed is painful enough." Scully
sent a look of sympathy to Jake's paling one. 
"I was relieved enough that his system was clean for any
narcotics or exotic substance, which could have given him
brain damages. I also didn't detect any symptom of the
retrovirus he'd been exposed to before, the outcome of
which results in hyper viscosity syndrome. In the
beginning, I was afraid that was what happened to him." 
Scully shook her head in wonder, but was secretly pleased
to see some color returning to Jake's face. He nodded at
her, though; indicating he knew exactly what Scully was
trying to do.
"Is Mulder out of the woods, yet?" Jake's expression
darkened when Scully shook her head, 'no' in response.
"His heart needs to be closely monitored because of
electric shocks it endured. But, I was relived enough that
he didn't have a heart attack, thanks to his daily run.
Aside from that, exposure, and severe dehydration, there's
also a chance that he's caught some non-fatal viruses."
Scully exited the elevator first, Jake following in tow. 
When Jake caught up with Scully, he had to ask her what
she was referring to when she was talking about narcotics,
viruses and all. Scully gave him an easy version of
accounts to the case while they walked toward Mulder's ICU
where two agents stood by. Both Scully and Jake took out
their FBI badges, and were allowed entrance. Scully was
still in the scrubs. Mulder lay peacefully on the bed, his
breathing supported by an oxygen mask.
	"They, ...I mean the terrorists, sedated him for the
surgery as they told us. That is, until they woke him up
with another electric shock. He'll have a hell of a painful
week from killer muscle pains, plus two more additional
weeks because of the fractured ribs, and I'm not counting
the physical therapy he'll have to go through before he
could return to active duty. He can speak maybe within six
weeks. 
"In the past, Mulder had been chased, gassed, strangled,
cut, smoked, stubbed, shot, bull-whipped, burned, frozen,
blasted, dehydrated, drowned, hit, infected by
extraterrestrial viruses, kicked, restrained, bruised,
fractured, bound, gagged, stripped, and spat on. But I
don't think he's ever had his jaw broken or been
electrocuted." Scully said as she gently touched Mulder's
forehead, giving a resigned smile to Jake's open-mouthed
reaction. Dressing gauze was now supporting Mulder's wired
jaw, which covered most of his head.
	"It's hard to believe they didn't figure out who I really
was by the time 
I rode in with them." Jake shuddered, his mind giving him
no choice but to try comprehending all the traumas Mulder
must've been through. His mind soon gave up.
"Well, Mulder's extremely strong. Maybe not tough, but
he's either strong or stubborn. He wouldn't crack under
physical pain." Scully chuckled a little, crossing her arms
in front of her chest. Scully looked so frail standing next
to him, although he knew she was tougher than Mulder, him,
and Skinner combined. At this very moment, Jake decided to
save the trouble of spilling the beans about the
terrorists' words for later. 
"Yeah, but everyone has their limits. My score just
happens to be less than half of what you two got." Jake
shrugged and slowly reached his hand to touch Mulder's arm
where bandages didn't cover it. 
Looking at Mulder as he was now, Jake was very convinced
that he wouldn't have survived this ordeal if Mulder didn't
come up with the switching game. The horror returned to him
full force right then, that Jake had to steady himself by
grabbing onto the bed rail. Seeing Jake going pale again,
Scully took one of his hands to lead him into a nearby
chair. As soon as Jake felt Scully's hand on his, he felt
the rising panic leave him. It seemed that Scully's touch
had similar effects on Jake as Vera's touch had. Only for
Jake, the power of Vera's touch was much more. 
"Mulder cracks under emotional pressure, especially when
someone he really cares about was placed in harm's way."
Scully said, seating herself in the chair placed right
beside the bed and taking Mulder's hand in hers. Jake
watched her for a full minute, and noticed that her eyes
never left Mulder. He shook his head in wonder, witnessing
this obvious display of deep affection in between these
partners.
	"Scully, I don't think you should go. I changed my mind.
You stay here with him." Jake said, raising his voice for
the guards outside. Her head turned to face him, her lips
pursed. She was torn in between two important decisions.
"You were saying you wanted to stay 'till the tests come
back, anyway. That'll be quite a while. I'll go back as
planned, but don't follow me. At least not until Kathler
wakes up and understands what the hell happened to him."
Jake took a last closer look at Mulder before moving to
leave the room when the feel of Scully's hand on his arm
stopped him. 
"Mulder, thank you." Her eyes were full of sincerity, and
Jake could only nod before he hurried out. A confrontation
with Skinner had to wait.


Fairfield Central Hospital
Pediatric ICU
4AM Same Day

Jake had been lucky to get a ride on the chopper to the
hospital. He headed straight down to Vera's assigned room
without even answering questions from fellow agents.
Everybody was expecting the real Jake Kathler to be Fox
Mulder, but still, Jake had to be himself in front of Vera.
He gave her cheek a kiss, followed by another on her
forehead, before dropping with a thud into the familiar
chair next to the small bed. 
Now was the time to unwind, however short a time. Jake
buried his head in the same spot on the bed beside Vera's
shoulder, carefully holding the ice pack in place with his
other hand. It was handed over to him at the Prescott
Hospital for his swollen jaw. He was on pain reducer /
anti-inflammatory medication that made him extremely
sleepy; so much so that he'd fallen asleep in the chopper
on the way. Now, the adrenaline had once again left Jake's
system, leaving his exhausted body vulnerable against the
incessant attack of sleep. 
Realizing he wasn't going to last much longer, Jake willed
himself to stand up. He poked his head out of the door to
ask the agents standing guard to let him sleep for a while.
The guards were fully informed of Jake's situation, and
understood his need to get some rest. 
"Take all the time you want." Said the guards. Jake
thanked them and closed the door. Come to think of it, it
was a surprise that they were this nice to Fox Mulder, even
after the chaos of the evening. Finally, Mulder was getting
the respect he deserved from the beginning.
	It was nearly ten in the morning when he awoke to the
'good-morning' smile of Vera's assigned doctor. Jake
returned as much of the smile as he could, then took her
offer of changing his ice bag. He looked at Vera's sleeping
form in front of him, and asked the doctor how the girl had
been during his absence. The doctors reported that she'd
slept through the night, then was put through another allay
of antibiotic treatment that exhausted her. 'Nearly zero
appetite', the doctor said compassionately. Jake nodded and
thanked her as she exited the room. 
Jake reached for his cellular phone to pick it up; then
noticed for the first time that Vera's sketchbook was
closed, not open-faced as he'd left it. When he picked it
up and opened it, there were new ones added after the
sketch of Stella. He flipped the pages one after another,
discovering ten new sketches. They all somewhat resembled
the ones she's drawn before. None of them were as complex
as the ones she used to draw, but they still proved that
she had somehow remembered these images. 
'And,' Jake mumbled to himself, 'let's not forget that the
memory loss theory is confirmed until there's a definite
proof.'
	Agent Hall called Jake on Mulder's borrowed cellular
phone, dropping lines of congratulations on the job well
done, as well as asking him about Scully. When the agent
was told that Scully had remained behind to watch over
Mulder, the young agent didn't bother hiding his
disappointment. Jake had to laugh at Hall's honesty,
remembering at the same time how protective Mulder and
Scully had been about this agent. Now that Jake's been
through enough, he began to agree that Hall shouldn't be
contaminated by politics and conspiracies as Jake
inevitably had. 
Next, Jake called Scully who answered on the second ring.
She had been sleeping, she said. Jake slapped himself in
the head for even thinking about calling her. Disturbing
her sleep at this point ranked dangerously close to a
carnal sin for Jake. As he told her about Vera's new
drawings, he again decided to refrain himself from telling
her about Skinner's 'little chat' with the Cancer Man.
Mulder was still asleep, she reported when Jake asked after
the agent.
	"What about the tests?" Jake asked the inevitable. He
heard her sigh and braced himself for some bad news.
	"Well, they've done everything you can imagine, and I was
right. I ordered the neurology and optics experts to put
him through a battery of tests, including the optic system
assessment. They revealed a small scar, which was made
through the back of his right eye. They also found a trace
of what looked to be hemorrhaging of the band of optic
nerves that connected the eye with the socket, but it
turned out to be a small incision scar." Scully dropped her
voice to mere whisper for privacy. "There's no alarming
damage to the brain, but this is the second time he'd been
through it. I've ordered Mulder's medical file from five
years ago, and I'm going to compare them together along
with Vera's medical records."
	"But other than that, nothing too serious?" Jake
surprised himself yet again for his increasingly casual
attitude toward violence. Jake always thought that
desensitizing himself to such degree of violence would be
impossible, but he'd guessed necessity was always the
mother of inventions.
	"Not really. You found his difficulty of breathing, but
it was mostly from being suspended by his ankles as well as
shock and the swollen jaw. On top of that, one of his
fractured ribs was pressuring his lung. He's lucky that it
didn't puncture his lung when he was dropped." Jake winced
and belated himself. 'Good job, Jake.'
	"I'm very sorry. At the time, I thought I had no other
choice. If I was able to stay levelheaded, maybe I could
have come up with a better, safer way to..."
	"Jake, stop that. I'm not blaming you for anything. I
just wanted to..."
	"It's fine, Dana." Jake cut off, trying to really sound
fine. But the images of Mulder's sweaty body covered in
blood, sweat, scars, bruises, saliva, and bile were played
repeatedly. He pinched the bridge of his nose to chase them
away.
	"Mulder? Are you all right?" Getting herself back into
her role, she asked gently. Scully was an expert at reading
people's emotions, and she was quickly becoming an expert
with reading his. Jake paused for a second before insisting
that he was indeed fine, and that Hall was waiting for her
to give him call. She thanked Jake and he had managed to
escape from her soft voice. He would have lost it all if
he'd stayed on the line for another second.
	Jake checked for Mulder's Sig Sauer that was strapped to
his waist and checked the clip, satisfied to find it fully
loaded. He knew that since Jake Kathler had been kidnapped
and possibly had his memories erased, Vera posed much less
threat for the terrorists. The scandal at Henry
Barrington's hospital was being pushed through the system,
but the prosecutors were burdened with the myriad holes
that had been poked through their side of the story from
every possible angle. The guilty verdict looked further and
further away with each day that passed them by.
	Now that he'd been reunited with Vera, had his house,
Elly, and Stella safeguarded by heavily armed federal
agents; what he was missing the most were the women's
letters. Some were very richly written, showing no spared
detail of the author's extraordinary sexual encounters.
Some letters were obviously rushed, providing him only with
either the skeletons or the flesh of the author's
experiences. Some had very long, almost boring explanations
on the meaning of life. Then, there were some letters that
had been written with such extreme emotions, he'd had to
pull all-nighters just thinking or crying hard about his
life in general. 
Jake missed the constant stimulation these letters
provided for his mind. In a way, it was a research on what
women do for love. He knew that there must be a ton of them
by now, just lying in his fortress, unread and ignored. He
always kept them carefully in binders in much the same
manner as Vera's artwork. He wanted the agents to deliver
them to him, because the letters were very much a part of
his life.
	Then, he remembered that the X-Files team had no life.


Prescott Hospital
Mulder's ICU Room
Los Angels, CA
3PM Next Day

Scully wasn't surprised when word got out and Skinner's
searches of the two bars and the bombed terrorists' van had
turned up nothing more than a few of Mulder's blood stains,
a few samples of the terrorists' clothing and hair. The
samples that presumably had come from the terrorists could
have come from somebody else. However, since the sample was
very fresh, they doubtlessly belonged to one of the
suspects. They were now running the samples through DNA
screening to be sure.
	Scully slept for about five hours after she hanged up the
phone with Jake. Even though Mulder was unconscious and
could do nothing but to be where he was, his presence alone
gave her a sense of security. The knowledge that he was
actually in front of her, asleep peacefully and alive, had
a comforting effect. 
Scully had spent the rest of the time typing up her
over-due reports to submit to Skinner for his signatures.
Right now, she was munching on a freshly made cold turkey
sandwich with a can of root beer as a chaser while keeping
her seat in her designated chair. She remembered how he'd
scold her every time she'd missed a meal, and just by being
beside him reminded her of everything he'd tell her. 
The guards at the door didn't understand why she was so
personally involved with Jake Kathler's safety issues, and
she covered by convincing them that the past X-Files'
history of missing witnesses, murdering of suspects and
witnesses in protective custody or penitentiaries. She
couldn't be careful enough.
	Speaking of the personal involvement issue, what Scully
didn't understand was why Vera chose Jake to stick around
with, if she had seen enough of Mulder's personal history
of losing his sister who had been approximately the same
age as that of Vera. Fox Mulder had a whole lot more in
common with Vera than with Jake Kathler. Scully reasoned
that Jake Kathler had nobody but himself, his housekeeper,
his dog, and his business. Jake spent much of his time
being alone, half by choice and the other half out of
inevitability. 
Mulder had his mother, though she was close to
non-existent compared to Scully's own mother's love for
him. He had his sister alive, though they hadn't seen each
other in nearly twenty-five years. He had her and her
mother. He had his colleagues and supporters of his work
who related with him in personal terms and less as business
people did. Lone Gunmen were a perfect example of that. 
Compared to these men, Vera had absolutely nobody. She had
nothing to lean her back against. Jake had rescued her at
the expense of his own safety. Although Vera's supporter
list is expanding rapidly, Vera was smart enough to know
that they'd be leaving once the case was over. Therefore,
Jake Kathler was the best choice.
	Scully took out the printed copy of Mulder's Sarah Martin
therapy session transcripts, and began to read them for the
second time. She hadn't had enough time in her hands to
re-read them, but she could picture Mulder and Sarah
sitting cross-legged from each other, talking. She imagined
how Mulder must have spoken every word, how the woman must
have responded. Scully knew Mulder literally gave 200% of
everything he had for every session with Sarah Martin.
Remembering their heated argument the night when he
informed her that he wasn't leaving Sacramento; Scully had
no idea just how he'd lasted the entire two weeks of the
therapies.
	"You're handful, Mulder." Scully mumbled, nowhere near
loud enough for the guards at the door to hear. "You're
handful." She shook her head, smile curling up the corners
of her mouth. Suddenly, Mulder's hand gave her thin fingers
a firm squeeze.
	"Mulder?!" Startled, she nearly shouted his name before
she could stop herself. "Welcome back, Mulder." She kept
her tone deliberately low. Mulder soon picked up on it, and
silently questioned the reasons behind it. She fidgeted a
little in her seat for what she would have to tell him
would do to him. "Mulder, what is the last thing you
remember before getting here?" She asked carefully, giving
nothing away. Mulder looked away for a moment, deep in
thought. 'Please, please, let him remember everything.'
Scully prayed, even when she had all the cold, hard facts. 
Mulder's blank gaze instantly filled with pain as he tried
to speak. Scully immediately shook her head 'no', smacking
herself for forgetting to warn him. She gently touched his
forehead. Mulder's eyebrows furrowed as he registered what
was around him. Soon, he closed his eyes and dropped his
head back on the pillows. 'Another hospital stay?' Mulder's
sigh asked her clearly enough.
	"Do not even try to speak. You'll be in pain for the next
month or so. You suffered a hell of a kick to your jaw,
shattering the bones and loosening some teeth. They put you
through surgery, and you've got wires running all over it."

Scully spoke as she quickly grabbed his other hand that
was brought half way up to his face. A look of pain grazed
his features. Now, the pain and just as much fear chased
each other's tails in Mulder's wide eyes. Scully pushed a
notepad and a pen into Mulder's hand. Mulder's eyes
regained focus, moving from the pad, then back up to meet
her decidedly sad eyes, before he finally took the two
items. Scully leaned forward in her chair, closing some
more distance with him. Mulder, even in his drug-induced
haze, managed to write legibly.
	"I hurt like a swarm of fire-ants are attacking me. How
did I get bungled up like this?" Mulder wrote, stopping to
wait for her response. Scully nodded her understanding.
	"I have the answers for you, Mulder. But first, there's a
lot you need to catch up with. What is the last thing you
remember?" She repeated the question just to be sure. He
ran the pen over the paper again.
	"Do you mean after I drove you home?" Mulder's eyebrows
furrowed in confusion.
	"Oh, my God." Reality finally dawned on Scully,
massacring all her hopes for the better. The day they got
home from their last case was the fateful day, when Jake
Kathler rescued Vera Jarvis. It had been a week before the
San Francisco office called Mulder for their assistance.
Mulder's eyes immediately narrowed with utmost concern.
	"What happened, Scully? You have to tell me." Mulder
wrote down the question just before a furious fit of
painful coughs attacked him. He pointed to the water
pitcher on the small table next to her. Scully gently let
water from a paper cup trickle down his throat until about
half a cup was emptied. His need for water was yet another
precaution she forgot to consider, and as a physician,
Scully scored herself an additional minus point for it.
	"Mulder, it's a very, very long story. The most important
part is that you've just lost your memories of the last
four weeks. I'm also confident to say that it's not
amnesia." Mulder nearly jumped off of the bed before Scully
could push him back into it. Mulder released something very
close to a scream as bolts of agony took him over. The
guards flew into the room, but Scully stopped them by a
raised hand and calmly instructed them to bring in a nurse.
	"Mulder, stay still. There's a lot more to catch up with,
and I don't have time to explain. Right now, your name is
Jake Kathler. You're in the middle of an undercover
operation, and you can't blow your covers or everything
we've worked so hard for in this case will go down the
drain. Bear with me, Mulder. You're Jake Kathler. Okay?"
Scully spoke as if to hammer her words and their meaning
into Mulder's brain. Mulder shook his head in disbelief,
but he followed her nonetheless.
	"Mr. Kathler! You shouldn't even be attempting to speak!
Your jaw is very fragile, and all your major muscle groups
are in pain from the electric shocks. The doctor will
sedate you right this minute if he has to. Write your
messages down if you must, but for the love of God, do not
use your jaw!" The doctor yelled, but this only scared
Mulder even more. Scully took his hand in hers in an
attempt to reassure him as the nurses changed the IV bag
that hang from the catheter, which was standing at the
opposite side of the bed. 
Both Scully and Mulder waited patiently until the nurses
and the guards left them again. As soon as they were out of
the room, Mulder grabbed the pen and the notepad, furiously
jotting his words down in a rush. His fast breathing and
feverish gaze spoke his frustration.
	"How the hell did I lose my memory?! Four weeks?"
	"Yes, it's been that long. You lost your memory through
what I assume to be an experimental surgery. Remember
Ellens Airbase? It was done by the same method. You were
abducted by a group of terrorists who were connected to
Consortium, and they somehow had surgical equipment ready.
You were held in an old bar called Pandora's Joint, and at
another time in a closed bar called The Pequod before you
were moved. We got you out with the help of Agent Thomas
Hall, AD Skinner, and real Jake Kathler." Scully watched
silently as Mulder tried to digest her statements. It took
a while before he began writing again.
	"You said I was Jake Kathler? What about this Kathler
guy? I mean, why would I need to portray him if he's
actually here? What the hell are we doing in here, Scully?"
She had to think her answers carefully, and make it easy
for him to understand in his current condition.
	"Mulder, you're drugged right now, and your thinking
process isn't quite up to your normal level. Stop me if you
need me to slow down. Okay?" Scully asked, her eyebrows
raised in question. Mulder nodded vigorously, an action he
immediately regretted. Scully nodded back and waited a bit
until he got his breathing under control again. 
"You and Jake Kathler switched places without consulting
me or Skinner. It was one of your wild ideas, and you two
had us completely fooled. You took Jake's car, wallet, and
your back-up piece into the borrowed car. You were driving
back to another hospital in Fairfield when the terrorists
ran you off the road, mistaking you as real Jake Kathler.
Ever since your abduction, Jake Kathler's been playing the
role of Fox Mulder. He's been wonderful." Mulder narrowed
his eyebrows again.
	"How? ...I mean, why didn't anyone notice it?" Scully
nearly laughed aloud, pondering a myriad ways of having fun
while answering that particular question.
	"Because two look exactly a like, right down to the mole
on the right cheek. You thought he was your clone the first
time we met him, but he's not. He's a very successful
architect, and he is an excellent negotiator. He took care
of our communication with the terrorists to get you out."
	"Where is this guy?" Mulder's expression lit up with
curiosity.
	"He's still in Fairfield with Agent Hall."
	"Fairfield? ...Why do I get the feeling that we're not in
D.C., any more?" Mulder asked, indicating Scully's summer
suit.
	"Because this case happened right here in Los Angels,
California."
	"Jesus. We've been here that long?" Scully nodded at his
questioning gaze.
	"Yes, Mulder. Lucky for you, you've already submitted all
your field reports, videotapes, cassette tapes, computer
disks, enlarged photos of drawings, and the interview
notes, all to Skinner for official submission before this
happened. Agent Hall, Jake, and myself can fill you in on
the blanks. You'll need to learn everything from scratch,
but don't rush anything. We've been getting a hell of a
circus down here, and you can't afford to mix up anything."
Mulder sighed, rubbing the side of his face and neck.
Scully nodded for confirmation.
	"Yes, you have a hell of a workload ahead." Mulder
swallowed and began writing again. Scully waited patiently
as she tried to control her rising temper, her subconscious
persuading her conscious mind to start releasing her
pent-up anger and frustration she'd been bottling up ever
since Mulder went ahead with the switching game.
	"You said this Kathelr guy was in Fairfield? Is this the
Fairfield in this state?" Scully nodded again, a bit
impatiently.
"Yes. It's in Suisan City, near Oakland." Scully watched
as Mulder nodded in an understanding. Then, she couldn't
wait any more. "I hate to say this, Mulder, especially now.
But you were incredibly irrational to have gone off with
such outrageous idea as switching positions with somebody
just to protect him. You should have consulted with me
first. But then, it does me no good to chew you out now,
because you don't have a Goddamn clue just what the hell
I'm talking about! Right?!" Scully snapped at her helpless
partner, loosening her leash on her fear and rage. 
Mulder closed his eyes again and shook his head slowly in
defeat. When he raised his head again to respond, he
grimaced with pain. Frustrated that he couldn't even
apologize to her without writing the words out, he squeezed
his eyes shut for a moment to calm himself down.
	"Scully, I'm sorry that I ditched you again, but I
wouldn't unnecessarily pull a stupid stunt like that.
Secondly, your blaming me for something I can't remember
doesn't do either of us any good. Look, you said that I was
protecting him. Why?" Scully was actually very surprised
that Mulder was capable of this level of communication
right now. Scully fumbled for the mental leash on her
temper before she composed a suitable reply in her mind.
	"There's a ten-year old girl whom we found to be a Vera
Maxine Jarvis. Before we could learn of her true identity,
she was only understood as the Jane Doe whom Jake Kathler
rescued from the top of his unfinished skyscraper. She
hasn't spoken a single word to this day, but she seemed
very trusting of Jake, and he volunteered to take care of
her. He's done a great job, so far. 
"We were called in for this case after the Los Angels
field agents investigated this case for a week and gave it
up. You took the call from them, and accepted the case.
When you called me, you told me that this girl drew weird
pictures that contained unrecognizable symbols and letters.
The LA regional office agents apparently requested you to
take this case because of your background in criminal
psychology and VCU." 
Mulder took a five-minute pause to think all this through
before he began writing again as if he'd remembered
something important.
	"Didn't you say that you were spending the rest of the
week with your mother?"
	"Yes. I was at her place when you called me late evening
and dragged me down here. I protested, but you insisted."
Scully was taking this very hard-to-come-by opportunity to
get back at him. Mulder winced, knowing how much she wanted
to be with Margaret Scully that weekend. Mulder reached out
his hand and touched her right arm. She winced at the pain
as the contact pulled at her stitches. Seeing her reaction,
Mulder immediately pulled his hand back.
	"It's just a bad scratch, Mulder. Nothing to worry
about." She had no idea how he'd respond if she told him
about Vancouver. But Mulder took one look at her and knew
something terribly wrong had happened. He reached to her
face instead, and gently touched her cheek. Scully sighed
and took his hand away from her face. She ignored the
hurtful look on his face as she did so.
	"I told you, Mulder. I'm fine. You even made me go back
for two days to D.C., just so I won't miss my appointment.
Skinner ordered me a temporary leave and I was practically
forced to go back. I haven't had a nosebleed in a while,
and if things go well, I won't have to worry about my
cancer any more." 
At Mulder's delighted yet questioning gaze, she detailed
out everything he'd done for her with the Lone Gunmen to
bring back the formula; further telling him that all
related information on the serum made with the
anti-carcinogenic agent brought into light by the Jarvis.
Once Mulder was satisfied of his accomplishments, she told
him about their temporary lab in one of the operating rooms
of Fairfield Central hospital. 
But once Scully detailed the incident in Vancouver
involving Clive Shaw and Dr. Claiborne, she lost her will
to tell him about Vera's second abduction, or about Vera
being a cancer patient with the branched DNA. This time,
she didn't hesitate when Mulder reached for her with his
arm while wincing and groaning with pain, but not stopping
until he rested his forehead on her left shoulder. 
It was very rare for Mulder to show such physical
emotional response. However, now that he wasn't able to
speak, he was forced to substitute his speech with body
language. As her anger began leaving her, Scully gently ran
her hand over his back before breaking the contact and
motioned him to lay back down.
	"I'm fine, Mulder. I was back to work the very next day.
You were furious at me and tried to convince me to stay in
a hospital room. I told you that breasts are mostly
composed of fat and blood vessels. There was no damage
sustained by my internal organs, and I had no broken bone.
You, on the other hand, have two fractured, and one badly
bruised rib. Stay in your bed. I slept on the couch in the
evidence room, while you worked and watched over me
throughout that night. Besides, I'm not the only one with a
reputation for running wild." 
In response to Mulder's questioning look, Scully detailed
the events at Jake's house a while ago, when Mulder had
gone in without a back-up, injuring the terrorists and
firing their semi-automatic to leave the loft's walls
looking like beehives. She then told him about Elly getting
beaten up, and Stella taking a bullet for Mulder. From the
reaction Mulder had about the bad news, she decided to
spare the part about Jake's trash chute incident.
	"Why is Skinner taking everything so fucking personally?"
Mulder asked, clearly annoyed that the man was there every
step of their way. Scully realized just then that Mulder
didn't remember restoring his trust with the AD. Even after
Scully explained it in detail, the whole thing was a
second-hand information to him, and neither Scully nor he
had any idea what was said in between the two men. 
Baffled by the turn of these events, Mulder decided to
take a break on that particular subject. Next, he demanded
the reason to which they consented to staying with Jake. In
answering, she detailed about Jake and Vera's need to trust
them and in turn for them to trust Jake and Vera. Mulder
nodded his approval at Jake's insight.
	"Everybody's so damn cautious, even I could call them
paranoid." Mulder wrote, and heard her laugh soundly.
	"I'm sorry. But coming from you, it's funny." Scully
cleared her throat to get herself back under control before
telling Mulder about the cover-up incident at Henry
Barrington Hospital, the disappearance of the doctors, then
about the bonfires that the terrorists and Consortium lit
up around the City of Angels. This gave Mulder a shudder.
She told him with a little difficulty about the burned SWAT
team members and the autopsies she'd done on them. 
Before Mulder could reach Scully to hug her as she
finished the last part of the story, she began telling him
about Skinner's distress for ending up empty-handed despite
his efforts to keep up a series of extensive searches by
his own hand-picked evidence collection team. Mulder
gasped.
	"My God, Scully! I can't believe I don't remember stuff
like that! The bastards..." Mulder feverishly ran his hand
over the papers, but Scully stopped him by placing her hand
over his wrist.
	"It's all done with, Mulder. They wanted to have the case
thrown out of the court, but because of you, it'll still be
heard. By the time the trial actually starts, you'll be
quite updated." Scully needed him calm and sharp. Or as
much as he was able. He calmed down before he began writing
again.
	"How's the girl? Don't leave anything out, Scully. I need
to know." His piercing gaze was back, and was aimed
directly at her eyes. She closed her eyes momentarily to
sought escape. When she composed her response, she opened
her eyes, but refrained from meeting Mulder's persistent
gaze. She needed to concentrate if she was ever going to
get through it flawlessly.
	"I can't give you everything until you're well enough to
look over the existing evidences. In short, she's dying and
there's practically nothing we can do about it. She has the
nasal pharyngeal mass, but it was grown and possibly
modified out of her originally inherited cancer gene. In
initial tests, we only detected the very beginning of this
tumor, but when she came back two weeks later, it was
growing at an explosive rate. Plus, she's got the branched
DNA that I returned with over three years ago. 
"It is clear that their objective was to eliminate her,
and it looks like they've achieved it, if not at the rate
they desired. The serum we've completed is a toxin to the
body. Considering her ten-years of age and the setback with
the branched DNA, which has been treated aggressively with,
anti-biotic, there's not enough time left for her to be
treated by the serum. I'm sorry, but we're going to lose
this girl. I haven't told Jake about this, because he's
trying to be her legal guardian, and 
Karen Kosseff's been giving him an all-round praise. This
is a top-security detail, Mulder. Even Hall knows only a
part of this." Scully bowed her head further in contrast to
her strong words. Scully heard the sound of Mulder writing
on the notepad again, and braced herself for his
questions..
	"Who's Agent Hall you keep mentioning about?" This quick
change of subject was a sign for his own need to distance
himself from the issue. Scully was actually profoundly
grateful that he'd given her the room she desperately
needed.
	"You met him at San Francisco office. He's a computer
expert and he's got your trust. You recruited him into the
investigation team as one of the primaries. He's the one
who used VR machine to analyze the drawings for you."
Mulder stared at Scully as if he couldn't believe what he
was hearing. 'So many outsiders to such a sensitive case.'
Scully read his mind and recounted his own words about how
Hall reminded him of Pendrell. Light danced in Mulder's
eyes, which Scully knew to be a smile.
	"It's also pretty shocking to me to learn just how close
we've come to finally getting our hands on Cancer Man. We
never could come this far without the Lone Gunmen's
involvement in this case. In fact, they involved themselves
in this so deep, they had to disappear and go underground."
Scully bowed her head again, unspoken guilt washing over
her inside and out. Mulder took one of her hands in his,
secretly delighted when she didn't pull away.
	"They've been valuable to us, and so has Miss
Covarrubias." Said Scully. This last statement got Mulder's
full attention. Seeing his startled reaction, she began
telling him about how the woman helped them. "Marita was
the one who informed us about your locations, as well as
about who to find to create the serum, and where best to
have this done. Apparently, you went to her personally and
asked for her help."
	"How is she?" Knowing the caution it required for them to
have a meeting, he couldn't help asking after Marita.
	"She's okay, but I'm sure she's gone way too far for us
on this one. If I were you, I wouldn't contact her again
unless he contacts you first." Scully never missed the
disappointed look in his eyes. After what that woman did
for Mulder, Scully wouldn't be surprised if Mulder and
Marita were involved in a romantic relationship. Marita was
an independent, strikingly gorgeous, and highly intelligent
woman, who was successfully maintaining a powerful position
in the all-boys game of politics. Someone like Fox Mulder
would never leave such a woman alone forever.
	"You're right. I don't think I can contact her again,
unless she approaches me first." Mulder wrote down the
words slowly, then abruptly stopped to look at his torso.
Scully read his unspoken question in his eyes, and the
reasons behind it.
	"Mulder, you have the fractured ribs, but you'd also been
tortured for about a day with electric shocks, which were
delivered to your body. We heard you scream over the line
while we negotiated a deal with the terrorists to get you
out. You had a total of six burned marks on your body.
Three on your torso, two on your legs, and..." Scully
hesitated for a second, then saw Mulder raise his hand to
stop her.
	"Don't tell me. I think I know where the last one is."
Mulder wrote it down quickly. Scully nodded, grimacing with
him. "Are they still operational?" He added quickly. Scully
nodded for an answer, a smile briefly dancing over her
face.
	"Yeah, they're all right. The doctors didn't detect
damages that were serious enough to affect your future sex
life, and you'll still be able to father your children.
You'll be, as I said before, sore for a few weeks. Don't
think about doing it even after you're allowed out of
here."
	"Scully, my sex life is practically non-existent! You
know better than to ask me that!" Mulder wrote it quickly,
exclamation marks and all, and glared at her. She pursed
her lips and settled for a shrug. 'You never know.'
	"Well, you certainly have been through the hell and back
again. At least you don't remember how much pain you were
in. I'm surprised that they didn't use any drugs to make
you confess."
	"What did I tell...?" Mulder began the sentence, but
Scully beat him to it.
	"Apparently nothing that was damaging to us. I know you,
Mulder. You never crack under physical pain. You crack a
lot easier when you're placed under extreme emotional
stress and peer pressure." Scully's conviction was enough
to relieve his worry. He held her gaze for a while before
beginning to write again.
	"How's your mother?" The question threw her off a bit,
but his expression was serious.
	"She's fine. Thank you and Mom for convincing Skinner to
double the security in Vancouver for us. I'm still alive
because of all of you." Scully smiled, and Mulder nodded
his delight. "I even got to see her during my two days off
for the treatment. ...Mom's strong, you know. She'll be
fine." Scully waited for Mulder to finish writing.
	"What about your brothers? I was half expecting them to
burst into my apartment with their Navy buddies to come
beat the shit out of me for dragging you out of your
mother's house." Recalling the attitudes of the Scully
brothers toward him, Mulder was getting worried. In his
twisted mind, his worries were justified, because they'd
been out of 'their' state for such a long time, but were
instead in California, where the Scully boys lived with
their own families. Decidedly amused, Scully shook her head
'no' in response.
	"You know that I'll never let them do that to you. They
know better than to mess with you or me." Scully saw his
eyes smile again, and decided to call it a day. She took
the pen and the notepad from his hands, and rested them on
the bedside table next to the lamp.
	"I've been assigned to stay with you until you're at
least able to protect yourself. I'm not going anywhere for
awhile, Mulder, and you're desperately in need of a decent
rest. You've heard enough for a day." Scully's words were
directed at Mulder, but he knew that she was the one who
was in need of a good rest. She looked unhealthy,
exhausted, and starved. Mulder retrieved the notepad and
the pen again.
	"When's the last time you ate? Getting enough sleep?" He
wrote, and was shown the half-eaten turkey sandwich she's
been munching on.
	"Stop mothering me, Mulder. I'm fine. In fact, I've been
sleeping quite a while until the nurse came to wake me up.
I was having my lunch before you woke up just a while ago."
Scully spoke as she watched him adding new sentences.
	"You've got the dark circles under your eyes, your cheeks
are rather hollow, and you're most likely on a pretty
strong pain-killer for the gunshot wound. I see you
practically every day, Scully. Don't think you can fool me,
not even at a time like this." Scully glared down at
Mulder, her rage and frustration returning to her
full-force.
	"How convenient it is for you to give me that crap!" The
words were spoken before she could stop them. Scully saw
just how deep her words cut into Mulder. They were made
especially hard to bear, because he was a man who lived
each day with an eidetic memory. This time, they had
nowhere to go and hide, because neither could excuse
themselves and exit the room. There was no comfort of a
hotel room. There weren't hundreds of miles of distance in
between them. But Scully didn't have the heart to make any
apology. 
The moment Mulder released a shuddering breath and still
refused to look away from her, she knew she had to explain
herself. 
	"Well, you're the one who'd gone out by yourself for a
period of two weeks to spend in Sacramento, Mulder, and
they were very long and crazy two weeks! You were needed
back here, with us. I had to go to Vancouver with a group
of agents I'd never met, and you were busy in Sacramento
trying to play a doctor that didn't exist!! You weren't in
Vancouver to watch the agents screaming and dropping like
flies on the asphalt! You didn't have to see one of them
take a fatal shot in the back! 
"I could handle the catastrophe of being ambushed without
you being there, Mulder. I certainly can handle whatever's
going on in my own body! You can't remember this, but
Skinner even went up to Sacramento to personally drag your
ass back here, because he knew that your undercover job was
over, and the patient was no longer yours. But then, you
refused to come back, because you were too damn attached to
that patient. We'd had a good pissing contest over the
phone that time."
	This was so unfair for both of them. Mulder flinched when
she tried to touch him. 'He's in pain. Leave him alone.'
She listened to the message from her mind and leaned back
into her chair. Mulder in turn scribbled something down on
the notepad, and threw it in her direction. She refused to
meet the words. Mulder buried himself under the covers and
turned away. Seeing his gaze was no longer pinning her
down, she craned her neck and read the words without
reaching for the notepad. He responded with a simple fact,
and the simplicity clearly spoke the impact her words had
on him.
	"Destroy the pages written here before someone reads
them. Sedate me right now to leave you in peace, or just in
case I have a nightmare and you want no part of it." Scully
saw him draw a series of heavy slow breath, and wondered if
she should check how much pain he was in, but she refused
to dignify his words with a response. 
She spent the rest of the day writing up reports on the
progress of this case and on Mulder's condition. She had to
figure out just how to report their current situation to
Skinner and Jake.


Fairfield Central Hospital
Fairfield, CA
Same Time

Walter Skinner walked into the pediatric ICU where he
found Jake asleep beside the small bed. Vera had obviously
been awake for a while, and gave him a small grin upon eye
contact. Skinner smiled and gently patted her on her head.
Then tried to ignore the evidence of her sufferings, now
prominent on her once flawless skin. The antibiotics were
almost too aggressive that it could have further damaged
her ten-year old body, and he hated himself for being
powerless to stop her suffering. Her eyes were the only
reminders of what and how she used to be.
	"Hello, Vera. I just wanted to talk to Jake here, but
don't bother waking him up. It can wait. How are you, my
sleeping beauty?" Skinner dropped his voice to a mere
whisper in an effort to let Jake sleep, and got Vera's
small nod for her 'I'm okay.' Answer, as well as an
approval for his concern over Jake. 
Skinner still didn't know whether he should keep the truth
from her; that there was nothing they could do to make her
better, because they were too late. 'No', Skinner
corrected, 'we were never too late, because if not for her
second abduction, she would have survived through this!' 
Skinner pulled up the other chair that was left vacant in
the other side of the room. He set it next to her bed and
sat down across Jake. Vera's right hand reached for his,
and Skinner sandwiched it in between his much larger ones.
	"Vera, I know this is probably impossible for you to do,
but I have to ask you this, anyway. Will you forgive me for
what I've done to this man, and to Fox Mulder?" Skinner
knew that Vera Jarvis deserved to hear at least a portion
of the whole truth. Vera took a while to consider, and held
out her other hand for him to take. Skinner felt a surge of
warmth and strength enter his shivering heart through their
linked hands. He breathed easier, but his smile didn't last
long. He swallowed hard and looked back towards Jake for a
moment before voicing his next question.
	"Vera? You know that you are very sick right now. If you
feel that you need to know everything about what we've been
doing for you, as well as to you in this hospital, you have
the right to claim these answers. But if you don't want to
think about it, then I'll tell Jake in private and you
won't hear a word of it. The choice is yours." 
Knowing never to underestimate her intelligence, Skinner
always treated her with respect that leveled any adult.
Vera sighed and looked at Jake sleeping next to her. She
broke the contact with Skinner, and gently touched Jake's
freshly showered, trimmed, and Mulder-styled hair. Skinner
waited for a further response, but eventually decided that
this was her way of saying 'no'.
	"All right, Vera. You rest easy and watch over Jake for
me." Skinner stood up and motioned to pat her lightly on
her head again before leaving. Instead, he felt her hand
tug at the sleeve of his coat. 'Tell me', her eyes
demanded. Skinner paused for a second, but he sat down in
the same chair he'd just vacated. Skinner was trained to
professionally detach himself from emotional reactions of
grieving families whenever one or more of his soldiers or
agents were critically injured or killed. 
Eventually over the years, Skinner trained himself to
successfully pull this 'detachment' skill whenever it was
required, but to tell the patients their fates personally
while wearing a straight face like a doctor was still
beyond his capabilities. Now, to tell this particular
ten-year old her fate was near impossible. Even for Walter
Sergei Skinner, an FBI Assistant Director.
	"You are a very strong girl, Vera. You know that your
mother had cancer. She and your father were trying to find
a way to help her and you from it." Skinner got a tiny nod
from her for this, and he nodded back before he continued. 
"They found a way, and a large part of what we've been
doing here is to carry on with your parents' work; so that
we could save you, millions of other women, and a man named
Clive Shaw. Your parents were the only hope for these
people, and your parents' accomplishment resulted in the
creation of a medicine that would kill this cancer. This
medicine has already saved those who were tested with it." 
Skinner had to pause and observed her reactions. Vera was
obviously deep in thoughts, and Skinner waited patiently
for her to give him a sign to continue. When Vera met his
gaze again, she nodded, but her eyes were brighter with
moisture. Skinner swallowed an array of profanities to dump
over the men who sealed Vera's fate, then forced himself to
continue.
	"There are bad people, Vera. Bad people who don't want
the world to know about your parents' medicine. These are
the people who took you away from your parents when you
were seven. Then they sent you to that strange place you
used to draw about. 
"When these people took you the second time, they took you
away from Jake, Mulder, Scully, and me. The same bad people
sent you again to that same strange place, but this time,
they did something else to you that they shouldn't have. 
"You have seen a lot of horrible things they do to people
they captured, and I've seen some of what they do with my
own eyes. I can't find the words to tell you just how
profoundly sorry I am that you had to be taken to them in
the first place." 
Skinner took yet another pause to let his words sink into
her. When he felt an insistent pull on his sleeve again, he
knew it was his cue to continue. This was hard, so
incredibly hard on both of them. Skinner would have given
his life for her to spare her this suffering.
	"I'm very sorry for stalling us, Vera. I'll get to the
point. The truth is, you're going to get sicker. Some days
are better than others are, but you'll never be as healthy
as you were before. The people who took you have done
something to your body that made it almost entirely
impossible for doctors to use your parents' medicine. What
we suggested the doctors do was to at least fix this
'something' that they've done. It is hard to explain, and
Scully would do a better job, because she's been through it
once herself. 
"There's something called DNA that makes up everything in
our bodies. Hair, eyes, skin, your internal organs, bones,
blood, everything. What the bad guys did was to damage your
DNA structure, so that your own body becomes, uh, how do I
say...? Your enemy." 
Not being used to talking to a child, Vera's intelligence
saved Skinner most of the trouble of breaking down big
words and sentences into the language of an average
ten-year old. Vera dropped her gaze toward her cotton-clad
feet and wiggled her toes. Her lips were sealed tightly, so
much that they lost their already-fading color. Skinner
released a shuddering breath. Suddenly, the room felt tenth
its original size.
	"Vera, I think you should know that we have done
absolutely everything we were able to do under the
circumstances, even though we were never good enough to
save you. You have every reason to blame us for letting bad
guys have their day. But you know that if someone should be
blamed for this, it's me. Not Scully, never Mulder, and
absolutely never Jake. 
"We'd all be happy to give our lives to you to find you
the way to be healthy again; but there's just no way to do
it, because we're neither smart enough, nor powerful
enough. I'm terribly sorry, Vera. But that is the truth."
Tears were streaming down both of her cheeks, and as
Skinner dropped his gaze, he was slightly shocked to find a
few drops of tears soaking the fabric of his open coat. He
quickly wiped them dry with his hand and looked away. 
As an Assistant Director of the FBI, showing his weakness
in public wasn't going to set the best example for his
fellow agents, and especially not to Jake Kathler, who was
still asleep in the chair in front of them. When Skinner
was confident that he wouldn't lose his composure again, he
looked back at Vera and found her tiny body shaking a
little. Whether it was her sadness or her fear's doing,
Skinner couldn't tell. 'Probably both', he thought as he
leaned back heavily in his chair. Having to finish the
hardest part, he needed a little breather.
	"Jake will take you away from here as soon as you are
able. Then, I'll make sure that you'll be able to live with
him. There will be trials, and you will be called on to the
witness stand, so that you can tell your story to the rest
of the uninformed world. Everybody who's involved in this
case, including me, Jake, Mulder, and Scully will be there
with the two doctors who helped finishing your parents'
work. It is very important that you'll be able to make it.
I want you to be as healthy as you can be for all of us.
Bear with us for our shortcomings, but we all love you from
the bottom of our hearts. Please remember that." 
Skinner said as he caressed her soft cheek. Vera looked
up, her teary eyes reflecting the room's fluorescent light.
Another tiny nod came from her, and Skinner could only look
at her with awe. 'What a strong person you are', he thought
for the millionth time.
	Just then, they both saw and heard Jake stir, his head
lifting and his hand reaching up to rub his eyes. Skinner
stood up as if his seat suddenly grew too hot to remain
seated any longer. Jake opened his eyes and bolted from his
seat at the sight of the burly man towering over him.
Jake's hand instinctively reached for the Sig Sauer.
Skinner was uncomfortable with the idea of Jake carrying
Mulder's service weapon, but he trusted the man with it.
	"Oh, sir. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you." Breathing
easier, Jake said as he rubbed his stiff back from sleeping
in such unnatural position. Skinner quickly shook his head
'no'. 
	"Watch over Vera. I just came by to see how she was
doing." Taking rather large strides toward the door,
Skinner gave Vera a little nod of acknowledgement and
practically fled from the room. Jake narrowed his eyes, and
they became even narrower as he met Vera's tear-swollen
eyes, though her tears were now wiped clean.
	"What did he say to you that upset you?" Instantly
recalling the disturbing scene of Skinner and Vera's
exchange from earlier, Jake instantly felt nauseated. Vera
didn't answer his question, but she pulled at her IV
needles that were stuck in both of her arms and reached for
him. She was asking him to pick her up, and Jake hesitated
only for a moment before giving her what she wanted. 
Jake walked around the room slowly, turning on the radio
and selecting an a-capera station that was doing some
special program on old numbers. He silently asked Vera if
she was okay with the station. At her answering nod, he
happily left it on. 
Jake was clueless as to what Skinner told Vera to make her
cry. He cursed himself for sleeping so damn well, that he
didn't even notice Skinner's entering the room, let along
conversing with Vera. Jake looked at the bedside table,
noticing that she'd been adding some more drawings. He
decided to look at them later. 'Right now', Jake thought as
he gently stroked her back, 'she wants what little I can
give'.
	As soon as Vera calmed down and Jake was able to tuck her
back into bed with the IVs in place, Mulder's cellular
phone summoned his attention. He was greeted by Agent
Hall's report of yet another witness relocation procedure
safely being done. Hall told him that he would soon be
returning to their hospital. Getting a good picture of what
was going to be discussed during this call, Jake excused
himself from the room and stepped out into the hallway,
though he'd kept himself within her sight.
	"Hall? When you get here, I need you to come and watch
over Vera for me. I need to talk to Skinner alone. He just
left here. How's Kathler?" Jake still felt reluctance
toward saying his own name like it belonged to somebody
else, but again, necessity forced him to ignore his own
discomfort.
	"That'll be fine, Agent Mulder. Mr. Kathler's been fine
so far, but Agent 
Scully said he's having rough time trying to ...catch up."
Hall paused abruptly, apparently having difficulty
delivering the bad news. Jake swallowed hard.
	"Are you telling me that he really...?" Jake trailed off,
not being able to continue asking the inevitable.
	"Yes, Agent Mulder. I'm afraid he really doesn't remember
a thing that happened before meeting Vera Jarvis." Jake
could feel his feet going numb, followed by the rest of his
legs, and going further up. 'Sweet Jesus!' Jake didn't want
to even think about what this meant for them, let alone
what this meant for their case.
	"The fuckers! Does Skinner know, yet?" Jake wondered if
this was what made Vera cry earlier. He hoped it was,
because he didn't like his other guess.
	"I believe so. Agent Scully just called me and told me
this. Skinner would probably be the first to receive this
news."
	"Okay, fine. Thanks, Hall." Jake hanged up and looked
back at Vera, a little frustrated with himself for getting
angry in front of her, but Vera had always demanded honesty
from him, and there was no sense hiding this from her. When
Vera's eyes fixed on his, time froze between the two.
	"Agent Mulder?" One of the guards asked him when he
didn't respond right away.
	"I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking." Jake answered,
breaking the eye contact and facing the guard. He asked the
man to find where Skinner went to, then he stepped back
into the room just long enough to tell Vera that he needed
to go talk to Skinner, but that he was coming back as soon
as he could. Vera bowed her head again and looked more than
sad and disappointed, but Jake couldn't put off the
confrontation any longer. 
Jake sighed and pressed his forehead against Vera's tiny
one as if to send the million tiny emotions and words that
were swirling inside his head directly into hers. Jake
didn't know why, but he'd always felt as if she understood
him even when he didn't use words, and he couldn't possibly
put what he was feeling right then into words. 
When Jake came out of the room again, the guard informed
him that Skinner had left the building again to return to
Los Angels. Cursing, Jake went into the staff meeting room
where they held those hostage negotiation sessions earlier
to get some privacy. He dialed Scully's number, and when
she answered, it took only a moment for him to sense the
distress in her voice. Jake asked her if she was all right,
and whether Mulder was. She told him that Mulder was okay
for as long as Jake was talking about Mulder's physical
health. 
When Jake asked her to elaborate on the subject, Scully
confessed that she and Mulder had scarred each other bloody
with words. Jake demanded her the details and when she was
through with them, Jake was sorry he'd ever asked. Jake
acknowledged that he'd been doing that a lot with this
particular pair.
	"Look, I called, because Skinner's heading back your way.
I don't know just what the hell's gone wrong, but the man
said something that made Vera cry. There was another time
when they were in her room and Skinner seemed to be having
a nervous breakdown. I'll find out whatever's going on, so
don't expect Skinner to be in his best mood when he gets
there." Jake released a huge breath, feeling that he'd
given the partners enough warning. 
	"Oh." Scully's reply sounded a bit puzzled and troubled,
but he still felt it was right to have warned her about
what was coming.
	"I miss you two, Dana. Take care of Mulder, but take good
care of yourself, first." Jake felt guilty for making her
day worse than it already was. 
"...All right, Jake. We should be heading your way as soon
as Mulder's able. He can't talk to anybody until his jaw
heals in about a month, but it should be okay by the time
actual trials begin." 
	"Sure. Hall's back here already, but they left enough
serum to try it out on Vera. Shaw's been treated by Dr.
Claiborne at their safe-house, and they have enough supply
to last them for quite a while."
	"Yeah, I heard."
	"I thought so. Is there really no way you can recover his
memory?"
	"No, none that we know of. Those who created the
technology are probably the only ones who would know. I'd
have tried if I knew where to go!" Her voice rose quickly,
painfully reminding Jake of the earlier harsh verbal war in
between her and Mulder. 'Of course she would try, dumb
ass.' Jake cursed his own stupidity.
	"Dana, I'm so sorry. I never meant to accuse you of doing
less than your very best. Please forgive me." 
	"Jake, I'm sorry for being such a bitch. Right now, I...
Oh. Mulder says hi, and he wants me to tell you that...
he's looking forward to meet his 'double'." Her voice
dropped low enough, and he could hear someone moving around
in the background, most likely Mulder. Jake missed the
man's dry humor and his quick-and-accurate pointers. Jake
looked forward to meeting the man again; even when Jake
knew that the agent would never remember how understanding
he'd been to Jake's personal problems, nor about how
wonderful a friend he'd been for both Jake and Vera. 
	"That's fine, Dana. By the way, I wanted to tell you that
Vera's done some more drawings. I'll take them to Hall to
have him analyze them. They're simple enough to be done
without the use of computers. I haven't looked at her
latest ones yet, but I will shortly." Jake paused and when
Scully didn't continue, he cleared his throat. "Dana? Can I
ask you a huge favor?"
	"What is it, Jake? I'll do what I can." Jake beamed at
her words. This was going to be difficult to ask,
especially after nearly getting her mad at him earlier.
	"Can I have the letters? I really can use some breather
here. There must be tons at my house right now, and I need
to write each author the promised pay check for
submission." Jake felt stupid asking this of Scully, but
she only laughed before issuing him her okay. When he
thanked her, she told him not to sweat it, because he was
going to have them sent directly to him from the house.
	Jake watched as the doctor pulled the IV needles out of
Vera's arms. The task was usually reserved for the nurses,
but the doctor grew fond of both Vera and Jake, thus didn't
mind the extra detail on her job description. He thanked
her and settled down into his seat. The doctor once left
the room, but she soon came back in with a cup of freshly
brewed coffee and a couple of oatmeal cookies for Jake. He
accepted them gratefully and returned to study the new
drawings. He took one cursory look through them all before
grabbing his phone again.
	"Hall? It's me. I know you and Mulder did final analysis
on Vera's drawings. You guys even made their enlarged
versions, right? I need them right away. Are they still at
my house?" The tension in Jake's voice must have worked,
because Hall promised to locate them immediately and have
them sent to him. Jake thanked the man and met Vera's
knowing gaze. He then looked back at her drawings, then to
Vera again. He only nodded in understanding before giving
her cheek a kiss and a smile.
	"I know you can't tell me everything that goes on in this
room. But I want you to tell me what you can about Skinner.
What did he tell you that made you cry? I know it had
something to do with this case, you, and very likely with
Mulder. He can't remember anything that happened to him in
between the day I first met you and yesterday. It's because
the bad guys did something to his memory, and took it away
from him. He doesn't remember anyone whom he'd ever met
since coming to Los Angels. This means that he doesn't
remember you, Stella, Elly, and me. He also doesn't
remember a thing about what he'd done for this case. I also
know that Skinner was real sad and angry that this happened
to him." Vera gave him a nod. 'That's a start', Jake
thought.
	"When I was helping them to get Mulder back to us, I was
with the bad guys in a helicopter. They told me in
confidence that Skinner made a deal with the bad guys in
order to save Mulder's life. They also told me that Skinner
let them take Mulder's memory away in exchange for saving
Mulder's life. I need to know if Skinner has told you any
of this. I saw him speaking into the phone while you were
here, comforting him. The time he's made that phone call
from this room, and the time when Mulder's surgery was done
come very close to each other. 
"...I hate to put you up to this, Vera. But if this is
true, then I need to talk to him, so that I'll know why
Skinner did what he did. I already know that you understand
Skinner's reasons, but I don't. I promise you that he
wouldn't be angry with you for telling me this. He needs to
let this out in the open to feel better. I'll admit that
I'll be angry with him, but for good reasons." Jake saw
Vera hesitate, and felt as if the air in the room suddenly
gained a lot of weight.
	"We'll do this just like what we've done in my house to
make it easier on both of us." Jake tried to give her a
supportive smile to let her know that this was something
okay and right for her to do. "Was Skinner feeling bad,
because he talked to the bad guy's boss?" A very tiny nod
came from Vera. Jake nodded, feeling another ton being
added to his shoulders. 
"All right. Was any of what I've told you about the bad
guys making deals with Skinner, true? If it's all true,
give me a nod. If it's partially true, I know you can read
minds, give me two nods. I think you already know what I've
been told by the bad guys in the helicopter, because
obviously you've been reading my thoughts." Jake waited as
Vera sighed and gave him a single nod. Jake rolled his
eyes.
	"Vera? What else did he tell you that made you cry?" This
was a question he really couldn't ask, because she had no
way of answering him. He shook his head in a gesture of
dismissal, telling her to forget it for now. She shrugged
in response. Jake was going to get the truth no matter
what. 
Jake knew it took a hell of a lot of agony to make her
cry. He looked back at her, and suddenly remembered how
much happier she used to be when Stella was with her. She
hadn't seen the loyal dog in more than two weeks and
neither had he. It was no surprise that when he voiced the
question, her eyes beamed with delight. He picked up the
phone again and dialed the agent in charge of their
evidences. It took a ticket to a New York Knicks game,
which Jake hadn't known was Mulder's bribing method to get
favors done for him. Apparently, Mulder had all the
appropriate connections to get almost any kind of game
tickets. Needless to say, Jake was impressed.
Once the enlarged photos, the letters from women, and
Stella were delivered to him, Jake would have to can
himself inside Vera's room. He asked her if she would mind
his turning her room into his temporary study room. She
readily, almost eagerly, accepted the idea.


Prescott Hospital 
Fox Mulder's ICU
Los Angels, CA
7PM Same Day

The nausea started an hour ago. Following their horrible
argument, Mulder had fallen asleep after approximately two
hours of inaudible sobbing. It had luckily gone undetected
by Scully. Now, he was awakened by the persistent waves of
pain that were attacking his wired jaw. He knew that the
drugs made him irrational and emotional. The growing fear
for not being able to recall exactly what he'd done or
said, plus what had happened to everyone involved in the
investigation in the past month, had thrown him over the
edge. 
Mulder's breaths continued to grow shallow and rapid. The
painkillers suppressed the massive attack of pain in his
jaw only slightly. The pain was a result of his jaw being
constantly pressed against the pillows and mattress, a
misfortune that was virtually uncontrollable. He wanted to
turn and shift in search for a more comfortable position.
More than that, he just wanted to be able to lay flat on
his back and stare at the ceiling, but he just didn't want
to risk facing Scully by doing so.
	Mulder hadn't been able to review any evidence material
that his partner claimed he collected by himself. Even now,
he hadn't been able to keep any food down, and his nausea
thrived on his physical weakness. His suddenly dry mouth
and dizziness promised a few attacks of dry heaves in near
future. Dry heaves were the worst of all heaves, and he
cursed himself many times in the past for having no food in
his stomach when it was needed. 
That inevitable argument Mulder had with Scully earlier
was taking its toll on him as an added bonus. He had
certainly gone and done it again. She was shot when he
should've been the one to get hit. She deserved no bullet
that tore through her flesh, coming so close to her heart.
He knew that this case scared the hell out of her, though
she never showed her discomfort. It didn't help him much to
know the origins of her discomfort. It pained him just
knowing that there was a little girl and a group of women
suffering from the same cancer as Scully's. He hated losing
his composure in front of her and fall apart in her arms.
Only this time, he would have to fall apart all by himself.
	From what Mulder had heard, he'd taken some significant
risks during the course of this investigation. These
'adventures' included his ditching Scully once again, and
having to rely heavily on his outside sources, instead of
his own partner. Scully in turn had to find her own
information sources for her part of the investigation.
Mulder was surprised that Miss Covarrubias returned
Scully's panic calls at all, and felt more than a little
guilty for getting her so deeply involved in this case.
All things considered, Mulder had a million and one
reasons to enrage Dana Scully. He listened hard and still
heard papers shuffling in the room, an indication of Scully
still at his bedside. Normally, he'd have asked her for
water. If not, he would have simply told her that he was
feeling sick, and that he was in agony. But he couldn't
bring himself to face her wrath, not when he was feeling so
weak. He chose instead to close his eyes and will the
symptoms to go away. They didn't. 
When the nausea became unbearable, Mulder finally reached
for the small plastic bag that came with Scully's turkey
sandwich, and threw up into it while remaining lying down
on his stomach in his bed. He deliberately kept Scully out
of his sight, but she quickly grabbed a towel and gently
wiped his mouth with it. Then, she turned him over, so that
he could face the ceiling. The very act of heaving
delivered a shock of blinding pain directly from his jaw,
and straight into his brain. His eyes immediately watered
by reflex, though it wasn't like his eyes weren't already
red and puffy from his earlier tears.
	Scully ran to the restroom to get a cup of water for
Mulder. When she came back, she ordered him to rinse his
mouth with water and spit it out into the paper cup that
she held out in front of his mouth. She raised an eyebrow,
half challenging him, and half expecting him to still put
up a fight. However, his wired jaw, three damaged ribs, and
tender muscles were giving him too much pain to think up a
retort. She quickly disposed the plastic bag into the trash
and dumped the soiled water down the restroom sink. She
then handed him a fresh cup of water to drink. 
Mulder was forced to admit that he was scared shitless.
After the incident at Ellens Airbase, he'd only lost a
couple of days' worth of memory. How was he supposed to
deal with losing a whole month of his life? 
Scully rested her hands on her hips and stood in front of
Mulder to observe him. He raised his hand in an attempt to
convince her that he was fine. She then told him to at
least change his hospital gown, now that he was drenched in
sweat from the pain and shock. Before he could reply, she'd
fetched him another hospital gown and made him change into
it. Next, she called a nurse and suggested IVs with
vitamins and saline solutions. The doctor soon followed
inside and thoroughly examined him. 
Much to Mulder's chagrin, the doctor gave him an
ultimatum, saying that if Mulder wasn't even able to keep
the protein drinks down, he was going to be fed through a
feeding tube. From the numerous previous personal
experiences, Mulder knew what that was like. When the room
was quiet again and he was left alone in the room with
Scully, he grabbed the abandoned notepad. He immediately
noted that Scully had indeed destroyed the previous pages
according to his suggestion. Looking at her for a moment,
he wrote he was thankful that she was there. She shrugged
in response.
	"It's my job, Mulder. You're in shock from the pain and
the side effects of the drugs. Also, the doctor and I both
believe you're suffering from flu in its beginning stage. I
don't know if you've noticed, but your body's missing hair
except the ones on your head. I believe this is because
they shaved you for the electric shock they gave you, which
means that you were completely naked for long enough to get
sick. 
"This also means that you might have been strapped down on
the gurney stark naked the entire time they tortured you.
You might suffer coughs, high fever, loss of appetite,
dehydration, and more muscle pains caused by non-use and
the flu virus. I told you to get that free flu shot at the
bureau. I guess you chose to go with your example of the
last five years and didn't go." Mulder knew it was Dr. Dana
Scully speaking, and there was no arguing with her. He
nodded in agreement.
	"I guess I deserved this." Mulder wrote the words down
and held it up to her. She sighed in exasperation and
leaned in closer.
	"Mulder, I'm stressed out. You have to know that I've
been that way for quite some time, and you were a big
reason for it. But it's not fair to for me to blame you
now. So, I'll stop that." She reached for his head and
gently pulled him toward her. Mulder closed his eyes and
leaned into her. 
Sensing no sign of her pulling away from him or pushing
him away, Mulder wrapped his good arm around her and
inhaled her scent. Some of his bruises complained, but he
would gladly endure fifty punches to his face any time if
it meant he could be in her arms. 
"Mulder, I know you're scared. You need to know that not
all setbacks we've suffered were your fault. Concentrate on
getting better, so that you can start catching up."
Scully's voice sounded and felt like a fresh breeze
greeting Mulder's stifling dungeon. Mulder felt his eyes
grow moist again, and it wasn't from any pain. His
shoulders hitched once, and he tried quickly to get himself
back under control. 
"...Your mother called, by the way." Mulder immediately
tensed beneath Scully's arms at the news. "She was notified
of your hospitalization here by Skinner, and wanted to know
how you were doing." 
Mulder pulled himself out of her embrace to get the pen
and the notebook, but the worried look in his eyes spoke
enough for Scully. She beat him to the next words.
"I told her that you weren't able to speak for a few weeks
due to a jaw fracture. I didn't give her the details, so
don't worry about that. She'd have had another stroke if I
just read everything off your chart." 
	"How is she?" Mulder wrote it down and snaked an arm
around her waist and pressed his head against her firm
belly. Scully slid her hands down to his shoulders,
kneading away what little tension she could remove from
them.
	"She won't be able to come see you for security reasons,
because you're in an undercover assignment right now. She
understands at least that much, so she won't call unless I
or Skinner call her first." She said as she broke their
contact and gently pushed him back to lie down on the
mattress. She kept a hand on his shoulder, and he covered
it with his for a long moment before letting it go. 
Simple gestures often spoke the most volumes in between
them, and he was already feeling much better. A big part of
the nausea came from stress and fear. 
"Get better, Mulder. We need you with us. ...When you do
get better, we can leave Los Angels to head out to
Fairfield Central Hospital to join everybody else." Scully
smiled, and Mulder gave her a small nod of thanks in
response. Scully nodded back, then gently run her hand
through his hair. Mulder released another breath of relief,
then closed his eyes.
	Skinner's unannounced arrival an hour later wasn't
entirely unexpected. Mulder straightened himself purely by
habit, and uncharacteristically reached out his hand for
the man to shake. Mulder's offered hand startled Skinner
for a moment before the AD took it, if not a little
awkwardly. 
	"Hello, Mr. Kathler. I see you are very much alive and
well." Skinner 
said, eyeing the door. Two of his personal guards stood at
the door alongside the two guards who'd already been posted
for Mulder and Scully's safety. Mulder read Skinner's move
immediately and replied with a polite nod. Mulder grabbed
his notepad then and began writing. With amusement, Scully
studied Mulder's improved penmanship.
	"Yes, sir. It's nice to see you again. Just in from
Fairfield?" Mulder wrote and raised his eyes to meet the
towering man's eyes, which were carefully scrutinizing
Mulder from behind the eyeglasses. Skinner nodded his
answer before sitting down on the edge of the bed, leaning
in closer for some privacy. Scully followed the gesture,
placing her elbows on Mulder's bed frame. Mulder
uncomfortably looked at the duo before him. Scully knew
what Mulder was wondering about without ever asking a
question.
	"Mulder, we can't just tell you everything that's been
going on right now."
	"Does he remember anything? At all?" Skinner asked
Scully, but his eyes were on Mulder, who stared right back
at him and daring the burly man to guess the obvious.
	"No, sir. The last thing he remembers is the day he drove
me home from the airport, which is the day we've returned
from our last case. I was to go home to pack up and leave
again immediately for a week." Scully crossed her arms in
front of her chest, and silently insisted that the AD
remember the vacation authorization he himself signed on.
Skinner nodded a confirmation.
	"You wanted to go stay with your mother, I believe?"
Skinner raised his eyebrows in question, to which Scully
nodded. 
	"Yes, sir. It was for a period of seven days, beginning
the day after our return. We had the paperwork to follow
that case, but Agent Mulder volunteered to finish up the
case report by himself. On that same day, Mr. Kathler met
Vera for the first time."
	"All right, then. How is Clive Shaw?" This time, Skinner
aimed his direct gaze to Scully. She shifted a bit, an
obvious relief at the change of topic gracing her
expression. 
	"According to Dr. Claiborne's latest report to us, Mr.
Shaw is recovering well. His body resisted the treatment at
the very beginning, but he quickly got adopted to it."
	"I asked you, because I'm under some heavy pressure from
the Director. He wants updates on everything we've done,
including what happened here three days ago."
	"The Director himself is involved? My God, just how big
is this case?" Mulder wrote it down quickly, sliding the
notepad in between Scully and Skinner. The AD clenched his
jaw, and Mulder watched as the man gave Scully an
uncomfortable glance.
	"This is certainly one of the largest X-Files
investigations to date. I've no clue as to what kind of
attention we'll be receiving. I'm not just talking about
the FBI here, but also about the attention we'll get from
congressional committees and the media, not to mention the
entire Justice Department. High body count and the amount
of blood that's been shed during this investigation
summoned us some unwanted attentions." Skinner looked back
and forth in between Scully and Mulder.
	"Just how many people have we lost in this? I know Cancer
Man's been having fun with matches, but..." Mulder didn't
get to finish as Skinner cut him off.
	"I've lost half a dozen SWAT agents in one of the fires,
followed by the five injured and one dead agent in the
Vancouver incident. Two SWAT agents were fatally injured
during your rescue. Two jeeps were blown up while pursuing
the fleeing vehicle of your kidnappers, and that's if I
haven't counted you two into the figure!" Mulder rounded
his eyes, then brought his hands up to rub his face. 
"Just what the hell did I get myself into now?" Mulder
hastily scribbled, then shoved the notepad in his two
decidedly uncomfortable colleagues. When there was no
answer forthcoming, Mulder added with a sinking heart: "Who
else got hurt? Besides Jake's housekeeper and his dog, I
mean?" knowing there had to be a lot more.
	"We can't tell you that, Agent Mulder. The case is too
complex to just give you pieces of the puzzles." Knowing
Mulder's tendency to get sidetracked, Skinner was taking no
chances. Frustrated, Mulder released a tense sigh and began
writing again.
	"If you are asking me not to think about the case while
I'm stuck in here, you're asking for the impossible."
Skinner glanced at Scully, who shrunk in her seat.
	"Agent Scully, just how much have you told him?! I told
you it was too early!" Mulder furrowed his eyebrows at the
AD's reaction, and immediately began writing. Scully was
trying to defend herself while his pen breezed over the
lines. He was frustrated that he couldn't jump in and take
all the blame for whatever happened to them like he always
did. After all, he's the one who decided to take this case
in the first place.
	"Sir, he's unable to move nor speak. I don't think my
briefing him about this case has done us any harm. With all
due respect, sir, I don't see why you would be angry with
either of us." Scully pleaded her case, hating to be put in
the spot. 
Scully was thoroughly confused. What reason was there for
her to get busted? Skinner finally noticed the
irrationality of his outburst, and shook his head as if to
clear his head. Scully traced the familiar shape of
Mulder's covered feet with her eyes. 
The tension in their pause was highlighted by the sound of
Mulder's pen running over the paper. Mulder threw the
notepad toward Skinner when he was done writing. It landed
right on the man's lap with a loud 'thump', and Skinner's
rage for Mulder's lack of manners radiated out of his
laser-sharp eyes. Mulder didn't flinch, but instead held
Skinner's gaze, letting it reflect into the man's own eyes
like a mirror. Skinner ground his teeth as he read the
page.
	"Stop! Sir, my frustration comes from the lack of
information provided. I know that my temporary identity is
someone named Jake Kathler, who is an architect who rescued
a nine-year old girl and called the authorities for help. I
was without any backup when his house was attacked. His
housekeeper and his dog were injured during our struggle.
I've managed to place only one of the assailants in
custody, but he escaped with his friends' assistance. 
"I know I've gone to Sacramento for a two-week undercover
operation to retrieve the information on the Jarvis' cancer
research under a guise of a psycho-therapist. Meanwhile,
Scully was in Vancouver to secure two witnesses who
presented her with additional data on the Jarvis' research.
Unidentified group of snipers ambushed her and her team at
the airport, which was why she was wounded.
"I also know that Cancer Man's been torching houses and
buildings across the state of California. I was kidnapped
and held captive for a period of a day or so; by most
likely the same group of people who attacked Mr. Kathler's
housekeeper and his dog. I also know that during the time
I've spent in captivity, I was extensively tortured and
operated on, which are the direct reasons for why I am
where I am, doing what I'm doing right now. I swear that
these are all the information I know regarding this case!
Stop blaming Scully, of all people!! You wanna blame
somebody, blame me!!" 
Scully inhaled a deep breath and looked at Mulder, whose
frustration was obvious by the way he glared at Skinner.
Scully swallowed, not wanting the two men to start some
confrontation while there were not two, but four guards
roaming outside the door. Skinner sighed and leaned forward
in his chair, his hands clasped in between his knees.
Scully resisted the temptation to reach out and hold
Mulder's trembling hand into hers.
	"...Agent Mulder, I'm not blaming anyone here. I'm only
trying to tell you what sensitivity this case requires.
You're delirious from drugs, and who knows what you would
start doing once you're out of this room. By now, you
should know what you are capable of. When your head's not
with you, you're very dangerous. In a way, your jaw
fracture was a blessing, because that would at least stop
you from talking. You two have no idea how much pressure
I'm under. I've gone way out of my usual self to get this
investigation to this point. Never forget that." 
This was something close to a personal apology, coming
from someone like Skinner. Mulder nodded his understanding,
somewhat surprised to see how right Scully had been when
she told him that Skinner was trying to earn back their
trust. Skinner nodded, this time for a 'dismissed' gesture,
and exited the room. The two guards who followed Skinner
trailed closely behind the AD, and their footsteps echoed
loudly in the ICU hallway. 
Mulder's eyes never left the door until he was very sure
that they had been left alone once again. Scully watched as
some of the tension left Mulder's body, and she met his
eyes when he turned his face. Scully was a bit startled to
see the tears now slowly wetting the gauze covering a
majority of his face. At a loss for words, Scully batted
her own tears away and moved her chair closer to the bed's
headboard.
The sharp sound of papers being ripped tore through the
stale air of the hospital room as Mulder ripped out the
used notepad pages. Scully was startled by the sudden
noise, but only for a moment. She rested her clasped hands
on the bed next to Mulder's hips, then watched as his angry
hands tore the papers into very tiny pieces. 
	"It's okay, Mulder." Scully found her voice as she placed
her hand on his trembling forearm. Mulder squeezed his eyes
shut, letting the tears flow. "Everything and everyone will
be okay." She uttered the words more to herself than for
Mulder, then surprised the both of them by raising herself
just enough from her chair to plant a kiss on his closed
eyelids.


Fairfield Central Hospital
Pediatric ICU, Vera's Room
10 PM Same Day

Jake was surprised to get the delivery of Vera's artwork
so quickly. The agent who delivered the document expressed
her appreciation for the work she was assigned for, and
knowing how Mulder was quick with praises, Jake thanked the
agent for keeping him up to date. The agent blushed and
left the room as quickly as she came. 
Jake often wondered if Mulder knew how much attention
given to him by female agents. He tabled the issue for the
time being and began rolling the enlarged images of Vera's
drawings out on the table. The state-of-art latest
technology was remarkable, and his hand shook slightly with
excitement as he dialed Hall's number. Jake thanked the man
first before getting into anything else.
	"Did you do all the final analysis on these?"
	"Yes, I did. I used your equipment aside from mine. I
skimmed the layers off each drawing and I hit the jackpot.
Why?" Jake's eyes beamed with more excitement.
	"I think I've got a double-jackpot. I've been reviewing
Vera's drawings. Not the old ones, but the ones she did
after she came into this hospital. The images she drew here
were very simple at first. They were nothing complex like
the ones she's drawn prior to her second abduction. But
just today, she's done some that grabbed me. Now that I've
talked to you, I know why. One of them is exactly the same
as your analysis." Jake heard some noises in the
background, and figured Hall was trying to get something to
take notes on. 
	"Have you noticed anything else that I should know
about?" Hall was fast approaching the same excitement level
as Jake was, and Jake couldn't conceal the laughter that
escaped his lips.
"In Mulder's case, we were able to determine how much
memory had been taken away, because he was able to
communicate with Dana. But with Vera, we had no way to
know. Dana told me that the doctors found an incision scar
in Vera's optic nerves, but there was no way to tell just
how much damage or what kind of damage had been done to
Vera by that. When Vera was returned for the second time,
she remembered about Mulder Dana, Stella, and me. I don't
think she's forgotten about Elly, either."
	"Hold on. Are you saying that she might be able to
testify, and provide us with her witness accounts? From
both times?" Hall's obvious excitement made Jake smile
again. He scratched the point of his jaw as he voiced the
next question.
	"Yes. But I don't understand why she wouldn't draw like
she did before."
	"Maybe because she no longer needs to. She drew images
after images to mask the shock given to her by each last
one. ...At least that's what Agent Mulder thought. But if
she's not doing that, I don't know. Agent Scully said Vera
was extraordinarily bright, and Agent Mulder said the
aliens might be trying to use her as a communication
devise. I don't know if Vera got over her fear of her own
past, or that the fear simply disappeared due to the
suspected memory irradiation surgery. It could be that
these memories were changed into nothing more than a bunch
of harmless images for her." Now, Hall was reaching. Jake
shook his head 'no'.
	"Such intensity of fear can't just disappear, Hall. I
still see Alex's dead body in my sleep. I still see Vera
falling out of my grasp at the top of my skyscraper. Those
nightmares are too real for comfort. Mulder might be able
to provide us with his answers, but not until he recovers
enough. Dana gave me an update on Mulder's progress half an
hour ago, and they apparently had some intense sparring
match with Skinner. 
"Dana also told me that Mulder's suffering from the flu,
in addition to his previously documented injuries. I
suggest you call Dana and tell her what we just discussed.
I'm expecting a doctor to come in at any minute to take my
old stitches out." Jake winced at the thought of getting
stripped and poked on in front of Vera. 'Oh, hell', he
thought, 'she's even seen me in my boxer shorts before'.
Hall's voice over the phone brought Jake out of his
unpleasant reverie.
	"You're practically the only one she openly communicates,
Jake. Try to find out what the last thing she remembers. I
heard from the guys in San Francisco about how you gave her
multiple choice questions and communicated with the simple
numbers or the yes-and-no answers. Now that we know more,
you should be able to do it."
	Thomas Hall was a brilliant man, and Jake kicked himself
for not coming up with the idea himself. He thanked the
agent and turned his attention back to Vera. She was in a
deep sleep, having had another array of antibiotic
injections a short while ago. He hoped the doctor would
come before Vera woke up, so that everything would be done
in time. Then, he again stared at Hall's 'jack-pot' prize
and compared them with the drawings in Vera's sketchbook.
'Yes.' Jake thought. 'Finally, there's a hope.'
	The delivery of the Red Shoes letters that had been
neatly stuffed into a small cardboard box had arrived by
Federal Express at seven the following morning. The box was
in Mulder's name for obvious reasons. Apparently, Scully
had told one of the agents that the contents of the box
were investigation documents, but not important enough to
warrant a personal delivery. Jake immediately opened one of
the letters, and was soon lost in deep thoughts. 
Vera once questioned Jake about what he was reading while
she did the drawings. He told her as much as he could
without getting into the forbidden territories. Thus, their
conversations regarding the subjected letters were sporadic
and rather awkward. 
Once, Jake said: "This letter is from a woman who loves
one of her students." Then, he said: "This woman is a
doctor, and she fell in love with one of her patients."
Next, it was like: "This one tells me about a man who fell
in love with a woman he delivers the daily mail to." Then
next, he told her: "This letter here is about a woman who
re-enacts some low-budget movie she saw years ago by
cooking and cleaning her house while talking about her life
on the phone to a complete stranger." Jake had seen the
subjected movie on account of Alex's habit of renting
movies on Saturdays. Therefore, he understood what the
author of the letter was going through.
Even as he talked Jake had a gut feeling that Vera
understood enough of what he said, because Jake suspected
Vera had the mental, if not emotional capacity to
understand the complexity that comes with various adult
relationships.
	"Sometimes people believe they are in love, only to
realize that they'd been wrong from the start. The level of
this problem depends on how soon they can discover their
mutual false. Sometimes people stay with people whom they
know to be wrong for them and pretend to still be in love.
They do this to convince themselves that there was no need
for them to leave the current dysfunctional relationship to
find the one person with whom they can declare their
undying love to."
Now, Jake felt like he was talking to a therapist. Vera
stared back at him, and he sensed her mind working hard
behind her green eyes. 
"Unfortunately, my parents were a perfect example of the
dysfunctional couple. They thought they loved each other,
but their love was only skin-deep. They had me before they
were ready for parenthood. I discovered later that I was
the product of an unplanned pregnancy. They were married,
but they weren't planning on having a child until ...well,
I happened.
	"...I'd never seen them kiss, and I never saw them dance
together. My father never brought flowers home, and he
never gave my mother an engagement ring. She just wore a
plain platinum wedding band until she was fifty years old,
which was only three years prior to their deaths. I
...never saw them acting affectionately toward each other.
Their marriage worked well in the eyes of any casual
observer. Both of my parents worked, providing me with
shelter, food, and education. Eventually, they grew distant
from each other until they were reduced to being two
friends helping each other out. It was pretty much
inevitable that their already dying relationship changed
them into two strangers raising a child." 
Finally realizing what he'd been dreading about, Jake
snapped out of it and stared directly into Vera's demanding
eyes silently waiting for him to continue. He shook his
head 'no'. He couldn't burden her any further with his own
pain. Desperate to give her something to smile about, he
searched his memory until he found a perfect subject.
	"You have no need to worry about or doubt your parents'
love for you, Vera. Your parents were very, very much in
love with each other, and with you. They've supported each
other throughout the years, trying to come up with a cure
for yours and your mother's cancer. They did absolutely
everything in their power to save you. You, my darling,
were the result of their love for each other. 
"You were very fortunate to have parents who loved each
other, and whom loved you twice as much as they loved
themselves. I wish they were my parents. You were born
because they wanted you, and because they were ready to
have you. You should be proud of yourself and your parents
for the love they gave you." 
Jake had to stop before going too far. 'Why would anyone
turn out to be the way they are?' He swallowed hard as he
felt the old pain of longing. Jake decided to keep reading
the letters.
	Past experiences and traumatic events that relate to all
issues of love affect the judgements of those involved in
love relationships. These effects normally wouldn't limit
themselves to their love life, but also reach into their
sex life. Jake's love life had always been a rather
crippled one. If he had a good sex life, there was hardly
any real love in it. Sometimes he'd stayed in it, because
he didn't want to feel alone. Then of course, there were a
couple of relationships in which he devoted his life into,
but his efforts ended up unanswered. 
Mostly, Jake kept putting up the Sunday newspaper ad for
the past three years, because he found so many answers to
so many questions in these women's letters. These letters
held such high degree of importance in Jake's life, because
they came from real people with real problems and real
answers.
	Jake guessed he was taking care of Vera rather well, if
all the positive responses he'd been receiving from Vera
and the X-Files team was any indication. What he'd said to
Scully when she commented on how much his manner for taking
care of Vera had reminded her of his own father had come
from his heart. A large part of why he was able to give
Vera the care he gave her was because he was giving her
everything he desperately wanted from his own parents as a
child. Of course, ever since their deaths, they were
forever unable to amend their sins to their only child. 
'God damn me if I let myself be the jerks they were', Jake
thought. He knew what it was like to wait at home for his
parents all alone, frightened because he didn't understand
why or where exactly they went to, and just what was so
important that they both had to leave him unattended for so
long. He knew what it was like not being able to keep a
pet, especially a dog. He knew how it felt to be ushered
into his room by his parents and left alone in the darkness
of the night at the end of each day.
	Jake never learned how comforting it must feel to have
bedtime story readings. His parents always left him alone
with books to read, instead. There were no hands picking
him up from his bed each time he woke up screaming from a
nightmare. They'd open the door, switch on the lights and
look inside from where they stood at the doorstep. They
never reached for him nor stayed with him until he calmed
down. They merely told him that he'd had another nightmare.
Then they would tell him that they were trying to sleep, so
don't scream so loud if it happened again. 
Whenever Jake got really sick, Jake was forced out of
their house to go to school because both his parents
worked, and they didn't bother getting a babysitter. As
sick as he was, he'd often stayed in the school's health
service room until one of his parents came to take him
home. Other kids at school stayed away from him until he
got himself back to health.
	Three times, Jake remembered contracting severe stomach
flu or diarrhea. In all the three times, his mother had
kindly sent him to a nearby clinic by himself to get an IV
hooked up to his arm. On the way to the clinic, he had to
stop once or twice from the stomach pain and nausea. Then,
he was forced to bear the humiliation of dropping his pants
in the middle of a field or a parking lot to relieve
himself while his mother had stayed home and did whatever
Jake couldn't give a damn about. 
Twice, Jake got sick and threw up in a hallway at school,
both times in plain sight of the passersby. People stayed
even further away from him after those incidents. 
Jake never watched TV with his parents, because they
watched whatever they wanted. The programs of their choice
usually consisted of people butting their heads in a big
field somewhere, hitting small white balls on green
manicured lawns, or dysfunctional married couples having
sex with whoever they could get their hands on.
Jake quickly learned to get used to being alone, but he
didn't handle loneliness quite as well. 
Everything backfired once Jake hit puberty and entered his
adolescence. He couldn't help wanting love that he couldn't
have. He eventually stopped waiting, and gone out to fill
what he felt was an eternal emptiness that constantly
threatened to swallow him whole. Fortunately, he didn't
have to look far to get the available alternative to his
needs, because there were many who offered themselves to
'satisfy' him. His presentable appearance had been a
frosting on a cake for them.
	Jake had been so deep into reading, he hardly noticed
when Vera fell back asleep. There were about fifty letters
in total, all of them unread. When he was halfway through
the pile, he called it quit. He chuckled when he noticed
Vera was sleeping with her sketchbook still clutched in her
hand. Her coloring pencils were scattering atop the
bedcovers. He stood up and gathered the letters neatly into
the box, disposing the opened envelopes into the trash.
Jake then took Vera's sketchbook and gathered her coloring
pencils quietly without waking her. 
When that was done, he resumed his seat in the chair and
took out his Swiss Army knife. Then, with his well-learned
hands, he began sharpening the exposed lead of the coloring
pencils. This was something he hadn't done in a long while
and the very act of sharpening these pencils brought him
closer to his real self. He had been feeling the strong
urge and the need to return to his roots, or else lose
himself.
	Carefully without waking Vera or alerting the guards at
the door, Jake reached for his briefcase and took out his
laptop computer. He had to do something that was
exclusively for him, and by him. Something that no one, not
even Fox Mulder, could imitate. He eventually chose to do
his long-abandoned architectural work. The cruise ship
blueprint he'd been neglecting for the past three weeks
appeared on the small gray screen. Jake's practiced fingers
traced the pages of his own designer notebook, in which he
stored his new ideas. 
Jake's trained mind soon began creating a series of
three-dimensional images. He tried to memorize them, and
did more sketches on the papers before pasting them into
the computer with the portable scanner that always came in
handy, and let the machine do the required imagery
clean-ups. Once he began working, his mind screamed with
delight and he let himself be lost in this revisited
freedom called 'self'.

Prescott Hospital 
Mulder's Room
Noon Same Day

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Kathler? You are still in a
lot of pain, and I personally..." The doctor's warning was
cut short by the notebook his patient thrust into his hand.
At the doctor's exasperated look, his patient stubbornly
refused to give in. The doctor sighed and read the
patient's scribbled words.
	"Look! I need to be as sane as I can be without blacking
out with pain. The drugs are making me nauseous. It's
forcing me to think slowly, and I have a hell of a lot to
catch up. I don't mean to be difficult, but I have the
right to consider my treatment options as your patient. For
as long as I stay quiet in my bed, nothing will go wrong.
All I have to put up with are the pain and the flu. All I
want from you is to reduce my painkiller dosages. I'm not
asking you to stay out of my room." 
The doctor shook his head in disbelief, but eventually
he'd agreed with his patient's demands. Beside them, Scully
sat in her designated chair, her head slightly lowered, but
her eyes were looking up directly at the doctor. Scully's
pursed lips told the doctor that she'd advised against this
idea before she called him in.
	"All right, you asked for it. Don't blame me if you wake
up in the middle of the night, screaming." The doctor said
as he left the room with the shot of anesthetics. Mulder
felt his judgement waver, but he refused to show it. Scully
couldn't be fooled, however.
	"I know how much you want to start catching up, but you
have the flu, and..." Scully's words were also cut short as
his free left hand reached for hers. He scribbled something
and handed her the notepad. Scully was already used to this
method of conversation, and knew to wait until he'd
finished writing.
	"I know what's done to me, because you told me. I'm not
going anywhere, and I'll follow whatever the treatment they
give me. I'm only reducing the painkillers in my system.
That's all, Scully." As Scully looked up from the notepad,
Mulder shrugged and raised his eyebrows as if pleading her
to see the logic in his argument.
Scully grudgingly accepted Mulder's decision, but she knew
that he didn't take his pain pills the night before or this
morning. In fact, he hadn't taken anything for pain for
more than half a  day. It was hard for her to have to
ignore the level of pain her partner must be experiencing.
But then, she was doing a pretty good job of ignoring her
own pains. She still changed bandages every day whenever
she stepped out of the room to freshen up. So far, both
gunshot wounds were healing nicely.
	By late afternoon, the flu had made its move on Mulder,
making him suffer fits of cough, sneezes and runny nose.
The pain his body responded with each cough turned him even
paler than before. He'd followed his doctor's orders to the
letter, but stubbornly kept refusing pain medications. 
Eventually, it had gotten bad enough for Mulder to order
Scully out of the room to prevent her from contracting the
flu from him. But Scully knew his true reasons for kicking
her out of his room. Mulder didn't want her to have to see
him like this. If he were shot or recovering from some
nasty extraterrestrial virus attacks, he would very much
appreciate her company. But when she has to put up with his
shortened temper, various expressions and complaints of
pain that he wasn't able to hold back; plus the constant
noise of coughing, sneezing, and blowing of his nose, it
was just too much of an embarrassment for him to endure.
	Scully stayed in the staff meeting room, reviewing the
case files she'd saved in her laptop computer and making
another entry on her field journal. She even called her
mother in Baltimore and had her retrieve a spare key to
Mulder's apartment that she kept in her own apartment.
	"Mom? He's hospitalized while working in an undercover
assignment. I'm afraid it's been a month since we've left
D.C., and someone needs to feed his fish and possibly clean
out the tank for him." Scully couldn't believe what she was
asking her mother to do. "Mom, Mulder has an automatic
feeder for the fish. It keeps dropping certain amount of
food every day for a month. I gave it to him for Christmas,
so he wouldn't have to worry about them. But it's probably
close to empty by now. His mail must be stacking up, too. I
don't want him coming home to find no running water or
power, let alone an eviction notice." 
Scully had taken care of everything for her own apartment,
because her mother was getting her mail. Plus, she kept
addresses for the utility companies to mail them her checks
in time, which was something that hadn't even occurred to
Mulder.
	"Is Fox hurt again?" Margaret Scully asked with a genuine
concern that only a mother could express. Scully briefed
her mother on Mulder's condition, just to the extent of
telling her that he'd had three damaged ribs, contracted
the flu, and a badly broken jaw, which was preventing
Mulder from telling his thanks to Maggie Scully in person.
	"Oh, dear. Well, at least they're not life-threatening."
This type of response would most likely be misinterpreted
if spoken by anyone other than Margaret Scully. Given Mrs.
Scully's personal history, however, anyone with a sound
mind would find where her strengths came from. After all,
she had married a Navy captain, raised two sons who entered
the US Navy to follow their father's legacy, lost her
eldest daughter to a terrorist, and had a surviving younger
daughter in the FBI, whose occupational hazards probably
tripled both of her brothers. 
Margaret Scully also knew what was serious and what
wasn't. She had a tremendously strong stomach, and had an
iron will that had passed onto her children. She had won
Mulder's complete trust and adoration almost immediately
after they'd first met. Dana Scully knew how Margaret cared
for Mulder as if he was a part of the Scully family. Mulder
returned the favor, though he didn't overly show his
affection for her unless he felt it was right to do so. 
Scully had no idea why he still felt like an outsider even
after four years of knowing her family. But then, she knew
how much he respected her and her family's privacy. Her
missing for three months plus Melissa's death had prevented
him from getting too deeply involved with her regardless of
how close he wanted them to be. She had been lucky to have
a warm, stable home to return to while growing up. The
family moved a lot, of course, but they'd always stuck
together; while the Mulder family had been torn apart ever
since he was twelve years old.
	"It was pretty bad at first, but he's concentrating
really hard on getting better. But, he's handful as usual.
He ordered the doctors to give him little to no pain
medication. Not only that, he just ordered me out of his
room, so he could suffer in private. He's so stubborn, it
frustrates me to no end." Scully sighed, silently damning
herself for giving so many information that would
ultimately worry her mother.
	"Honey, you know very well that this isn't the first
time, and it probably isn't the last time, either." As
Scully listened, she could picture Margaret shaking her
head with a slight resigned smile on her face. Scully
returned the smile.
	"Thanks, Mom. I love you, and I miss you. Mulder misses
you, too." Scully was sure of that, although he might not
even remember how much they'd cared for each other during
the earlier stages of this investigation. Margaret's soft
laughter and the sweet 'I love you' were their parting
words.

 

Fairfield Central Hospital - ICU Staff Meeting Room
Fairfield, CA 7PM Same Day

Skinner compared the two images, one from a sketchbook he
gave to Vera, and the other from a printed enlarged copy of
the computer-scanned sketch, then nodded an agreement.
	"They're certainly the same. So, how much have you found
out, Agent Mulder?" Minding that the guards were right
outside the thin glass door, the AD asked Jake who stood
across from him. Jake bent forward over the round table in
front of them.
	"I've questioned Vera about them. I've done so mostly in
the same manner we've used since the day we've met, which
is to say that I gave her about three alternatives and she
picked out the right answer. So far, she doesn't remember
where she lived, but she remembers her parents and her
mother's advancing cancer. She remembers her parents'
murder, but only vaguely. It was apparent that she'd
witnessed the murders, but not the little details. She
remembers Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas mornings, but
again, only vaguely."
	"Why doesn't she remember anything about how to speak,
how to write or read? Mr. Kathler, she does have the
capability of learning any language she wants to, and I
believe that her parents did teach her the English
language. You're the only one who can pull it out of her.
Mulder might be of some help, but neither Scully nor I will
risk another panic attack from Vera." Skinner said, leaning
in closer and studying every detail of the two identical
images in front of him. Jake shifted.
	"But if she doesn't have to mask the images any longer by
added layers of other images, maybe she's remembering them,
and this time ...without the fear. Look, I don't know if
you've noticed this, but when she came back, something was
different about her. She demanded a lot of attention from
us, but she was mentally, and possibly physically, much
stronger than she was before. I'm aware of her having the
branched DNA that you guys are treating with antibiotics. I
just think it might be a good time to try bringing her
memory back. She hadn't lost as much as we were initially
led to believe."
	"You can really lose her this time, if you don't be
careful." Skinner's reluctance was the same one Jake had
before coming to understand what an X-File investigation
required. Jake suggested to Skinner that he'd ask Vera
herself for consent. 
Just as Skinner tried to exit the room, Jake reached for
him and physically stopped him, though never roughly.
Skinner froze on spot, not used to anyone grabbing him.
	"What did you tell her?" Skinner turned, a bit annoyed at
Jake's lack of manners, but stomping on his shortening
temper the moment he sensed the fury coiling like a snake
preparing for an attack behind the younger man's calm
exterior.
	"Excuse me?" Jake already knew not to take the man's
reaction at face value.
	"What did you tell her that was so terrible, that it made
her cry? I know how much it takes for her to cry in front
of somebody. I've only seen her do it three times. Once
when I took her to a business meeting where she was
surrounded by twelve angry sweating men, who threw
accusations at Vera and me to crucify us. The second time
was when I first saw her in this hospital after her return.
The last time, it was when you two talked two days ago in
her hospital room. Now, what the hell did you tell her?" 
Jake's voice was a carefully controlled whisper, but his
cold eyes betrayed his tone. Skinner held the younger man's
angry gaze for a long moment before he decided on his best
available response.
	"It had to do with her past. About her parents, and what
they did to save her life. It was something she needed to
know. Now excuse me." Skinner finished the conversation
with a slight nod. Jake got out of the man's way, and
watched as Skinner made his rather hasty exit. 'Yeah,' Jake
thought, 'he's definitely hiding something.'
This was something that was stuck in his mind for a while,
and he needed it out. The logical conclusion was that
Scully was the closest person to Mulder, and therefore she
might know something.
	"What is it, Jake?" Scully asked Jake, who took a deep
breath and made sure that they were out of earshot.
	"Just before Mulder left Vera's room prior to the
kidnapping incident, Mulder told me something about needing
to talk to me in an absolute privacy. I could tell Mulder
wanted to discuss whatever was on his mind for a while, but
he knew how much Vera and I needed to be with each other,
so he refrained from mentioning anything. But Mulder was
dead serious when he began prepping for the switching game,
so I know it was actually a deadly serious matter."
	"Can you be a little more specific? What exactly did he
say to you?" Scully asked Jake, dropping her voice to a
mere whisper.
	"He said: 'there's something I need to talk to you about,
but not when she needs you this much, and not unless you
can be absolutely alone. I'll call you when I can, but
right now, just focus on watching over Vera. I wouldn't
have pulled a stunt like this unnecessarily.' ...That's it.
Mulder was gone after that."
	"Okay." Scully answered, disappointed that nothing much
came out. "So, it's something very important, and something
he didn't want Vera to know. Mulder didn't want to scare
her. ...What? Hmmm..." Scully was a hard thinker, and Jake
waited as she tried to search out the answers in her mind.
Then, she realized the precise reason for why Jake could
deal with their current situations as well as he had been.
Certainly too well for someone with his background,
especially while being under these circumstances. "Oh, God.
...Noooo. " She wondered aloud, and decided to test the
waters. "Jake? Did Mulder tell you about Vera's test
results?" Jake's expression darkened instantly.
	"What's wrong with her?" The coldness returned to Jake's
gentle once eyes. Jake's transformation was remarkable, and
Scully wondered what else her news would do to this man.
Jake's voice held its intensity as he repeated the
question. She finally shifted in her seat, a warning 'brace
yourself' almost spoken aloud by the look she shot his way.
Jake swallowed hard, but gestured for her to continue.
	"I'm a medical doctor, and I'm your friend as well as a
temporary partner. I won't disrespect you by lying to you.
I've checked her records and found that her mother had a
cancer gene, which had been passed on to Vera. But in her
medical records, it wasn't the nasal pharyngeal mass that
her daughter was shown to be developing in our initial
exam. I don't know just what kind of cancer Mrs. Jarvis
had, but the cancer gene was somehow modified in Vera's
body, most likely during the time she'd spent in
captivity." Jake's head shot up in alert, making him stand
upright.
	"What do you mean?" Jake went into the restroom and
closed the door behind him, so that Vera wouldn't be
awakened by whatever the reaction this news would elicit
from him.
	"What I mean, is that when Vera was abducted for the
second time, she had been physically experimented on; just
like other abductees we've investigated in the past. On
Vera's first abduction, Mulder had a theory that she had
been spared from the stereotypical physical experiments the
abductees often report on, because of her genius. But in
return, her mind was exploited and her brain was
experimented on during those two years. This time, however,
they took her with a clear intent to kill her."
	Jake's face instantly turned transparent and his legs
suddenly grew numb. 
Jake managed to keep his erect posture, while his gaze
darted everywhere in search of something to focus on.
	"It's inoperable, and it's incurable except maybe by the
serum. It's also extremely difficult to treat, because of
the tumor's type and placement. It is our belief that since
Vera had an inherited cancer gene; they've found a way to
modify it to speed up its growth rate, so that Vera
wouldn't survive it. 
"There's a high concentration of radiation in her system
from the physical examination, and this probably
contributed to the problem. We've seen other abductees show
up with blistering on their exposed skin. Vera's branched
DNA was to stop us from ever successfully treat Vera with
the serum. We can't treat her with it if her DNA itself is
a biological poison. With this tumor, statistically there's
a zero chance of survival. It's a matter of fact. The
absolute truth."
	"Excuse me for a moment. I'm getting sick." Jake
muttered, uncertain.
	"Jake? Are you all right? Do you want me to stop?" A
sudden attack of spasms set warning bells in Jake's head,
but he knew it was better if he heard it all at once. 
"No. No, please do continue. I'd rather get it over with."
Jake waved at her to gesture her to get on with the rest.
Scully gave him a brief look of skepticism, but continued
when he insistently nodded at her. 
"...When I was returned, I also had the branched DNA. They
partially changed my DNA structure to turn my own body into
my enemy. They put an implant in my neck, which recorded my
brain waves and neuro-chemical signals as they were sent
from my brain to the rest of my body. With these types of
information, they could know my every thought. 
"We've found the same condition in Vera, except that I was
taken three years ago, and their technology was too
premature to spare me from the coma. Vera had the branched
DNA much like the one I had, but they'd spared her the
additional consequences it brought me home with. Mulder
learned about the treatment of antibiotics injections from
his outside sources to treat the branched DNA."
	"I knew something was wrong with her DNA, and that the
antibiotics were helping her. But what do they have to do
with her inherited cancer gene?" Upon learning the essence
of this particular illness, Jake's head quickly filled with
questions that needed to be answered right away.
	"When they took her the for second time, they had the DNA
experiments, whatever they were, completed. But they knew
exactly what Vera was capable of, which made it necessary
for them to make sure that she wouldn't survive the cancer.
They took a precaution by either repressing or erasing a
part of her memory. But their main plan was to modify
Vera's existing cancer gene into something deadlier. No one
knows how they did it." 
Scully hated herself for being the messenger in this
detail, but there was no one better around than herself.
Jake's tightened fists began to tremble, and Scully noted
his whitened knuckles as his grip tightened even further.
	"Just why didn't you fucking tell me all this when you
first found out?!" 
Jake hissed, barely holding onto his loosening temper.
Scully stood her ground, but her eyes quickly filled with
guilt as she recalled a particular conversation she had
with her mother when Scully told her the news of her
cancer. Scully hated herself even more, but now, because
she made the same mistake twice.
	"We've been withholding these information from you,
because we needed to have you at your absolute best. We
couldn't trust your ability to keep a straight face when
you did the hostage negotiations. Mulder's emotional, but
never to your degree." The look Scully had on her face
right then was hard to analyze. It was a neat combination
of apology, sympathy, guilt, honest criticism, skepticism,
and reality.
Recognizing this had elicited another fit of nausea from
Jake. 'Another stupidity factor for volunteering to play
Fox Mulder', Jake thought. But there was a lot of truth in
her statement. Everyone was counting on Mulder and his
sharp intellect. He had thrown his best and only barely
managed to keep up.
	"I know Skinner's in it. I want the truth before I
personally kick his ass, and yank his balls off with my
bear hands!" Jake spilled the beans before he realized he'd
spoken aloud. This time, he literally slapped himself in
the face. 'A shock of pain would do you some good, stupid!'
He belated himself for the countless time since he began
impersonating the federal agent. Scully shook her head as
if to clear it, then frowned as the meaning of his words
registered in her brain.
	"Please calm down. What about Skinner?"
	"It's something I've been investigating. Skinner's hiding
something, but I'll tell you more when I know for certain.
I'm sorry, Dana. Please go on, and I promise you I won't
bite." Jake took her sigh for distress.
	"Okay. Shaw, Dr. Claiborne, and me were trying to develop
the serum based on the information Clive Shaw had in his
safety deposit box, plus what Mulder retrieved out of
Bionix before it was destroyed. It was for Vera as well as
Clive Shaw and the millions of abducted women."
	"How long does Vera have? ...I need to know." It took all
of Jake's self-control to keep his voice neutral.
	"No one knows for sure. But at the current rate, no more
than two to three months." Scully was profoundly grateful
to Jake for not calling her 'Dana' right now, which made it
easier for her to slide into her doctor mode. However,
clinical detachment wasn't one of Jake's talents. He was
getting past transparency, and pretty much looked like
death warmed over. At the very back of his mind, Jake
wondered if he was a masochist for doing this to himself as
he asked the next question. 
	"What are the chances of us, I mean Vera, taking the
witness stand?"
"...Trials take time, Jake, and you know it from your past
experiences. Sometimes, it needs years of waiting before a
case is even presented in the open court. We can take
depositions as a safety net, but not until Vera either
relearns or remembers how to communicate. Otherwise, it's a
joke to even try to present her as a credible witness."
Suddenly, Skinner's earlier remark returned to Jake's
conscious mind.
	"Skinner said something about regression hypno-therapy.
Why can't we try that? He said that you wouldn't risk
another panic attack from Vera, but it's worth a try.
Honestly speaking, we've got nothing to lose here. I don't
have to have her leave here without telling her story.
People need to know this, and I think Vera needs to do this
as much as my need to know about what happened to her, as
well as what is going to happen to her." Jake knew when and
how to push himself, and he sure was testing his limit now
by actually voicing the words 'leave here' in front of
Scully.
	"She's dying, Jake. I don't want to have to put her
through any of it. She deserves some peace and quiet." Jake
thought he detected a slight faltering in her voice toward
the end. He knew how hard it was for Scully to see such a
young girl going through what she herself would be going
through in a near future.
	"Dana, I want that for Vera more than anything. But the
question here is what does she want to do? I know she's a
tough kid. She would want to do everything she can to help
us through this, and maybe that's what she was trying to do
all along by doing all the drawings. It's a matter of
finding a way to reach her through the wall."
	"Jake? You sound frighteningly close to Mulder." Scully's
voice grew considerably stronger, seeing that Jake was
standing on his own.
	"Let me ask her. Skinner confessed to me earlier that
he'd already told Vera some things about her past and about
her parents. Vera was crying when I caught them talking to
each other. I don't know what the old man said, but it
takes a whole lot more to make her cry than to make me cry.
It had to be something devastating." Jake shook his head in
wonder, still thinking up the best way to make the older
man suffer for whatever he'd done to Mulder and to Vera.
	"Do you think she can handle it?" This was the most
difficult question Scully could have asked of Jake. But
fortunately, Jake had the answer, if not exactly the best
or the right one. Jake nodded.
	"If you're asking about depositions, yes. But I'll still
ask her for her consent before throwing her into the
storm."
	"Would you be able to handle it?" This was a question
Jake had no answer for, so he answered her so, but he
needed to do this. Scully agreed and told him to talk to
Vera while she called Skinner. Jake stopped her and asked
her to let him do it.
	"All right, then. But promise me that you won't kill
Skinner regardless of what he says to you. ...He has a
wife, after all." Scully said her friendly warning, and
Jake chuckled in response. But he never actually made any
promise to her. He'd already had the truth from Vera, and
unlike anybody else; Vera wouldn't lie to anyone. 
Jake still couldn't believe Scully would conceal such
vital information from him. But then, he wasn't even a
legitimate legal guardian, yet. He was merely Mulder's
double. He didn't have any FBI training nor the Oxford
psychology degree. Jake stayed in the staff room for as
long as it took to calm down before heading toward Vera's
room again. Once out of the meeting room, the whole world
seemed and felt different to him. He showed Mulder's badge
to the guards, and thanked them for keeping watch.
Some oriental instrumental music was playing in the
background as Jake opened the glass door. Jake listened to
it for a moment before he closed the door, gathering
himself before screwing up the courage to face Vera. 
Vera put down her sketchbook and reached for Jake the
moment she recognized his carefully masked distress. He
took a deep breath and gave her a kiss on her forehead,
thinking about the evil tumor growing in there. He wanted
to fall to his knees and start wailing like he'd done
before, but he couldn't lose it. Never before he finished
asking her the big question. Jake gritted his teeth, and
distanced himself by choosing to simply stand beside the
bed, instead. Vera was aware of Jake's intention, and
straightened herself a bit before nodding at him. Jake took
another deep breath.
	"Vera, I have to ask you an important question. I need
your opinion, because it has to do with your current
medical condition. I don't know if you remember this, but
when we were living together, you played with my computer
equipment and saw some of your drawings that had been saved
into it. Something in there really scared you, and you were
in a hospital while I watched over you. That was just
before the bad guys took you away from me and beaten me up.
Do you remember what scared you so badly?" 
Jake desperately held back the tears that kept threatening
to come back. He watched in abject horror as Vera picked up
the sketchbook that had been sitting on her lap all this
time, and held it up to him. It was the one she'd done of
her parents lying side by side in a pool of blood. Jake had
forced himself to forget that perhaps the most honest and
realistic person in this world was the child sitting in
front of him. Jake's tears finally broke the dam at the
realization, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in a
feeble attempt to hold them back.
	"Vera? I feel terrible about this, but you are the only
one who can tell us what went wrong, and how it all
started." Jake spoke around the huge lump that refused to
leave his throat. "In order to do so, you'll need to
remember how you used to speak, write, and read. You are
still capable of doing all that. You were only forced to
forget about them, and because your mind was trying to
protect you from seeing these horrible images I've
mentioned. But I see now that you're not hiding your
memories. I believe you were trying to remember to tell us
the answers we are all looking for. Am I right? Be honest,
my sunshine. I need you to be sure." 
Vera was nodding her answer before Jake had finished the
statement. She kept nodding until Jake dropped his
shoulders and leaned forward to place another kiss on her
face, this time choosing her cheek as his target.
	"Okay, Vera. In order to help you remember your past;
we'll need to put you under hypnosis. Regression Hypnosis
can open up the parts of your mind that you normally
wouldn't recognize, and it will make you remember things
that your mind buried deep inside it. I want you to do this
to remember how you were before your parents died; before
the bad guys harassed you, and before the aliens took you
away. You can stop the sessions at any time you felt you
need to. Just give us a sign, and the hypnotician will
bring you out of the trance." Vera gave Jake another nod
when he paused. Jake took another deep breath.
	"I will be there to watch over the sessions, but I'm
afraid I can't hold you or sit next to you. But I'll be
close enough to see you. Dana will also be there, and maybe
Mulder could join us, if he's well enough." Jake never
mentioned AD Skinner, whose name had a lot of blood -
either dried or fresh, smeared all over it. Vera nodded
again, but kept her gaze on him. He knew she was scanning
his mind again and knew better than to table the issue.
	"Vera? Do you still trust him?" The 'him' didn't need to
be spelled out. She nodded. Jake's eyebrows rose. "Are you
sure? I'm asking, because I can't trust him any more. But,
you have an ability to know what's in people's hearts. You
know what I'm thinking. I'm mad at the man for what he's
done to Mulder, and to all of us. What makes you still want
to trust him?" It wasn't really a question. 
In response, Vera began drawing something on the
sketchbook. Jake recognized the gesture that she needed to
tell him something, much like how he knew Stella did by her
wagging her tail in to convey messages needed to be given.
	It wasn't shocking to see Vera draw something that looked
like a large gun and a tree that had unusually large
leaves. 'That looks like a coconut tree', thought Jake. 
Next, Vera drew a human figure in a standing position,
then added a small hole on it and a curvy red line trailing
down from the hole. That red trail was unmistakably blood.
Vera then added another tropical plant around the figure's
feet, then a gun in his hands, then finally added tears
streaming down his face. All these elements could add up to
only one figment of Walter Sergei Skinner's life.
	"Vietnam War?" Jake asked, his hands now resting on his
waist. She nodded her confirmation. Next, she began a new
drawing. Jake waited patiently. This whole thing was like a
trivia or a drawing game he'd played in junior high. Vera
drew a figure laying on a bed, with some kind of tubes
connected at the mouth. Jake watched with interest as Vera
again began coloring the figure's head with orange, and
realized that was the hair of a woman.
	"His wife?" He asked, but got a 'no'. There was only one
alternative. "Dana Scully?" A nod was Vera's answer. Jake
nodded back, wondering what the tubes were for. After Vera
added a couple of figures wearing masks around the bed, he
decided the scene was a hospital room, and Scully had an
incubator breathing for her. She was in a coma, after all.
Jake hadn't yet heard a lot of things about Scully's
abduction experiences, but he knew by her reluctance and
nervousness that it was a damn horrific experience.
Just when he thought about exiting the room to meet up
with Skinner, Vera picked up the sketchbook again. This
time, she drew three human figures holding small guns
aiming at each other. A three-way stand off. Jake's blood
ran cold. It ran even colder when she began adding hair on
one of them with orange. He was deathly pale by the time
she added a pair of round eye glasses on another one. This
was Skinner, in the center of a three-way stand off with
Scully and somebody else whom Jake assumed to be Mulder.
Vera watched Jake for a long moment before closing the
sketchbook as her sign of closure. He nodded her an 'okay'
before exiting the room.
	Jake asked the guards at the door to keep watch for Vera,
because he needed 
to step out of the room for a while. When Jake called on
Skinner's cellular, the man was at the roof, catching a
little 'fresh air'. 'Considering Skinner was Cancer Man's 
puppet, the irony can't get any bitterer than this', Jake
thought. He told Skinner to stay there, because they needed
to talk. 
When Skinner complained about his schedules, Jake told him
that Scully and he had decided to give regression hypnosis
a go as soon as Vera consented, which she just did. Skinner
began barking, but Jake hanged up on the man. To Jake, it
didn't matter why or how the man gained Vera's trust. If
what she'd told him was true, then Skinner might be ready
to bury them all in the sand. But before doing anything
more, Jake needed to clear up the issue of distrust. 
Jake flew up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
The exertion did some good by calming him down. When he
yanked the metal door open, Skinner was leaning forward on
the security fence, apparently deep in thought.
	"You cut the deal yourself, didn't you?" Jake's voice
made Skinner's body make a sharp 180-degree turn. Jake
stood shaking his head, never looking away.
	"What?" Skinner's portrayal of confusion was perfect.
Jake kept shaking his head with disgust.
	"You ordered the brain surgery on Mulder. You are the one
responsible for his memory loss." Jake's every word weighed
a ton, dragging down the suddenly stale air with them. Jake
took one very slow and sure step after another like a
predator stalking its prey before pouncing for the final
kill. Skinner looked away, but he felt Jake's eyes like a
pair of daggers that were pinning him down. 
"You wanted to play the perfect knight in shining armor
when your soul was already reserved for the devil." Jake
kept talking, carefully monitoring Skinner's reaction. He
took a few more steps while Skinner stood rigidly on the
spot. Jake could almost smell the blood that had smeared
the man inside out. 
"I hope you know just what you've done. Mulder's put
everything he's got into this case, and all you do is deny
him access to his own accomplishments. No wonder Mulder
feels so small, although he's one of the most honorable,
respectable men I've ever come to know. 
"You must be one of those shadowy gophers for Consortium.
Using Mulder, Dana, and whoever else that gave their lives
for the sake of the truth. You are destroying Mulder's
reputation, his confidence, his pride, and his whole life.
I can't believe I've even thought you would be the right
person to take care of Vera in case I don't make it out of
this alive. You were the cleaver chess player who got
caught cheating. You're one of the Cancer Man's secret
weapons, as well as one of his precious puppets. ...So,
tell me something. How dare you call yourself a man?"
	Now, there were only a few feet of distance left in
between the two angry men. Jake expected Skinner to throw
him a hard punch or two by now, and he couldn't care less.
But instead, Skinner stood still. Only his hands moved,
forming bone-white fists. Jake moved in for the kill.
	"I'll ask you again." Dropping his voice lower, Jake's
expression turned to a smirk. "Did you make a deal apart
from the one we've made, in order to authorize the memory
irradiation surgery on Mulder?"
	"It's God damn easy for you to say! You have no idea...!
No idea about what we deal with on daily basis!" Skinner
fired his words like an M-16. Jake didn't flinch, because
he'd expected much worse reaction from the man than this.
Jake leaned further forward until their noses almost
touched, anger making his voice a hoarse hiss.
	"Then make me understand! What's worth eliminating his
memory of ever meeting Vera, or about saving Elly's life?
Oh, and let's not forget about Stella! She's taken a flying
bullet for the man, and he can't even remember that she
exists! Also, let's not leave out the two weeks of personal
hell he'd put himself through for Sarah Martin, just so
that he would be ready to help Vera through the load of
shit she'd been through! 
"Also, if I may be so selfish as to count myself into the
list, I'd been beaten up and thrown into a trash chute,
just because I was mistaken for the man!" Jake was
screaming now, and for once, there was no one to stop him.
"You knew all about what had been happening to us, and you
kept looking the other way!!"
	"I wasn't responsible for any of that! Special agents
Mulder and Scully are the only hopes we have to expose the
truth for the public to see. They are justice's most
powerful weapons against Consortium. If the blackening of
my name, my reputation, and my dignity are the prices to
pay in order to save their lives, I'm glad to pay them.
...I have already paid them more times than I care to
count. You haven't seen enough to sing such a pretty crap
to me, Kathler! You don't know shit." 
Skinner jerked his jaw, bearing his teeth for effect. Jake
kept glaring at the older man, letting his boiling rage out
in the open.
	"Oh, I think I know enough. You're just too blind to see
what really matters. You've been in it for way too long,
you forgot how everything looks from the outside. A
mountain looks a whole lot different from a few hundred
miles away. The trick is not to get lost while you actually
climb it." 
Jake wiped his smirk clean, and now his dilated eyes held
a grimmer fit for a moonless night. 
"You wanted the case to be thrown out of court! I was
wondering why you let me pose as Mulder for this long, and
now I know why. You didn't want them finding out that you
screwed up, and you definitely didn't want to be the one to
get smoked. I bet you wetted your pants when you discovered
about Mulder and I switching places. Mulder had the insight
of something like this coming. He visited you right before
he was snatched away and my car got bombed. How convenient
is that for you? ...What, did you ring the Morley Man,
telling him that Mulder was hot on trail for his cigarette
butts?!" Jake took a few deep breath, watching as Skinner
looked down for a moment before fixing the younger man
again with his penetrating gaze.
	"In case you haven't yet noticed, Mr. Kathler, we live in
a world where nothing is what it seems. It's a world where
night is day and day is night; where the criminal and the
lawful trade places from time to time; where the truth and
justice are sold to the highest bidders. It is a world
where there's no true good or evil, because sometimes you
have to soil your hands with evil in order to serve for the
greater good! 
"We all walk on the gray line and swim with the sharks
just to survive the game. In our world, sins are committed
for righteous causes, and I don't expect you to understand
just how tough it is to hang on to our sanity while keeping
up with the pack! Whatever it is you may think I did in
this case, it was what I had to do in order to save
Mulder's life!" 
Jake watched as Skinner's expression gained a deep, old,
and honest pain that was unidentifiable, but somehow
familiar. Jake finally dropped his shoulders, seeing that
Skinner was truly feeling guilty for his own actions. But
Jake's disgust toward the man was never replaced by
sympathy, nor understanding. Jake shook his head 'no'
again.
	"You're probably right about all that. However, telling
me your story doesn't change what you've done to Mulder. Is
there any way you can take his memory back? By another
surgery, perhaps?"
	"No, there isn't!" Skinner spat his words in Jake's face,
but Jake only gave a slight nod in response.
	"Then, find a way. Get Mulder his memory back, and I just
might forgive you."
	"I can't do that, Mr. Kathler, and I'm in no need for
your forgiveness."
	"Okay, but what about forgiveness from the others? Are
you going to tell Scully and Mulder about this? To Mulder's
recovering mother? To Scully's mother who made a panic call
to save her own daughter from hundreds of miles away, while
you may be the one who sent the terrorists on their way? To
Vera, whose chance of living a normal life was diminished?
To those innocent souls in San Francisco who Mulder worked
with?" 
Jake's stashed hand appeared from his borrowed trousers
pocket, snapping open the holster and removing the safety
of the Sig Sauer. Skinner noticed how Jake's eyes stayed
fixed on his. Jake rested the hand on his waist and
gestured Skinner with the other hand to step out of the
roof. Jake then motioned the man toward the stairs.
	"What do you think you're doing?" Skinner asked wearily.
	"Pull out your cellular phone. Dial Dana's number, then
tell her and her devoted partner personally about what
you've done. You owe them at least that much." Skinner's
eyes widened, realizing what Jake was getting at. "It also
wouldn't hurt to tell them why you did what you did,
because that might just spare you some pain and suffering
when you face their wrath." Jake shook the gun, willing
Skinner to comply.
	"What makes you think I would actually follow your
orders?!" Skinner stashed his hands in his trousers
pockets, a classic gesture of resistance. Jake pulled out
Mulder's gun and aimed its business end directly at
Skinner's groin.
	"I don't know. Maybe the fact that you don't have a
choice." Even as Jake spoke, he didn't expect Skinner to
comply without some more hard push.
	"You've never even handled a gun before, Kathler. I
suggest you put that thing down, because now I can legally
blow your brains out." Skinner hissed, but he moved to
follow Jake's demand as he spoke. Jake shrugged as if it
was to be expected. After all, this man was capable of
pulling a gun on his two best agents.
	"Fine. But you still have to tell Agents Scully and
Mulder everything. They're entitled to the truth." Jake
watched Skinner dial the number and press his cell phone to
his ear.
	"Scully." Her voice was so smooth and neutral. Skinner
closed his eyes.
	"It's Skinner." The AD's voice came out an octave higher
than its normal level, and he hastily corrected it.
	"Sir? What's wrong?" Quick to detect a trouble, her voice
dropped a few notches.
	"Agent Scully, is Mulder with you?" 'This should tell her
there's enough privacy', Jake thought as he listened in.
	"Yes, sir. I'm still in his room in the ICU. He's awake
and with me. What can I...?" Skinner wiped his forehead,
trying to start the explanation.
	"I need to tell you something. But first of all, Miss
Jarvis gave Kathler her consent for the regression hypnosis
session. I know you two have been discussing about this. If
that's what it takes and everybody's in agreement, you have
my support over this issue. However, I warn you that you're
on your own with this. I'll look the other way, but not for
long."
	"Yes, sir. I... Umm..." Scully was obviously in shock
that Skinner would agree to go that far.
	"It's been decided, Agent Scully. Leave it at that before
I change my mind."
	"Thank you, sir." Scully was quick to respond. Skinner
took a deep breath before going on. Jake was still standing
close by, aiming the gun at him. But Skinner knew that Jake
knew about his previous career as a marine officer.
	"There's something else." Skinner hissed, his free hand
curling up into a fist. Jake still watched Skinner's every
move like a hawk.
	"Yes, sir?" Scully's tone was neutral but insistent.
	"When Mulder was taken, Cancer Man offered me a deal. It
was a deal separate from the one Kathler and you were
cooking up. He told me in explicit detail about what he was
doing to Mulder; about the pain he'll be in before he's
finally killed for good. They were really going to finish
him off, because they didn't know who they had. Jake
Kathler was a stranger to Cancer Man." Skinner heard Scully
gasp, and some rustling noises in the background. Skinner
winced and went ahead before Scully's short temper blew. 
"Cancer Man was going to make the whole thing cleaned and
changed into a signature hit of a serial killer, or an
accidental, fatal gas explosion. The buildings were old,
and he could easily blow them up. Another hideout was also
an old bar. There won't be anything to recover once the
explosion hits the alcohol stored in there." 
	"Oh, my God. ...Wait a second. What are you...? Are you
telling me that you cut another deal with Cancer Man?
Alone?!" Scully's voice skyrocketed once she figured out
the reasons behind this call. Skinner took another deep
breath before dropping his gaze over the white concrete
floor beneath his feet. The contrast of his black shoes
against the concrete made him dizzy for a second before he
concentrated on his shoelaces. 
	"Yes, I did. The condition of the deal was the surgery to
eliminate Jake Kathler's memory from the time he met Vera
Jarvis, to the point when he was operated on. They didn't
know that they had Mulder."
	"Wha...?!" Scully began, but Skinner cut her off.
	"Let me finish! ...Cancer Man was going to let me have
the game once we made a deal. But I didn't expect the
showdown to go to such extent as to directly negotiate the
deal that Kathler made. The whole thing got out of control
when the terrorists separated from Cancer Man and followed
Kathler's lead. Mulder, as I speculate it, knew that
Kathler was going to be attacked no matter what. I believe
Mulder tried to divert the attention from Kathler and Vera
by making himself a decoy. Of course he won't remember any
of this, so we'll never know if it was a freak
coincidence."
	"...Why are you telling me this now?!" Scully yelled into
the phone, and Skinner quickly distanced the phone from his
ear. But then, he wasn't going to miss the only opportunity
to tell her his current situation.
	"Because Jake Kathler himself is standing in front of me,
with Mulder's Sig 
Sauer pointed at my balls and threatened me to call you."
Skinner glared at Jake, who holstered back the gun the
moment he got his wish, and now was shrugging as if to say,
'So what?'
	"Sir, are you expecting me to trust you that you're
telling me the truth?" Scully's voice sounded as if it was
ground out of her raw anger.
	"Agent Scully..." Skinner moved to explain himself, but
she paid him no heed.
	"Don't bother doing the rest of your confession speech
over the phone. I'll hear it all in Mulder's room.
Personally." Her tone honestly chilled Skinner as he tried
to keep her on the line, but she'd hanged up before he had
a chance to get another word in. Jake watched as a defeated
Skinner stashed his phone back into his coat pocket.
	"What did you say to Vera?" Jake asked, still not giving
up.
	"What are you talking about? I told you it was about her
past." Still annoyed out of his mind, Skinner faced Jake
once again.
	"Bullshit. There was something else you told her that
made her cry. I've asked her about it, and about her
parents' murder. She was able to tell me about the incident
without losing her composure. She even drew the scenes in
detail for me. Don't you lie to me again, Assistant
Director Walter Skinner."
	"All right. I told her what are to come. About what was
keeping her in the hospital despite our knowledge that she
hates hospitals flat-out and manages to hide it. I've read
Mulder's therapy reports, and I've learned from his session
tapes to be honest with patients, especially when they are
kids."
	"What?! No wonder you scared shit out of her! What makes
you think you have the right...?!"
	"Calm down, Kathler. I've never underestimated her
intelligence, her strengths, her depth of understanding of
this world, and her ability to find reason in it. ...I knew
she could handle the news, and she has. I knew it was a
horrible thing for her to hear. But she needed to hear it
eventually, or else she'll be even more afraid not knowing
just what was eating her alive. She needed to face it." 
Skinner's eyes misted over even as he spoke the words, and
he turned his face away a bit to prevent Jake from seeing
his weakness. Jake kept his gaze on Skinner, though,
willing the man to face him.
	"I've never read Mulder's Martin therapy reports, and I
need to have them ASAP. I understand Vera enough, but not
the way Mulder does ...did. I know why you've been shutting
me out of the door, but I need access to them. I need all
the help I can get." Jake was again breathing faster,
anxiety and fear tingling his nerves.
	"All right. I'll see what I can do." Skinner nodded an
assurance and looked out toward the city. Air was much
cleaner out here compared to Los Angels, and definitely
cleaner than the Nation's Capitol. Jake nodded his thanks.
	"I pulled the gun on you, because I know what you're
capable of." Jake moved in for another round of the
sparring match.
	"I don't know what you mean." Skinner's voice was
carefully neutral.
	"I meant about the time you had a three-way stand-off.
With you, Mulder, and Dana. Each one of you were pointing a
gun at each other, although it looked like you were aiming
at Dana while they both aimed at you." It was Skinner's
turn to go pale.
	"How did you...?"
	"Vera. Remember, she can mind-scan. She saw it when you
went bearing your soul to her. Twice. Once you were
thinking about Vietnam War; about someone or yourself
getting shot and bleeding to death in a jungle. Then, you
were thinking about Dana in a hospital, surrounded by
doctors and nurses, breathing through a respirator."
	"How did she...?" Again, Jake cut Skinner off.
	"She drew them for me to see, because I asked her if she
still trusted you after all the wrongs you've done. She
answered 'yes'. I asked her how it was possible, because it
was impossible for me at that point. That's when she drew
the images for me. She believes you're a good man, and I
know deep down in my heart that you are, too. I just don't
want to believe it right now, because I'm angry. When I
told her you were hiding something from me and possibly
from others, Scully told me not to kill you, because you
have a wife." Jake shrugged. Skinner stood open-mouthed
while Jake continued. 
"...I haven't a clue just what made you pull your gun to
your best agents. I can only guess that you did some other
bad things to them, and they were scared for their lives. I
know that those two would never pull a gun on you unless
they thought it as an absolute necessity."
	"It was a tape." Skinner's voice sounded as if it had
been pushed out of a clogged drain.
	"A tape?" Jake raised his eyebrows. 'Gee, thanks Skinner.
That really narrowed it down.'
	"A micro digital cassette containing a list of test
subjects' names. Agent Scully's name was among them. I had
it on my person with an intention to give it to Agent
Scully. Agent Mulder, at that time, was missing in action
and was presumed dead. Scully had her gun pointed at me,
because she'd been warned by someone from Consortium that
her assassination was ordered. She thought I'd be the one."
	"Why am I not surprised?" Jake said, shaking his head.
Skinner swallowed the stinging words.
	"It was a false information. I told her to take us to
somewhere we could talk. She chose Mulder's apartment. She
pulled her gun on me the moment we walked inside. They told
her it would be someone she trusted. I showed her the disk
I was going to give her. We were aiming guns and shouting
at each other, firing accusations. Mulder heard it from
outside, so he burst inside with his own gun drawn. That's
when he ordered me to give the tape to Scully. Much in the
same manner as you had." Skinner aimed his glance at the
hip holster on Jake. Jake shrugged again.
	"I knew you'd be capable of killing me if you wanted to.
But, I've learned from the best that sometimes I needed to
get on people's nerves in order to reach them. And once I
reached them, they'll feel a whole lot better that someone
else's sharing their burden."
	Jake remembered the way he shouted his brains out to Vera
for scaring the hell out of him, and she gave him her
trust. Mulder opened up to him when he hit his nerves. 'Mr.
FBI', Jake teased him, and that did the trick. It seemed to
work on Skinner, too. Only Jake had needed to risk his life
to do it. It was a gamble, and he'd won big.
	"Don't get killed over it next time." Skinner said, and
saw Jake smile briefly, nodding his understanding. 'Yes.'
Jake thought. 'It was the right thing to do'. "I'll be at
Prescott." Skinner muttered as he briskly walked away.
	"Sure. Don't get killed over it yourself." Jake joked,
and watched as Skinner gave him a dismissing wave without
turning around. Jake stayed where he was for a long while
before returning to Vera.

 
Prescott Hospital - Mulder's ICU Room
Los Angels, CA
6:30 AM Next Day

The previous night while Skinner's phone call came, Mulder
was listening to the taped hostage negotiation where Jake
took charge. Mulder could only regard Jake's intentions as
brilliant and noble, but rated the younger man's tactic as
reckless. When Mulder told that to Scully, "So are you,
Mulder" was her only answer. 
The other thing Mulder caught was the time he heard
himself call Scully by her first name. He knew it was Jake
Kathler's preference in addressing her, but if he had been
tortured for indeterminable length of time with electric
shocks, he wouldn't have had enough presence of mind to
think about his temporal identity, much less how Jake
Kathler preferred to address his partner. Mulder sounded as
if he was really on the barge of insanity, and he was
forever incapable of learning whether it was an act or for
real. He inclined for the latter.
	"Scully, all I know is that if I was calling you 'Dana',
it's because I needed you badly. I sounded like I was dying
in there." Mulder winced at the memory of hearing his own
horrific screams. Jake Kathler's transfer order came
through as soon as Skinner asked for it. Scully then
mentioned Jake's idea of getting Stella to come with them,
emphasizing her point that it would certainly help Vera
regain her strength faster, Skinner groaned but ordered two
agents to drive Stella out to Fairfield Central.
	It was evident from the previous night's confrontation
that Mulder's presence was necessary for the regression
hypnosis session of Vera Jarvis. Mulder insisted Skinner
his need to be able to finally meet the girl, and to
witness the session. He insisted that it would enable him
to make notes on the sessions and compare with the notes
from Sarah Martin's sessions. Scully was surprised to learn
that Jake really had pulled Mulder's gun on Skinner to make
the man confess. It made Mulder's jaw literally drop before
he screamed from the pain. But, what amazed Scully the most
was how readily Mulder forgave Skinner. They both knew how
dangerous and how serious Cancer Man had to be to take such
extent measure of action.
	"Who's this gun-ho, Jake Kathler?" Mulder wrote on his
notepad.
	"Your perfect double." Scully joked, reaching to tousle
Mulder's hair. Scully knew by the way Cancer Man offered
the deal that Skinner really had no choice. However, she
was still infuriated about Skinner keeping these secrets
during their 'rescue operation gone awry'. Jake could have
died out there in the nest of cobras. 
All went much easier once Skinner agreed to take Mulder to
Fairfield Central for convenience. Skinner didn't want to
risk having someone shooting down the chopper, but Mulder
insisted on going, or else put the sessions on hold until
he made enough recovery. As a compromise, Skinner let
Mulder have his way this time.
	Although Scully hated to see Mulder in constant pain and
sickness, she saw a dramatic improvement in him because of
that. He responded much quicker, his thought process much
more complex, and he even got his sense of humor back. Now,
he was more Fox Mulder the partner, than Fox Mulder the
patient. Though his coughing, sneezing, and runny nose
couldn't be helped, his fever and nausea were gone almost
completely. He still uncharacteristically followed doctors'
orders to the letter, the attitude telling Scully and
Skinner how important it was for him to get better.
	Upon their arrival, the three agents gathered in the
meeting room and discussed their plans with the fellow
agents. Mulder was immediately sent into his assigned room,
and didn't even get a chance to meet Vera or real Jake
Kathler. Mulder's complaints went unanswered, because no
one was taking chances. The rest of the team only knew him
as Jake Kathler, the federal witness. 
"We'll be calling you when the session starts." Skinner
said as he closed the door to Mulder's assigned room in the
floor directly above the Pediatrics ICU ward. The hospital
was about half the size of Prescott, but Mulder liked it
immediately. Here, people smiled more and their attitude
was contagious to the fellow agents.


Fairfield Central Pediatric ICU - Vera's Room
Fairfield, CA
8: 15 AM Same Day

Scully knocked on the door before entering, noting that
Jake was lying down on his side over the bed beside a
sleeping Vera. Even when she entered, Jake didn't seem to
take notice. She approached the bed quietly, and smiled at
the peaceful sight that greeted her. 
Vera's head rested on Jake's outstretched arm, her body
guarded securely by his other long, strong arm. She noted
that Jake already shunned Mulder's jacket and shoes to
stretch out on the bed. It was more for the sleeping girl's
comfort than his own. Vera was claiming Jake's flat long
torso to cuddle against, her hands clutching at Jake's
draped arm while her head stayed pressed against his chest.
'Listening to his heartbeat', Scully noted. She placed the
tapes and report files from the Martin sessions on the
nightstand next to the flower vase. She wasn't too
surprised that Jake would request them, but she was
surprised that Skinner consented.
	Just when she was about to leave them, Jake's eyes
fluttered open, his index finger pressed against his lips.
Scully observed them for a bit longer, realizing for the
first time that Jake had been very much alert for the
entire time, and had only looked asleep. In a whisper,
Scully briefed him about Mulder's relocation, and about the
impending arrival of a hypnotician. Jake nodded his thanks
and watched as Scully exited the room. Jake gently caressed
Vera's long hair and dropped his head back onto the
pillows.
	Skinner informed Scully of the hypnotician's scheduled
arrival within twenty minutes, telling her to get Mulder
loaded into a wheelchair and get down to the meeting room.
But when she arrived in Mulder's room ten minutes later, he
was already off of the bed, trying to get dressed in his
own business suit, so he at least looked like himself.
Scully quickly realized her partner's obviously painful
efforts had been fruitless.
	"Mulder, I told you to stay still. It's hurting you,
because you're practically off of your painkillers. Broken
ribs alone are enough." She said as she threw him a
charcoal grey suit. Mulder's eyebrows rose, and he grabbed
the ever-present notepad.
	"When'd you get these? I don't remember buying these."
Mulder said, inspecting the import designer label and
raising his eyebrows.
	"Out of Jake's collection. You have a suitcase full of
clothes, but needless to say, Jake's been making a good use
out of them." Mulder threw his head back, his eyes
narrowing in dismay.
	"What?! I don't want a stranger wearing my clothes!"
	"Mulder, Jake's playing you. Don't worry, he's sending
everything he wore to the dry-cleaners. Don't complain. Let
me help, and let's go." Scully said as she threw Jake's
pale green silk dress shirt over his bare shoulders and
helped getting his arms into the sleeve holes. Mulder
groaned, but did his best to kill off the screams. 
Scully took care of his socks and shoes while he buttoned
the shirt, then she helped pulling on the borrowed trousers
on him while he worked on knotting the tie she picked out
of Jake's tasteful collection. She waited long enough for
Mulder to zip up the trousers before helping him wear the
jacket. She noticed that Mulder had lost some weight again,
and the trousers were loose-fit. She worked on getting his
hair as close to Jake's preferred style as she could while
he buckled the belt on. 
It was all a beautiful teamwork, but it still took them
ten minutes. Looking from a short distance, though, Mulder
did look like Jake Kathler. She nodded with satisfaction,
and handed him a hand mirror. Mulder widened his eyes at
the sight.
	"So, this is the guy who makes a living designing and
building skyscrapers. The guy who converts a loft into a
house, rescues a ten-year old girl off the top of his
latest skyscraper one stormy night, wears top import
designer suits, takes a daily walk with a large spotted
dog, reads women's letters, and drives a white BMW?" Mulder
wrote, and was rewarded by her soft laughter that was so
alike her mother's.
	"Yeah, pretty much. ...He doesn't move as fluidly as you
do, and he doesn't have your sense of humor." Scully gave
Mulder the tip before looking at the time, instantly glad
that Mulder had shaved during their chopper ride. She knew
by now just how much Mulder hated wheelchairs. However,
this time he never complained. What's more, he'd apologized
to her for needing her mothering.
	"It doesn't matter, Mulder. I know you'll do the same for
me."
	"I would walk through a million infernos for you." Mulder
wrote as Scully opened the door, and saw her smile when she
read the words. 'Yes!' Scully thought triumphantly. 'Fox
Mulder is back'.
 

Fairfield Central Hospital Executive Conference Room
10 Minutes Later

The room was located on the top floor, chosen partly
because of its sound-proof walls and the non sound-proof
inner door that divided the room in half. As Mulder
suggested, the inner room was installed with a couch and a
reclining chair. Recording devises were placed at the
bottom of the coffee table set in between them. It reminded
Scully so much of the office of the hypnotician Melissa
forced her to see. She swallowed hard at the memory of
running out of the doctor's office that first time. Mulder
looked up at her wobbling gaze, and reached up to squeeze
her hand. He didn't need to write a word.
"I'm sorry. It's just a flash back." Scully muttered in a
near whisper. When Mulder kept his gaze on her, she
attempted to convince him further. Mulder pursed his lips
and placed his hand on her forearm before letting it slide
back down to his lap. 
It was Mulser's idea to observe the session from the outer
room through the video monitor screen because of his flu.
If he kept interrupting this session with his constant
runny nose and sneezing, they won't get anywhere. He had a
cup of herbal tea and a fresh box of Kleenex on the table
beside him. He soon shook hand with the tall, balding
hypnotician in his late forties and introduced each other.
Jake followed directly behind Skinner into the room with
Vera attached to his shoulders and chest. Jake was fully
warned of what reactions could be expected from Mulder, and
eyed Scully as if to ask whether everything was all right.
Scully nodded a reassurance.
	Mulder was deep in thought, staring into the camera
monitor in front of him when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned around, and froze at the sight that greeted him.
Jake took the first move as he offered a handshake.
	"Jake! How're you doing? I hope you're feeling okay now.
You look much better than you did the last time I saw you."
When Mulder didn't answer, Jake quickly indicated the
entire room focusing on them with the movement of his eyes.
'Do something, damnit!' the man's eyes screamed. Mulder
awkwardly shook Jake's hand, wrote down his own thank-you
remarks and held it up for him to see. Jake nodded, and
raised his voice a bit to draw the audience's focus back on
him before Mulder blew something.
	"As you all know already, this here is Vera. She's been
missing you, Jake. Remember in the beginning how she
wouldn't go anywhere without you? But I know your
condition, so I've explained it all to her. She understands
you can't hold her or be with her until you're back on your
feet." Jake was trying to move things smoothly. Mulder
looked at the girl, and wanted very much to hold her. She
had a pair of green, large, and rather melancholy eyes. 
Mulder couldn't believe that he was no longer allowed to
remember their first meeting, ever. She had such haunting,
as well as penetrating, gaze that made him feel naked.
Mulder nodded and motioned for them to go through the inner
door. Jake nodded, knowing Mulder had the flu and the
possibility of their contracting it.
	From the main room, Scully observed the scene and
breathed easier. 'So far, so good'. Mulder's current
condition enabled them to part with Vera in minimum time
without drawing suspicions. Mulder watched his double and
the little girl walk into through the door to the inner
room. 'So,' Mulder thought, 'that's how I look like in
others' eyes.' He even noted his service weapon strapped
onto Jake's waist. Jake Kathler obviously had enough time
to observe Fox Mulder. Everything from Jake's hair to
accent to the way he walked, though still a little stiffly,
was so like his own. Soon Scully exited the room, closing
the door behind her and marking the start of the session.
She sat down next to her partner, close enough for a
private conversation.
	"They'll be fine. They let Jake stay, because they
believe he is you, a trained psychologist. But he's there,
because he's still the only one Vera allows to completely
open up to. Jake reviewed your therapy reports and the
tapes, but he's never seen a regression hypnosis session
before. I told him not to get scared, and to take
everything as it happens."
	"You said this guy was pretty much ready for anything. If
he's lasted this long in my shoes and managed to stay
alive, I don't think there's much to worry about. The guy
knows exactly what happened to her parents, right?" Mulder
rested his hand, looking into her eyes. She nodded.
	"Yeah, we had to tell him eventually. The other agents
also updated him, because they knew you were the top
primary in this case."
	"We'll observe the best we can from here, but did you
tell him not to interrupt the session no matter what? Or
not to touch her unless she begins to panic?"
	"Sure. Skinner and the hypnotician briefed both Jake and
Vera. She's an incredibly strong girl, Mulder. She even
handled the news about the cancer she has. Jake was furious
at Skinner for going about it behind his back, but Skinner
knew Vera would have been even more frightened if she
didn't know." Mulder nodded a bit in reply before running
his pen over the paper again.
	"That was risky, but it's the right thing to do. Jake's
not even her legal guardian, yet. The girl has the right to
know." Mulder finished the comment and sipped his tea. Then
he reached for a Kleenex and blew his nose as quietly as he
could. In the monitor, Scully saw the hypnotician begin
placing Vera under. The girl's hand and arm were held up as
if they were floating in the air.
	"Okay, she's under." Mulder wrote it down. Scully
released an inaudible sigh. Mulder knew that if the girl
actually possessed speech skills, she would start answering
the moment she was demanded an answer to a question asked. 
They could hear the conversations through their
headphones. Skinner was no exception as he came to sit in
the chair opposite his two best agents and stared intensely
into another monitor. From what they understood, Vera was
to be guided through the course of her life, starting from
the oldest memory. Then, the hypnotician will slowly move
Vera up until the day her parents were murdered and she was
taken. The rest needed to wait.
	Daniel Sims, the hypnotician was now guiding Vera through
an imaginary stairs and a door. Scully closed her eyes,
listening to the hypnotician's words coming directly into
her own ears. Why had she ran away? 'Because I was scared,
Chickenshit.' Scully rubbed the sides of her face, at the
spots near her temples. She concentrated on Sims' voice.
'Calm down, Dana. Nothing you can't handle will happen here
now, and you won't run out of this room. Mulder's here with
you, remember?' 
"What is your name?" Sims's smooth monotone voice was easy
to focus, to fall into, and so very comfortable. This is
the spell of hypnosis.
	"Vera. Vera Max... ine Jar... vis."
	A thin, unsteady, and unfamiliar voice began echoing in
her head, and Scully snapped out of her reverie. Mulder's
eyes shone radiantly, and he was glued to the screen.
Scully soon followed his gaze, and noticed Jake had his
hand over his mouth, most decidedly to keep his reactions
to the absolute minimum. Skinner, who also had the
expression of shock and delight, kept his attention on the
girl's voice.
	"Can you move your body? Your eyes?" Sims continued,
quite aware of the magnitude of reactions from the man sat
behind them and those from the next room.
	"Y... es." Vera's voice sounded very dry and unsure, as
if she'd spoken for the first time and wasn't used to the
sound of her own voice.
	"What do you see, Vera? What can you tell me?"
	"I'm... I'm on a bed. I can see the model airplane
hanging from the ceiling."
	"Where is this?"
	"My house. My bedroom." This time, Vera spoke flawlessly.
	"Okay. What else do you see?"
	"A window. I can see the trees from my window. It's sunny
out, and pretty soon it'll be hot like it was yesterday.
I'll be fine, because my Mommy will turn on the air
conditioner. It'll be okay." Vera was nodding as if this
was a normal occurrence.
	"When is this?"
	"Tomorrow's my third birthday. I'll be three."
	This grabbed the attention of every adult in the two
rooms. 'Three?' Scully's incredulous expression asked.
Mulder nodded and wrote, "It isn't uncommon for children,
especially for a girl her age, to remember the events from
when they are as early as two years old. She's also under
hypnosis, which allows her to recall events much more
clearly than her conscious mind can." Reading this, Scully
sank deeper into her chair.
	"Are your parents with you?" Sims continued on, firmly
focused on accomplishing his mission. Vera shook her head
'no' in response.
	"Not until two. ...They come home at two on weekdays.
Then they go out again at four."
	"Is there somebody taking care of you?"
	"Our housekeeper's here. It's a big house."
	"Where is your house?"
	"Sacramento. Been there my whole life."
	Scully, Skinner, and Mulder all recognized Vera's voice
gaining its stability with every answer. Mulder moved his
focus of attention and wrote something in the notepad. As
he passed it to Scully, she jumped at his touch and stared
back at Mulder. His excitement made lights dance in his
eyes, mesmerizing her for a moment before she could bring
her attention back to the matters at hand.
	"We're at the top of the game, Scully. She's got to come
through." Reading this, Scully nodded slightly and instead
of speaking, kept focusing on Vera and Sims's voice while
writing down her response on his notepad.
	"This is great, but it'll be a problem if the girl
doesn't remember to talk outside the hypnotic state. You
know they'll strike her down immediately from the witness
stand if she can't."
	"I know, Scully. We've been through this before."
Mulder's emotional rampage mode began kicking in. Though
Scully had expected this, it was still hard to hold a very
excited Fox Mulder down even in his current condition.
	"Mulder, get a hold of yourself. We need to be
cautious..."
	"What makes you think I can even make it out of this
hospital?!" Mulder jotted down the words angrily even
before she finished. Scully shook her head in resignation,
and pointed to the monitor screen. 'Focus, Mulder', her
eyes ordered. Mulder followed her forefinger. Listening
again to the voices from the headphones, he finally decided
to close his eyes for awhile and let his mind do its
visualization work. 
The session was now moving onto the details of her fifth
Christmas, just around the time that the Jarvis' began
making their attempts at getting out of Bionix.
	...Small round lights illuminate the living room walls in
various colors. The tree's so tall, that it barely touches
the ceiling with the star on top. Looking down at its base
there lay a pile of gifts, all neatly wrapped with bows and
ribbons. The edges of the small greeting cards with the
recipient's name are clearly showing. Waiting. Waiting for
her...
	'Just one, Vera. Go on and pick. You can open the one you
pick out tonight, and the rest will have to wait until
tomorrow morning; after the Santa comes and drops your
favorite one in your sock.'
	'My favorite one?'
	'Yes, dear. You know that Santa Clause knows what your
favorite is.'
	'If I was a good girl?'
	'Yes, and you've been a very, very good girl this year!'
	'I know I was!'
	...Laughter softens the crisp winter air. Then the phone
rings. Dad picks it up, and listens to it. His smile
vanishes, and he walks out of the room with the receiver.
Phone code stretches to its max when he finally stops...
"Mom catches up with him, but she tells me to stay where I
am. I don't want to, but I will, because it's Christmas. I
have to be a good girl if I want the Santa's gift. 
'You see, Vera, its going to be your favorite gift. The
favorite one, I promise.' Mom says before joining Dad again
at the phone. I hear Dad yelling into the receiver. Mom
tells him to be quiet, because they were at home and this
is the holiday season. I don't know what the call was
about, but I know it was about their work, and it made them
very angry. They talk about someone in the hallway after
hanging up. Name... Name... I can't quite hear it, because
they talk in such low whispers." 
On the monitor screen, Jake was shifting uncomfortably,
obviously sharing her pains and reliving similar events
from his own past. He probably wasn't the only one who was
thankful that Vera's eyes were closed.
	"...Mommy left for work with Daddy just like they did
yesterday. She wore her favorite white bulky knitted
sweater, and got one in my size, so we looked like a couple
of snowmen." 
	It was clear that Vera had skipped to the details of some
later events, since she began speaking in mixed tenses. It
was unclear just when these events are from, but the
audience remained captivated none the less. Vera spoke
flawlessly, seemingly compelled to enlighten her audience
as she did herself.
"Dad said she had to go to a doctor called an Oncologist
that she'd seen before coming home. The one working at Mom
and Dad's research building. What a funny name, with so
many 'o's. I don't know anyone named like that. I wait for
them with a baby-sitter, a high school girl living next
door. But I hardly see her, because the 'next door' is
about a block away." 
Everyone except for Sims froze the moment the magic 'o'
word got mentioned. They knew they'd reached a critical
stage. Vera continued on in the same flawless manner as she
had before, only her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly in
either discomfort or concentration.
"...We're sitting in front of the television and drinking
lemonade. The glass gets wet, because it's so hot out. I
have a cold, and Mommy said the air conditioner isn't good
for a sick kid." Vera pouted, and Sims gave her a short
pause to let the girl collect her mind. No one wanted her
to skip anything important, and they were all afraid of
Vera hopping too much.
Again, Vera skipped to much later events. An unmistakable
look of frustration crossed the agents' faces, including
Skinner's, before Mulder sighed and took notes. When he
wrote 'get straight - later session' as a memo, he got a
sharp glare from Scully. He winced, but shook his head
'no'; not in agreement, but to insist on having another
session after getting through the details about the rest of
Vera's earlier childhood and the first abduction. 'We need
those details, Scully. She's volunteered for this, and knew
a good deal about what to expect.' Mulder added, and Scully
now gave him a murderous look that made him flinch. 
Scully roughly shoved his hand away from the paper to jot
down 'Later!' just as roughly, and drew a tiny picture of a
shining scalpel next to it to stress her point. Mulder
backed off as Vera's voice again drew his full attention.
"...Daddy comes home, and he is sad. He says that Mommy
will have to stay in the hospital for a night for some
tests. Can we go see her, Daddy? Let's go see Mommy. Why
not?! ...Please don't look so sad. I'm sorry, Dad. I'm
sorry, but I don't know how to help Mommy. Will it help if
I made our breakfast? Picked up all my toys before dinner?
Went to bed earlier? What, Daddy?! What can I do?!" 
On the screen, Jake moved again, almost standing up from
his seat. Sims gave him a glance and Jake sat down, his
hand again covering his mouth. It was clear that he was now
on the verge of tears, and that he must have been for a
while. Not knowing much about Jake Kathler, Mulder sighed,
thinking it was a big mistake to allow the man into the
room. 
"...Daddy is still sad, and he's now crying. Mommy's not
sick, Daddy said. She may get sick, but not now. It wasn't
her that he was worried about. Why are you so sad, then?
What are you so worried about? Daddy's words can't get out
of his mouth. They're making him quiet." 
Mulder's head shot up in alarm, traces of his pains for
Vera vanishing in a heartbeat. A quick glance at Scully
confirmed that she'd caught the implications given by
Vera's last sentence. They simultaneously looked toward
Skinner, who looked back and nodded his agreement. They
nodded back. Now, the question on the three agents' mind
was whether who the 'They' referred to.
	"...I don't know why, but I don't want to go to school
today. It's nice and cool outside, but I don't want to go.
Please let me stay home, Mommy. I don't feel sick at all,
and no, I didn't do anything that would put me in trouble.
...Okay, I'm in one right now. I just want to stay home,
all right? ...No, I swear I'll do all my homework by
Wednesday. 
"Let me stay home, just for today. Please? I'll help you
bake cookies. I'll even do the dishes! ...I don't know why,
but I know I have to be here today. I'm sorry, I don't mean
to be difficult. You know I'm not the type to cut school. I
have perfect scores on all my class tests and projects. So,
why can't I stay home for just one day? I know that this is
Monday, and I had two days to stay homes, but you weren't
here most of the time. You were at your work again, in your
lab with Dr. Scanlon. ...That's his name, isn't it?" 
Scully released a shuddering breath as she recalled the
evil doctor, all smiles and the kindest of words until she
and Mulder saw through his facade. Mulder took her hand in
his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She squeezed back.
"...No, Daddy, I didn't tell anybody about him. I've never
even met him. No, he never called here while you were away.
You told me not to answer phones, and if I wanted to talk
to somebody I have to call them myself. Dad, I'm seven
years old. I can remember names, you know." 
The agents all took notes, all wishing that Sims stopped
Vera to ask for dates every time Vera hopped, but knowing
well of the hypnotician's policy to restrict interruptions
to a minimum.
	"...Glass is breaking. I know that sound, because I broke
a glass a while back when I poured milk. I get out of my
bed, put on my bunny slippers. I hear a loud bang, like
someone was hitting a wall really, really hard; like the
Road Runner cartoons, when the poor coyote falls off a
cliff for the hundredth time. Lots of pounding noises, and
more glass breaking. Are they the picture frames shattering
in the living room? 
"Mommy and Daddy are screaming, telling me to get out of
the house. I'm already running out of my window. I still
hear them screaming, saying whoever they are, please don't
hurt the child. I try to jump out of it, but someone grabs
me from underneath the roof. I scream." 
Vera kept firing her words away at her collectively
horrified audience. This was it. She must be talking about
the day her parents had been murdered. Jake was nearly at
standing position again, and Sims urgently gestured him to
sit back down. Jake nodded and did as he was told, putting
his head in his hands. He bit on the inside of his cheek to
keep from uttering a sound, and squeezed his eyes shut. 
Vera was now panting, reliving the events and trying to
get herself together, because her mind never stopped
showing the scaring images, and because she didn't want it
to stop even it killed her inside. These memories were so
vivid, she didn't know what to do except to describe them
as best she could, and who cared if she spoke in mixed
tense if it meant not missing a thing she saw. 
"...I'm scared. Who are these men in black suits? They are
so rough and strong. I see a girl being carried inside the
house. She's so still, and I can see her face briefly
before she disappears out of my sight. I don't know who she
is. I've never even met her before. I hear Mommy calling my
name, telling me to run. But the man who grabbed me is
holding me, climbing down the ladder and bringing me inside
the house through the kitchen door. I don't know why they
came here. I can only hear Mommy calling out Daddy's name.
I haven't heard Daddy scream or call my name. I'm so
scared, I'm shaking. Why are they doing this?! Why us?!
	"...Something is burning. What is it? I've smelled it
before, I just can't remember... It's the Cigarettes. I
know, because our neighbor smoked them when he came to drop
in on the last Thanksgiving holiday. I hated the smell, and
so did Daddy and Mommy. They make carpets messy. But it
doesn't matter now. The floor's already covered with
shattered glass and lots of stuff that fell off the walls
or tables. The man who's carrying me takes me through the
kitchen to the living room. 
"The room's crowded with a bunch of men in the same black
clothes. Five, six, ...more than that. I don't know,
they're moving too fast. From upstairs, I hear more things
breaking and falling. Why are you doing this? Why are you
hurting me? ...They don't tell me anything. One of the men
in the living room shouts at us. He doesn't want me in
there, in the living room. Why? It's my home, not theirs. I
can do anything I want for as long as I don't get into a
trouble, and I'm already in trouble anyway.
	"...Someone else from the backyard asked for help, and
the man's arm holding me loosened. I slid out, and landed
on the floor. I ran. I ran to my Mommy and Daddy. The
broken pieces from the dinner glasses and the dishes hurt
my feet. They hurt me bad, but I keep going. I don't know
what else to do. I can't breathe. No, the bad guys can't
catch me, because I'm too small and too quick. I know where
Mommy and Daddy were. I've seen them lying down on the
floor, moving. I can see their feet, but not the rest of
them. Two men are sitting on them, and they both have a
knife. What are you doing?! Don't hurt my Mommy and Daddy! 
"...Wait, they can't be hurting, because if they are,
they'll say so. They're not saying anything. There's the
little girl I saw earlier, when the men carried her inside,
but her head's smoking. I can hear weird bubbling sound
from where the steam is coming from. There's a man pouring
something like water over her face. Someone picks me up off
of the floor again, and takes me away. But when he holds
me, he's tall and I can see better. Mommy isn't moving, and
neither is Daddy. I don't know, just a little more and I
can see... AH...! AHHHHHH!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!"
	"Stop!! Stop!! Enough!" Jake and Skinner shouted
simultaneously upon hearing Vera's shrill screams, nearly
throwing Mulder off of his wheelchair and Scully from her
seat with shock. Mulder grimaced with pain and grunted at
his failed attempt to walk. Scully jumped into the room
after Skinner. Vera was still screaming. 
Jake bolted out of his chair, immediately scooping Vera up
in his arms and crashed her against his chest. Vera's
screams had subsided to a series of violent sobs the moment
Jake held her. His eyes were already swollen from tears
shed, but now they held even deeper shades of red. Jake put
his lips close to her ears and began muttering soothing
words. He kept his voice constant and deliberately low as
he held her tightly and slowly sat down on the couch.
	"Mr. Sims, is she still under?!" Skinner asked Sims,
handing Jake a box of 
Kleenex, but Jake's face stayed buried in Vera's hair.
	"No. I think she's out of it." Sims said, carefully
approaching them and touching Vera's hair. She was shaking
badly, that it made Jake's entire upper body shake with the
force and made his skin crawl. Jake pressed his face
tighter against hers. Feeling her exertion, Jake held her
through this explosion of her pain, grief, and fear.
	"Vera... Baby, please come back to me. You're okay. We're
all okay. It's over for now." Jake did his best to keep his
voice audible, but he was anything but okay. Skinner
helplessly remained standing, but began cleaning Vera's
face to reassure the girl as much as himself that she was
going to be al right after all. She didn't protest
Skinner's ministrations, though she didn't stop the sobs. 
When his hazel eyes moved aside slightly and caught
Scully's blue, he could see her fear. Jake knew that the
agent had been scared for some time; had to be, because
she'd also been taken out of her own home in a similar
manner. Jake quickly wiped the tears off with the sleeve of
the shirt, and apologized to her for losing control
earlier.
	"I'm so sorry, Scully. I just ...I should've expected
this, and I know it was a huge no-no that I couldn't keep
myself in my seat the whole time like I was told to do,
but..." Jake's voice shook with the force of Vera's sobs.
Scully shook her head 'no', and sighed. 'Who could blame
Jake?'
	"It's fine, Agent Mulder. I think we've all heard enough
for one day." Skinner cut him off, realizing his own
reaction. He cleared his throat and opted to get things
under control in the outer room.
	"Thank you, sir." Jake nodded, then looked back at Sims,
who motioned for Mulder to come help her. Sims didn't know
about the switch, and obviously thought it better if Jake
Kathler held the girl. Mulder hesitated, but before he was
able to respond, another agent in the room wheeled him into
the room. He looked at Scully for help. He couldn't hold
her. He was sick, and was in lots of pain. Jake read the
agent's thoughts, and stood up from the seat with Vera
still pressed against him. Jake then knelt down in front of
Mulder, so he could at least touch her. 
Mulder hated his broken jaw more than ever. He couldn't
even say a word of thanks to this very brave, yet
vulnerable, little girl. Jake watched as Mulder closed his
eyes momentarily, then release a breath. The rest of Jake's
tears dried instantly when he felt Mulder's hands slip
beneath Vera's tiny body, lifting her into his arms.
Mulder's fingers combed through Vera's fine hair, and he
leaned in to give her forehead a kiss before returning her
to Jake. 
Jake was surprised Mulder would even try the move, but
then, the man was desperate trying to fill in the gap left
by the lost month. When Vera was abducted, her age was only
months ahead of Samantha Mulder when she had been abducted
out of the Mulder home. It had to have been hell for Mulder
to witness this session, and if Jake understood Mulder as
far as he believed he had, then the agent must have pushed
himself to the limits just staying focused.
	"Jake, it's okay. She won't get sick, and I'll take good
care of her." Jake told Mulder, who nodded slightly in
return. Scully placed a hand on Jake's bent head, then
briefly touched Vera's shoulder before exiting the room
with Mulder.


Fairfield Central Pediatric ICU
Vera's Room Noon Same Day

Stella's addition into Vera's room had been more than
welcomed by those around her. Vera had been sedated after
the hypnosis session, sleeping comfortably in her bed. The
radio was playing a number of cinema scores, and it was now
playing the theme from 'Indecent Proposal', which was to be
followed by the scores from 'The Piano'. Jake concentrated
on finishing up his work and refused to leave Vera's
bedside, much less her room. 
Jake moved Vera a few inches to the side to leave enough
room for him to lay down next to her over the bedcovers and
hold her close. Jake knew she was going to want physical
contact, considering she could mind-scan. The presence of
someone familiar and calm would only help her. The doctors
complained, but Skinner kept them at bay. The doctors
eventually gave up their tirade and left the room with
Skinner. 
Vera didn't take notice when their favorite four-legged
friend arrived. But when Stella licked their faces as her
greeting, Jake held Stella and let her lick him until his
face began itching. 
The female agent who drove Stella out from Canoga Park
smiled broadly at the sight; then she proceeded to tell him
how much she enjoyed the trip, because Stella had been such
a sweetheart the whole time. Jake thanked the agent and
shook her hand before she exited the room.
	"Hey there, girl! I've missed you soooo much. How are
you? I see you're doing much better." It was so good to
finally have Stella back with him. He noticed the gauze
still wrapped up around her torso, but it was much thinner
than before. Jake happily noted the absence of bloodstains
on the dressing gauze. He helped her jump up on Vera's bed,
and climbed down from it. 
Stella had apparently been missing Vera badly, and she
soon curled up next to the girl in a familiar position and
buried her nose into Vera's long streaming chestnut brown
hair. 'Just like they used to do.' Jake thought and laughed
fondly before he settled back down into the chair next to
the bed. Stella lifted her head and looked at him, her
concern accentuated by her whimper. Jake shook his head
'no'.
	"Stay there for now, sweetie. You're our guest, and that
means you're getting a special treatment." Stella wagged
her tail for a thanks, and rested her head back down to the
mattress. Jake wondered whether Vera would be able to speak
once she woke up. She hadn't spoken since getting out of
the session, and Mulder suggested them of taking some time
to recover from the shock. Sims expressed the same concern
to Mulder, and so did Scully. 
Sims was to return for another session tomorrow, or the
day after. Time was running out for them, because of the
progress of Vera's tumor. Dr. Claiborne, who'd kept in
touch by phone ever since their transfer order was carried
out, was strongly suggesting they at least try radiation
therapy to slow down the tumor growth. Jake and the doctors
had to hold off on the plan, though, until Vera recovered
enough psychologically.
	Having too many things going on at once was frustrating,
and Jake only answered he would ask Vera whether or not she
could handle another session; and he'd insisted that if her
answer was 'yes', then he'd ask her how long she wants to
take time off. Jake thought Vera kept going as far and as
fast as she had been precisely because Skinner informed
Vera of her time limit. Jake couldn't love nor hate the
older man for it.
	"Just where are you taking us to?" Jake muttered at Vera,
his fingers gently caressing her arm.


Fairfield Central Pediatric ICU
Vera's Room 3 PM Same Day

The radiology technician and the oncology department chief
came into the room. Jake shook himself awake, having to
doze off to an exhausted sleep. Beside his pillow, a copy
of 'As I Walked Out One Evening' by William H. Arden was
lying open, face down.
	"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" Jake asked, eyeing
the men wearily.
	"I'm here to request your cooperation on Miss. Jarvis's
cancer treatment." Jake's head snapped up, suddenly
realizing the hundreds of hidden meanings behind the words.
	"You're here to discuss her treatment options." Jake
spoke conspicuously, and the man in front of him nodded.
There was no doubt the man was under a lot of pressure.
Jake offered him a seat in the other chair across from him.
The doctor nodded a thank-you and took the offered seat.
	"Yes, Agent Mulder. As you may already know, Miss
Jarvis's condition is worsening. We may not be able to stop
the further growth of her tumor, and we already know
there's no cure for it. Dr. Scully has recommended to me to
have her own oncologist fly in from Georgetown, for
console. She believes the doctor has enough experience
treating her, and will probably able to handle the
situation better. But, she wishes to do so only at your
consent." Jake's eyebrows rose. First off, Mulder was
Scully's partner. Other than that and his being a
psychologist, Mulder had no connection with Vera. Jake
appreciated Scully's concern for his feelings.
	"Has Mr. Kathler consented to this? How about Assistant
Director Skinner?" Jake asked the anxious doctor who looked
ready to break into cold sweat.
	"Yes, they all recommended that course of treatment in
the future."
	"Well, then I have no objections. Thank you, doctor."
Jake said, watching the man exit the room, nearly jumping
at the sight of the two agents at the door. The poor man
probably had never even seen an FBI agent in his life; but
now, he was being watched closely by an army of "Big
League" agents, plus its Assistant Director on the top of
it.
	Jake thought about calling Scully to thank her for the
idea, but he figured she'd visit them soon enough, perhaps
with Mulder. Jake understood that since Mulder had really
lost his memories, the man needed to get to know Vera from
scratch. Any assumption or observation Mulder had made of
Vera before was gone, and Jake didn't expect the man to be
the type to keep diaries.
	"This is a damn fine time to start, though." Jake mumbled
to himself, and reached out to touch the sleeping girl's
hair. 
For the millionth time, Jake looked at all the three of
them in the room: his tiny family reunion, minus one. He
missed his home, and missed Elly's home-cooked meals before
his thoughts returned to Vera's hypnosis session. The
Jarvis' also had a housekeeper for chores around their
house. 'No wonder Vera was comfortable with Elly from the
start.' Jake thought. Stella, whose eyes were open the
moment the doctor had walked in, whimpered to draw his
attention to her. He laughed, but immediately grew serious.
He always felt an overwhelming need to explain himself to
Stella, and he did so ever since he got her.
	"Sorry, girl. You've been gone for so long, and I'm only
giving Vera my attention. I didn't mean to be inattentive,
believe me. You've been with me for a long, long time. You
probably know me better than anyone here; even more than
Elly does, because she goes home. You live with me. 
"There's a good reason for why I'm behaving this way right
now. You probably know that Vera was sick. ...Well, she's
sicker now, and the truth is she'll only get worse. I
already know how difficult it was for you to be with me
after Alex died; and although I hate to do this to you
again, there's no way Vera's going to get better. She did
have a chance, but she didn't get it in time, because the
bad guys who shot  you and Mulder did something to Vera
that made it impossible." 
Jake had no evidence to prove whether or not Stella
understood what he was telling her, but he felt in his
heart that she knew what he was trying to say to her.
	"...I'm sure you'll be seeing me quite upset. I'll
probably be crying, puking my guts out, and depressed. I
need you more than ever, and so does Vera. She has so few
friends and you're one of them. My friend, you're the best
medicine in the world for her right now. We're counting on
you. So, please don't ever think that I love you any less,
just because Vera's in our lives." 
Stella licked his hand and placed her paw over his arm.
'Message received, loud and clear', her eyes said. Jake
smiled.
	"Vera's an incredibly strong person; probably stronger
than any of us here, but she still needs us. She's taught
me so much about life, and I owe her to do the same. This
time, I know exactly what's going on. I know who's
involved, why, and how." Though not meaning to sound as
though he was throwing accusations at Alex, Jake couldn't
help thinking about the distinct differences in the two
females in his life. Jake shook Stella's paw and let it
drop from his hand. Jake looked at the time, but knew there
was practically nothing for him to do but wait, so he began
reading the rest of the women's letters. Knowing exactly
what was about to happen, Stella bailed herself out and
went back to sleep.
	There were about ten more letters to go when the door was
knocked and Scully entered with Mulder in the wheel chair.
Jake welcomed them in, and offered Scully the chair that
one the doctors had vacated hours earlier. The agents were
still in the same outfit as they were in earlier at the
hypnosis session.
	"We wanted to give you enough time to get settled down."
Scully said, indicating the two sleeping forms on the bed.
Mulder wrote down something on the ever-present notepad and
handed it to Jake, who read it and smiled.
	"Yeah, this here's my long-time partner and your savior,
Stella Kathler." Jake handed back the notepad, and watched
as Mulder approached the now wide-awake canine and gave her
a kiss on her forehead. Stella licked Mulder's face in
return, and he scratched the areas around her ear and neck.
Scully smiled as Stella's eyes shut and leaned into his
hand, making Scully wonder if Mulder ever had a dog.
	"She'll be receiving honors equal for a police service
dog." Mulder wrote, running his fingers through Stella's
spotted coat. Jake noticed Mulder regarded Stella with pure
respect and equal admiration, making him feel even prouder
of Stella.
	"She'll probably be getting an honorary diploma from the
police canine school. It's kinda like an honorary doctrine
for humans. After the bureau will send her a thank you
letter, you'll need some room set on your wall." Scully
said as she observed Vera sleeping. Jake thanked her and
watched as Mulder wrote furiously. "...You should also know
that the FBI will be responsible for a majority of medical
expenses concerning Stella." Scully added, finally feeling
confident that she could mention about bills to Jake. He
nodded and gave her a smile of thanks before Mulder handed
him the notepad. Jake read it silently.
	"I feel terrible enough that I can't remember any of it.
I'm trying to catch up reading reports plus the ones done
by Skinner's handpicked experts. It looked like a pretty
crazy incident, even to me. I'm sorry about the damages it
caused you."
	"Hey, I already told you, that it couldn't have been
avoided if you tried. Elly said you saved her life, and now
that I've witnessed the horror those men inflict on people,
I believe it's all true. The FBI repaired everything very
nicely at my house. I only have complaints against the
Morley Man. Who the hell is he? Obviously you know each
other pretty well."
	The agents shifted uncomfortably in their seats, in much
the way those San Francisco agents did when he questioned
them. Jake waited as Mulder began to write, and Scully
began her own explanations.
	"I first saw him on the day I was assigned to the
X-Files. He was in the room where our section chief,
Blevins, was interviewing me. Cancer Man kept himself at
the same corner of the room, smoking Morley in silence the
entire time. After our first case, I saw him breeze down
the hallway, walking passed me like I didn't even exist.
Besides that, Mulder had several close brush-ups in the
past with him."
	"You mean, he's never deliberately..." Jake let his
question hang in the air. Scully shook her head 'no', but
Jake was smarter than taking that for safety.
	"No, but he's involved in most of the crisis that
happened concerning our work; both in and out of the
bureau. There's this man, Alex Krychek... look at what
horrible luck that first name brings to us... well, he was
working three years ago as Mulder's partner while I was
missing. What Mulder didn't know at the time was that
Krychek was another one of Cancer Man's snitches. He worked
as a Russian-American spy prior to his assignment with
Mulder, and he probably still does. He sells government
secrets, evidences recovered in our investigations..."
	"Jesus! He's still roaming around?!" Jake exclaimed,
throwing his hand in the air to stress his point, then
slapped that same hand over his mouth to reprimand himself
for being so loud in front of Vera, especially while she
was sleeping. To his relief, the agents ignored it and
Scully continued on.
	"Probably so. ...But, he gets certain drawbacks."
	"He better. What are the drawbacks? A grand tour of
hell?"
	The agents laughed a little with that one, but Mulder
winced, still running his pen over the notepad. Scully
looked over from time to time, seeing what Mulder was
trying to talk about to save his choice of topics. It was a
routine that had been quickly and silently established as
the result of trial-and-error in between the two.
	"Not quite, but a little close. Krychek gets beaten up a
lot from his clients and informants, which include Mulder,
Skinner, and some Consortium guys, to name a few. He was
nearly bombed along with the car he was in, and then he was
trapped in an abandoned silo in North Dakota. Mulder caught
up with him in Hong Kong, when he sandbagged the bastard.
But then, Krychek killed his girlfriend after Mulder
captured her. 
"When he and Mulder were imprisoned in a concentration
camp that conducted Black Cancer - it's a bio-hazardous
entity of extraterrestrial origin - research located in
Tunguska, Russia - Krychek sold Mulder out to the Russians.
Also, because he could speak Russian fluently and Mulder
couldn't, Krychek took that to his advantage. He's presumed
dead, but I seriously doubt it. 
"The point is, this man's already been through hell
several times over and survived. He's smart enough to get
away from Consortium and declare Cancer Man as his sworn
enemy. This is why we keep running into each other. It's
easy to be fooled by this man, because outwardly, he
appears very innocent and young. Women can be easily fooled
by his charms, because he is a gorgeous man. He knows how
to be polite, charming, and even seductive, should the need
arise."
	Jake's eyes rounded at these revelations. When Mulder,
who had been writing furiously the whole time, finally
passed his note to Jake, Scully closed her mouth and looked
towards Mulder. 'Wondering if Mulder minded her description
of Krychek', Jake noticed. Jake had, unbeknownst to
himself, become an expert on women from reading their
letters. From both Scully and Mulder's reactions, Jake was
probably right about Mulder being a bit jealous of Scully's
comments about this enemy named Krychek, and Scully was
chiding herself for it. No man liked to hear a woman he
adored or respected, let alone loved, describe in detail
just how gorgeous another man looked. 
Mulder's notepad was telling Jake about Cancer Man's
history, or a suspected version of it. It had apparently
come from one of his outside sources, who was involved in
their current investigation. Jake's eyes bulged as he read
on, and gasped in shock.
	"Jesus! This guy was involved in the assassinations of
JFK and one of your informants?"
	"Former informant. He died trying to protect us." Scully
said solemnly. Jake kept reading.
	"The guy has a say in the Oscar nominations? No wonder
movies I love never win!" Jake said in disgust. Mulder
watched carefully as Jake's expression registered fear.
"Your parents were involved in this man's work?" Scully
jumped at the statement.
	"What the hell are you doing, talking about this to
Jake?!" She shouted, and the guard at the door peered in.
	"It's just an argument, guys. Sorry, it's just an
argument." Jake apologized as a cover and turned his full
attention back to the notepad. Mulder was nodding, ignoring
Scully.
	"Alex Krychek murdered your father by an order given to
him by Cancer Man. Your sister was taken as insurance?
...Just like Vera was taken from her own family?" Another
nod from Mulder confirmed Jake's fear. Scully breathed
easier, finally understanding Mulder's intentions. Mulder
wagged his hand until Jake passed over the notepad, and
went two pages ahead to add to the last unread sentence.
	"Your father collected the medical files on the abductees
from the State Department. Dana and your sister's files
were among them ...and since it's been two years, they
might have Vera's sample in the file? Oh, this just gets
better and better..." Jake buried his face in the palm of
his free hand.
	"Mulder, that's enough. Jake's been through..."
	"No, it's fine. Just let me finish..." Jake cut her off.
"So, you are of an opinion that the Consortium isn't the
only one who's after this investigation, but Krychek's also
involved. What does Krychek want from us? Does he want the
serum to sell to other countries?" Scully pursed her lips.
Mulder shrugged. 
"This makes sense, guys. But to tell you the truth, I
don't mind anyone learning about this serum and how to make
it. If this is the true cure for the abductees' nasal
pharyngeal mass, I want the world to know." Jake looked
back at the agents determinedly. Mulder nodded and so did
Scully, but they looked at each other in silence before
Scully spoke again.
	"Jake, I agree with you wholeheartedly; except that we
don't know who has the best of intentions. Krychek may come
to kill us, and especially Vera, to prevent us from getting
to the trials. Alex Krychek is a spy, but he's also an
assassin for hire. There's no telling what he might do
next. 
"Once, Skinner was nearly killed by Krychek and his
accomplices as the result of his close association with us
and our work. Consortium also tried to eliminate or
discredit Skinner several times in the past: twice for a
digital tape, and once for the murder he had been framed
for. ...It had something to do with his sleeping disorders
and a mythical female figure called Avatar."
	"I know some of what you just mentioned. Skinner told me
about it when I pushed him. Vera drew what she scanned from
Skinner's head. One of them had the three of you in a
three-way stand off. She also drew something about the
Vietnam War."
	It was the agents' turn to be shocked in unison. 'Skinner
told him this?' Scully was amazed. 'What is it about Jake
Kathler that made people want to confess everything? To
expose their darkest secrets?' ...But then, she should have
known that natural talent about him. Vera trusted him, and
all those women who had no clue about who they were writing
to, wanted to reveal the most private parts of their lives.
It seemed Jake was oblivious to this gift.
	"What do you suggest we do? Get this man's descriptions
out, or something?" Jake asked. The agents vigorously shook
their heads 'no', to which Mulder winced.
	"We'll be wasting our time, and I think everyone's
already informed." Scully said, and Mulder quietly agreed.
Jake shrugged and read aloud the rest of Mulder's notes.
	"Can Vera handle another session? ...I don't know,
Mulder. She's sedated now, because it took a long time
before she calmed down." 
"We were informed about that, and we're guilty as charged.
Under better circumstances, we wouldn't have pushed her
this far, and I hope you understand."
"You know I do, Dana. So does Vera. You aren't the bad
guys here, and you didn't create the reason that put Vera
in here. I'm still very sorry about losing control in that
room, but I was more surprised to hear Skinner's voice from
the next room; shouting the same words I did, and
simultaneously." Jake tilted his head in wonder. Scully
remembered the scene, and a tender look replaced the guilty
one on her face.
	"Skinner loves her, Jake. She brought out the best in
him. Vera trusts him for who he really is, or was, or for
who he can be. It's harder for us to do the same, because
we've caught him red-handed before."
	"It's hard for me, too. But... I think he's someone who
has lost so much, and is yearning to make it up." Jake
said, returning his attention to Vera and Stella. A smile
broke over his face.
	"...Like a baby, huh?" Scully mumbled as she joined
Jake's smile and watched the two mounds sleeping under the
covers. Vera stirred just then, turning to her side, so
that her face came in direct contact with Stella. Her hand
automatically searched for, and drew Stella's furry body
towards her. 
Just then, Mulder handed Jake the notepad and tugged
slightly at Scully, tapping his wrist. Scully's mouth half
opened in realization, simultaneously feeling guilty for
leaving Mulder out of their conversation for the short
while. Jake handed Mulder his notepad back, and shook hand
with Mulder.
	"You still need to catch up, huh? Take it easy, though.
It's been my greatest pleasure to finally meet you, too.
...Again." Jake laughed at the last word. "Come visit us at
any time. Especially you, Mulder. You'll love Vera when
she's herself. She remembers and knows you well. It doesn't
take much to get to know her, I promise you." Mulder smiled
in answer, and placed a hand thoughtfully over Vera's
covered shoulder before nodding at Scully.
Jake gave Scully a word of thanks and a kiss on her cheek.
Scully's eyebrows rose about half an inch in response, but
she only smiled in return before wheeling Mulder out of the
room and closed the door quietly behind them. Jake
stretched his body, turned on the radio, and resumed his
previous reading of the letters.


Fairfield Central Mulder's Room
5PM Same Day

Skinner grumbled upon being briefed of the latest
conversations in between his two agents and Jake Kathler.
	"Agent Scully, I don't want Vera to have another panic
attack."
	"Neither do we. However, there's a chance that she might
not make it to trials. The courts need to hear and watch
the recorded hypnosis sessions either way. Tomorrow, we'll
assess Vera's medical condition and then attempt to put her
under hypnosis." Scully stood as firm as she could on this
issue. Mulder was again frustrated that he couldn't just
jump into the conversation. Both Scully and Skinner waited
patiently as Mulder hurried to finish his messages, which
he'd been writing all the while Scully was briefing
Skinner. When he handed the AD his notepad with a heaved
sigh, Skinner restrained himself from clapping his hands in
an applause.
	"She'll need to talk about what she's seen and done
during the time she was missing. That's the most crucial
part of my responsibilities in this investigation. Agent
Scully researched the treatment and the effects of the
cancer as well as its nature almost by herself, while I've
been trying to gain understanding of Vera's situations. 
"I need Vera to give us her testimony, including detailed
explanations and interpretations regarding her drawings.
Then, we may finally understand what happens to abductees
as well as to confirm the existence of extraterrestrial..."

Skinner abruptly stopped reading Mulder's note, and handed
it back to him. Mulder didn't take it, focusing instead on
the man's clearly frustrated eyes and clenched jaw.
	"Agent Mulder, I see you've been updating your memory."
Skinner said, placing the notepad on Mulder's lap.
	"Not enough, sir." Mulder wrote. Skinner sighed and
stared at Scully as if begging her for help. Scully inhaled
a quick breath and spoke reluctantly.
	"Sir, if I may. ...As much as I'd like to have Vera
'safe' by all definitions, wasting her life in the face of
her impending death, is in itself a crime. We need to get
all we can from her before it's too late. I believe that
Vera understands how quickly her time is running out. We
should do this tomorrow, or after tomorrow at the latest."
Scully hated saying these words, probably just as much as
the AD hated to hear them. But she put her 3.5-inch heels
firmly down on this one. Skinner sighed.
	"All right. I'll allow the procedure to continue, but I
will order Sims to slow the process down. So far, Vera
relived the first seven years of her life in little more
than two hours. I want the rest cut into several parts to
allow her to describe her experiences in precise detail.
Don't you rush it like you've done in Sacramento." Skinner
cut Mulder a warning glance and left the room in a hurry.
Neither Mulder nor Scully had time to tell Skinner that
they hadn't gotten to the session tapes, yet. Scully sighed
and picked up one of the Martin session tapes from the
stack.
	"I guess it's about time you start watching these." She
said, studying the tape. Mulder put down the medical report
he'd been reading. The shirtsleeves had been rolled up a
while ago, Jake's stylish tie now pulled down and hung
loosely at is chest. The suit jacket was now draped from
the back of his wheelchair. He looked up at his partner and
gave her a nod of agreement. 
Mulder knew that Scully, Skinner, and even Jake had
watched and read his Keneally Psychological Research Lab
reports. It was like listening to people give critique on a
movie they'd once watched. Scully excused herself from the
room, understanding Mulder's need for privacy. He looked at
her appreciatively, and turned his focus over to the TV
screen.



Fairfield Central Main Lobby
5:10 PM Same Day

Scully quickly caught up with Daniel Sims as he was about
to exit the building. He agreed to have a word with her,
and let her take him to the cafeteria.
"In your professional opinion, what do you think of the
possibility of Vera doing another session tomorrow?" Scully
began, and Sims frowned.
	"Dr. Scully, it's not my place to judge. However, if the
girl feels she's ready, I'll do it. I wouldn't like doing
it again so soon, but I understand the time constraints.
Psychologically speaking, I believe that Agent Mulder is
very close to the girl, much closer than Mr. Kathler ever
was. Someone told me that Agent Mulder has experiences with
regression hypno therapy. Am I correct in that assumption?"
	"Yes, it is." Scully nodded, feeling a bit guilty for
lying about who the 'Agent Mulder' in Sims's view really
was. Sims nodded back.
	"That might have something to do with it. I would like
him to be present at the next session, but I'm not sure
about anybody else. I want only you, Mr. Kathler, and the
Assistant Director in the outer room. The three of you are
capable enough to assure our safety." This was something
Scully was thinking about, and she agreed.
	"That shouldn't be a problem." She sure hoped so. The
hospital was crawling with armed agents, and there wasn't a
room for an ant to crawl through their guard without a
thorough check. Sims took another bite of his roast beef
sandwich and studied Scully intently from across the table.
	"Agent Scully?" Sims straightened himself in his seat.
Scully snapped out of her reverie and raised her eyebrows,
gesturing him to continue. "I hope you won't be offended by
my asking, but... are you, uh... seeing anyone by chance?"
Scully nearly choked on her coffee. Scully struggled to get
the big gulp of coffee she'd carelessly swallowed settled
down in a proper place. The man in front of her turned
crimson, and began stuttering in a swift attempt at an
apology.
	"Oh, sorry! I'm so sorry, Agent Scully. I didn't mean
to...!" Sims' flustered words made Scully brush even
deeper, and she vigorously waved her hand in a classic
gesture of dismissal.
	"No, it's ...it's fine. I'm just not used to people
asking me that particular question." Scully said, still
covering her chest with her hand and making sure the coffee
had settled in her stomach. Sims was in his late forties,
and had a clean-shaven head. His bluish-gray eyes gave off
a glimpse of the mystery lurking somewhere under his
straight-forwardness.
	"I'm not used to it, either. I already heard about you
and Agent Mulder. 
Sorry, please just forget I've even brought this up." Sims
finally gained enough presence of his mind to smile his
defeat as he spoke. Scully widened her eyes at the man's
mention of Mulder, but she wasn't surprised in the least.
Anyone who'd worked with her and Mulder while they were in
each other's presence for a while got the same impression.
	"Well, whatever allegations posed by anyone on the status
of the relationship between Agent Mulder and myself need to
be disregarded. We've never even tried to explore the
possibility of a romantic relationship. Although I wouldn't
rule any possibility, I don't believe we'll ever be lovers.

"Spiritually speaking, we're already as close as humanly
possible. We'll give each other's life in order to save the
other. We can read each other's thoughts by the slightest
change in our speech, the look in each other's eyes, and
gestures. I feel confident to say that we are a perfect
pair, and that Mulder believes we're inseparable. After
five years of working together, I feel safe to say that
myself. 
"As for my love life... I can only say that I hadn't had
much luck, and I'm married to my job. In sickness and
health, I'll stick around until death do us part." Scully
smiled and finished the rest of her coffee. Sims returned
the smile with a slight laughter of embarrassment. Scully
couldn't help following it, but assured the man that
everything they'd just discussed would remain confidential. 
"Doctor privilege." Scully joked.

End of Chapter II