"She told me." Mulder said softly. "She's scared to death, with good reason, I think. Harper could be looking to win Palmer's love again."

"Mulder, the hospital, she isn't guarded." Scully said, worry filling her voice.

Mulder jumped out of bed. "I'll meet you there." He slammed the phone down and threw on clothes.

Mulder ran down the hall of the silent hospital to Palmer's room and opened her door slowly. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found her lying in bed, sleeping deeply.

Scully showed up moments later, joining Mulder inside the hospital room. Without a word the two of them grabbed chairs, sat down, and tried to recover some of their lost sleep.

Palmer woke up and looked around her room, astonished to find Mulder and Scully sleeping. "Hello?" She said cautiously. What were they doing here?

Mulder rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Morning."

"Hi." Scully shook her head. "Sorry to surprise you like this."

"It's ok. Mulder? What happened to your face?" Palmer pointed to Mulder's eye.

"Oh." Mulder touched his eye carefully, waving Scully away. "You punched me last night."

Scully raised her eyebrow at Mulder but didn't say anything. She'd get the story later.

"I'm sorry," Palmer lowered her eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's all right." Mulder said softly.

"What are you doing here?" Palmer asked curiously.

"Timothy's out of jail."

Palmer's body began to shake. "He's out? Where is he?" The news didn't surprise her.

"Nobody knows." Scully answered.

"It's him, isn't it? He's doing this." She looked at Mulder.

Mulder nodded slowly. "I think so. Is there a reason he would want to kill the President?"

Palmer shrugged. "I don't really know. He always swore that if a Democrat was in the White House, he would kill. Politics were one subject we avoided at all costs. He was only half-serious about the whole thing, but he was so crazy at the end."

Scully looked at Mulder through narrowed eyes. "Mulder, we have no evidence."

Mulder silenced Scully with a glance at Palmer. "Scully and I need to get to the office for a little while. We're going to get two agents to watch the door, ok?"

Melissa shook her head. "I don't need any protection. Where's my gun?"

Mulder pointed at the pile of clothes on the windowsill. "It should be in with all of the rest of your belongings there but you're still getting two agents."

"Mulder, I am an FBI Agent." Melissa gently reminded Mulder.

"And you are my case." Mulder replied. "You're getting protection."

Melissa sighed and sat back on the bed. One thing she'd learned long ago was that there were certain fights that just weren't worth having. "Fine." Mulder and Scully left as soon as their backup showed up. As soon as the door shut behind them, Melissa pulled herself out of bed, ignoring the pain shooting through her head, got her gun out of its holster and slipped it under the pillow on the bed. Better safe than sorry.

Scully followed Mulder out of the hospital and into the car without a word. Once in the car, she decided it was time to talk. "So, it's Melissa now? I guess next you'll be calling me Dana?"

Mulder made a face. "Scully, she had a horrible nightmare last night about Timothy. I was trying to wake her up when she punched me. She has never fully dealt with the things this man did to her. Emotionally, she was breaking down. I had to help her. I am a psychologist, remember?"

"Helping her is fine Mulder, but don't get too close. This is not a normal case. You cannot risk everything for this woman. We don't really know who she is. She is a very highly ranked, influential FBI agent, with more power in the Bureau than either of us."

"Yes, but the two of us together..." Mulder cracked.

"Mulder, the fact is, we don't know who's side she's on." Scully started the car and pulled out of the lot.

Mulder didn't reply. Rationally, he understood what Scully meant. He really did. But emotionally, he couldn't care. He didn't live in a world with sides. He had seen the pain in those blue eyes, the terror, the fear, Scully hadn't. He couldn't let Palmer go through this alone. Maybe he could help her...where he couldn't help his sister.....

Scully, realizing Mulder was lost in a world of his own, drove on in silence. They'd talk again when they got to the office. And he would ignore everything she said, again.

Scully waited until they sat down at their desks before starting the debate. "Do you actually think Timothy Harper is trying to kill the President?"

"Think about it Scully. If he was a former CIA agent, someone on the inside may be helping him get past security. Palmer said she saw a Glock, that's a common gun for agents to carry. It would also explain the mental connection between Palmer and the killer, close relationships between an abductee and their abductor have been well documented in the last decade."

"You're suggesting they have a psychic link, Mulder. That's a little bit more than Stockholm Syndrome." She looked at him in disbelief.

"They were together for three years before he went insane." Mulder wouldn't quit until Scully agreed. This case was too important for the two of them to be arguing. "Imagine, dating someone for _three years_, thinking you know them, trusting them, falling in love with them, only to have them rape and almost kill you? Most people's emotions can't make a 180 degree turn like that. Something had to have remained. Imagine..."

He looked at Scully, wondering if he should tell her his analogy, if it was too personal. If it convinced her. "Imagine if I turned into Timothy. If I did to you all of those horrible things he did to Palmer. Then multiply that by the thousands, since Palmer and Harper were lovers." He wondered if that was accurate, if Palmer and Harper could have been closer than him and Scully.

"Is this what you do?" Scully stood up from behind her desk to walk over to him. "Do you really sit around coming up with even better ways to feel your cases' pain? Mulder, you cannot do this anymore!"

"This isn't about me..." He interrupted.

"Yes, it is. Look at you. You came up with an elaborate analogy for a victim's pain, since there wasn't one readily available. Well, actually, there was, but I suppose the 'she was abducted like my sister' one has been used already this year." Scully took a deep breath. She had just gone too far, and knew it.

Mulder looked up at Scully, eyes full of pain. He continued his earlier argument, choosing to ignore Scully's ranting. "Palmer felt herself pushing that gun, turning it. Harper was an expert marksman. According to his file he ranked as a sharpshooter with the CIA. He wouldn't have missed, unless Melissa was making him miss." He finished and waited for his partner's comments.

"So what do we do?" Scully said softly, biting back her argument and sitting back down at her desk. She would go along with Mulder for a little while. He was probably furious somewhere under that thick shell.

"Find Harper." Mulder replied.

"How?" Scully snapped. She could be nice, but Mulder could give her some credit since she'd already tried to find Harper. The man couldn't be found.

"Carr." Mulder grabbed his phone.

"CIA Agent Mike Carr?" Scully was getting increasingly frustrated.

Mulder nodded, speaking into the phone. "Agent Carr, please. Agent Carr, this is Fox Mulder, FBI, we met a few days ago. Right. I was wondering if my partner and I could stop by and speak with you for a few minutes this morning? Great, thanks." He stood up, looking at Scully. "Coming?"

Scully looked at Mulder, eyes wide. How she could hate this man at times. "Coming."

"Agent Carr, this is my partner, Special Agent Dana Scully." Mulder made the introductions.

Carr looked Scully up and down admiringly. "A pleasure." He waved the two into his office and they sat. "How can I help you?" He addressed Mulder.

"We're looking for a former agent we think you might know." Scully answered, disgusted that this hulk of a man was working for the same government she was. "Timothy Harper?"

"Harp?" Carr looked at Scully. "I don't know where he is."

"He hasn't contacted you?"

"Why are you...aaah, Palmer looking for him is she?" Carr grinned. "I knew she was full of shit about him. He loved her, you know. He'd never have hurt her. She was out to get him. I knew she'd regret it."

"Regret what?" Mulder asked. It never ceased to amaze him who was being hired these days. Carr looked like a linebacker and had the intelligence of a football.

"Making up the lies about him, about him raping her and everything. I mean, look at her, like he would have had to rape her. They'd been a couple for three years and she goes to bed a hell of a lot easier than that." He said with a cocky smile

Scully raised an eyebrow. "Speaking from personal experience?"

Carr's smile disappeared. "Well, no. Not personally. But you know, I was Harp's friend, it wouldn't be right....I was going to be his best man.."

"Who's in this picture?" Mulder pointed to a picture of three men in combat gear on Carr's desk.

"That's me, Harp, and Arlington in South America. We recovered three million dollars in stolen weapons without a sound." Grinning with the memory, Carr picked up the picture and handed it to Mulder.

Mulder looked at the man in the middle. Harper. This was the man who had destroyed Palmer. He didn't look like a killer. With black hair and blue eyes, medium build and a wide grin, he looked more like a cover model than anything else. "Who's Arlington?" he asked, looking over the well- glossed man on Harper's right, with slicked brown hair and a toothy, artificial grin.

"Jason Arlington. He was our commanding officer, when we were all in Special Ops together. A great guy. He's running the division now."

Mulder nodded, and handed the picture to Scully. "Harper and Palmer were engaged?"

Carr nodded. "For the last year they were together. Then, out of nowhere, she dumps him. Tells everyone he's crazy. Not much later, she disappears for three weeks, comes back with this insane story about him beating the shit out of her."

"She was on disability for six months. That doesn't sound like a story to me." Mulder's eyes narrowed.

"I don't doubt that something happened, I visited her in the hospital. I just know Harp. He couldn't have done that."

"Where was he during the three weeks Palmer was gone?" Scully asked.

"Working Special Ops as usual. He was a wreck but she'd just walked out on him. If there is any reason he went ballistic in the Gulf, it's because of her. She fucked with his head. Women are vicious enough, but give them a year at Quantico, and bang they think they're gods or something." He looked at Mulder for confirmation. "That's why there shouldn't be women in the CIA, could be dangerous. They're just not strong enough, you know?"

"Do you know where Harper might have gone now that he's free?" Scully barked. She was not going to sit and listen to this. She had to bring things back to the case. Mulder's eyes were getting all too bright staring at Carr. If the CIA Agent said anything more about her or Palmer, it looked like Mulder might snap. He had gotten in way over his head, that much was clear.

"Honestly, I'm hurt that he hasn't contacted me. I was going to go up and get him the day he got out, but I was sent out of the country and couldn't make it. Now I can't find him. I'd think he'd contact me, or Palmer, I suppose." Carr shook his head. "He had a cabin up by Monticello somewhere, I suppose he could be there, but I never knew where it was."

"The cabin." Mulder said softly, looking at Scully.

"What do you want with him anyway? He didn't do anything." Carr asked.

Scully didn't answer. "Thank you Agent Carr. If you hear anything from Harper, please call us." She handed him their phone numbers.

"Maybe I'll call you anyway." Carr smiled at Scully.

Scully tried not to show her disgust. "No, thank you."

They were driving to the hospital when Mulder's phone rang. It was Skinner's secretary, requesting an appearance.

"Fine." Mulder hung up the phone. "He wants to see us, now."

"Wonderful." Scully turned the car around and they headed into Washington.

They were shown directly into Skinner's office on their arrival.

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." Skinner stood as the two walked in. "Why are two agents guarding Agent Palmer?"

"We have reason to believe her life is in danger, Sir." Mulder replied. "Her ex-boyfriend, who three years ago kidnapped her and almost killed her, has been released from jail after serving a two year sentence for killing four agents. He is an extremely dangerous CIA operative, formerly rewarded for his talents in rescue missions abroad." Mulder didn't finish the thought, but Scully knew the rest of it. Essentially, Mulder was saying that Harper had been trained in kidnapping.

Skinner either missed the rest of the thought, or chose to ignore it. "Palmer is an FBI Agent and completely capable of taking care of herself."

"Sir, she wasn't three years ago." Mulder interrupted, only to be silenced by a glare from Skinner.

The Assistant Director spoke in an emotionless voice, looking only at Mulder. "Every available agent is being used to look for whoever is taking shots at the President. I can barely spare you two. Palmer is being released from the hospital today, and she will go home, without those two agents."

"Sir, I agree with Mulder, Agent Palmer's life is in danger." Scully had to try, if for Mulder's sanity more than anything else. Plus, she had to make up for her crack about Samantha.

"Agent Scully, this is not negotiable. We have a President's life to save. How would it look, a President's life in danger and we're busy protecting ourselves?" Skinner's face became rock hard as he spit out the last sentence with loathing, as if it had been programmed into him to say.

"Two agents?" Scully knew she was pushing her luck.

"Just figure out what is causing Palmer's seizures fast, so you can join everyone else looking for the assassin." His upper lip twitched as he stared at Scully.

Scully looked at Mulder, waiting for him to tell Skinner his theory about Harper being the assassin. But Mulder remained silent, standing up and nodding at the AD before leaving.

Scully rose, following Mulder out of the office.

"You know, you could have told him that you think we are looking for the assassin." Scully talked to Mulder's back.

"He would have thrown us off the case." He continued his stomp down the hall. "He's under pressure, and I don't think that's the kind of case development his superiors want to hear."

"Mulder..."

"Thank you for trying." Mulder stopped by the elevator to look at Scully.

"I believe her life could be in danger, Mulder. I just don't believe she is the one keeping the President alive." Scully looked at him closely, his black eye still fresh. "And you're in too deep again. Look at you Mulder. How much sleep have you had in the last three nights?"

Mulder shook his head. "She needs our help, Scully."

"I'm not driving to New Mexico again, Mulder." Scully said dryly, following him into the elevator.

Mulder grinned. "New Mexico? No. Just Georgetown." At least Scully was joking again.

As soon as the outer door to the office closed, an inner one opened, and out walked a man surrounded by a haze of cigarette smoke. "Have they found Harper?"

"No." Skinner glared at the tall man.

"Unfortunate. I need him." The man sucked on his cigarette and looked out the window behind the desk. "How's Palmer?"

"She had another seizure. Mulder and Scully believe her life is in danger."

The man laughed. "Of course it is. Is there anything I don't know?"

Skinner fought his need to shout at the man. How could he play with people's lives like this? One agent was already in danger, and he couldn't help but feel he putting Mulder and Scully in danger by sending them after her. How could he be expected to do that without caring? "No," he replied briskly, unaware of the multiple meanings to his answer.

The man blew smoke in the air and laughed. "True. Very true." Turning, he left, walking out the door Mulder and Scully had used just moments before.

As they walked down the long hospital corridor to Palmer's room, Scully fought the urge to yell at Mulder for acting like a fool. They walked into Palmer's unguarded room to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in the suit she'd been wearing the day before, watching TV, eyes full of tears.

"They're calling me crazy." She pointed to the television. "These stupid TV shrinks are saying the seizures are a delayed case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by what Tim did. How the hell did they find out about that? The incident isn't in my FBI file, only in his CIA one, which is hard as hell to get. Who told them?" She glared at Scully.

"Carr." Mulder said softly.

"Why would he do that?" Palmer looked at Mulder, eyes panicked. Her life was truly falling apart around her. Only through the best spinning imaginable and some arm pulling from very high up had the six months disability made it into her FBI file as a case of mono. And although the President had asked her about it a few months ago, he dropped it quickly, and never mentioned it again. And now it was on the 5:00 news.

"To warn Harper. We should have seen it coming when we talked to Carr today. He told us a lot more than he'd told Mulder earlier." Scully replied. Mulder was standing next to Palmer. The compassion and sympathy in his wide-eyed stare made Scully shiver. Mulder was falling for Palmer. Every warning bell in Scully's head sounded as she recognized the underlying lust in Mulder's eyes. "You were engaged to Harper?"

Palmer nodded, oblivious to Mulder's stare. "I loved him more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. He was all I had, for three years."

"I'm sorry." Scully said softly. She had to somehow get Mulder out of here without hurting Palmer anymore, but she didn't want to leave the distraught woman alone.

Palmer shrugged. "It was a long time ago, really. Anyway, they tell me I can leave. I was about to, when I saw the news."

Mulder snapped out of his trance. "You can't go home."

Palmer stared at Mulder. "Why not?"

"Harper will look for you there." Mulder stated.

Scully's mind raced. Harper would look for Palmer at home, but they wanted to find Harper. So, they could use Palmer as bait. She looked at Mulder. Could her partner handle setting up Palmer like that? And if they failed, and Palmer was killed, could Mulder stay in control? He almost lost control when Lucy Householder was killed, and he hadn't been attracted to her, at least as far as Scully could see. He clearly had sexual feelings towards Palmer. Would he hate Scully for suggesting they use Palmer like that?

Palmer voiced Scully's thoughts. "So I go home, and catch him when he comes for me, assuming he does. I still don't know if I believe that he's after me at all."

"No." Mulder said softly. "I do believe that he is coming for you, but he could kill you."

Scully looked at Mulder, begging him mentally to look at her. "Mulder, it could work."

"No." Mulder stared at Palmer. "You know yourself how dangerous he is."

Palmer shook her head. "Look, Mulder, I don't know what image you have of Timothy in your head, but he isn't Jack Ryan. Yes, he probably can get his hands on just about anything, from drugs to weapons, he wants. And yes, he is much, much stronger than me, and could probably kill all of us in hand-to-hand combat, but I have this." She pulled her gun out of its holster on her belt and waved it in front of Mulder's face. "And even Tim can't go on with bullets in his head. I've waited a long time to put them there. I want to do this."

"What about the cabin?" Scully asked. Maybe there was a way around this.

"The cabin?" Palmer's voice cracked as she repeated Scully's words.

Mulder looked at Palmer closely. "Do you remember where he took you? Where the cabin was?"

Palmer nodded. "If you have a map of Virginia, I'll show you."

"I still don't want to leave you alone." Mulder paced the room. "Even if he is at the cabin, he could be waiting for you to get out of the hospital."

"So I'll stay with her Mulder, and you go to Monticello." Scully said. She didn't want to leave Mulder alone with Palmer. No way.

"No, I should stay with her, Scully." He looked at her, insisting. Of course, he was right, he was the psychologist, and he was the one who actually got along with Palmer and who she trusted, but he was also falling in love with her, and Scully saw all of the signs. She realized that she couldn't convince him to leave Palmer.

"Fine." Scully gave in. Why fight a pointless battle...

Palmer watched the fight between the two agents with some amusement. While it was a nightmare that they were fighting over who could help her save her life, it was a curious fight. Scully apparently had somehow ended up being jealous of her. Maybe they were new lovers? Mulder won, so it looked like she would be having a male houseguest for the next few days. "Roomies." She smiled lightly at Mulder.

Scully made a face. "I'm going to get that map..."

Palmer pointed to the cabin's location on the map. "I haven't been there in over three years though. I don't know what it's like now." Palmer added to the end of her directions.

"I'm sure this will be fine." Scully looked at the detailed instructions laid out on the map. "Eidetic memory?" She queried lightly, causing Mulder to look up and stare at Palmer.

"No." Palmer looked at Scully in surprise. Nobody had ever asked her that before. "Just a good sense of direction, good memory, occasional snapshots."

Mulder smiled at Palmer. So she had an untrained eidetic memory. He could help her train it, if she wanted to. "It takes snapshots when you don't want it to, doesn't it," he said softly.

Palmer nodded, and looked up. "Can we get out of here? I hate hospitals."

The two agents nodded together. "I'll call you if I find anything." Scully told Mulder, walking from the room.

"Scully?" He called after her, following her into the hall.

"What, Mulder?" She didn't really mean to be so harsh with him, but watching him fall for Palmer hurt, for some reason.

"Be very, very careful up there Scully. Remember who Harper is." He said softly, putting a hand on her arm.

"Mulder, I can take care of myself." She didn't need a protector. She shrugged off his hand and walked down the hall.

Mulder watched her leave, fear deep in his heart. Once again, he was scared for Scully, and now for Palmer. Sighing, he returned to the hospital room.

"Ready?" Palmer had put her coat on and was standing, TV off, waiting.

Mulder smiled. "Always."

Palmer laughed, and shook her head. "I do believe you are smitten, my dear." She whispered softly, brushing past Mulder and out the door.

Mulder barely caught Palmer's words, but he did hear them. He stared at her back, confused, before following her down the hall, reminding himself to ask her later what she meant.

"Extra blankets are in here." Palmer opened the linen closet to show Mulder. "Pillows are up there."

"One pillow, one blanket is fine." Mulder accepted the bundle shoved in his face by Palmer and stumbled back to her couch, dropping the heavy blanket.

"The heat can be fussy sometimes." Palmer explained the down blanket.

Mulder sat down on the couch, touching his gun in its holster for reassurance. As safe as they might feel, he couldn't forget why he was here.

"Tea?" Palmer asked, walking towards the kitchen.

"Sure." Mulder replied.

Palmer fussed in the kitchen, head whirling, trying to comprehend all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She found out Tim was out of jail, and could be coming after her. The secret that she had kept for four years was coming out in the open....right into the nation's kitchens. And Mulder seemed to like her, but she had thought that he was in love with his partner, and vice versa. It was easier to just not think about any of it. Not now, anyway. She poured hot water into two mugs, added some Vanilla Almond teabags, and walked back out to the living room.

Mulder accepted his mug with a smile as Palmer sank down into the opposite side of the couch. "How are you doing?" He asked, all seriousness.

Palmer laughed nervously. "I suppose 'oh fine' won't cut it, huh."

Mulder shook his head. "No, not really."

"Confused best explains it, I suppose. What do you think is going on?" She asked him, needing his solution.

"I think you have a mental link with Timothy. Whenever he's trying to kill the President. Do something that requires extremely powerful emotion, you end up caught in the emotions, and you end up stopping him." Mulder continued, speaking as if he was talking to Scully. "You two were in love and had an incredibly strong. The bond took a drastic shock, but it can't disappear. Something has to remain. I think what remained was the psychic connection you have with Timothy." His eyes darted around the room as his mind worked. "When did you first have a psychic experience?"

"What?" Palmer was struggling to hold back tears. Mulder's theory - accurate as it may be - was painful to hear.

"When was the first time you 'just knew' something?" He asked again, not noticing Palmer's discomfort.

"After I joined Investigative Science." Her eyes narrowed as she wondered what Mulder was thinking.

"When was that?"

"After....after I recovered from what Timothy did to me." She whispered, looking at the floor.

Mulder jumped up from the couch and starting pacing around the room. "What do you know about what Timothy did in the CIA?"

Palmer shook her head. "Almost nothing. He was in Special Operations, he did a lot of recoveries, covert stuff. All classified Eyes Only. Even I can't get to his files now. He did the things the FBI hates the CIA for doing." She frowned. "But he really was a wonderful man before everything happened. He did what he did in the name of justice, or so he thought."

"Do you want to go for a ride?" Mulder looked at Palmer, eyes pleading.

"Where?" She asked, pulling her knees up to her chest. She was quite comfortable at home, actually. At least here she could have her nervous breakdown in semi-private.

"To see some friends of mine who can probably tell us about Harper."

Palmer stared at Mulder, eyes wide. He was known throughout the Bureau for having an incredible list of sources. She couldn't believe he was willing to expose them to her. As secure as she was at home, she was dying to find out who they were. "Ok."

"Byers, Langly, Frohike?" Mulder looked at the little man drooling at Palmer. "Meet Melissa Palmer."

Palmer smiled at the strange characters in front of her. One looked like an over-aged Garth Algar, one possible pervert, and one in a three piece suit? Her stomach twisted as she realized who they were. "The Lone Gunmen." she breathed. She had heard about them, read their journal, even talked to them occasionally on the alt. groups or irc.

"Is she an agent?" Langly addressed Mulder.

Mulder nodded. "You can trust her though."

Frohike walked over to Mulder. "What does she do?"

"She," Palmer interrupted the 'boy's club,' "is the FBI Liaison to the White House, and yes, she can be trusted, although she may doubt whether or not anyone else can."

Frohike looked at Palmer with new respect. "It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Agent Palmer."

"So, what can we do for you, Mulder, Agent Palmer?" Byers asked.

"Do you know anything about CIA Agent Timothy Harper, Special Ops?" Mulder asked.

"Oh sure." Langly replied, shrugging as if everyone should know. "He kidnapped his fiancee, beat her senseless, almost killed her, and got away with it because it was all supposedly part of some test. He would have gotten away completely if he'd taken everyone's advice and quit the Agency. But he kept on working, and four weeks later went crazy in Iraq, killed.."

"His superior officer and three other agents." Mulder finished the sentence. "I know. What about this test?"

"It's all rumor, Mulder," Byers jumped in. "But sources at the time were saying that Harper had signed him and his fiancee, oh what was her name..." He turned to stare at Palmer. "Oh my, I am truly sorry."

Palmer shook her head. "Please, continue."

"Our sources said that Harper had signed the two of you up for some sort of test to improve your psychic abilities. It was widely believed at the time that it was the test that made Harper lose his mind." Byers finished.

Palmer stared at Byers. "Oh my god." Feeling her knees weaken, she looked around frantically for a chair. Mulder grabbed her arm and walked her over to a seat, helping her down.

"What's wrong?" Mulder said softly, sitting down next to her, taking her shaking hands in his.

"The vitamins." She said softly, her head spinning. They had intentionally done this? Almost destroyed her, ruined Timothy.

"What vitamins?"

"Tim and I went on vacation to Mexico. On the way back, we had to stop at a training site in Venezuela, not by choice, mind you. Timothy was told that we had to be there. He didn't do anything there, just a lot of posturing and 'observing.' And they wouldn't let me leave. When we got home, we were told that the camp had been destroyed, that traces of biological weapons had been found. Tim's superior officer gave us vitamins and said that we would have to take them for the next four months to be sure we were safe. We took them. About a month later he started going crazy." She finished and looked at Mulder. "The vitamins?"

Mulder nodded. "Sounds like it. Do you have them anymore?"

"At home I have half of them left, I only took them for two months." She shuddered. "Once Tim started acting erratically, I stopped taking them, I didn't trust them anymore." Palmer stood up. "I need some air. I'd like to go home."

"Thanks for all your help, as always." Mulder smiled at his three sources. Although they hated seeing Palmer in pain almost as much as Mulder did, they did feel some satisfaction in finding the answer to another question.

Palmer led Mulder into the bedroom and opened her drawer. "They're in here." She pulled out the unmarked bottle and handed it to Mulder.

Mulder pulled out his phone and called Scully.

"Scully."

"Scully, Palmer and Harper were drugged."

"What?" Eyes on the road as she sped towards Monticello, barely able to hear Mulder over the car.

"The CIA drugged Palmer and Harper."

As Scully realized what Mulder was saying, she pulled the car over to the side of the road and pressed the phone against her cheek. "With what?"

"I don't know. I have the pills here."

"I'm on my way." Scully turned the car around and headed back to Washington. It was times like this where she wished they could have backup, work as they were trained to work, efficiently. She had now wasted a night driving in one big circle. Harper's cabin would have to go unchecked. But, if the pills had been causing Palmer's seizures....

"Where are they?" Scully stood in the front door of Palmer's apartment, scanning the inside of the cozy brownstone quickly, her eyes settling on Mulder.

"Here." Mulder handed them to his partner.

"I'll take them to the lab now, but I don't know if I can get any answers before morning." Scully turned to leave.

"Agent Scully?" Palmer walked over to the door, feeling like she had to say something."

"Yes, Agent Palmer?" Scully addressed her coolly, formally.

"Thank you." Palmer smiled.

Scully looked at Palmer for a second, taken aback. "You're welcome." She returned the smile, and left.

Mulder closed the door behind Scully and walked back into the apartment. "Once we find out what's in those pills, we'll know better how to proceed."

Palmer nodded. "I just want to get some sleep." She walked towards her bedroom, and turned. "Mulder?"

"Yeah?" He looked up from where he was settling himself on the couch.

"Thank you too. For all of this." Palmer assumed Mulder would understand just how much she was thanking him for. And he did understand.

He looked at her, thinking about how easy it would be to walk over to her and kiss her, how she was probably as vulnerable as he was, how she would feel under him. "You're welcome." He replied, and rolled over on the couch, preparing to stare at the ceiling all night, knowing Palmer would stay on his mind.

Palmer left the door to her bedroom open and crawled into bed. She knew it was silly, but knowing that Mulder was out there reassured her. She had lied about Timothy's fighting abilities and Mulder probably knew it. He was, pretty much, the closest thing she'd ever met to Jack Ryan. It was what first made her fall in love with him, the power. Finding the vulnerability beneath that power, the little boy inside the man. She rolled over, curling up in the blankets, remembering Timothy as he was. A huge, deadly teddy bear. A teddy bear who had received an award for fighting off five armed Colombians without a weapon. Who had once shown her how he could crack himself out of government-issue handcuffs. Who had cried the night she accepted his ring. She buried her head in her pillow, determined not to cry. Mulder would not hear her cry again. She tossed and turned for hours, finally falling asleep just as the sun began to rise.

"Palmer?" Mulder knocked on the door to her room. "Scully called, she's on her way over with the test results."

Palmer wiped the sleep-dust out of her eyes and looked at Mulder. He looked like he slept even less than she did. "Ok."

Mulder shut the door to her room to give her some privacy, and went into the kitchen to make coffee. He could hear the shower start across the apartment and shivered as, once again, the image of Palmer in the shower invaded his mind.

"Hello?" Scully was calling from the other side of the dead-bolted door.

Mulder quickly unlocked the door and let her in.

"Didn't you hear the doorbell?" Scully asked, walking into the apartment.

"I couldn't hear it over the shower." Mulder explained.

"You were in the shower?" Scully looked towards the bathroom, listening as Palmer shut off the shower and stepped out.

"No, but I could hear it..." Mulder shrugged. "Coffee?"

Scully sighed. If Mulder had slept with Palmer, then there was nothing she could do about it. Although, from the way he looked, Mulder hadn't slept at all.

"'Morning." Palmer walked out of the bathroom, wearing an oversized t-shirt and long underwear bottoms. "Please excuse the clothes, I don't have the energy to put on a suit just yet."

"You're going to work today?" Scully asked, surprised. It didn't look like Palmer had slept either. Given what had happened to her recently, she would probably be better off not working.

"I have to." Palmer said firmly, looking at Scully. "I need something to put my back up against."

Scully nodded. That she understood.

"I really don't think that's a good idea." Mulder advised, handing Palmer a mug of coffee.

"Mulder, I don't care what you think." Palmer snapped. Taking a deep breath, she sat down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm just tired, and stressed, and...."

Mulder sat down next to Palmer. "You can say you're scared. It's not a crime."

Palmer stared at Mulder. "You don't understand. You pretend to, you'd like to think you understand, but you really don't have a clue what is going on in my mind. I cannot say that I am scared. I have only had this job for six months, and I may very well lose it soon, if I haven't already. These men do not accept fear. If I'm afraid, they can easily find someone who isn't."

Mulder sat, silent. Timothy could be waiting for her to go to work. He could be waiting for her at work. But she was right, and he knew he had no right to stop her.

She looked at Scully. "So, what were we poisoned with?"

Scully cleared her throat, and looked at the floor. "I don't know."

Mulder stared at Scully. "What?"

"I mean I have never in my life seen a substance like this before, and neither have any of the lab technicians who looked at it. It looks like it could be a protein structure, but then again, it could be a solid element for all I know. Palmer, I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you what this was doing to you." Scully frowned.

Palmer blinked rapidly, her thoughts flying. That was it. The proof she needed. The CIA did this to Timothy. She jumped up and ran into her bedroom.

"Melissa?" Mulder followed her into the room.

Palmer pulled a pantsuit out of the closet and began getting dressed, oblivious to Mulder's discomfort.

"What are you doing?" He asked, trying not to stare.

Scully sat in the other room, listening to Mulder with some enjoyment. She knew Palmer and Mulder hadn't slept together, that much was for sure. And if Palmer was attracted to Mulder, she was doing a lousy job in showing it.

"I have to see Mike." She finished dressing and ran to the mirror, brushing her hair roughly.

"No. That's not safe." Mulder was adamant.

"Mulder, I have to do this. Mike would know about this. He was Tim's best friend."

"Melissa, I can't let you do this..." Mulder raised his voice.

Palmer slammed the brush down on top of the dresser. "It really isn't up to you to 'let' me do anything." She whirled around and stomped from the room. Rushing through the living room, she grabbed her purse and briefcase. "Will you lock up?" She asked Scully, who nodded in the affirmative. "Thanks." Palmer shot a final glare at her bedroom and left, slamming the front door behind her.

Mulder slowly made his way back out into the living room, looking around the room. "Is it safe?"

Scully nodded, trying to hold back her laughter. She had missed the conversation in the bedroom, but it was clear Mulder had upset Palmer, somehow. "What did you do, invite her to see your video collection?"

Mulder scowled. "She's going to see Carr."

Scully stood, gesturing towards the door. "I need to get to the office."

"She can't do this." Mulder walked out the door, shaking his head.

"Yes, she can, Mulder. You can't stop her." Scully pulled the door shut and locked it.

"But Scully..."

"Mulder." Scully fixed Mulder with an ice- cold stare. "You, once again, have become emotionally attached to a victim and it is affecting your judgment as an investigator and agent. Go home and get some sleep, come into the office this afternoon, and we'll talk then."

Mulder stared at Scully. "Scully, she isn't safe."

"You're right. But you're forgetting that she is a FBI agent, and a very talented one, at that." Scully leaned in close to Mulder. "She's a big girl and can find her own way to the bus stop."

Mulder turned and walked ahead of Scully to the car, opening it and getting in.

Scully slid into the passenger's seat, looking at him. "Are you going to ignore me now?"

Mulder sighed. "I just can't walk around knowing someone else is in danger."

"I know, Mulder." Scully smiled. "And it's one of your best qualities. But it's also the quality that is going to get you killed. So trust me, ok? Leave this alone, and get some sleep."

Mulder nodded. "Fine."

"Where is Agent Mulder?" Skinner knocked on the door to the basement office as he opened it.

"He's home, Sir." Scully stood up quickly.

"May I ask why?"

"He..." Scully's mind raced for a good excuse, since 'well sir, I think my partner's in love with our current case and having a nervous breakdown' didn't quite cut it. "I think he has a bit of the flu. He'll be in this afternoon."

Skinner nodded. "Both of you come see me then." He turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Scully's phone shrieked.

"Scully, I can't sleep. Can I come back to work? Please?" Mulder sounded like a little boy.

She sighed. "We have a meeting with Skinner this afternoon."

"That's to be expected, I'm sure he isn't too thrilled about last night's news."

"Mulder, if only Skinner was upset, I wouldn't care. The President is probably furious about last night's news. Do you understand what we are dealing with?"

"Scully, I understand. I'll be there in an hour." With a click, he hung up.

Scully put the phone down and flicked on her computer. She really didn't like watching Mulder self-destruct, but what could she do?

Mulder got in his car, fully intending to drive to FBI Headquarters. But, as if his car had a mind of its own, he found himself on the road to Langley. Just in case Melissa needed him.

"I'm here to see Agent Carr, please?" Palmer addressed the receptionist coolly.

"And you are?" The woman asked over the top of her bodice-buster romance novel.

"Special Agent Melissa Palmer, FBI Liaison to the White House." She flashed her ID, feeling a slight twinge as the woman's eyes widened. This could be the last time she ever said that.

"I'll call him." The woman placed the call, whispering into her headpiece. She waved behind her. "Through that door."

"Thanks." Palmer walked down the hall, staring straight ahead. This was not going to be easy. But she had to do it. Reaching Carr's office, she knocked. "Mike?"

"Melissa!" He stood up and walked around from behind his desk, kissing her on the cheek. "It seems like I only see you in the field anymore. This is nice."

"This isn't social, Mike." She pushed him away and sat. "We need to talk."

"What about?" Closing the door, Carr sat back down at his desk, looking closely at Palmer. "You been talking to those FBI agents...tall guy, cute redhead?"

Palmer shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I need to know about the tests."

"What tests?" Carr stared at her, wide eyed.

"Tim signed us up for some tests. If they recruited him, they had to have at least asked you since you two were inseparable and the whole Agency knew it. Mike, I need to know what those tests were." Palmer felt her voice quiver and took a deep breath. This was definitely not the place to start crying again.

Carr walked around his desk and sat on it, in front of Palmer. "Yeah, they asked me."

"Who, Arlington?"

Carr shrugged. "You know I can't tell you that."

Palmer fumed quietly. The CIA 'code of honor' was an excuse she'd run up against before, when she tried to find what happened what happened in the Middle East. It was against their 'code of honor' to speak about another agent, murderer or not. Bullshit. "What were the tests?" She decided to ask questions to which she might get answers.

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me." Carr replied, grinning at Palmer.

"I don't believe you." Palmer glared at Carr. "You're too nosy to have accepted that."

Carr laughed. "You do know me! So, maybe I'll tell you."

Palmer stood up. "So tell me."

"For what?" Carr asked, smiling, placing his hand on her arm.

"Oh, you don't want to do this." Palmer said quietly, staring at Carr's hand.

"Why not?"

"God, Mike! Timothy was your best friend. I loved him. How can you even think about..." She shuddered, pushing his hand off of her.

"Easily." He replied, reaching out and pulling her towards him.

"No!" She screamed and tried to push him away, but he held her arms at her sides.

"You're really a weak one, aren't you." He grinned.

Palmer stared at Carr, feeling the years slip away, until she was in Timothy's grip again. Timothy was staring at her like that, Timothy was running his hand through her hair, Timothy was kissing her. She hung in Carr's arms, paralyzed by fear.

"Yes. Melissa...I've waited so long..."

"Get off of her, Carr!" Mulder busted open the door and jumped into the room, gun pointing right at Carr.

Carr pulled Palmer up until she was standing in front of him, his arm around her neck. He looked at Mulder, eyes twinkling. "You heard her scream? Good hearing. These walls are practically soundproof. In fact, the only way anyone can hear anything outside this room is, well, they'd have to be standing with their ear to the door." He smiled. "Was that what you were doing? This is hysterical. What, do you really think you can stop me?"

Mulder held his gun steady, staring at Carr. He knew Carr couldn't go overboard as neither of them wanted to create yet another problem between the CIA and the FBI. His eyes narrowed as he realized he had underestimated Carr's intelligence the last time they had met. Carr knew exactly what he was doing. "Let her go." He said, feeling helpless, needing to slip back into his more familiar role of hero.

Carr laughed. "Why?"

Mulder looked at Palmer, looking near- catatonic. 'I'll kill myself first..' he remembered hearing her say. "What happened to 'it wouldn't be right?'"

"It wouldn't have." Carr replied. "But since Timothy obviously doesn't give a shit about our friendship anymore, why should I? I've wanted Melissa since the day we both met her. It's my turn." He hugged Palmer to him as a tremor ran through her body. "Look Mulder, she's shaking, she wants me so bad."

Mulder felt helpless. Here he was, in the middle of the CIA Headquarters, unable to save an FBI Agent? He shrugged and walked out the door. In the hall, he turned to face Carr. Only one person had to walk into the hall and see him holding the gun, and Melissa would be fine. He could yell and ten people would come running.

"Don't think about it." Carr advised.

Mulder raised an eyebrow. And why not? Holding his gun up, he waited to see if Carr would let Palmer go. 'There was no reason to cause an incident if they could avoid one, ' he could almost hear Scully say. He glared at Carr, refusing to break the stare.

Suddenly Carr shoved Palmer to the floor and leveled a gun at Mulder, a gun that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Take her." He smiled. "I'll get my turn soon enough."

Mulder stared at Carr, wondering what he meant. He knelt next to Palmer and found her unconscious. "If you hurt her..."

"Relax." Carr shrugged. "I just knocked her out." He handed Mulder the gun. "And this is hers." He laughed. "So easy."

Mulder grabbed the gun, picked up Palmer and walked out of the office without another look at Carr. He put Palmer in his car, and drove away from Langley as fast as he could with one hand, dialing the phone with the other.

"Scully."

"I caught Carr trying to rape Palmer. She wasn't moving when I got there, just hanging in his arms, eyes completely blank, and then he did something to her, I don't know what Scully, something. He said he just knocked her out, but...." Mulder was talking fast, words running together as he panicked.

"Is she breathing?" Scully said in a steady voice, trying to control her partner.

"Yes." Mulder was breathing heavily into the phone as he tried to keep an eye on Melissa, drive at breakneck speed, and hold the phone at the same time.

"Then will you slow down?" Scully knew exactly what Mulder was doing.

"What?"

"You're driving like a maniac. Unless you want to kill Melissa yourself, slow down."

Mulder sighed and eased up on the gas pedal slightly. "I can't take her to the hospital."

"I know. Bring her to my apartment."

"I...uh..."

"Unless you'd rather I meet you at your apartment?" He could hear the laugh in her voice - she knew what his apartment looked like.

"Yours is fine." Mulder dropped the phone onto the seat and pressed back down on the gas. He would be running on maximum overdrive until Dr. Scully told him Melissa would be fine.

Scully looked at the phone in her hand and quickly dialed Skinner's extension. "Sir? This is Agent Scully."

"When are you coming up with Agent Mulder?" Skinner barked.

"Sir, Mulder is with Agent Palmer. He's found a very promising lead." Scully gelled the situation as well as she could without lying.

"Promising lead?" "Yes, Sir, I'm going to join him." Skinner knew crap when he heard it. But he also knew there had to be a very good reason Mulder and Scully were missing this meeting. "Fine. When you get back to the office, then." He hung up the phone.

Scully stood up, grabbed her coat, and ran to her car. If she could get home before Mulder and straighten up a little...

"She'll be fine, Mulder." Scully shut her bedroom door behind her, leaving Melissa unconscious on the bed inside. "She's sleeping, actually."

"Sleeping?" Mulder looked at Scully quizzically. "You can't tell me she fell asleep in Carr's arms."

"Whatever he did to her, it put her out for a while. But I saw rapid-eye-movement. She's definitely asleep now."

Mulder ran his hands through his hair. "She was paralyzed in his arms, Scully."

"From what he did to her?" Scully asked.

"No. From what I could see, he had her arms pinned behind her back, and his tongue was down her throat, but he hadn't hurt her physically, yet. She was frozen. I've read about this happening, someone reliving an experience while going through a similar one, but to see it is incredible." Mulder frowned. "I really don't like how much Harper scares her."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen fear in people's eyes before. I've definitely used my gun enough at this point for that. With Melissa, it's terror. Dead-terror. Scully, I think," he took a deep breath. "I think Melissa's afraid she isn't going to die."

"Please, Mulder, you are over-romanticizing the situation. Palmer's scared because this man almost killed her three years ago. That is perfectly logical and rational. Her seizures are being caused by the pills the CIA gave her. Case closed. Why do you need to search for an unlikely answer when there is an obvious one kicking you in the face?"

"There is something else there, some connection to Timothy. She said if she had to relive what Timothy put her through she'd kill herself. She's reliving it, Scully, and another person she trusted has turned on her." Mulder groaned. "And we can't do anything."

Scully counted to ten in her head before answering so she wouldn't scream at her stubborn partner. "We can do something, Mulder. First of all, the President's speaking at a charity function tomorrow night. We can go, looking for Timothy."

"And we arrest Carr for attempted rape." Mulder nodded.

"Mulder, that wasn't what I was going to say. That isn't even our jurisdiction"

"Why not?" Mulder stared at Scully. "You don't actually think we should let Carr get away with this because he's CIA, do you? And it's a government official, so it is our jurisdiction."

"Mulder," she replied softly. "I don't think we have a choice. We can't."

"Scully, we can go arrest him right now, before anybody knows what's going on." Mulder's voice grew loud as he became more excited.

"You're willing to leave Melissa alone?" Scully queried.

"For this, yes, I'll leave her alone here." His eyes narrowed at Scully. "Please?"

Scully shook her head. "Mulder, I want you to know I am going with you because I don't trust you alone. Not because I think we should be arresting Carr."

"Should I memorize that in case Skinner asks? To save your skin?" Mulder snapped. He knew how important this case was, just as well as Scully did. But attempted rape was attempted rape, CIA agent or not.

Scully grimaced. That one hurt. "No. I will always stand behind you, you know that." She said quietly.

Mulder raised an eyebrow. "I don't ask for blind faith Scully."

"I know."

"Just some trust and a hint of belief."

"I know."

After fighting Washington traffic for the last three hours, they finally arrived at Langley, normally a half-hour drive. Mulder was trying not to panic as he introduced them to the receptionist who had been sleeping in her novel the last time he was here. "I'm Special Agent Mulder, this is Special Agent Scully. We're here to see Agent Carr."

The receptionist's eyes opened wide and filled with tears. "Mike...he's...."

Scully took the woman's arm and looked at her closely. "What happened?"

"He's dead." The woman started to cry, tears running down her face. "They took him away about two hours ago. I wanted to go, but they wouldn't let me."

"What happened?" Mulder asked.

"He was shot. Nobody knows who did it."

Mulder slammed his hand down on the desk. "Dammit." He turned and stormed out of the lobby.

"Mulder!" Scully ran after him, not catching him until he was in the car.

Mulder suddenly looked at Scully, eyes filling with fear. "Palmer!" He started the car and they pulled out of the lot, burning rubber.

"What about her?"

"If Timothy did this, she may have been caught up in it." he shivered. "And she didn't stop him this time."

Scully clutched her seat belt as the car sped towards Washington. "Coincidence?"

"No way."

Mulder ran into the apartment as soon as Scully had the door open, yelling Melissa's name. He heard sobs coming from the bedroom and ran in to find Melissa huddled in the blankets on the bed, crying. She looked up when he came in. "Mike?"

Mulder sat down on the bed next to her. "I'm sorry. Mike was shot, he's dead."

Palmer started crying again, gasping for breath amongst her heaving sobs. "I knew, I saw him do it..."

Mulder put his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. "At least you're all right."

Palmer pushed Mulder away and looked at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Of course I'm all right Mulder, I let him do it." As much as she tried to regain her composure, the tears wouldn't stop rolling down her face. She hurt so much...

"It's not your fault."

"I saved the President, didn't I?" Palmer's face turned rock hard as she glared at the floor. "And I let him kill Mike. Because Mike tried to kill me. But you came..." her voice broke up as she began sobbing into Mulder's chest again. "Mike was my friend. Tim's friend, then my friend too, as I started seeing more and more of Tim. He always cracked jokes about me, but I never took them seriously, I mean he was Mike."

Mulder rubbed Melissa's back in a circular motion, trying to soothe her. He looked up and saw Scully standing in the doorway, concerned eyes focused on Palmer.

"Melissa?" Scully said softly. "I'd like to prescribe something for you, to help you sleep."

"No." Palmer shook her head. "No drugs."

"Agent Palmer, you're hysterical. You need the rest." Scully insisted.

Palmer looked at Mulder for approval and he nodded slowly. "Fine." She conceded.

Scully looked at Mulder. "I'm going to the drugstore, then. I'll be right back."

Mulder smiled at his partner in thanks, and watched her leave before turning back to Palmer. "What did you see this time?"

"The same dark, pain and chaos, but knowing it was Timothy made it different....harder to fight. When I saw who the gun was aimed at, I just stopped fighting. I had been sitting here, thinking about doing what Timothy was doing. How could I stop him? I was finally getting revenge." She shuddered. "I passed out again, but not for long, as far as I can tell."

"We weren't gone for more than five hours." Mulder said quietly. Apparently, she wouldn't hurt herself physically if she didn't fight him. That was not necessarily a good thing.

"He's coming for me. He knows I see him." Palmer looked at Mulder, needing to feel safe, hoping he could provide her shelter. "I think...I think he sees me too."

Mulder tightened his arms around her shivering body. "I had been thinking about that."

"I think that's why he killed Mike." Palmer said softly. "I think Tim saw what Mike did."

Mulder nodded. It was completely logical, that if Palmer could see Timothy's intense emotional moments, Timothy could see hers. He looked into Palmer's tear-filled blue eyes and felt his heart wrench slightly. With a slight gasp he realized just how deep his emotions for Melissa had grown. He was falling in love with this woman. He sat up slightly from the bed, feeling a slight pang of regret as the warmth of her body disappeared back under the blankets.

"What?" She was looking at him with worried eyes. "What's wrong?"

Mulder shook his head. "Nothing." His mind raced. Melissa wasn't going to take that for an answer. She was definitely too stubborn to accept that.

"Tell me Mulder. Please." She whispered, her voice caressing the words.

Mulder looked into Melissa's eyes and his heart melted. How he wanted to tell her! But he would be breaking every rule in the book. He'd slept with a case before, he remembered with a slight grimace, and that was a horrible, horrible mistake. Melissa was also a superior agent. And THAT was just wrong. Scully would love to perform the autopsy on his body after Skinner killed him. "Have you ever gotten mad at the President?" he asked, clearing his mind.

"Mad? Well, I suppose, everyone gets mad at people they have to take orders from at some time or another..."

"I mean really, really mad."

Melissa sighed. "I guess I did, when he asked me about Timothy."

"He asked you what about Timothy?" Mulder's brow furrowed.

"It when I first got this job, he asked me about the disability time, and lightly interrogated me about my friends in the CIA. I have a few, and he was concerned about 'national security.' I was furious." She shook her head. "But I'm still friends with every one of them, at least I was, before this...now it's not safe for them to talk to me."

"How long ago was this?"

"Four, five months?" She looked at Mulder closely as she realized where his thoughts were headed. "You think Timothy's trying to kill the President because of that? Oh my god...." the corner of her mouth turned up, "the President called Tim a 'deranged, sadistic psychopath who was not safe out of jail.' I laughed when he said it," she shrugged. "He was right."

"Timothy killed Mike because Mike hurt you. The President hurt you, and yes, I think that's why Timothy's trying to kill him." Mulder tried not to look at Melissa's pained eyes.

"I have a question about all of this." Melissa tried, once again, to wipe the tears from her eyes with her hands, and Mulder handed her a handkerchief. She smiled at him thankfully and went on. "I got a distinct feeling that Timothy wants to see me, that he's coming for me. But he's been out of jail for a month now, you said. Why hasn't he come yet?"

Mulder groaned inside. He didn't want to tell Melissa what he thought the answer was. But he had to. He had to treat her like just another agent. "I think he's trying to redeem himself first by killing people who have hurt you."

Melissa looked at Mulder doubtfully. "So why start with the President of all people? The person who's hurt me the most is Tim himself, but there are other people, people who have hurt me much more than the President."

"Timothy was under medication for most of his time in jail. It's possible that he didn't know what was happening to you until his medication was lowered. He wasn't taking anything when he was released."

"So for the past six months, Timothy has been watching every intense emotional experience I've had?" Her eyebrows raised as her mind raced. What had happened in the last six months? Her life had been thrown upside down. Her new job, the new power and prestige, dealing with such high officials, all of the little intricacies of proper etiquette that she never knew, the new rules.

"Melissa," Mulder asked softly, "I have to ask, have you had sex in the last six months?"

Melissa, startled, looked at Mulder and laughed.

Mulder stared at Melissa. She had such a beautiful laugh, and her eyes were sparkling now on top of the pain.

"I haven't had sex in the last three years." She replied, shaking her head. "Timothy didn't get a peep show."

He looked at the woman in front of him and his heart went out to her. She was beautiful, strong, and deeply, deeply, hurt. There was a question he was dying to ask, but it was too personal, and he had no right to ask it. Could she have sex anymore? How badly had Timothy cut her inside?

"I can, at least as far as I know." She smiled wryly. "I just haven't cared to make the effort." He knew how she felt - the pain of letting someone else in - how sometimes, nothing was worth that pain. It was the reason he had his video collection.

She hadn't let anyone into her shell in three years.

He raised his hand to her face and stroked her gently with his thumb, smiling when she turned her face into his palm.

"I have the pills." Scully appeared at the bedroom door, seemingly oblivious to what was going on within. She marched over to the bed and glared at Mulder huddled over Palmer. "Would you mind getting some water?"

He nodded and left the room.

"How are you feeling? Any pain?" Scully pulled out her pen light and checked Palmer's rather dilated pupils for equal reaction to light, and quickly checked her ears, nose, and mouth for any signs of internal bleeding.

"Ok, all things considered." Palmer replied as Scully's cold fingers closed around her wrist. Scully kept her eyes fixed on her watch for 60 seconds as she counted Palmer's pulse. "Pulse 75 and strong. You're fine, physically." Mulder returned with the water and handed it to Palmer.

Melissa swallowed the two pills Scully handed her and looked at the two agents. "I can't thank you two enough for helping me like this. I don't know what I would have done." her eyes landed on Mulder.

"You'll be fine, Melissa." Mulder said reassuringly, ignoring Scully's eyes burning a hole in the side of his face. "Get some sleep." He patted her hand softly, and left the room, followed closely by Scully.

Shutting the bedroom door behind her, Scully turned to Mulder. "May I ask what you were doing at Langley?" She hadn't missed what was going on when she walked into her bedroom, and she knew exactly what had to have dilated Palmer's pupils. Maybe Mulder was exercising some self- restraint now, but who knew for how long? Self- restraint was not one of Mulder's strong suits. When he wanted something, he went after it and to hell with rules and regulations.

"I just knew something bad was going to happen there, Scully." Mulder faced his partner. "I know why Timothy's doing all of this."

"Ok, let's hear it." Scully sat down on the sofa, waiting to hear about the little gray men.

"Timothy's trying to kill anyone who has hurt Palmer. He can see her through this psychic link, better than she can see him, probably because he didn't stop taking the vitamins. He was on thorazine until six months ago, when they started turning down his dosage to prepare him for release. Five months ago Palmer had a very difficult talk with the President."

"Difficult enough to make Timothy want to kill Palmer?"

"If Timothy heard the President call him a 'deranged, sadistic psychopath who was not safe out of jail,' I don't think he would care how hurt Palmer was by the President. The mere fact that she was gives him a reason to kill."

"And why would Timothy be doing this?" Doubt filled Scully's voice.

"Because he wants to redeem himself to Palmer before coming to see her. He wants forgiveness." Mulder was positive he was right.

"Mulder, this man is a psychopath. What in the world makes you think he has the mental capacity to think that deeply?"

"What if the medication the CIA gave him only temporarily drove him mad, and the effect wore off, leaving this psychic ability? His IQ had been tested at over 140 previous to his breakdown. I'd give him the mental capacity to think 'deeply.'"

Scully looked at her partner, frustrated. Once again, he had found a convenient explanation for everything. "We need to see Skinner." She checked her watch. 7:00. "Now." She picked up her phone and dialed. "Sir? Is it too late? Yes, Sir."

Mulder paced the room. "We can't leave her."

"If you're right, Timothy isn't going to come until he's finished what he's trying to do."

Mulder opened the bedroom door and looked in. Melissa was curled up in the covers, mouth slightly open, sleeping. He had never seen her looking so peaceful, almost content.

"Mulder." Scully said firmly. She was not going to stand and wait for her partner to drool over their victim.

"Coming." Mulder shut the door with a sigh of regret, and followed Scully to the car.

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, may I ask exactly what kept you from our meeting earlier?" Skinner did not look happy.

"I found CIA Agent Mike Carr attempting to rape Agent Palmer." Mulder replied. "If I had not shown up when I had, he would have succeeded."

"And just what were you doing at Langley?" Skinner asked, frowning.

"I knew that Melis..Palmer had gone to see him. I didn't think she would be safe." Mulder recovered from his slip as quickly as possible.

Scully looked at her partner quickly, worried. Mulder could not show Skinner how attached he was to Palmer, not if he wanted to keep his job. "Agent Palmer was unconscious when Mulder brought her back from Langley. Agent Carr had done something to her, I still don't know exactly what."

"Vulcan neck-pinch." Mulder said softly.

Skinner glared at Mulder, not amused. "Do you know that Agent Carr was found dead only hours after you and Agent Palmer visited him?"

"Yes."

"Agent Mulder, I need your gun." Skinner stood up and held out his hand. "You can have it back as soon as it's gone through ballistics, but I have no choice."

Mulder's eyes widened as he stared at Skinner. "No choice? Do you really think I killed Agent Carr?"

"Mulder, I don't know. But you know what kind of a reputation you have, and tempers are very hot right now, what with the President's life in jeopardy, and the FBI and CIA being slaughtered on international television over Palmer and Harper. The fact that you were with Carr has attracted...attention." Skinner nodded, closing the subject. "I need to check Palmer's gun also, where is she?"

"She is at home, Sir." Scully replied.

Mulder looked at his partner in surprise. What was she doing?

"Fine. I'll have someone go get the gun." Skinner nodded again. "Dismissed."

"Wait," Mulder stammered. "We'll get the gun from Palmer. We need to see her anyway."

"Fine. Bring it tomorrow morning." Skinner shrugged, and held out his hand for Mulder's gun. The Agent handed his AD the weapon with a frown and walked out of the office.

"They really think I killed Carr?" Mulder asked Scully as soon as they were in the car heading back to her apartment.

"I doubt it, Mulder." Scully shook her head. "I think they know you're not capable of that. I think they just want to scare you."

"I'm trembling." Mulder said sarcastically.

"Mulder, you're obviously stepping on someone's shoes. Back off for a little while, ok?"

"No. I can't. And what was that about Palmer being in her apartment?"

"I'm going to get into Palmer's bed." Scully replied. She knew this was probably a little drastic, but she had to do something active soon, otherwise Mulder was going to break apart into little tiny pieces, and she didn't know if she could pick up that many.

Mulder raised his eyebrows. "I thought that was my job." He cracked, before he realized exactly how true that statement had become.

Scully bit her lip. Mulder was doing his job all right. "If someone on the 'inside' is helping Harper, he's bound to show up when he hears exactly where she is. I'll get in her bed, pretend to be her."

"Oh, and when he sees that it isn't her, he'll kill you." Mulder shook his head. "Horrible, horrible idea Scully, you can't get away from him."

"So be my backup." Scully shrugged.

"But Melissa..." Mulder protested softly.

"Mulder, you do what you want. But I'm going to Palmer's apartment." Scully drove on in silence, ignoring her partner's stare. So he was furious at her for making him choose. She had no choice.

"Fine. I'll come." He finally whispered.

"Good."

They checked on Palmer sleeping in Scully's bed, wrote a note explaining what they were doing in case she woke up, grabbed her keys, and were in place at Palmer's in no time, Scully in Palmer's bed in sweats, Mulder outside in the dark car. After a few hours of waiting, Mulder's phone rang.

"Mulder? It's Melissa." He smiled as he heard the soft voice in his ear. "Hi, how are you feeling?"

She laughed lightly. "Oh, wonderful. You?"

He shrugged. "Just another night on a stakeout, me and my car..."

"Is Scully really in my apartment?"

"Yes, she wants to try to catch Harper breaking in."

Palmer sounded upset. "She isn't safe, when he sees it isn't me..."

"She wouldn't take no for an answer." Mulder interrupted Palmer. "We met with Skinner today, they're running ballistics on my gun, and we have to bring them yours tomorrow."

"Ballistics? They think we killed Carr?"

"Skinner made it sound like someone was pulling his arm from way up, making him do it, but I don't know. Scully thinks they're just out to scare me."

"And are they?" Palmer asked softly.

"Yes." Mulder replied, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "When I have to put other people in danger, I'm scared."

"Scully is in a lot of danger."

"I know."

He heard her sigh softly. "Mulder..." a little giggle, "I feel like a child, hanging out on the telephone."

"I'm not going anywhere." Mulder answered, looking up at the apartment in front of him.

"How does the apartment look?"

"Fine, from the outside."

"Mulder..." Palmer took a deep breath. "You understand what I'm going though, don't you."

"Yes." He nodded into the phone. "I do."

"How?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes." He could hear in her voice that she meant it. "I really want to know."

So he told her. About Samantha's abduction, about his father, about what happened to Scully, crying occasionally, smiling occasionally as he told old stories. She was silent for most of the time he spoke, the occasional gasp, or 'oh my god' escaping her lips. When he was finally done, he looked at the clock and laughed. "That was a two hour lecture, I'm sorry."

"No, Mulder, thank you." Palmer wanted to say all sorts of things she knew full well she couldn't say. She wanted him in the room with her, on the bed with her. She wanted to feel him holding her, to feel safe in his arms, to somehow try and make him feel safe. But she knew it was a very good thing Mulder wasn't in the room with her. If she tried anything, it would be a very big mistake. "Hearing about all of that, somehow, makes me feel better. I'm sorry for being so selfish..."

"You're not." Mulder's heart went out to Melissa. She had heard it all, or at least the really big stories, and had accepted them. She didn't call him crazy. "If anything, I was, talking like that. Nobody's ever listened for that long before. I haven't tried very many times, though."

"I'm glad you told me."

"I'm glad I told you too." He smiled. This was the first woman to really accept who he was since he'd met Scully. And this one wasn't his partner. His case, but not his partner at least... "You don't think I'm crazy?"

"What, for all the alien stuff?" She laughed. "I can't say I necessarily believe in extraterrestrials. But I believe in the possibility for them to exist. I just need proof before I can believe."

Mulder almost burst out laughing. Melissa sounded like Scully. "What if I told you I've seen the proof?"

"I'd say let me see it."

"What if I told you the government destroyed it?" He said softly.

There was silence from the other end of the line.

Mulder panicked slightly. Had he pushed it? They'd been getting along so well, he'd forgotten that she wasn't just another version of Scully, that she was a very highly ranked agent. Had she destroyed evidence before?

"They destroyed it?" The voice came back, quiet, wavering.

"More times than I could count."

"I'm sorry." She sounded incredibly sincere.

"It's not your fault."

"I feel like it is. I know what the government does, how they deny everything that isn't publicly acceptable. I've had to do it. I just...I never imagined...Scully...your poor sister..." he heard a small cry.

"Melissa?"

"Yes?"

"Are you crying?"

A sniffle. "Sorry. You're a very good storyteller. I am so sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."

Another cry, louder this time, followed by a scream at the phone. "Mulder!"

"Melissa?" He shouted into the phone.

Melissa had dropped the phone on the floor when the black hole had opened in her head. She bent down, head pounding, to pick it up and fell off the bed. She could hear Mulder shouting through the phone. All she had to do was grab it...look at the outer picture, not the inner one, not Tim's view. She saw red hair appear in her head, and recognized the scene. Tim was in her apartment... "Scully!"

"What about Scully?" Mulder sat up straight in his seat, hand on the door handle, ready to run into the house. "Melissa, what about Scully?"

She grabbed the phone and put it to her mouth. "Tim's in the apartment, he came to take me away. Go get Scully. I can't fight him."

Mulder was out of the car before the phone hit the ground, pulling his gun and running up to the front door. He took a deep breath and opened the door, screaming "Scully!" No answer. Mulder ran up the stairs two by two, slowly making his way down the hall to Melissa's bedroom.

Melissa screamed as she saw Scully in front of her, the gun aiming at Scully.

"THAT ISN'T ME!!!" She screamed, holding her head in pain as the squeezing started. She heard a roar and a scream, but all she could see was darkness.

"Dammit Timothy!" She shouted, trying to fight her way out, through the darkness. Please, let her see Scully, don't hurt Scully. She suddenly saw two panicked blue eyes in front of her as a needle was pushed into the woman's arm.

"Scully!" She cried, watching Scully's body fall limp to the floor. Melissa pushed against the walls surrounding her mind, trying to break through, stretching them, hearing the screams they were causing in Timothy. She felt him pick up Scully, saw him crawl out onto the fire escape and fought. He could not take her. 'Tim, don't hurt her. For me.'

'Do you love me?' was the reply.

'NO!' she screamed at him. He jumped and dropped Scully in reaction.

"Dammit!" Hearing Mulder inside the room, he jumped down the fire escape and ran into the woods. Melissa pushed at the blackness enclosing her head again, groaning at the effort. She heard Timothy scream and smiled as she realized she could cause him pain also. She pushed, and pushed, screaming when he fought back. She had to throw him out....'Missy...I love you...' she heard deep in the back of her head. "NO!" She screamed and kicked out as hard as she could, her ankle hitting the wall.

The sharp pain brought her back to the floor she was lying on, out of Timothy's head. "Go away." She rubbed her head, ignoring the pain, determined to finish what she was trying to do. "Go away" She repeated, taking up a chant. Finally, she felt Timothy slip away, and she passed out.

He heard a muffled scream from the bedroom and slowed his pace, walking as quietly as he knew how, holding his breath. He stopped outside the bedroom door, backed up, and kicked the door in, holding his gun out in front of him. It was exactly like Carr....except he couldn't see anyone. He looked around the room, examining every corner, and saw nothing. He ran to the bathroom and opened the door, shouting for Scully, unsure of what could have happened.

He had heard her scream. He turned around just in time to see the red-haired figure tumbling towards him, knocking him down, landing on top of him.

"Scully." He put his hands around her face and pulled her head up to look at her. She was unconscious but breathing. "Shit."

Mulder rolled Scully off of him as gently as possible and ran out the door, back outside, scanning for Harper who, no doubt, was long gone. Mulder sighed and phoned for an ambulance as he ran back into the house.

Mulder paced the waiting room in the hospital, wishing someone would come and tell him something about Scully. Was she ok, was she going to be all right? Anything would do. Just enough so he could go see Melissa, who wasn't answering her cellular. Mulder was worried - it was very possible that Timothy had found her.

"Agent Mulder?" An imposing looking man dressed in hospital greens called his name into the waiting room.

Mulder stood up and walked over to him. "I'm Agent Mulder. How's Agent Scully?"

"I'm Doctor Sanders. Agent Scully, from the looks of things, will be just fine. She has a slight concussion, and was given a rather hefty dose of tranquilizers, but give her a week, she'll be good as new." Dr. Sanders smiled. "You can see her, if you'd like."

Mulder nodded and followed the doctor down the hall. He walked into Scully's room, a pang shooting through his heart at the sight of her on the hospital bed, nasal cannula running across her face. The last time he had seen her like this....but she was fine now. He took her hand in his and rubbed it softly.

"Dana Scully, you knew that was a stupid thing to do. I know you were trying to protect me, and I love you for that. But," he blinked rapidly as the words began to come faster. "Dammit, Scully! I don't want you to die for me! That would be a shame, you have to know that. I'm not worth your life." He didn't speak the last sentence that was in his head. 'And I don't want to go on without you.'

For the past three years, she had been there for him, through every horrible thing that had happened. She was his best friend and he couldn't bear to lose her. He kissed her hand lightly and placed it back under the blankets. "I have to go check on Melissa, she's not answering her phone. And I can take care of myself with her. Don't think I missed the way you glare at me whenever I talk to her." He smiled.

Scully may still be unconscious on the bed but he was joking with her like nothing had happened.

"Wake up soon, Scully." He left the room, told the Doctor to call him as soon as Scully woke up, got in his car, and headed to Scully's apartment.

"Melissa?" Mulder pushed open the door to the apartment, gun drawn, safety off. He walked into the apartment and heard sobs coming from the bedroom. He ran in and found Melissa huddled on the floor, curled in a ball. "Melissa." He knelt down beside her and put his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

Melissa tried to ignore the safety she felt in Mulder's arms. It wasn't as safe as it felt but wrapped in Mulder's embrace she finally accomplished what she'd been trying to do for the past four hours on the floor. Her tears stopped their relentless flow and her shaking calmed. "Is Scully all right?" She looked at him, eyes bloodshot from her tears.

"She's going to be fine." He smiled.

"What did he give her?"

"What?" Mulder looked at her and rubbed her back lightly.

"What was in the shot?" Melissa felt Mulder's hand moving in circles around her back. She knew she should stop him, but it felt so good, and it was so little...it really meant nothing. It was just his hand on her back. He was trying to reassure her, make her feel better. Nice try.

"It was a shot?" Mulder asked her. "Did you see it?"

"I saw him give her a shot." She pushed Mulder away, frustrated. "Now will you tell me what was in it?"

"Tranquilizers." Mulder replied. "Sorry." He said softly, "I didn't mean to upset you."

She shook her head and looked at him through lowered eyelashes. "You didn't. So much is happening. I talked to Timothy. I remember consciously talking to him. And it scared the pants off of me. It still has the pants scared off of me." She smiled.

Mulder looked down, noticing for the first time that Melissa was dressed in a nightshirt, nothing else. Her legs were bare, curled up under her. He felt a hot quickening as he stared at her naked skin.

Melissa looked at Mulder closely. His hand was still on her arm, one arm around her shoulders, even though she'd pushed him away. With a sigh, she motioned toward the bed. "I think we should get off the floor."

Mulder stood up and held a hand out to Melissa, helping her off the floor and into the bed. He watched her settle under the covers, amazed by how graceful she could be even in her obvious pain. "Your head still hurts?"

"Yeah, this was twice in one day. Not easy." She looked at him closely. "Mulder?"

"Yeah?" He still was standing away from the bed, afraid to get too close.

"Would you..." she didn't know exactly how to ask. "Um..." She sighed. Out with it. "Until you came right now I couldn't stop shaking or crying. Would you mind...well..." she looked in his eyes, pleading. "would you stay with me? Hold me?"

Mulder knew she didn't have anything sexual in mind. She wanted to be held. His heart leaped. Would he mind?? He may have some horribly sexy dreams to fight during the night, but, "Of course."

Melissa smiled and opened the covers, inviting him in. Mulder kicked off his shoes and slid in.

"Do you always sleep fully dressed?" Melissa giggled as he pulled her to his chest, reveling in the feel of his body long and hard against her.

"I've been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night one too many times to sleep naked." Mulder grinned, and tried not to run his hands down Melissa's body. It was so hard. He could feel every soft inch of her pressed against him, rubbing as she snuggled into his embrace. She suddenly tensed, and looked up. "What?" Mulder asked.

"I hope you don't think this is horribly inappropriate..." Melissa stammered, realizing consciously what she had just done. She wasn't intending to make love to Mulder, but just the same, she'd just asked a fellow FBI Agent to sleep in her bed, when she just met him three days ago.

Mulder smiled. "Hardly." He ran his hand through her hair, caressing her neck slightly. "Relax and go to sleep."

Melissa nodded. "Thank you." She smiled before snuggling into his chest again.

He held her tight, never moving other than to occasionally run his hand through her hair, or run a finger down the side of her sleeping face. As he watched her sleep, he began to realize exactly how much he had fallen for Palmer....how he had fallen in love with her. His heart wrenched as he consciously became aware of something that had been part of his subconscious since he met her. In the span of four days? In love? Fox Mulder?

She stirred and moaned lightly, and his heart soared. She was beautiful, intelligent, strong, a talented agent, and a very wounded soul. Much like himself. Maybe that was it? Maybe he had found a copy of himself in Melissa? He almost laughed out loud. What would Scully say if she realized there were two Mulders in the world? Probably threaten to commit suicide....but he was exaggerating. He didn't know enough about Melissa to say that she was like him. Many of the experiences were the same, the attitudes. But he really didn't know her at all. And Fox Mulder did not fall in love with women he didn't know. Fox Mulder just didn't fall in love, period. End of story.

Melissa squirmed in his arms, caught in another nightmare. She cried out, and Mulder held her arms and whispered in her ear until she woke up, uncoiling in the bed.

"You had a nightmare." He said softly, moving away slightly. He had pushed himself almost on top of her in his attempt to keep her from hitting him.

"I don't remember." She whispered, staring at Mulder. What was he doing that close to her? Didn't he realize how beautiful he was? And how good he smelled? And how much she wanted to grab his head and kiss him, and lick him, and make love to him until he screamed her name in passion. She shook her head, needing to clear the thought, wondering how much of a 'nightmare' she could have had. She looked at him again. His eyes were really wide.

Mulder was very conscious of Melissa's hips under him, but she was unconscious of the little movement they were making that was driving him crazy. The soft, little, thrusts, just enough to tease Mulder, but not enough to make him lose control. He looked at her, amazed that she had no idea what she was doing. He rolled off of her and pulled her back against his chest, ignoring the lightning he could feel racing between their bodies. "Go back to sleep, it's late."

Melissa nodded and tried to snuggle against Mulder again, but there was a big bump where there had only been a little one before. She bit back a gasp as she realized what the bump was, and where she was feeling it, and why. She froze, ashamed. She buried her head in Mulder's chest and closed her eyes, determined to go to sleep, and forget what she had been doing.

Mulder felt Melissa stop moving and fought the urge to roll on top of her and bury himself in her. She had either become conscious of what she was doing and stopped it, or fallen asleep. Either way, it was a very clear sign. She'd accidentally been turned on, somehow, his mind rationalized. She didn't mean to be, and when she realized what was going on, she stopped. She didn't want him. He looked at her pale face against the white of his shirt and sighed. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep with that image on his mind.

The sound of a phone ringing woke them up. Melissa pushed herself off of Mulder's chest and crawled to the edge of the bed to grab her phone from the floor. "Palmer."

"Palmer, Jason Arlington here." Melissa felt her blood congeal at the mention of the man's name. The man who had given her the "vitamins."

"Arlington." Melissa stood up straight and walked away from the bed, staring into space.

Mulder rolled over on the bed at the mention of the name and watched Melissa talk on the phone, trying as hard as possible to concentrate only on what she was saying, and not on her long, naked legs.

"Palmer, I am truly sorry about Agent Carr. You're the closest thing he has to a family, as you know, and, well, I am officially offering you his flag."

She turned around as she reached one corner of the room, her eyes looking at Mulder, without seeing him. Carr's flag?? The man tried to rape her. "No."

"Are you sure..."

"No."

"Melissa, you do understand what I am asking you." Arlington said again, the gel oozing over the telephone.

"Agent Arlington, I understand full well what you are asking me. Now will you understand me? Agent Carr tried to rape me in his office yesterday afternoon. I do not want his flag, and I am not his family. Why don't you give the flag to Harper!" She shouted into the phone, and threw it across the room. "The goddamn CIA. How dare they fuck with my life like this?? Arlington, Carr...they're all the same. Self-promotion through the exploitation of others. I didn't know what I was getting myself into." She turned to look at Mulder. "I didn't know."

Mulder had been listening to Palmer rant, realizing the phone call had been the last straw. He stood up and walked over to her, hugging her tight as the sobs began. When her knees buckled, he picked her up and placed her in bed. He held her until she had stopped crying. When she was finally asleep, he slid himself out from under her and got out of bed.

He walked into the living room and opened his cellular phone, dialing the hospital. "Dana Scully's room, please."

"Scully."

He almost dropped the phone. "Scully? I was expecting your mother to answer.."

"Mulder! And I was going to surprise you." He could hear the grin in her voice.

"They were going to call me when you woke up."

"I know, I told them not to bother. I'm on my way home now."

"Wait, you're being discharged already? Are you all right?" Mulder was amazed, once again, by his partner's strength.

"I'm fine. I'll see you in half an hour."

Mulder shrugged and hung up the phone. He walked back into the bedroom and rejoined Palmer on the bed, falling asleep within a matter of minutes.

Scully knew as soon as she reached the front door that she was not going to like what she found. It was far too silent. As long as Mulder hadn't slept with that agent in her bed, anything was fine. She made her way down to the bedroom and pushed open the door slowly, peering around the door. And she saw Mulder and Palmer, curled up on her bed. But she noticed one wonderful thing. They were both dressed.

"You're here." Mulder squinted narrowed eyes at Scully.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Scully said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep, but Palmer wanted me here, and, well....how could I refuse?"

"Oh, of course." Scully nodded and walked into her closet, pulling out a suit. "We have work to do today, in case you've forgotten." She told Mulder as she walked into the bathroom to take a shower and change.

Melissa stretched in Mulder's arms and looked up at him, painfully aware of how close his lips were to hers. All she had to do was move up a tiny bit. "Did I hear Scully?"

Mulder's eyes met hers and he smiled. "She's home."

"I think we should get out of her bed, then." Melissa replied, shrugging Mulder's arms away from her and sitting up.

Mulder nodded. "Scully's in the shower."

"Is she all right?" Palmer asked as she stood up and grabbed her clothes from the corner. "Turn around." She commanded Mulder.

He complied as he continued speaking. "She seems to be ok. And her horrible mood seems to have lifted. Assuming that is Scully, and not an alien clone, then everything will be fine."

Palmer whirled around as she finished buttoning her skirt to look at Mulder. "A story you haven't told me?"

Mulder smiled. "Next time I'm on a stakeout, call. You wouldn't believe how many stories I have."

She grinned and slipped on her jacket. "I need to go home and change."

Mulder tried, to no avail, to straighten out his hopelessly wrinkled suit. "I have to stop sleeping in Armani. Why do you need to change?"

"Because the President is the Guest of Honor at a charity function tonight, and I have to be there. Do you have a tuxedo?" She grabbed her purse and pulled out a brush, all professionalism, any sign of the vulnerability he'd seen earlier gone.

"A tuxedo? Melissa, you know Timothy was at your house. The reason he went to your house was, well, Scully told Skinner you were there. And I have to take your gun away from you, so you won't have protection."

Palmer laughed. "Do you really think I only own one gun?"

Mulder sighed. "It doesn't matter how many guns you own. The fact is, someone inside the government is helping Harper, which explains how he's been able to get away with these assassination attempts. But it also means that you are not safe, especially now that you've gotten Harper mad at you."

Melissa shivered, remembering Timothy's roar of pain last night. She had definitely hurt him.

"You're safe here. I doubt if you'll be safe anywhere else."

Palmer shook her head. "No. I have to do my job. And I can't do it wearing a wrinkled suit. I need my dress for the function tonight."

"Melissa, please, I don't want to see you hurt." Mulder pleaded.

"And I don't want to be on the unemployment line. No, Mulder! I can't lose my job over this. Now will you take me home or not?" She argued. There was no way she would let Timothy destroy her life again.

Scully stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a blue suit, watching the scene before her. She was really starting to like Palmer.

"You know he's after you!" Mulder insisted.

Palmer headed toward the door. "I'll walk. Thank you for letting me stay here, Scully."

"Melissa..." Mulder ran after her, followed closely by Scully.

"I'll drive you home." Scully pushed past Mulder and out the door.

Palmer jumped into the car and the two women took off, leaving Mulder staring at the car as it drove down the street.

"Thank you." Palmer smiled at Scully, unable to resist a giggle. "Did you see the look on Mulder's face?"

Scully laughed. "His mouth was hanging down to his shoes. Oh, that was fun."

Palmer looked at Scully closely. So she wasn't sleeping with Mulder. But they were very, very close, that much was clear. "Have you been partners with Mulder for long?"

"Three years." Scully replied. It was hard to believe it was only three years at times, she couldn't imagine her life without Mulder in it. "Three very long years."

"Scully," Palmer felt like she needed to bond with Scully in some way. "Mulder told me about Duane Barry."

Scully's foot jerked on the brake pedal and the car jolted briefly. "Did he," She said softly.

Palmer's eyes grew wide as she realized she'd made a huge mistake. "Oh god, I'm sorry, of course you don't want to think about it. I'm so sorry."

Scully shook her head and looked at Palmer. "You say 'sorry' too much. And don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong." Mulder, on the other hand, was dead. She pulled up in front of Palmer's apartment and stopped the car. "What time is that benefit tonight?"

"I'm there at 4. The Kennedy Center." Palmer replied. "Thanks for the ride home."

"You're welcome. And we'll see you at 4."

Scully let herself back into her apartment, looking for Mulder. His car was still in her driveway, so he was still here.

She found him sitting on her couch, staring into space. "Mulder?"

"She's going to get herself killed." Mulder said softly.

"Mulder, she's a big girl who can take care of herself." Scully dropped her purse on the counter and sat down, facing him, exasperated. "And will you grow up? What happened, you had one wonderful conversation and now you're in love?" She felt old anger welling up inside of her, a dam threatening to burst. And she let it go. "You...god Mulder, do you even realize what you did?"

He stared at her with innocent eyes. "What I did?"

"You told Palmer about me. About Duane Barry. Isn't that a little dangerous Mulder? Not only is it completely private and none of her business, but it's also a very sensitive topic with a number of government officials and you know it. And Palmer cannot be trusted."

"Yes, she can." Mulder interrupted.

"No, she can't. You don't know who she is, Mulder."

"I do." He looked at Scully. "I'm sorry if I hurt you by telling her. But I wasn't, in any way, intentionally exposing you. I was telling her about me, and Samantha, and it just followed."

"Fox Mulder's abduction story hour. Sure." Scully shook her head. "Mulder, do me a favor."

Mulder looked at her, truly sorry. He hadn't meant to hurt Scully. Of course, he never meant to hurt Scully. But he always did. "Anything."

"Get out."

He stared at her.

"Please. Just for a few hours. Go bring Palmer's gun to Skinner, and I'll meet you at the office. I just need some time alone."

Mulder nodded and stood up. He never meant to hurt her, but he always did, didn't he?

Scully locked the door behind Mulder and took a deep breath. She didn't doubt that he didn't mean to hurt her. She was just sick and tired of Mulder not understanding where, for most people, public and private were divided. The line wasn't there for him. And it was, very much there, for her.

"Agent Mulder." Skinner stood up and gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

"Sir." Mulder handed him Palmer's gun and sat down, dreading the coming conversation.

"What happened to Agent Scully?" The words were fast and brisk.

"Sir, we were staking out Agent Palmer's apartment..."

"By having Agent Scully pose to be Palmer?" Skinner interrupted. "Mulder, did you attend Quantico?"

Mulder looked at Skinner. The Assistant Director was actually waiting for an answer, determined to humiliate Mulder as much as possible. "Yes, Sir."

"And I assume you learned proper stakeout procedure."

"Yes Sir."

"Would you like to tell me where you learned the art of undercover stakeouts?" Skinner raised his eyebrow at Mulder.

Mulder was silent.

"Agent Mulder, what you two did was stupid and dangerous. I don't even want to know what sort of twisted logic was behind having one agent pose as another one..."

"It made sense at the time given the circumstances." Mulder tried to explain, only to be silenced with a steely glare.

"If I ever catch either of you trying something like that again, I will have both of your badges in an instant. Do you understand me, Agent Mulder?" It was clearly not a question.

"Yes, Sir."

"How is Agent Scully?" Skinner asked the requisite question. He knew, of course, that she had checked herself out of the hospital and was fine. But he needed to show Mulder that he wasn't a heartless bastard.

"She's fine, Sir."

"And Harper?"

"The President is speaking at a charity function tonight. Palmer believes that Harper is going to make an appearance and I agree."

Skinner looked at Mulder closely. "Are you telling me you believe there is going to be another assassination attempt tonight?"

Mulder nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Mulder, any resources you need to protect the President are at your disposal."

"Thank you, Sir, but Scully and I had better do this alone." Mulder replied, shaking his head. If there really was a mole somewhere in the FBI, using Skinner's "resources" would only help the President's assassin.

"Mulder, no heroics on this one, understand?" Skinner nodded and waved Mulder out of his office.

Mulder nodded and stood up, turning to go.

"And, Agent Mulder?" Skinner called after him.

"Yes, Sir?"

"The same goes for your partner."

"Scully."

"Will you talk to me?"

"I said a few hours, not minutes."

*click*

Mulder looked at the silent phone and dialed another number.

"Palmer."

"Scully's mad at me."

"Why?"

"Because I told you about Duane Barry."

*silence* "Do you want to come over?"

"Yes."

"Hi." Palmer opened the door for Mulder, who trudged into the apartment, head drooping.

"She's mad at me."

"Well, Mulder, what you told me is really personal to Scully." Palmer led Mulder to the couch and sat him down.

"I told you about that because it's personal for me too." Mulder's eyes pleaded with Palmer's for understanding.

"I know. Scully doesn't see that. You can't expect her to. But Mulder, don't tell anyone else about that, ok?" Palmer waggled her finger at Mulder. "The best duo to hit Washington in decades cannot be destroyed by a big mouth, understand?"

Mulder cracked a small grin. "Understood."

Palmer smiled and stood up. "I need to get dressed."

"So do I." Mulder smiled lightly. "We...well...I'll be there tonight anyway. I guess I can't speak for Scully. She's furious with me."

"She told me she would be there." Palmer replied. "And I can't see Scully as one to break her word."

"No, she isn't. She'll be there then." Mulder shook his head. "What time?"

"4:00."

"At 4 then."

As soon as Mulder was in his car he tried Scully again.

"Mulder, has it been a few hours yet?" She did not sound pleased to hear from him.

"Scully, please, I'm sorry. I had no idea..." His voice pleaded with her. "Scully, I would never in my life do anything to hurt you. I trust you with my life Scully, and would give mine for yours in a heartbeat."

Scully was prepared to yell at him until the second sentence. It took her breath away. "Mulder..." She paused for a second. What should she say? " Apology accepted. Don't you dare tell anyone that story ever again, understand?"

"Understood." Mulder sighed in relief. Scully didn't hate him.

"So, are you going to pick me up for the benefit?"

"Where is she supposed to be?" Mulder asked Scully as they stood outside the Kennedy Center. Both had dressed to the nines, with Scully in a iridescent green gown of taffeta and silky gauze and Mulder in a simple classic black tuxedo.

"I don't know." Scully looked for an agent somewhere and quickly spotted a Secret Service Agent. She walked over to the man and introduced herself. "I'm Special Agent Scully, FBI. I'm looking for Liaison Officer Palmer?"

"She's inside, in the lobby, last check in." The Agent smiled at Scully. "If you don't find her, feel free to come back here."

Scully rolled her eyes and walked back to Mulder. "She's inside."

"What did you say to that guy?" Mulder asked.

"Why?"

"He's drooling." Mulder pointed.

Scully shrugged and smiled. She knew she looked good in this dress.

As they walked inside the main lobby, Mulder scanned the crowd for Melissa.

"There, Mulder." Scully grabbed his arm and pointed.

He followed her directions and gasped. Melissa Palmer was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen in his life. She was wearing a long, straight black velvet dress. Her hair was piled on her head in braids, and he could see her blue eyes and red lips from where he was. She looked dramatically beautiful, and took his breath away.

"She looks good." Scully remarked. The woman was gorgeous, Scully had to give her that.

Mulder nodded and headed towards Melissa, Scully following.

"Palmer!" Mulder called.

"Hi." Palmer turned towards the two. "I'm glad you two could make it."

"Any help we can give." Mulder smiled.

"So, my problem is, Arlington's here, and I don't like it." Palmer lowered her voice so only the two agents could hear her.

"What is he doing here?"

"He's taken over for Mike, coordinating the CIA. Its unusual though, for a division head to do something this 'menial' though. I don't trust him." She shivered. "If Timothy had been getting help earlier, it would have been through either Arlington or Mike. Timothy doesn't have any other friends in the CIA."

Mulder nodded. "And now that Mike's dead..." "It has to be Arlington." Palmer finished the sentence.

"I'll go keep an eye on him." Scully offered.

"Thank you." Palmer's face remained set, her eyes worried. "Mulder, can you circle the crowd? I'm going to be doing the same along with 40 other agents, but I'm afraid we're the only ones who know who to look for."

Mulder nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you both." Palmer smiled grimly. "One hour and the President arrives. He leaves in two. This could all be over by then."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "I doubt anything ever ends that clean. I'm off." She turned and walked away.

"She's talking to you again?" Palmer asked.

"Thank god, yes." Mulder smiled.

"What did you say? It had to have been something good, you know, she had every right to be mad at you." She couldn't help but tease Mulder - his eyes crinkled in such a cute way when he was being insulted.

"That I would give my life for hers in a heartbeat."

"Wow." Palmer looked at Mulder, unable to avoid the stab in her stomach as the meaning behind the words hit her. "A romantic behind all of that. And in love with your partner." She plastered a smile on her face and turned. "I have to get to work."

Palmer sighed as she scanned the crowd, looking for one specific man, a face she could never in her life forget. She felt an arm grab her shoulder from behind and jerked, drawing her gun as she turned around.

"Hey!" Mulder held up his hands. "Be careful with that thing."

"Sorry." Palmer re-holstered the gun.

"Is that registered?" He asked, looking at her pointedly.

Palmer made a face. "I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that. Unless you'd like to answer whether or not your leg is registered?" She smiled, referring to the gun Mulder had strapped to his leg.

"Touch�. All's been quiet."

"Same here." Palmer shook her head. "Half down."

Mulder nodded. "Scully says Arlington's acting normal."

"I'm sure he would be. He isn't a fool." She paused, looking at Mulder closely. So he was in love with Scully. Why had it taken her this long to realize? She shook her head and smiled. "We shouldn't stop moving."

"See you in 1/2 an hr."

Scully stretched her legs and sighed. Crouching in the corner for half an hour watching an obnoxious spook was not exactly fun. And everything looked fine. He was talking quite a bit on his portable phone, which was slightly unusual. It would have been more common for him to use his walkie-talkie, but the CIA was unusual. She tried to rearrange her legs in a less painful position and settled in to wait some more.

Palmer couldn't help feeling helpless. She was positive something was going to happen and she was incapable of stopping it. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and turned around slowly, her nerves slightly more under control now. "Mulder, I'm only going to jump at that once..." Her mouth dropped open as she found herself staring at Timothy, in full CIA uniform.

"Hello Melissa." He shoved a gun under her chin and pulled her towards him, knocking her gun onto the floor as she tried to pull it. He blocked his gun from sight with his body. "Make a sound and I kill you. Understood?"

Palmer nodded, the fear draining all energy from her body. She had no idea she could be this terrified of one man - the fear itself threatened to consume her.

"You've been messing with my head, Missy. I'm doing what I have to, nothing more. He hurt you."

"No, Tim, you can't..." She whispered, only to feel the gun push itself into her chin.

"I said no sound." He walked towards the stage, pulling Palmer with him.

Mulder looked at the attractive couple making their way towards the stage. Large, muscular man, graceful woman who was tripping over her own feet? Mulder looked closely and realized who he was staring at. He grabbed his phone and called Scully, quickly telling her to get as much support as she could around Timothy.

Standing up, he ran to the nearest Secret Service Agent and flashed his badge. "I'm Special Agent Mulder with the FBI. Assistant Director Skinner has authorized me to use all available resources in the protection of the President. There is a black haired man walking towards the President with Liaison Officer Palmer. I have reason to believe this man is our assassin."

The Agent stared at Mulder before reacting abruptly, screaming into his walkie-talkie for backup to be sent into the room, and all eyes to be turned on Timothy.

"Timothy, they know you're here." Palmer whispered. Looking over his shoulder, she could see the agents that had suddenly materialized from the woodwork. They were surrounded.

"No!" Timothy grabbed her and whispered in her ear. "Feel me, Melissa. I'm going to do it this time."

As he said the words, Palmer felt him take over her mind and pull it towards him.

"You can help me succeed Palmer, you know how the security works...show me a hole..." He whispered seductively in her head.

Fear coursed through her veins. She screamed, pushing at him with all of her might. If she could get away, someone could shoot him.

"Shut up!" Timothy screamed and hit her in the face, knocking her to the ground.

As she hit the ground she heard the sharpshooters from above fire. Looking up, she saw Timothy sprawled on the floor next to her, motionless.

"Melissa!" Mulder shouted and ran over to her, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm fine." She pushed him off of her and stood up, looking at Timothy's body. Scully ran up to them and knelt down next to Timothy. "He's dead." She said solemnly as she checked for a pulse.

Palmer shook her head as she stared at the lifeless body of her former lover. "Funny. I'd always wanted to be the one to do this."

Mulder smiled lightly and put his arm around Palmer's shoulders. "Come on. It's over and you can relax now."

Palmer didn't break her gaze from Timothy. "He looks so helpless. Hard to believe he was such a terror, such a demon."

Scully pulled Palmer's head towards her and looked at her closely. "You're going to have one nice black eye. Get some ice on that when you get home."

"Yes, Doctor." Shrugging off Mulder's arm, she smiled at both agents. "Thank you both, for all your help."

"Anything we could do." Mulder smiled. Epilogue (Three weeks later)

"Mulder? What's this I see in the Post about Palmer receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for, and I quote, 'single-handledly' saving the President's life?" Scully held the paper in the air. "Not that I'm publicity hungry, but this story doesn't even resemble the truth."

"I don't think the medal really has all that much to do with her detective work. She's been telling everyone who would listen about our participation and about what really happened, but nobody seems to care. From what I've been told, the President is trying to find some way to apologize for what the CIA did to her, and for the slipshod way the entire thing was handled."

"What went wrong?"

"Harper's body disappeared on the way to the morgue." Mulder shook his head. "I shouldn't be surprised, why in the world would the CIA let anyone else get their hands on a body they'd experimented on. But the President owed Palmer an apology."

Scully nodded. "And Arlington?"

"With Palmer's evidence and testimony, he was put in jail, three year term. You'd think human experimentation would draw a longer jail sentence."

"Have you seen Palmer?" Scully looked at Mulder. "You seemed to get along with her really well."

"No." Mulder shrugged. He'd thought they'd gotten along well also, but apparently they hadn't gotten along that well.

"If you do, tell her I said hello." She smiled. "I have a feeling you're more likely to see her than I am."

"Ok." Mulder looked at Scully, confused.

"Woman's intuition."

"Mulder."

"Mulder! It's Palmer."

Mulder couldn't help but let delight fill his voice. "Melissa!"

"I wanted to thank you for everything." Her voice became very serious. "I don't think I could have made it through this without you."

Mulder smiled. "You're welcome." It was a pleasure, he wanted to add, but held back.

"I would ask you out to dinner but I guess Scully would kill me." Palmer laughed awkwardly.

"Melissa, there isn't anything going on between me and Scully." Mulder said in exasperation. Why did people always think...

"Really?" Melissa grinned from ear to ear.

"Really."

"Well then, dinner? My treat, as a thank you."

"Dinner."

"What a beautiful night." Melissa grinned as she walked down the cobblestone streets with Mulder, her eyes sparkling, hair glistening in the moonlight. They reached the pier and Mulder leaned with his back against the railing while Melissa spun around in circles, looking up at the stars. "I'm finally free."

Mulder nodded. "Timothy's gone, yes."

Melissa smiled. "I'm free. The demon is dead. Missing, but dead." A shadow passed over her face quickly. She looked up at Mulder and smiled again, a wide grin that made Mulder's heart stop. He stared at her and realized that she was really _smiling_, her eyes were twinkling. He'd never seen her smile like that before. "What?" she asked him, noticing his stare.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered, eyes narrowing as she moved towards him.

"Mulder." She sighed, touching his arm softly.

"We can't be doing this." Mulder made the token verbal protest, while his arms reached up to pull Melissa's now familiar body to his. She pushed herself into him, running her arms inside his coat and up his back.

"Mulder.." she whispered, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Melissa..." He looked down at her and felt his heart race. Should he kiss her? But what if she didn't want him to kiss her....

"Kiss me." She sighed, answering his question.

"With pleasure," Mulder grinned and covered her mouth with his, kissing her gently, tenderly, at first. Melissa moaned and leaned against his body, pushing herself against him. He slowly entered her mouth with his tongue, licking, and sucking carefully, very hesitantly.

"Mulder." Melissa whispered into his mouth as she reached up and pulled him down on her, kissing him deeply. He eagerly complied, exploring her, tasting her as he'd been fantasizing about for far too long. He felt her hands running up and down his back, moving around towards his chest and he pushed her away. "Not here."

Melissa looked around them and laughed. "I suppose we should at least try using some discretion, huh."

Mulder grinned and kissed her again. "To the car?"

"To the car." she repeated. She tried to walk away, but Mulder grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Allow me." He smiled and swooped her up into his arms, carrying her, kicking and yelling, to the car and gently placing her inside.

"Mulder!"

"Yup?" He started the engine and they drove off, heading towards his apartment.

"You carried me to the car." She wanted to be mad. But it was so romantic, and turned her on so incredibly much...

Pulling up at a red light, Mulder grabbed Melissa's head in his hands and kissed her deeply, plunging his tongue into her mouth. "Yes." He whispered in her ear before pulling away, leaving her staring at him breathless.

She smiled at him coyly as he started driving again, and moved closer to him on the seat. Leaning across the car, she ran her hands up and down his arm and kissed his neck, sucking gently.

"Melissa." He whispered. "I'm driving."

"I know." She began kissing her way down his chest until her head was in his lap.

He jerked with a moan as she kissed him through the soft material of his worn jeans. "I'm driving." He said again, quite aware of what Melissa was planning, and lacking the energy to stop her.

Melissa looked up at Mulder's flushed face and grinned. There was no way she was stopping this. The sight of him with his mouth hanging open like this was much too sexy to resist. She quickly opened his pants and pulled out his penis, wrapping her hands around the length of it, stroking the tip gently.

Mulder cried out and gripped the steering wheel tightly. Her fingers felt so soft around him. It took all of his will not to take his hands off the wheel to grab her.

"Concentrate on driving." Melissa said softly before bending and taking him into her mouth, sucking on him, running her teeth around the tip.

"Oh god, Melissa, I can't..." Mulder was trying as hard as he could to keep his foot on the gas pedal. But his entire body was shaking, and the pulsing between his thighs was threatening to take over his mind. He pulled the car over to the shoulder and turned it off, gasping as Melissa took all of him into her mouth, moving her head up and down, sucking harder and harder. He ran his fingers through her hair, staring at her intently. He had wanted her since the moment he saw her, and god, to have her doing this to him....he cried as the pulsating pleasure overtook him and he felt himself spurt into Melissa's mouth.

She smiled and swallowed, moving her way back up his chest.

"You are evil." He pulled her mouth to him and kissed her deeply, feeling his heart twitch at the taste of himself inside her. His hands started to wander and she pushed him away.

"Not here."

"No way." Mulder shook his head and slipped his hand inside her skirt and underwear. She moaned softly and arched her back as he found the knob inside of her and caressed it lightly.

"Oh...Mulder..." She sighed. It had been years since she'd felt a man touch her. It felt so good...

He smiled and kissed her again, the movements of his tongue in her mouth mimicking his fingers slipping inside of her. He was trying to be gentle, realizing how long it had been for her, and not wanting to hurt her scars, but her hands grabbed him roughly and he felt her tongue circle the inside of his mouth. He sucked on it and felt her back arch towards him across the seats.

"Please...Fox..." She moaned, bucking her hips into his hand.

Mulder's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea his name could sound so erotic. He gave her what she wanted, his fingers thrusting deeply and deftly into her.

She cried out as a wave washed over her, tightly clenching Mulder's fingers inside of her as she pulsed around him. As she came back to earth, she felt Mulder remove his fingers and kiss her deeply.

"Wow." She smiled.

He grinned. Nothing was sexier than giving pleasure to the woman he loved.

"We need to get out of this car." Melissa kissed Mulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I want to make love to you so much." She whispered in his ear.

Mulder felt a stirring between his legs and started the car, nodding as Melissa pulled away from him.

"I don't want to have to stop again." She grinned, reaching over and zipping up Mulder's pants. "Don't want you hanging out there either."

Mulder blushed slightly. He'd forgotten his pants were open, he had been trying to ignore all the feelings coming from that area. He leaned over and kissed Melissa again, cupping her breast with one hand.

She arched into him with a husky cry, grabbing his head in her hands. They remained locked together until a knocking against the window broke them apart.

Looking up, they saw a policeman staring in the driver's side window, a flashlight shining into the car.

Mulder rolled down the window, trying not to grin. "Officer?"

"Out of the car. Both of you." The policeman shook his head. These two were older than most of the kids he found making out around here.

Melissa couldn't help a small smile as she got out of the car and joined Mulder on the driver's side, facing the officer. She could hear Skinner now. 'You were doing WHAT? With WHO?'

"Identification please?" The officer held out his hand.

Melissa and Mulder handed them to the policeman, watching his eyes widen as he read the titles on each.

He handed them back, unsure of exactly what to say. "Agent Mulder, Agent Palmer, may I ask why you were parked on the side of the road here?"

Palmer looked at Mulder, praying that, with his imagination, he could come up with some plausible excuse.

"We thought we saw some lights overhead and were going to check the cause when Agent Palmer's contact lens slipped in her eye. I was trying to pull it out."

More like out of her throat, the policeman thought, and nodded. This would make a great story for the guys at the bar tonight. "Be careful out here. Visibility isn't very good."

Mulder and Melissa nodded and got back into the car.

Mulder started the engine and they drove off, leaving the policeman standing behind them.

"Oh my." Melissa started laughing. "That was cute. Trying to pull a contact lens out of my eye? Mulder, do you realize what an eyeful he got?"

"Yes." Mulder pouted. "You didn't offer any better explanation."

"Mulder, you can make anything sound logical. I thought you could come up with something decent here." She shook her head. "Skinner's going to love it."

Mulder looked at Melissa closely. "Skinner?"

"You don't think that little incident is going to be reported?"

Mulder laughed. "I'd like to see Skinner try to ask me if I was really caught in a car making out with you."

Melissa smiled and leaned over to kiss Mulder's neck. "Making out. That really does make us sound like teenagers."

He groaned softly and readjusted in his seat. "Melissa, we have ten minutes left and we're home. Stay on your side of the car."

Melissa pulled back from him and grinned. "I can keep my hands off of you for ten minutes." She looked out the window, determined to succeed. After all, she had slept in the same bed as him and not touched him. So how hard could ten minutes in a car be? She looked at him and quickly looked away. He looked as excited as she did.

Mulder was trying to think about Roseanne Barr playing baseball naked. But it wasn't working. He bit his lip and pushed the gas pedal harder.

Melissa sat on her hands, watching the streets of Alexandria fly by. Finally they were parked outside Mulder's apartment. Smiling widely, she moved across the seats and straddled Mulder, pushing her hips against his. "I lasted ten minutes."

"I think I made it in five." He smiled before pulling her head down on his and kissing her deeply, running his hands through her hair and pushing his hips against hers. He wanted to be inside of her right now, right here. But no, they'd already had one brush with the police that night. Awkwardly, he got out of the car with Melissa still attached to his chest, carrying her up the steps and into the building as she buried her head in his neck and kissed him, rubbing her hips against him as he walked as fast as he could.

Bumping her against the door, he managed to unlock his apartment and close the door. He fell on top of her on the couch, pushing his hips up against hers as she wrapped her legs around his back.

"Mulder." She sighed as her hands undid his shirt and reached underneath, running her hands across his bare chest.

Mulder smiled and pulled Melissa's shirt over her head, feeling a slow burn begin as her hands found his nipple and rubbed it gently. He reciprocated the motion for her, rubbing her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He lowered his mouth to her breast and sucked it gently, listening as her gasps turned into moans.

Melissa looked at him, eyes wide. "Oh god." She breathed as he moved down her body and lay between her legs. Gently, softly, he spread her thighs and leaned in to lick her with his tongue, lightly at first, and then hard and quick. He inserted two fingers inside of her and thrust them in and out, while he took her button into his mouth, sucking deeply, feeling her hands in his hair pulling and hearing her cries as her pleasure increased. He wanted her to be so ready for him that there would be no way he could hurt her.

"Please...I want you inside of me." Her hips bucked against him, and he couldn't do anything except comply.

He moved back up her and slid his pants off. Positioning himself between her thighs he looked deeply into her eyes as he pushed himself inside of her, slowly.

Moaning, Melissa grabbed his back and pulled him into her. "You aren't going to hurt me, Mulder." She gasped, knowing why Mulder was trying to be so gentle. "Let go."

Looking at her closely, he saw the pleasure in her eyes and knew she was telling the truth. He thrust deep inside of her and felt her hips push against him as she sighed. He moved in and out, hard and deep, watching her face contort as her breaths became shallow and quick.

"Oh god...yes...Fox..." Melissa cried and clutched at his back as he slammed into her, finally letting himself go.

"Melissa." Mulder buried his head in her neck and bit her skin lightly, feeling her surround him, take him in, squeeze him tightly. He was bucking like an animal into her, beyond conscious action as he cried and convulsed inside of her.

Melissa screamed and arched her back as lightning shot through her body. She heard Mulder cry and rode the waves with him, shaking as he did, finally calming down with his head buried in her neck, his length buried deep inside of her.

"I love you."

"I love you too Mulder."

The demon was dead, not buried.

Continue to Uroborus III