Title and parts: The Taking III (1/4)
Author: Jenn Chiprich
Email feedback: ipomea@msn.com
Category: SRA
Rated: R 
Summary:  This story is a definite deviation from the kind that I
usually write.  This is the continuation of the second block of
stories dealing with a possible future.  I hope all enjoy it...let me
know, I love to get e-mail.  Thanks to all who sent messages, this one
is for you guys!
    
Timespan/Spoilers:  The story itself occurs in the future.  There may
be mention of episodes from all four seasons.

Disclaimer:  Well, all these fun folks from The X-files (Mulder and
Scully)  definitely do not belong to me(No matter how much I wish it).  
They belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox
Broadcasting and are used without permission.  No copyright
infringement is intended and no profit is being made from their use

"Are you sure, Dr. Scully?"

Dana shook her head as if to clear it as she smiled at the young woman
sitting on the table in front of her.  She was a girl-child barely old
enough to be out of school.  The only thing that appeared to be adult
about the girl was the pronounced bundle at her middle.  It announced
her a woman.  Scully sighed.  The first shot that she had to give and
it was this young trusting girl.  Unconsciously she lifted her eyes to
the Guardian that stood by the door.  It leaned against the inner
wall, returning her gaze with speculation.

"It's fine, Kristen." Dana lied.  "Just relax and breath deep.  This
is an intramuscular shot and it will hurt if you tense."  She readied
the syringe, watching the amber liquid fill the tube.  Quietly, she
bathed the girl's arm with alcohol and injected the fluid.  She held
the bandage over the spot as she withdrew the needle and laid the
syringe down.  As smoothly as she could, Dana turned and picked up
another needle.  She offered the girl a half-smile.  "I need to take a
blood sample."

Kristen nodded and remained on the table.  The Guardian, however,
raised from the wall and crossed to her.

"That was not discussed as procedure, Dr. Scully."

Scully continued with her administrations, nodding vaguely.  "I know.  
This patient, however, is younger than the others that we have seen.  
Younger women may have problems such as anemia and developmental
disorders.  I need to run a few simple tests on her blood in order to
rule them out."

The Guardian regarded the girl and then Scully for a few minutes
before nodding its assent. Dana withdrew the blood and, when finished,
capped the tube. She moved to the sample refrigerator and placed the
sample on the shelf. Kristen smiled her thanks and left with Dana
calling after her to come back in two weeks for another checkup.

The Guardian moved to her side as she removed her gloves from the
examination.  "That was a deviation from the plan, Dr. Scully.  
Examinations are to occur with no blood samples, that is the rule."

Scully moved to the table, pulling the paper down over the surface and
ripping it off.  "I understand that, sir.  However, as a doctor I
cannot let a fifteen year old girl leave this room without a full
checkup.  That includes blood work.  It will be a simple test for her
Rh factors, anemia, and blood type...she was too young to have that on
record already."

"You know the regulation about deviations of this sort, Dr. Scully."

After securing the covering over the table, Dana stepped back and
nodded.

"Are you still willing to stand by it?"

Scully spun and faced the being.  "Wholeheartedly.  I have to do this
for her sake."

The nurse passing in the hall heard the sizzle of electricity as it
passed through Dana's body.  The noise was followed by the thud as her
body hit the wall and the floor.  Jan had heard strange sounds coming
from rooms when it was apparent that the Guardians had been
underestimated, but this was Dr.  Scully's room.  Dr. Scully never....
Jan stepped aside as the large alien left the room, closing the door
as he did.  "Cancel Dr. Scully's appointments for the rest of the
day." was all that was said as it made its way down the hall.  She
could barely make out a blood vial clasped in its hand.

--------

Mulder sat on the dryer his legs crossed at the ankles.  His green
shirt hung open and his legs themselves were covered with the large
plans for the computer.  They were completed finally, at least as far
as he could tell.  He had spent the last two months piecing together
as much as he could.  From the listing of parts that he and Skinner
had compiled, it looked like the components inventory was almost
complete also.  In fact, he ran his hands down the list, it looked
like it was only the motherboard and case that they needed.

The door in the kitchen to the outside opened and shut quickly.  Fox
eased off of the dryer.  He tensed, but upon hearing the small steps
with a slight shuffle, he smiled.  Maggie was home.  He stepped out
into the kitchen and smiled his welcome.

"Hello, Fox."

"Hey, Mrs. Scully."

Maggie hung up her coat and sighed.  "You've been at it again, haven't
you?"

He nodded wearily and leaned against the cabinets. "Yeah, but its
done.  I mean really done."

"That's good, Fox, because it was going to kill you.  You look like
hell warmed over right now."

"It doesn't really matter.  I needed to finish it and finish it I did.  
All we need now are the couple of remaining parts." he ran a hand
through his hair, "Of course, they happen to be the hardest parts to
come by."

"The motherboard and the case, right?" Maggie pulled out the soup that
she had made the night before from the refrigerator. She waited for
his nod and then smiled.  "I think I can help with those, my dear
boy."

He looked at her momentarily with surprise and then grinned.  "You
found something, didn't you?"

"Looks like an old 286, in the basement of the school.  They must have
missed it when they were cleaning the place out."

Mulder's face broke out in a huge smile.  "That means we can start to
build this thing tonight.  All we'll have to do is get those parts
here and we can be done.  This is stupendous."

The door behind him opened with a bang, surprising both he and Maggie.  
Jerry stood in the door, his eyes wide with adrenelated fear.  His
graying hair was every which way on his head and he was grimacing with
pain.  In his arms was a large bundle, one that had feet.  Small feet.

"Mulder, thank God you're here." Jerry burst out in a rush.  "I was
hoping....God, you've gotta help me.  It's Dana..."

End (1/4)



At the last word, Fox was half way across the room.  "What the hell,
Jerry.  What's wrong with Scully?" He reached the man in two strides
and uncovered the bundle even as Jerry moved to towards the living
room.  As carefully as he could, Jerry laid Dana down on to the couch.

Maggie ran into the living room dragging the first aid kit and Mulder
crouched down next to Dana.  Her eyes were shut with a bluish
coloration forming around them, her lips were slightly open and dry.  
"What happened?" he demanded from Jerry as he adjusted the covers over
her.

"She followed the plan.  As far as I can tell, she took the blood
sample and placed it in the sample refrigerator.  The Guardian on
shift called her up on violation of the regs. He...it...whatever the
hell it is...shocked her."

"Shocked?" Mulder took her pulse, holing his fingers on her neck.  
There was a pulse, steady but weak.  Her skin was clammy to the touch.

"It's what they do at the clinic.  It's like a sensory overload using
electricity.  You get jolted with volts and it is directed at your
sense, mainly touch.  I think, at least in theory, it stimulates all
your pain receptors at once.  Hell...it bursts a few blood vessels as
well." Jerry nodded vigorously.  "Jan the nurse told me that something
had happened and I went into the room.  I wrapped her up and go her
here as quick as I could."

Mulder nodded.  "So how long has she been out?"

"Thirty maybe thirty five minutes."

Maggie turned an eye to Mulder as he shook his head slowly.  "All I
can think to do is to check her pupils.  Her pulse is good, and I
can't see any other injuries."  He took the small flashlight that Dana
had manned the kit with and checked her pupils.  There was response to
the light.  Maggie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Keep her warm, the extent of the sensory onslaught will probably have
her in shock." Jerry said, collapsing on the chair.

Mulder got silent, reaching out to trace Scully's cheeks with his
fingers.  There was no response.  Fox looked to Jerry, inclining his
head.  "You said that they use this at the clinic. What did you mean?  
They do this often?"

"Mmm. Yeah.  Too often for my sanity.  Mostly everyone recovers.  
There has only been one death that I'm aware of: Kathy McGregor. She
had a heart condition, though.  I'm afraid for Dana; they used a lot
of juice on her."  Jerry lowered his head in his hands.  Mulder looked
to the clock and stood.

"You're expected to be home, Jerry.  You can't stay here; you'll be
docked food."

Jerry nodded, making note of the time.  "I have plenty of time to get
home."  He grabbed his coat and rose.  "Just take care of her,
Mulder."

Mulder inclined his head and turned to brush Dana's face again.  As
Jerry left the room, he recalled something of importance and waved to
Mrs. Scully to take his place.  He raced into the far room.  "Jerry!"

As the man stopped, Mulder continued. "About the blood sample?  What
happened to it?"

Jerry turned and answered, "I hid it.  Double sided door, I can remove
samples from it from the lab. Replaced the damn tube with one full of
my blood.  I'll start to analyze it soon." With that final line, he
left the house.

Mulder watched as the man ran down the walk and began his trek north
on the street to his own house where he lived.  As he let the curtains
fall back into place he heard muttering from the far room and ran to
see what was happening.

Scully huddled on the couch, now awake and clearly in shock.  Maggie
was trying to adjust the covers about her daughter's shoulders only to
hear low anguished cries of pain.  Her petite form was shaking with
tremors and it appeared that there wasn't a surface on her body that
wasn't affected by the affliction caused by the jolt she had received.
As he observed the scene, Dana fought against her mother, striking
out.

"Not this time!" She screamed.  She whipped out from underneath
Maggie's hands and stood, unsteadily.  Her hair was wild and her eyes
were frantic. "Not this time, you bastards! I'd die first...do you
understand that?" It was clear that she noticed nothing of her
surroundings.  She was submerged in a world of the past, drowning in
the sea of memories.  Dana backed into a corner, crouching down on her
hunches.

"Mulder?  Mulder, where are you?  Help me..."

The croaked words fell on his ears and tore at his heart.  Fox crossed
the room and gathered the shivering woman in his arms. "You're fine,
Scully.  I'm here.  Everything is all right, I'm here."

"Mulder..." she grabbed his shoulder.  "Mulder, they're doing the most
terrible things to me.  It hurts so bad...I want to die..." she began
to bawl.
 "It hurts..."

"Oh Dana." Fox started to tear up as well as he began to understand
that she was reliving her abduction from all those years ago.  The
pain of the shock had brought the suppressed memories to the fore of
her mind.  Her shaking subsided as the warmth from his body seeped
into hers.

"The probes...the needles.  They even have a drill, Mulder.  They
strapped me down to the table and...the drill...Oh God!  They
can't...it's inhuman...they need to put me out...a person can't handle
this...Why?  Why me?" she continued to cry clutching him now. "Take it
away.  I don't want to remember."

Fox turned the woman in his arms until she was seated on his lap and
facing him. He clasped her chin in his hand and raised her head to
look at him.  "Look at me.  At me, Dana.  Here and now."

Her blue eyes focused on him and she calmed a little. "Mulder."

"Concentrate on us, okay.  You have to ground yourself; you're in the
past.  Come to the present.  Think about us.  Think about that date
that I promised you.  Come on back.  I love you.  Come back to me
here."

Her breathing slowed and normalized as she maintained eye contact with
him. He breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes tamed and cleared. As
her arms wove their way to his neck and she buried her head under his
chin, he knew that it was going to be all right.

Maggie watched Fox Mulder with her daughter as she cried and thrashed.  
He remained calm and loving, even as he realized that the event that
she was recalling was the one time that he felt he had failed her.  
Her abduction, all those years ago.  When he quietly had her settled
on his lap and playing with the buttons of his open shirt, Maggie
retreated to the kitchen.  Her baby was fine for the time being, and
being held be the man who loved her.  She could come back later.

End (2/4)



Mulder opened his eyes and straightened his back against the wall.  
It was dark outside; the only light that showed in the room was the
stream of it coming from under the utilities room door.  He stretched,
noting that Dana had gotten up and moved.  Opening up the interior
door, he moved inside shutting it quickly.

Skinner sat on the floor, completely surrounded with tiny computer
parts his glasses perched on his nose.  The computer schematic was
laid in front of him. Maggie was balanced on the washer, her hands
slung around her updrawn knees.  "My God, Mags, I don't think that my
hands are going to be able to get this together."

She giggled like a schoolgirl.  "Those big hands of yours, Walt?  
They should be able to do anything."

Walter blushed and mumbled, averting his eyes from hers.  Mulder
stifled a smile and eased himself into the light of the room.  
Skinner turned his eyes to Fox and turned redder.

"Where's Dana?" he asked, rubbing his neck.

"She woke up about an hour ago, crying.  Quieted down when she
realized that she was in your arms, though."  Maggie shifted her
backside.  She was really too old to be sitting like this.  Making eye
contact with Fox, she frowned.  "She's remembered."

"I'm afraid so.  Where is she?"

"Upstairs...she said that she wanted to be alone.  I didn't want to
leave her that way; said that I would wake you up if she didn't want
me.  She said that she was fine and just needed some time.  But, Fox,
she could barely walk."

Walter shifted on the floor, "I had to help her up the stairs."

Fox turned an exited the door quickly.  Though, even in his haste, he
remembered to shut the door firmly.  He knew that he should have
stayed to get started on the erection of their device, but he needed
to know that Scully was okay.  In the dark, he took the steps two at a
time to the upstairs hall.  Just as quickly, he made his way into the
bedroom that he and Dana shared.  The room was littered with clothing,
just as he had left it that morning. The window was opened as usual,
the curtain billowing out.  It was a warmer air that seeped in now
then it had been when they had first arrived; spring was almost here.  
He continued to scan the room, his gaze falling on Scully.

She was huddled on the blankets, her head buried in her knees.  She
was wearing his shirt and, as far as he could see, nothing else.  The
sounds he heard were quiet, but he could still make out her sobs.  
"Dana?"

"Go away, Mulder."

He grinned at the way that he voice was muffled by her knees.  
"Sorry, agent, you can't get rid of me that easily." he approached the
bed, sitting on the edge.  "How are you?"

"I want to be alone, Mulder."

"You've remembered." he stated, nodding. She lifted her head to look
at him.  He gently ran a hand down her face repeatedly, grimacing at
the tears in her eyes.

She nodded, "All of it...every last minute. Everything they did to me;  
everything they did to everyone there.  I...it..."

He reached out to hold her as she shied away from him. "Don't.  Don't
touch me." she cried.

"It's me, Dana.  It's Fox.  Your Fox." His eyes, if she had looked at
them, were clouded in pain.  His having to watch her propelling
herself away from him was heartbreaking.

"Not Fox, Mulder." she whispered, turning her head to the wall.

"It's me, Scully."

"You may not be who you are." she whispered again.

"Damn it, Scully." Mulder grabbed her shoulders, deflecting the blow
from her arm as it whipped around to hit him.  "It's me, Mulder.  I am
who I am.  I'm not going to hurt you." he roughly pulled her into his
embrace.  "I'm the man you've been partnered with for eight years.  
The man you've been sharing a bed with for three months...."

She shook her head forcefully, trying to get out of his arms. "Let me
go."

Fox tightened his arms, pushing her up against the wall in an effort
to keep her near him.  Her head was shaking vigorously.  He steadied
it against the wall, his hands on either side of her red mane.  She
met his eyes and he bit his lip in frustration.  "Dana Scully, you
listen to me.  I am not going to hurt you." he pressed his lips
against her.  After a few minutes, she responded, opening her mouth to
admit him.  She relaxed, allowing him to pull her closer.  When he
felt his control beginning to slip away, he pulled back.  His
breathing was heavy, but her eyes were now clear.

"Fox?" Dana put her head down on his chest.  "Fox, I..."

"Tell me."

"Where do you want me to start?" Dana was playing with the buttons on
his shirt, burying her head under his chin.

"Well," he shifted his body to align it next to hers. "For starters,
you can tell me why two hours ago the only thing that would calm you
was to be held in my arms.  And how, now, you were freaking out to be
near me."

End(3/4)




"It's going to be hard to tell you." she sighed, her breathing still
rapid.  She still wasn't completely calm being around him, but his
kiss had positioned in her mind that he was her Fox Mulder.  A man to
be trusted.  Her friend, her partner, her... "Mulder, I've remembered
my abduction.  I recall being taken.  The light...the craft.  
Floating, being placed in a room. A bed.  Penny Northern, she was in
the room with me.  I...we stayed there for Lord knows how long.  I was
in and out of consciousness."

"We talked.  I found out that they were doing experiments through
Penny. She couldn't quite recall what exactly, just that she was taken
to a testing place and subjected to pain.  Soon, I too was taken
there.  It was...." she clutched his shirt in her hand, "A room with a
bed, straps.  They tied me to it.  A small probe was attached to my
skull, they used shocks to test me reactions.  But, I found out later,
that this wasn't what the reason for me being there was for...I was
there as an avenue for them to test human reproductive capacity. The
first round of experiments consisted of what I could only call
torture.  They..." she grabbed at his arm.

Mulder moaned into her hair and tightened his arms so that she was
trapped against his chest.

"Probes.  Drills.  They put the implant in my neck while I was awake.  
They probed my...my uterus and vagina while I was awake.  They wanted
to know the exact nature of human capacity for reproduction.  They
also stimulated my ovulation process to harvest eggs.  The
harvestation was done with a lap, drilled into my side without
anaestesia. The pain, Mulder, it was constant and tremendous.  I cried
out for you."

"After the physical tests were performed, they returned me to my room
and let Penny administer to me.  Afterward they removed Penny and I
was alone.  It was then that the real tests began..."

Mulder moaned again in pain.  "I'm so sorry, Scully.  It should have
been me."

"They...sent you.  Or at least a very convincing replica of you to me.  
They had heard me calling out for you in pain and decided that you
were an emotional crutch for me.  You held me, comforted me, talked
with me...At night, you slept next to me, whispering words in my ear,
playing with my hair. During the day, you played thought games to keep
my mind off of the happenings around the cell.  After about a week,
they were ready to try the drug that they had perfected.  The drug we
are now administering to the women. That I am administering to the
women." she gulped and turned her head into his chest.  "They had
already grown, engineered would probably be the best word, a fetus.  
It was reeled into the room with me .  You explained that the fetus
had been grown using my eggs and sperm that was as close a DNA match
as they could manufacture for your physical attributes.  In the middle
months, the drug was added to the umbilical fluid and pumped around
the baby.  Mutations occurred.  It had no ears, it had long arms.  It
exhibited no male or female sexual features."

"They wanted to test my reaction to the child.  They wanted to know if
I was able to 'bond' with it.  They knew that, in most cases, a mother
bonds more readily if she carried the child so..."

"Sweet Jesus, Scully..."

Her voice turned dead, "At least they put me out for the procedure.  
Remember how the doctors asked if I had ever had a cesarian birth?  
They implanted the child into my uterus, which I found out, they had
conditioned using drugs and hormones so that it was ready to care for
the child.  I was pregnant for all intents of purpose.  When I woke
up, I started to panic.  I had seen the fetus.  It was inhuman...and
now it was inside of me..."

"Stop, Scully."

"It was only a matter of weeks before...I tried to end it, Mulder.  I
probably could have, but you stopped me.  You kept telling me it was
our child.  You told me you loved me and any child of ours you'd love
just as much.  When that ceased to work, when I finally realized that
it wasn't you, you restrained me. Mulder...."

"Stop Scully."

"Finally, I went into labor.  Went pretty smoothly as far as I
remember. Gave birth to it.  And it was an it.  I couldn't tell what
sex it was...it had no ears..."

"Jesus, stop! Just stop, Scully."

"And it was mine, Fox! Mine!  I was it's mother. If..."she swallowed,
tears pouring down her face.  "If it had occurred naturally, I would
have welcomed it was a gift from God.  But...they did this.  They made
me have a....I....next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."

Mulder was crying openly, burying his face next to her ear.  "Dana...
don't say anymore.  Don't say...please.  Just let me hold you."
Silence permeated throughout the room as he held her close.  Their
tears fell on each other.  "Oh baby, baby, I never knew." Mulder
sighed, he tucked her tightly against his chest. He swore that nothing
would touch her then; she was his and nothing would harm her. Dana
pacified, muttering softly into his chest.

"Dana,"

She lifted her chin to look at him.  Her eyes were completely at peace
now.  She had shared her pain with him.  Mulder brushed her hair back
out of her eyes.  "Mulder, I know two of the mutations..."

"Quiet, Scully.  I don't want you to think about it.  Just sleep.  
Close your eyes and sleep; I'm going to hold you.  Nothing will hurt
you, Dana.  Nothing will hurt you ever again, I promise."

She choked on an errant tear, but soon her breath steadied and she
drifted into slumber.  Mulder wedged himself against the headboard and
the wall, holding his love.

End (4/4)

Title and parts: The Taking III Part 2 (1/2)
Author: Jenn Chiprich

Maggie struggled to move the crib to just the right place in the room.  
Her back hurt and her muscles were tired, but the work was almost
done.  She had been working steadily for a week.  Apart from the
furniture and the toys, the only thing that was missing now was the
babies.  The Guardian that had been assigned to help her was standing
by the door now.  "Are you finished, woman?"

"Nearly." she answered.  She straightened her posture and moved to the
hall.  "There's a broom downstairs; I'm going to sweep these floors."

The Guardian nodded and returned to leaning against the wall.  "Hurry
then, I grow tired of being here."

Maggie nodded an turned, finding her way to the basement quickly.  As
she neared the closet, she viewed the window she had discussed with
the others.  It was small; small enough that a grown man couldn't fit
through, but either her or Dana could.  The lock on top was secure,
but changed status after she unlocked it.  Inside the closet, the
computer was in shambles.  All that remained was the hard drive shell,
and the monitor.  Fox and Walt had already constructed a type of
monitor from an old travel TV screen; they could do without the
monitor.  The hard drive was another story.  Tonight, they would come
for their prize.

She grabbed the broom and made her way to the daylight again.

------

Dana rubbed her eyes, as Jerry looked on.  There were still three
patients to see that day, and it looked like she was approaching her
limit.  The dark circles under her eyes overshadowed their normal
vibrant blue.  Since her incident two weeks ago, it was evident that
she had very little sleep.  Still she was adamant about doing her job;
as long as she was involved, she was fine.

"How many more, Jerry?"

"Three." Jerry laid a hand on her shoulder. "You want to take a rest
before the rest?"

"No. I'm fine." she stated, straightening her spine. "I have to get
home early tonight, if I can."

Jerry moved back to the computer where he was entering in data.  Dana
followed him and leaned over the monitor. Her eyes adjusted to the
dark screen and she gazed at the information.  "So, it's tonight, is
it?"

She nodded.  "Uh huh.  Right after curfew." She pointed to the numbers
on the screen.  "So do you have it isolated?"

Jerry inclined his head, stretching his neck to watch the door. "Yup.
I have it isolated, came clean in the gel electrophoresis. Now I just
have to sequence it..." at her frown, he continued.  "It appears to be
a synthetic protein with some extra nucleic acids thrown in."

"How long, Jerry?" she demanded, turning to go to the door.  "Hey, I'm
not a miracle worker." He shrugged his shoulders and thought for a
moment.  "Month?"

Again, Scully frowned.  A month was just too damn long.  Hell, there
were women that were approaching their third trimester.  Everyday she
saw more women who were getting pregnant.  She felt the overwhelming
pressure of time on her shoulders.  Still, she knew what a task
sequencing a protein could be and under conditions such as these...a
month was an optimistic guess. She nodded. "Try your best...I'm going
to see my patients."

As she left, Jerry turned to the computer and quickly booted up the
project that he was currently working on.  It wouldn't do to have the
Guardians walk in and see him working on the protein.  

------

"I understand..."

"No, I don't think you do."

Fox Mulder faced Walter Skinner across the utilities room as they once
had in the Hoover Building.  The younger man had his hands on his
hips, and a frown on his face.  The older had a glint in his eye that
he had used on soldiers for years.  Skinner knew from past history
that such a look was lost on Mulder, but he had to try.  He had to
make this man see reason.

Walter watched as Mulder chewed on his inner lip thoughtfully.  Oh,
Mulder, he thought, you can try, but you are not getting out of this
one. Recently, Fox had gotten his hair cut; it looked like it once had
during his tenure as an agent.  Skinner tried to maintain his power
when Mulder turned his hazel gaze back on him.

"She can't go."

"Well, then, Agent Mulder.  And just who would you suggest to take her
place?  Maggie?  I think that is out of the question.  It's not that I
don't think she would have the spunk for the mission; I know
differently.  But she hasn't had the training that Dana has."

"Damn it, Skinner.  It was only a week ago that she was in pieces.  I
would feel better to have her stay here."

"Does she know that you are talking like that?" Skinner asked.

"No, she doesn't." came a reply from the corner of the room.  Scully
stepped forward and faced Mulder.  "What the hell are you doing?"

"Scully...."

"Fox Mulder, you bastard.  I thought we had an understanding about my
feelings and thoughts.  You made the deal that you would not hold it
against me if I showed you how I felt."

"Scully..."

"I intend to follow this through, Mulder." she said, planting a finger
in his chest.  "I remember what happened to me for a reason.  I am
using the strength of my anger to fuel my quest. I am trained the same
as you and am quite capable in carrying the mission out.
 You are not keeping me here."

"But Scully." he broke in quietly.  "We could get killed doing this
tonight."

"Yes." she nodded, more quietly than a minute ago, "And if you think
that I am going to let you go without me watching your back, you are
sorely mistaken."

Walter stood back, adjusting his glasses on his nose.  Dana Scully had
always been the one to soothe Mulder's ire; the only one that had ever
made him see reason. He rested on his heels and enjoyed watching the
woman spin her magic.

Mulder pulled her to him. "It's just, Dana, I don't want to lose you."

"I know, Agent Mulder, I know.  But nothing is going to change the
fact that I am the only that is going to be able to fit through that
window." she sighed as he kissed her head. "Besides, we haven't had a
chance to start on..."

"Shhh." Fox blushed as he was aware that Skinner was still in the
room.  "Point taken, Scully." he raised his eyes to Skinner as he
released Scully.

"Are you two quite finished?" he asked with a happy twinkle in his
eyes.  "Because the sooner we get started, the sooner you two can
start...whatever it is that you want to start." 

----- 

Dana pressed herself against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.  
The sentry guard had just passed, scanning the streets for life; they
were clear for another ten minutes or so.  Mulder and Skinner were
struggling with the rusty window about ten feet from her.  The dusty
glass was clouded, and Fox stifled a sneeze as he pried it open.  
Skinner shook his head and sighed.  "Quiet, Mulder." he hissed.

Mulder shrugged and turned to Scully.  "All right, Agent Little,
you're on."

Scully moved to the window and turned, she grasped hands with Fox and
allowed him to lower her through the glass portal.  "Don't you dare
make a crack on a diet, Mulder."

"Never, Scully." he hissed.  She looked up at him as she passed the
pane.  He had put on his tuxedo pants from last winter and wore his
dark green shirt in an effort to dress darkly.  The pants were
definitely fitting loosely. "Hurry into the back room," he said
quietly, " and get back out here."

She nodded as her feet touched ground.  "Be right back, partner." She
turned, trotting across the hall.  The air was heavy with grime and
she squinted into the darkness to find her bearings.  Lights could not
be used here; it would alert the guards.  As her blue eyes adjusted to
the dimness, she made out the form of the computer hard drive as it
sat. She moved over to the plastic case and bundled it up for removal.  
The weight was hardly anything and she moved quickly.  As she
approached the window, she heard a skuttering by the window.  
Mulder's face smiled at her from the window and put a hand out.  
"Hand it up, Scully.  Then we'll haul you out and be on our way."

She grinned and handed over her package.  In no time, Mulder was
pulling her up and tugging her into an embrace.  She smiled at his
obvious concern and allowed the warm gesture.  She felt uneasy about
it, though, this mission had her feeling like the FBI again.  
Partners just didn't do this with partners.  He felt her hesitation
and let go of her. She tugged on his arm, indicating that they needed
to move along.  He followed along behind.

-----
End (1/2)


"Shit!" Jerry threw down the pad that he had been writing on and paced
the room.  This had been the third try in as many days. Whereas he had
a general idea on the amount of each amino acid, their placement was
another matter. He couldn't afford to spend as much time as he was
away from his work; sooner or later, he would be missed.  The one
problem with it all, he thought, was that the procedure was so time
consuming.  Gel electrophoresis was an involved process in itself.  
Then there was the culturing of the viruses for carrying the DNAase
enzymes for the nucleic acid sequences.  Trying to sequence
the protein without the use of the needed instrumentation was going
to be like discovering DNA without the crystal x-ray, he thought
angrily.  But they couldn't tempt fate by trying to use the lab
instrumentation for this.  So...

Jerry sat back in his seat and set the gel back up for another run.

--------

Mulder threw the tiny screwdriver against the wall and kicked the
plastic bucket that he had next to him.  Damn it all.  He gave the
bucket another swift kick.  He was no computer builder, hell, he was
hardly even computer literate.  Scully opened the door from the
kitchen and shut it quickly.

"I definitely did not like the sound of that." she stated, rubbing her
hands on the cloth that she brought with her.

"Why, in God's great name, did I say that I would take the first shift
with building this...?" he asked, running his hands through his hair
with vengeance.

She smiled, laughter lighting her blue eyes for the first time in a
long while. "Because I knew next to nothing about electronics." she
bit into the apple that she had been saving for a week and grinned.  
Food was getting more scarce anymore; rations never seemed to last as
long as they had four months ago.  An apple, in Scully's estimation,
was gold.  Maggie, sensing a great change approaching, encouraged Dana
to take whatever extra could be salvaged to keep her nutrition up.  
Mulder, likewise, had acted like a nursemaid.

"Come on, Scully." he had encouraged, "Pregnancy is going to be a
drain on what little stores you have.  It's best that you start out as
healthy as you can be."

Grudingly, she had taken his extra vegetables off his plate.

Now, she thought, as the juices from the apple ran down her throat,
I'm actually happy that I'm taking their advice.  "Mom and Skinner
went up to their room."

Mulder pushed the bucket out of his way with a grunt and a nod.  He
regained his position on the floor and drew his legs up under him.  A
minute later, a dim smile cracked his face.  "They are getting along
great, aren't they?"

"Like two peas in a pod." Scully conceded.  "I'm glad, Mom's been so
lonely since Dad died.  And then the death of Missy and Bill and
Charlie..."

"Yeah...Skinner seems as happy as a lark, too.  I told him, he'd
better treat her right, or there'd be hell to pay."

"From me?"

He shook his head.  "No, from me."

Mulder was thoughtful for a moment, gazing at the collection in front
of him.  He had assembled the main circuit boards, but now remained
the tough electronic work.  It was something he hadn't the heart for
that night.  He rubbed his head and placed the objects as well as he
could back into the box to shove behind the dryer. No, tonight, he
needed to think of other things.  Namely, Scully.  He finished his
task and turned back to look at his old partner.  She was leaning back
against the wall now, her head back, her eyes closed.  Evidently, she
was enjoying that apple.  Her hair was back in a ponytail and she was
wearing one of his shirts again; this time over a pair of jeans.  
Young, he thought with a touch of love and a helping of lust.  Young
and carefree were the words he used to describe her.  It must be the
apple, he thought.  "You would think they were the ones that were
trying."

Dana grinned and opened her eyes.  "Mulder, I..." she gulped down the
last of the juice and smiled at him. "We need to talk about this."

"What's to talk about?" he asked.  "We decided that we needed to do
this.  It's May already, Dana.  We need to start trying."

"But you said..."

"I said that I wanted to do some date things, courtship kind of
things. It's going to be hard, no matter how much I love you, to go
from being your best friend to your lover in one night. I want us to
take steps to get used to the idea, quickly, but still..."

She nodded, her eyes showing him thatshe was thinking about what he
said.  "So, what?  Are you thinking about dinner and a movie, Mulder?  
Gonna be kind of hard to find that sort of thing around now."

He grinned, knowing that the hard time was for show.  "You and I have
been working on several aspects of this grand plan of ours everyday
for the last three months.  You need a break." He moved to hold her
shoulders, running his hands down her arms to hold her hands.  
Slowly, he leaned in.  There were no remaining barriers for them that
prevented their kissing.  Still, they had not indulged much; old
habits die hard.

Scully sighed as Mulder's lips began their gentle caresses. She would
never tell a soul that Fox Mulder was an excellent kisser; it was her
personal secret.  There had been so little time lately; certainly not
enough for this.  The two of them, with Skinner, had been taking
shifts to build, arrange and acquire information.  She could count on
one hand the amount of times that he had rolled over in bed and kissed
her gently. Everyday, Scully spent digging information up about the
drug and its effects on human genes; everyday Mulder spent finding out
about the psychological plan that the Guardians were going to use.  
At night, one or the other, or both would work on the constructing the
computer.  There was precious little time to sleep, let alone anything
else.

His mouth pulled back.  "Relax, Dana."

"I just remembered, Mulder." she started, turning her head.  "Jerry
sequenced another section of the protein today."

"Mmm hmm." he muttered, moving closer to her again.

She laid a hand on his chest.  "He estimates maybe another three weeks
on sequencing if I can help him.  Then..."

"Mmmm." Mulder tilted his head to capture her lips again.

"Mulder."

"What do you want, Scully?" he asked, rocking back on his heels.  He
ran his hand through his hair frustrated.

"This is important." she muttered.  "I need to let you know about
this."

"Actually, the only thing that I need to do tonight, is to spend time
with you.  No plan, no information.  We have done everything that we
can today." he whispered.  Gently, he eased her up against the wall
and brushed her hair back using both hands.  "Scully, relax.  We'll
get around to talking about information later tonight.  Seems to be
our forte for pillow talk."

"It's...I'm..."

"Shhh.  I know.  I'm scared too.  But tonight, we are simply getting
to know about each other." he nuzzled her neck quietly, removing the
remaining hair from her skin.

"Mulder...." she sighed ashis lips followed his nose's path.

"Come on, Scully.  Take a chance; get a life." he joked, retracing the
same path again.

"A life, huh? Okay." she smiled, tilting her head back to give him
better access.

"Let's go..." he stepped away from her, shutting off the interior
light to the utilities room and pulling her through the door to the
steps beyond.  Within ten minutes, the two partners were readying
themselves for bed.  Each of them watched the other change.  Scully
kept herself demurely turned from him as she pulled off her clothes;
Mulder slowly and deliberately stripped until he was clad only in
boxers.  It was warmer now; the open window was a portal now for fresh
spring breezes.  Mulder took a deep breath of the fresh air and
stretched his arms above his head.  He grinned as he heard Scully sigh
in approval.

Turning he made his way to the bed where Dana had perched herself.  
"This is your night, Dana.  This is a night where you have all of me.  
I was hoping for dinner and a movie, or a picnic, but...they are not a
possibility.  This is as good of a date as I can give you, Scully."

She cleared her face of strands of hair and smiled. "Well...Agent
Mulder.  What do you propose to do?"

Without a word, he sunk down onto the bed and pulled her roughly into
an embrace.  She squeaked, but the giggle turned into a gasp as he
tilted her head to nuzzle her neck.  The feeling was intense; Dana
tilted her head farther back until it hit the wall.  Her neck had
always been one of her most sensitive areas, and Mulder, being a true
investigator, had happened upon this knowledge.  She began to hum
with pleasure.  He smiled against her skin and kissed up to her ear.  
"Let me know what you like, what you want, Dana."

She allowed her eyes to slip shut.  He kissed across her face and down
to her chin.  She was mesmerized by the softness of his lower lip and
the roughness of his tongue when it made an appearance.  By the time
that Mulder finished his onslaught and returned to breathing lightly
against her ear.  "Is this what you want?"

She gasped lightly, pulling much needed air into her lungs.  "The same
goes for you, Fox."

"No way, Scully, tonight is for you."  He shifted her in his arms and
let her rest lightly against his chest. His hands fell to the front of
her shirt and slowly began to undo the buttons. Dana remained silent
and kept eye contact with him as he undressed her top half.  "Is this
okay?" he asked as his hand brushed her neck.

"Yes." she breathed as his hand brushed the material apart from
her body.  He kissed her mouth again, pulling her lips into his
mouth with gentle insistence.

"Can I touch you, Dana?" he breathed against her mouth.  "I've wanted
to for so long..."

She nodded silently and gasped when his hand touched the area above
her breast with a gossamer touch. While his lips continued to draw
long sweeps across her face, his hand lowered to capture her breast.  
Quickly, their mouths pulled apart and Mulder's gaze fell to his hand.  
"Oh Dana"

"Has it been that long, Mulder?" Scully joked, lightening the
situation.

"You wouldn't believe how long." he joked back, but his hand had taken
up a gentle stroking.  Dana could only smile for a minute more.

"Mmm."

"Feels good?" Mulder muttered against her mouth as he kissed her
again. "I want to make you feel good."

Fox's eyes drifted shut, and he missed the glint in Dana's.  Her hand
drifted low to his lap and grasped the bulge that was making an
appearance.  Mulder's eyes snapped open and he grunted in pleasure as
her hand slipped inside the waist band.  "Dana."

"Shh." she began her own stroking pattern to match his and smiled as
his hips began to move.  "Responsive; very healthy, Mulder."

He grimaced and pulled on her wrist until she released his organ and
then laughed at her pout.  "Not tonight, Dana, or I'm going to not
hold back. It's hard enough as is not to throw you down and ravish
you."

She smiled lightly and pulled him into a kiss as his hands wound
around her naked waist.  "Soon." 
---- 

End (2/2)