UNTITLED, PART IV

It was around 7 o’clock when she arrived at the J. Edgar Hoover building. The old times were back, and she felt right at home. She started thinking about how nice Jared was turning out to be, and it worried her to think that she would have to betray him on a regular basis. Perhaps one day, if she were ever able to trust him, she would include him in the plan. It all depended on what happened in the next few months.

She got out of her car and made her way into the building. She was surprised at how many people stayed after hours to work on tough cases among other items. She stepped onto the elevator and punched the button that would take her to the floor her new office was on. She and Jared would share it for the duration that they were partners. She arrived on the floor and walked into the office, noting that she already had a desk. It struck her as a bit funny that she was working with someone who was so different from Mulder. But maybe that was a good thing. She could focus on the work if there was no constant reminder of him by her side every day.

Jared was already sitting at his desk, poring over the thick stack of typed pages and files. She automatically sat at her desk, which faced his, and took the ones he had already looked at.

He looked up and smiled. “Hey. Dinner is over there.” He pointed in the direction of a table in the corner, near the window.

“Great. Thanks for picking it up. How much do I owe you?”

He waved his hand as if brushing away her question. “Don’t worry about it. It’s on me. Sort of a ‘welcome back’.” He smiled again.

“Thanks again. That was thoughtful of you.” She smiled back at him and glanced over the master list. “Wow. I never realized just how many people worked at the White House. This covers everyone, even the gardeners and cooks.”

“I know. Unfortunately, your medical expertise won’t be needed too much on this.”

She nodded, wondering just how much he knew about her. “It’s just as well, though. I can concentrate a little better on other things this way.”

He scanned a few more files before looking up again. “Hey, we’d better eat before it gets cold, huh?”

“Sure. I’m getting a little hungry.”

They got up from their desks and went over to the table. As they sat down and ate, they talked a little more about things. Some of it was about the case, but they kept the rest of the conversation light and more personal.

Jared asked the first question, careful to stay close on the surface and not get too personal. “So, tell me a little bit more about the X-Files, if you will. So many people know about the work, but not much about what it’s all really about.”

Scully immediately felt at ease. New conversation intimidated her sometimes, and she had had no idea what he would ask her. This was something that she could definitely talk about. “Well, there was so much involved in the files. Its immediate purpose was to hold information on reported cases of extraterrestrials and UFO sightings, among other cases that reported anything paranormal, but there were so many other things.”

“Like what?”

“Well, let’s see...for example, there was the infamous case of the Fluke man. I still don’t know exactly what to think about that one. To this day, it’s the one that sticks out most in my mind. There was a body that had been found in the sewers of New York City. It had been so badly decomposed that it was impossible to identify it by physical characteristics. So, Mulder had been sent up there to check it out. At first, he was really angry about the case because the X-Files had been closed, we had been separated as partners, and he thought he was being sent to do the bureau’s dirty work. On the outside, it was a case that really never should have been sent to the FBI, but then things got a little weird. We finally identified the body, and it turns out that the man had been a sailor on a Russian ship, and had disappeared. Mulder asked me to perform the autopsy. There was a huge bite mark, and I found this nasty-looking little worm, which was identified as a fluke worm, in the body’s liver.”

She noticed that her new partner was looking a little green, so she stopped. “I’m sorry, I just realized that we’re eating...it’s just that I’ve seen so much that this stuff just doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“No, no, it’s alright. Keep going. It sounds like it was a crazy case.”

“It was. So, the next thing that happened was that a sanitation worker had also been attacked in the sewer, and he had the same huge bite mark on his back. He was released from his doctor, and later on, he died, but Mulder and I eventually came across the cause of the attacks...it was a giant worm. Except this fluke worm wasn’t just a worm - it was half worm, half man. A mutation. We finally theorized that this thing had been created courtesy of Chernobyl and came across the ocean in the Russian vessel’s pipe work somehow. We even captured the Fluke man for a short time, and then he escaped. It was the strangest, most disgusting thing I have seen in a long time. Nothing really compares. Mulder was actually the one to kill it, and as far as we know, that was the end of the Fluke man.” She stopped and looked up from her salad. Jared was totally absorbed in her story.

“Wow. That’s amazing. I sort of wish I had been along to see all this stuff.”

“Trust me, it wasn’t all fun and games. The amount of trouble we got into was ridiculous. I can’t even count all the times either, or both of us ended up in the hospital, or abducted, or lost. We even shot each other a couple of times.”

She smiled faintly at the memories. He looked a bit shocked, which made it all seem a little funnier. “What about you? What was it like working in VCS? Mulder had originally been there as a profiler, but I was assigned directly to the X-Files, so I didn’t know too much about it.”

“A profiler? That has got to be a lot more interesting than what I did. The cases there are very basic. Just anything that local law enforcement can’t solve with their resources. I mean, murder isn’t a pretty business, and I’m sure you saw your fair share of it in the X-Files, but there were very few interesting or tough cases that came along.”

“What do you think Espionage will be like?”

“I think this is going to be an interesting section. There is so much that we just don’t see going on behind the scenes, even within our own government, you know?”

Oh yes. She knew. “Well, it should be fairly exciting work, at any rate.” They had both finished eating. “Should we get started over there?”

“Oh, right! I almost forgot that we have a case to work on...”

They went back to their desks and looked over some more files. “Well, Dana, where do you think we should start? There are so many areas that people work in.”

“Hmmm...well, I guess first we should check out the files and make sure that they’re organized according to the area they work in. Then we should start the background checks and look for anything that seems a bit out of the ordinary.”

“Good call. Okay, well, the files I went through seem to be pretty well organized, so I guess we can fix whatever needs it as we go along.”

“Okay, sounds good. Let’s split the files up according to the areas. I’ll start with the aides who work closest with the president.”

He nodded in agreement and picked up a different pile. They continued in silence for a while, until Jared announced that he found something a little strange.

He pointed to two files he had laid open on his desk, side by side. “Look, they have the same address and phone number. I know that that could mean that they’re just roommates or something, but that really stuck out at me...and look at this...” The two men both worked as phone operators within the White House. They both had similar backgrounds, as well, and had both been released from the same company prior to their employment in D.C.

“Well,” said Scully, “one quick phone call will definitely provide some more information.” It seemed as if these two men had a little too much in common, but it could also mean that the computer had made a mistake, though the White House people were usually right on top of those things.

Jared picked up the phone and dialed the previous company’s number.

“Yes, this is Special Agent Jared Crighton, FBI. I need to talk with someone who could give me some information on two past employees. Thanks.”

He placed his hand over the mouthpiece and looked at Scully. “They’re connecting me with their night manager...Hello? Hi, this is Special Agent Jared Crighton, with the FBI. I need as much information as you can give me on two of your past employees...”

Scully sat down and looked at the two files again. It would be excellent if they could get this case taken care of within a couple of days of receiving it. But then, this was a pretty easy case, compared to some others. She waited patiently until Jared ended the phone call. He had been taking notes the entire time among several “Uh-huh”s and “Okay”s. After he thanked the manager and had hung up, he sat down on top of his desk, facing Scully, and started telling her everything, much as if he were briefing her. She found it a bit amusing, but also a very thorough way of keeping one’s partner informed.

“Well. It seems as if our two friends here have a couple of very interesting backgrounds. They were both fired for selling telephone numbers to Internet companies, among other places. The information was never made public, and this particular phone company, due to union rules, was only allowed to say that the two had been let go because of personal conflicts. So, the White House people didn’t know all the real reasons. And selling lists to companies is the only offense. They are, indeed, roommates, and there were always rumors going around that they had a secret sort of business going on. Hacking and bugging phones through computers, and that sort of thing. There was never any hard evidence of these things, but both men bragged about it several times to co-workers.”

“What about the list-selling? Isn’t that illegal if it’s done privately like that for personal gain?”

“Yes, but since Harvey Breaker and Glen Wallace didn’t cause too much trouble at work, and they left without a fuss, the phone company didn’t pursue it. The main thing that the manager told me is that these two weren’t well liked at all by coworkers. In fact, they were only kept on because they were such experts in their field. The manager also said that practically the whole company jumped for joy when they got fired. People were just itching to get rid of them, and this was a golden opportunity.”

“Well, this is a good lead we have. In the morning, we can let Skinner know that we have a break, and then we can set up some interviews with operators in the White House, as well as Breaker and Wallace themselves. Just simple questioning, nothing major.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Okay, then...I guess we should go home and get some sleep. I can’t wait to tell Skinner about this.”

“Me neither. He’ll be very pleased, I think.”

They closed up the office and started toward the parking lot. Again, Scully felt a hand at the small of her back, and again, she surreptitiously glanced around her. Jared was walking next to her, and again, his arms were swinging at his sides. A ghost of a smile crept across her lips.

Jared walked her to her car, and then walked across the parking lot to his own. He had been thinking quite a bit about his new partner, and realized that he was already forming a friendly affection for her. The kind that often eventually grew to something deeper. He wondered if this is what Fox Mulder had felt the first time he met her, but guessed he would never know. He sighed and got into his car. Thinking this way about his new partner and her only recently late husband was making him feel guilty. He headed home, thinking that there was so much about Dana that he could only hope to learn.

She sat down in her car with a sigh of relief. As good as it felt to be on the way to solving the very first case already, the day had been exhausting. She drove to her apartment in peace and quiet, and once she arrived there, she collapsed into bed after throwing on some pajamas, and fell asleep almost immediately.


Sometime around 2 am, she was startled awake. There was a hand gently caressing her back, and when she turned over and reached for her revolver, her hand was stopped in midair.

“Scully, don’t you think you’ve shot me enough times already?”

She smiled instantly and turned to face him. “Mulder, you frightened me.”

“I’m sorry. You’re just so beautiful, Scully. I miss being with you. Nighttimes were very lonely for me until I realized that even though you were far away, our love was far to strong for me to feel alone. The thought of you and William always comforted me.”

“Mulder, you know I will always love you...”

He was silent at this, then suddenly, “Scully, I want to make love to you.”

She was surprised at this. “How is that possible? Mulder, you’re...you’re...”

“Dead? Not among the living? That’s not entirely true. I’m just not physically a part of this world anymore. But look, I’m still here.” He became something almost solid, and as his state seemed to change, he reached for her hand. He felt solid and real to her as she touched him. “I kissed you before, didn’t I?”,br>
“Yes, but that was different, and you left before it felt like a kiss.”

“How is it different, Scully? What is sex, anyway? It is pure emotion and something spiritual. It’s an expression of joy and love, and though some of it is physical, the essence of it remains within my world. You can feel me, can’t you? I’m here...right here...” he murmured.

He leaned over her and pressed his lips to hers. With equal passion, she returned the kiss and moaned softly as he slid her pajamas down her hips and legs and lifted the top over her head. He was right...he was still very real, and their emotional ties were stronger than ever. She was his connection to the physical world, as he was her connection to the spiritual one.

“Mulder...” she whispered. “How do I...do I...?”

Knowing what she meant, he slowly removed his own clothing and climbed over her. He felt light as air but still so solid and real that she couldn’t believe what they were doing. She wrapped her legs around him.

“Mulder...make love to me...”

He slid inside her slowly and gently and they began to move together. She still couldn’t believe that it was his hands on her, running over her breasts, that it was he who was inside of her...this wasn’t supposed to be, and yet it was happening. How?

“Scully...don’t question it...just let it happen...”

She brought herself back to the reality of him as they continued making love. It was the sweetest, most exquisite thing, and the happiness she felt took over her confusion and changed it into acceptance.

Her breathing grew heavy and ragged as she neared release. Her hands ran through his hair as he gripped her bottom and pulled her tighter while she climaxed. Spent, she relaxed into his arms as he rolled over so that she could lie on top of him. This situation was so familiar to her, minus one thing...while she lay on top of his chest, she couldn’t feel his breathing... nor hear his heartbeat. Anger momentarily clouded her ecstasy as she realized again how much she had lost. But the anger was quickly replaced as she realized who was in her arms and what they had just done. She breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the time they had left was short, she wanted to enjoy every moment she had with him.

“Mulder?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why were you able to come back to me?”

“I don’t know Scully. All I know is that something is telling me not to follow the light just yet. Something is telling me that there is something much bigger coming that I shouldn’t miss. Perhaps we’re being granted some extra time to replace what we were denied for the past two years. I just don’t know. But I’m glad that I have this time. Like I said...I’ve missed you so much...”

“Your last letter to me made me cry. After I read it, everything sort of sank in. I knew what I had lost then. Mulder, I will never love anyone again.”

He kissed the top of her head, a frown creasing his brow. “Scully, you still have a long life ahead of you. Don’t make any promises that you may not want to keep later. We will always love each other, and when you can finally join me as I walk the afterlife waiting for you, then we will be together again. But while you are here on earth, you’ll be lonely after I leave. I don’t want that.”

She sighed. “Mulder, I don’t want you to be right, but I’m afraid that you might be. I want to stay with you. I don’t want you to leave me, and I don’t want to love anyone else.” A sob escaped her throat. “Please don’t leave again...”

“Scully, shhhhh...eventually I’ll have to. It’ll be okay. Everything has to change sometime. You know that. But I will always be with you, in your heart and in William. No matter what. And, as I said, when you are able to join me, we’ll be together forever. I promise. And for now, let’s enjoy what time we have.”

He kissed her again, as she drifted toward asleep.



End, Part IV