Dumnezeu permite razbunare (6/30)
by Bonkersfm
     
E-MAIL: bonkersfm@yahoo.com
CLASSIFICATION: MSR casefile
SUMMARY: When Mulder starts profiling again, Scully 
mysteriously disappears. When she is discovered it's a race 
against time to unravel the events that have taken place, to save 
the lives of others and salvage a relationship in the balance.
RATING: NC-17 
SPOILERS: IWTB
ARCHIVE: Yes  just e-mail me please
DISCLAIMERS: Not mine and making no money


Chapter 6

One month later . . .

Skinner knocked at the front door for the seventh time. The 
last time he'd been here was when he drove Mulder home 
that first night.

"You don't have to stay you know." Mulder had called, 
quickly hooking up the VCR they rarely used. "I mean, not if 
you need to get back."

Skinner had driven him from the station with a promise to a 
desperate Maggie that they would keep in touch. They'd 
gone back to the hospital, then to Kretski to obtain copies of 
the surveillance footage from all buildings in the 
surrounding area. Mulder had insisted on bringing the tapes 
home. Skinner had dropped down next to Mulder on the 
sofa, sitting silently as he forwarded through the first video.

'Who are we looking for Skinner? This guy plans, there's no 
way an opportunist would be this lucky. He followed her, 
maybe for a month. He was prepared to take action against 
anyone else, which is a big risk. He was smart enough to 
wait where any surveilance equiptment couldn't reach him. 
Those union meetings happen every two weeks on the same 
day so chances are he was following her for over a month."
"Could it be someone from a past case? We should check to 
see if there's anyone on parole."

"There's been no phone call, no message. He was careful 
not to get caught. If this was vengeful he'd have left 
something for me. I can't believe I'm just sitting here. God I 
feel so useless." Then after a pause he added, "Did ring the 
local PD? Does this MO match anything their working on?"

"Yeah about twenty cases. It would help if we had more to 
go on." He'd been right of course, attractive women were 
going missing all over America. He couldn't admit it, not 
even to himself, but Scully had become a sad statistic. His 
cell phone, rang, and he promptly answered. "Yes, thank 
you. I'm assuming Kretski knows about this? This takes the 
investigation out of his hands." Mulder's head shot up at the 
mention of the detective. Skinner hesitated. "Lab work from 
Doug Carter is back. The reason he was out so long was 
because he was injected with a Zapizolam." When Mulder 
didn't react, it was obvious he hadn't made the connection. 
"Mulder it's the same tranquilizer found in those women in 
the morgue. The women in the boxes."

From that moment the investigation had turned, with 
Mulder bringing his profile to the table. Today had been 
particularly hard for him. Another box had turned up. 
Skinner had kept this from him, until they opened it up to 
find a skinny brunette. Now he hovered in the hall way, 
uncomfortable in not knowing where the "Come in." Had 
come from. Then he spotted a brown mop of hair coming 
out of the top of the sofa. "Next time one of those boxes 
turns up, you call me." Mulder said, coldly. Then he got up. 
"You fucking call me next time. No one opens that box 
unless I'm there!"

"We had to open it! How do we know someone's not alive in 
there?" Skinner said through gritted teeth. He wasn't angry 
at Mulder for feeling the way he did. But he had been 
terrified when they opened that box. He knew from seeing 
that brunette that he wouldn't want Mulder to be the one 
who opened the next, incase it was her. Mulder sat and 
motioned for Skinner to join him, moving the blankets and 
pillows onto the floor.

"You're sleeping down here?"

"Can't sleep in that bed without her. I won't. Not until she's 
back."

Skinner nodded and sat beside him. "You know," Mulder 
continued, "I watch these tapes everyday. Every damn day. I 
read the reports on those bodies, I visit crime scenes and 
still nothing."

They sat in silence for another half an hour, before Skinner 
rose to go to the refrigerator. He returned, handing Mulder 
a beer. "You need this. You look like hell."

They both watched the mute television as some late night 
sitcom moved before their eyes. He sat back in the chair and 
closed his eyes.

"Shoulda seen this coming." He groaned, throwing back the 
bottle in hope of some short term relief. "We were so 
happy. I don't care what guy says. We were so happy, can't 
remember the last time things were this good." He cast his 
mind back, tracing the milestones of their relationship. 
There had been so many peaks and troughs, but lately, with 
his mind active with profiling and hers on her medicine, 
their only sadness was William, which was a sadness that 
neither talked about and that would never go away 
completely.

"What are you thinking?" Skinner asked, seeing the sad 
smile appear.

He waited for a moment, before deciding that Skinner was 
more a friend to him now then he had ever been and if 
there was a time for guy talk, maybe this was it.

"You know, all those rules at the bureau about cohabitation 
of partners?" Skinner nodded. "We were sneaking around 
for six months and no one noticed. Well, no one said they 
noticed."

"All I noticed was the bureau credit card only paid for one 
room in LA. But I let that one slide."

That earned more than a smile from Mulder, conjuring 
memories that he certainly couldn't share with Skinner. 
Mulder continued. "That day she crawled into bed with me, 
was the second luckiest day of my life. It changed 
everything."

"What was the first luckiest?"

"About three months before, when she asked me to make 
William." He took another sip of beer. "I mean, who the hell 
would want a kid with me? But she did, and you know the 
worst part Skinman? The very worst part? All I wanted to say 
was No. I wanted to say no, because I didn't want anything 
to stop what we had. I'm one selfish son of a bitch."

"But you said yes."

"Yeah, and the reason I said yes was even more selfish."

"I doubt that Mulder."

"I said yes, because I realised it was a way to tie her to me 
forever. How bad is that?"

"That's not so bad Mulder." Skinner sighed. "You think about 
him much?"

He watched as Mulder through his head back, blinking the 
tears away.

"All the time. Oh God if we don't find her, she wont see 
him." His voice began to crack.

"You know where he is?"

"No. But I promised myself; I'd find him when he was older, 
when we knew it was safe. I'd go alone at first; you know to 
test the waters. To make sure he wanted to know. I mean, I 
could understand if he didn't and I could take it, but Scully 
couldn't. Then I'd introduce him as one of the kids at the 
college, you know? Those kids I play basketball with. She 
wouldn't have to know at first "

"She'd know Mulder. She would only have to look at him  " 
He stopped, realising he'd said too much.

"You've seen him?"

"I saw him once, at a little league about a year ago."

The tears welled again in Mulder's eyes. His next question 
came out strangled.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah," Skinner let out a faint laugh. "There'd be no way she 
wouldn't know. He's you. He's you all over. He probably runs 
faster, but..."

"Don't." Mulder put a hand out, stopping the conversation.

"Your right." Skinner replied. "Lets keep this conversation 
until we're all together."

Mulder showed him an appreciative smile. For the first time 
in weeks he felt optimistic, because frankly, feeling the 
other way wasn't an option anymore.