In the Light of the Frozen Moon (5/?)
by Decoyly

Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully aren't mine, they belong to CC 
and Co.Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended! 

Feedback:  decoyly@gmail.com

Rating: PG

Classification: MSR

Summary: Started out in response to DD's comment that Mulder 
takes off his shirt in the new movie (see part one), but has since
become it's own non-movie related WIP. :D Hope you enjoy it!

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to post, my internet
decided to take a long vacation without asking first! Hope
I stil have some readers...:)

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As Scully joined the group downstairs, Agent Stern asked, 
"Where's your partner?" 

"Taking a shower," Scully answered, adding, "Which is what you 
really should be doing Agent Stern."

"I still don't understand why--"

"I wasn't joking before," Scully cut in, too tired to wait for his 
excuse. "I don't know what Agent Michaels was exposed to 
before he died, but all four of us were in that water at some 
point or another."

Stern's eyes widened in alarm.  It's about time, Scully thought, but 
kept her mouth shut.

"Well," Agent Cook said, turning to Stern.  "What are you waiting 
for?" 

Grumbling, Agent Stern grabbed a candlestick and headed back up 
towards his room.  Agent Cook caught Scully's gaze and rolled her
eyes, Men...Scully suddenly decided SAC Cook wasn't so bad 
after all.  It was nice to have another woman around for once, 
especially one in charge.

"So," Cook said, turning back to the group of tired agents gathered 
in the candlelit lobby.  "We have two dead bodies, one which is 
missing, and two missing girls, one of which happens to be the 
daughter of a visiting diplomat."

In all the recent chaos, Scully had almost forgotten why they were 
here in the first place.  The six-year-old daughter of a visiting 
Japanese diplomat had been missing for two days.  The president 
himself had asked the FBI to place her recovery as their number 
one priority.  

Scully had hesitated in bringing Mulder out of hiding, but the 
second he'd heard missing girl, there was no stopping him.  The 
FBI had promised to forgive all past debts, stating it as a mistrial 
in a corrupt military court.  Neither Mulder nor Scully truly 
believed it, but Skinner and Doggett had secretly been calling 
in favors from military higher-ups for the past few years, and 
so far it had kept Mulder safe.  In any case, for the time being 
everyone was choosing not to talk about it.

"It's late," Cook said, interrupting Scully's thoughts.  "I suggest 
everyone gets at least a few hours of sleep."  She checked her 
watch.  "It's almost four o'clock, and without any light we're just 
going to end up doing more harm than good.  We'll work in teams 
of three to keep watch until we can reconvene again at eight."

As everyone tried to work out a night-watch schedule, Cook 
ushered Scully aside.  "I talked to Aunt Claire, and there is 
another room you can use for the night.  It's up in the tower 
on the other side of the Inn.  She says she normally doesn't 
rent it out because she keeps it ready for visiting family 
members, but she's changed the sheets and it's ready to go."

Agent Cook handed over the key.

"Thank you," Scully said, amazed that Aunt Claire could focus on 
being a good host even with her niece missing.

"There's only one bed," Cook said, meeting Scully's gaze.  "But I 
trust that won't be a problem?"

"I'm sorry?" 

"Since we have no idea if the dead man in your room has been 
exposed to some deadly contagion or not, I'm pulling everyone 
out of that area.  Since Mulder's room is right next to yours..." 
Cook drifted off.

"No, that's fine," Scully said absently, glancing up as Mulder 
came down the stairs.  He'd put on a black turtleneck and his 
hair was still wet and disheveled.  Clearly he'd tried to hurry.  
"And a good idea.  I should really have a look at the body 
again."

"I've got Agent Winkley on it," Cook answered, nodding to a 
short man with graying brown hair and glasses.  "His background 
is in forensic medicine as well."  

Agent Cook's gaze followed Mulder down the stairs and she 
said, "You two can have the last shift," before excusing herself.

~*~*~

"What'd I miss?" Mulder asked, joining Scully at the bottom of 
the stairs.  Everyone seemed to be leaving except for two agents 
who were positioning themselves by the fire and another who 
was headed back upstairs.

"We get to sleep until seven.  Then it's our turn to keep watch."

Mulder studied the emptying room, running a hand through his 
wet hair.  "Still no luck with Ivy?"

"Without any light, it's pointless to send anyone back out.  At 
least until the weather dies down."

She was right, but still Mulder hated just sitting around.  

Scully held up a key.  "But we do have a new room.  One 

without dead bodies or sheets that need to be burned," she 
added dryly.

Mulder gave her a rueful look.  "Burned huh?"

Scully only shook her head tiredly and headed down the 
hallway.  Mulder grabbed a few more candles off the front 
desk, started to follow, then turned towards the stairs instead.

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Scully had to admit, the room was beautiful.  Large and rounded, 
it was one of two rooms in the eastern tower of the old Inn.
A large bay window overlooked the lake and surrounding 
forest, and through the draped burgundy and black lace curtains 
snow could be seen still swirling around outside.  She shivered 
just looking at it.

A small dollhouse and toy kitchen was set up on the other side 
of the room, next to a very large walk-in closet and an antique 
dresser.  The full length mirror in the corner was topped with 
half a dozen old hats and scarves and Scully smiled, wondering 
how many nieces Aunt Claire had. 

Scully turned her attention to the large four-poster bed and 
nearly sighed.  Aunt Claire had already left a good supply of 
candles around, and had even taken the time to turn down 
the bed and place the traditional chocolate mints on the pillows.  

"I don't know how she does it," Mulder said, entering the 
room with their bags and walking over to set the candles 
down next to the bed.

"I don't either Mulder," Scully said, eyeing the dollhouse.  
"But I really hope we can find Ivy soon."

~*~*~

"And Kaya..." he added, thinking of the young girl who'd 
gotten them involved in the first place.  The thought of a 
six-year-old being held captive somewhere out in this 
weather made him want to forego his much needed rest 
and head back outside, lights or not.

"Mulder..."

"You don't have to say it Scully.  I know it's unlikely that 
she's still alive, but I refuse to give up on that hope until 
we're sure."


"I know."  She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.  He 
knew she was silently thinking, I just hope you don't set 
your hopes too high, but all she said was, "We will find her.  
Both of them."

He nodded, grateful that she left it at that.  "We should get 
some sleep."

The wind rattled the outside walls and Mulder handed Scully 
her bag.  They took turns using the bathroom then slid under 
the soft down comforter. 

~*~*~

Scully pulled the blankets up to her chin, shivering in the cold 
sheets.  Mulder blew out the last candle then slid over to wrap
his arm around her waist, offering both heat and comfort.  

As she slowly drifted off to sleep, Scully was struck with how 
normal all of this felt.  Not just having Mulder there (that she'd 
gotten used to), but being back out in the field again, 
investigating, helping people.  She hadn't realized how much 
she missed it.  They'd both sworn never to have anything to 
do with the FBI ever again, but now...as much as she hated 
to admit it, it just felt right.  They could both deny it all they 
wanted to, but this was where they were meant to be.

Attributing her sudden change of heart to lack of sleep, Scully 
forced herself to shrug it off.  Now was certainly not the time 
to be thinking about it anyway.  Mulder's hand found hers under 
the blankets and Scully relaxed, finally falling asleep to the 
steady sound of her partner's breathing.

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*thunk, thunk, thunk!*

Mulder jumped awake at the same time Scully did.  He 
squinted at his watch.  It wasn't even 6:30 yet. 

*thunk, thunk, thunk!*

"Mulder?  Scully?"  SAC Cook's muffled voice followed
the knocks, and they both got out of bed.

"Agent Cook?" Scully asked, opening the door as Mulder 
came to stand behind her.  "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry to wake you, but you really need to come see 
this."

Without further explanation, Cook hurried down the hall.  
Scully caught Mulder's eye.  Now what?

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Mulder heard the commotion in the lobby before he saw it. 

"I'm telling you I saw her!" 

"Well I certainly don't see her now, do you?" 

"Saw who?" Scully asked as they joined the group of 
bleary-eyed, half-dressed agents.  The sun had yet to rise 
and the dying fire gave off just enough light to cast ominous, 
flickering shadows on the other side of the room.

"The girl," the agent who Mulder hadn't been introduced 
to answered, his eyes wide. 

"Ivy?"

"Not that girl, the little one."

"Oh here we go again," someone muttered but they ignored 
him.

"Kaya?"  Mulder glanced at Scully.  She was as surprised 
as he was at the agent's words.  If he'd seen the little girl, 
where was she now?

"Are you sure Agent Dekker?" Cook asked, surveying the 
man with a practiced eye.

"I swear it was her."  

Mulder studied the dark haired Agent Dekker and knew
he was telling the truth.  Whether he'd actually seen Kaya 
or not, Agent Dekker clearly believed that he had.  And for 
some reason that fact had shaken him up.

Dekker turned to Mulder.  "You believe me right?  That 
I'm not crazy?"

"We don't think you're crazy Agent Dekker," Mulder
answered, sharing a quick look with Scully before adding, 
"But why don't you tell us exactly what you saw."

The agent who had complained before, the one Mulder 
guessed had been keeping watch with Agent Dekker at 
the time, let out an exasperated noise. "He didn't see 
anything!  I was sitting right here, if he saw her, I would 
have seen her too."

"She was inside?" Scully asked, keeping her tone calm 
and directing her question at Agent Dekker.

"Right over there.  By the door." Dekker pointed to the 
doorway and everyone turned to look. 

The door was closed, still locked.  Outside, the blizzard 
still raged and through the small window in the large oak 
door they could see nothing but occasional dark bursts 
of snow.  Pretty soon those dark bursts would become 
white ones in the early morning sunlight.  Mulder glanced 
at his watch.  They still had half an hour before sunrise.

"There was no one in this room except us," Dekker's 
partner insisted, pacing back and forth in front of the 
check-in desk.  "I was sitting right over there--" he 
pointed to the large overstuffed armchair next to Cook.  
"And that door never opened.  No one came in or out 
all night."  He stopped for a second then added, "Well
no one until Dekker suddenly took off into the night 
without warning."

Scully's eyes narrowed.  "You went outside?"

  "Of course not!"  Agent Dekker looked at her as if 
she was crazy.  "I stood up, couldn't believe my eyes, 
rubbed 'em to make sure I wasn't dreaming, then took 
one step and she was gone."

"One step?" the other agent scoffed.  "You tore outta 
here like your feet were on fire!"  He glanced at Dekker's 
disheveled appearance, orange-red hair splayed in all 
directions and mumbled, "Or maybe your hair..."

Dekker glared at his partner but once again insisted 
he'd seen the little girl.  As the conversation continued 
behind him, Mulder wandered over to the front door.  

It looked like a normal front door to him.  He tried the 
handle, testing the locks.  Everything seemed to be in 
order. 

Except...wait a second, what was that?


Scully was trying to keep Agent Dekker calmed down.  
The poor man was about ready to tear his hair out 
trying to convince them that he'd seen Kaya.  Scully 
noticed that his clothes were ruffled and his hair looked 
windblown.  If she had to guess she would say he'd just 
come in from the storm outside.

Mulder had wandered over to the door but she knew 
he was still paying attention.  Glancing at Cook, Scully 
asked, "Agent Dekker, when was the last time you slept?"
She kept her tone conversational, not wanting to sound 
like she was accusing the man.

Dekker let out a defeated sigh and sank to the overstuffed 
couch in the center of the room.  "I don't even know."

"No one's gotten much sleep since this case started," 
Cook said, sounding genuinely apologetic.  "But before 
you got here I made sure everyone worked in shifts."

Scully nodded, understanding.  Even if they had worked 
in shifts, these agents were trained to go like crazy without 
sleep.  She knew how exhausting the job was, but she also
knew that the adrenaline rush helped keep you awake.  
Time was precious in a missing persons case, especially 
when it involved children.

"Agent Dekker, why don't you go get some sleep?" 
Cook asked.  From the look on her face it wasn't a 
suggestion but an order.

"That little girl is still out there," Dekker insisted fiercely.  
"And still alive.  We have to find her, have you looked 
outside?  She won't last another five minutes."

He was right.  If Kaya really was outside, they had to 
find her.  Scully glanced at Mulder to see how he was 
taking Dekker's story, but saw him slip something into 
his pocket instead.  She caught his eye, raising an 
eyebrow, and Mulder shook his head slightly.  He'd 
tell her later.

"Agent Dekker," Mulder said, rejoining the group by 
the couch.  "I think sleep is a good idea.  If Kaya's 
out there, we'll find her."

Dekker stared at Mulder a few seconds, then once 
again seemed to deflate.  Scully felt sorry for him.  
She knew exactly how it felt to try and convince 
everyone else you were right when they thought you 
were crazy.  

No one knew that feeling better than Mulder, and 
when he came to a stop next to Scully, he said, 
"You're not crazy Agent Dekker."

The man looked genuinely surprised.  "So you do 
believe me then."

"I think you did see her," Mulder said carefully.  
Scully knew there was more he wasn't saying, 
but didn't pressure him. 

SAC Cook asked, "You think she's really out there?"  
She sent the window a weary look as the wind rushed 
the side of the Inn, making wood creak and the fire 
flicker.

"I think we'll find her," was all Mulder answered.

"In any case, I think we could both use some sleep," 
Dekker's partner said, glancing at Cook.  She nodded 
and after another minute of convincing Agent Dekker 
that everyone else would look for Kaya, the two agents 
headed back upstairs.

When only Cook, Scully, and Mulder were alone, Cook 
turned to them, hands on hips.  "So what do you think?  
Do I need to tell these guys to suite up again?"  She 
glanced outside at the slowly growing sunrise.

"It wouldn't hurt," Mulder said, fingering the object in 
his pocket.  "But I don't think we're going to find her 
out there."

He was expecting Cook to ask why, but she simply 
nodded.  "This search has been hard on everybody.  
Sleep deprivation has brought on more than a few 
hallucinations."

"This has happened before?" Scully asked, sharing a 
look with Mulder.  He knew what she was thinking, 
why hadn't anyone told them this before?

"Just a few times, but that's to be expected in this type 
of situation." Cook waved it off.  "I'll go get everyone up.
If we're going to search, we're going to need all the 
light we can get before this storm really hits."


Really hits?  Scully watched the snow swirl against the 
wind and wondered just how much worse it was going 
to get.  Even though the sun was beginning to rise, she 
still couldn't make out the forest through the blizzard.  
The search outside was going to be more than just 
uncomfortable, it was going to be dangerous to 
everyone involved.

Cook headed for the stairs, and Scully turned to Mulder.  
He was still in his sweats and a grey t-shirt and she was 
still in her flannel pajama. The sweatshirt she'd grabbed 
on the way out the door was beginning to get hot from 
the heat of the fireplace.  They needed to change if they 
were going to search for Kaya.

 "What did you find?" Scully asked, keeping her voice 
low as she glanced at Mulder's pocket.

He met her gaze with a hint of a smile, pulling the object 
out for her to see.  "Another piece of the puzzle."

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Dun, dun, duuuuun...haha Thanks for reading! I'll post 
more once I hear that I still have readers...*hint hint? :P*