Title: The Monkey's Eye

Classification: Crossover with Millennium/Angst.

Rating: R for violence

Spoilers: Mostly Millennium series finale.

Summary: Mulder and Scully's world collide with the Millennium group. Mulder and Franck Black must fight together for Scully's safety.

Feedback: Please, send feedback... I need feedback. I know this tale isn't stellar, it was in response to a plea from friends in an X-Files newsgroup who wanted to see if a crossover between shows seemed plausible. A great debate ensued after I posted this story piece by piece. It was just for fun. You can find me at xenoprobe@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Mulder/Scully/Frank/Jordan... none of them are mine-they belong to Chris Carter and 1013 productions. No copyright infringement is intended. I use their images with great reverence.

The Monkey's Eye

By xenoprobe

Mulder sat in his office chair spinning circles slowly. He was bored and not even the methodic injection of sharpened pencils into the ceiling tile was distracting him this time. Scully was out, performing an autopsy unrelated to their X-Files field still, her expertise was needed. [At least she HAS an expertise] Mulder thought to himself.

He leaned way back in his chair, stretching his neck back and rested his eyes. That was when he heard a little 'pifffftt' noise in the office. He jerked his head and darted his eyes to the door. On the floor, someone had pressed an envelope through, unmarked. Even the voice in his mind was deadpan.

Ever since the consortium had perished and some of the more important answers were revealed the X-Files had become more mundane. There wasn't the same intrigue involved. His passion was intact and of course there was Scully, [always my Scully] to keep his mind on his quest for knowledge and the truth.

Mulder plopped down at his desk and slid a long flat letter opener through the envelope. He gingerly pulled out a stack of papers with a cover note on them. Mulder's eyes perked up when he saw the infinite circular image of a snake eating its own tale. In the center of the circle it read, "there are 204 days remaining". Mulder rubbed his temple as he filtered through the documents.

[Massive viral outbreak... Rare weak vaccine... Government cover-up... This is too familiar. And who are the Millennium group anyway] Mulder puzzled over graphs until he came to a name, Frank Black. Frank Black's reputation preceded him. He had been a highly instrumental special agent with the FBI for years until a case got too close to his family and he broke down. Mulder thought about his rookie year in the VCU, remembering reading a profile that Frank had laid out about a serial killer. Mulder mused. Then a few short years later while Mulder had his young head stuck in the all but forgotten X-Files he'd casually heard of Frank's departure form the Bureau. Breakdown. [Someone once called me Frank Black]

"If you don't wise up there Spooky, you'll end up drowning in ghosts-just like Frank Black." Mulder muttered the recollection below his breath. He read on to find information concerning Frank's family, a daughter and wife, now deceased and a brief return to the Bureau last year before disappearing. There was a note in between the pages, hand written:

"My God, there are so many stars,

Special agents Mulder and Scully,

If you have received this package of information concerning Frank Black and the Millennium group, I am most assuredly dead. You have been working to reveal the truth for many years now, a quest that has cost you both a lot in your lives. I can only tell you that your search for meaning in the unexplained is not without it's purpose. As a member of the Millennium group I have been an entrusted keeper of these truths hoping to help prepare those who could see us into the next decade and make the transition into the year 2000.

This package has come to you, as I can no longer protect Frank and Jordan from those who would harm them for their special abilities. Frank doesn't understand that I believe it is he who will bring about this transition of truth. He and his daughter's visions are the only things I have come to trust, realizing that our group's agenda is not as pure as I once thought. Since I can no longer attempt to convince Frank of my intentions it is my hope that you will find him and piece together this truth.

Peter Watts."

[Visions, gifts, truths...] Mulder's fingers typed wildly over the keys searching out any information he could find about Frank Black, records, service details, dismissal, all right there in the FBI database, all this time.

"Mulder?" Scully's voice shocked his senses. She walked into the office with a cool stride. "What are you so involved in over there?"

"Scully-read this," he shoved the stack of secrets at her speaking low and breathlessly. Her eyes darted over the information and she read the letter from Peter Watts.

"What IS all this Mulder, how did you get this? A viral outbreak, a vaccine, a cover-up... This has got to be a sick joke." Her blue eyes flared as they scanned the information before her.

"No Scully, I think its all a piece of something bigger. I've read everything in there and although the details read like our experiences with purity control and Antarctica I think you'll find this is VERY different."

*****

Frank Black stared blankly into his cup of coffee. It had only been five weeks since that final warning came, that warning to gather Jordan and leave. Again. It hadn't even been a full year since they'd left Seattle, since Catherine had died. He and Jordan had moved to Maine this time and this time he wasn't going back-not going back to any of the type of work he'd done in the past. No policing, no investigating, not probing into his mind's eye. He'd resolved, mostly for Jordan's sake, that he'd work a regular job, be a regular dad and just try to find enough time to heal the wounds that his involvement with the Millennium group had gouged. When the end of the world arrived, he hoped he'd be as blissfully unaware as the rest of the populace.

"Daddy?" Jordan's cheerful voice sounded through the small kitchen. "Why do monkeys know about danger? They always seem to know when to scream."

"I guess, they have an instinctual sense when someone or something is bad. It's all part of nature." He smiled at her, a broad welcoming smile.

"Then why do they always scream at me?" Frank glanced back into the abyss of his coffee cup. [How can she be so in tune, so aware of this... it took me years to figure it out, to see what I see]

"Jordan," his voice was low and smooth, "you, my dear, are not bad, if that's what you're getting at. Besides, I have never even seen you around monkeys so how do you know that they'd scream at you huh?"

"Daddy..." She placed her little fists on her hips. "don't pat-patro-p"

"Patronize?"

"Yes, don't patronize me. It's the monkeys in my head, when I dream of mommy, there are always monkeys screaming at me." Frank could not help but smile, [so grown up aren't you Jordan]

"I know, honey, I hear them too. But I think," he scooped her up to his knee, "I think they are warning us. That the danger is not far away and we should listen to their voices, warning us."

The scream was shrill... incessant. It pierced through Scully's apartment without relenting.

"Are you going to see to that?" Mulder blurted over the noise. Scully stood up from her paperwork and walked to the kitchen. She removed the boiling kettle from the burner.

"Tea, Mulder?" Her partner nodded, not looking up from the photos in front of him. Scully brought in two mugs on a platter with honey and some biscuits.

"You shouldn't have..." Mulder grinned as she placed the offerings in front of him. She smiled.

"We're going to need more than tea and biscuits to get us through all this paperwork, Mulder. I can't believe all this information was right here, documented by the FBI." She sipped and filtered through papers.

"Just because it was found in our archives, doesn't mean its all true, Scully." He grinned a little at how their roles were so ingrained now; [you don't need to hear me say that do you Scully]

"True. But we DO have to read through this and sort it out for ourselves." She looked down at her partner from the couch, she felt tall for a change. "Drink your tea, Mulder."

The sound of the elevator 'ding' woke Mulder from him reverie. He dragged his feet down the hallway to number forty-two. [Home.] He reached out to put his leather jacket on the coat rack and missed entirely, hearing the hiss it made as it fell to the floor. Mulder flopped down on his abused couch and rubbed his temple. [Scully... Well at least she'll get some sleep. She always goes before me. Here I am rambling on about his Millennium group only to turn around and see her snoozing.] Mulder stretched out, feeling his long legs relax. [She does look awfully peaceful when she sleeps though, all that red hair tussled over her face-]

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and saw it. 'There are 202 days remaining' On his computer was a black screen with the familiar snake and catch phrase. [Someone's been in my apartment.] He darted to his workstation to find a leather folder waiting for him. There was one single sheet of paper inside, it read "2000", Mulder typed it on the keyboard and waited.

'Mr. Mulder. We have been watching your career for a very long time, ever since your impressive profiling form the Violent Crimes Unit at the FBI. Your ability to use imagination and accept foreign theories has prepared you for our first contact. Our group has recently lost a valued member and we are anxious to find someone as passionate and dedicated to the truth to step into our community. We hope that by sampling just some of what our group can offer you, you will take the necessary steps to joining our quest. Press ESC to continue.'

Mulder hit the key and his jaw dropped to the floor. There, on his computer, was a half-screen sized colour photo of Scully with a never-ending blurb of information to accompany it. He read on, only to discover that information such as her abduction, her cancer, and her child were fully outlined. Mulder doubted that even he'd ever had so much accurate details forthcoming to him or Scully. Along with this information there came a promise. A promise from the Millennium group. If Mulder should join their efforts, and keep silent about it, the group would ensure Scully's continued safety. She would never suffer the effects of her cancer since the group had solutions for that already. She would have access to her stolen ovum, giving her the option to bear children. She would be safe. [Safe.] Mulder had to admit the idea was very comforting.

Across town Scully felt the hair being brushed gently from her eyes. She stirred.

"Mulder, you're still here?" A large hand came down on her mouth and her eyes shot open, piercing blue even in the low light. She couldn't see the person above her and struggled against his weight. [Think. Where's your holster, where's your gun. Just get this guy off you long enough to get to the gun.] But it was no use. She felt herself being lifted off the couch and dragged toward the backdoor. The last thing Scully remembered was the sensation of hitting her head on the doorframe and feeling the night air infiltrate her lungs.

*****

Frank Black rubbed his temples as he watched his daughter dart off toward her classroom. He accompanied her to and from school everyday.

"Bye daddy!" She waved at him, smiling confidently. He smiled back in his own way. His head was pounding and he stopped to sit on a hallway bench for a moment. With a lightening rip of sound through his thoughts, Frank braced an arm to the wall as the flood of scattered images swirled through his mind.

[A redhead... blood. Blood and the redheaded woman is screaming. I can almost hear it. A darkened apartment and... 'There are 202 days remaining' Oh God... Its them... she can't stop screaming, her mouth, bloodied, open and screaming... What is that name... MULDER!]

Frank shook his head as if to rid his mind of the imagery but every minute detail was already recorded in his photographic mind. [Who's Mulder?] He stood up and left the building only to sit in his car for a very long time trying to place where he'd heard that name before.

"You have reached Dana Scully..."

"Dammit Scully, why don't you have your cell phone!" Mulder cursed as he threw down his cellular and flopped into his office chair. [You're never late for work Scully...] Mulder paused; thinking briefly about accepting the Millennium groups offer for her protection, then shrugged it off. [Her protection is MY work... I could never keep something this important from Scully.] "My work, mine." He muttered to himself as he grabbed his long coat and slammed the office door shut.

Her apartment was empty. Mulder had knocked only twice before reaching for his key and allowing himself special entry. [Empty...] He looked around and saw the usual; in fact it was nearly the very image of how he'd last seen her place. There were some papers still on her low coffee table and a teacup at the edge. Mulder leaned down and looked through the sheets of data. [Something's missing here... there were charts and... ]

It was then that he noticed the over turned teacup, Scully's cup. Mulder was on his feet and scouring the place for any signs of a struggle. He was almost relieved at finding nothing more until his eyes gravitated to the back door exit. It was as if he could feel her there.

"Oh Scully..." he breathed, staring at the smudge of blood on the white frame. He pulled out a swab and evidence bag from his pocket and swiped a sample for testing. As he ran the swab carefully over the smear one word slipped from his lips.

"Mine..."

*****

Frank looked up from his steering wheel, he no idea how long he'd been sitting there in his reverie trying to recollect that name, Mulder. At the school's entrance stood Jordan and her teacher. Frank dashed from the car.

"What's the matter." He glanced from adult to child. His daughter's face was washed of colour.

"Mr. Black. Jordan just had a little episode in class." She paused, looking for the right words. "I looked over at her and her head was down on her desk, she didn't answer when I called so I went over to check on her. Her nose was bleeding and she was crying." Frank reached down and scooped Jordan into his arms, her limbs wrapped around him immediately. "I got her cleaned up and we were going to call you but she insisted that you were still here." The teacher's face crumpled with confusion. "And here you are."

"I was going over some work in the car." He stated flatly. "Jordan?" She lifted her head against his face. "Let's go sweetie." She nodded as he turned away from the school and never looked back.

"Daddy?" Jordan echoed as her father placed her safely in the car. "We have to help the redheaded lady. She needs me." Franks eyes flared. "Daddy, she needs our help."

"What do you know of this woman Jordan? What did you see?" His voice was just below panic.

"At first, I heard the monkeys screaming and I remembered what you said about them being a warning. Then I saw a snake swallowing his own tail and it turn into a woman's face. The redheaded woman, and she was screaming something... Moldar?"

"Mulder." he offered. "Honey, why did you say she needs your help?" Frank could feel a sweat breaking out al over him [you promised her, Frank. Promised no more case work, no more Millennium group.]

"I know things, daddy, I know how to find her, trust me." [So much childhood lost already.] Frank let the reality of his daughter's talents wash over him, causing him to shake. "I know you don't want me to go, you think it will be dangerous for me. But the lady needs our help. I SAW her." He lowered his head, defeated, and nodded a 'yes' to Jordan as he turned the keys in the ignition.

Scully's eyes revolted against the bright light as her vision came into focus. She was in a cold, metallic room, like an examination chamber. She was wearing a paper gown and her underwear. Along the front of the cell was an all-glass wall where she could see a science lab beyond her space.

"Mulder..." she whispered, knowing it was no use to call out now. Scully traced her fingers over her cheeks and temples, reacting to the scrapes and bruises she found. She resolved to sit there quietly. [If I'm quiet, they might forget me, leave me alone.] But no one had forgotten her; they were just waiting to perform the test.

She must have dozed off because when she awoke there were men in her chamber.

"What do you want with me!" she barked. "Don't touch me!" It was too late. The strength of four men overpowered her all too easily as they laid her flat to the metal table. One of the men reached to a tray behind him and withdrew a long, intrusive looking syringe. Scully writhed against her captors, trying to yell, kick. [Fight back.]

"This will only take a moment Dr. Scully. We have to perform an amniocentesis test to determine the sex and health of your child." She shook her head wildly.

"I am NOT pregnant! I cannot even bear children you idiots-now LET ME GO!"

"We have reason to believe that you are with child as we speak and this test is a necessary precaution for you and your baby's future." Then she felt the sharp heat of the needle slicing into her belly. She threw her head back in a yowl of pain as the length of it disappeared into her flesh. If the needle itself was not painful enough, the slow suction of fluid from her empty womb was even worse. She was as still as possible as she watched the shaft of the giant needle leave her body, fighting tears as they released her and cleared from her captive cell.

*****

Mulder sat outside the bureau's lab, head in his palms. An agent emerged with a sample in his hands and a look of defeat on his face. Mulder looked up, daring to hope for just a moment that his partner had not been ripped from her apartment but the young man's face told him everything.

"It's hers." Mulder stated flatly. He didn't wait for the agent to confirm he just walked away.

Mulder spent the entire day with a team in Scully's apartment, sniffing for any sign of her abductors. He was furious that nothing was found. His beard had already crept upon his chin and his eyes were red from tears and lack of sleep. Long after the sun had set, he gave up. Gave up looking for her where he knew she could not be found.

He arrived at his front door and found a paper shoved part way under it. Mulder tried to unlock his apartment so quickly that he fumbled, tossing his keys into the hallway. [Fuck!] When he finally succeeded, he bent down, snatched the note and darted for his computer. He sat for a moment with the paper in his hands, trembling. [Please let her be safe; God- let her be safe...] His voice played the mantra over and over as he slowly opened the note.

'I am someone who can help you. Do not, I repeat DO NOT trust the Millennium group under any circumstances. They will offer you promises, tantalizing promises, but they'll ruin you and anyone you love. I CAN help you Mr. Mulder, just turn on your lamp in the window and I'll come to your assistance.'

Mulder blinked, paused, then flicked on his lamp and turned it directly toward the window. [Scully... My Scully...] He lay his head down on his desk and waited, for a call, a knock, a sign that this contact would make good on his offer of help.

He must have fallen asleep because Mulder could clearly see her, in a hospital bed with all those tubes hooked to her. He was at her side sobbing, clutching at her, pleading for her to wake up- say his name- anything. The sharp knock at the door snapped him awake. Mulder grabbed the gun from his holster and smudged the tears from his moistened face as he opened the door cautiously.

"Hello."

"Well, hello?" Mulder was struck near dumb to find a little girl standing before him, all smiles and curls. "Can I help you?" he asked softly.

"I think I can help you!" She was so cheerful, [help me? How?] Just then a tall slender man stepped up behind her. He was an older man, grey hair and a smile that hid secrets.

"Agent Mulder, I'm Frank Black." He shot out a hand over the girl's head and shook Mulder's confidently. "This one," he turned the girl around in a circle, "this is my daughter, Jordan. May we come in?"

"Yes... sure. Come in." Mulder was still stunned; he'd been expecting another mole, an informant-type, with papers and files not the man he'd been told to seek out. Jordan darted toward the fish tank as the two men sat down, Mulder on his couch and Frank across from him in the armchair. [Scully's chair.]

"Daddy, there's no fish in here!" She giggled.

"They're on vacation in Hawaii." Mulder dead panned and Jordan giggled even more.

"Agt-"

"Mulder, just call me Mulder."

"Ok. Mulder. I think that Jordan and I can help you find someone you've lost." The words burned his ears... 'someone you've lost...' He blinked back his emotions and leaned in to listen. "My daughter and I have what you might call a special talent. We are able to see things other people can't see, but only in bits and pieces. Yesterday I had one of these 'visions' if you will. I saw a young redheaded woman screaming. There was blood and she was screaming your name."

Mulder's face drained of colour. He couldn't speak, not to question this man, Frank Black, about this talent, not to plead for more details. Nothing. Mulder was speechless and horrified.

"I can see that you are very close to this person, that she means a great deal to you." Mulder nodded and managed to squeeze one word out of his kicked-in lungs.

"Everything."

"Well, after I heard her voice calling that name, your name, I was certain that I recognized it from somewhere. I put the pieces together and recollected you from an excellent profile you once put together while you worked in the VCU. Indeed, I knew your name from the FBI."

"Daddy, can I tell him my stuff?" Jordan whispered.

"Go ahead, honey."

"Well, I had a nosebleed in class yesterday and while it was happening I saw the redheaded lady too! First I saw that snake, eating its tail and the monkeys were screaming, then I saw the lady calling your name. But I could see that she was in a hospital, somewhere. Everything was cold and blue... No silver really." She scrunched up her face trying to decide what colour was most accurate. "Silver."

Mulder shook his head, trying to shake off the nausea that was sweeping over him. "How did you find me?"

"I called someone I could trust at the FBI and he got me your address. Are you going to be ok Mulder?" Frank's low voice was calm, soothing, but not soothing enough for Mulder to rid his mind of these images of Scully screaming for him. [Help, she needed my help. And I wasn't there for her. Again.] He'd wrestled with that demon so many times he could die from his self-loathing.

"How can you help me get her back?"

*****

Scully sat bolt upright from her cold metallic slab. [MULDER!!!] The sound of her voice ringing in her ears, pulsing in her veins, was shrill enough to wake her. She blinked into her surroundings and found herself hooked to an IV drip. She had some vague recollection of more visitors in her chamber, but she could not place any voices or faces. Just then a man's booming voice filled her cell.

"Doctor Scully. We regret to inform you that, as a result of your amniocentesis test, we found your unborn child to be... Dead. We had to remove it immediately for your safety and have been administering aggressive treatments since your D&C was performed. I hope you can accept that we have your health and safety in mind." Then it was gone. The voice was gone with no echo or hint of a ring in the air.

Scully didn't know what to feel, think. [What do I believe? Oh... oh Mulder...] She curled up, her knees tucked under her chin and sobbed his name over and over watching her tears make pools on the metal surface. [muldermuldermulder...]

Jordan twitched in her sleep, curled up on Mulder's couch at his side. He and Frank had been talking for nearly two hours about the true power behind the Millennium group. Frank's admissions were emotional as he told Mulder of his wife's life sacrifice to save their daughter from this airborne plague that the group had released.

"Only one vaccine per member..." Frank's voice trailed off low and full of pain. Mulder closed his eyes recalling his fight to save Scully in the cold Antarctic [only one vaccine...] The men sat in silence for a long time, collected in their pain and memories.

"How is it Frank, that all this time I've been struggling for the truth, I have never so much as heard a whisper about the Millennium group?" Mulder could no longer resist posing the question. "I have come across some of the most sinister plots to conspire against the truth. I have faced our government's secret agendas, consortiums and syndicates of men fighting through generations with dark plans for our future..."

Frank stopped him, holding up his hand as if to shush him. "The difference Mulder is that these men of whom you speak have been controlling the past. The group will control the future. That has been their directive all along, to dole out information, using those willing to believe, assist. They have so many answers Mulder, but you cannot give in to them."

"They promised my partner's safety you know..." Mulder sunk his face into his hands, feeling the prickly stubble on his chin. "And now..."

"Now they are trying to ensure your compliance by taking her." Frank's tone was harsh and it stung. [Again, I've done it again... She'd be safer never having known me...] "Mulder. You can't blame yourself, the Millennium group act as God, they'll take and do what they want."

"Can you help me find her?" His words escaped him feebly.

"With Jordan's help, I think I can. She says that your partner is in a hospital somewhere. But if I know anything, I know it won't be a conventional hospital, it'll be one of their facilities. A quarantine or biochem lab of their own."

"Where." Mulder's voice returned to him, finding new strength in Frank Black's words.

"I'm not sure just yet." He paused, giving Mulder a peculiar look. "Would you take me to her apartment? If I can touch..."

"Anything - let's go!"

Scooping his daughter into his arms, Frank and Mulder set out for Scully's apartment. Mulder slipped his key in, hesitating only slightly, realizing there was no one waiting for him. [Scully.]

He froze immediately as the door swung wide.

Scully's computer was turned on, there were files downloading, skitting across the screen at lightening speed. Mulder rushed in and watched closely as files slipped away. [MY files... OUR files!] He ripped the plug from the source.

"They've been here." Frank stated flatly. He let Jordan slide down his chest as he deposited her into a chair. "They're erasing her, we have to move quickly." The word 'erasing' hung in Mulder's head as if a bullet had pierced it. He pointed to the back door frame where he'd found her blood. Frank stepped up and slid his long fingers over the wood.

A shock of metallic light blasted him. The redhead was sleeping, no she was unconscious and there were others in the room with her. Men poked at her as she stirred awake. Frank could feel her panic. He let go of the wood.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, I'm here Jordan." he called out.

"Daddy, I know where the woman is. I can show you." Mulder's head snapped 'round and he was waiting at the door, before Frank took two paces. "Don't worry." she whispered taking Mulder's huge hand in hers. "She'll come back to you." [Come back to me Scully...] His eyes shone with the first real hope he'd felt in almost two days.

*****

The prick of a needle in the arm woke Scully. The man standing before her smiled as he drew more blood. "We're almost done now..." His voice was maliciously devoid of emotion. Scully's head lolled back as she fell, unconscious to the table's surface yet again.

In Frank Black's car the two men and little girl sped from the city. They drove for close to three hours before arriving at a small town in Virginia. As they passed the welcome sign in the middle of nowhere, a low-lit building emerged over the horizon.

"That's it daddy, I told you I knew. That's the hospital."

"Thank you Jordan." her father smiled. "But sweetie, how do you know this is it?"

"Cause I've been here before." she chirped. Frank blinked back his confusion and looked back at his daughter. As they drew nearer an odd sense came over them. Something was wrong with the building in their view. Something was just wrong.

Mulder pointed first. "Its on fire!" The car sped up. There were no cars in the out laying lot. No sign of panic, no activity at all. The car screeched to a halt far enough away to be in no danger of heat. Mulder leapt out of the car, running toward the burning edifice.

"Its too late!" Frank called after him but Mulder didn't turn back. He arrived a few feet from the only door within any reach but the flames licked at him, hissing and sneering at him knowing his fear. [Don't think about the fire, Scully just Scully...] He rolled over the words in his head trying to overcome the immense terror that fire sparked in his memories. He drew his overcoat over his head and ran to the door, swinging it open with a coat-wrapped fist. Nothing but fire everywhere. Smoke, broken glass, no visibility, just intense heat and wicked flames mocking him. Nearly overcome by smoke, Mulder staggered from the door drawing deep breaths of night air into his lungs.

"Scuh… Scuhllee…" he breathed. Frank drew an arm around Mulder's shoulder guiding him away. In the car, Mulder sobbed. Even with Jordan's gentle voice trying to sooth him, he cried all the way back to Alexandria. Home.

"Let me help you upstairs. You shouldn't be alone yet." Mulder shrugged them off. "You really shouldn't be alone Mulder."

"But I am... I am just that, alone." He swiped at the air and lumbered into his building. The ding of the elevator at his floor was like an alarm in his mind. It burned, like the fire and Mulder stepped off the lift, head sunken and low.

Something shifted in front of him. It made a noise and Mulder used his last thread of interest to look up. There, slumped against his apartment door, lay Scully.

"SCULLY!" He bolted to her, gathering her into him, hoisting her off the floor. She didn't move to his touch. He practically kicked in the door and lay her out on his couch, never disconnecting from her.

"C'mon Scully... Come back to me. Wake up..." His whispers tripped over themselves. She looked like hell. [What have they done to you?!! Scully... oh God what have they done.] A new flood of tears washed over him as he sunk his wet face into her collarbone. Her hair smelled like disinfectant as he inhaled her. Slowly, Mulder felt her hand move under his weight. He lurched back.

"Mulder?" Her cracked lips formed the word as her dry voice fizzled out of her.

"I'm here. Scully you're safe. You're with me in my apartment. Do you remember how you got here?" He stoked her pale cheek gently. "Do you remember anything?" She blinked, focusing the faded blue of her eyes on his. She smiled at the sight of him then began to cry. His arms gathered around her, rocking her slowly as she wept. "Shh... It's ok Scully; you're with me now. You don't have to say anything... you're with me." [Tell me when you can Scully, we'll do it together, we'll heal you together.]

*****

Jordan climbed into the front seat next to her father. "Its alright daddy. She came back. The redheaded lady came back. They'll be ok." Frank smiled, knowing somehow that his daughter spoke the truth.

"Jordan, what did you mean when you said that you'd been to that hospital before?"

"I have been."

"When honey? When?"

His daughter's movements became like slow motion to Frank Black. Her mouth formed the words in exaggerated gestures and a drilling noise buzzed in his brain...

"We're all God's shepherds Daddy."

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