[begin part 2 of 3, Contrappunto]

     Alex Cauldwell walked slowly through the convoluted corridors 
that connected the hospital with the medical school.  She walked 
like a woman lost in thought.  Because she was.  She thought about 
her patients and puzzled over all the seemingly unconnected clues 
to their condition.  She knew that there had to be an underlying 
pattern that would explain everything.  It was just a question of 
getting enough clues and combining them with enough intuition to 
discern the pattern.
  
     She thought about her meeting yesterday with Sanderson, the 
head of the Neurology and her boss.  In the best of times, he was a 
squirrely little man.  But this situation had sent him into another 
realm of nervousness.  He had tried to sit during their meeting, but 
his normal tics had been magnified and he couldn't sit still.  He 
paced around his office while he talked to her.  While he told her, 
without saying so directly, that these people were untreatable.  
That she should babysit them, but not try to figure out what was 
wrong with them.  Maybe he knew that this would be impossible 
for her.  Maybe that was why he was so nervous.   She had been 
planning her insubordination when the FBI showed up.  

     She thought about the FBI agents.  Although she had been 
suspicious at first, she was pretty sure that she could trust them, 
that they wanted the same thing she did.  She thought of Mulder.  
He was an archetype--tall and brooding, intelligent but given to 
self-mockery.  She had little opinion one way or the other about 
aliens, but she felt Mulder's intellectual honesty and trusted him for 
it.

     And then she thought of Scully.  She had resisted thinking of 
her first.  There were the facts to think through first.  But Alex 
knew that she had actually been thinking of the enigmatic Dr. 
Scully all along.  It had been an undercurrent to her thoughts for 
the whole day.  A flash of blue eyes while reading a patient file.  A 
glimpse of auburn hair in her coffee cup.  And now she allowed 
herself the luxury to completely dwell on the beautiful FBI agent.  
Who was she?  What makes someone choose the FBI?  Why did 
_she_ choose the FBI?  Alex thought of the woman (as opposed to 
the career choice).  She pictured the rich auburn hair, the creamy 
skin, the short straight nose and the full, red lips.  She thought of 
the eyes, those eyes.  She wondered what deep hurts were behind 
the iron curtain of that face.  The deep hurts that occasionally 
peeked out, unbidden, through the gaps in the opaque covering.   
She envisioned the compact and obviously fit body in the 
professional, yet slightly funky, blue suit with the heels that made 
her seem inches taller than she actually was.  Alex smiled at 
herself.  She knew that she had to reign herself in.  It would not do 
to fantasize about unavailable straight women.  *Ah well, she'll be 
gone in a few days, but I'll have her in my fantasies for a long 
time.*  She knew something about living in her fantasies.

      Alex reluctantly pulled herself out of her mind and knocked on 
the door in front of her.  She opened it in response to the call from 
within.  "Hey Joe, thanks for finding the time for me," she said, 
hoping her friend was somewhere in the room.  It was hard to tell, 
given the disarray of the office filled with papers and books.  A 
neat and trim man stepped out from behind one of the bookcases.  
It was clear that all of his inclinations for order went towards 
arranging himself, rather than his possessions.  

    "Anything for you, Alex.  Maybe if I do a favor for  you, you'll 
show a little mercy on me the next time we play squash," he 
grinned at the woman standing in front of him.  She just laughed.  
"So, tell me about these," he pointed at the rack of tubes in her 
hand.

    "I don't really have anything concrete to tell you.  I have some 
patients, actually _many_ patients, in inexplicable comas.  For 
reasons that I'd rather not go into, I think that there may be a 
hormonal imbalance involved.  I just took these blood samples.  
Can you determine the concentrations of hormones in them, and 
tell me how they compare to normal?"

     "Well, I can run some samples through the HPLC and tell you 
how much of each hormone is in the blood.  It'll take a few hours, 
but it's not a problem.  But, comparisons to normal, now that's 
more difficult.  You know that there is a wide range that's 
considered normal, since hormones fluctuate dramatically with 
different levels or kinds of physiological or psychological activity.  
Plus, hormones cycle through the blood system very quickly.  They 
are metabolized or taken up at various active sites.  To really get a 
better estimate of hormonal levels in the brain, you need to get a 
CSF sample."

     "I suppose I could do a lumbar puncture," Alex said slowly.  A 
lumbar puncture was not a simple procedure on an unconscious 
patient.  She wasn't sure she felt comfortable doing it alone, but 
she preferred not to get any of the nurses involved. It was, after all, 
her insubordination.  She didn't want to get anyone else in trouble.

    "Why don't you see if you can get some samples.  I'll run these 
though this afternoon," he said as he took the rack of tubes from 
her.  "If you can get them to me before I leave tonight, I'll run them 
overnight.  Dr. Joe's drive-up chemical analysis service!"

    Alex smiled at him.  "Thanks, Joe.  I owe you one."  She turned 
to leave.  "Oh, and Joe, don't mention this to anyone yet, ok?"  He 
nodded and she left.  She walked quickly though the maze back to 
her office.  She didn't let herself get lost in her thoughts this time.  

     When she got to her office, she paused for a minute before 
opening the door.  What if she was gone?  What if the FBI had 
called them back?  Alex opened the door and stood in the doorway.  
She was still there, sitting at the desk with several medical 
reference books open in front of her.  Her head was turned to the 
computer screen and when she turned to look at the woman in the 
doorway, Alex's heart skipped a beat.  Scully was wearing small 
gold wire-rimmed glasses.  She had also unbuttoned the top button 
of her jacket, showing what appeared to be a white silk tee-shirt 
underneath.  And a small gold cross.  The thoughts rushed through 
Alex's head.  *Oh my god, does she know how sexy she looks in 
those glasses and that tee-shirt?* and *A cross.*  Any small, 
lingering hopes that Alex had held had now been dashed.  Alex 
smiled wryly.  

     Scully took off her glasses and looked at the woman standing in 
the doorway.  She saw several flashes of expressions glance off the 
doctor's face and wondered what was going on in her mind.  
Neither woman said anything for a long moment.  Both practiced 
their impassive expressions.  Both wondered what the other was 
thinking.  Scully broke the silence.  "Dr. Cauldwell...," she began.

     "Call me Alex," the doctor said as she came into the room, glad 
that the spell had been broken.  "I took the blood samples to my 
friend.  He is going to analyze them this afternoon, but he thinks it 
would be better if I could get a CSF sample.  So I'm going to go do 
a spinal tap.  What about you, what have you found?"

     "Can you do a lumbar puncture by yourself?"  Scully looked 
concerned.

     "Well, it is difficult on unconscious patients, but I think I can 
manage.  I don't want to get any of the nurses involved."  Alex 
tried to be brusque and confident, but she was worried.  You had to 
position the patient just right and make sure they stayed in the right 
position without moving.  Any slip and permanent nerve damage 
could be done.

      "Maybe we could get Mulder to come over and make a 
disturbance to distract the guard and I could sneak in and help 
you."

     "I don't want you to take any risks," Alex began before Scully 
interrupted her with a short, sharp snort of laughter.  

     "I'm an FBI agent.  I work with Mulder.  I'm used to a few 
risks."

     "Do you think it'd work?" Alex was unconvinced.

     "It's worth a try.  I could put on scrubs so I wouldn't be as 
recognizable, and if it doesn't look like it's going to work, I'll just 
keep walking down the hall."

      "What about Mulder?"  Alex was still unconvinced.

      "Mulder can take care of himself.  He is good at these kind of 
situations.  I'll call him and have him come over."  She pulled her 
cell phone out of her jacket pocket and hit the speed dial button.  
Number 1.  "Mulder, it's me.  Things have changed over here.  Can 
you meet me and Dr. Cauldwell at the hospital entrance in 20 
minutes?"  She looked at the doctor, who nodded.  "And Mulder, 
will you bring my running shoes with you?  They're in my bag in 
the trunk."  She said goodbye and snapped the phone shut.  "Scrubs 
and heels--a fashion no."  

     Alex Cauldwell laughed.  The tension in her face easing 
slightly.  "I'll see if I can find some scrubs that'll fit you.  You'd 
look pretty ridiculous in mine!"

     "They would be about a foot too long," Scully smiled and 
agreed.  

     Alex went to find the scrubs and Scully continued her research 
until the doctor returned.  She pointed the doctor to the computer 
screen.  "Look at these papers I've pulled up while I change.  It's 
the most promising hormonal avenue, I think.  One is on the effect 
of estrogens on the amygdala."

      "The emotional center of the brain," Alex mused aloud as she 
scanned the paper.  As she was reading, she caught a glimpse of 
Scully's reflection in the computer screen.  She had already taken 
off her jacket and was taking off her pants.  Alex had to close her 
eyes.  When she opened them, she resolutely avoided the woman's 
image and scanned the rest of the paper.  

    Scully leaned over her and pointed to one of the figures.  "Look 
at this increase in violent behavior in one population of rats 
exposed to certain estrogens.  It only happens with some 
compounds and with some lines of animals.  It suggests that there 
is a genetic variability in estrogen receptors that might account for 
the fact that only part of the exposed population is affected.  And if 
you ignore the differences in species, the symptoms of violence 
and rage are quite similar."  Scully paused for a moment and 
studied the graph.

     Alex turned to look at the woman standing next to her.  In 
scrubs she looked younger, more vulnerable, than she had in her 
FBI suit.  Until she put on her glasses and began to speak again.  
Then she was all business.

     "And look at this paper."  She reached across Alex and took the 
mouse.  She pulled up another scientific article.  "It's on the effect 
of estrogens on the hippocampus.  Although the connections aren't 
clear, this might be able to explain the memory loss." 

     Alex tried to ignore the other woman's proximity and quickly 
scanned the paper.  She was having a hard time concentrating, 
because all she could focus on was the sweet, clean smell of the 
woman standing inches from her. "This is promising, but we still 
don't have any explanation for the comas,"  she managed to force 
out.

      "I know.  That still puzzles me."  Scully stood and looked at 
her watch.  "We should get going.  Mulder should be here by 
now."  Alex led Scully to a little used stairway, so they could avoid 
the guard and the nurses station.   They quickly made their way to 
the hospital entrance where Mulder was waiting for them.  He had 
pulled the car up to the loading zone by the entrance and was 
leaning on the hood holding Scully's shoes.  The two women 
walked over to the car.  Scully gestured toward the car.

     "Let's sit in the car for a minute and talk," she suggested.  She 
took her shoes from Mulder and thanked him.  The three of them 
sat in the car.  Scully changed into her running shoes and explained 
the situation and her plan to her partner.  He readily agreed with it 
and made a few suggestions.  They all agreed on a rendezvous in 
Alex's office afterwards.

     Mulder went to park the car and to give Alex and Scully time to 
get into their positions.  The two women hurried back upstairs.  
Alex went into the ward and got everything ready to do the lumbar 
punctures.  Scully hid in the stairwell just around the corner from 
where the guard stood.  After she had been there a few minutes, 
she heard a commotion from the nurses station.  Mulder was 
raising a stink about not being able to see the patients.  He yelled.  
The nurses tried to quiet him.  Scully heard the guard walking 
down the hall.

     "What's going on here?" he asked.  Scully heard Mulder arguing 
with the large man and she took the chance.  She slipped out of the 
stairwell and walked confidently into the hall.  She quickly 
assessed the situation and saw that all eyes were focused on 
Mulder.  She eased into the ward room.  Alex looked up with at her 
with relief.  Relief both that Scully had not gotten caught and relief 
that she would not have help.

     Scully quickly threaded through the beds and made her way to 
Alex's side.  The doctor had a patient on his side and was rubbing a 
sterilizing solution on his lower back.  Scully followed the doctor's 
orders and they obtained the sample with little problem.  They 
repeated the procedure on two more patients and were on the third 
when the door opened.  A small agitated man entered the room.

     "Dr. Cauldwell, what are you doing? I told you that no invasive 
procedures were to be performed on these patients.  And who are 
you?"  He turned to Scully.  

     Scully started to answer, but Alex interrupted her.  "Dr. 
Sanderson, this is Dr. Scully.  She is an old friend of mine.  She's 
in town for the weekend and I was showing her around.  I wanted 
to run a few tests on the CSF and she offered to help me, since the 
nurses were all busy."

     "Give me those samples," the excited little man insisted.  Alex 
had no choice but to hand over the rack.  Scully noticed that it only 
had three tubes in it.  The napoleonic doctor herded the two 
women out of the room.  He stopped and turned to look at them, 
but then stalked off down the hall grumbling and muttering under 
his breath.  
     
     The guard looked at the two women in confusion.  "How did 
you get...," he began, but they spun away and walked down the hall 
in the opposite direction from Sanderson.  They turned the corner 
quickly, risking that the guard would not leave his post to follow 
them.  They ducked into Alex's office and quickly locked the door 
behind them.  
     
     Mulder was already there, sitting at the computer reading the 
papers Scully had pulled up.  He turned to look at the two women.  
They were flushed with both excitement and relief.  Alex reached 
into the waistband of her pants and triumphantly pulled out a small 
tube.
     
     "Sometimes it pays to have an uncle who was a trickster!  He 
taught me how to palm a quarter when I was nine.  And although I 
can't say that I haven't used the trick before, this is the first time it's 
been really useful."  The tall doctor grinned at the two FBI agents.  
"I'm going to take this down to Joe.  I also want to see what he's 
found in the blood samples.  I'll be back in about an hour."  She 
turned to go, but Scully caught her arm.

     "Alex, be careful.  They may be onto us now.  We don't know 
what they'll do."  Scully held onto the doctor's arm and looked into 
her eyes, silently pleading with her not to get hurt.

     "I will."  *I will,* she thought, *if it means that I can see you 
again.*  

     Scully let her go.  She turned to Mulder, who sat back in the 
chair and grinned at her.

     "Alex....," he teased.

     "It's her name," she said, giving him a look that dared him to 
make more of it.  He just continued to grin at her.  "What did you 
find out, Smirky?"  She forged ahead.

     "Smirky, I like that.  It's certainly better than Spooky," he 
laughed.  "Well, I noticed these papers here.  I assume you pulled 
them up.  It is interesting that they deal with estrogens and related 
compounds, especially given the conversation I had this afternoon 
with a certain Dr. Goldstein from the environmental studies 
department.  He told me that several of the companies on our list 
have been experimenting with a class of pesticides that are very 
effective, but have been criticized for causing birth defects.  And 
they cause birth defects by mimicking the effects of estrogens on 
the fetus.  I was just getting ready to go to the business school 
library and see what I could find out about these companies when 
you called."

     "I think that you have served your function here, Mr. Grand 
Disturbance, you can go back to the library,"  Scully grinned at her 
partner.  She knew that he enjoyed making scenes.

     "I will, then," he returned her grin.  But then he got serious, just 
like she had with Alex.  "Do you think things will be okay over 
here?"

     "I think so.  I doubt they'll try anything at the hospital.  I'm 
going to do a little more research here and wait for Alex, and then I 
think we should probably get out of here, just in case.  I'll see if she 
can bring me over to the business school library and then we can 
plan our next step."  Mulder agreed with his partner and started to 
leave.   "Hey Mulder," Scully called just before he left.  "Would 
you take my running shoes with you and leave them in the car?  
I'm going to put my clothes back on."  He grimaced as she took her 
shoes off and handed them to him.  He wrinkled his nose.  "Oh, 
they are not that bad."  She rolled her eyes at him.  

     After he left, she changed out of the scrubs and put her suit 
back on.  She was glad that she had thought to bring her regular 
shoes back up here before their escapade.  Heels with scrubs was 
one thing, but running shoes with a suit--bad news.  And scrubs 
didn't have room for things like her gun and phone.   Scully sat 
down at the computer.  She looked at her watch.  When had Alex 
left?  She tried to tell herself not to worry.  And in fact, she was not 
sure why she was so worried.  Not that she didn't worry about the 
people that got involved in their cases, but this was different.  
Scully stared at the computer screen in front of her, but didn't see 
the paper.  She pictured the tall, blond doctor.  In her mind's eye, 
she saw herself brush a wayward lock of hair off of Alex's face 
andˇ *This is ridiculous,* she thought.  I don't have time for this.  
And she forced herself to continue her research.  She was lost in 
another scientific paper when the door opened and Alex burst in.

     "Bingo!" she said, waving a computer printout in front of her.

     Scully flinched a little at the suddenness of the intrusion.  She 
pulled off her glasses and looked up at the excited woman 
unfolding the paper in front of her.  

     "Look, this column shows the relative concentrations of a bunch 
of different hormones in the blood samples.  The highlighted ones 
are estrogens and testosterone.  The numbers written in next to 
them are the normal ranges.  You can see that the balance between 
all of them is really out of whack."

     Scully looked up at the enthusiastic woman.  She couldn't help 
but smile at her zeal.  Gone was the stern guardian from this 
morning.  Also gone was the concerned doctor.  This Alex 
Cauldwell could have painted that painting.  

     "Joe is going to run the CSF sample overnight.  He thought 
these results were promising, but if the levels are similar in the 
CSF, that would really clinch it."

     "Was he concerned about the fact that it's just one sample?"  
Scully asked, ever the voice of scientific reason.

     Alex, however, was not to be dissuaded from her ebullience.  
"Nope, the levels in the blood samples are pretty askew, but Joe 
wants to be certain.  I told him about our suspicions about 
pesticides.  He thought that sounded like a good possibility.  He 
also agreed with you about the genetic diversity of the estrogen 
receptors.  He thought that was a plausible explanation for why 
there hasn't been a more universal effect if it is an environmental 
exposure.  And, one of his colleagues has some transgenic cell 
culture lines that express different populations of estrogen 
receptors.  Joe thought if we could get a sample of the toxin, they 
might be able to run some tests to determine its effect on the 
different receptors." Alex grinned at Scully.  She loved the puzzle-
solving aspect of science.  Working on this with the FBI agent was 
like having someone to do the New York Times Sunday crossword 
puzzle with.  "On the other hand, he had no idea why the patients 
are in comas."  This thought brought Alex somewhat back down to 
earth.  She sat on the edge of her desk and studied Scully.  "Have 
you found anything?"

     Scully shook her head.  "No, I'm stymied.  And I'm a little 
concerned about staying here, since "they", whoever "they" might 
be, may be looking for you or me or both of us.  Can you take me 
over to the business school library so we can see what Mulder has 
come up with?"

     "Sure, I saw all of my patients this morning.  My car is in the 
garage.  Let's go."  Alex pulled a briefcase out of her desk and put 
some files in it.  

     Scully put the reference books back on the shelves and exited 
all of the programs she had been using.  "Do you want me to turn 
off the computer?"

     "No, I usually leave it on, so I can do work from home."  She 
smiled a little at Scully.  "I guess I don't have much of a life."

     Scully laughed.  "I understand.  Really!"

     The two women left the office and headed to the garage.  By 
unspoken agreement, they took the back stairway and avoided the 
guard in front of the ward.  They walked quickly and quietly.  
Neither of them were particularly nervous or frightened, but both 
wanted to put as much distance between themselves and the ward 
as possible.  When they got the parking garage, Alex led Scully to 
a red Toyota 4Runner and unlocked the passenger door.  She 
grinned when she saw Scully's look of surprise.  

     "I grew up on a farm.  I can't get away from my image of cars 
as big and utilitarian.  I drove a truck all through college and med 
school.  Granted it was a little truck, but it was a truck 
nonetheless!"

     "Do you have any use for something like this in a city?  And 
where do you park it?" Scully asked incredulously.  "Some people 
have sport-utes in my neighborhood and I can't believe what they 
have to go through.  Georgetown doesnât have room for cars, much 
less these!"

     Alex chuckled.  "It does usually snow here in the winter and 
Cincinnati is pretty hilly.  So I justify it that way, at least to my 
father, who also thinks I'm crazy for having it.  But really, it _is_ 
pretty useless.  Mostly, I just like it.  And I have a driveway to park 
it in."  Alex maneuvered the car out of the parking garage and 
headed toward the main campus of the university.  "We may, 
however, have trouble parking over here."  They circled the 
perimeter of the campus once before they found a spot.  "Sorry, it's 
a little bit of a walk from here," she apologized to the other 
woman.

     "That's fine.  I actually wouldn't mind a little walk.  I've been 
looking at a computer screen most of the day.  But if you have 
other things to do, I can probably find the library myself.  You 
donât have to take meˇ" Scully trailed off.  

     "It'll take you an hour to find it yourself," Alex began slowly.  
Did the FBI agent want her to stay, or did she want her to go?  
"And I'm curious about what your partner has found," she said 
decisively.  *Even if she wants me to go, I'm going to stay for a 
little while.*  The two women walked in a companionable silence 
for a few minutes.  "So, Agent Scullyˇ Actually, can I call you 
Dana?  Agent Scully seems soˇ"

     "Formal?  Sure, you can call me Dana," Scully smiled at the 
woman walking next to her. "I like the way you say it."

     "Dana?  I guess I don't think of myself as having an accent, but 
sometimes it comes out.  I grew up in Kentucky.  People don't 
really think of it as the South, but in some ways it is.  I had a friend 
named Dana when I was growing up, so I guess the vocal pattern 
was set.  So, Dana, where did you go to med school?"

     "I went to Maryland.  I started college at Berkeley, but 
transferred to Maryland to finish.  I loved Berkeley, but I missed 
my family, so I moved back east to be closer to them.  I did some 
research as an undergrad one summer in a lab at the Maryland med 
school and really liked the environment.  So then when I was 
applying to med school, I decided to go there.  I also didn't want to 
move far away.  My father was in the Navy when I was growing 
up so we moved around a lot.  My apartment in College Park was 
the first place I really felt was _my_ home.  I would have been 
really happy if the med school were in College Park, but moving to 
Baltimore wasn't too bad."

     "We were probably in Baltimore at the same time.  When did 
you graduate?"  Alex asked.

      "1990."

     "I was in the middle of my residency then.  Who knows?  
Maybe we went to the same laundromat or something!"  Alex 
grinned.  "Did you do a residency?"


      "No, I went to the FBI academy instead.  I specialized in 
forensic pathology.  In some ways, it was like a residency.  And 
then when I finished, they assigned me to teach at the Academy.  I 
suppose it was an honor to be chosen to teach, but it was a little 
dull.  I'm very glad to be in the field now."

     "Why did you choose the FBI?  If you don't mind me being so 
nosy."  Alex surreptitiously studied Scully.  "I'm just curious about 
how one gets to be in the position you're in."   She didn't want to 
offend her with rude questions.  But Scully just smiled and looked 
off into the middle distance. She had answered this question so 
many times, but she still didn't have a really good answer for it.

     "I always tell people that I wanted to make a difference.  But 
that's kind of a cop-out.  It's so vague that it could mean anything.  
I think that what really happened is that I wasn't really drawn to 
any particular specialty and so when it came time to apply for 
residencies, I just wasn't sure what to do.  I happened upon an FBI 
recruiting session and sat in on it.  My father had instilled an 
obligation to serve my country in me at an early age, and at the 
time the FBI seemed like the perfect solution.  I could go into 
forensic path, which _did_ interest me, and I could serve my 
country.   Of course, after all that, my father was disappointed in 
my choice!  I think he thought I was giving up on medicine."  
Scully paused.  Alex sensed that she wasn't finished yet, so she 
walked along in silence.  After a long moment, Scully continued.  
"I haven't told anyone this before.  I don't think I've actually 
admitted it to myself before.  I never wanted to admit that I chose 
this path so haphazardly."  She paused again, but just for a short 
moment.  "But now, this life, this quest, has chosen me.  My work 
with Mulder, it's...well, it's indescribable.  Someday, if you have a 
few years, I'll tell you about it."  Scully shook her head at Alex.  
But she wasn't quite finished yet.  "I probably would have gone 
back to medicine if I had continued at the Academy, or been given 
some "normal" assignment."

     Alex looked down at the woman walking next to her.  At 
moments she seemed so small, so self-contained.  Alex wanted to 
reach out and hold her.  She wanted to protect her 
from...something, anything.  She was such a contradiction.  She 
was clearly possessed of a brilliant analytical mind and she walked 
around with a rich assurance in her FBI suit with the gun slightly 
visible beneath her jacket.  And yet, sometimes, she seemed so 
hurt, or so lonely, or so sad.  Alex kept having to remind herself 
not to put her arm around the woman.

     Scully looked up at her companion. "My turn.  What about you?  
You went to Hopkins, right?"

     "Mmm hmm.  How did you know that."

     "I have to admit, I had a background check run on you this 
morning.  I'm sorry.  My work has made me pretty paranoid."  
Scully looked contrite, but Alex just laughed.

     "I understand.  Tell me, though, was there anything interesting 
in my background?"

     "Not really.  Unless you count the democratic socialists."

     "Ha!"  Alex snorted.  "Talk about wanting to make a difference!  
We were a bunch of snotty college kids who made our dorm a 
nuclear-free zone.  Our slogan was "No Tridents in Our Toilets."  
We thought we were so cute.  I'm disappointed that you didn't find 
out any more dirt on me." 

     Scully raised her eyebrow.  "Is there something I should 
know?"  

     *You mean, aside from my propensity to ravish beautiful 
auburn-haired FBI agents...*  "No, I've always been pretty much a 
good girl.  Some people wouldn't consider my...lifestyle...a model 
of upright citizenship, but I live by a fairly strict internal ethical 
code."  Alex avoided Scully's eyes.

     "Your lifestyle?"  Scully asked.

     "I'm a lesbian.  Didn't your background check tell you that?"  
Alex still avoided Scully's eyes.  

     "No, I don't solicit that kind of information.  We're not the 
military, although I wouldn't put it past some of my colleagues to 
use that kind of information against someone.  But I was asking 
you about your medical school choices."  Scully changed the 
subject, because she could see that Alex was uncomfortable.

     "Well I always wanted to be a doctor.  Of course I also always 
wanted to be an artist and a jockey, too,"  she smirked in a self-
deprecating way.

     "The painting in your office.  I was wondering if you did it."  
Scully smiled, remembering the exuberant watercolor.  

     Alex blushed.  "I did that in college.  I suppose it's a little 
narcissistic to have a painting of your own up in your office, but it 
doesn't feel like mine anymore.  It's there to remind me of my 
failures."

     "How can anything so beautiful, so..." Scully searched for the 
right word. "so alive remind you of your failures?

     "Well maybe failures isn't the right word.  I really wanted to go 
to art school after I graduated from high school, but my parents 
convinced me to go to Swarthmore instead.  They are very 
academic.  They said I could take art classes there, as well as pre-
med.  And being the dutiful daughter that I was, I agreed.  I did 
some painting in college, but it really wasn't _serious_.  I suppose I 
see it as a failure because I gave up a dream."  Alex took a deep 
breath.  She wasn't used to discussing her dreams and failures with 
anyone, much less a near total stranger. 

     Scully put her hand on Alex's back.  She wanted to offer 
comfort.  She wanted to make contact in some way with the other 
woman.  Alex looked down in surprise.  Scully just smiled at her.  
"Do you still paint?"

     "Not much.  I feel too much like a dilettante." She looked away 
from the incisive blue eyes that could flay open her skin and 
expose everything underneath.

     "So, how did you end up in Neurology?"  Scully asked softly, 
not yet removing her hand from Alex's back.

     "I chose the most difficult specialty.  I wanted to prove that I 
was the best.  I think I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder,"  
Alex said with a wry smile.  "I was from Kentucky.  I went to a 
small liberal arts college, not an Ivy.  I was a woman.  But I 
actually love it.  I love seeing patients.  I really like diagnosing 
their problems.  And I especially like being able to cure them.  I 
wish I could always do it."  She pointed to a building ahead of 
them.  "There's the business school.  Thank god, I can stop baring 
my soul now!"  She grinned down at Scully, who just laughed.

     The two women entered the building and found their way to the 
library.  They spotted Mulder who gestured for them to join him at 
a table where he had spread a collection of papers.  "These are the 
annual reports and some other information about the three 
chemical companies from my list that are developing pesticides.  
Dr. Cauldwell, look at the lists of the board of directors for each of 
these companies."

     She sat at the table and picked up the first booklet.  "Please, call 
me Alex."

     "Please, _donât_ call me Fox," he smirked.

     "Yeah, only his mother and my mother can call him Fox," 
Scully grinned at her partner.  

     "Well I could hardly tell them not to, could I?"

     "Oh my god."  Both FBI agents looked at the doctor.  "Eugene 
Marks, the dean of the medical school, is on the board of this 
company -- Chemicorp."

     "Yeah, I noticed that, too,"  Mulder said.  "And this stock report 
says that he owns a controlling interest in the firm.  52%."  He 
pulled a Xerox copy of a newspaper article out of a pile.  "This 
article makes it sound like the company has risked everything on 
developing this new line of pesticides. They appear to have gotten 
a mysterious influx of capital about two years ago and have sunk it 
all into R and D.  I called the business gossip columnist for the 
Cincinnati Business Journal and he thinks that the company is in 
serious trouble.  If they can't bring the product to market in the 
next few months, he thinks they'll go under.  Plus, Scully, do you 
know what he thinks the intended market is?"

     "I take it itâs not household cockroach control," she looked at 
him, knowing his answer before he even said it.

     "The military.  This columnist suspects that the money funding 
the research was military as well."

     "The military?" Alex looked up from the annual report she was 
still reading.  "What does the military need with pesticides?"  

     "The same thing they need with herbicides,"  Mulder explained.  
"Wars may be lost over bugs!"

     "Mulder, these are all just speculations.  We have no evidence 
to support any of this."  Scully pointed out.

     "True, but it is all highly suspicious."  Mulder had to get the last 
word in, even when he knew Scully was right.  "Now all we have 
to do is prove our crazy allegations!"

     "I am disturbed about the potential role of  Dr. Marks in this."  
Alex interrupted their familiar bickering.  "He is in the perfect 
position to hide these cases.  I don't like it one bit."  She had a look 
of quiet determination.  "We have to figure out whatâs going on 
here."

     Mulder and Scully exchanged a look.  Scully began, "Alex, this 
could be very dangerous, especially if the military is involved.  
We've dealt with the military before.  They have quite an aversion 
to having their secrets exposed.  I donât think you should get any 
more involved.  I donât want you to get hurt."

     "Look,"  Alex bore into Scully with a penetrating stare.  "These 
are my patients.  I'm going to investigate what happened to them.  
With or without you.  You can let me help you, so you can keep an 
eye on me, or you can let me go and work on my own."  She was 
not a woman to be argued with.

     "Well, since you put it that way," Mulder smiled at the two 
women, "let's go have dinner and make plans.  I'm starved.  Any 
place good to eat around here?"  Both Alex and Scully laughed.  
Each was secretly relieved to have the opportunity to spend some 
more time with the other.

     "Do you want to go someplace nice or a dive with good food?" 
Alex grinned.

     "Nice," Scully said.

     "A dive,"  Mulder countered.

     "Why do I get the sense this is an argument you've had before?"  
Alex shook her head at the two agents.  "How do you usually solve 
it?  Rock, paper, scissors?"  Mulder and Scully both laughed.

     "I usually let Mulder win,"  Scully said with a martyred look on 
her face.

     "Oh no, I win because I'm right!"  Mulder insisted.  Scully just 
snorted and rolled her eyes.

     "Well, there is a dive near here that is a true experience.  You 
can't leave Cincinnati without trying Cincinnati chili."

     "Ooo, that doesnât sound good."  Scully looked dubious.  "Is 
there somewhere we can buy Rolaids?"

     "Actually they sell them at the counter!"  Alex smiled 
knowingly.

     "Now I'm really scared."  Scully looked even more suspicious.  
Mulder, however, was cleaning up his papers and anxiously getting 
ready to go.  "Oh god, he's drooling.  What have you done, Dr. 
Cauldwell?"  Alex just grinned and the two women helped Mulder 
clean up his papers. They headed out into the evening.

    "Where did you park, Agent Mulder?  It's a little far to walk, and 
I'll never be able to find a place to park my 4Runner over there."

     "You could just call me Mulder, and I actually got a place right 
down here."  He pointed to a little driveway.

     "You mean in the loading zone?  You're lucky you didn't get 
towed.  They're pretty strict around here."  Alex found herself 
highly amused by this man.

     "They wouldnât tow an FBI car, would they?"  he asked as he 
removed the ticket from the windshield.

     "What, did you leave a note that said 'Official FBI Car.  Donât 
take.' ?"  Scully just closed her eyes in exasperation.  "And buster, 
I am not splitting that one with you!"  

     Alex directed them to a small business district about 3/4 of a 
mile from the university.  She pointed to a small restaurant.  
"That's where we're going.  Your job is to find a parking place in 
this time zone."

     "I could just drop you two off and go find one,"  Mulder looked 
at first Alex and then Scully.

     "Oh, Mulder, I love it when you are chivalrous!"  Scully gave 
Alex a look that said in no uncertain terms, 'we are absolutely 
going to take him up on this.'  The two women got out of the car 
and Mulder drove slowly down the street.

     Alex grinned at Scully.  "You two have 
anˇinterestingˇrelationship.  Are you involved?"  She tried to 
keep her voice light.

     "Completely,"  Scully laughed.  Alex tried to swallow.  "But not 
at all romantically."  Alex looked confused.  "Mulder and I have 
been through a lot together," Scully explained.  "I trust him and 
even love him, but we're more like siblings than lovers.  I think it 
would just be too much if we were lovers as well."  She gave Alex 
an inscrutable look.  "I haven't really had the time or opportunity to 
be involved in a relationship in a long time.  I can barely remember 
the last date I went out on."

     "Me either," Alex nodded.  "Although sometimes I think I could 
make time for it if the right person came along."  She smiled 
wistfully.  "Do you get lonely?"  A brief flash of pain flashed over 
Scully's face, making Alex instantly regret her question.  "I'm 
sorry, I'm being nosy again."

     "No, itâs okay.  Of course I get lonely.  As do you."  Scully 
looked knowingly at the doctor.  "But let's ignore this for the 
evening and go eat this mystery chili."  They went into the 
restaurant.  Alex guided Scully to a line of stools at the counter.

     "It tastes better at the counter," she said seriously.  Mulder 
walked up behind them.

     "Stools and a counter? Alex, will you marry me?"  

     "Sorry Mulder, you're not my type.  Even though you clearly 
have good taste in dŽcor."  The three of them sat down.

     "It's really hot in here," Scully noted as she unbuttoned her 
jacket.  Mulder followed suit.

     Alex tried to avoid looking at the woman in front of her.  "All 
the food is steamed.  When itâs really cold out, the windows are so 
covered with condensation, that you canât see out."

     "I might have to take off my jacket," Scully looked at Mulder.  
He nodded at her.

     "Go ahead.  It's pretty informal."  Alex looked around at the 
diner-like atmosphere.

     "It's just the gun.  It draws a lot of attention."  Scully grimaced a 
little.  

     "Well, I think I'm going to have to draw attention," Mulder said 
as he pulled off his suit coat.  "Otherwise I may slide right off this 
stool in a little puddle of sweat."

     "Thanks for sharing that with us, Mulder," Scully groaned.  But 
she took off her jacket too.  

     "I think, no I am quite certain, that this is the first time I've ever 
eaten with two people wearing weaponry."  Alex glanced at 
Mulder and then let her eyes dwell on Scully for a long second.  
Her white silk tee shirt was not form-fitting, but it did not leave 
much to the imagination.  Alex was sure she would never forget 
the curve of those breasts.  And the shoulder harness that held 
Scully's gun just accentuated the woman's beauty.  Alex caught 
Mulder looking at her.  He gave her an understanding, almost 
sweet, smile.  *She is beautiful, isnât she?*

     "So, what's good to eat?" Mulder picked up the menu and licked 
his lips.

     "Well," Alex began, "if youâre going to go for the whole 
experience, I recommend a five-way."

     "A five-way?" Scully was still dubious.

     "It's spaghetti with chili, except the chili isn't like any other 
chili you've ever had -- itâs actually middle eastern -- and the chili 
has onions and kidney beans in it and it's all covered with cheese.  
5 ingredients -- a five way.  It really is a lot better than it sounds."  
She tried to reassure Scully.

     "We'll have three five-ways," Mulder caught the attention of the 
counterman.

     "Mulder, I donât know about thatˇ" Scully winced a little.

     "Oh come on Scully, live a little.  It'll be fun," he grinned at her.  
She just hoped they had enough Rolaids.

     Their food came quickly and even Scully had to admit that it 
was really good.  And really messy.  "I need a bib," she said as one 
piece of slimy spaghetti escaped from her grasp and fell to the 
counter.  Her companions just laughed with her.  They 
concentrated on eating until they had all cleaned their plates.  It 
was not the kind of meal you lingered over.  Afterwards they all sat 
back and enjoyed their satiation. 

     Alex and Mulder began to talk about the case.  Alex told him 
about the person in the med school who could run tests on samples 
if they could get some.  Mulder agreed that they would go sneak 
around the chemical factory in the morning and see what they 
could find.  Scully sat back on her stool and watched the two of 
them.  She no longer felt the twinge of jealousy she had felt at 
lunch.  But she wasnât quite sure what it was that she felt.  She 
looked at Alex.  She was still wearing scrubs, and Scully found 
herself imagining her without them.  Scully blushed and hoped that 
no one could tell what she had been thinking.  

     They paid for their meal and walked to the car.  They dropped 
Alex at her car and agreed to call her in the morning.  Mulder and 
Scully drove in a companionable silence to their hotel.  After they 
had been driving for about ten minutes, Mulder turned to look at 
his partner.

     "Scully," he began.  He looked at her with a concerned 
expression.

     "Yes,"  she returned his gaze.  He couldn't read her expression.  
He paused, not quite knowing what to say.

     "Nevermind," he said resignedly.

     "I'm okay, Mulder."  She gave her partner a crooked smile.  
*Okay* she thought to herself.  *Is that enough?*

     They parked the car in the hotel garage and walked to their 
rooms, where they said goodnight.  Scully locked the door behind 
her and kicked off her shoes.  She took off her jacket and gun.  
Then she took off her pants and draped all three over the chair.  
She went into the bathroom.  She looked at herself in the mirror.  
She studied her face as if it were a specimen under a microscope.  
*Who are you?  What is going on with you?*  After no answers 
were forthcoming, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and peed 
and then went back into the bedroom.  She took off the rest of her 
clothes and stood naked in front of her suitcase.  She started to pull 
her nightshirt out, but then she just left it in the bag.  She slid 
between the crisp, cool sheets.  The weight of the covers pressed 
the sheets down onto her body, tucking into every curve.  She 
imagined that the sheets were a body laying alongside her, skin to 
skin.  She laid in the bed without moving for a long time, letting 
her mind wander.  She knew where she wanted to let her fantasies 
take her, but she was afraid.  Not that she was a prude.  She had 
had fantasies about women before, but this was different.  She 
really _liked_ Alex Cauldwell.  She was smart and funny and 
engaging andˇvery sexy.  Scully thought of the image she had 
conjured up in the restaurant.  She imagined taking the doctor's 
scrubs off.  She imagined the firm, tan and freckled body 
underneath.  Scully saw herself running her fingertips along the 
sinews of her muscular body.  She thought of taking Alex's nipples 
between her lips and pulling them taut.  Scully reached down and 
touched her fingertips between her own legs.  She ran a finger 
along the wet opening, covering it with her secretions.  She moved 
the now damp finger up to her clitoris and painted it with her 
juices.  She imagined kissing Alex while she caressed herself.  She 
bit her lips and pinched her own nipple with her free hand.  With 
the modicum of conscious thought that remained in her mind, she 
wondered what it would be like to fuck Alex Cauldwell as she 
stroked herself to orgasm.

     Afterwards, Scully laid in the bed and wondered about might 
have been, in another lifetime.  She thought wistfully of sweet 
kisses and silly valentines as she drifted into sleep.

[end part 2 of 3, Contrappunto]