TITLE The Color of Midnight ­ Chapter 13 - 16 AUTHOR K. Daniels FEEDBACK TO krdaniels@earthlink.net ARCHIVING Fine, please tell me where SPOILERS None KEYWORDS Scully/Other; ScullySlash RATING PG ­ NC-17 SUMMARY Scully's past catches up to her, and turns out to be dangerously tangled with an X File. DISCLAIMER Scully, Mulder, Skinner, etc. etc. all belong to Chris Carter and 1013, except for Jane, she belongs to me. Please do not sue me, I am making no financial profit from the unauthorized use of these characters. Chapter Thirteen *Tuesday, 957 a.m., FBI building* They headed down the corridor towards their office. Mulder stopped and reached for Scully's arm. "So, just tell me one thing, Scully," he raised an eyebrow. Scully just stared back with her own eyebrow raised. "Why does she call you Kate?" Scully's cheeks reddened. She hesitated, grinned, looked at her feet and then back at her partner. "None of your business," she replied and then continued to walk down the corridor, leaving Mulder to stare after her. *Tuesday, 721 p.m., Scully's apartment* They knew they could do no more at the office. There were eyes and ears everywhere. If they were going to set a trap for Krycek it would have to be planned after hours. Scully was preparing dinner while Mulder went over all of the evidence against Krycek. Jane had to work that evening and so was catching a quick nap in Scully's bed. "So if we give Krycek a reason to trust Jane, you think she can lead him right to us?" Mulder asked. "I don't know if that is the best course of action, Mulder. I don't want to put her in jeopardy." "She's a big girl, Scully, I think she can handle it." "That's not the point," Scully said, turning from the stove where she had been stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce, "this is not her fight, it's ours." "I'd say she's involved now," Mulder replied getting up from his seat at the table to walk over to Scully and the bubbling sauce. He dipped his finger in the sauce and took a taste. Scully slapped his hand away. "Go sit down," she barked and pointed towards his seat at the table. Mulder did as he was told. "We have to figure this out, Scully. And Jane has to be a part of it, you know that." Scully said nothing. She knew he was right but the last thing she wanted to do was put Jane in the middle of their fight with Krycek. "Okay, we'll come up with something. But I want Jane's involvement to be minimal" "Kate, if I can help bring this guy down, then I need to be just as involved as you and Fox." Neither Mulder nor Scully had heard the young officer enter the room. She had that just awakened look about her and Scully felt herself stir. She quickly berated herself for the pleasure. That would have to wait for later. Jane walked over to the table and sat next to Mulder. "What's the plan Sam?" Mulder chuckled. Now that he knew Jane was on their side, he could enjoy her sense of humor. "Well, maybe we should start by going over what we already know…" "No, I think we should start by having you two slugs help me with dinner. One of you can set the table, the other can make the salad." Jane and Mulder looked at each other and said in unison, "I'll set the table." They all laughed, and then Mulder flipped a coin. He lost. Scully pointed him to the salad fixings on the counter. "Get chopping, G-man." *Tuesday, 1047 p.m., Scully's apartment* After feasting on Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread, the trio settled into the living room to finalize their plans for trapping Krycek. "So, you don't want me to let on that I know anything?" "Right," Scully replied turning to look at Jane sitting beside her. "We want to wait and see what he is going to do next," Mulder stated from his seat in the chair opposite the sofa. "The more confident he is in his deception, the better off we are. He's bound to fuck up if he thinks we are in the dark." "That's true, but if he finds out I am wearing a wire, that's it. The gig is up." "He can't find out, Jane. You have to keep a discrete distance." Scully implored. "Just try and act as natural as possible. My guess is that Krycek is going to come to you. He knows about your relationship with Scully, he's going to try and use that to his advantage somehow," Mulder explained. "Right, okay. I can do this, no big deal," Jane declared, although the butterflies in her stomach sang a different tune. "In the meantime, Scully and I are going to try and figure out what he and this Korean diplomat are cooking up." "How are you going to do that?" "Don't worry, Jane. We have sources," Mulder winked at her. Scully rolled her eyes, she knew exactly which three sources Mulder was referring to. "Okay, all I need now is the wire," Jane exhaled. "Right here," Mulder raised his index finger and then reached into his jeans pocket. He pulled out a device no bigger than a Bic pen. "That's it?" Jane asked. "Yep," Mulder stated, he opened a compartment and checked the battery then closed the compartment. He tossed the pen to Jane. "Stick that in your pocket, but remember it doesn't write. This end," he stood up and walked to his jacket and pulled out a digital device the size of a hand held tape recorder, "goes into the cab of your squad car. Wherever you are, as long as you are within range of the vehicle, it will record the conversations that you pick up on that," he pointed to the pen in Jane's hand and then handed her the recorder. "And what is the radius of transmission?" Jane asked looking at the device curiously. "One square mile," Mulder answered. "Okay, I think we're good to go," Jane declared, trying to make her voice sound optimistic. Scully looked sideways at her lover. She could tell that her light attitude was an act. But she knew about having to act. She'd done it enough times herself. How many times had she uttered the words 'I'm fine, Mulder' when in fact she had not been fine? Too many to count. "I need to get dressed," Jane declared and jumped up from the sofa. She walked into the bedroom where her clean and pressed uniform was hanging on the back of the door. After Jane had left, Scully stared at her partner. "What?" "I was just thinking about what is going to happen when all of this blows over," Mulder replied pensively. "What do you mean?" He thought for a minute. "Nothing, nevermind," Mulder didn't want to share his fear that now that Scully had someone in her life she would abandon the X Files. Even though he felt that selfishly about it, he didn't want to share it with Scully. Scully stared at her partner but decided not to pursue it. She had a feeling she didn't want to know anyway. "Excuse me for a minute," she stated and got up to head towards the bedroom, "I'll be right back." Mulder grinned. Scully ignored him. In the bedroom Jane was just about to button up her crisp white uniform blouse when her redheaded lover walked in. She smiled wide, "I wondered if you would come in here," She said as she walked towards the FBI agent and fell into her embrace. "I didn't want it to seem too obvious," Scully replied, her arms around Jane's waist, her hands caressing the nakedness of Janie's back from beneath the cotton fabric of her uniform. "Of course it was completely obvious," she giggled and then allowed her lips to meet Jane's. The two women stood there, arms around each other as if holding on for dear life. They kissed, tenderly at first and then with more passion. Scully brought her hands around to touch the officers breasts. She slipped the fabric of Jane's bra up so that she could expose them. Then she leaned down and took a nipple in her mouth and twirled it around her tongue. Jane let her head fall back as she reveled in the sensation of Dana's mouth on her tender flesh. Jane ran her hand through Dana's tresses and let out a slight moan. "Shit, shit, shit" Janie moaned. Scully paused, "Well that wasn't quite the reaction I was looking for." Jane smiled. "No, shit to the fact that I have to leave for work.". She planted a light kiss on Scully's lips and then stepped back to finish dressing. "I don't think I want to sleep in my bed without you," Scully sighed, looking at the bed that now seemed entirely too big for her. "That's sweet, but I will be off dogwatch before you know it," Jane stated optimistically. She put the 'pen' in her shirt pocket. "One way or another." Scully stood before her lover and held her hands. "Be careful. Do not raise his suspicion. If you start to feel like you are in danger, stop whatever you are doing and call me, okay?" Jane kissed the tip of Scully's nose, "Yes, yes, yes. I will be careful, honey." She raised her hand in a Girl Scout salute "I swear." "Good," Dana replied as she stepped over to the bedroom door and opened it. Mulder was sitting in front of the TV with the remote in his hand. He looked up at the two women as they entered the room. "Remember, if you feel any danger at all, you call us." Mulder instructed as he stood up to inspect Jane's appearance. He couldn't see the pen and was satisfied that she had it hidden well enough that Krycek wouldn't notice it either. "Yes dad," Jane teased, "mom already gave me the lecture," She stated jerking her head towards Scully. Mulder smiled, it was funny how his feelings for Jane could change in only a matter of a day. But he could see that she was important to Scully. And that made her important to him as well. "Just making sure," He stated "I'll be fine," Jane insisted as she put on her jacket and buckled up her service belt. She turned to Scully who was standing beside her at the door and leaned in for a kiss. Mulder blushed and returned to his seat on the sofa, he was going to have to get used to this. Scully was in love. He didn't know what that meant for him and that made him uneasy. When Jane was out the door, Scully closed it and looked at the back of her partner's head as he faced the television set. She knew something was bothering him, but she also knew that he would tell her in his own good time. "Well, at this point I guess it is wait and see," Scully stated as she flopped down on the sofa next to Mulder. "Are you going to be okay?" Mulder asked as he tapped the back of his partner's hand, "with her out there all night, do you think you'll be able to get any sleep?" "Mulder," Scully exclaimed. "No, no," he grinned, "I didn't mean that, Scully. Get your head out of the gutter. I meant, are you going to be able to sleep knowing that she is a part of this now?" "Oh," Scully paused. She looked at her partner. "What do you think?" Scully asked "Hell no," he replied. "Exactly," She confirmed. "So, do you want to stay up and watch some TV?" Mulder asked, shaking the remote at his partner. "Or do you want me to go so you can at least try and get some shuteye?" Scully looked at the clock and then at the TV. She settled back against the sofa cushions and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Just as long as it's not your usual brand of entertainment." "Fair 'nuff" Mulder replied and began clicking his way through the channels. *Wednesday, 237 a.m., Scully's apartment* The ringing phone is what woke her up. At first she was unsure of where she was. And who was this sleeping person beside her? She opened her eyes further and by the light of the glowing television set found the phone on the coffee table in front of her. She picked it up. "Scully," she said, sleepily There was nothing on the other end. This caused Scully to swing her legs around and sit up straight. She glanced back at her sleeping partner and shook him awake. They had fallen asleep on the sofa together, Mulder on one end, Scully on the other, only their toes had been touching. "What?" Mulder asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. Scully pointed to the phone at her ear. With more urgency, "Scully!" "Da-," Then nothing. Scully was fully awake now and staring wide-eyed at Mulder. "Mulder…" "What is it?" Mulder asked, concerned. Scully listened to the phone but the other party had already hung up. She was sure it was Jane. She pushed the off button then pushed the on button and dialed FBI headquarters. "I need a trace on the last incoming call on this line," she stated, staring at Mulder who had already turned off the television and was pacing the floor in front of her. "Thank you," Scully whispered. "Well?" "It was Jane's cell phone." Scully replied. She dialed Jane's cell number and let it ring. There was no answer. "Okay, let's not panic, she may have turned off her phone or left it in her car. Maybe she can't talk right now." Mulder didn't believe a word of it, but he wanted to reassure his partner. "Let's just wait a minute and see if she tries to call back." Scully just stared at him. She wanted to run out and find Jane, but didn't even know where to begin. "In the meantime, I'll call Frohike and see if they know anything. They are supposed to have been following Krycek. If he has her, they should know about it." Scully nodded her head. Mulder made the call from his cell phone and spoke with Frohike who knew nothing of the officer's whereabouts, but said he would contact Langley who was supposed to be following Krycek. Mulder hung up his phone and turned to look at Scully. "What do you want to do?" he asked. "I don't know what to do," Scully replied, but before she could say anything else, Mulder's phone rang. "Mulder," he barked. Scully stood in front of him as he listened to the person on the other end. When he hung up the phone he grabbed his jacket from the back of the desk chair and pointed at Scully "Put your shoes on and lets go, they've found her squad car." *Wednesday, 301 a.m. Fourth and North Capitol street NE, Washington DC* They pulled up beside the secret service squad car where Frohike was already waiting. Scully jumped out of the passenger side of the FBI issued sedan before Mulder even had a chance to put the car in park. She swiftly strode to where Frohike was standing and peered into the cab of the car. "What happened," She demanded. "The best we can tell Krycek was made aware of her surveillance of him." "What do you mean made aware?" Mulder asked as he stepped over to the passenger side of the car and tried the door. It was locked. "We don't have all the details yet, but evidently Officer Whitlaw was being followed," Frohike paused and looked at Mulder. "Langley said he saw agent Fowley meeting with Krycek just before Officer Whitlaw was picked up." "And what does that have to do with this?" Mulder asked. Scully stared at Mulder. "Langley was able to hear their conversation, she didn't mention the officer by name, but she said enough for Langley to believe that Diana was tipping him off to someone's surveillance." Frohike paused. "After I got your call, we put two and two together and realized that Officer Whitlaw was the person Agent Fowley was referring to." Scully continued to stare at Mulder accusingly 'I hope you have no delusions as to her allegiances now' she wanted to say. But she bit her tongue and held back. Just as Mulder had to come to his own conclusions about Jane's loyalty, he was going to have to come to his own conclusions about Diana's disloyalty. She turned to Frohike "How did you find her car?" "That was pretty easy, Langley had been following Krycek and knew that Officer Whitlaw must have been nearby," Frohike answered. "But I thought you said that Krycek abducted her," Scully asked. "No, he had her taken. He didn't do it himself. He gave the order to some prehistoric looking fellow," Frohike paused, "If we had known that Whitlaw was one of yours, we would have tailed her too." "We didn't think of it," Mulder said more to himself than to Frohike. He could kick himself for not thinking of this. Krycek might be a moron, but he wasn't so stupid to not cover his bases and predict their movements. "We have to find them," Scully declared. "Starting here." She picked up a loose brick from the sidewalk and returned to the car with it. Without pausing she threw it through the drivers side of the squad car spraying glass all over the front seat of the cab. She reached in to unlock the door. "Careful, Scully," Mulder cautioned as he watched his partner open the door and reach into the car. "What are you looking for?" Frohike inquired. "This," Scully replied as she backed out of the squad car with the recording device in her hand. It was still activated, though they could not hear anything. Scully showed it to her partner and then hit the play button. There was nothing at first but then Jane's familiar voice came over the speaker. 'Okay, I hope this thing is working because I am about to go into Krycek's office,' They listened to the tape for several minutes. Krycek had told Jane to be available in case he needed her to make a delivery of some supplies to the Korean embassy. Jane had agreed and then exited the office. Evidently she deactivated the recording device until several minutes later when she turned it on to report that Krycek was coming out of the underground parking and she was in pursuit. There were long silences and the only thing the two agents and Frohike could hear was the background noise of the squad cars radio. Suddenly there was a sharp intake of breath as they could hear the squealing of tires. 'What the-' Jane had said. 'shit, shit, shit, who is this?' She sounded panicked. 'Get out of my way, bitch' Jane had screamed, evidently to someone either behind or in front of her. They could hear pounding on what must have been Jane's side window. They heard the sounds of a phone dialing and soon after heard the squad cars door open. 'Da-' and then they could hear the sounds of a struggle. They heard a smashing noise, it must have been the phone hitting the pavement. 'What the fuck do you want?' Jane had pleaded, her mouth was muffled as though someone had put their hand over her mouth. Then more shuffling noises, a car door closed, and then just silence. "She had no idea, Mulder," Scully stated, trying to control her fear. "No," Mulder replied. He was trying to think of what to do next. He looked at Frohike, "Where is Langley now?" "He's still tailing Krycek," Frohike responded. "Call him," Mulder ordered, "we're going to join him." Mulder pulled Scully aside and headed back towards his car. He placed his hand on her elbow. "We're going to find her, Scully." Scully simply nodded and then folded her arms as she leaned against the car. "I hope so," she replied, "we have a lot to lose here." Mulder simply nodded his head in agreement as he waited for Frohike to complete his phone call. "Okay, he's waiting for Krycek to come out of the Korean embassy. He'll meet us there." Frohike informed the agents. "Let's go," Mulder ordered as he and Scully got into their car and Frohike ran back to his van. Langley was sitting in his dark blue Chevy outside the Korean embassy when the FBI agents approached. Mulder yanked open the drivers side door and leaned in. "Where is he?" "He's still inside," Langley replied. "Are you sure?" "He hasn't come out and I've been here an hour," Langley replied. "See, his car is still inside the gate," He pointed towards the dark Lincoln parked just inside the front gates to the embassy. "Okay, we're going to sit here with you until he comes out." Mulder returned to his car and got into the driver's seat. "Krycek is in there, we'll just wait for him to come out." He paused and glanced over at Scully, "I'm sure he will lead us to her." Scully nodded. They sat in the car for almost an hour, there seemed to be no activity going on inside the embassy, and Scully was starting to wonder if Krycek hadn't left by a back exit when suddenly Krycek's voice filled the car and Scully's head snapped up. "Put her in the trunk." It was Krycek's voice coming from the speaker of the digital recorder that was nestled in Scully's inside pocket. She quickly pulled the recorder from her pocket and the agents leaned in to listen. "She's our bait, don't hurt her yet." Krycek's disembodied voice was saying. "Mmmmhmmm." It was Jane. Scully stopped breathing. "Shut up!" Krycek said harshly. Scully wanted to leap out of her seat and run into the embassy. She couldn't figure out where they were. Most likely they were on the embassy grounds, but why hadn't they heard anything before now? She knew for sure that they had to be within one square mile for the transmission to reach them so they were close. At least Jane still had the wire; right now that was their only advantage. "Where the hell are they?" She asked Mulder who was also looking towards the empty Lincoln still parked inside of the embassy gates. "I can't tell. Maybe in the garage." Mulder said, staring at the embassy. Scully continued to listen to the recorder, though it had gone silent. They waited for what seemed like hours but were in truth only several minutes. Suddenly a car appeared screaming around the corner in front of them and was headed their way. As it passed, Mulder could see Krycek at the wheel. He turned on the ignition and stepped on the gas. Making a wide U-turn he attempted to follow Krycek but the dark sedan had a considerable head start. "Don't lose him, Mulder." Scully pleaded as she braced herself against the dashboard when the car careened around a corner. "No chance," Mulder confidently replied. They followed Krycek through the streets of DC all the way into Maryland. "He's headed for the beltway," Scully exclaimed. "We're going to lose him if we let him get there." Mulder tensely nodded his head. He knew that they could lose him if Krycek made it to the beltway. Mulder stepped on the gas and pulled up in the oncoming traffic lane. He used his vehicle to try and force Krycek off the road. "Mulder, look out!" A pair of headlights were bearing down on them and Mulder had to step on the brakes and swerve back into his own lane behind Krycek. "Shit!" "Mulder," Scully clenched as she braced herself against the dashboard. "I see…" Suddenly the oncoming car, a Bronco, screeched to a halt in front of Mulder, landing sideways and forcing the FBI agent to slam on his brakes. "Fuck!" Krycek sped away. The passenger and rear doors of the Bronco flew open and three men in black stepped out with their guns drawn. Scully instinctively reached for her own weapon and rolled down the window. But she couldn't get a clear shot as Mulder was already trying to back the car up so he could turn away from the invading men. The rear window shattered as a bullet pierced it. Mulder felt something hot on his neck and reached back to feel it. His neck was wet and when he brought his fingers around to look at them, saw that they were coated with blood. "Scully," He started, still driving wildly away from the Bronco. It was not pursuing them. "Oh Mulder, you've been hit. Pull over, they aren't following." Mulder was sure the wound wasn't serious, but did as Scully asked and pulled over. Scully turned on the dome light and reached to Mulder's neck to check it out. "I think it's only a flesh wound, but he got a chunk of you, Mulder. You're going to need stitches." "No, just patch it up and let's get back on the road." "Mulder, I want to find Jane as much as you do, more-probably, but we don't even know where to start. And we can't go back that way" She jerked her head towards the road they had just come down. "We have to stop this bleeding, the last thing I need is for you to go into shock on me. Let's stop in the emergency room, get you stitched up and figure out where to go from there," Scully demanded, already getting out of her seat to walk around the car and get in the drivers side. Mulder didn't have the energy to argue, and they still had the receiver from the recording device. They could use that to find Jane. If Krycek was headed for the beltway, however, he could be just about anywhere. On the ride to the emergency room, Mulder used his cell phone to contact Skinner and update him on the situation. Skinner said he would put out an APB on Krycek's car, and would contact the Secret Service about Jane's abduction. Although they both thought that could be fruitless, since Jane was taken by her 'boss'. It was worth a try nonetheless. Mulder also contacted Langley who had witnessed the shoot-out from a safe distance, and when it was clear had continued his own pursuit of Krycek. He had picked him up on the beltway but when Krycek took an exit towards Baltimore, Langley lost him. At least they knew which direction Krycek was headed. And if he was using Jane as a bargaining chip, he wouldn't take her far. And he wouldn't kill her. At least not yet. *Wednesday, 503 a.m., a warehouse in Baltimore* Jane opened her eyes but could see nothing. She was still in the trunk of the car, even though it had been parked for over an hour. Her hands were tied behind her back, and a piece of duct tape covered her mouth. She thought that maybe her captor had abandoned the vehicle so she was desperately trying to find an escape latch that would pop open the trunk. Unfortunately, it was sealed up tight. Suddenly she heard footsteps and she stopped fidgeting to listen. They were getting closer and her heart began to beat faster. The footsteps paused in front of the trunk and there was dead silence for several seconds. Then Jane heard a key being inserted into the trunk and before she could shut them, light from a fluorescent overhead assaulted her eyes. She quickly shut them even as someone with very unkind hands was yanking her from the trunk. She glanced up and saw the same large man as had kidnapped her in the first place. He said nothing as he forced Jane to stand and then pushed her in front of him. They walked several feet until they reached a staircase that led to a short hall above the vast open warehouse. The door at the end of the hall opened and there stood Alex Krycek. "Bring her in here and take off the tape," Krycek ordered. Jane was pushed into a chair next to a small table in the center of the room. No other furnishings, except for a small sofa hidden in the corner, decorated the room. The big man tore off the tape from Jane's mouth and she grimaced at the sharp pain. She instinctively licked her lips as her eyes bored into Krycek. "What the hell do you want with me?" "Jane, Jane, Jane," Krycek singsonged. "You should know the answer to that question." He paced back and forth in front of the frightened Secret Service officer. "You are the piece of cheese," he stopped in front of her and leaned very close to her face, "and Mulder is the rat." He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, there is a rat in this whole scenario, but it isn't Mulder," Jane defiantly proclaimed. "Maybe, but when I get done with this…" he waved his hand towards her, "…scenario," he chuckled, "Mulder will be gnawing off his legs to get free, and I will have what should have been mine all along." "And what is that?" Jane asked. "Scully," Krycek answered. "What?" Jane asked incredulously. Krycek laughed, "I'm just kidding," he said, "but I had you going, didn't I?" "Fuck you." "You think you are really in love with her don't you?" Krycek asked, again leaning over her and staring into her eyes. Jane said nothing. She simply stared back at him. "It is nice to know that Scully isn't the frigid ice queen that I thought she was." He taunted. "Still, I always kind of hoped that she would ditch the boy wonder and give me a shake." He looked at Jane to see what effect he was having. She looked pissed. 'good' he thought, he wanted to keep her so wound up that she wouldn't be able to think straight enough to forge an escape. "But, now I see that was never really possible anyway. Oh well, her loss." "Listen, you fucking rat bastard. If anyone is going to be gnawing off their limbs it's going to be you. I see you only have three to go anyway," Jane taunted, "it shouldn't be that difficult." Krycek stepped back as if suffering a blow. "Why don't you just stop with the games and tell me why the fuck you kidnapped me and brought me here," Jane demanded as she looked around, "and where are we anyway?" Krycek glared at his prisoner. "Fine, you really want to know?" he asked. Jane nodded. "Okay, I'll tell you," he said as he crouched in front of her chair and placed his hand on the table beside her. "It's not like you are going to be able to do anything about it anyway. Because by the time the dynamic duo find you, it will be too late." Jane didn't want to know what he meant by that. "Before I was tipped off to the fact that you were a double crosser, I asked you to deliver a package to the Korean Embassy." "Yes, this much I already know." Jane stated sarcastically. "What you don't know is that I asked you to deliver it so that it could be traced back to you and your cohorts." "And how the hell would it do that?" Jane asked. "That's not important." Krycek shook his head, "what is important is that it would have been exactly the evidence the FBI has been looking for to get rid of Agent Mulder." "What was in the package?" Jane asked "The same biological agent that caused the deaths of those other men," Krycek paused, "only this time, enough of it to wipe out an entire city block of people." "What the hell do you mean?" Jane asked alarmed. "You see, with or without you we are going to release this agent on the fine people living in the fair city of Richmond, Virginia." Krycek smiled, "they won't even know what hit them." "You ARE the devil!" Jane screamed, "those are people whose lives mean something, and you are going to callously kill them? Innocent men, women and children?" Krycek stood up and paced in front of Jane. "Innocent men, women and children. Yes. But their deaths will mean something. They will not be in vain." "Why, because they died so YOU could exact your sick game of revenge?" Jane accused. "No, because their deaths will ensure that others can survive." Krycek said. "Survive what?" Jane asked, her eyes wide. "The Second Coming." Krycek said, staring at the ceiling. "You're insane," Jane announced. "You know? Krycek smiled as he looked down at Jane, "I think you might be right about that, but it's beside the point. You see, this biological weapon was designed to fight off an invading colonization force." Krycek paused, "it can be used to exterminate the incipient organism of an extraterrestrial biological entity." Jane's head snapped up, "What?" Krycek smiled "You heard me." "Are you saying that it is some kind of alien morning after pill?" "In essence, yes. It is extremely toxic to humans, so much so that one ounce can essentially embalm a healthy adult. However, even though it is highly effective on human adults, it is ineffective on mature alien life. But all was not lost, through our trials we discovered that it will prevent the parturition of 'new' alien life." "But that doesn't explain why you are going to unleash it on an entire population of people?" "Now, I can't tell you everything. Let me just say that we think some colonization may have begun. Using this weapon now will help us determine if we have any chance for survival in the future." "That doesn't make any sense," Jane stated. "I don't expect you to understand," Krycek sneered, "all you need to know is that with this plan, we get rid of the aliens, the X Files, and now finally, Mulder and Scully." "Over my dead body," Jane stated defiantly. "I hope it doesn't come to that," Krycek stated and then turned and walked out of the room. Jane's mind raced. She didn't know what to do first. She didn't know if she should believe Krycek, or if he was just baiting her…trying to confuse her. The one thing she was sure of, she had to reach Scully before Krycek did. The door opened and the prehistoric man came in again. He swiftly stepped over to Jane and ripped off a piece of duct tape from the roll in his hand. He covered Jane's mouth with it. As he stepped out of the room he turned off the over head light. Jane was plunged into darkness. *Wednesday, 812 a.m. - Georgetown University Hospital* Mulder was getting the final bandages put on his wound and was waiting for his tetanus shot. It took some work but Scully managed to convince the doctor on duty not to report the bullet wound as was required by law. Fortunately Scully had interned with the ER doctor and he agreed to keep quiet as a favor to the red-headed forensic specialist with whom he'd carried a torch for a long time during their internship together. Scully finished up a phone call to Langley, the Lone Gunman had given up their search for Krycek and had returned to their headquarters in DC. 'Without a trace', Scully thought. 'Dammit, we're never going to find her!' "Don't give up, Scully. We know that Krycek took her for a reason, and I'm guessing it's to get to us. We may have to wait for him to contact us," Mulder reasoned, as he walked towards his partner. "I'm not waiting for anything. Are you done here?" Scully inquired as she inspected the bandage on Mulder's neck. Satisfied that Mulder's wounds had been aptly attended to, she held out his jacket, "Let's get back in the car." Scully walked towards the door. "Where are we going?" Mulder asked, pulling on his jacket while he grimaced at the pain shooting from his neck. Scully stopped and stared down at her keys. "I don't know." *Wednesday, 825 a.m. a warehouse in Baltimore* She'd never felt more violated than at that moment. With a gun to her head she'd had no choice but to comply with Krycek's orders. She only hoped that Dana would know the truth, would be able to see the truth. She'd given her a clue….hopefully Dana would remember. *Wednesday, 949 a.m., Scully's apartment* Having noticed the scratches around the lock on Scully's door, both agents drew their weapons before Scully opened it. Mulder kicked the door open as soon as Dana had it unlocked. The lights were out, the curtains were closed and nothing looked like it had been touched. Then they saw the television. It was on and the screen glowed with the familiar blue background indicating that there was a tape in the VCR waiting to be played. The agents swept the rest of the apartment and only when they were satisfied that no one was still in there with them did they re-holster their guns. Scully took off her trench coat and flung it at a nearby chair while grabbing the remote for the TV. Mulder plunked himself on the sofa next to Scully. At first what filled the screen was the picture of an empty room with only a table and chairs. Then they heard Jane's voice and soon after she entered the camera's field of vision and sat at the table. Scully gasped. Mulder reached for his partner's knee and gently placed his hand there. "I suppose you are wondering what happened to me?" Jane said, emotionless on the tape, "You're instincts about me were correct, Agent Mulder. It is unfortunate that your partner does not have the same good judgment as you." Scully's mouth dropped open. "This isn't her. This isn't true." Mulder was inclined to agree with his partner, yet a part of him never fully trusted Jane. "I'm sorry to do this to you Dana, but you see, you and Mulder caught on too quickly to our plans, we had to figure something out to get you off track, so Krycek came up with the brilliant plan of having you believe that I was on your side." Jane stopped and glanced over to her right. Then she continued. "However, I must inform you that I am not on your side. In fact, as you are watching this, your demise at the FBI is unfolding. By tomorrow morning you and Mulder will be sitting in a jail cell. Much like the one you and Angela sat in when you tried to get into Mexico for some underage partying. Only this time, your daddy isn't around to bail you out." Jane appeared to be wincing as she said this. "Don't bother looking for me anymore, Dana, I have made my choices and I am happy with them. Krycek and I make a good team, don't you think?" The screen went blank, and then there was nothing but static. "This is bullshit, Mulder. Jane wouldn't betray us. He's forcing her to say those things!" "Scully," Mulder started. "She left me a clue. I didn't get arrested with Angela, I hated Angela, I got arrested with Jane!" Scully waved her hand towards the screen. "She was letting me know that everything in that tape is a lie." Mulder was already rewinding the videotape. He then played it again, only in fast forward mode. Suddenly he froze the picture and stepped over to the VCR. He pointed at an object on the far right of the screen. "There," he stated as he looked back at Scully, "see it?" Scully inched towards the image on the screen and looked at the object Mulder was pointing towards. "I knew it." Scully was staring at what was unmistakably the barrel of a gun. A gun pointed right at Jane's head. "I think you're right, Scully, and besides, Krycek knows we aren't stupid enough to believe this crap, he also knows that we're not going to stop looking for Jane. So what we have to figure out is…what is the point to all of this?" "What do you mean?" "Why would he send us this bogus tape? Where does he want us to go?" Mulder paused, "and where doesn't he want us to go?" Scully stared into her partner's eyes. She had no idea what was to be expected, and that drove her crazy…especially because it involved Jane. "At least one good thing," Mulder started, "we know she's still alive." Scully nodded her head. *Wednesday, 1200 noon, a warehouse in Baltimore* Jane awoke with a start. The windowless room was completely dark, yet from her position lying on the sofa, she sensed someone was in the room with her. Without warning, the duct tape over he mouth was ripped off and she was pulled upright. "Lean forward" a woman's voice hissed. Jane did as she was told and could feel the other woman untying the burning ropes that held her hands together. "Dana?" She whispered, fairly certain it wasn't her lover, Dana didn't wear that brand of cologne. But there was something very familiar about the woman helping her. "Not even close," the woman replied. "Now shut up and listen to me. You've got ten minutes to get out of here. Once I leave the room, count to twenty and then open the door and leave yourself. When you get down the steps turn to your right and exit the building through the boiler room door. Once outside, you will see a car with the keys in the ignition waiting in the alley behind this building. Drive it to the nearest rest stop, but do not drive it into Washington. I cannot tell you why, just trust me. When you get to the rest stop, you should call whomever you need to pick you up. I would drive away from Washington, so that you face less risk of being found. Do you understand?" "Yes." Jane replied, rubbing her sore wrists. "Good, don't fuck it up." The woman hissed and then Jane heard her step towards the door. As she opened the door and light spilled into the room, Jane caught a glimpse of her liberator. "Oh my God," She whispered, stunned. *Wednesday, 236 p.m, a rest stop on the Baltimore/Washington Parkway* Scully jumped out of the passenger side of the car before the car had even come to a complete stop. She raced past the tourists and weary travelers and into the rest stop visitors center. She turned her head from side to side looking for Janie's familiar face, and started to panic when she couldn't find her. Mulder jogged up behind his partner and joined in her search. "Jesus, Mulder, what if we're too late? What if Krycek found her?" "Look in the ladies room, Scully. Maybe she's in there. I'll go out back to the picnic area." Scully entered the women's restroom and searched one side of empty stalls, and when she turned the corner to inspect the other side, spotted Jane sitting on the window ledge at the end of the room. Dana could feel the tears well up as she started towards her lover. Jane looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Scully just as the agent reached her. They held each other, laughing and crying at the same time and not even caring if anyone saw them. Dana drew back and took Jane's mouth with hers and kissed her with the passion and pain that had been building inside of her since Jane's disappearance. Jane responded with equal fervor and the two stayed with that moment for several minutes. When they finally separated, Scully took Jane's face in her hands, "I never want to lose you." She then kissed Jane's forehead and hugged her again. Finally, they stepped out of the bathroom, hand in hand, and looked for Mulder. They found him, standing in the grass behind the building, inspecting the bottom of his shoe with one foot raised and turned up and the other planted firmly in the grass. When he saw the two women he gave a crooked smile and returned his foot to the ground. "Goddam dog crap," he said, pointing to his shoe as he wiped it on the grass. Then he stepped over to Jane and gave her a gentle hug, "you gave us quite a scare." "Sorry," she murmered as she accepted Mulder's hug. When they parted, she looked down and pointed, "but it looks like you really stepped in it this time, Agent Mulder." Scully chuckled. "Oh, I'm glad this amuses you," Mulder said wryly, and found that he actually meant it. It was nice to see Scully with a smile on her face again. "Let's get the hell out of here before Krycek comes looking for us. We need time to figure out what's going on." On the car ride back to Scully's apartment, Jane filled them in on everything she'd experienced and all of the information that Krycek had given her. "What I don't understand, is how you managed to get away," Scully asked staring back at her lover in the back seat. Jane hesitated, "I was able to wriggle out of the ropes, when Krycek left after making the video, he forgot to lock the door. I snuck out and found a car in the back of the building. As luck would have it, the keys were in the ignition." Mulder glanced in the rearview mirror, he could tell something wasn't right, but couldn't put his finger on it. "If you had a car, why not drive it to Scully's?" He asked. "I was afraid they would follow me if I drove towards Washington, so I went the opposite direction and decided to ditch the car." Scully nodded her approval and glanced over at Mulder who seemed to be satisfied with Jane's explanation. Scully sensed something was different about Jane when she'd answered that question, but maybe something had happened that Jane didn't want to share with Mulder. She would remember to ask Jane about it later. When the trio arrived at Scully's apartment, they put a call in to Skinner who said he would be over in an hour to discuss the latest events with them; particularly the information regarding the release of the toxin on innocent civilians. Jane was exhausted but was still so wired that she knew she couldn't sleep. Instead she decided to take a shower and change her clothes. That would at least make her feel better and more able to strategize with AD Skinner. Scully decided that she'd had enough with people breaking into her apartment and was sending Mulder to the hardware store to get another deadbolt to put on her door. She was a fucking federal agent and yet it seemed so easy to break into her apartment, 'what's wrong with that picture?' she thought to herself as she gave Mulder directions to the nearest hardware store. With Mulder gone and Jane in the shower, Scully couldn't help herself. She tiptoed into the bathroom and stripped down to nothing. Then she pulled the curtain from around the old claw foot tub and found a smiling naked Jane staring at her. She smiled back and then joined her lover under the warm running water. With their bodies pressed together they enjoyed a shared passionate kiss. Their tongues roamed and danced and explored inside each others mouths, while their hands did the same over their soft balmy skin. Scully reached for the liquid soap and squeezed some between Jane's breasts. She massaged the soap into the Secret Service officers body, rubbing it over one breast and then the other, taking care to alternately caress and pinch each nipple. Jane could feel her skin tingle and her groin leap with delight. She slipped her hand between the soft warm folds of Scully's cunt and pinched the already hardened clit that was throbbing in anticipation. As she rubbed she could feel her own excitement mount while listening to Scully's soft moans. Scully bit into Jane's shoulder and then yelped as the first wave of orgasm came crashing over her. Barely able to stand under the rushing water, she leaned into her lover while the orgasm crested and then subsided. Sliding her arms around Jane's waist, down her back and over the crevice of her ass, Scully snaked her tongue over Jane's lips and then delved into her mouth. Jane kissed back and could hardly contain the exhilaration she was feeling. Scully worked her kisses from Jane's mouth to her neck, her breasts, her belly button and finally to the soft crease between her lovers legs. She kneeled in front of Jane and licked at the hard nub there. Jane threw her head back and squealed, Scully darted her tongue in and out and then all at once took the throbbing clit into her mouth and sucked. Jane's moans increased in volume and frequency, until she climaxed with an audible explosion that echoed off the walls of the misty bathroom. Scully held on until her lovers screams stopped, and then she kissed her way back up to Jane's mouth, where she then planted another long, deep kiss. After awhile, the two women realized they hadn't much time, and got down to the business of actually washing each other. Which wasn't easy to do because there were far too many distractions, not the least of which being the passion they felt between them. Just in time for Mulder's return, Scully was dressed and in the living room. Her hair was damp, but she didn't really care that much so didn't bother to dry it. Jane, on the other hand, had short hair and was able to dry it with only a cursory attempt with the blow dryer. They'd both changed into blue jeans, Scully with a white T-shirt and green sweater, and Jane with a light blue long sleeve t-shirt. Scully was just beginning to search for the video tape that had been left in her VCR, when the doorbell rang and she let Mulder in. He took one look at her wet hair and a smile inched across his face. "Don't even go there, Mulder" Scully directed and took the bag from his hands. "How much do I owe you?" "I forget, here…" Mulder took the bag from his partner, "…let me install it. I am, after all a man, and that is what we're good for." "You're also a pig," Jane teased from the other room. "Oh, you're killing me here," Mulder replied as he looked at the directions on the deadbolt box to see how it should be installed. Scully ignored him and walked over to the television to continue her search for the video tape. "How does wanting to be a manly man, make me a pig?" Mulder asked while he discarded the directions and opened the package, spilling it's contents all over the floor. "Are you feeling emasculated by our relationship?" Jane asked, spying a small grin on Dana's face as Dana was looking behind the television set. "Our relationship?" Mulder asked on his knees while chasing down an errant bolt that had rolled under the sofa. "No, stupid, our relationship," she stood up and put her arm around Dana's shoulders. Scully stopped her searching and put her arm around Jane's waist, she smiled and stared at Mulder, "well?" "Aha!" Mulder declaired as he found the bolt and then stood up with it pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He looked at Jane and Scully who were looking back at him with evil little grins on their faces. "What did you say?" He laughed. Jane reached down, picked up a pillow and threw it at the FBI agent. Mulder deftly caught the pillow, "thank you," and then placed it on the floor in front of the door. He kneeled on it and began inspecting the door for optimum location of the new deadbolt. Scully and Jane smiled and then shrugged their shoulders. "I can't find the videotape of you, Jane." Scully stated, her arm sweeping across the room. "Mulder, where did you put the tape?" "I left it in the VCR," He stated over his shoulder, while he was screwing in the new plate for the deadbolt. "I think I need a drill," he said. "It's not in here," Scully said, poking her finger into the empty cavity of the VCR. "Dammit! That was our proof that we're not involved in whatever it is that Krycek is planning." "Don't worry, Scully, even without the video we have Jane's testimony. We also have Skinner's. Not to mention all of the photo's that Langley and the boys have amassed." Scully sat on the sofa next to Jane and turned to watch Mulder. "You have no idea what you are doing, do you?" Mulder turned, "I'm hurt, Scully, you think I can't put a simple deadbolt on a door?" "No, no I don't, Mulder." Scully asserted. "Quit criticizing and hand me a drill." He turned back to the door and stared at it very hard, almost as if he were willing the deadbolt to attach itself by magic. Scully chuckled and walked over to the hallway closet where she pulled out a tool kit and drill. She brought them back and handed them to Mulder. "Good luck." Just as Mulder opened the door to cut the wood on the doorjamb, Skinner raised his hand to knock. He looked down at he array of tools Mulder had on the floor and then stepped over them and into the apartment, leaving Mulder to hold the door open. Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, "you're not letting him fix something, are you?" Skinner asked Scully as he took off his overcoat. Jane stood up with Dana, "he wants to prove his manliness," Jane replied, expecting a laugh and getting none. "Er, I'm Jane Whitlaw, you must be AD Skinner I presume?" She stuck out her hand to the towering AD. Skinner accepted the officers handshake, "yes, I am. And I am very pleased that you were able to elude your captors and can shed some light into Kryceks intentions." "I'll do my best," Jane replied, casting aside the lightheartedness of the previous hour and replying with the same seriousness as the Assistant Director. They sat down at Scully's kitchen table to discuss what would happen next. *Wednesday, 1013 p.m., a town square in Richmond, Virginia* "Richmond is not as small a town as one would think," Mulder stated, returning to the surveillance van with a steaming cup of coffee. The agents were assigned to stake out the town square with the hopes that if Krycek or his cohorts showed up to release the toxin, they would be able to apprehend him beforehand. FBI agents were stationed all over the city in order to quickly mobilize should the toxin actually be released before they could prevent it. "What's that?" Scully pointed to a figure on the television screen that seemed to be lurking near a park bench by a soda shop. "Zoom in on that guy, he's doing something strange." The technician on the camera zoomed in on the man Scully had identified. They soon realized why he was acting strange. He had no clothes on underneath his trenchcoat and was flashing women as they walked by. "Should we arrest him?" Mulder asked, grinning at his partner. Scully scoffed, and turned her attention to the technician, "call the local P.D., tell them we've got a flasher out there." Mulder's phone rang and he pulled it from his breast pocket, "Mulder." As Mulder listened to the party on the other line, Scully continued to scan the video feeds. "Fuck!" Mulder barked, "Scully, let's go. There's a situation." "What?" Scully asked as she followed her partner out of the van and into the blue sedan they'd parked nearby. "Jane and Skinner are at the Korean Embassy," Mulder started. "Jane?!" Scully asked incredulously. They had left Jane at Scully's apartment to get some sleep. Skinner didn't want to put her in any more danger and had even assigned an agent to stand guard outside of Scully's apartment. "I don't know what is going on, but Skinner said it could be bad for us. A lot of people are dead, and the evidence is pointing in our direction." Scully stared at Mulder. *Wednesday, 1150 p.m., The Korean Embassy* They walked through the room of the Korean Embassy with masks over their faces and disbelief in their hearts. Scully couldn't believe her eyes, forty-two people dead. The fingers were pointing towards Mulder and Scully…and Jane. "Is this the same toxin you observed in the previous autopsies?" Skinner asked Agent Scully as they both exited the room where most of the bodies were present. "It appears to be," Scully replied. Mulder approached the two and touched Scully's arm, "I think we know now where Krycek didn't want us to be. Telling Jane about Richmond was a ruse to get us off his tail here." "What I can't figure out is how he got our fingerprints on that canister." Scully puzzled, looking at the canister that had already been dusted and scanned. "We have an aliby, Scully, we were with Skinner when this went down. Right in your kitchen." "Even if I testified to that fact, they've still got you involved. This could cause you to be suspended indefinitely." "If? Sir?" Mulder stared at the AD. "What the hell do you mean by 'if'?" "I warned you that I couldn't save your butts if you got caught." "Excuse me, sir?" Scully replied just as astonished as her partner. "Look, Scully, if it comes down to me having to testify as the only means to escape charges over this, I will do it. But I don't think my cautious approach here is unwarranted. If they entrap all three of us, how much good am I going to be to you or the FBI?" "Or the truth," Mulder mumbled and then walked back into the room of dead bodies. "The fact remains that your fingerprints are on that canister, and we have to find out why and how." Skinner stated to Scully, who was looking after her partner and wondering if she should follow him. "Right," She stated coldly. Skinner ignored her indignation and forged ahead. "Can you think of any time when you and Mulder would have come into contact with the container?" Scully mulled it over but couldn't come up with an explanation. "I'll think about it, but nothing comes readily to mind." Skinner nodded his head and walked back into the room where Mulder had entered minutes before. Passing him in the doorway was a pale looking Jane. "They think they can prove that the gun used to shoot the security guard at the front desk was mine." Jane stated matter of factly, "the weapon found in the trash can was registered to me, and it's only a matter of time before the ballistic testing proves so." "Jane, don't worry about that. We still have the recording of you being kidnapped, and that can prove that your weapon was taken from you. Besides, you reported that fact to your commander, didn't you?" "Yes." "Then you're covered," Scully stated. "But you're not, and we need to figure out how to protect you," Jane stepped closer to the FBI agent, "think back over the last couple of days, retrace your steps. Did you ever come into contact with that container?" Scully thought, she went back over the last couple of days and thought about where she'd been with Mulder. The hotel, her apartment, the office, the hospital, the rest stop, a restaurant. Suddenly her head snapped up "The hospital." Scully grabbed Mulder and they told Skinner they were following a lead. They raced to the hospital where Mulder had been treated and flashed their badges to the security officer in the monitor room. "We need to see your surveillance tapes from this morning. ER and admitting." Scully barked at the guard. The guard entered a small closet that was filled with VCR's and pulled a tape from one of them. He set the agents and Jane up at a table with a monitor and pushed the tape into the machine. "What time?" He asked. "Between Seven and nine," Scully instructed. The guard fast forwarded the tape to seven a.m. and then left the trio to watch on their own. At time index 0811 the tape showed Scully standing at the admitting desk talking on the phone. Behind her a figure approached and placed a cart with the canister on top of it. The cart would be in her path once she turned around. Scully and Mulder remembered simultaneously. "That was when I approached you and you turned around to answer, after my shot," Mulder remembered. "I bumped into the canister and it tipped. We both tried to catch it!" Scully exclaimed. And as if on cue, the video showed exactly that. They watched for several minutes afterwards, and then saw the same figure that had placed the canister pick it up and leave. Jane clapped her hands. "That's your proof. That exonerates you!" While Mulder and Scully were less excited than Jane, they did feel a weight fall off their shoulders as they made a copy of the tape and took it with them. They would show this to the CIA agent in charge of the Korean Embassy case, and then turn over all of their surveillance of Krycek. This would end it for them, they were done. Let the CIA deal with the rat bastard. *Friday, 934 a.m., Basement of the FBI building* Mulder and Scully, having been summoned by Skinner, were waiting in an empty photo lab for their former boss to show up. They were unsure of what to expect, as his message had been unusually cryptic. The CIA had taken possession of all their evidence, before Mulder could even make copies (of course the Lone Gunman had already done so), and since that time they had refused to give the agents any information. Skinner entered the room and closed the door behind him. Scully and Mulder straightened up as if to do so would aid in their hearing. "Krycek is gone, no trace. We'll never get our hands on him. Forty-two people were murdered in the Korean Embassy, but the Government refuses to release information about the cause of their deaths. For now they are classifying it an internal Korean matter and the CIA have been called off the case. The documents you and Jane collected on this case have all disappeared, except for the surveillance tape, which is sitting in the safe in my office. It is my belief that it is the only reason that this incident has been swept under the rug. If they had been able to pin it on you, this would have been an international event, the likes of which surpass any such incident in recorded history. The three of you, Jane included, would have been sent to Korea for trial. You most certainly would have been put to death. But given the fact that you were watching Krycek while he was testing the toxin on those homeless men, and the fact that you had evidence of that, coupled with the video tape and my testimony," Skinner paused, "they have no grounds by which to investigate this as an FBI matter. To my knowledge, this case is over and the United States has washed their hands of it." "Whatever pact the Korean's made with Krycek, it was worth the lives of forty-two of their own people. Framing you would have been the icing on the cake. It was certainly a goal, but not the primary goal. Unfortunately for us their primary goal was achieved." "Which was what, sir?" Scully asked. "to test a bio-weapon? That doesn't make any sense, why test it on their own people?" "Perhaps this will illuminate you, Agent Scully." Skinner hesitated, "the information about the toxin that Krycek fed to Officer Whitlaw," Skinner paused again, "there is no way to substantiate or corroborate it, except to say this. There was one survivor at the Korean Embassy." Mulder and Scully both looked at Skinner with interest. "A woman. A woman who was treated at DC General Hospital right after the incident." Skinner looked away from the agents, then back. "A woman who was treated after suffering a miscarriage." "Jesus," Mulder whispered. "Traces of the toxin were found in the fetal matter removed from the uterus following a pelvic examination." "Jesus," Scully whispered. "While the DNA of the fetal matter was human, there were also traces of DNA that could not be categorized." "Jesus," Scully and Mulder whispered in unison. "The woman has since disappeared." *Friday, 647 p.m., Scully's apartment* Scully was preparing dinner while Jane attended to her laundry. She'd been living out of plastic bags for the last week, running to her apartment to get what she needed and had then collected a pile of dirty laundry at Scully's apartment by the end of the week. She'd decided to take a couple of days off following her abduction and had holed up in Scully's apartment. Unfortunately, Scully still had to go to work and was given a surveillance assignment by her current AD. That had kept her and Jane apart the entire previous day. But tonight was theirs, and they were going to make it special. Scully had just finished fishing out the last of the bay leaves from the spaghetti sauce when Jane came back in from the laundry room. When she opened the front door a piece of metal landed on her foot and she howled in pain. Scully heard her cries and came running in from the kitchen. "God damned Mulder and his emasculation hang ups!" Jane muttered, as she kicked the deadbolt plate across the floor. Scully stared after it as it went flying into the other room and then turned back to Jane with a grin on her face. "I knew I would have to put that thing on myself. Poor Mulder." "Poor Mulder!? What about poor me?" Scully stepped over to Jane and kissed her on the nose, "poor Janie." And then Scully kissed her on the check, and then the neck and then the lips…where she lingered for awhile before finally pulling away. "You know, we should feel somewhat sorry for Mulder." "How so?" Jane asked, not removing her arms from around Dana's waist. "We have each other," Scully kissed Jane again, "Mulder only has his video of the month club." *Friday, 700 p.m., Mulder's Apartment* Mulder entered his building after a five mile run through Rock Creek Park and then sprinted up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. When he reached his apartment he found a small package on the floor in front of his door. He scooped it up and entered his apartment. After putting his ear to the box to make sure it wasn't an explosive device, Mulder opened the package. Inside were a note and videotape. The note read, 'I know you hate to lose, but to prove there are no hard feelings, I got you this present. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Love, Krycek.' Mulder put the video into his VCR and hit play. He thought maybe it was the tape of Jane…he was halfway right. After a few confusing minutes of watching a poorly made home video of two women making out on a park bench, Mulder heard a familiar voice start to narrate, 'Kate' she said as way of introduction. And then appearing on the screen in a doctor's coat and fishnet stockings (presumably with nothing on underneath), much to Mulder's disbelief was a younger, gyrating, Scully. She was doing what appeared to be a striptease for another women that was tied, naked, to a chair. The other woman was Jane. When the Scully in the video seductively leaned down to kiss the Jane in the video, Mulder turned the television off and practically ripped the cassette out of his VCR. He looked at the label on the tape as if seeing it for the first time and saw that it read 'The Color of Midnight'. His fury over the fact that Krycek had probably watched this entire tape was so intense that he wanted to smash his foot through the television screen. What the hell was he going to do? Should he tell Scully? What would be the point? She would only feel violated. On the other hand, if he didn't tell, and Krycek had copies of this it could spell big trouble for Scully down the road. And what should he do with the tape in his hand? Destroy it? Give it to Scully? Give it to Jane? Keep it? Mulder mulled over his choices, not liking any of them, and unable to come up with a solution. The only thing he did know was that he wanted to kill Krycek more now than ever before. How dare that rat-bastard-mother-fucking-one-armed-son-of-a-bitch violate Scully in this way. He would exact revenge, of that much Mulder was sure. And then it occurred to him, now he knew why Jane called Scully 'Kate'. And in spite of his anger at Krycek, and his embarrassment at having seen Scully in that way, he had to smile a little bit over that one. He'd decided what to do. *Friday 847 p.m., Scully's Apartment* "You're amazing," Jane said to her red headed lover as she leaned back and wiped her mouth, "not only can you heal people, solve crimes and dance. But god damned if you can't cook too!" Scully blushed as she stood and took her plate to the sink. "I can do a couple of other things pretty well too, ya know." "Ah, yes. This I do know." Jane lifted her own plate and joined Scully at the sink. "I know this very, very well," the young officer whispered as she bestowed little kisses along her lover's silky neck. Dana turned and caught Jane in her arms. She kissed her with a passion that transcended the banality of their environment. She kissed her with all of the feeling and warmth that had been building ever since Jane's arrival. Jane kissed back and before long the two women were slowly swaying their bodies to a rhythm that seemed to emanate from their own desire. Jane slowly unbuttoned Scully's blouse and let it fall on the floor in front of the sink. Next came her jeans, bra and panties. Scully stood there naked before her and Jane still could not believe her good fortune in having found Dana again. She almost wept at the thought, at the fear, or losing her. She wouldn't let that happen again. This time was forever. Jane let Scully undress her and soon both women were facing each other without the vestments that separated them. Now, standing naked in Scully's kitchen, Jane's longing overcame her. She took Dana's hands and placed them at her shoulders, holding them gently as Dana began a meticulous exploration of her fevered form. Closing her eyes, Jane waited, anticipated, ached. As Jane leaned against the kitchen sink, Dana traced Jane's collarbone, then trailed her fingertips down the swell of Jane's breasts. She circled the nipples, missing them by a shadow, then caressed the underside of the fleshy mounds. She cupped them, squeezed them, glided a palm across each, lingering just long enough to coax Jane's nipples to stiff peaks. Jane gasped and arched into Dana's hands. Shifting slightly, Dana continued her examination of Jane's body, almost as if she hadn't ever seen or felt it before. The need in her own body was growing and her capacity to love this woman seemed to be overflowing. Janie moaned as Dana skimmed her nails across the tender flesh of Jane's abdomen, then playfully looking into Jane's eyes, raked them through the lush crop of hair that covered her mound. She sighed, tilting her head, her breath hot on Jane's neck. Jane's legs trembled. Dana eased her fingers between them. She tickled the soft skin on her outer lips and then reached deeper, the heel of her hand pressing on Jane's still hidden clitoris. Jane gasped and grabbed Dana's shoulders for balance. Dana nuzzled her neck. She trailed the tip of her tongue over the hollow of Jane's throat. Her fingers found Jane's center. Jane sucked in a long breath, "I love you, Dana. God, I love you so much." Scully dragged her fingers up the length of Jane's slit, opening her folds completely. Her lingering touch prodded and teased Jane's already throbbing clit. Jane's knees buckled. She clung to Dana. Their mouths met and Jane snaked her tongue between Scully's lips. Scully increased the pressure to Jane's clit and began a rhythmic motion with her fingers, all the while allowing her tongue to dance with Jane's. Jane could barely stand and was leaning heavily against Dana as they continued their slow torturous dance. As the blood began to build and pound in her center, suddenly Jane went wild. She ground her cunt against Scully's hand. Her hips bucked and jerked. Scully's fingers found one of Jane's erect nipples and closed around it. She rolled it, fondled it. She lowered her head and covered the other with her mouth. Her breath enflamed the sensitized nub, but her lips eluded it. Jane whimpered. Squeezing her eyes shut, she arched her back, forcing her breast higher, hard against Dana's mouth. Scully sucked it in deep. First one nipple, and then the other. She let her tongue explore every inch of the other woman's breasts and then sucked at the nipples again. Through all of this, her hand never wavered from Jane's hot and nearly climaxing cunt. Dana returned her mouth to Jane's and kissed her again. Scully could feel Jane climaxing beneath her, could even feel her heart pounding, her breath becoming jagged, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Finally, Jane thrust her hips, her legs open wide, she rocked against Dana. Wave after wave of pleasure overcame her and in an exhausted heap, she fell against her lover. Dana wrapped her arms around Jane and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. She held her tight as Jane continued to enjoy the after effects of her orgasm. Slowly, Jane regained control and stood up straight. "I love you, Kate," Jane said. "I love you, too," Dana replied. And arms wrapped around each other's waist, the two women headed to the bedroom to continue their lovemaking into the wee hours of the morning. The dirty dishes could wait. *Monday, 650 a.m., Scully's Apartment* "I'm coming, hold on!" A frustrated Scully yelled towards the pounding of the front door. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped her terry cloth robe around her. Throwing a towel over her hair she ran to the living room and to the door. Looking through the peephole she saw an already dressed, and distressed looking, Mulder. She opened the door, "Mulder, what is it?" "Hi Scully, sorry, I should have called." "No, that's okay. What is it, is something wrong?" "Is Jane here?" Mulder asked, still standing in the doorway. "No, she had to leave early for work. She's being reassigned today. Why?" "Can I come in?" Scully stepped aside to let Mulder enter the apartment and then closed the door behind him. "Mulder, what is this all about? You look terrible." "Gee, thanks, Scully." " You know what I mean. Now I wish you would tell me what's going on." Mulder looked at his feet and then to the package in his hands as if he had forgotten it was there. He thrust the package to Scully. "Here, I debated whether to give this to you or not. But I finally decided that I had to let you decide what to do about it." "Mulder, what are you…" Scully accepted the package with a quizical look on her face. "It's a video tape…" He blurted. "Of Jane…" Scully interrupted him, "Mulder, I already told you, I trust Jane and I don't care what is on this tape. I'm not going to…" "And you…" Mulder cut in. Scully thought for a minute, "Oh," Then she looked panicked, "Oh…" "Yeah," Mulder replied. "Oh, oh, fuck." Scully sat down in the nearest chair with a thump. "Did you…" she pointed to the tape. "Barely, only enough to know that it was something I shouldn't be watching." Mulder reported, sitting on the sofa across from his partner. "Where did you get this?" Scully asked, as she removed the tape from the box and then stared at it. "Well, this is the hard part, Scully. Krycek left it for me at my door." Scully just stared at Mulder, wishing with all her might that he did not just say what she thought he said. "I don't know if this is the only copy or not." Mulder stated. "It's the original," Scully determined after examining the cassette. "We only had two copies, mine and Jane's. Mine was destroyed, but I can't imagine how Jane's copy landed in Krycek's lap." "I imagine that after he realized the two of you were together, he rooted through Jane's apartment and found it. She probably doesn't even know it's gone." Mulder hoped this was true, he wasn't even about to doubt Jane's loyalties now. "Yeah," Scully stated, still stunned and feeling more violated than she had ever felt before. She could only hope that Krycek didn't have the time to make a copy. They had put a copy protector on the film, but Scully knew that even a first year a/v student could get past that. "Listen, Mulder, I don't know how to explain this to you…" Mulder stood up, waving his hand at Scully, "You don't have to explain. Jesus Scully, I'm the last one to judge about something like this." Scully smiled, still extremely embarrassed, but also grateful that it was Mulder who had the tape and not Skinner, or God forbid the Lone Gunmen. "And besides, look on the bright side," Mulder started as he headed for the door with Scully behind him. He paused as he put his hand on the doorknob. "What bright side?" Scully asked. Mulder turned the knob and opened the door. Glancing sideways at Scully, "now you don't have to explain to me why Jane likes to call you Kate." He slipped through the door before Scully's fist had a chance to land. Still, in spite of herself, she had to chuckle. How fucking ironic was all of this? Mulder had always been the porn addict, yet she was now the porn queen. How quickly things change, Scully thought as she returned to the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day. She made a mental note to ask Jane about the tape. She wished there were some way of finding out if Krycek had made a copy or not. She could be in big trouble if that tape fell into the wrong hands. *Monday, 737 a.m., Jane's office* Janie was looking through the brief notes for her new assignment. She was still in uniform division, but now she was assigned to the day shift Vice Presidential detail. This was a much better job because it involved some desk time as she had to be briefed daily on the Vice President's activities and on all threats that came through the office. It involved more detective work, as she was part of a division that followed up on those threats, sometimes making arrests only minutes before an assassination attempt could be carried out. If the American citizens only knew how many times their executive leaders were almost gunned down, they'd never allow them to go out in public. But that was why Jane had a job, to keep the public from knowing. She was deeply lost in a report about a recent arrest on a schizophrenic woman who had managed to actually penetrate the outer security of the executive office building when her door opened abruptly. Jane looked up, and when she saw who it was, felt her heart start to pound in her chest. "I can see you're surprised to see me." The woman said as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. Dropping a package on the stunned officer's desk she looked amused, "close your mouth, sweetheart, it doesn't become you." "What the hell are you doing here?" Jane asked, slowly regaining her senses. "I'm here to save your ass, yet again." "Why did you save me in the first place? It's not like you care anymore," Jane replied bitterly. "In California you told me to take a hike. Well, I did. And now you show up again and again. What, are you having trouble letting go?" "Don't flatter yourself. There is a bigger picture here." "Care to tell me what that is?" Jane retorted, returning to her seat and glancing at the package on her desk. "No." "Fine." Jane replied, "what the hell is this?" She jutted her chin towards the package. "Consider it a gift. One I didn't think that Krycek deserved." Jane stood up again and walked around her desk, facing the other woman, she asked, "how did you get mixed up with the likes of him in the first place? And if you're working for him, whey did you untie me in that warehouse he was keeping me in. Why did you let me go?" Diana Fowley sneered at Jane, "Like I said, there's a bigger picture. That asshole Krycek doesn't know what he's doing half the time. And this time he fucked up royally. His days are numbered. As are your pretty little girlfriends." Jane straightened up and her eyes must have been on fire because Diana balked. Putting her hand, palm forward, in front of her, "don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm not after her." Diana's eyes softened, "or you." Jane looked down, and then reached for the door, "that's over, Diana. I don't care to re-live it. Please leave." "Listen, Jane," Diana started, "I don't hold any grudges against you. I don't know why you would hold them against me. After all, I did save your pretty little neck." Diana took a step closer and gently traced her fingertips across the hollow of Jane's neck. Jane jerked backwards and looked down. "I would like for you to please leave now," she said breathlessly, not looking at the woman standing before her. Diana pouted, but did as she was told. Before closing the door she looked back at Jane, "I'm guessing our paths will cross again, sweetheart." "I'm hoping they won't" Jane replied and then pushed the door shut and locked it. She had no idea what she would say to Dana about this. She wasn't even sure she would need to say anything, the last thing Jane wanted to do was rehash the past. Besides, would Dana's path ever cross Diana's? She doubted it. Jane returned to her desk, still lost in thought, and then realized she hadn't looked inside of the package Diana had left. Reaching inside of her desk she pulled out a letter opener and sliced through the tape on the box. She opened it and peered inside. It was a videotape. End Chapter 16 End Part Four The End.