Disclaimer: I don't own them. Dana Scully, Mulder, CSM, (anyone else who shows up/is referred to) and the XF belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox. Natalie, Janette, (anyone else who shows up/is referred to) and FK belong to J.Parriott and Sony/TriStar. Archiving: on the ScullySlash website only Crossposting: none Rating: R (for bad language and some violence) Summary: fourth installment of the story that began with "Perchance to Remember?" Notes/Spoilers: You'll be lost if you haven't read "Perchance" and its sequels, "Memory Made Manifest" and "Realities," as well as "A Day in the Sun," which is the first part of the current story. They can all be found on the ScullySlash story archive. This is a Xover with Forever Knight, and takes place after its third season, with heavy spoilers, especially for the last three episodes. This story is fairly concurrent with this season's XF, but no recent events are specifically alluded to. {...} denotes thoughts. //// ... //// are lyrics; they are not mine, either. You must see 'end part two' to have a complete copy. Feedback: hell, yes! onlist, offlist, just send some! Additional Note: There is some not-quite-so-nice treatment of Mulder contained herein. You have been warned. A very BIG 'thank you' goes to Eeyore, for beta reading for me!! Point of No Return by Nymue Part Two: Something's Gotta Give Mulder's face was a study in mixed emotions. Anger and shock were the most obvious; the jealousy was masked under a veneer of outrage. As he passed through her door, Scully swore she could *feel* the emotions he was broadcasting, as if they were a form of radiation. He spoke before she could say anything. "What the *HELL* do you think you're doing," he asked through clinched teeth. "Have you lost your mind?" {Bad question, Mulder} "I don't know. What do you think?" she retorted. "What do *I* think?" he asked incrdeulously. "I think you've gone mad, Scully. You're letting your emotions overrule your capacity to think logically!" "Oh, like *that* is something *you* have never done," she said sarcastically. "Well, I may have done it, but at least I was did it for the right reasons," he told her. Scully drew back, as if stung. {What?!? Does he think ... } "The *right* reasons? RIGHT reasons?! And what reasons would those be, hmm? Completely self-serving, perhaps?" she threw back at him. "And *yours* aren't?" he exploded. "Do you realize what this will do? Everything we've worked for will be ruined! We'll never find --" "Find what, Mulder? Or should that be, *find who?*" Scully asked, her voice icy. Mulder rounded on her. "Does it matter? You're ruining everything! Has it ever occured to you that this is just an elaborate plan that THEY cooked up in order to try and split us up again? That they're just using you? That they're playing games with your mind? That your *good* *friend* *Natalie* might be working for them!!" he practically screamed. Scully turned bright red. "If I didn't have *proof positive* that she was *helping* us, I might say YES! But *that* is not the case, Mulder!" He snarled, "So just where is this evidence, Scully?" "You know I can't tell you that." "Really?" he asked, his tone patronizing. "Really," she deadpanned, as if that was the end of it. "Well, Scully. I would never have thought you'd be one to conspire to hide evidence. The sex must be good, hmm? No, make that extraordinary. Did you climax from her bite alone?" Silence reigned. Scully could hear the tocking of the clock in her bedroom; her heartbeat pounded in her ears, drowning out rational thought. At that point, the delay button on the CD player clicked off, and the jarring brass of a big band poured from the speakers. The sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, a chanteuse with the voice of a goddess, filled the room, her words a foreshadowing of the future. //// When an irresistable force such as you -- //// Scully straightened her back, and leveled her eyes at Mulder. //// Meets an old immovable object like me -- //// Mulder tensed. //// You can bet as sure as you live -- //// Her eyes blazed white hot fury, and at the same time managed to stay focused. /// Something's got to give -- Something's got to give -- Something's got to give -- //// The refrain bounced of the walls, searing Scully's will. And then it snapped. "You smug, condescending *SON OF A BITCH!* How DARE *YOU* judge *me*!! What makes YOU think I'd change my morals and ethics JUST BECAUSE I HAD SEX, REALLY FABULOUS, EROTIC SEX, WITH THE WOMAN I LOVE?????" Mulder flinched. He'd been expecting a tirade, but this ... She was radiating a tremendous amount of rage, all of it directed at him. He was seized by the sudden desire to 'be somewhere else.' Only his firm beliefs kept him rooted to the floor. "Scully," he began, "be reasonible. I wouldn't have said that if I wasn't --" Scully cut him off. "If you weren't WHAT, Mulder? JEALOUS? Is that it? But are you pissed because *I'm* 'leaving' you, or because you're afraid *Janette* won't have sex with you anymore? Or maybe it's both, hmm?" Mulder at least had the decency to blush. "That's where you're wrong, Scully," he told her. "I just think that you need to think this over before --" "Before I take the 'plunge'?" Scully retorted, sracastically. "Why do you say that, Mulder? What makes you believe I haven't AGONIZED over this decision? WHAT??!!??" "It hasn't even been a week, Dana," he said softly. "How can you be sure?" {He's trying to circumnavigate my brain. Got to be careful. Dangerous territory ahead.} "It's been longer than that, Mulder." "What?" he looked confused, and Scully could almost see him counting the days in his head. "Get out," she told him, her voice level and her civility forced. "Dana --" "I said *get out.*" "But, I really think --" During this exchange, while her conscious mind was trying to think of a way to outsmart him, Scully's subconscious had been edging her toward the couch, where her coat was laying. As thoughts flew through her head, so did the memories. {All those times ... What about last week? Will he ever stop this? Will he ever agree to ...?} During her short reverie, the memories continued to pound against her mind, breaking out of the tidy places to which they had been relegated. Then, somewhere deep inside, Dana Scully felt something snap with an intensity that was almost audible. With her hands twisting in the soft wool, she looked up. "I don't care what you think. Leave. Now." "You aren't thinking --" Scully raised her hands from the confines of the coat, pointing her gun at Mulder's head. "I said, leave." Mulder blanched. Scully released the safety. Mulder paled. Scully took aim. "I have six bullets, Mulder. If you aren't on the other side of my door by the count of three, I'll fire. And you DO NOT want me to do that. Believe me." Mulder edged forward, trying to soothe even as he realized he must have lost all of his self-preservation instincts. "Scully, if --" "ONE." " -- you'll just listen --" "TWO" " -- to me, we can --" "THREE." Mulder was unable to finish his sentence. A bullet whizzed past his head and lodged itself in the doorjamb. Belatedly, he realized she had a silencer on the gun. "I have five more where that one came from. Since I was *aiming* for the doorjamb, not your head, I don't think you want me to continue. Now ... I SAID GET OUT!!" Mulder turned, and fled back out into the night. ~~~~~~ Scully sank to the floor, her hands shaking. {Why did I do that? What purpose did that little ...demonstration... serve?} As the minutes ticked by, Scully answered her own questions. {He had to know I was serious. That this isn't some kind of fling I'll get over in a few weeks. He has to know how *I* feel.} Two hours later, she finished cleaning up her apartment. Dropping onto a chair, she stared at the phone. Reluctantly, she picked it up and dialed. The call was answered on the first ring. "Oui?" "Janette? It's Dana Scully. Is Natalie there?" "Non. She had to go out; we are expecting a delivery tonight. Is there a problem, cherie?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern. "You sound ... 'wiped out.'" Scully laughed bitterly. "You could say that. I just had a very BAD fight with Mulder, and now I'm not quite sure how to approach him about ... " The tapping of Janette's manicured nail could be heard clearly through over the line. "I see. Oui, that could be a problem. But, I think I know how to handle our little Fox," she told Scully. "How?" Scully thought she could almost see the smirk that had spread across Janette's face. "Let us say, cherie, that I know quite a bit about 'riding to hounds' ... " ---end part two--- *riding to hounds = fox hunting