Meanwhile, at the Lone GunmenLair *********************** Sam was having certain doubts about letting Frohike drive Doggett's truck back with Manny in tow, but Sam wasn't about to do the navigating, being unfamiliar with the DC area and needing desperately to get in touch with Scully or Skinner. After nearly missing a couple of cars and sideswiping a curb and putting a nice pole-shaped dent in the side of Doggett's F150, Sam neglected getting in touch with Skinner or Scully or any fo them till after they got to the lair...just in case final prayers suddenly became necessary. Manny next to him was more vocal about the situation, screaming choice Spanish explicatives. If they hadn't been so nervous about the situation at hand, both men would have kissed the ground when they finally arrived at the lair. "That's it, hombre...next time I'm drivin'." Manny declared. "Frohike," Sam began shakily with his face as white as a sheet once they finally got the lair, "Where did you get your lisence?" "We rigged one for him here, Doggett." Byers began apologetically, giving Frohike a dirty look. "Well you were gonna drive like an old lady, and we would've been stuck in ass-to-ass traffic jams and we would've been S.O.L. if it weren't for my skillfull offensive driving techniques." "Your skillfull offensive driving techniques almost made us tortillas!" Manny yelled. Then he turned to Byers and Langly, "any you guys got a phone I could use per favor?" To which Langly responded by opening a drawerful of wireless phones and cranking up about five of the desktops that weren't in use at the moment. "Take your pic, man." "Gracias." Manny said quietly, picked one from the drawer, and dialed. "Local call...I know people." Then he began rattling off a spanish conversation, pausing briefly for a response. "I understood mi amigo" Langley murmured "I heard Mulder in their somewhere I think." Sam, fluent in Spanish, would have been able to understand what he was saying very well, didn't hear any of the conversation because he was outside relaying what had happened to Skinner. "Guys, something on the squawker." Frohike said quietly, now frantically keying in the local news channell websites. "Trafficjam on the freeway." "WHAT THE FUCK JUST HIT ME?! WHAT THE FUCK JUST HIT ME?!" A trucker screamed across the CB waves. "That's our boy." Langly mumbled. "Oh shit!" A scratchy voice came over the police radio the gunmen had hooked up and turned on in their warehouse. "It's like outta that Terminator movie..." "I'm checking the CB." Byers informed his comrades, and began hooking it up, putting the headphones. "I hate to break to you buddy, but this ain't no movie." A female's voice scratched back. SWEET JESUS WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT?!" "There's a Suzuki...a blonde chick's drivin'...with some old guy...that Ford Truck's chasing it" "This can't be good." was Manny's grim prognosis. Frohike went back into a room and got out a bottle of Wild Turkey Burbon and downed a shot's worth. Just as Frohike pulled Doggett's sadly abused truck next to the Lone Gunmen lair, Starkweather and Mulder pulled into the lot, Mulder driving, Starkweather clinging to him like the toy clip-on koalas that were so popular in the early eighties. Both were white as ghosts. "Mulder!" Frohike cried out as he ambled out of the truck and scurried to him, Manny and Sam-in-Doggett following. Mulder lifted Starkweather off the bike, Starkweather wincing in pain, clenching her teeth. "Hide the motorcycle," he instructed to no one in particular. "About every cop in a twenty mile radius is looking for it right now." Frohike took the initiative and wheeled the bike inside the lair. Sam only had eyes for Starkweather at them moment. "What happened?" he said, urgency tinging his voice. Then he looked down at her leg and saw the massive abrasions. "Oh boy," Sam said in horror. "Starkweather...." "Mulder," Starkweather tugged on his sleeve. "You need to get inside. You're a fugitive now." "Been there, done that," Mulder muttered as he carried her inside, Sam and Manny following. Mulder began barking orders the minute Frohike locked the door. "Langly, find some clean, emphasize on CLEAN sheets and lay them across the table and a pillow. Byers, I need a pair of tweezers, cotton pads, ACE bandages and sterilizing solution: iodine, alcohol, hydrogen perioxide, anything that will kill the germs." After Frohike cleared a table with the sweep of his arm and Langly threw a sheet over it and positioned a pillow just so, Mulder put her down. Starkweather closed her eyes. "God knows, I've have Scully piece me back together enough times, I think I can handle this," Mulder said to Sam as he referred to her scrapes and contusions. "I don't know about this," he moved her injured leg just enough for Sam to see the blistering burn on the inside of her leg. "Oh my God," Sam said in horror. "Mulder, that's at least second-degree. We need to get her to a hospital." "Or at least a doctor," Mulder said. "Call Scully." When his request was met with dead silence, Mulder asked. "Why is no one picking up the phone?" Starkweather raised herself up on her elbows. "Because," she said wearily, "we haven't been able to get in touch with her since last night." Sam was quick to reassure him, "William is fine, he's safe, he's been guarded by Skinner and Reyes the entire time this mess began. I'm sure Scully is safe," Sam hoped he sounded more positive than he felt. "We would have heard if she wasn't." "Besides," Starkweather's dry voice cut into the conversation, "you have bigger problems than the whereabouts of Scully right now." Mulder and Sam both turned around. Starkweather was aiming her gun at Mulder. She ju "Oh crap," Frohike said as Langly and Byers froze. Manny said something in Spanish that sounded suspiciously sacriligious. "Starkweather," Sam said slowly, "what are you doing?" Despite her injuries, Starkweather managed to sit up, face Mulder and hold her gun in the perfect FBI grip, aiming right between the eyes, point blank range. If she chose to fire, **if she chose to fire**, no vaccine would bring him back from the grave this time. "Starkweather, you don't want to do this," Sam said, inching towards her, prepared to wrest the gun from her hand... again. <> Sam thought as beads of perspiration collected on his forehead. "Doggett, shut up," Starkweather said pleasantly enough. She tilted her head and looked at Mulder straight in the eye. "Did you kill my husband." Mulder, who had been completely unruffled the entire time said without batting an eye "No." "Do you believe he's still alive?" "Yes." "Will you help us find him?" "I would even if there wasn't a gun pointed at me," Mulder said in his monotone at its most nettlesome. Starkweather gritted her teeth, put her weapon back on safety, set it down beside her, and fainted. Sam released a sigh of relief. Mulder turned to him and said, the tiniest hints of surprise and rebuke coloring his voice, "You didn't really think she was going to fire... did you?" Sam looked at Mulder in shock. "She has been on the Emotional Rollercoaster from Hell, Mulder," Sam snapped on him. "I'm surprised she didn't fire on me as well." <> Mulder shook his head. "She's in shock from her injuries. Starkweather's hot headed, but she'll be fine once we get her stabilized." he said, coming to her and taking the gun away, hitting the button with released the clip. A full cache of bullets landed in his hands. He handed them to Sam. "Still," the mischievious twinkle was back in his eyes, "better treat her like Barney Fife for a while." He walked away, whistling under his breath as he went to scrounge with Byers for more medical supplies. Sam folded his lips tight. <> he thought... although... deep down, he knew Mulder was right. She would have never fired, she was only trying to rattle him... and failed utterly. Sam went up to Starkweather and stroked her hair. "Hang in there, Doc," he said softly. "We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now..." Mulder propped Starkweather's injured leg on top of a pillow. Miraculously, Byers found a first aid kit that had silverdine ointment in it, a wonderful cream used to treat serious burns. He handed the tube to Doggett and told him "You do the honors" as he sterilized the tweezers in hot water. Gingerly, Sam applied the cream to the burn on the inside of her leg. "Ben would shoot me if he saw this," he muttered. "Starkweather is going to want to shoot me for real once I start digging the gravel out," Mulder said as he used tongs to fish out the hot tweezers and set them on the table to let them cool before he went to work. "HOW did you know she wasn't going to shoot you???" Sam burst out. Mulder shrugged. "She wanted to get my attention. She got it." "But you weren't worried?" "No." The Gunmen in the back were cooking on something on their computers. Sam only hoped that it was about the case. "WHY does she... um," Sam tried to pose his question delicately as he finished applying the salve and went around the table to assist Mulder in his dreaded task. "Hate my guts?" Mulder finished Sam's sentence for him. "Well... when I was young and stupid, I had gotten a lead about an abductee named Lynnette Malone. She was a multiple abductee until she turned nineteen an married a fine young sailor in the Navy. The source that tipped me off said there was something very special about Miss Malone that would affect me personally. Of course, I assumed she had information about Samantha. I took the address and flew out there like a bat out of hell. Unfortunately, my source failed to tell me that Miss Malone was now Mrs. Bailey and was dying of cancer, leaving behind a husband and a sixteen year old daughter." "Starkweather," Sam said, under his breath. "Mrs. Bailey was perfectly lucid when I met with her and we chatted for a good ten minutes before I started my questions. Even in the beginning of my interview, she opened up just the tiniest bit, but..." Mulder shook his head as he readied the tweezers. "Mrs. Bailey was suffering from a rare type of brain cancer, rare in most people, but common in women who have been abducted, tested and made sterile due to the tests. Scully nearly died of the same cancer," Mulder looked at Starkweather. "Good thing she passed out, this is going to hurt like a b*tch." Mulder pulled the first piece of gravel out of her leg. Starkweather flinched, but didn't wake up. "Anyway, Mrs. Bailey was in the final stages of the cancer and her lucidity was slipping away. She became frightened, disorientated. Instead of calling the nurse, I pressed on, hoping that she'd come back from the hell the tumors were creating for her just to breath to me the secret I was convinced she held that would help me find my sister. Little did I know that Starkweather had been outside, listening in on every word. Her mother completely collapsed the next day, slipped into a coma and passed away. Starkweather never forgave me for not letting her mother have a peaceful death, and I never forgave myself." Mulder sighed as he continued to pick out the gravel. "And the irony was, after all these years, my source WAS correct. Mrs. Bailey did have something that was intensely personally to me. She was raising my father's daughter." Startled, Sam stared at Mulder. "How did you know that?" he asked cautiously. Mulder looked up at Sam, a wicked twinkle in his hazel eyes, "Because," he said lowly, "Al told me, Sam." Sam exhaled. He had forgotten that he had deployed Al to Mulder's cell to tell him the happy news. Where the hell was Al anyway? "I'm not going to say anything," Mulder continued to speak sotto voce. "You don't need to be added to their online newsletter," he subtly nodded his head towards the Gunmen. Sam, meanwhile was watching Starkweather, "She's waking up," Sam warned Mulder. "Damn," Mulder muttered, trying to pull out a very difficult shard of glass that refused to budge. "Could you bludgeon her with a heavy object so she'll stay unconscious for at least five more minutes? I'm almost done." "I heard that," Starkweather opened her eyes. "Help me up," Starkweather asked Sam. "I wanna see what Dr. Frankenstein's doing to me." Mulder didn't even look at her, "It's alive, it's alive," he said in his monotone. "Starkweather, if there's something to hold on to or bite on, do it, because, of course since I don't hold a degree in medicine, I'm making an assumption, but this is going to hurt. A lot." "Joy." Starkweather said as she gripped Sam's wrists. "Bliss." She took a deep breath. "If it's glass, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but pull it out slow. I would be slightly on the unhappy side if it broke and a chunk of glass was still in my leg." "They look to be mostly flesh wounds though," Mulder said, "Okay, count of three," Starkweather looked away, "One- two- deep breath- THREE," and Mulder pulled the last stubborn piece of glass out of her leg. Starkweather's nails dug into Sam-in-Doggett's wrists and tried to hold in the whimpering sounds. "Okay," Mulder held up the glass. "it's out." "How much left to do?" Starkweather leaned forward to examine her own leg. "My God..." she muttered. "Gives all new meaning to the phrase 'That's gonna leave a mark.'" The doctor bent forward as far as she could to continue her topical exam. "I think you got most of it, though. There's a few big pieces of gravel that should come out, but anything else will probably work its way out in time." She leaned back into Sam's belly. "Let's get it over with." So Mulder was back to work. By the time he was done, tears were steaming down her face. "I didn't mean to hurt you," Mulder said. Sam caught the double-meaning. He wondered if Starkweather did. "I know, I know," Starkweather, feeling like a bawl baby and hated it, sucked it up and dashed away the childish tears with a flick of the hand. She watched Mulder put a sterile cotton pad on her burn and then using clean cotton bandages, started to wrap her up. "So..." she said wearily, accepting the glass of cool water Langly brought her. "What's the master plan of getting Ben out of this clusterfuck." Both Mulder and Sam looked at her in shock. Starkweather opened one eye and said airly "You boys didn't dream for one second you were going to cut me out of the action, did you?" Stammering, Sam said "Your leg..." "Doggett, obvisiously I never told you about my motorcycle accident I had when I was stationed at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. Made this one look like a kiss of a ladybug. I was almost given a medical disability discharge." She sighed. "That might be Ben's bike, but I was the one who taught him how to ride." Mulder and Doggett believed her. "Well-" Mulder was about to launch into one of his profoundly weird but almost always eeriely correct theories when Byers interrupted. "There's someone at the door," Byers said, looking through the peep hole, "Someone," Byers looked at Mulder, "you probably have been waiting to see." He undid the many locks and in walk Special Agent Dana Scully, carrying a sleeping Will Mulder crossed over to her. Typical of their extremely private, personal relationship, Mulder only put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead, then kissed the baby. Old habits die hard. Or maybe he was actually being considerate of Frohike's feelings for once, since the truculent little man still carried quite the torch for her. Scully only closed her eyes in relief that Mulder was out of harms way. She did shift the baby into one arm and with her free hand, reached for his, which he grabbed and interlocked his fingers with hers. "Scully," Starkweather raised a hand in greeting. " 'Sup?" "What happened to you?" Scully's eyebrows flew up in concern. "I'll live," Starkweather side-stepped her question. "Where the hell've you been?" Mulder's hand left hers and he had began to put it around her shoulders, a little more PDA that she was used, than either of them had been used to, but she welcomed it, until her shoulder reminded her that she had been shot there. "Ow," Scully folded her lips together. "What's the matter, Scully?" Mulder took Will and passed him off to Sam. "Mulder, I'm fine." she protested when he pushed away her coat and tugged at the collar of her shirt gently to try and see more of her shoulder. "Scully, when you translate those two words from Scullyese to Basic English, 'I'm fine' really means 'Something bad has happened, but I'm going to lie my ass off about it because I don't want to worry anyone about it.'" He pulled Scully aside, glared at everyone else. Everyone else scurried off and became really interested in whatever task they had been working on. Except for Starkweather, she just laid back down and started to count the cracks in the ceiling. "Scully," Mulder scolded her. "We've been through too much already for you to start this 'I'm fine' bs again. What happened? Why is your shoulder bandaged like that?" Scully sighed. He was not going to take this well. "Mulder, I was shot at yesterday." She saw his eyes change from the warm golden hazel to that strange honey-green color whenever he was enraged. "Who?" "Marita Covarubias. She's involved with this. But I AM fine, Mulder. It was a flesh wound. The worst that it did was ruin another blazer." She tugged at his hand. "Mulder, listen to me. There isn't time for this. I've discovered some new information that clear your name completely and blow this case wide open. I need to tell you and Agent Doggett and Agent Starkweather what's going on. I saw Ben, with my own eyes. He's alive. But unless we do something soon, I don't know how much longer he'll stay alive. I need to brief you and the others. Immediately," Scully insisted. Mulder's eyes never left her face. "Why did you bring Boo here?" Scully dropped her eyes to her shoes. "Something must have happened if you did not feel secure enough to leave him with a sitter." Now Scully's eyes teared up and Mulder hated himself for it. He had woken up many a night in a cold sweat because of very real fears of William's safety. For as long as he had known her, Scully had always been a meticulous agent. Harm has never fallen on anyone because of irresponsibility on her behalf. Whatever Scully had stumbled upon must have been big, big enough into scaring her to collect Will and flee to the Gunmen strong hold. "It's okay," Mulder said, discreetly kissing her cheek, taking her hand again. "Just tell us what happened." So they rejoined the group. Byers got a chair for Scully and then got a chair for himself. Manny came up to the group apprehensively and hovered on the fringe. Frohike stayed at his computer. Langly leaned against a table, next to Starkweather, who had sat up and swung her legs over the edge so they were dangling. Sam gave Will to Mulder and flanked Starkweather on her other side. Mulder stood behind Scully, prepared to memorize every word. They all were. Scully took a breath, "Agent Starkweather, as of three hours ago, I can confirm that Ben is still alive." Now Starkweather took a breath. She fiddled with her wedding ring. "Tell me." So Scully started to recant her tale of the past day's events. Back to the Future...right after Al left 37C *********************************************** Al came storming through the chamber door, livid. "Dammit Goushie! I don't care if I hafta sell my soul to do it, GET ME BACK THERE!" "I-I-I would if I could, Admiral...but that's a bit difficult right now. Ziggy's gotta glitch and I haven't figured out where it is. Is the handlink uh...up and running?" Goushie stammerred. "You know," Al ranted, "you'd think with a time machine, we'd have all the time in the world on our hands...but tonight, things could get very very bad very very fast if I don't get to Sam NOW!" "The handlink, admiral...is it running?" Goushie persisted. Al looked down and only nodded. Then he stormed into the waiting room, and saw Doggett sedated and unconscious. "Damn stupid marine." He mumbled, accentuating each word with a bang of his head against the plexi-glass. "Verbeena," Al growled as soon as the psychologist was in view, "please tell me he's just taking a little snooze." "He's just taking a little snooze..." under Al's scrutinizing glare, she revised her statement, "...with the help of some ethanol." Dr. Beeks returned with flat caution. When Al's glare persisted, she added hastily, "You gave me orders to sedate him if he became violent again...and he did. I had no choice in that." "Verbeena...I don't care if you hafta pump black coffee through him intravenously...I need what he knows. We've got a situation back there." "Al," Dr. Beeks interrupted firmly. "If Goushie can't even get you back there, what good his Agent Doggett's information going to be to you until then?" "Admiral..." Goushie began cautiously, "I'm afraid...you're gonna hafta sit tight here for a while. We've got a corrupted component that we won't be able to have replaced till morning. Besides...I know you're exhausted...I think a night's sleep will do you good." "Is there any way you can get the imaging chamber and the handlink to coordinate without that component?" "Yes, but there are several possibilities if you do make contact with Dr. Becket." "They are?" "Either you or Dr. Becket will be unable to retain either visual or auditory links, or everyone in the world will be able to see you, or you might have trouble with the handlink." "Goushie..." Al returned, eyes widening in alarm, "I think there's already been a glitch in the handlink...now there's a report of what looks like from the article, Billy Miles, chasing Diana Fowley and...CBG Spender? on a Kawasaki...at rush hour? Goush...I don't think folks 'll be too spooked by me walking through walls if that ain't a tabloid heading." "I'll do what I can to get you back there." Goushie promised, and scurried back to the console. Al went back to his apartment...but he doubted he'd be sleeping much. LGM lair ******** "Mulder," Scully began with a sharp, cautious sigh, "I can also confirm that as of six hours ago Spender is alive too." Mulder slammed his fist down on the make-shift computer desks. "So that's why you had to bring him here...he's going after you and William to get through me..." his voice was shaking now, "GodDAMMIT I can't let that happen! Starkweather...as soon as he finds out our connection, he'll get to you too." "An old man dying of emphaszema smoking a cigarette..." Starkweather deadpanned, "Oooooh...scary...now I'll sleep with the lights on with that mental picture." "Frohike," Mulder mumbled only loud enough for him to hear, "hop online and see what you can do about hacking me a plane reservation..." Mulder began shakily. "Mulder..." completely hammered by this point, and glancing wide-eyed and white-faced over at Scully, "if I get you the plane tix, promise me she's not gonna blow my ass to kingdom come." "Starkweather," Sam warned, "That old man is probably responsible for that leg...don't write him off so fast..." "Langly, please..." Mulder hissed cuatiously so as not to wake up William, "get me a fake birth certificate, SSN, and ID...Scully...if he's using you and Will to get to me, we'll be dodging Billy Miles all our lives, that's not fair to either you or him...I can't let that happen." "Mulder, just what do you think your doing?" Sam hissed adamantly, "after all me, Scully, everybody went through to make sure your kid has a father around, I sure as hell am not going to sit by and let you run." "Doggett," Scully scowled, eyebrow raised and jaw clinched "let me handle this," then she seethed towards Mulder, "Mulder, You think for one minute he's not going to try to get to me through you or William, too? That terrifies me...every damn day I wake up in the morning with that fear...but what kind of lesson is that to teach him? To run from everything lurking in the shadow? You really want him to grow up resenting you the way you resented your father?" "Scully," now Mulder's jaw was furiously clinched and his own voice was raspy, if everyone hadn't been there to witness their conversation, "I'm a fugitive now...not only from Spender, but from the law. If I stay, I'm a threat to you and him. What do you think he'll resent me more for? Making him afraid for his life and yours every day he lives or my abscence?" "Saved by the bell, man." Langly nasalled. "That same trenchcoat I saw walking away that night" Then he looked in to see a woman holding gun at the cameras "...oh shit. Boys...we've got company." His Adam'sapple bobbed up and down as he unlocked the deadbolts one by one. He opened the door, and heard the c*ck of a gun. Sam drew out Doggett's government-issued clipper. Marita emerged in the doorway with Scully's FBI-issued .32 calliber pistol at Langly's head." "I am NEVER answering the door again, man." Langely wavered. "Go ahead, kill 'im...he's annoying as hell..." Frohike grumbled. "Relax," Marita purred, "I'm only using the gun for persuasion. I need your help as much as you need mine." "I don't know who the hell you are," Sam growled, getting his own FBI issued gun out of its holster, "we've got our own persuasions, too." "You don't belong here, do you?" Marita mused in Sam's direction. Sam tried not to make it obvious that she was right. "Agent Scully, to show I'm here with good intentions, here's your weapon." She said, giving the gun to Scully. "Sorry about the bullet wound, I had no choice in the matter. I am a desperate woman." "You almost killed me." Scully hisssed. "Agent Scully, I'm a better shot than that. If I wanted to kill you, I would have." Marita spat back. "You're not exactly what I'd call a Mother Teresa." Starkweather mumbled under her breath. "Marita, if you're here to help us, then why did you send a lawyer to frame me?" Mulder demanded. "Yes, that was my doing..." Marita answered with a ragged breath, "but it was for your protection. It was the only place I could insure that you'd be safe. I had no choice in sending the replicant to your cell. The old man doesn't see things the way I do. He thinks that your dynasty should be destroyed while there is still time." "Why protect me?" He mumbled, raking a hand through his hair. "You and your family," she said, glancing at Will and Starkweather, "are the only thing keeping this planet from colonization." "So what, I get to save the world?" Starkweather smirked. "Neato." She finished dryly. "This isn't her fight," Mulder began but Starkweather stopped him in midthought. "Look, Big Brother," Starkweather spat back, "Thanks for sticking up for me on the playground and all but this IS my fight too. They took my husband...the one part of my life that is anything close to f*cking normal. If he is still alive, then I'm going to make damn sure he stays that way. This is too damn personal for me to back out of now. Whether we like it or not, I'm in this as deep as you are." "If we are to succeed, we don't have much time." Marita cautioned. "I still don't get it..." Sam began, "If you're trying to take control of the Syndicate, why help us out?" "The old man thinks colonization of the blue-collar working class is the only way to save the few priveledged." Marita answered quietly, "What he doesn't get is that they won't take some of us...they'll take all of us. Destroying both Mulder and Starkweather professionally and keeping them away from the area is the only way I can do that. I've let the Old Man think I'm doing his bidding. Distract his goons by getting the lawyer out of the warehouse, and I can regain controll of the Syncidate." "How the hell do you expect us to take your word now after all the lies you've told?" Scully seethed. "What choice do you have?" She answered evenly without batting an eyelid. "I'm going to take controll of the Syndicate whether you help me or not. I can find another way. I realise my actions have been dubious...but you must realize that it's all done for what's right. I sent the replicant betting that you'd be able to defeat him. I didn't count on the regenerative properties to only be enhanced every time he's destroyed. Make your decision quickly. Ben is back in the Lincoln Street Warehouse." With that, she made her exit. "What the fuck are we going to do..." Mulder mumbled, ragging his hand in his hair. "We sure as hell can't trust her. Like I was saying before...I think our safest bet is for me to leave..." "What she says does match up with what the detective told me last night." Scully admitted in between coos to William who was now very much awake and cranky. "I can't believe I'm saying this but...Mulder's kinda making sense here...at least about trusting her. What if it's a trap?" Sam wondered as Starkweather reached out for William who wailed at a decible level that should have broken all the computer screans exposed in the warehouse. "You wanna play target practice, kiddo?" Starkweather cooed. Frohike flashed her a dirty look and snatched him up. "Come on, kid," he grumbled, Uncle Melvin'll show you how to hack into national security." "Scully, what did you find out last night?" Scully and Mulder both glancing nervously behind them at what Frohike was doing. William was content with banging on the keyboard. "You looking for a consultant position with us, Will?" Byers said as he came out of his room in the back. "Guys, I found something on my mac you might wanna take a look at...Mulder, looks like your arresting officer is buddies with Kersh. You guys might wanna take a look at this." Frohike hurredly passed William to Starkweather like a hot potato as he ran to the room as he went to see what Byers was talking about. "Yeah, way to treat a cripple, guys!" Starkweather hollared after them all in protest. "Well Will...looks like it's you 'n me, buddy. You think the guys have survellence cameras around here?" Will's face started scrunching up again in aggrivation. "Oh come on, kiddo..." Starkweather cooed, hoisting him up so that his head was level with hers. "We're family, I'm not gonna really use you as target practice...I was just kidding. You know, if you need me to beat up your Daddy for you, I'll be happy to do that...or if you need advice about girls, I can do that too...I am one you know...your daddy took seven years to get your mommy, so he's not exactly the best person for advice in that department...or if you want a really cool toy, I'll see what I can do about negotiating with Santa Claus speed it up." She glanced nervously back towards the room to see if anyone was coming out any time soon. Then she did something thoroughly uncharacteristic. She began singing. Unlike her colleagues, her voice was actually a pleasant sound. When your down and troubled and you need some lovin' care and nothin', oh nothin' is going right close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest night You just call out my name and you know wherever I am I'll come runnin'to see you again Winter spring summer or fall all you hafta do is call and I'll be there you've got a friend If the sky above you grows dark and full of clouds and that old north wind should begin to blow you just keep your head together and call my name out loud and soon, you'll hear me knockin' at your door You just call out my name and you know where ever I am I'll come runnin, runnin' yeah to see you again Winter Spring, summer or fall all you hafta do is call and I'll be there yes I will Now ain't it good to know that you've got a friend when people can be so cold they'll hurt you, yes and desert you and take your soul if you let them but don't you let them you just call out my name and you know whereever I am I'll come runnin', runnin' yeah to see you again Winter spring, summer or fall, all you hafta do is call, and I'll be there yes will Starkweather was belting it out much to Will's delight, and Sam heard the commotion from the front room and rushed to see if Starkweather was in pain or having trouble controlling Will. He approached cautiously when he realized she was singing, and at the scene of her with her nephew, Sam wished almost bitterly that the strange dream he had had a few nights ago could be true. Starkweather was belting it out much to Will's delight, and Sam heard the commotion from the front room and rushed to see if Starkweather was in pain or having trouble controlling Will. He approached cautiously when he realized she was singing, and at the scene of her with her nephew, Sam wished almost bitterly that the strange dream he had had a few nights ago could be true. Starkweather looked up. "Doggett," she said, unabashedly. "What's up?" "You better come here," Sam said solemnly. "We're figuring out a game plan." "What's the play, Papa John?" "We're going in." "'We' as in you and Mulder or 'we' as in you, Mulder and myself?" "Starkweather, your leg-" Sam feebly protested, knowing that it was going to do no good. She scowled at him. "Here," she thrusted Will at him. Sam gingerly took the baby. She took a step back, then a step forward, going head over heels, executing a perfect cartwheel. "I'm fine. I'm in. Whether you like it or not." "Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice," Mulder's dry voice came up from behind Sam. "Here," Sam handed Will to Mulder. William, since he was a very young child, could see Sam as Sam. Not sure of strangers, Will had stared at Sam, his big eyes filled with terror, his puckered up on the verge of a cry. "What's with you, Boo?" Mulder asked Will who snuggled as close to Mulder as he could. "Byers is calling Reyes. He's giving her the information that Scully collected. That's enough for a search warrant for Justin Leo and the lovely Detective Somerset. He liked strip-searching me a little too much." Mulder droned on, absolutely straight faced. "Thanks for sharing," Starkweather quipped. "So while their privacy is being invaded, we're going on a field trip to a certain warehouse where hopefully Mr. Starkweather is still in one piece." "We're going heavily armed, correct?" Mulder crossed over to his half-sister. "This is no game, Starkweather. You saw what Billy Miles is capable of." By this point, everyone else had re-entered the room. "I know. That's why I asked if we were going to be heavily armed." Mulder folded his arms. "Why don't you be in charge of amunitions?" "Does anyone have a shotgun?" When Sam and Mulder glared at her, she replied "I'm serious. Maybe it wouldn't kill him, but a hole through his gut might stall him. A bit." "I've got one," Langly ventured shyly. All turned. "What the hell are YOU doing with a shotgun?" Scully cried. Langly shrugged. "I won it in a game of D and D." "D and D??" For once, Starkweather was stumped. "Dungeons and Dragons." "Never mind..." Starkweather said. "When are we leaving?" "As soon as it's dark," Scully said. "It'll be the four of us. The Gunmen are staying behind to care for Will," she reached out to touch William's head. "What if," Starkweather said, softly now, "what if that blond bitch is lying?" "She probably is," Mulder said. "But not about Ben being dead. Not yet. We don't have a lot of time, but we've got some." "Hey Mulder?" Mulder came closer to her. "Yeah?" She reached up and tore the fake beard and moustache that he had been wearing since he left the prison. "YEOOOOOWWW!!!!" He grabbed his face in pain. Tears came to his eyes. "That's for even contemplating the possibilty of being a coward and running away," she snapped as she reached into his coat jacket and retrieving her gun. "Let's go." Meanwhile.... As she crossed the deserted intersection, Marita Covarubias adjusted her hat, a vintage scooped hat circa 1921. Not only was it trendy again, but it also hid her face nicely. Still, they managed to find her. A sleek black Toyota Supra pulled up beside her. Two men bailed out of the backseat. The same two, coincidentially, who kicked down the hotel room down and snatched Benjamin Starkweather away in the dead of night, snatched up Marita. They threw her unceremonially into the backseat. Then they got back into the car and the Supra went forward. Sandwiched between the two thugs, Marita had no choice but to sit very still. The interior of the car reeked of nicotine. The passenger up front didn't need to identify himself. But he did anyway. "You little rat," The Cancer Man pulled out another cigarette from his pack. He lit it with his little butune lighter before continuing on, never turning around to face her. "Did you learn nothing from the death of Alex Krycek?" "Alex Krycek," she seethed "was murdered by Assistant Director Walter Skinner." "I ALLOWED Krycek," he corrected her, "to be murdered by Assistant Director Walter Skinner. When Krycek became a nuisance, I lifted his protection. As I will soon to you if you don't cease this scampering about." One of the thugs pulled out a long knife. Marita tried not to look at it. Still, the Smoking Man never turned around. "What confidences did you share with the Mulders?" he asked. "Happy little family, aren't they?" "You're never going to win, old man," she informed him, still trying to hide her nervousness about the knife. "Not with your dithering." Finally the old devil turned around. "Dithering?" "Kill Mulder, don't kill Mulder. This crap has been going on since I joined the Syndicate. Time and time again we've had the chance to get rid of him. Time and time again YOU have found a reason not to do it. Even you order the hit to be made yourself, some how, you find a reason not to go through with it, even though the Old Syndicate was destoryed because of it." CSM smiled. It was not a pleasant sight. "And yet, you had the opportunity of a lifetime tonight, didn't you. To wipe them ALL out. Mulder. Agent Scully. That new fellow Doggett. And of course, Mulder's long lost little half- sister. Not quite his beloved Samantha, but she'll do." He inhaled deeply. "And you speak of such nostalgia for the Old Syndicate when the New Syndicate is so much more powerful. And YOU have so much more power and status in the New Syndicate than the Old. And yet, you went intriguing tonight. What was the point of your little adventure Marita, dear?" The thug with the knife swiftly slashed the top of her leg. It was not a deep, life-threatening cut, but it bled copiously and hurt like hell. Marita gasped and pressed her palm to her wound to stop the flow. "You wouldn't be foolish enough to share the location of Mr. Starkweather, would you?" The thug on her other side suddenly produced a knife and slashed her other leg. This cut was a bit deeper and hurt a lot more. Marita whimpered and pressed her other palm into her other leg. Her periwinkle slacks were turning a deep red. The Cancer Man sighed. "Silence is the same as consent." Marita, defiantly, although she was beginning to feel light-headed, snapped "You'll never be able to wrest control of the Syndicate this way." She pressed her palms down on the cuts harder. She watched her own blood ooze from between her fingers. "No one in their right minds will follow you again." "Nor anyone will follow you," Cancer Man reminded her gently. "So, you see, Marita, we are in the same boat after all." He snuffed out his old cigarette and lit a fresh one. "I'll tell you why I always hestitated when it concerned killing Mulder. I liked him. I've always liked him. I knew him as a boy, although he doesn't realize, doesn't remember. But more importantly, I admired his father. Bill Mulder was my friend. Even when The Project forced us to take separate paths, I've always admired him. I have always felt that I at least owed it to Bill to protect his only son... and his youngest daughter." "You speak of Starkweather as if she was normal," Marita knew she was about to pass out. She assumed she was going to die tonight, so she was determined to die with at least the truth. The dirty bastard owed her that much at least. "We both know she is not." The old man smiled again. "Starkweather is a very special woman," he said slowly, emphasising 'special.' She was meant to be a gift to the Mulders." "How convienient. Take one daughter and replace her with another. Interesting how you all keep referring her as Mulder's half-sister. If Bill Mulder is her father... who is her mother?" The Cancer Man ignored the second question but answered the first."No one could replace Samantha, of course, but a child always has a way of lighting a dark room... similiar how young William lit up the life of the lonely Agent Scully." He shrugged. "It was a mistake for us to allow the existance of Starkweather just as it was a mistake to allow the existance of William. Two mistakes that will be rectified soon." Marita wanted to hear more but she was greying out. "Heartless monster," she managed to mumble out. The Cancer Man shook his head. "No," he said. "That's the problem. If I was truly a heartless man, Fox Mulder would have been smothered in his cradle as I had been originally ordered to do. And none of this would be happening now, would it?" Marita passed out. CSM turned around. "Bind her wounds," he ordered the thugs in the backseat. "And don't let her die. Take her to the hospital. Let her be arrested. She needs a reminder of her position with the Syndicate, Old or New. We'll get her out of prison when we need her again. After the hospital, to the warehouse," he sighed. "Mulder and Starkweather probably already have a head start." He opened the glove box, took out the Glock with the silencer and checked it over carefully as the driver cruised on and the thugs attended to Marita's injuries. The gun was locked and loaded. The thugs, Zeke and Mick deposited Marita Covarrubias unceremoniously off at the doors of the hospital. Instead of getting back into CSM's car, they walked into the nearly deserted hospital parking garage where a non-descript brown 1985 Celebrity was waiting. "What do you think the old man's got in mind?" The thug asked his colleague conversationally before he got into the car. He never got an answer. His colleague turned to him and buried his knife deep into his gut. Blood spurted out of him mouth. He crumpled to the ground and died. The colleague picked up his companion and put him in the trunk. The colleague got into the car and drove away. As he drove away, he pulled off the fake eyebrows, the fake beard and moustache. He took off the hat and long curly brown hair tumbled down. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. Meanwhile.... The Washington DC Marriott Room 12754 The cell phone on the table rang startling the Admiral out of his sleep. "Hello?" he said, rubbing his brow, still feeling the effects of the hangover. "Admiral," a light voice said. "It's Jennifer." "Jennifer." One of his spies. "What did you discover?" "Ben's alive. Mulder's alive and he's free. And Jerilyn's safe." "Thank God, thank God." The Admiral breathed a sigh a relief. "It's being assumed that they're going to the warehouse to retrieve Ben. What are your orders sir?" The Admiral paused. The Syndicate had ordered him to help them eliminate Mulder if an opportunity arose. And boy, did an opportunity arise when Benjamin Starkweather accepted the Galpex Oil Company case. A case that had been given to him thanks to that little shit, Justin Leo. The Admiral knew he owed the Syndicate everything. His wealth, his career, his daughter. This was a debt they were expecting to be paid for. However, they didn't realize that he was a political power in his own right. He was married to one of the most powerful senator in the United States who had no ties to the Syndicate. And perhaps they figured out he had originally gone to Mulder and Scully to beg for them to protect Jerilyn... they still didn't know that he was one of the major bankrollers of the small but strong resistance group which was beginning to mobilize against the inevitiable darkness forces hovering in the heavens they had no right to fly in. It was time to decide allegiances. He had dithered long enough. He had lived a long life. He was ready for the consequences of his actions. "Call the officer in charge, that Detective Edward Carillo. Tell him you just received a tip from a secret source of the location of Ben Starkweather. Tell him that your source told you that Ben is still alive. Have them hurry." "Yes sir." "You're looking at a promotion Jennifer." And Officer Jennifer Ithenstein, the young rookie cop who had been called to the impound to investigate the blood stains in Mulder's trunk, who had been working for the Admiral since she retired after six years of service to the Navy, who had risked her life by inflitrating the Syndicate, disguising herself as a man, slicing open Marita Covarubias' leg and killing a man tonight, merely said "Thank you sir." "Call me the minute Benjamin is found. And I want Mulder alive. Disregard my previous orders." "Yes sir." The Admiral sat down with a legal pad and began to make out a will. It was witnessed by a maid from housekeeping and a security guard wandering the halls. After the Admiral hung up, Ithenstein called Carillo. But by the time the police and FBI were mobilized, Sam-in- Doggett, Mulder and Starkweather were being held at gunpoint, Scully, Manny the Illegal Alien and Ben were trapped in a locked room and the warehouse was on fire. In the shadows, the five crept around the building, Mulder and Manny leaving their flashlights off. "Looks deserted," Manny whispered. "If Ben is truly here, there'll be guards," Scully whispered back, trying the door. "Locked. Dammit." "Shoot the lock," Manny recommended. "Not wise to waste bullets on a door," Starkweather murrmurred, feeling the wood. "Especially with Billy Miles lurking around here somewhere," Mulder reminded everyone of that unpleasant fact. "I thought he got run over by a Volvo?" Manny asked. Sam grimaced. He was peering through the dusty window. "I dunno guys..." he said. "It really looks deserted. Scully's right. If Ben's here, there'd be guards. I think we were lead on a snipe hunt." "No you're not Sam!" Al suddenly popped in. Sam, Mulder and Starkweather jumped. Scully and Manny looked at them in confusion. "Al?" Mulder and Starkweather said at the same time. Starkweather turned to Mulder and said, panicked "Oh no, not you too?" "You too what?" Mulder was completely lost. "Look, you knuckleheads, there's no time, Ben's in there, they beat the snot outta him, I'm sorry Starkweather, he tried to escaped and actually hurt one of the guards badly. He needs to get to a hospital so quit staring and get your butts in gear!!!" "Who are you talking to?" Scully exclaimed. "'Otra locos mas,'" Manny groaned. "'Cuecha te madre.'" "Another crazy one," Manny groaned, "'Motherfucker.'" "Why did you call him Sam??" Starkweather demanded the hologram. "Because-" Mulder started to say, but then Sam slugged him. "Because, honey, I wish I had time to explain, but I can't, all I gotta say is look me up in about fifteen years in Roswell, New Mexico. My name is Admiral Al Calvaricci and I'll explain everything then. Now, go with DOGGETT," here Al looked pointedly at Mulder. Mulder, for once, got the hint and shut up. "and go get your husband. He's on the third floor, second door to the left." Al took out his comlink and zapped himself away. He re-appeared in Ben's prison, this time a glorified broom closet. Ben's plan to escape by burning his captors with a lit cigarette backfired horribly. His guards beat him until there was almost nothing left to beat before taking him to a different warehouse. He wasn't sure if he had really seen Agent Scully or if he was hallucinating. Now, he lay, slumped in the corner of the locked closet, face bruised, lip split, shirt crusted over in blood. The kid was in bad shape. Al crouched down by Ben. He was out and he needed a doctor, but he wasn't going to die. Not yet. But he kept slipping in and out of consciousness. "Come on kid," Al beckoned to Ben as if he could hear him. "Stay with me. The Hurricane's here and she's brought the calvary. "WHAT?!?!?!" Al yelled up to Verbeena. "What do you MEAN there's going to be a fire?!" Back in the present… "What the hell is going on?" Scully demanded. "You DIDN'T see him then?" Starkweather asked. "See who?" "Al?" Scully's brows furrowed. Al.... why did that name sound so familiar? She couldn't place her finger on it... and yet, she almost could. She looked at Doggett, opened her mouth and shut it. "There's no time for this," Mulder said. "Starkweather, if you were ever to trust me, now is the time." Starkweather looked at Mulder, lips curling down in the most unpleasant frown. "Okay, then," she consented. She looked at the door, looked at Mulder. "Cover us," she told Scully and Sam as Mulder tossed the flashlight to Sam. Mulder and Starkweather faced the door, guns in hand. Scully and Sam stood behind them, brandishing their weapons. Manny stood behind them..... WAY behind them. "On three," Mulder said. "One- two-, THREE!" At the same time, Mulder and Starkweather kicked and the door came tumbling down. Mulder and Starkweather crouched down load and pointed their guns into the darkness while Scully and Sam stood above them, guns also out. There was nothing but darkness and the sound of the rain pitter-pattering down. "Well..." Starkweather said. "I feel stupid." "Look on the bright side," Mulder said, "If this FBI thing doesn't work for you, you'll always have a future as a Charlie's Angel." "Oh shut up." Sam turned on the flashlight. "What a dump," he muttered. "Be careful," he said warily as they all slowly entered the pitch black warehouse. "We don't know what's her-" Sam never got to finish his sentence. Despite his brilliance as a physist and doctor and the wealth of experience he earned from leaping from life to life, he never underwent the extreme training that FBI agents experience during their time in Quantico. He made a mistake that no federal agent worth their salt and alive today would make. He forgot to check his blind spot. Where Billy Miles was lurking. Mulder had just turned while Sam was talking to check *his* blind spot and had just opened his mouth to shout a warning to Sam when Billy picked him up and flung him across the room like a rag doll. Sam felt his body slam against a ladder built into a wall and firecrackers of pain were lit throughout his body. The gun skittered from his hand. "SCULLY!" Mulder yelled But Scully had already lifted the shotgun and fired pointblank range at Billy, ripping away his midsection. Starkweather, taking advantage of the rigamarole, darted behind Scully and ran to Doggett's aid. "Doggett, Papa John, GET UP," Starkweather shook him as she kept the gun pointed at the replicant. "Dios mios!" Manny cried, but he did something extraoridinarily brave and extraoridinarily stupid. As Billy crumpled to the ground, Manny jumped on top of the monster and drove his knife into its neck. While Mulder ran to Sam and Starkweather's aid and Scully kept the gun aimed at Billy, Manny got up and ran back to Doggett's truck. "What are you doing?" Scully cried out after him while constantly watching her and everyone else's back. Mulder and Starkweather helped Sam up to his feet. "I'm fine," Sam insisted although he had one hell of a headache. Manny came bouncing back, carrying the gas can. "Manny," Starkweather started to say. "What are you doin-" Manny squirted Billy with gasoline. He then took out the book of matches and lit them all. Sam then looked down and noticed the streaks of oil on the floor of the warehouse. "Oh Jesus, God, Manny DON'T!!" Manny dropped the book of matches on Billy's gasoline soaked-back. Billy burst into flames as did the oil puddles. The entrance was completely blocked by fire. "SCULLY!!!" Mulder yelled. The flames had already started devouring the wood in the building. "You stupid idiot!" Scully shrieked at Manny, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up the stairs. Meanwhile, Mulder swung up on the ladder built into the wall and started to climb up the catwalk. He hated heights, but he hated fire more. "Go, go!!!" Sam pushed Starkweather towards the ladder. Coughing, gagging on the smoke, she stuffed the gun into her waistband of her pants and started to climb. Sam followed. The metal ladder was already hot from the heat. Mulder helped pull Starkweather up onto the shaky catwalk. He looked over his shoulder down below to see Scully dragging Manny up the stairs and disappear through a door. Sam-in-Doggett was right behind Starkweather. Both Starkweather and Mulder helped Sam up. Below them was a sea of fire. The smoke was beginning to billow in the warehouse. The flames crackled merrily, consuming the many cardboard boxes and wooden beams. The catwalk swung precariously on the chains that held it up. For once Mulder and Starkweather were devoid of any witty repartie. "Come on!!" Mulder cried, grabbing Starkweather by the arm and pulling. "I can't see!" she yelled out, coughing. "Move it, Starkweather," Sam-in-Doggett yelled. "We got to get out of here." Mulder looked down again and said "Oh shit." Sam looked down and through the flames and smoke, saw the fiery figure of Billy Miles stand up, tilt its head upwards and look right at them. "Oh boy," Sam said understatedly. "Move, Starkweather, move, NOW!!" He pushed her along. Starkweather blinked the soot and smoke out of her eyes just enough to see Billy. "DAMMIT!!!" she swore. "DIE ALREADY!" She followed Mulder across the catwalk, running backwards, pulling her gun, pointing it at Billy who was climbing the ladder up to the catwalk, still limping. She was starting to fall behind Mulder and Doggett. Mulder stopped, turned around, unceremonially grabbed Starkweather around her waist, half-carried, half-drug her the rest of the way to the other side of the catwalk. He tossed her over the railing of the balcony lining the wall to the offices of the third floor. Sam was almost there when Billy got off the top rung of the ladder and swung onto the catwalk. Sam and Mulder clammered over the railing. Sam, using his elbow, smashed the glass of the office door, reached in and opened the door from the inside. "Come on!" he said and Mulder and Starkweather ducked inside. Billy was still coming. Meanwhile... Scully, still dragging Manny went up one flight of stairs, then another. She kicked open the door, still carrying the shotgun. "Where are we?" Manny said, scared witless by the destruction he unintentially created. "The third floor," Scully said, coughing still. The third floor was not on fire yet, but smoke was steadily creeping up from below. "Office space." Al, meanwhile, was in the broom closet with Ben. Al, upon hearing Scully's voice, began to scream hysterically at Ben. "Kid? KID GET UP! THE CALAVRY'S HERE!! COME ON!" Ben, disorientated, almost unconscious, let his head loll around, as if it was barely connected to his neck. His eyes fluttered open then shut. "BEN COME ON," Al pleaded. "I can't help you kid, make some noise, get up, get up!" Ben, raised his head. He did not hear Al, of course. But he heard Scully ".... must be a fire escape... something... was right... nothing but a big trap..." Ben tried his voice. At first, nothing but a croak came out. The second time, he got results. "Help..." he cried out as he pulled himself up, his big hand pressing against his broken ribs. "Atta boy," Al crowed. "Sportsfans, the kid is UP! COME ON SCULLY!" "Somebody... help me," Ben staggered the short distance to the door. He sank to his knees and began pounding on it. "Get me out of here." Scully froze halfway down the hall. "Did you hear something, Manny?" Manny turned around. "It's coming from that closet," he pointed at the door. "... help... I need a doctor... please..." "Ben," Scully whispered. Then louder, running down the narrow hallway, "BEN! BEN STARKWEATHER, WHERE ARE YOU?" "Here!" Ben said, almost afraid to hope. "I'm in here. Is that you, Agent Scully??" "Yes it's me Ben," Scully announced, coughing on the smoke that was getting thicker. "And Mulder and Doggett and Starkweather are here too." "Starkwea- Jerilyn? She's alive? They told me she was dead." Scully examined the lock. "Ben, get as far away from the door as possible," she ordered him. She handed the shotgun off to Manny and took out her handgun. She fired, blowing the doorhandle off. She pushed open the door. "Ben!" she gasped in horror at his appearance. "Agent Scully, god, it's good to see you," Ben took a step forward but groaned in pain, collapsing. "We've got to get you out of here," Scully said, looping his arm over her shoulder. "Manny! Manny I need your help!! Dammit!! Where did he go?" "Here, Agent Scully," Manny said, pale faced, arms over his head, the barrel of Langly's shotgun to his head. "Agent Scully, if you and Mr. Starweather would be as so kind to step out," Justin Leo said pleasantly, despite the billowing smoke and blasting heat. "And feel free to toss me your gun while you're at it." Fuming, Scully tossed her gun onto the floor and walked out of the broom closet with Ben still leaning on her shoulders. "Damn you Leo," Scully seethed, "you bastard." But Leo wasn't looking at Scully, he was staring at Ben. Hate simmered in his heart, jealousy poisoned his soul. With a kick, he forced Manny to join the trio. He pointed the shotgun at Ben's head. "Who ARE you??" Ben blurted out. And Leo lowered the gun. This guy, this man that Lily had married instead of him (or so Leo believed) had no idea who he was. He was completely clueless. As the smoke began to build up even worse and the hallway got hotter, Leo opened the door to an unused storage room. "Get in," he ordered, still pointing the shotgun at them. "Hey man, no way!" Manny yelped. "The damn building's on fire!" "Then it'll be a nice preview of hell for you three. Get in." Ben, still in terrible pain, summoned up all of his diplomacy skills. "At least let Agent Scully go," he begged. "Get in there," Leo came closer to them, shotgun pointed at Scully's chest. "For God's sake, she's got a child!" Ben tried one last time. "Just let her go, man!" Leo raised the gun to Scully's head. As calmly as she could, Scully said "It's okay Ben, we'll do as he says." She slowly began backing into the room. "Manny, come on, cooperate." Manny, wide-eyed, coughing, followed Scully and Ben. Leo flung the door shut, locked it and went off in search of Starkweather. There was no light in the storeroom and was becoming unbearably hot. "Oh my God," Manny said, gagging on the smoke. "We're gonna die." "Manny," Scully snapped. "We don't have time for pessimism. Do you still have that flashlight?" In the stifling darkness, Manny managed to fumble the little Mag-Lite flashlight to her. Scully switched it on and took a look-see. Her heart began to falter. Maybe Manny was right... But Ben had a strange silly little grin on his face. "Hey Agent Scully..." he said, looking up at the low ceiling. "Yeah..." Scully buried her face in the crook of her elbow to cough Ben was just as big of a movie buff as Jerilyn was, one of the many reasons why they were attracted to eachother in the beginning. "Ever see the movie 'The Breakfast Club'?" Scully looked up at the ceiling panels and grinned, knowing exactly what Ben was talking about. Meanwhile.... Fleeing into the office, Sam shut the door behind him. "This isn't good," Starkweather informed everybody. "Thank you Captain Obvious," Mulder snapped back at her. "Eat me." "I lost my gun," Sam told them. "Are you two still armed?" Starkweather and Mulder both pulled out their guns and scurried to the door. Sweat poured down Mulder's brow and he wiped his cheek on his shoulder. When Billy got off the catwalk and climbed onto the balcony, Mulder and Starkweather both stepped out and fired point-blank range at the replicant. Billy staggered backwards. When their clips were empty, Sam rushed the monster, just like how he used to rush the quarterback during high school football. With one gigantic push, Sam forced Billy over the edge of the balcony and Billy plummented back into the sea of flames below. Al popped in. "Nice shot Sam! Now get those kids," he jerked his head, indicating Mulder and Starkweather, "out of here." The heat drove Sam back inside the office. Just then, enough smoke had filtered upwards to trigger the sprinkler system. A weak spray of water coated everything, doing little to alleviate the inferno below. "We've got to find Scully and Manny!" Mulder told Sam, gagging on the smoke. "Ben might be here too," Starkweather said to Sam. "They're okay," Al told Sam. "Scully's in the process of getting Benny-boy and Manny out as we speak. They're gonna be fine. You guys are gonna get cooked, literally if you don't get out of here!" "Come on," Sam grabbed Starkweather by the arm and took her out of the hallway through the other door in the office. Mulder followed. "Scully!!" Sam cried out. "Ben! Manny, Scully!" Mulder and Starkweather joined in on the chorus. Starkweather turned around. "Jesus Jumping Christ, Mulder!" she pushed Mulder out of the way just as Justin Leo came out of the shadows and fired Scully's handgun at them. The shot barely missed them. The three of them started to run. "Come on, Sam!" Mulder yelled, completely forgetting that Starkweather had no knowledge of the Quantum Leap Project and was under the illusion that Doggett was still Doggett. Not that Starkweather was particularly paying attention. "Over here!" she cried and darted up a stairwell that lead to the rooftop. Sam and Mulder followed. So did Justin Leo. Meanwhile... Inside the storage room, Scully instructed Manny, "Lift me up first." Manny crouched down, Scully clammered on top of his shoulders. The smoke was building up. Coughing, Manny stood up carefully. Ben leaned against the wall, cold sweat covering his face as he was still in horrible pain. Scully weaved a bit, got her bearings, then reached for the fake ceiling panel and lifted it up easily. She reached and grabbed the pipe that was directly above her head. She started to pullherself up. Manny gave her a bit of a boost up and Scully was able to get up. Scootching herself into the ceiling, she leaned over the edge, reaching her arms out to down below. "Help Ben up, and hurry!" she yelled, gagging from the smoke. Manny went to Ben, "Okay, hombre," Manny said sorrowfully. "This is gonna probably hurt. Lo siento, lo siento." "Okay," Ben got up, wincing, clutching his ribs. "Let's get out of this hellhole." Manny, despite his wiry, weenie appearance, was actually fairly strong. He wrapped his arms around Ben's middle and lifted Ben up. Ben tried to stifle a cry of pain, but couldn't help it. "Lo siento, lo siento!" Manny yelled out again. Scully grabbed Ben's wrists and pulled him up. Once Ben was up, she reached back down, "Come on Manny!" Just then, she heard Starkweather cry out "Jesus Jumping Christ, Mulder!!!" and then a gunshot. "Oh my God," Scully turned her head towards the sound. "Manny come on!" Manny jumped, missed Scully's hands. "Manny, come on!!" Manny jumped again, this time grabbing Scully's hand. Scully tried to pull him up, but couldn't get the leverage. Scully could hear commotion in the hallway with Starkweather screaming at Mulder adn Sam-in-Doggett to follow her <> Scully wondered wildly. Suddenly, a pair of sooty, bloodied hands clamped down on hers. Ben, despite his own injuries, had crawled over to Scully's side to help her pull up Manny. Together they got him out of their prison. "Let's get out of here!" Manny suggested and Scully and Ben decided that was an excellent idea. They crawled through the ceiling, coughing all the while. The smoke was thick, almost blinding now. As they crawled, Scully had a hideous thought. "Guys, wasn't there a scene in 'The Breakfast Club' where the ceiling panels colla-" The ceiling panels collapsed and Scully, Manny and Ben tumbled down into the hallway. Starkweather made her way up the ladder. "SCUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYY!" She heard Mulder call out at the top of his lungs below her. "Mulder, RUN!!!" Sam was bellowing at top of his lungs "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" She emphasized each step back down the latter with a swear, and drew her gun. "Mulder, don't panick yet. There's a roof up here, there's a river. We've just gotta get to the river." Mulder began to protest, but Billy Miles still staggerred forward, and Leo, who had been firing shaky shots at Sam and Mulder the whole chase, had just dropped his gun. "LIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!" Leo screamed, lurching forward at Starkweather as soon as she had emerged from the ladder. "No...Not Lily...me Jeri, you psychoboy." "They just programmed you to say that..." he stammered, backing away from her slowly, "they gave you this whole new identity..." "Leo," Mulder cautioned in his flat monotone, "I know people who can help you find the answers you want. I know you think she's Lilly but it's not her, Justin. It's not her." "Mulder duck!" Starkweather screamed, for Billy Miles had wrenched a pipe free from the warehouse and was about to swing at him. "Starkweather GO!" Sam yelled. Mulder managed to grab onto the pipe in one of his swings, but Leo pushed the bar out of Mulder's grip and ran up the stairs. "STARKWEATHER!" Mulder bellowed after her. Leo pursued the monster up the ladder, visibly coiling at the pain in his arm. "LEO!" Mulder called out futiley. He didn't seem to be in tune with anything else around him. "Hang on, Lily! I'm coming!" Leo shouted after Starkweather. Billy Miles was inching closer on Starkweather. "Sam," Mulder said in panicked realization, "That thing is going after me, Starkweather...and Will." "Not if we can hit it off at the pass." Sam offered, "Come on!" he urged unecessarily, and then began the ascent up the ladder, followed closely by Mulder. There, they watched as Leo threw his own body in between Billy Miles and Starkweather. Starkweather, Mulder, and Sam both watched in horror as the two wrestled their way off of the rooftop, and down into the river. Al popped in just in time to see Leo and Billy Miles plummetting down to the rapids of the Patomac River. "Agent Starkweather, Ben's ok, you just gotta get off this warehouse in a few minutes before it blows to kingdom come! Ben and Scully and Manny are all outta there, and they'll be just fine! You gotta jump into that river, you here me! JUMP!" "Mulder, I hope you know how to doggy-paddle." Starkweather stared down at the roaring Patomac for a few seconds, faced down, closed her eyes, and heard Sam's splash. Then she muttered something and pushed Mulder forward towards the raging rapids. Then she dove in herself. Being summer, the water wasn't cold, but the storm made it colder than usual. "Starkweather!" Sam was calling out frantically. "Doc!" "Over here, Papa John!" "Mulder?!" Sam called out treading water next as Starkweather scrambled to the banks, watching the building being swallowed in bright orange flames. "MULDER!!" She called out as soon as she made it safely to the bank Meanwhile... As they crawled, Scully had a hideous thought. "Guys, wasn't there a scene in 'The Breakfast Club' where the ceiling panels colla-" The ceiling panels collapsed and Scully, Manny and Ben tumbled down into the hallway. Buried underneath ceiling crumbles and two men, Scully mumbled "Could you please get off of me?" At the sound of the crash, Sam-in-Doggett and Mulder jumped. They had only started going up the stairs that led to the ladder up to the roof. Starkweather had already begun to ascend to the roof. Mulder pushed past Sam. He saw Leo coming after them with Scully's gun. He also saw Billy Miles fling open the door and head towards them. He walked right over Ben, Scully and Manny, not even noticing them. "SCULLY!" Mulder cried... Starkweather, meanwhile had almost gotten to the roof, heard Mulder's cries. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit...." she cursed on her way down to retrieve her partner and her half-brother. While the chaos with Leo, the monster, the agent, the time- travler and the Deputy Mayor ensued, Scully, shaken that she, again, had been so close to the monster who was sent to steal her child but at the last minute, did not, got up to chase him. But Manny grabbed her, "Agent Scully, PLEASE, let's get OUT OF HERE!!! Senor Starkweather needs a doctor, pronto. Por favor, vamos por la amor del Dios!" Poor Manny was so frightened, he lapsed into Spanish. But Scully caught the gist. Plus Ben, after all that lifting and pulling and crawling and falling with his broken ribs not to mention the smoke inhalation everyone was suffering, was in really bad shape. The doorframe to the staircase leading down to the mainfloor of the warehouse just caught fire. Scully heard the building crack and groan, on the very verge of total collapse. "Help him." Scully ordered Manny, heart pounding in fear, fear for Mulder, for Starkweather, for Sam-in- Doggett. Manny slung Ben on his back, piggy back and made a run for the open window at the end of the hallway. "There's a fire escape!" he yelled in glad relief. <> Scully wondered. Probably because with a gun-wielding nut and blood-thirsty replicant at their tails, they probably weren't thinking very rationally. "Go, go, go!!!" Scully said. Manny swung out the window. "Hold on tight, amigo," he told Ben as he started to climb out. Scully followed... Meanwhile... Assistant Director Skinner was in the squad car with Detective Edward Carillo as they went flying towards the warehouse. They were still a good half-mile away when they were able to see the flames. "Holy God," Carillo said. Skinner sighed. The man didn't even work for him anymore... how was it still possible that massive destruction of property occurred whenever Mulder was involved with something? "Let's just hope that people are still alive, Detective," Skinner said curtly. In the distance, the sirens from fire trucks and ambulances blended into on hellish wail. Skinner felt physically ill as he thought of the devil's deal he made with that smoking bast*rd. He hoped there was someone to pull out from the wreckage. Half a block away, all the closer they could get, the squad car squealled to a halt. Carillo and Skinner fairly flew from the car, guns drawn. Two sooty figures were running from the building. As they got closer, Carillo and Skinner realized that it was three people, one was piggybacked on the other and obviously injured. As they got even closer, Skinner realized who they were and his heart leapt in joy. "DANA!" he cried, holstering his gun. Forgetting propriety, he engulfed Scully into the bearhug he would have given a long-lost daughter if he had even taken a break from his career to have a family. "Thank God," Skinner broke away, remembering himself. "You alright?" "I'm fine," Scully said, "but this man needs to get to a hospital ASAP." Manny slid Ben off his back and laid him on the ground. Carillo crouched down. "Well, I'll be damned," he said in wonder. "Mr. Starkweather, there's gonna be a whole lot of people happy to see you, sir." Ben clutched at the detective's jacket. "You're not taking me anywhere until somebody gets Jeri off that damn roof." "WHAT?!" Skinner and Carillo unintentionally spoke in unison. "Jeri, my wife, she came for me," Ben coughed, feeling the effects of smoke inhalation. "Jeri, her partner John Doggett and her brother Fox Mulder-" "Mulder?" Carillo looked up at the building, almost totally engulfed in flames. "Mulder was implicated in your disappearance, Mr. Starkweather." "Brother??" Skinner was lost, which was nothing new. "Mulder?" Ben looked completely confused. "What the hell for?" "Sir," Scully said urgently, "I strongly recommend you call a SWAT team. Billy Miles is up on that roof." "WHAT!??" Skinner squawked. He pulled out his cell phone and was about to dial when Manny said: "Not any more," he pointed to two figures plummenting into the roaring Potomac River. "Who was that with them?" Skinner asked. "I don't know, sir," Scully felt panic butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "I can't see." Smoke curled out of the windows in thick plumes... In a non-descript car, much like Nero while Rome burned, the Cigarette Smoking Man watched the scenario expressionlessly. He sighed. It was out of his hands now. If Mulder and Starkweather were killed, problem solved. If they lived... well... there was always next time. At least they were able smuggle the vial of Purity out of the country easily. And he was pretty sure Ben's case with the oil company would be closed down. At least two of the four major objectives were achieved. "Drive," he ordered the driver dryly as he lit a cigarette. The car disappeared from the scene unnoticed just as the Admiral's car pulled up. The Admiral got out of his car, saw Scully and Ben with the others but did not approach them, not yet. Fire trucks were lining up, hooking up the hoses to the hydrants, brave men and women in their bright yellow suits and oxygen masks started to run towards the building. One of them reached the doorway and turned back, motioning his fellow firefighters to turn back. "She's gonna blow!!!!" He yelled. Just then, a figure leapt from the roof. "That looked like Doggett!" Scully cried as Sam-in-Doggett hit the water. Then another male figure plummented into the river she prayed. And finally a female form dove into the Potomac. Scully knew that was Starkweather. Scully left Skinner, Ben and Manny and ran towards the shore. "Mulder, I hope you know how to doggy-paddle." Starkweather stared down at the roaring Patomac for a few seconds, faced down, closed her eyes, and heard Sam's splash. Then she muttered something and pushed Mulder forward towards the raging rapids. Then she dove in herself. Being summer, the water wasn't cold, but the storm made it colder than usual. "Starkweather!" Sam was calling out frantically. "Doc!" "Over here, Papa John!" "Mulder?!" Sam called out treading water next as Starkweather scrambled to the banks, watching the building being swallowed in bright orange flames. "MULDER!!" She called out as soon as she made it safely to the bank. "Oh sweet Jesus," she said, for once, in prayer. She bellowed again: "**MULDER!!**" Meanwhile, Sam dove back under the water. He forced himself to open his eyes underwater, but could see nothing. His lungs screamed for oxygen so with a kick of the legs, he swam upwards. He burst up to the surface. "MULDER!!" Scully saw Starkweather standing on the shoreline, looking out at the river and starting running. "Agent Starkweather!" she cried. "Where's Doggett?! Where's Mulder?!" Starkweather felt sick to her stomach. She blinked back tears. "I don't know..." Scully felt her heart drop. "What do you mean you don't know?!?" Scully cupped her hands around her mouth, "MULDER! MULDER!!!" Starkweather closed her eyes in horror. She put her hand over her mouth while Scully cried out Mulder's name. Sam, treading water, turned to his left and gasped Mulder was floating about three yards away from him, face down in the water. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," Sam gasped as he swam towards him. "MULDER!" Sam reached for his arm and pulled him towards him. He flipped him over to his back. His eyes were closed, his mouth was open. "Oh boy, c'mon Mulder, don't do this!" Sam cried as he wrapped one arm around Mulder's chest and began swimming for shore. "Starkweather!" Sam cried out. "Starkweather!!" Starkweather's eyes popped open at the sound of her name. "Doggett!!" she answered back. "Oh my God!!" she cried when she saw Sam dragging Mulder to shore. She leaped back into the river and waded out to them. Scully followed Starkweather, not noticing the biting chill of the water. "What happened? What's going on?" She then saw that Mulder was not moving at all. "Oh God! Mulder!" "Get help, Scully," Sam yelled at her as he and Starkweather brought Mulder to dry land and laid him on the ground. Starkweather put her ear to Mulder's mouth. "He's not breathing." "Doggett, do you know CPR?" "Yes." Sam instantly snapped into doctor-mode and crouched by Mulder's chest. "Scully go!!" Scully hesitated for the slightest second, perhaps reminded of that horrible time when he had been found dead in that field in Montana. But she ran for the paramedics. "Start chest compressions," orderd Dr. Starkweather. Dr. Beckett pressed his big hands into Mulder's sterum. "One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, breathe!!" Dr. Starkweather clamped her mouth over Mulder's mouth and nose and puffed air into his lungs. "Nothing, chest compressions." "One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, breathe." Sam pumped Mulder's chest. "Come on Mulder, dammit." Starkweather puffed air through Mulder's mouth to his lungs again. "Nothing. God dammit Mulder," Starkweather yelled at him as Sam pumped at his chest again. "Don't you fucking die on us." "One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, breathe, dammit, Mulder, breathe!!" Sam begged him. Just as Starkweather was about to bend down to breathe for him again, Mulder gagged. River water trickled out of his mouth. He tried to sit up. Starkweather and Sam helped him up as he started to vomit water. "Easy does it, easy does it," Starkweather said in her best bedside manner voice. She smoothed his hair back from his brow. "My God, you have more lives than a cat," she said, voice shaking from relief. Mulder gulped air in great whooshes. He looked at Starkweather. "You... performed... C... PR?" Starkweather nodded. "If... this... was.. Arkansas, I'd... I'd be turned on right now," he grinned at her even as his body was wracked with dry heaves. "You asshole," Starkweather gave him a well-meaning thump to his shoulder. Sam sighed in relief and helped him stand up. Scully just came sprinting down the slope again with two paramedics in tow. When she saw Mulder standing, leaning on Sam, but still standing up, she flew towards him. "Mulder!! Mulder!! You're alright!!!" she said joyously as she approached him. Mulder stared at her. "Who are you?" Scully stared, mouth dropping open. Then she punched Mulder in the gut."Dammit, Mulder, that routine wasn't funny the first time you did that, and it's not funny now..." Mulder leaned into Scully and hugged her. "Sorry, I couldn't resist," Mulder mumbled into her hair. "Do you need us then?" One of the paramedics asked. Sam told him. "I think he'll be okay. Probably just needs bedrest and Agent Scully's a medical doctor, I think she'll look after him. But maybe you should come and look at Agent Starkweather's leg..." Sam turned to find Starkweather standing apart from everyone, holding herself, staring at the burning warehouse. "Starkweather," Scully said, supporting Mulder. "We found Ben." Starkweather turned around. "What?" "He's fine, he's hurt, but he's going to be fine, he's with Skinner..." But Starkweather didn't wait for Scully to finish her sentence. She took off towards the flashing lights of the fire trucks and police cars. Ben was being loaded up onto a stretcher despite his protests. He lifted his head one more time to argue with the paramedics that he wasn't going anywhere when he heard someone crying out his name. "Ben!! Ben!!" "Jesus, guys, stop!!" Ben told the paramedics on last time as Jerilyn ran to the ambulance. She pushed past the paramedics. "Oh my God!!" she wept as she took his hands and kissed him full on the mouth. "Oh my God," she said again as she ran her fingers through his hair. "What did they do to you?" she choked out through her tears. "Broken ribs mostly, lots of bruising, we're taking him to the hospital to make sure there's nothing else ma'am," the medic said patronizingly. "Don't talk to her like she's an idiot," Ben told him. "She's a doctor and she carries a big gun." The paramedics backed off, just a little. "I thought I'd never see you again," she sniffled as Ben wiped tears off her cheeks. She clutched his hands. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry you got dragged into all of this." "They told me," Ben nodded his head to Carillo and Skinner, who had been hovering over him like angry mother bears the entire time, "that someone was trying to frame MULDER for my MURDER? Are they serious?" Jerilyn nodded. "Oh Jesus, Ben. It was insane. This whole thing... and we don't even know WHY they did this to us..." She tried to gulp back the tears. "I don't think we'll ever know," Ben said helplessly. "But everything's okay now, Jeri. I promise, everything's going to be okay now." He wiped more tears from Jeri's face even as his own eyes welled. "Hey. Hey now... big bad FBI broads don't cry." His voice cracked. "Neither do Councilors," she whispered as she kissed his hand. "Oh!" she suddenly realized and started digging into her pocket. She pulled out his wedding band. "Missing something?" she said with a teary smile as she slid his wedding ring back on its rightful place. "Mrs. Starkweather," the medic told her gently. "We really need to get him to the hospital. But you can ride along if you like..." Ben answered for Jerilyn. "She's got FBI stuff to do first," Ben said, intertwining his fingers with hers and giving her a squeeze. "Plus, I'm guessing," he chuckled, "she might want some dry clothes. Hell..." he grinned, feeling better by just seeing Jerilyn again, "*I* would like some clean clothes myself. I've been wearing the same boxers for about a week now and they're beginning to chafe." That did it. Jerilyn smiled spontaneously and joyously for the first time since the ordeal began. "Are you sure, baby?" "I'll see you at the hospital, Jeri," Ben kissed her hand again. "While you're at it, smuggle me some beers and Caesar for me." "Deal," Jerilyn leaned over and kissed Ben on the lips again. "I love you Counselor." "I love you too," Ben reached up with his free hand and stroked her hair. "And I did learn one thing from this whole clusterfuck." "What?" Jerilyn finally released his hand and let the paramedics do their job. As the paramedics lifted the stretcher into the ambulance, Ben said "I'm gonna leave this X-File sh*t to the experts," with a groan. Just as the paramedics shut the door to the ambulance, Scully, Mulder and Sam-in-Doggett approached Starkweather and Skinner. "Mulder," Skinner asked gruffly "how many guardian angels do you have???" Mulder, still leaning on Scully replied in all seriousness. "It's got to be up in the thousands." "I don't mean to alarm you, but you should be aware, the police and federal agents are making a sweep of the area, but so far, there is no trace of Billy Miles or Justin Leo." "Typical," Mulder snorted. "Slipped through our fingers again." "I've sent agents to all of your respective homes for survelliance, just in case one of them rears their ugly heads. That's all we can really do for now." Skinner said. "And now," he said impatiently, "can someone explain to me how YOU," he looked at Mulder "are related to HER," he looked at Starkweather. Mulder opened his mouth to speak but whatever he was about to say was lost for the Admiral finally approached the group. "Jerilyn," the Admiral reached for her. Jerilyn recoiled, anger clouding her face. "You..." she said bitterly. "You knew about this the entire time... you had to of..." "Jerilyn?" The Admiral stole a glance to Scully, who only glared at him stonily. "Honey, what are you talking about? I came into town when we thought Ben was gon-" "Liar," she hissed. The Admiral looked as if she had slapped him. "You were planning on coming into town before all of this happened to meet with KERSH, of all people. I saw it in his planner. I heard your guys' phone conversation." The Admiral knew when he was defeated. "Jerilyn," he said painfully. "Everything I did, was to protect you." "Then why didn't you tell me the truth when I came to Sedona last April?" "The truth would have killed you," the Admiral protested. Starkweather glowered at him. "It already has." The Admiral had to make one last try. "Jerilyn, everything I have done, everything I have lived for was to protect YOU. I know I haven't been the perfect father bu-" "My father is dead." "Jerilyn," the Admiral sighed. "That's a little extreme. I know you're upset with me bu-" "NO." Jerilyn took a step away from him. "MY father," she turned to face Mulder. "is dead. He was murdered by a man named Alex Krycek." She turned to face the Admiral again. "Does that ring any bells?" The Admiral looked to Mulder, Scully, Skinner and Sam-in- Doggett for help. All he received were unsympathetic, angry glares. "You were never meant to find out," he said lamely. "Ben was almost killed tonight," Starkweather said angrily. "And you know about it the entire time and didn't lift a finger to stop anything, did you?" The Admiral could have argued that point, but one look in her eyes told him that any further debate on the subject would be an exercise in futility. He lowered his head and walked away. Yes, he had saved her life... but he had lost her forever. After the Admiral had left, Mulder said softly to Starkweather, "I'm sorry, Jerilyn." Only Mulder could truly sympathize with how devastating it is, even to an adult child, to be completely dillusioned by their hero, their parent that they had adored. Starkweather turned to Mulder. Despite all of her not-so- outstanding qualities, her one redeeming characteristic was that if she was wrong, she admitted it. "No, Mulder. **I'm** sorry. I should have known better." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Starkweather and Mulder finally shook hands and ended the duel of wills. But Mulder continued with the snipe-war as he thumped Starkweather on the shoulder and said "See you at the family reunion. Maybe this year you'll get to sit with the adults." "As if you have any experience in being an adult." "Well, I do have at least twelve years on you, baby sister." "Oh do NOT start calling me 'baby sister', I will fucking deck you again." "Tsk tsk little Hurricane, such foul language from a pristine lady." "Hurricane!?" Starkweather spluttered. "Now, listen here, *Spooky*-" "Both of you!" Scully snapped in her best "Mom" voice. "Unless you two want to sit in the corner for the rest of the night, Enough!" "He started it," Starkweather whined. "She hit me," Mulder whined right back. "She broke my nose when I got arrested." "It was an easy target, big schnozz that it is." "Alright you little twerp-" "You're BOTH sitting at the kids' table for the holiday meals!" Scully yelled at them. "Maybe William can teach you two some manners." "Agent Scully," Detective Carillo, stifling guffaws, said "since the Deputy Mayor is cleared of all charges, why don't you take him home before these two tear each other apart." "An excellent suggestion," Scully said with a relieved sigh. "I know there's a certain little boy who's eager to see you." "Later Hurricane," Mulder, still leaning against Scully, limped towards Skinner's car, volunteering him to give them a ride home. "I'm gonna buy your kid a drum, Mulder!" Starkweather threatened. Mulder, as usual, had the winning shot with "Good, I'll have him bring it over when you babysit him." Sam shook his head. As entertaining as the Mulder and Starkweather show was... he couldn't help but wonder... Al popped in again. "Well, everything's turning out to be pretty okay," he told Sam. "The plague, obviously, never happened and aliens never took over the world." He thumped his comlink. "Mulder gets reinstated to his Deputy Mayor job, which he does for another year before... before..." he hit the comlink and it squawked at him. "Before going to work for the CIA as a consultant? That's scary. Anyway... Scully ends up leaving the X-Files in about two years, but she's still around to help out Reyes, Doggett and Starkweather every now and again. And... on September 10, 2010, those two crazy kids finally tie the knot in a private ceremony at Mulder's childhood home in Martha's Vineyard. And even though they're not with the FBI anymore, they're both kept on retainer to consult on X-File cases. So a big shiny happy ending for those two. It only took them," Al did the math, "met in 1993.... only took them seventeen years." "What about Starkweather? Do she and Ben work out their differences?" Sam asked. Al consulted his comlink. A look of pain crosses his face. "I'm sorry Sam," Al said. "Ben's out of the picture by Christmas time." "What?!" Sam's shoulder's slumped. "Does that mean I have to stay here until Christmas to help those two repair their marriage?" "I don't think so Sam," Al said quietly. "Believe me, speaking as a man quite experienced in the ways of failed relationships, somethings aren't just meant to last." "Then why am I still here Al?" "Ziggy?" Al consulted the super-computer. "What's the word? Why're we still here??" Al looked down at his comlink. "What the hell...." Al's brow furrowed in confusion. He chewed on his cigar for a bit. "Well... according to Ziggy... she says that for you to leap now... you have to..." he read aloud from the comlink. "say goodbye to Starkweather and start the Doggett-Starkweather-Relationship. What the hell does that mean? Ziggy! Translate!" "She doesn't have to," Sam said, a little sadly, looking at Starkweather, who was giving her statement to Detective Carillo. "I know what she means. Al... can you promise me something?" "Anything buddy," Al said. Sam took a deep breath. "Whenever something is going wrong with a future leap and it looks totally impossible... break a rule and remind me of Starkweather. Of her strength. Her loyalty. Her preserverance." "You got it Sam," Al promised. "Go. Say goodbye." Sam-in-Doggett went up to Starkweather. He grabbed a gray flannel blanket from one of the lingering paramedics and wrapped it around Starkweather's shoulders. "Are you finished here?" Sam asked Carillo. "All done," Carillo put his notebook in his jacket pocket. "Get some rest you two. Good night." And Carillo walked away, pleased that one of his cases finally had a happy ending. "How're you doing, Starkweather?" Sam asked her, wrapping the blanket tighter around her, making her look like a papoose. She shrugged. "Tired. Estatic. Angry. Tired. Thrilled. Scared. Tired. Did I mention tired??" Sam laughed. "No. Are you tired?" he teased her. "I could sleep for a thousand years," she groaned. "Doggett... you were right. About Mulder. About Ben. About everything. I couldn't have gotten through this nightmare without you." "That's what I'm here for," Sam said. "And I count on that," she replied. She opened her arms and engulfed Sam in the world's biggest hug. "Thank you for helping me find Ben." "You're a special lady, Starkweather," Sam said in her ear. "Don't ever forget that. Don't ever forget that I said that." Sam stepped away. Trying to figure out how to do what he needed to do. To say goodbye. To lead Starkweather towards the path where she was meant to go. To put right what once went wrong. And Sam realized what he needed to do. It was so simple. It was safe, and yet not. Everyone had seen Mulder and Scully do it a thousand times. He put his hands on Starkweather's shoulders and kissed her forehead. Al looked at his comlink and smiled. "Goodbye Starkweather," Al said as he and Sam vanished in blaze of blinding blue light. John Doggett opened his eyes and saw Starkweather standing in front of him, soaking wet, wrapped in a gray blanket, smiling at him. Doggett realized. Then instantly thought: "Starkweather, what the hell happened to you?" Doggett turned and saw the blazing building that the fire fighters were still trying to put out. "Oh my God... what the hell happened here?" "Doggett, I think we'll be trying to figure that out for years," she said, still smiling. "Come on Papa John, you better come to the hospital with me. It looks like you might be concussed." Doggett put his arm over Starkweather's shoulder and together they walked to his waiting pickup truck. It never felt so good to hear her call him 'Papa John' before. Washington, D.C. J Edgar Hoover Building April 27, 2016; 9:14 AM With another upsurge of paranormal cases on the horizon and FBI agents' talents being currently directed on security issues, it was time for A.D. Starkweather to assign the head of her old division a new partner. Agent Reyes was talented, and had a high success rate in investigating paranormal cases, but nobody could work alone in those conditions for very long. Besides, if she didn't assign somebody soon, it looked as though she would have to shut the division down. She made a promise to somebody a long time ago that she wouldn't allow that to happen as long as she could do something about it. One applicant seemed to stand out in the screaning process for the job. A physicist's daughter who had graduated five years ago from MIT was an Alabama native, Samantha Jo Fuller had specialized in quantum mechanics both in Quantico and in her work with unspecified government projects. According to her superiors in New Mexico, she had medical training at Quantico and developed quite a flare for profiling, and from experience Starkweather knew that the basement office could use that kind of expertise. Starkweather was on the phone when the applicant came in. She motioned the new agent to come in, smiling apologetically. The young woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties twirled her honey-wheat hair nervously around her index finger. She tentatively sat down, and brushed her one white strand that accentuated her face. "Yes, I know we need all the manpower we can get on this case, but I just can't close that office to accommodate you." Starkweather was insisting. At her next remark, the girl jumped. "The FBI's investigation into the paranormal has been justified for nearly TEN YEARS now...no...we need Agent Reyes in that office. If you have issues with that you can take it up with Deputy Director Doggett." She barked, and slamming down the phone, smiled sweetly at the woman who just came in. "Before you enlisted in the FBI, what was that project that you worked on in New Mexico?" "That's classified ma'am." The new agent said flatly. She was uncomfortable calling someone who looked her age ma'am, but she wasn't about to start a new position on a sour note. Starkweather inwardly grimaced at being called ma'am. "My sources tell me it had something to do with time travel." "Sources?" "If that's true, you will get along just fine with your new partner." Starkweather replied not missing a beat. "Were you informed of the type of cases your division investigates?" "If I understand it correctly, the X-Files Division deals with paranormal and unexplained phenomena." Fuller recited. "But I didn't think the FBI investigated those kinds of cases." "I wasn't aware that the government backed time-travel experiments either" Starkweather returned with a sly grin. "Come with me, and I'll show you to your new office. Sorry I don't have much time to acquaint you with the building, but I have a flight out to New Mexico on personal business that leaves in an hour." Agent Fuller nodded in understanding and followed her petite superior down the halls of the J Edgar Hoover building, and wondered why there were mile-long lines of tourists for office buildings. "...And this," her new boss said unlocking the door and handing her a lone key. "Is your office. I hope you'll find everything you need, Agent Fuller. Call me on my cell if you need to be in touch with me. If you'll excuse me, I have a flight to make. Sandy should be in shortly." With that, her new boss turned and left. The Agent glanced tentatively at her new surroundings. She saw a neatly kept office with two desks, and a huge filing cabinet. The occupied desk facing the door was neatly kept with photos of a small boy and a girl, her new boss and her boss's superior, a hazel-eyed man with peppering hair and a pretty, petite redhead holding a small redheaded boy standing next to him, next to him, a tall man with a wreath of white hair, a man with a neatly trimmed beard in a suit was next, then a shorter, balding, odd-looking man, then a tall, lanky man with blond stringy hair with thick glasses perched on his nose all posing uncomfortably around a Christmas tree. The nameplate on the desk read "A. Gallimore" The office itself looked like it was barely big enough for two people. There were rows of filing cabinets, all labeled "X-Files". There was barely walking space between two desks, but there were a couple of plants that made it look comfortable. The walls were sparsely decorated, with the exception of a yellowed and frayed poster with an obviously forged depiction of a flying saucer, proclaiming "I WANT TO BELIEVE." She took the empty desk closer to the door, and decided it was in her best interest to familiarize herself with the cases. She opened the "A" drawer and began reading. She was halfway through the contents of her first folder when there was a knock at the door. "Great, here comes Princess Leia." Fuller groaned, thinking it was her new boss, and put on her best professional smile. "Come in." She called out. Instead of her boss like she expected, a petite redhead with an FBI guest badge on her lapel. She didn't look up from the file until the woman spoke. "Ma'am, the senior partner isn't here yet. Let me redirect you. Just one…" She went over to the phone and saw that the woman was in the picture with the family. "Deputy Director Doggett asked me to come by and introduce myself and show you the ropes around here. Your senior officer isn't going to be able to come in till after lunch." She smiled apologetically and stood up, extending a hand in greeting. "I'm sorry ma'am," she flustered, "just doing some research." "So what do you think about UFO's after reading that file?" "To be perfectly honest, ma'am," Fuller answered carefully, "I'm not quite sure what to think. I am aware of what the founder of this division seems to believe is a conspiracy, geared towards covering up a plot of colonization. I need physical evidence to back that up before I concur." "Sounds too much like Star Wars?" the woman asked, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "There's no documented scientific evidence yet of the existence of extra terrestrials." At Fuller's answer, the woman raised a questioning eyebrow, and approached the desk. "Twenty years ago," Scully replied, crossing her arms. "I would have said the same thing. I used to be you, Agent..." Later on that day Quantum Leap Headquarters Roswell, New Mexico Al left the imaging chamber, rubbing his temple. Now THAT was one hell of a leap. One destined to go down in the record books, that was for sure. He looked at Fern "Easter" Mullens, the new Information and Technology Specialist who had been hired after Goushie's passing now about five years ago. "Let me know when Sam's in a new body," he said as he shuffled towards his office. "Yes sir," she said. Al had just sat down in his big comfortable chair when his phone rang. "I don't want any calls today. I don't care who it is." Tina said nervously. "Um... I don't think this person is going to go away, Al. She said that she made this appointment fifteen years ago?" Tina sounded completely and utterly flustered. "She says she's the Assistant Director for the FBI??" "I'll be right out," Al said, jumping out of his chair. Now, to Starkweather, Al looked exactly the same as he did when she saw him last. But to Al, she had changed, extraordinarily. She was still slender and youthful-looking. She still wore her uncompromising black business dress suits. However, she no longer had the deceptive guise of a teenager. There were one or two crow's feet by her hazel eyes. Her hair was no longer Rapunzel-long and dyed blonde, but shoulder length and dark brown. Only the gold wire eyeglasses and the few strands of silver at the temple of her hair betrayed her age of forty-four years. Her voice, however, was as strong and yet feminine as ever. "Admiral Calvaricci?" She still had that Sphinx-smile, that sense of mystery. "Agent Starkweather," Al said. "My, you've grown up." "With all due respect," her smile dissolved into the trademark Starkweather smirk. "it's Assistant Director Starkweather now." She held out her hand. As Al shook her right hand, he noted that her left hand no longer bore a wedding ring. "Well, Admiral, you said to look you up in fifteen years and you'd explain everything." Al clasped his other hand over hers. "Yes, yes I did... Assistant Director." "Funny, you don't look any more angelic as you did when I saw you last." Her eyes twinkled in delight. "I thought I was ready for the funny farm when you popped in, you know." "I know, I know," Al groaned. "And I'll explain everything to you." "Well... before you start... I'd like to have you meet some people first... you see... we figured out a lot of things on our own before coming here... but there's still some gaps." Al wondered as he followed Starkweather to the outer waiting room. "I found him," Starkweather said to the man sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper. And Deputy Director John Doggett stood up. Still tall, still had those brilliant blue eyes, although he also wore eyeglasses now. Although he was lucky enough to have kept his hair, it had faded from it's coppery-yellow hue. He also now sported a neatly trimmed goatee. He was still a good-looking man, albeit it, obviously, an older man. Al thought as he shook Doggett's hand. "Admiral," Doggett also still never shed that gravelly New York-Deep South hybrid accent. "Good to see you again... though I must confess, I really don't remember much of our first meetin'." "That's alright," Al said. "I'll remind you of every humiliating detail." "Oh good," Doggett deadpanned. "Kids, come here," he called. "Kids?" Al asked. A boy and a girl, both the same age, looking to be about twelve, left the television set they were avidly watching and joined the adults. "This is our son," Starkweather put her hand on the boy's shoulder. "John Benjamin." "Hi," the boy said brightly. And Al realized that he was looking at what Mulder must have looked like when he was a boy. A mop of unruly brown hair, sparkling hazel eyes. No trace of shyness whatsoever. "And this," Starkweather put her other hand on the girl's shoulder. "Is our daughter, Bailey Fox." "Mom, **please** don't tell strangers my middle name," she whispered, mortified. "It's embarrassing." Bailey was the spitting image of John Doggett. Same curly shiny blond hair, although she wore hers considerably longer than her father. Same brilliant piercing blue eyes. She even spoke with the barest trace of a Southern accent. "Looks like you two have some things to tell me too," Al said. "Ziggy left some things out in her diagnogstics." "Ziggy?" Starkweather crinkled her brow in confusion. Al companionably put his arm through Starkweather's. "I'll explain... let me give you a tour." When they got to the "holding" chamber, they all stopped. "Is this??" Starkweather started to ask, but stopped. Al answered her unasked question. "Yes. Sam's body is in there, but not Sam's soul. Sam hasn't found someone to switch souls with yet, so the body is in suspended animation, so to speak." Doggett was looking around. "Some of this looks familiar." "I wouldn't have believed this if I wasn't here right now," Bailey said. John Benjamin aka JB scoffed at his twin sister "You never believe anything until you see it anyways. You're worse than Aunt Dana." "Gang," Doggett said in his quiet authorative tone--the same one he used for wayward agents, "zip it." The twins immediately fell silent. While everyone else hung back, Starkweather walked up to the two-way mirror, that Doggett-in-Sam had broken days ago. It was repaired now. Starkweather looked through the glass and saw a handsome man with sandy-brown hair with one lock gone gray. Starkweather put her hand on the glass. "Thank you Sam...." she whispered before Al led her away to explain the past to her and her family. **THE END**