019D9C090E03@comcast.net> 7318666d   
   Title - Decoding the Enigma   
   Authors - Amy Jonas and MagsRose   
   E-mail - adjonas2000@yahoo.com or magsrose@comcast.net   
   Rating - FRT-13 (PG - 13)   
   Category - AU/Gen/Het   
   Archive - Just let us know.   
   Feedback - Yes, please. Any kind is always welcome. We just like to know   
   someone is reading this stuff.   
   Disclaimer - Without Prejudice. The names of all characters contained here in   
   are the property of Chris Carter, et. al. No infringements of these copyrights   
   are intended, and are used here without permission. All original characters   
   are the sole property    
   of Mags or Amy and may not be used without the author's permission.   
   Summary - In 1940, Private Investigator, Melvin Frohike thought he was working   
   on a simple missing person case but he soon found himself embroiled in   
   something far more sinister.   
   Authors' notes - After seeing the Maltese Falcon, Amy presented Mags with an   
   idea for The X-Files characters in an Alternate Universe.  Intrigued by the   
   possibilities, Mags suggested a co-authoring effort.  The result is the story   
   you see here.  Thanks    
   to Erynn and Alison for betaing this for us.   
      
      
      
      
   Chapter 12   
      
      
   Maggie opened her front door to find Mulder. "Fox?  What are you doing here?"   
   He hadn’t been to her apartment since they had ended their relationship.  The   
   brief reminder made her aware that she wasn’t wearing any makeup and her   
   unruly hair was a mess    
   after giving her bathroom a good scrubbing.   
      
   "I’m looking for Frohike.  I was hoping you knew where he was.”   
      
   "Mel?" Maggie said surprised. "No. I heard about him on the radio though," she   
   said with obvious pride. "He caught Molly's killer."   
      
   "I know. I was with him."  The expression on his face told her something was   
   wrong.  All thoughts of her disheveled appearance vanished and she opened her   
   door further.   
      
   "Come in,” Maggie said, backing up to give him space.   
      
   Mulder came in just far enough for her to shut the door. He dropped his head,   
   covering his eyes with one hand. "Oh, Maggie. He completely lost control." He   
   looked at her then. The pain she saw in his eyes made her worry for his sake   
   and Frohike's. "I    
   thought he was going to kill the guy. When I tried to stop him, he tossed me   
   off like a rag doll. It took me and two other guys to pull him off."   
      
   Maggie reached out to him then, intending to give him a comforting hug but he   
   drew her close, burying his face in her neck.  Holding each other this way   
   made her think of when they'd dated. The only thing that held her back from   
   fully enjoying the    
   sensation of his arms around her was the tension and grief radiating from his   
   body.  She leaned back to look at him.   
      
   "Come sit down and tell me everything," she encouraged him.   
      
   Over the next half hour, Mulder related the whole story. Maggie just let him   
   talk, knowing that's what he really needed to do. She was very worried about   
   the fact that Frohike had not been seen since he was let out of jail but she   
   was more concerned    
   about Mulder at that moment.   
      
   "So, I'm suspended without pay pending an investigation into my involvement in   
   the severe beating of a suspect," said Mulder reciting what he had been told   
   the night before.   
      
   "How do you think that will turn out?" asked Maggie.   
      
   Mulder shrugged. "I don't know. There were plenty of witnesses there that can   
   testify that I pulled Mel off the guy but I was working on an open   
   investigation. Me - a lowly beat cop - I had the nerve to overstep my   
   authority and Internal Affairs is gonna    
   rake me over the coals for that."   
      
   Maggie knew about Mulder's aspirations of becoming a detective but his general   
   attitude and penchant for doing things his own way had kept him from advancing   
   through the ranks. "You're a good cop, Fox. They'll see it in time."   
      
   Mulder chuckled. "I think it's going to take a lot more than time for them to   
   see that." He truly believed this and was beginning to understand that it was   
   up to him to make the changes necessary to prove it. If he wanted to keep his   
   job and demonstrate    
   that he was detective material, he needed to be more serious about it.   
      
   He met Maggie’s sympathetic gaze and felt a sharp pang of regret. She was   
   something else he should have taken more seriously.  He only hoped it wasn’t   
   too late.   
      
   He took her hand. "Maggie, I…" he began before words failed him.   
      
   "Yes," she said her fingers lightly caressing his, her eyes searching his face.   
      
   He swallowed and tried again. "I messed things up between us.  I was stupid   
   and immature.  I’d like another chance with you.”  He held up his hand when   
   she started to speak.  “Just think about it, please?  Maybe one day we could   
   go out for dinner.”   
      
   Mulder could tell from Maggie's little smile that he had said the right   
   thing.  "How about tonight?" she asked.   
      
   “Tonight?”  Mulder nearly gaped in surprise then laughed in relief and   
   elation.  “Tonight would be great.”   
      
   She stood up. "Let me go change."   
      
   "What you have on looks great," Mulder said eyeing her old slacks and the   
   overly large shirt whose tails she had tied in a knot at her waist.   
      
   Maggie laughed. "No, it doesn't and you know it." She paused, the laughter   
   fading from her face.  “Fox? I’m worried about Mel. Before we go out, I'd   
   really like to see if we can track him down. You said no one's seen him since   
   he got out of jail, right?"   
      
   Mulder’s own concern returned.  "That's right."   
      
   "Did you call the office?"   
      
   Mulder nodded, saying, "And his place. No answer at either spot."   
      
   "What about Eddie's?" Maggie knew this was Frohike's bar of choice.   
      
   "I drove out there before I came here. He wasn't there either."   
      
   Maggie got up abruptly saying, "I'll be right back."   
      
   Mulder didn't have to wait very long before Maggie came back. She was wearing   
   an elegant blue dress with her hair combed and styled and make up on. "You   
   know, you don't have to do all that for me," Mulder quipped but he couldn’t   
   hold back the approving    
   smile.   
      
   "Sure I do," Maggie said smiling again before she became quite business like.   
   "I'll go out to the office and check if he's even been there." She said   
   opening the closet and taking her coat off its hanger. Mulder joined her,   
   helping her into it her coat. "   
   Why don't you go to his house and see if he's passed out or just not answering   
   the phone."   
      
   "I don't have a key," Mulder insisted.   
      
   "That hasn't stopped you before." Maggie picked up her purse fishing around in   
   it for her own keys. Making a decision, she turned around and placed a soft   
   kiss on his lips. "If I don't find him, I'll wait at the office. Call me there   
   when you know    
   anything."   
      
   "I'll do that," Mulder promised as they left her apartment.   
      
      
      
      
   * * * * *   
      
      
      
      
   Dana Scully was exhausted.  She had come in on Saturday, her day off,   
   intending to spend a half-day catching up on her mounting paperwork.  The   
   half-day stretched into a full day when she had to cover for a lab attendant   
   who had gone home sick.  It had    
   been quite busy at the morgue and she hadn’t been able to return to her office   
   with its dreaded paperwork until nearly five o'clock.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)