Title:  The Chilmark Project - Part IIIh - Foxhunt   
   Authors:  Wylfcynne & Ravenwald   
      
   For Authors' notes and Disclaimers, see Part I -   
   Demonology   
      
      
      
   They showered separately, mostly because the   
   shower was too small for them both.  Mulder stayed   
   in even longer than Scully; he found the sensation   
   almost as exhilarating as what had suddenly   
   blossomed between himself and Scully.   
      
   (*Is she my bondmate?  Can she be?  And this   
   Sentinel/Guide stuff is, well... for lack of a better   
   word, spooky!  But it makes sense...I think...*)   
      
   He wrestled with it while he scrubbed.  He stood   
   under the hot water for a long time, letting it parboil   
   him enough to loosen muscles stressed by   
   unaccustomed activity.   
      
   He grinned to himself as he rinsed his hair yet   
   again. (*'Unaccustomed activity.' As if that's all it   
   was.  But I FEEL like I rolled down a mountain;   
   some of these bruises have to be from that. And   
   the burns are healing, but they are still there...*)   
      
   He had investigated his entire body, and found   
   himself battered and bruised, sore and aching   
   everywhere, but, all in all, in pretty good shape.   
   (*Except for the burns, not much worse than after   
   Antarctica... and this had a MUCH happier ending!   
   Not only do I have Nickie back, but I actually HAVE   
   Scully, suddenly.   
      
   (*And she has me.*)   
      
   "Mulder, hurry up!  I'm starved!"   
      
   He grinned.  ("I'm coming, I'm coming!") he sent   
   loudly, mostly as a test.   
      
   "Not without me, you aren't!" she growled.  He   
   pushed the shower curtain open and saw her   
   glaring at him but fighting to hide a smile.   
      
   "Take a break, Scully," he grinned.  "I'm only a man.   
   I need recovery time."   
      
   She freed her smile then, and it warmed him more   
   than the hot water had.  "I know.  And you need to   
   eat.  I want you to keep up your strength."   
      
   He scrubbed at his hair with a towel.  "God, we've   
   created a monster..."   
      
   But Doctor Scully began checking him over, then:   
   while he dried his hair, the rest of him was plainly   
   exposed and brightly illuminated in the fluorescent   
   light.   
      
   "Mulder, are you all right?  Are you still in pain, at   
   all?"   
      
   He lowered the towel, and it blocked her view of his   
   injuries.  "What brought that on?  I'm fine, Scully..."   
   "You're a mess, Mulder; have you looked at   
   yourself, lately?"   
      
   He shrugged.  "I'm okay.  They're just bruises,   
   Scully. Minor stuff. Nothing significant.  They'll all   
   heal or fade in time."   
      
   "You're sure?"   
      
   He draped the towel across his shoulders and   
   advanced on her, took her in his arms.  "What?" he   
   murmured into her ear.  "I wasn't convincing   
   enough...?"   
      
   "What I felt was convincing," she assured him.   
   "But what I see still upsets me, and I ache for what   
   you endured..."   
      
   "Now you know how I felt when you were returned,"   
   he said gently. "And you have to convince yourself   
   that there's nothing you could've done to prevent   
   any of it, Dana."   
      
   "I wish I could've found you, rescued you...  I   
   wanted to be your knight in shining armor," she   
   admitted, smiling ruefully.   
      
   He chuckled.  "Was it my turn to be the damsel in   
   distress?" he asked. "I've lost track."   
      
   She hugged him tightly.  ("I don't ever want to lose   
   you again...")   
      
   He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her   
   gently. ("You won't. We're attached.  We're bonded   
   forever.")   
      
   Scully buried her face against his chest.  ("Blair   
   said you'd die if the bond was broken, but that I'd   
   survive. That's so unfair...!")   
      
   ("That's life,") he shrugged. ("How much of what   
   has happened to either of us is fair, Dana? We just   
   have to keep on doing what we have to do...")   
      
   She looked up at him, her eyes suddenly sparkling.   
   "I have to feed you," she grinned.   
      
   He could feel her remembering their lovemaking,   
   and laughed softly. ("Are you always this   
   insatiable?")   
      
   That stopped her short.  She stared up at him.  ("I   
   don't know,") she murmured.   
      
   He hugged her, framed her face in his hands, and   
   kissed her.  ("I've got a question.")   
      
   ("Shoot.")   
      
   ("Will you marry me?")   
      
   She blinked, startled.  ("Of course.  The idea of   
   anyone else ever touching you infuriates me, and   
   the thought of anyone but you touching me is   
   nauseating.  But what brought that on?")   
      
   ("One, I love you.  Two, it's a legal bond, so the FBI   
   can't separate us by transferring us to different   
   cities. Three, I love you.  Four...")   
      
   Scully laughed.  ("That's enough!  Yes, I'll marry   
   you!)   
      
   He grinned.  ("C'mon.  Let's get dressed and eat.   
   Then I want to go outside.")   
      
   They went downstairs together, hand-in-hand, with   
   Laddie frisking happily around their feet. "Hi,"   
   Chazz greeted them cheerfully.  "Sleep well?   
   Sleep often? Sleep at all?"   
      
   Scully stopped dead, staring at her.  ("How...?!")   
      
   ("You're a screamer, Dana.  You didn't realize...?")   
      
   Scully blushed furiously.   
      
   Chazz stepped forward and hugged her.  "Hey.   
   You have a right to be happy, Dana.  Don't let   
   anyone make you ashamed of it.  The two of you   
   have been through hell.  You deserve a vacation.   
   Relax and take it here."   
      
   Slowly Scully let herself relax.  "I suppose..."   
      
   "Hey, Scully?"   
      
   She turned at once.  "Yes?"   
      
   Mulder was sitting on the couch with a happy collie   
   in his lap.  He was petting the dog, but his   
   expression was pensive.   
      
   "Mulder?"   
      
   "Did you tell anyone you found me?"   
      
   "No one knows but my friends here," Chazz   
   answered. "There's a Special Agent McCormick in   
   DC who was our contact.  No one else knows."   
      
   Mulder shifted his attention back to Scully.   
   "Skinner?"   
      
   Again, it was Chazz who answered.  "He spent the   
   first night next door at Rollie's, but he went into   
   town that next morning to meet with Jim's C.O.,   
   Captain Banks.  I think it was for a quick and dirty   
   briefing on the care and feeding of Sentinels and   
   Guides.  He stayed in town since; I don't think he's   
   gone back to DC."   
      
   Mulder grinned, but it faded quickly.  "I'm not like   
   Jim.  I can't do what he says he can do."   
      
   "You're different," Chazz agreed.  "But you and   
   Dana can do things no one else can do, Mulder.   
   Don't sell yourself short."   
      
   Scully realized belatedly that he was staring at the   
   phone on the coffee table.  "Who do you want to   
   call, Mulder?"   
      
   "I should call my mom..."   
      
   But she could feel his reluctance, and understood   
   it.  He had just relived a childhood nightmare to   
   which he had been subjected with his parents'   
   cooperation and approval.  He was going to have to   
   confront her about it. Scully went to him, sat down   
   beside him, slid her arms around him.   
      
   ("Hold off on that until we can face her together.   
   You two have a lot to discuss... you need to be   
   face to face for that.  Her phone's probably tapped,   
   in case someone updates her on the search for   
   you.")   
      
   ("Yeah...now that I remember EVERYTHING, it's   
   not going to be a short conversation...") His eyes   
   were not focused.   
      
   Scully gasped suddenly.  "Oh, my God!  It's been a   
   week and I never called Mom!"   
      
   Mulder tossed her the phone.  She dialed hurriedly   
   as she walked to the couch and dropped to sit   
   beside him. He put his arm around her and she   
   snuggled close.   
      
   "Mom?  It's me.  I'm in Washington State.  Guess   
   who we found!" She passed the phone back.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)