From: msnsc21@yahoo.com   
      
   ok to send to newsgroup; I'll send to Ephemeral and Gossamer. Thanks!   
      
   Headers and disclaimers at beginning of story...   
   Land of the Living II   
   by ML   
      
   ~x~   
      
   Chapter Three   
      
   ~The Hoover Building, Monday morning~   
      
   He's surprised to see Scully already seated when he enters   
   Skinner's office.  He nods at her, and she nods back.   
      
   "Agent Mulder.  Thank you for being so timely."   
      
   Mulder glances at the clock.  Skinner isn't being sarcastic;   
   he's actually five minutes early.   
      
   "I'll get right to the point.  After consulting with Agent   
   Scully, I'm granting you another week of compassionate leave.   
   I'm sure you still have affairs to settle --"   
      
   "Excuse me, Sir, but are you saying I'm unfit for duty?"   
   Mulder interrupts.   
      
   "No, Agent Mulder, I am not.  But as you took part of your   
   leave to solve a case while in California, you still have   
   time coming to you.  I expect you to take it."   
      
   Mulder glances at Scully, who stares straight ahead.  "What   
   about Agent Scully?"   
      
   "Agent Scully is capable of handling the office in your   
   absence.  She'll continue with her duties."   
      
   Scully still hasn't looked at him.  He opens his mouth   
   to speak once more, but changes his mind about what he's   
   going to say.  "Is there anything else...Sir?"  he asks,   
   but he's looking at Scully.   
      
   "No, you're dismissed."   
      
   Scully gets up to leave, but Skinner says, "Agent Scully,   
   a moment?"   
      
   Mulder leaves without looking back.   
      
   Ten minutes later he's still in the basement office,   
   waiting for Scully to arrive.  He won't leave until   
   he's seen her. He'll wait by her car in the parking   
   garage if he has to.  But he hears the whoosh of the   
   elevator doors opening, and the familiar clack clack   
   of Scully's heels striding toward the door.  They seem   
   to slow a little as she gets closer, but maybe that's   
   wishful thinking on his part.   
      
   As she enters the office she says, "I'm glad you're   
   still here, Mulder."   
      
   "You can't get rid of me that easily," he cracks.  "Did   
   you have a hand in this, Scully?"   
      
   She can't lie to him.  "Skinner asked for my opinion,"   
   she says.   
      
   "Your *medical* opinion?"  he asks pointedly.   
      
   "My opinion as your partner -- and friend," she says.   
      
   He is silent for a moment.  "Okay, I get it.  This is   
   like the labors of Hercules.  There will always be one   
   more task for me to accomplish, right?  Before I can   
   get my reward."   
      
   "What are you talking about?"  Scully looks genuinely   
   puzzled.   
      
   "If you don't want to have anything to do with me,   
   Scully, just say so.  You don't have to make up reasons   
   not to be around me."   
      
   She stares at him, and the angry sparkle in her eyes   
   just makes him want to grab her and kiss her like there's   
   no tomorrow.  Being angry with her seems to have no   
   effect on his other feelings for her.   
      
   "Is that how you see this?"  she asks incredulously.   
   "That I'm withholding *favors* from you?"   
      
   "I just want to know how much more shit I'm going to   
   have to shovel," he sneers, his frustration at an   
   all-time high.  "At least be honest with me, Scully.   
   Are you just hoping I'll give up?"   
      
   "I don't think I can talk to you when you're like this,   
   Mulder.  I'll call you later."   
      
   "Don't bother, Scully.  I may not answer --"   
      
   But she's already gone.   
      
   x-x-x   
      
   How dare he?  How DARE he?  Scully doesn't trust   
   herself to drive, or she'd go home right now.  She   
   marches herself out of the building and toward the   
   Mall.   
      
   It's freezing outside but she barely feels it at   
   first.  She takes a deep breath and the cold air   
   fills her lungs.  It calms her somewhat.  She walks   
   briskly toward the business district until she finds   
   a coffee shop and ducks inside.   
      
   As she calms down, she thinks that she can't really   
   blame Mulder for taking Skinner's dictum personally.   
   He wouldn't have done so if she'd been able to talk   
   to him first before Skinner laid down the law.  So   
   actually, it's all Skinner's fault.   
      
   That's right, Dana, rationalize it all away, she thinks.   
      
   She'd called Skinner the night before, hoping to convince   
   him to assign them desk duty for a week or two, to allow   
   them to get back on an even keel.  Skinner, however, saw   
   things differently.   
      
   "I know this isn't what you expected," Skinner told her   
   when he kept her from leaving the office with Mulder.   
   "But I think it's the best course.  You know as well as   
   I do Mulder will avoid dealing with this for as long as   
   possible."   
      
   "Work is how he deals with it," Scully told him.  "You   
   should know that by now.  Sir."  she added belatedly.   
   "Take away the work and you take away everything."   
      
   "Dealing with the loss of his mother and his sister is   
   his work right now," Skinner said.  "It can't be an   
   official case."   
      
   "Then I request leave, Sir," Scully said.   
      
   "Denied," said Skinner.  "I don't want him using you as   
   a shield, Scully.  You're much too close to this."   
      
   "I respectfully disagree, Sir," Scully replied.  "He needs   
   me on this, just as much as on any case."  She left the   
   office with that, but as far as Mulder was concerned,   
   the damage had already been done.   
      
   Feeling partly to blame doesn't excuse Mulder's remarks   
   to her.  He seems to want to misunderstand her.  Instead   
   of the events of the past week bringing them together,   
   they seem to be pulling them apart.   
      
   On the other hand, maybe Skinner is right that they've   
   become too dependent upon each other.   
      
   To hell with that theory, she thinks.  She marches   
   herself out of the coffee shop and back to the Hoover.   
   She has work to do.   
      
   ~x~   
      
   Chapter Four   
      
   ~Hegal Place~   
      
   More messages on the answering machine.  Mulder plays   
   through them, barely listening the first time.  His   
   mind is still roiling with Scully's betrayal.   
      
   He hears the familiar cadences of Byers' voice, and   
   rewinds the message.   
      
   "Mulder, it's Byers," he starts unnecessarily.  "We've   
   run the tape through every test we can think of.  We   
   ran every filter, tried all the code breaking techniques   
   we know, and there's nothing hidden in the message that   
   we can find, other than the expected voice stresses."   
   The tape hisses with Byers' silence.  "We're sorry about   
   your mother.  I hope everything else is okay."  There is   
   a muffled exchange in the background.  "And we fed your   
   fish while we were there.  Call when you get back home,   
   okay?"   
      
   Scully is right, it appears.  There is nothing nefarious   
   about his mother's last earthly message to him, at least   
   as far as the Gunmen can tell.   
      
   What was so important that she had to kill herself to get   
   his attention?  Or had she planned it all along?  Had she   
   just wanted one last chance to reconcile, or did she have   
   something to tell him?   
      
   He really does just want to put all of this behind him.   
   His sister is gone, his mother is gone.  His father...well,   
   the jury is still out on that one, depending on who he   
   chooses to believe.   
      
   In the meantime, there is all the minutiae of dealing   
   with his mother's estate.   
      
   Despite his reluctance, deal with it he must.  He listens   
   to the rest of the messages and scribbles the numbers down   
   to call later.  He re-packs his bag for a trip to his mother's   
   former home.   
      
   He's not asking Scully to come, for more than the obvious   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)