From: zapquilt_2000@yahoo.com   
      
   AUTHOR: ElleThom   
   EMAIL: too_spooky_4u@yahoo.com   
   TITLE: Long Day's Journey Into Night   
   SPOILERS: Up through season seven.   
   SUMMARY: There is no greater love....   
   DISCLAIMER: C'mon Chris, be nice.  Let them out   
   to play and I will return them unharmed-scout's   
   honor.   
   DISTRIBUTION: Just drop me a line so I can have   
   visitation rights and its all good.   
   AUTHOR'S NOTES: I wrote this as an answer to a   
   challenge set at The Nursery Files.  It kinda got   
   away form me at some point.	   
      
         It could be noted here that Fox Mulder had   
   either never heard of the old adage, or chose, in   
   a moment of primordial lust to chuck the whole   
   idea out of the window.  He had simply grabbed   
   his coat and stormed out of his small office.   
   	Special Agent Dana Scully had merely watched his   
   disappearing form from her seat at her desk  There was no talking to   
   him, he had not said anything to her other than   
   "I gotta go." Any other time she would have   
   assumed it was a flippant utterance of basic   
   human nature.  That he had simply left to go   
   answer the call of nature.  She would have gone   
   on believing that had it not been for the call of   
   a different nature.   
   	So tempting, to walk over to his desk, pick up   
   the phone and have her friend at the switchboard   
   tell her where the call had come from.  Laurie   
   was so helpful last time when she had to   
   determine if it were AD Skinner betraying them.   
   She had the information in hand before she even   
   realized she had called for it.  Logically she   
   told herself that it was to head off the next   
   ditch before it became too bad for her to save   
   him from.  Scully even rationalized the need to   
   know where her partner had gone as a basic   
   fundamental right as his partner.  He hadn't even   
   been in the office for an hour before the call   
   came in, they were just over the early morning   
   pleasantries, he had brought the coffee and she   
   had provided the crullers.  The same one that now   
   sat on his desk with only a cursory bite removed   
   from it.   
   	Of course, his speaking her name had absolutely   
   nothing to do with it.   
   	Nope.   
   	Nada.   
   	Fucking bitch.   
   	She carefully folded the paper she had hastily   
   written the information on, shoving it into her   
   purse as she left a message with Kim to inform   
   Skinner that they both would be out for the day.   
   	   
   2.   
      
   	"Agent Scully, to what do I owe this unexpected   
   pleasure?" the small man purred.   
   	"Cut the crap Frohike, I need your help and I am   
   not above a reenactment of my last autopsy with   
   you in the starring role." She shoved the piece   
   of paper into the hands of a very stunned   
   Frohike. "I need an address for this number. "   
   	"Why not go through official Bureau channels?"   
   Langly asked after having had a look at the   
   number.   
   	"Since when do you guys encourage anything   
   officially?" Scully took a look around the room,   
   all three of them had grown silent, with Byers   
   anxiously shuffling his feet and trying   
   desperately not to meet her eyes.   
   	"All right you three, spill or I will not be   
   held responsible for my actions." Their hang dog   
   expressions spoke more than words could. "You   
   know this number don't you?" Scully accused to   
   the room. "And you know where he is."   
   	It was Frohike who spoke up. "He told us you   
   would come here, warned us that you would either   
   be wielding a gun or scalpel." He grinned.   
   	"We just didn't expect you so soon." Byers   
   added.   
   	"We can't tell you anything Agent Scully, as   
   much as we want to this is not our story to   
   tell." Langly had moved to the back of the office   
   as he spoke and had retrieved something. "Here,"   
   he offered.   
   	Frohike spoke up before she could even examine   
   the large envelope. "For what it's worth Agent   
   Scully, I think this whole thing is shitty.  You   
   should have been in on it from day one.' He was   
   silenced by a none too subtle elbow to the ribs.   
   	"Fro," Langly said shaking his head.   
   	"What?" he fumed." He should have told her, I   
   think of all people she has a right to know." A   
   harrowing look from Byers stole any bravado left   
   in him.  Instead of speaking he snatched the   
   letter from Langly and pressed it into her hands.   
   "Read it Agent Scully, there are some answers I   
   am sure, but no truths." Tenderly he took her   
   hand in his and cooed. "You deserve a real man   
   Agent Scully, if you ever need anything, a   
   shoulder to cry on, or even a good vengeance   
   lay..."   
   	"Frohike!" Byers gasped.   
   	She took the envelope in hand and eyed the three   
   men suspiciously. "I'll be back." She threatened   
   before slamming the heavy wooden door behind her.   
   	Of which they had no doubt.   
   	"Fuck," Langly cursed shaking his head in utter   
   disbelief. "Mulder is in up to his ass on this   
   one."   
   	"It's his own damn fault Ringo." Frohike   
   intoned.   
   	"Yeah Fro, like he had a whole lot of choices at   
   the time." Langly retorted.   
   	Always the voice of reason amongst the three,   
   Byers broke in. "Either way, this is between the   
   two of them, its better we keep out of this one   
   guys."   
   	The other two nodded their assertions, "How much   
   you wanna bet she finds him?" Langly grinned.   
   	"It's not a question of her finding him, or   
   finding out.  It's what she is going to do to him   
   WHEN she finds out." Byers added.   
   	"I put a hundred bucks and my brand new laptop   
   that she disembowels him." Frohike smiled.   
   	"My money is on castration." Langly bantered,   
   receiving winces for his comment.   
   	"You're both wrong." Byers replied. "She's gonna   
   hurt him, of that there is no doubt, and it is   
   going to be slow and painful." His voice trailed   
   off to almost a whisper as he spoke his last   
   words. "But she'll forgive him."   
      
   3.   
      
   	He could take the drive in his sleep; he knew   
   the route so well and had traveled it enough   
   times.  Too many memories flooded his senses as   
   he drove the two hundred miles to his   
   destination.  He had found himself thinking of   
   Scully.   
   	He hated lying to her, hated what he had done   
   and what he had become in the time since...   
   	Since Diana had manipulated him into her life.   
   	It was as if he was at her beck and call, as if   
   her every whim had to be catered to and Mulder   
   was the only one who could answer.  Diana would   
   often call in the middle of the night, needing   
   something.  He hadn't turned her down, ever.   
   Even when it meant he would have to leave Scully   
   in the lurch over some paperwork.  He had to be   
   there for her, he had to go.   
   	The rain had begun to fall after he had left   
   Virginia. And as he pulled of the exit that would   
   lead to Diana's Cape Cod style home, he cursed   
   himself again.  He hated coming here and then   
   always hated to leave.   
   	   
   4.   
      
   	Scully sat inside of her car in front of her   
   apartment building.  She had waited until she got   
   home to even consider opening the envelope, and   
   as she fumbled with the flap, she could feel her   
   heart pounding.  Inside were several letters,   
   each obviously written at different times and in   
   Molder's wide sprawling script.  They were   
   ordered by number and so she read the first one   
   as tears had begun to form in her eyes.   
      
   Scully,   
      
   I write this as I sit next to what is now your   
   deathbed.  I fear for you Scully, and I am   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)