Sizzle(1/2)

Date: Friday, October 15, 1999

Title: Sizzle
Summary: Mulder and Scully encounter meteroites and
rattlesnakes on a desert reservation. Fun times abound.
Spoilers: None, this is early first season. Read that twice. This is
very early season one. Early.
Category: S, A, MT, UST and Scully on a motorcycle
Rating: PG tops. Very clean.
Disclaimer: Go ahead, arrest us. We've done it again. But this is
so early on in the series that we didn't really mess with the
mythology or anything, not even romance. So, why not give us a
break, if we promise not to make any money off it?
Thank yous and neat stuff:
Sally first: "I had a dream.....ah no, actually that's not true. It was
just an idea, but it needed a plot so I wrote to Vickie and guess
what? She had the plot. So we combined the two and now you
have Sizzle. But nothing comes for free and Vickie made me work
for this<G>. She encouraged me to go in new directions, but not
without a compass. She was always there guiding, and suggesting
ways I could find information on topics I knew nothing about.
Thankyou Vickie. And thanks to Ten who towards the end when
the doubts set in said, "You can do it, I've got faith in you."
Thanks guys."
Vickie's turn: Well, St. Vickie, here. <G> Honestly, I had this
story lying around on my harddrive since 95 and it was getting
seriously moldy. Then, Sally writes me that she wanted to do a
desert story, but didn't have a plot. TaDa! Instant plot! But
toward the end, my job actually starting requiring 'work' out of me
and I sort of fizzled. I knew Sally would come through and finish
the story. I think it came out pretty darned good, if I do say so
myself. Of course, we ran it past a few people, Ten, Susan, and
Jenniferanne and thanks to all of them for their help. You guys are
the greatest! We say some more stuff at the end, but for now, on
with the story.
Comments to: Sally Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Vickie Moseley vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com
We love comments. We frame the really nice ones <VEG>

Vickie

Come visit my web page, brought to you by the fabulous Shirley Smiley!

http://vickiemoseley.freeservers.com

"When you start, you make certain choices, and those choices accumulate and
create a number of [other] choices. The story starts to tell itself, and
that's been very exciting in a way. There's so much that has come and been
told that you are, in a way, a slave to the facts you've created, and it's a
really fun way to tell stories. That's not to say it's simplified. In fact,
it becomes complicated, but it all starts to make sense, and that's been a
really wonderful thing."

Quote from Chris Carter on development of The X Files

Sizzle
by Sally Bahnsen
bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Vickie Moseley
vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Arizona Painted Desert
March 30, 1992

Four teenage boys in a beat-up truck skidded to a halt in the middle
of the Arizona desert. Laughing, and each brandishing a fifth of
whiskey, they trudge off the road and into the open countryside.
One boy, a little taller and somewhat older than the other three,
calls out that he will catch up. He bends down to examine a small
white flower, too delicate for the desert. The flower appears to be
growing out of a piece of glass. The boy reaches out and picks the
flower, brings it up to his nose and smells its aroma. He is about to
put a petal into his mouth when a scream from one of the other
boys causes him to stop and look up. Shoving the flower in his
pocket, he runs off in the direction of the others. One of the other
flowers is crushed beneath the heel of his boot as he runs.

FBI Headquarters
Washington DC
April 3, 1992
8:35 am

Dana Scully wove her way past the stacks of boxes and crates,
through the narrow hallway. It was an obstacle course just getting
to the office, she thought to herself. The door was partway open,
but the lights were off. This did not stop her from calling out
"Mulder?" as she pushed the door open.

"Right here, in the dungeon," came the reply from across the room.
Mulder was looking intently at a slide projected on the screen at the
far end of the room.

"It would be less of a dungeon if you would occasionally turn on
the lights," Dana shot back. "Ouch!" she added as she ran her knee
into an open file drawer. "Dungeon is an accurate description!"

"I am doing my part to save taxpayers dollars, Scully. Besides, you
can't see the slides with the lights on. Come here and look at this."
He was circling an area on the screen with a light pencil stroke.

"What is that, the desert?" Scully asked.

"Very close, it's an Indian Reservation about 15 miles north of
Painted Desert National Park. Notice anything unusual?"

"Mulder, I've only seen the Painted Desert in books. Everything in
the picture looks unusual," Scully replied dryly.

"Oh, that's right. A Navy brat wouldn't have much use for a region
with only 2 inches of rainfall a year. But look right here in this
corner. Now you have to notice something!"

Dana scowled at the corner. It looked like the rest of the
slide--sand, a few sparse plants, a lizard--nothing that wasn't
thought to be in a desert. Then, suddenly, she saw what he was
referring to. In the shadow of a rock, there was a glint of light right
next to a desert flower.

"That glint. But that's not that unusual. It could be silicon, or
obsidian. Or a tab from a beer can, for that matter." Scully
straightened and crossed her arms. "Not exactly X-file material,
Mulder. Even you have to admit that."

"Except, Scully, look at this." Mulder clicked in a new slide. It
was of a different area, all the rocks were different and the
vegetation was a different color. And in the middle of the picture
was another glint of light and another desert flower. This time,
however, it looked like the flower was growing out of whatever
was reflecting the sun. "I've never know obsidian to support plant
life. But then, I once knew an entire fraternity who lived for weeks
off beer cans."

"Mulder, I hardly think a flower growing out of a piece of metal is a
punishable offense. Exactly why is this something the Bureau
should get involved with, since I know that's where you're headed
with this," Scully said, bracing herself for the worst. It seemed at
these times that she was more of a den mother than a
partner--trying to make sure the scout didn't glue himself to a table.

"We'll have to ask the Bureau of Indian Affairs for that one,
Scully," Mulder smiled in satisfaction. "They're the ones who sent
the slides and asked for our assistance." He switched the slide and
showed four cattle, apparently dead. "They've been losing cattle
left and right during the last week and just two days ago a teenager
from the reservation came up sick."

"So why call us?" Scully asked. "It sounds like a job for either the
EPA or Centers for Disease Control."

"Apparently someone out there has heard of us. They requested
our section by name. And we," he added triumphantly, "are going
to spend a couple of days in the gloriously warm southwest and out
of this ice-box! Don't ya just love this job?" he added, patting her
arm.

The flight to Arizona was quiet, if a bit cramped. "I don't mind
standby, but this is tax-saving too far," Mulder grumbled as they
followed the long line to the baggage claim.

"Taxes have nothing to do with, I'm afraid," answered Scully. "I
overheard one of the attendants saying that a third of the pilots are
out sick. The entire east coast has the flu. Over half the clerical
staff at the office are out with it. You would know that if you ever
climbed out of the basement and looked around."

"If over half the secretaries have the flu, I think I was pretty smart
to STAY in the basement!" muttered Mulder.

The small town on the edge of the reservation looked like a ghost
town waiting to happen. The one main street had every other
building vacant and boarded up. The cars, except for their rental,
were of 70's vintage, and not because they were collector's items.
It was a quiet and somewhat depressing sight. The motel was a
single story affair at the north end of the main street. Parking was
on the main street.

As Dana waited for Mulder to unlock the trunk and give her the
luggage, she casually looked around. "Oh, my God," she muttered
in surprise. "I don't believe it!" She immediately started toward the
other side of the street. Mulder, who was left holding the bags, was
obviously confused and a little concerned.

"Scully, where are you going?"

By this time, Scully was all but running across the little two lane
road and calling someone by name. Mulder couldn't make out what
she was saying, but was close on her heels when a young woman in
a white lab coat twirled around. It was obvious that she heard
Scully's call and the look of recognition on her face was replaced by
a huge, warm smile. "Dee! Dee Scully, is that really you?" The
two were hugging and laughing when Mulder caught up.

"I don't believe this! What in the world are you doing here?" the
young woman asked. She was about Dana's age and size, her blond
hair streaked by the sun and a healthy tan on her cheeks.

"I want to know what YOU are doing here!" Dana demanded. "I
thought you were assigned to Nome, Alaska or something."

"Well, I was, but then I heard they needed someone in Arizona. It
was a real hard decision mind you--12 months of snow and ice or
12 months of sunshine. I must've lost 15 seconds of sleep over it."
They both laughed. "But Dee, what are you doing out of that
fortress in DC. Did you finally wake up and escape the Fibbies?"

"Actually, the 'Fibbies' have ventured forth," Mulder said over his
partner's shoulder. "I guess you have contacts among the locals,
huh, Scully?"

"Oh, Mulder, I'm sorry," Dana said apologetically. "Annie," she
said to the young woman, "meet Special Agent Fox Mulder, my
partner. Mulder, this is my roommate from medical school, Annie
Sullivan."

"Pleased to meet you," Mulder said. "I'll leave you two to chat. I
have some pressing business," he said, holding up both bags.

"Oh, Mulder, let me help you," Dana started to insist, but was
stopped by Mulder shaking his head.

"Scully, it doesn't take two of us to check in. Stay. Talk. I'll be
back with your key in a couple of minutes." With that, he hefted
the bags onto his shoulders and headed back across the street.

Annie stared after him and smiled. "So, Dee, do you get to pick
your partners out of a line up or did you just get incredibly lucky?"

"Annie!" Dana exclaimed. "You haven't changed one bit! But
watch out, Mulder is taken."

"Ahh, married?" the disappointment was thick in her voice.

"In a way," Dana answered, watching Mulder struggle to hold both
bags and open the door to the office of the motel. "He's married to
his work."

"Worst kind." Annie said, shaking her head. "And a darn shame,
too. I like the way he walks away." Dana shoved her in the
shoulder and both women laughed. "Well, the least I can do is
make dinner for the two of you." She reached into her pocket,
took out a pen and a notepad and scribbled. "My house is just
down the road, 1.3 miles, on the right. You can't miss it." She
impulsively hugged Dana again. "God, I just don't believe it! I'll
see you at 6:00, OK?"

Scully caught up with Mulder in the office. He was hanging up the
pay phone. He saw her puzzled look. "I wasn't able to get hold of
the BIA. They close at 4:30, so we'll have to run over first thing in
the morning."

"All right. Oh, by the way, we've been invited to Annie's for dinner.
Six o'clock."

Mulder glanced at his watch. "Just enough time for a run."

"Mulder, it is 110 out here! You can't be serious!" Dana said in
disgust.

"Scully, you're soft! No stamina."

"Oh, yeah," she retorted. "Well don't come crying when your brain
is fried like an egg on a sidewalk. I'll scrape you off the floor about
20 till 6."

Annie's house was a small four room clapboard with a porch across
the front. She greeted them at the door with large glasses of
lemonade. The house was neat and pleasant inside and delicious
smells floated out of the back, where the kitchen was.

"Make yourself at home," she said. "For that matter, Dee, I bet you
recognize most of this stuff. It was in our dorm." She disappeared
through French doors into the kitchen and returned carrying a small
silver tray. "Stuffed mushrooms, just like you like 'em"

Scully scooped up a mushroom and popped it into her mouth. She
leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "Annie, I've really
missed you!" she sighed.

"Yeah, right!" Annie laughed. "You missed my cooking! Well,
wait till I serve the main course. I thought a little coq au vin
appropriate for the occasion."

Sensing Mulder's questions, but not bothering to open her eyes,
Scully explained. "Annie studied at the Cordon Bleu before she
decided on medicine. My first semester rooming with her I gained
15 pounds. It took the next three years to work it off, but it was
worth every second of it!"

"Now I see why you were so anxious to get to dinner on time
tonight," Mulder mumbled around a mushroom.

Annie, sipping her lemonade and popping mushrooms into her
mouth like peanuts, sat in a wicker rocker. "So, is it a matter of
national security that brings you here, or do you just like to count
rattlesnakes?"

"Do you work for the reservation?" Mulder countered, successfully
avoiding the question she had posed.

"I work for the state, but I work with the reservation," Annie
replied. "I am one of those 'indentured servants'. I work in
under served areas for 6 years and the loan sharks don't come and
take my firstborn, if I ever have one. I'm on staff at the hospital
here in town, and I also have a clinic at the res." She rocked for a
minute "and I guess it must be a matter of national security or you'd
tell me why you're here. Am I right?"

"You're mistaking us for the CIA," Mulder said smiling. "We
'investigate'."

"So, what are you investigating?" Annie asked, still sipping her
drink.

"In your work at the reservation, have you heard anyone talk about
a meteor falling in the desert?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, it was a big rock. Fell out of the sky. Just like that. So
how come you answer every question with a question?" Annie
asked, a bit annoyed.

"Do I?" Mulder asked, still smiling.

"Dee, I have to hand it to you. If he wasn't your partner, I would
have killed him by now!" Annie exclaimed. Then, she quickly
recovered. "OK, Mr. Federal Bureau of Investigation, yeah, I
heard tell of the meteor. It was the major topic of conversation for
over a week. Sky falling and all that hocus-pocus. But that was
over two months ago. You gonna tell me what you're doing here
now or do I take the rest of the mushrooms back out to the
kitchen." Her face was a determined smile as she reached for the
tray.

Scully opened her eyes and sat up. "Annie, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs thinks there's something strange going on where the meteor
fell. Apparently some livestock have died and recently some people
have taken ill. Are you treating anyone that may have come in
contact with the meteor?"

"When did you get this call from BIA?" Annie asked pointedly.

"It came in to the office two days ago," Mulder answered. "We
were assigned to it yesterday."

Annie got up from her chair. "This really takes the cake! I told
them to call CDC and they call the FBI! No wonder the Indians
have negative population growth rate--the BIA is trying to
exterminate them!"

"Annie, what are you talking about?" Dana asked.

"OK, straight story. No games. A week ago, a few of the
teenagers on the res decided to try to make a spirit journey. Except
they had no idea what they were doing. But armed with a couple of
fifths of Jack Daniels and very little common sense, they ventured
into the desert in search of 'a spiritual experience.' Well, one of
them stepped in a rattlesnake nest and was bitten pretty good. The
other three, scared out of their wits, wake me out of a sound sleep.
While I'm working on the snake bite, one of the other boys gets a
headache. I hand him the bottle of ibuprofen and go back to
work."

"I finished with the first kid about half an hour later. He was cut up
from the bites and a little sick from the venom, but he was OK.
The second kid, the headache, was looking really bad. I took his
temp. It was over 104 and he was throwing up his insides. I put
him on an IV, started pumping antibiotics and stayed up with him
the rest of the night. He was doing a little better in the morning, so
I handed the chart over to the day shift and went home to collapse.
When I called about 4:30 in the afternoon, he was in a coma. He
died the next morning. Exactly 36 hours from the time of the
headache." Annie stopped and stared off into space for a moment.
"I called BIA and told them I had never seen anything like this,
even in Alaska and that they should get CDC in here pronto. I took
biopsies and blood work and shipped it off to the state university
for testing." She looked at Mulder and Scully. "Apparently,
somebody over there doesn't know the difference between a
microorganism and a kidnapper."

Mulder turned to Scully. "The rocks with the flowers." Dana
shrugged her shoulders.

"Is that some kind of weird code?" Annie asked, confused.

"No, it's from some slides the BIA sent us. They were pictures of
rocks with flowers growing out of them," Dana replied.

"Dee, this is a desert. All the flowers grow out of rocks. There
isn't any dirt to grow from. But what does this have to do with a
meteor that fell two months ago? Have I missed something? What
do you guys really investigate?"

Mulder looked at her for a moment before answering. "OK,
straight story. No games. We're here to investigate unexplained
phenomenon. Lights in the sky, things that go bump in the night or
glow in the dark. That meteor probably carried an organism from
somewhere else, somewhere out in space. And it's deadly, from the
sounds of it."

Annie sat staring at them in complete amazement. "You mean my
tax dollars are being spent to pay you guys to chase little green
men?"

"Only when a crime is involved," Scully was quick to add. "And
we investigate to eliminate the possibility that there is a abnormal
explanation." She shot a glare at Mulder. "I imagine the BIA think
there may be more to this than it appears. But that also explains
why we got the assignment. The Bureau wanted someone with
medical experience."

"Well, all I know is four kids went out into the desert. One almost
died, and one did die. And I did everything I could think of to save
him. I just want someone to tell me I didn't screw up and he died
because of it."

"If we're dealing with an extraterrestrial organism, I doubt you
could have done anything to save the boy," Mulder said shaking his
head. "Has anyone else come down with the same symptoms? Any
of the other boys?"

"Not yet, but that doesn't mean anything. I've looked through every
book I own and I can't find anything like it. This organism may
have a long incubation period. I'm keeping tabs on the three of
them." Annie stood up and motioned them toward the kitchen.
"Look, enough shop talk. I invited you to eat, so let's eat. Coq au
vin waits for no one!"

Half way through a dessert of white chocolate cheesecake drizzled
with raspberry sauce, the phone rang. Annie excused herself, talked
for a moment and came back to the table with her lab coat on and
her keys in her hand.

"Well, it looks like we have a case for you to look at, after all. That
was the hospital. A forty year old man and his twelve year old
daughter were just brought in. Headaches started about 5:00 this
evening, fevers approaching 104. Looks like the same bug," she
said grimly. "I'm heading over. You two are welcome to finish
dessert and join me after I see if they're stable."

"Mind if we just tag along, now?" Scully asked.

"Frankly, I'd like to get a handle on it, first. Give me an hour or so.
They aren't going anywhere and if they are in the same shape as the
first boy, they aren't ready to answer questions, yet, anyway," she
said as she headed for the door.

"Look, if you really want to get the information straight from the
horse's mouth, why don't you go over to the gas station and talk to
the kids. One of them works over there and the other two hang out
there all the time. That's where I always go to find them," Annie
added. "I'll see you in an hour." And she was out the door and in
her car before either of them could say a word.

Mulder and Scully stood in the doorway as Annie's car did a u-turn
in the middle of the road and peeled gravel as her Bronco sped
toward town. "Well, I guess we go get the oil checked, eh Scully?"
Mulder asked.

Annie was right about the teenagers. Three teenage boys were
sitting under a small awning at the only gas station in town. Mulder
and Scully introduced themselves and showed their identification.
The tallest boy in the group spoke first. "Whadda ya want with us?
We didn't do anything!" The uniform shirt he wore showed his
name Ed.

"It's not like that, Ed," Mulder replied, trying to put the boys at
ease. "We're just here to ask a couple of questions. I understand
that you were with the boy who died three days ago."

Ed looked hesitantly at his friends and finally nodded in agreement.

"You guys went out to the desert?" Mulder asked. "Do you go out
there often at night?"

Ed was still uncomfortable doing all the talking, but neither of the
other boys spoke up. Finally he answered, "Yeah, we went out to
the desert. And we've been out there before," he stopped before
adding, "but that was before that rock fell outta the sky! We ain't
goin' back there, now, man! No way!"

"Did you see the rock?" Mulder asked.

One of the other boys, with a faint scar on his cheek, finally spoke
up. "We didn't get close to the thing. It left a trail of junk for
about a mile when it came down."

"Yeah," agreed Ed. "And the weirdest thing is the flowers. These
flowers are growing outta the pieces of junk. And they ain't like
anything I ever seen before. My grandfather's an old healer and he
never saw 'em before, either. He told us to stay away from them,
the rocks and the flowers, that they were 'bad medicine' or
something. But that didn't stop Mike."

"Who is Mike?" Mulder interrupted.

"Mike EagleFeather. The guy who died." Ed shook his head.
"Mike thought the flowers were some kinda peyote or something.
He was pickin' 'em when Dave here stepped in the rattler's nest."

Scully was suddenly interested. "Did any of the rest of you touch
those flowers?"

"No way, man!" Ed replied and the others nodded enthusiastically
in agreement. "We figured we'd stick to bottled peyote, if you
catch my drift. Only Mike messed with them." Ed hesitated a
minute. "We kinda figured that's what killed him--those flowers, I
mean. It was the only thing he did different that night. And we've
been drinking like that tons of times before. Nobody ever died over
it," Ed added solemnly.

"Would you be willing to take us out to the place you were that
night?" Scully asked.

"No way, man! That place is totally off limits as far as I'm
concerned! I can draw you a map, if you want, but I wouldn't go
messin' around it, if I were you." Ed grabbed a piece of paper
towel and quickly charted a map of the local roads. He handed the
map to Scully.

Mulder pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to Ed. "There's
a pager number on this card. If you remember anything else about
that night, will you let us know?" All three boys nodded yes.

As they got into the car, Mulder considered the options. "Well, do
we try to find flowers in the desert on a moonless night, or do we
go to the hospital and see what we can get out of the latest
victims?"

"I think we'd be better off at the hospital," Scully replied. "Annie's
a good doctor. I know she's found out some things by now that she
didn't know with the first boy. And I want to take a look at the lab
results from him. Besides, I don't think the meteor or the flowers
are going to disappear. We can take a drive out there in the
morning when there's light."

"Works for me," Mulder said turning the car in the direction of
town.

end of part one

Vickie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sizzle part two
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimed in part 00

The hospital was small and not very modern. It took them no time
at all to find Annie, her hair tied back and glasses perched on her
nose, reading a chart at the nurse's station. She looked up as she
heard their footsteps. "Dee, you gotta look at this," she said,
handing over the chart and pointing to the middle of the page.

"This patient is diabetic. What about it?" Scully asked.

"No, he wasn't! Mike EagleFeather was as healthy as a horse!
There was absolutely no history of diabetes in his entire family,
either side! And look at the next page. I just got it from the
coroner's office."

"Cause of death: diabetic coma." Scully read out loud.

"This bug attacks the pancreas! I gave Mike glucose in the IV--I
was killing him and I didn't even know it. I could kick myself for
not doing a 'stick' test here, myself, but I wasn't looking in that
direction." Annie took the chart back. "But I'm a fast learner. I
put the two that just came in on sterile water and insulin."

"Have you got any lab equipment here?" Scully asked, looking
around.

"Yeah, but it's not too sophisticated. I still have to hunt down a
rabbit to do a pregnancy test. What are you thinking?" Annie asked
in return.

"Well, I always liked lab better than you did. Would you let me see
what I can come up with from the two patients you have now?"
Scully asked sheepishly.

Annie laughed and pointed across the hall. "Very diplomatic, Dr.
Scully. You were the person who pulled me through lab. The
room is yours. The candles for the microscope are in the top
drawer. Knock yourself out!"

Painted Desert Medical Center
3:15 am

Dana Scully had been hunched over the lab's lone microscope so
long that her back creaked when she stood up and stretched. She
glanced at her watch and the lateness of the hour only made her
realize how tired she was. But the slide under the 'scope would not
let her rest.

Scully had studied the blood sample drawn from the father and the
young girl. As she watched, the cells were changing, white cells
devouring red cells and then dying themselves. It was very
interesting, but very confusing. In some respects, it explained the
run away fever, but not the attack on the pancreas and the resulting
diabetes. She was in a complete quandary and knew that only one
thing would clear her mind--4 or 5 hours of sleep. She took off the
borrowed lab coat, hung it on the back of the chair and left the
room to search for Mulder.

Mulder had been waiting to interview the forty-year-old man.
Annie had agreed to let him see the patient when the older man's
fever had leveled off at 100. The interview had only taken 10
minutes--that was all the time Annie would allow. But during the
course of the conversation, Mulder was able to ascertain that
neither the father nor the daughter had come into physical contact
with the fragments of the meteor or the strange flowers. They did,
however, live downwind of a range where several cattle had died in
the last week. Mulder made a note to visit the ranchers in the area
and inquire about the cattle in the morning.

Once the interview was finished, Mulder found a quiet corner in the
hospital and opened his brief case. Inside were all the files in the
basement that had to do with meteors and strange occurrences.
There were at least 50 files, some he knew very well and some he
had only glanced at as he looked for similar circumstances. He now
sat down and read each one thoroughly. Scully found him while he
was finishing number 35 in his stack.

"I don't know about you, but I am ready to call it a night--at least
for a few hours," Scully said wearily as she sat down across from
him at the table.

Mulder took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah," he agreed, "I could use a few hours of sleep. And a large
bottle of aspirin."

"Headache?" Scully asked, trying not to sound alarmed.

"Scully," Mulder said tiredly, "the human body can only take so
much. I've been reading old files for the last 5 and a half hours and
we've traveled over 2000 miles today. Mrs. Mulder's little boy has
had a very busy day and his body is doing its best to let him know
it's time to sleep. I really don't even need the aspirin. I just need
sleep."

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, Annie left about
an hour after Mr. Gooden stabilized. You can catch up with her in
the morning. She'll be in at 8:30. If we leave now, that gives you 4
hours of sleep."

Drive-on Inn Motel

7:30am

Mulder opened his eyes, quickly closing them again as the sun's
morning rays assaulted him through an inadvertent gap in the
curtains. The previous night's headache was still thudding
insidiously behind his eyes. Mulder rolled over onto his side,
burying his head into the pillow and groaning. That quiet groan set
off a chain of events in his body. A dry scratchy feeling burned at
the back of his throat, followed by a tickle in his chest that soon
erupted into a series of coughs. He could barely breathe through
his nose at all it was so congested. "Oh God," he moaned himself,
"I knew I shoulda stayed in the basement."

He threw back the bed covers, swinging his legs over the side. He
gave himself a few seconds, waiting for the pounding in his head to
subside before making his way to the bathroom.

The hot water and steam from the shower helped clear his head and
sinuses. He took a couple of extra minutes, luxuriating in the
warmth of the water beating down on his shoulders and back,
relaxing stiff muscles. By the time he stepped out of the shower he
was feeling almost human again.

Mulder was just putting the finishing touches to his tie when there
was a knock on the door.

On opening the door he was greeted by the sight of his partner.
She was dressed in a maroon suit and perfectly groomed, looking
fresh and ready to meet the day.

"How do you do that, Scully?" he asked cryptically.

"Good morning to you, too, Mulder. And do what?" She asked in
confusion.

"How do you manage to look so bright eyed and bushy tailed after
only four hours sleep?" He queried, closing the door and returning
to the task of fixing his tie.

"Mulder I have already had my first cup of coffee. It's no secret,
you know, no mysterious x file." She tossed back at him while
moving further into the room. "God Mulder, it's like the 'Bat Cave'
in here," she accused and headed over to the curtains, pulling them
apart.

Mulder squinted at the sudden onslaught of brightness from the sun
which reminded him none too kindly of the dull ache behind his
eyes. He wasn't sure if it was the dust from the curtains, or the sun,
but he was suddenly caught in a bout of sneezing, which soon grew
into a full blown coughing fit.

Scully peered at him through narrowed eyes, only really noticing for
the first time the dark circles under bleary eyes. His haggard,
drawn features. She was gripped in a sudden rush of fear as she
thought back to the victims of this unidentified organism.

"Mulder, are you feeling all right?" She asked unable to keep the
growing concern out of her voice. It would just be Mulder's luck
to catch this bug.

"I think I'm getting a cold," he replied while reaching for a tissue
to blow his nose.

Warning bells were ringing in Scully's head as she recalled the
symptoms of the patients back in the hospital.

"Do you have a fever?" She asked, gently placing her hand on his
forehead.

"Scully I have a cold." He insisted, pushing her hand from his head
as he spoke. "Is it any wonder? The majority of the East coast has
the 'what-ever-Asian-Country-they-named-it-after-flu'. I, however
have a common, garden variety, cold. See what happens when I
come out of the basement. I always knew there was method in my
madness," he pouted.

On the face of it Mulder seemed to have a reasonable explanations.
But she knew she would feel a lot more comfortable if she could
run a blood test, just to make sure. It seemed like too much of a
coincidence that Mulder should get sick in a town with an unknown
deadly organism lurking in its midst.

"Mulder I'd like you to come down to the hospital. I'll take some
blood and run a couple of tests. It'll only take a few minutes, and
then we'll know for sure that it's not something more serious." She
looked him in the eye, trying to add strength to her argument, but
in her heart she knew Mulder wasn't going to go with this.

"Scully. I appreciate your concern, and I know you don't have a lot
of live patients to practice on, but I am not going to the hospital for
a cold. I have an appointment with the BIA, which I fully intend to
keep." With that he gathered up his wallet and ID off the dresser
and moved to the door.

He held the door for Scully and bowing slightly at the waist, waved
her through, "After you ma'am."

Scully walked past and looked at him with a mixture of concern and
annoyance. Once outside she seemed to come to a decision.
"Okay Mulder. No hospital, but on one condition. We, and by that
I mean -both- of us, get breakfast first. Deal?" She negotiated this
knowing full well that if Mulder didn't eat now, he wouldn't give
food another thought once he was caught up in the thrill of the
chase.

Mulder sighed in resignation. He figured it was a small sacrifice to
make to stay away from the hospital. "Deal." He said, and flashed
her one of his most charming smiles.

Diner 8:30am

The agents were seated at a table. Mulder had some of the files
from the night before spread in front of him. The waitress arrived
with coffee and filled their cups. "What'll it be?" She inquired,
pencil poised above her note pad.

Scully spoke up first, "I'll have some granola, yogurt and fruit
salad. Oh and a regular orange juice, please."

The waitress turned to Mulder expectantly.

"Umm, coffee's fine thanks." He said absent mindedly, face still
buried in one of the files.

Scully's head shot up. "Mulder! Coffee does not constitute
breakfast. Eat something or the deal's off." She turned to the
waitress and placed an order for Mulder. "He'll have 2 eggs over
easy, toast, a side order of hash browns and an orange juice."

"And would that be a regular or large juice for your husband?" the
waitress asked innocently.

Mulder just looked at Scully, eyebrows raised in anticipation,
wondering how she was going to handle that little blunder. Scully
just sat there, mouth open, momentarily stuck for words.

Mulder turned from Scully and addressed the waitress. "My wife
usually lets me make that decision myself," he smiled. "I'll have a
regular thank you."

The waitress wrote down the order and headed back to the counter.

Scully was staring down at her hands, fiddling with a napkin and
smiling in embarrassment. Little patches of red glowed on her
cheeks. She could see the funny side though and if she was honest
with herself she could understand how the waitress would have
jumped to that conclusion. She chose not to comment to her
partner, instead she just looked at him, shaking her head in
amusement.

Breakfast arrived, but no matter how hard he tried Mulder just
didn't have the appetite to eat it. He pushed the food around on his
plate, the fork puncturing a hole in the egg yolk and sending a slow
river of yellow trickling under the hash browns. The sight was
enough to turn his stomach.

Pushing his plate to the side he opted for the orange juice. It was
cool and soothing on his raw throat and he regretted not having
ordered a large.

"So what do you think Scully? What's going on here?" He asked,
placing the empty glass along side his plate. He reached for his
files as Scully answered him.

"I don't know Mulder. Previously healthy people, with no history
of diabetes, presenting with flu-like symptoms, then slipping into a
diabetic coma. We know this organism attacks the pancreas but
not why. And this type of organism is something I have never seen
before. It doesn't exist in anywhere I can find." Scully shook her
head in frustration,

"Hmmm, interesting." Mulder pondered. He pulled at his bottom
lip as he considered what Scully had just said.

"Mulder? You're not going to offer a theory?" Scully asked,
leaning forward on the table.

"I think it's extraterrestrial and somehow involves those flowers
growing out of the rocks." He looked at Scully waiting for her to
shoot down his theory. He wasn't disappointed.

"Mulder that's a pretty big leap, even for you. We haven't even run
any tests on those flowers or the rocks. We don't even know if
those rocks are part of the meteor yet." She argued back.

"That's what I intend to find out." He countered, then stood,
indicating he was ready to leave. He glanced at his watch. "I'm
gonna drop you at the hospital and head on down to the BIA, see if
I can find the person who sent me these slides." He moved to the
counter and paid the check.

As the they headed out into the bright sunlight Mulder was seized
by a bout of sneezing, which brought the forgotten headache
to the forefront again. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes.

Mulder felt a gentle hand on his arm and looked down to see the
worried face of his partner. "You okay?" She asked softly.

He hated it to cause her to worry like that. Hated it on one
hand but enjoyed the fact that she cared enough to be worried
on the other. "I'm fine Scully, the sneezing hurts my head but
it's nothing I can't handle."

Concern was bubbling in Scully's stomach and she tried to swallow
it down when she spoke, "Mulder I'd feel a lot better if you got
checked out at the hospital."

"Hey, we had a deal, remember? Breakfast and no hospital. Now
come on Scully or I'm gonna be late for the BIA." With that he
unlocked the car, headed for the driver's side and climbed in.

Scully sighed, remembering his plate of food that had hardly been
touched. "Going through the motions of breakfast doesn't really
count, Mulder," she murmured to herself, before joining him in the
rental.

Painted Desert Medical Center
9:15am

Mulder pulled the car up at the hospital entrance. Scully grabbed
her briefcase off the back seat and opened the door. A blast of
hot air made its way into the car, an unpleasant reminder of their
whereabouts.

"Call me on my cell phone if you find anything new, anything...."
He was cut off by a sudden fit of coughing. His nose ran and his
eyes streamed. He reached for the tissues again and wondered if
he was going to have enough to last the rest of the day.

"Mulder.." Scully began.

"No Scully, I'm fine, really, I do feel okay. It sounds worse than it
is. Now go help Annie find a cure for this thing and I'll call you
later when I've had a chance to talk to the BIA people." He
assured her, sending her what he hoped was a convincing smile.

Scully returned the smile but it didn't disguise the worry in her eyes.
She shut the car door and watched as he drove off. "Be careful,
Mulder." She whispered to herself and turned to go into the
hospital.

Scully found Annie at the nurse's station going over some charts.
She looked worn out. Her hair which was normally pulled neatly
behind her head had wayward strands hanging loosely around her
face.

As Scully got closer she could see the dark circles under her eyes.
"Annie?" Scully asked softly, not wanting to startle her friend.

"Dee, glad to see you." She came over and gave Dana a quick hug.
"We had 4 more people admitted last night, well early this morning
actually. A mom, dad, and their 2 kids. Off the reservation.
I'm administering the same treatment as the other patients but they
don't seem to be responding as well. I think they were sick for
a couple of days before another family member brought them in."
Annie poured her story out to Scully, glad to have someone
she could talk to.

"What was the delay in seeking treatment?" Scully asked
astounded. She couldn't comprehend why someone would wait so
long to get help.

"Dee I know it's difficult for an outsider to understand. But the
people on the res have their customs. Turning to traditional
medicine to heal themselves is still very important. They all know
me out at there, hell I've treated most of them at the 'Reservation
Health Clinic.' But tradition comes first, then as a last resort they
turn to the 'white man's magic.'"

Scully couldn't believe what she was hearing. In this day and age of
modern medicine and technology, the Indians were still looking to
'medicine men' to heal them.

Annie could see the shock on Dana's face, it was the same look all
city folk got when confronted with the reality of tribal laws and
customs.

"I know it sounds archaic but I have actually seen a lot of their
herbal remedies work. One thing I've learned out here is not to
dismiss the seemingly implausible." Annie explained.

Scully had to suppress a smile at what she was hearing. Mulder
should have been there to listen to it.

"Anyway," Annie continued, "I'm just grateful that they saw fit to
bring them to the hospital when they did. I just hope it's not too
late," she added quietly.

"Annie why don't I go back to the lab and continue working on
the blood samples. See if we can't come up with something to
knock this thing out. Mulder's going out to the BIA and then I
suspect he will head out to take a look at the area where the meteor
went down." Scully put her hand on Annie's shoulder, offering
comfort. "He's very good at what he does. If there's anything out
there to be found, Mulder will find it."

"Thanks Dee. But I think I'm gonna go ahead and call the CDC
anyway. We can't just wait around while people drop like flies.
This is threatening to reach epidemic proportions. I'm running out
of room here. Since that family came in, I've had to set up a
makeshift ward in one of the hallways." Annie reached for the
phone, not wanting to delay any longer.

"I'll go set up in the lab, I know the way. And Annie, call me if
you need anything okay?" Scully gave Annie one last smile and
left.

Bureau of Indian Affairs
9:30am

Mulder found a parking space in the street in front of the Bureau.
The building itself was in good repair compared to the rest of the
town. Being made of brick, it stood out in stark contrast to the
other buildings that were made of clapboard and sorely in need of a
coat of paint. It was a small building in comparison with other
government offices Mulder had dealt with, but this was a regional
office, with only a handful of employees.

Mulder stepped out of the air conditioned car and was immediately
confronted by the desert's oppressive heat. He left his jacket
in the car and gathering up his brief case containing the files,
made his way into the BIA offices.

He sighed with relief as he entered the air conditioned building.
Mulder soon realized that the outside bricks were only a disguise
for a building that cried out for maintainable on the inside. The
walls were scratched and dented, with paint peeling from them in
most places. The floors looked like they hadn't been cleaned in
years. There were brown stains embedded in the linoleum all
through the foyer.

Mulder headed to the reception window which housed a lone desk
behind it, and a man sitting there, face buried in a magazine. He
held a cup of coffee in one hand, beside him was an obviously
forgotten cigarette burning in an ashtray, sending a thin trail
of smoke billowing skyward.

Mulder cleared his throat to get the man's attention, "Excuse me
sir?"

The man lifted his head from the magazine and leaned back in his
chair. His expression making it clear he was annoyed at being
interrupted. He took a sip from his cup and regarded Mulder
suspiciously before speaking. "Yeah, what can I do for you?"

"I'm special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI. Maybe you can help
me. I'm here investigating the meteor that hit this area about 2
months ago. I was sent some slides from this office, along with a
request for help. You wouldn't happen to know who sent the slides
and that request?" Mulder asked the man.

"Now why would I be able tell you that? As you can see I'm a
very busy man." He indicated to the stack of files resting in
his 'in' tray, as a means of explanations.

Mulder felt his hackles rising. He'd heard about these guys, they
were the worst bureaucrats the government had to offer, and they
really had to have pissed somebody off to pull a posting with the
BIA.

Mulder drew a deep breath. It was too early to upset the locals, he
still needed information from them. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your
name." He announced politely. Scully would be so proud of him.

"That'd be because I didn't give it to you." The man sneered.

So it's like that is it? Mulder thought to himself. "Look, I can see
you're flat out here, perhaps you could just point me in the direction
of some one who is not as -busy- as you." He replied, sarcasm
creeping into his voice.

"Well you could try Steve Turner, he fancies himself as a bit of a
'do gooder'. Always sticking his nose where it's not needed. I
heard he tried to get in to the 'eff, bee, ayeee', but bombed out on
the medical, or somethin'. Yeah, he's probably the guy your lookin'
for." The man looked thoughtful, then shrugged, reaching for his
magazine.

"And where would I find Steve Turner?" Mulder asked, biting back
the anger that was threatening to spill all over this imbecile.

"Could try his office down the hall a ways," the man tossed back
casually, his eyes never leaving the magazine.

"Thanks for your help," Mulder ground out, and headed off down
the hall in search of Steve Turner's office. It wasn't too difficult,
there was only one other door in the hallway, not including the
2 doors at the end with the 'Ladies' and 'Gents' signs on them.

Mulder knocked on the door and waited. A muffled voice called
out. "Come in."

Mulder opened the door and peeked in. "Steve Turner?"

"That's m' name, don't wear it out," the man replied smiling.

Mulder liked the look of this guy straight away. He guessed him to
be about 40 years old, a little overweight around the middle, a
decent head of hair which might have been blond once, but now a
silvery gray. His face was open and friendly with fine lines around
his eyes and mouth which Mulder took to be laughter lines rather
than lines of worry.

The office matched up with the rest of the building. Old and run
down. It was sparsely furnished. A desk with a chair behind it and
one in front. In the corner stood a filing cabinet with a bunch of
files stacked on top. Steve's desk was scattered with an array of
papers, files and magazines. Mulder noticed a photo of Steve with
a woman and 3 little kids which he presumed to be Steve's family.

He walked all the way in and held out his hand. "I'm Special Agent
Fox Mulder with the FBI." Steve Turner stood and gripped
Mulder's hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

"Agent Mulder. I'm so glad to meet you. It's such a relief to
have the FBI here to help out. Especially someone of your
expertise." Steve smiled again. "Please, have a seat."

Mulder was a little taken aback by the man's enthusiasm and the
fact he seemed to know him or at least of him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Turner, you seem..." He was cut off by Steve.

"Please, none of this Mr. Turner crap. I start looking around for
my dad when I hear that. Steve, call me Steve." He chuckled,
amusement glistening in his eyes.

"Ah, Steve. You seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage. Have
we met before?" Asked Mulder warily, afraid his memory was
letting him down.

"Fox, no we.." It was Mulder's turn to interrupt.

"Sorry Steve. Mulder. Everyone calls me Mulder. " He smiled
apologetically.

"Ok, Mulder, a name's a name. Now as I was saying, no we
haven't met but I've got some friends at the bureau. I nearly joined
myself you know, but that's another story." He paused, and for a
fleeting moment Mulder thought he saw sadness in his eyes, but he
quickly recovered and continued. "Anyway I was talking to my
buddy in DC about this meteor crashing and the strange flowers and
rocks in the desert. I also mentioned the young fella from the
Reservation getting sick and dying so suddenly. He recommended
you, said you had a special interest in 'unexplained phenomena'.
This should be right up your alley. So what do you think?"

Mulder sat back in his chair and considered what Steve had said.
Someone at the bureau had recommended him? That was an X file
in itself. "Steve, first thing I'd like to do is go out and check out the
site of the crash, then take it from there. Do you think you could
draw me a map how to get there?"

"I'll do better than that. I'll draw you a map how to get to
the reservation. You can meet up with Jack Yellowhawk, he's
part of the tribal police. He's a good man, knows his stuff, and
that area like the back of his hand."

Steve grabbed a pen and paper and started drawing. Something
seemed to cross his mind and he looked up at Mulder. "A lot of
people round here resent the Indians out at the res. A good
example is that asshole manning the front desk, but I've never had
any problems with them. I respect them, they respect me. That
doc, down at the hospital, she's another good one. The Indians like
her too, which is a good thing the way they've been getting sick the
last 2 days." He returned to his map drawing, added the finishing
touches and handed it to Mulder.

They shook hands again and Steve wished Mulder luck as he left
the office. Mulder took a minute to study the map before walking
out into the desert's heat.

Painted Desert Indian Reservation
11:00am

It was about a forty -five minute drive from town to the Indian
reservation. There was only one road leading there and it was a
dusty, bumpy ride. If Mulder had thought the town was in a state
of ill repair, it was nothing compared to what he saw here. The
place reeked of poverty. Yeah, there were houses but they were
practically falling down around the inhabitants.

Bare footed children played in the street, riding tricycles and
chasing one another. The adults sat outside their houses, a lost,
faraway look haunting their faces. As Mulder slowed the car,
looking for Jack Yellowhawk's office, he could sense the
resentment and apathy surrounding these people.

Mulder checked the map again and realized he should be arriving
at the tribal law office by now. Up in the distance he could see a
building standing apart from the others. It didn't look like a house
so Mulder figured that must be it.

As he drew closer, Mulder could just make out a sign hanging from
the roof. He supposed it used to be on top of the roof, but now it
was dangling down one of the sides, held there by a piece of frayed
wire. The words weren't clear but he could read them. 'Painted
Desert Reservation-Office of Tribal Law.'

Mulder guessed this was the right place and pulled the car up in
front.

end of part two

Vickie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sizzle part three
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Mulder guessed this was the right place and pulled the car up in
front. Dust settled quietly around him as he walked up to the door
and started to knock. The second his fist hit the ancient wood, the
door swung open on creaking hinges.

"Mr. Yellowhawk?" Mulder called out as he moved into the
darkened office. An old electric fan, metal blades whirring softly,
created the only disturbance in the fetid air of the office. A lone
desk sat near a window, where two of the glass panes had been
replaced with plywood. The telephone was the old rotary type, and
black. Mulder wondered idly if it even worked, it belonged in a
museum.

"He's out on patrol," came a voice behind him. "Jack said he might
go over to the Hendricks place. You might catch him there." The
message was being delivered by a young boy, Mulder judged to be
about 11 or 12. The boy stuck out his hand to Mulder in an
attempt at introduction. "I'm Davie. I'm the deputy," he said
proudly and seriously.

Mulder held back his obvious amusement. He took the boy's hand
and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you, Davie. I'm Special Agent
Fox Mulder. I'm with the FBI."

The boy's eyes widened to saucers. "Wow! FBI! You here to
arrest somebody? A serial killer or a bank robber?"

Mulder chewed on his lip to keep from chuckling. "Not today. I
just need to find Officer Yellowhawk. You wouldn't happen to
know the way to the Hendricks place, would you?" Davie was only
too happy to give him the directions before scurrying out to rejoin a
impromptu soccer game in the middle of the street.

Mulder got into his car and pulled out his cell phone, punching in
the numbers. He waited only a moment before it was answered on
the other line.

"Scully."

"It's me. I've been to BIA, guy was nice but not very helpful. I'm
trying to hook up with the local law, a reservation cop named
Yellowhawk. I'm heading out to one of the ranches now."

"Mulder, there's been more people brought in. Last night a family
of four showed up in the ER, in pretty bad shape. Apparently
they're traditional Native Americans and tried to treat with home
remedies. And we've had two more people from the reservation
come just since I've been here. Annie's called the CDC."

"How long till they show up?" Mulder asked, taking a turn down
another dirt road as Davie had directed him.

"An hour or so, I figure. LA isn't that far. I think they have some
virologists coming in from Atlanta. They should be here by
mid-afternoon. Are you coming back here?"

"No, I'll see what I can find out with the ranchers and this cop. I
wouldn't be much good to you in the lab. I get bored real easy and
play with things I shouldn't," he teased lightly.

"Yeah, I've noticed that about you," she replied dryly. "Just don't
go playing with anything in the desert until we know more about
this. Unfortunately, the family from last night were unconscious on
arrival, but the two from this morning say they had some of the
flowers growing not far from their house. I think the flowers are
connected with the illness, somehow."

"Flowers from Mars?" he teased.

"Don't even go there with me, Mulder. Just be careful. And call
me if you find anything."

"I will. And let me know when the other 'suits' show up. Maybe
we can have an interagency volleyball game while we're all here
together," he said sarcastically.

"Mulder, there are two of us and there will be about 40 of them. It
wouldn't be fair," she shot back.

"So I'll sit on the bench and even the odds," he returned and heard
her attempting to stifle a laugh. A sudden bout of sneezes caught
him off guard and she got the full brunt of it over the phone line.

"Are you getting worse?" she accused in a low voice.

"No, actually, the sun is helping a little. My head's clearer and the
headache isn't as bad. I'm fine, Scully. Really," he said, sneezing
again, but this time moving the phone out of range. "Really, I'm
fine."

"Just be careful," she reminded him tersely, and disconnected the
line.

He disconnected the line and put the phone back in his pocket. He
could see the gate for the ranch he'd been looking for just up the
road. Already, the heat was shimmering off the asphalt, and it was
only a little after 10 in the morning. His headache reappeared with
a vengeance.

Mulder never liked the desert. It was as foreign to him as he'd
teased Scully about being foreign to her. But it was more than that.
It was the unearthliness of the place, the landscape without a hint of
green or color. Just yellow and red and brown. No grass, no trees.
Just the occasional sonoro cactus standing tall and alien-looking.
No, Mulder admitted to himself. Few places on earth reminded him
just how much he was a child of a lush, temperate island than the
middle of the desert.

He pulled the car off the side of the road and searched for any sign
of life. The house, even though surrounded by four outbuildings,
looked lonely in the desolate place. Two rocking chairs sat next to
a small wooden table on the porch, but Mulder imagined they were
only used in the evening or at night. Even the shade cast by the
porch roof did not dispel the wilting effect of the merciless sun.

Mulder killed the engine to the car, and felt the heat start to battle
the cooled air almost immediately. He opened the car door and
made his way to the porch as quickly as he could, trying to escape
the sun's rays.

A woman in her mid-forties answered the door, drying her hands on
a white cotton towel. Her husband was checking on some of the
herd, so she gave Mulder directions to go about 4 miles further up
the asphalt and look for a beat up, red Ford pick up truck. Wishing
him good day, she closed the door and Mulder forced himself back
out to the car, which had already reverted to a furnace.

The four miles turned into six, but finally, Mulder came across a
truck bearing a slim resemblance to a red Ford. He parked behind
it and headed out, keeping an eye on the dirt and watching for
footprints.

"Watch out there, rattler's aren't real happy today," a man's voice
called to him.

"Mr. Hendricks? I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, I'm with the . . ."

"FBI," Hendricks completed the sentence, holding up a cell phone.
"My missus called me, told me to look out fer ya. What kin I do
ya?"

"I'm out here investigating these deaths. The cattle, the boy from
the reservation. I don't know if you're aware of this, but almost a
dozen people have taken ill from something and I'm trying to find
out what's causing it."

Hendricks motioned for Mulder to join him under an outcropping
from one of the buttes surrounding them. He pulled out a canteen
and offered some to Mulder.

"Better not, I'm carrying cold germs from back east," Mulder said
regretfully.

"Suit yerself," Hendricks said, taking a big gulp. "I'm glad
somebody's lookin' into this. I've lost four head so far and if it's a
sickness, there'll be a lot more. I don't want to lose the whole
herd!"

"Did you notice anything unusual around the dead cattle? Anything
that might connect them together?"

"Such as?" Hendricks asked, suspiciously.

"Such as something they might have had contact with, a flower.
One that you might not have seen before," Mulder suggested.

Hendricks gave him a hard look. "A flower that grows outta black
glass?"

"Possibly," Mulder said, trying hard to contain his excitement.

Hendricks looked at Mulder again, as if to size the agent up, then
motioned for him to follow. They walked about two hundred yards
to the carcass of a dead steer. Hendricks pointed to the ground and
Mulder followed his finger.

In the dirt was a piece of black rock, clear and smooth. The stem
of a flower stuck out of the surface, like the proverbial sword in
the stone.

Mulder reached into his pocket to withdraw a latex glove while
crouching down for a closer look. He was so intent, he didn't hear
the noise behind him until it was too late.

The sound of a child's rattle, followed almost immediately by the
sound of a rifle going off. The noise startled Mulder enough to
knock him back into a dead sagebrush bush. Hendricks stood
narrow-eyed, staring just to the left of where Mulder had been
standing when he examined the flower. Mulder's gaze was drawn
there and he forced a swallow down his now tightened throat.

A very dead rattlesnake lay just a foot from where he had been
standing.

Hendricks dropped the rifle and hurried over to help Mulder out of
the bush. "You awright? Did he git ya?" he asked anxiously.

Mulder shook his head, still a little dazed. "No, he didn't. I didn't,
. . . I mean, he was just there, I didn't even know . . ."

"I told ya them snakes was spooked!" Hendricks chided. "When
they's threatened, they don't give much warning. Now, are you
_sure_ he didn't get ya? Not even a scratch?"

Mulder felt down to his leg, pulling a few pieces of sagebrush straw
from the fabric of his pants. "Nah, I'm fine." In his haste to brush
the dirt off his suit pants, he failed to notice the tiny pin points of
red blood now dripping into the black nylon of his dress socks.

Hendricks regarded the dead rattler thoughtfully. "Well, we's right
lucky, then. I 'spect we best be gittin'. Luck like that kin run out
fast in these parts."

Mulder nodded, his stomach doing a slow roll. Snakes. He wasn't
terrified of them, but they certainly weren't on his list of favorite
zoo animals, either. The poisonous ones just plain gave him the
shakes. He looked longingly over at the rock and flower stem.
"Just let me get this . . ."

Hendricks grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Look, city fella. I
ain't gonna have ta explain to the sheriff how some hot shot FBI
agent dropped dead of a rattlesnake bite on my property. Jist leave
that rock be. The snakes seem to wanta protect it, and I, fer one,
don't see no reason to bother it. Let's just leave in peace, before
we end up leavin' in pieces, if'n ya catch my drift."

On the way back to the car and truck, Hendricks kept giving
Mulder a steely glare. "You know the signs a' snakebite?" he
asked, when they reached their vehicles.

Mulder shrugged. "Dizziness, headache, difficulty breathing. Pain
and swelling in the area of the bite." He might not have liked
snakes, but he remembered his Indian Guide training in first aid.

Hendricks nodded. "You start feeling any of that stuff, you high
tail it to the clinic, ya hear? Rattler bites don't take long to take ya
down."

Mulder swallowed. "He didn't get me, I would have felt it," he
assured the older man.

Hendricks nodded again. "Hope you figger out what's killin' off
my cattle. If I see any more 'a them flowers, I'll be callin' ya." He
hopped into the cab of his truck and pulled out and off down the
road. Mulder was soon following him to the main road.

He had nowhere to go besides back to the reservation. Mulder
thought idly about calling Scully, but was certain that she wouldn't
have anything new to report and he didn't want to bother her if she
was in the middle of something. He remembered the dead steer in
the hot sun and his stomach rolled a little. He reached down to his
ankle and scratched, coming up with more of the sagebrush, which
he tossed into the back seat of the rental.

In his rearview mirror, he saw the car. It was big and rather beat
up and he didn't notice the 'bubble lights' on the top until the siren
started up and the lights went on, faint in the bright sun. He
glanced at his speedometer and noted he was going 60 miles per
hour. He shook his head and pulled over to the side of the road.

Mulder didn't bother to look at the policeman getting out of the
squad car. He waited impatiently for the tap at the window and
when it happened, he jumped slightly with surprise. He rolled
down the window, still perplexed.

"License and registration, please," said a man with long dark hair,
flowing past his shoulders. A worn Stetson with a leather band and
silver buckle sat on his head, and the leather vest he sported also
held a small silver badge. Mulder read 'Tribal Police' on the badge
and noted wryly that the badge number was '4'.

"It's a rented vehicle," Mulder supplied, handing his driver's license
and the rental agreement over to the officer. "You wouldn't
happen to be . . ."

"Local law, yessir, that would be me. You were clocked at 61
miles per hour. This stretch of road is 55."

"I didn't see a sign," Mulder interrupted.

"Oh, we don't bother with signs, much," the officer said with a
devilish grin. "Waste of tax payers money." He wrote out the
ticket and handed it to Mulder. "You can pay that at the office or
mail it in." He started to walk back toward the squad car.

Mulder jumped out of the rental, noticing the stiffness and soreness
in his left ankle, but ignored it as he chased after the officer. "Hey,
wait! Are you Jack Yellowhawk?"

The officer stopped, then slowly turned toward Mulder. "Yeah,"
he nodded.

"I'm Agent Fox Mulder, with the FBI. I'm here to investigate . . ."

"Dead cattle, yeah, I heard that, too. Don't forget to mail that in,
I'd hate to issue a warrant on a fellow officer of the law." Jack
proceeded to get back into the beat up squad car. Mulder put a
hand on the door, to keep the officer from driving off.

"Hey, you don't have radar in this thing!" Mulder exclaimed, eyes
searching the dashboard.

"More waste of tax payers money," Jack replied with another
stunning smile. "Besides, don't need it. You were going 61, I
could tell by the dirt you were kickin' up."

"My speedometer said 60," Mulder intoned dryly.

"Better get it checked," Jack retorted and started the engine.

"Wait a minute! I need to talk to you," Mulder protested as Jack
put the car into gear and seemed fully prepared to drive off with
Mulder still hanging onto the door.

Jack had both hands on the steering wheel, looking intently at the
back of the rental car. He seemed to be coming to a decision.
"Look, you're the Eff-Bee-Eye," he sneered, glancing over at
Mulder over his wire rimmed sunglasses. "You don't _need_ me.
It's all there, right out in the sun. If you can't find it, I sure can't
help you."

"Then you know about the meteorite. And the flowers."

"I'd have to be deaf, blind and stupid not to know about the rock
and the flowers. And the deaths. But there's nothing we can do
about it. It's not in our hands."

Mulder hit the car door angrily. "People are dying! Your people!
I can't believe you won't help me figure out what is happening
here!"

Jack angrily threw the car into park and opened the door. When he
stood, he came just a couple inches short of looking Mulder nose to
nose. "Look, I don't care where you come from, I don't care how
you got here. You are the invader, got that? And as soon as you
get your answers, you'll take off just like the rest of them and leave
me to clean up the mess. Sorry, I don't feel like playin' Tonto to
your Lone Ranger, chief. Now, you just get in your fancy rental car
and head on back to town. Tell your boss about the crazy Indian
you found who won't help you in the investigation and just leave it
at that. We'll both be a whole lot happier!"

"You know something," Mulder accused, holding Yellowhawk's
angry glare with one of his own.

"I know a lot of things. Like you better get that sprained ankle
looked at or it'll swell." Jack pointed down to Mulder's foot and
then started to get back in the car.

"No, I mean you know more about this meteorite. So far, I've
only heard about fragments. You know something else. You
found a bigger piece. Maybe the main part." Mulder wasn't sure
where any of this was coming from, but he was as sure of what he
was saying as he was sure of his own name.

Jack hesitated, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly in a
whistle. "You're still not gonna help. You'll get what you want
and take off."

"Look, Yellowhawk, my partner is over at the clinic right now,
working with the doctors, waiting for the CDC to try and figure out
what is killing these people. If we could bring them the source, the
original meteorite, it might make the difference. It might just save
some lives. Most of the people being brought in are from the
reservation." He stopped for a breath. "We can't stand by and
watch them die without trying to find the answers."

Jack's eyes still looked veiled, but he had stopped getting into the
car. "What's an FBI agent gonna do at the clinic. Arrest the
damned bug?"

"She's a doctor. A good one. If the answers can be found that
way, I know Scully'll find them. But we have to help her out. We
need to give her something to go on."

Jack chewed on that a moment, literally taking his bottom lip
between his teeth. Then, he shook his head. "All right. I'll show
you something. But we take your car. My a/c's shot."

Mulder smiled. "Besides, it'll save the tax payers money," he said,
leading the way back to the rental car.

end of part three

*****

Vickie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sizzle part 4
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Mulder shifted restlessly in the driver's seat trying to find a
comfortable position for his left foot. One that would ease the
ache that had started to build over the last ten minutes, since
Jack had joined him in the car.

He was thinking back, trying to figure out a reason why his ankle
should start to throb like this. Had he rolled it? No, THAT he
would remember. He'd suffered enough sprained ankles to know
that it didn't happen without you being well and truly aware of it.
He had to admit to himself though, it was starting to feel like
the aftermath of a sprain. He shifted again in an attempt to relieve
the pain.

Right then Mulder didn't have time to deal with a sprained ankle,
not when he was so close to uncovering something that could
finally give him the concrete proof of an extraterrestrial life form
he had so desperately been seeking. He mentally shrugged the pain
off and turned his attention to the case, hoping it would distract him
from his ankle.

Mulder stole a furtive look at the man sitting beside him. He had
what Mulder could only describe as one of those ageless faces.
Jack Yellowhawk might have been anywhere between thirty and
forty-five years of age. The weather beaten features and the air of
wisdom the man exuded gave Mulder the impression of age. Yet
the jet black hair had not a trace of gray in it. The man's physique
and the deep timbre of his voice were that of a younger person.

"So where are we going?" Mulder asked, his curiosity getting the
better of him.

"To the Reservation." Jack replied without further explanation.

"I was just out there. I didn't see anything unusual," Mulder
replied, a touch of annoyance clinging to his words.

"Good. Then I won't have to show you the way." With that Jack
reached over and adjusted the air conditioning vent to blow directly
onto his face, before settling himself back in his seat, making it clear
to Mulder that the conversation had finished.

Mulder sighed in frustration as a little spark of anger began to fuel
itself in his stomach. He couldn't shake off the feeling that Jack was
pissed at him, but was at a loss to figure out why. Must be a record
Mulder, he chided himself, you got this guy ticked off and you
haven't even told him your theory yet. He gripped the steering
wheel a little tighter and gave the engine some more gas deciding to
concentrate on getting to the reservation as fast as possible.

As the car approached the reservation gate Jack sat up in his seat.
"Okay Mr. FBI, follow the road up about 2 miles, take a right at the
first dirt track, then keep on going. You'll know when we're there."

Painted Desert Reservation
11:00am

When Mulder pulled the rental to a halt at the end of the road, he
was hard pressed not to sit there with his mouth gaping. There, in
front of him, about 300 yards away was what had to be the main
section of the meteorite.

It was embedded amongst some tall rocks about 100 feet above the
ground. It was made of what looked like black quartz, resembling
the smaller pieces of rock that Mulder had seen in the slides and
out at the Hendricks ranch. Of course this was much larger,
Mulder guessed it to be about 150 feet in circumference. It was
jagged and broken around the edges. There were no pieces
scattered on the ground which made Mulder think it must have
approached the earth from the opposite side and that he was
viewing it where it had reached the end of its trajectory.

Mulder looked at Jack. "I think this is what you've been looking
for Mr. FBI." Jack said as he opened the door.

Mulder climbed out of the car and stood. "Shit!" He gasped
to himself. He wasn't sure what caught his attention first. The
incredible pain that engulfed his left ankle as he put his foot to
the ground, or the sudden attack of dizziness that washed over him,
threatening to bring him to his knees.

He clung to the car door with one hand, and the roof with the
other. He was hanging on for dear life, his left foot raised above
the ground in some feeble attempt to relieve the burning, throbbing
ache in his ankle.

Mulder squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to ride out the wave of
dizziness, resting his head on the arm that was slung over the car
door.

It was only a few seconds before the earth decided to stop playing
see-saw with the horizon, and Mulder's vision began to clear. He
felt something on his shoulder and lifted his head. An action he
immediately regretted. His head was now in direct competition
with his foot to see who could get the most attention.

Mulder could hear someone speaking to him.

"Hey. You all right there?"

Mulder stared at the face of Jack Yellowhawk swimming before
him. He blinked his eyes and gradually the face came into focus.

"Hey! I said, 'Are you okay?'" Jack's voice was laced with concern
as he tried to get Mulder's attention.

"Yeah, sorry," came Mulder's raspy reply. He cleared his throat
and tried to swallow, but that too was becoming difficult. It
felt like he was trying to swallow around two golf balls. This
cold must be starting to take a hold on me, he thought to himself.
Maybe I _am_ getting that East Coast flu.

Up in the distance he could see what he'd come to find and he
wasn't about to succumb to a few bodily aches and pains,
something he could deal with later, when he had this piece of
evidence in front of him.

He cleared his throat again and this time his voice didn't let
him down. "I'm fine. Sorry. I have this cold coming on and I
skipped breakfast this morning. I guess with that and the heat," he
shrugged, then smiling wanly added, " I got a little dizzy. It
happens sometimes when I don't eat right. I'll grab a bite to eat
after we finish up here."

If this had been Scully by his side instead of Jack he knew the
weak argument he'd just offered for his defense wouldn't cut it.
He was pleasantly surprised though when Jack just took it on
board and let it rest.

"Don't s'pose you brought any water with you Mr. City Boy?" Jack
enquired. He looked long and hard at Mulder's guilty expression.
"Thought not." He reached for a canteen hanging from his shoulder
and unscrewing the lid, shoved it in Mulder's hand.

"Aren't you afraid you'll catch my 'city bug'?" Mulder asked as
he eyed the canteen longingly.

"That's not high on my list of worries, no. Just drink it." he
ordered.

Mulder didn't need to be told twice. He took a long swig of the
water. It had that slightly tainted taste of canvas, but right then it
tasted as good as the clearest spring water, sliding down his dry,
swollen throat.

The next thing Mulder knew he was being slapped hard on the
back, caught by surprise in a coughing fit. It was only a few
seconds but it felt like a life time before his breathing was under
control.

"Thanks." He offered hoarsely.

"Better get that cough _and_that ankle looked at." Jack suggested,
a hint of warning creeping into his voice.

"I'm fine now, thanks." Mulder replied warily. He felt anything
but fine. Years of trying to hide his injuries from his family,
especially his mother, had conditioned him to never admit how bad
he really was. And right then he felt lousy. Okay, he could blame
that fact on the flu bug he'd picked up but he still couldn't work out
what the hell was wrong with his ankle. Jack thought he'd sprained
it, so for now that cover story would have to do. He had to check
out that meteorite, that was all that mattered to him.

Mulder straightened up and released his death grip on the door,
choosing instead to lean against the car's body. That way he had
his hands free while still keeping the weight off his foot. His
intention now was to call Scully and let her know how things were
progressing

"You coming?" Jack asked, heading off in the direction of the
crash site.

"I'll be right along, I'm just gonna call my partner." Mulder
explained. He waved Jack on and hit Scully's number. He didn't
have to wait long for an answer.

"Scully." came the distracted response on the other end.

"Hey, it's me." Mulder winced at how raspy he sounded. Scully
would be on to him straight away.

"Mulder? Is that you? You sound worse." She stated, no sign of
the previous distraction in her voice.

"Yeah. That cold I picked up is starting to feel more like the flu."
Mulder wheezed out.

"Mulder listen to me. The CDC team from LA has arrived.
They're talking about putting the hospital under quarantine. I want
you to come back _now_. You might have whatever it is that's
killing people here." Scully's voice was urgent, the worry evident in
every word she spoke.

"Scully, I can't. I'm here at the crash site, ground zero. It's huge."
He paused to catch his breath. "I'm finally getting a chance to
gather some real evidence." He stopped again, his breath catching
in his chest. He held the phone away from his face while he worked
at getting his breathing under control.

When he eventually returned the phone to his ear he heard Scully
frantically calling his name.

"I'm okay. Look, I need to take . . . a look at this thing, . . . see if I
can collect some samples. It might help . . . in determining what is
causing the deaths. I can't just walk away now." He pleaded.

"Mulder . . ."

"Scully, I promise to . . . come by the hospital . . . as soon as I'm
done here. Deal?"

There was a moment's hesitation as Mulder waited on the line for
her answer.

"Mulder." This time Scully's voice was gentle. "There's a first
aid kit in the trunk of the car. Go take some aspirin, it might
help with the headache at least." She offered.

He could hear the concern in her voice and was overwhelmed at the
trust she was putting in him. Trusting him to come up with what
was necessary to help the people back at the hospital. Willing to
let him get on with his job even though it went against all her
instincts as a doctor.

"Thanks Scully, I'll call you when I'm about to leave here."

"Just be careful," she warned.

They disconnected the line and Mulder slid the phone into his back
pocket. He spotted Jack already scouting around the rocks that
encased the meteorite.

By the time Mulder caught up with Jack he was limping heavily and
panting like he'd just run a marathon. He bent over resting his
hands on his knees.

Jack was eyeing Mulder suspiciously, his mouth set in a grim line.
"You're not looking too good there Mr. FBI."

"My . . name . . . is . . . Mulder. You . . can . . . quit . . . calling . . .
me . . Mr. . . F . . . B . . . I," Mulder gasped out while peering up at
Jack from his hunched position.

Jack was beginning to change his opinion of the man before him.
He was obviously unwell and yet still determined to help find a
cure for the people back at the hospital, mostly reservation people.

"Okay, Mulder. You want to tell me what's wrong with you?"
Jack asked at last.

Mulder pulled himself to his full height and was about to answer
when pain exploded in his ankle sending a muscle spasm tearing up
his leg to his thigh. Mulder dropped to the ground like a sack of
wheat, clutching helplessly at his left leg.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to let loose, long and hard and
loud. But his voice had forgotten how to work, so had his lungs.
This all consuming pain had robbed him of any coherent thought he
might have had. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't talk, he couldn't
think. He wanted to die. All he could do was lie there, his eyes
were squeezed shut so tight they hurt and his lower lip was lost as
he bit down hard enough to cause a slow trickle of blood to course
its way down his chin.

Then, as suddenly as it had come on, it stopped.

Mulder lay on the ground, chest heaving with the effort of trying
to get air into his oxygen starved lungs. His body felt spent,
boneless and totally drained of energy.

Jack was kneeling on the ground beside the fallen agent. He knew
there was something seriously wrong. This was not a flu bug.
He didn't bother asking permission but moved straight to Mulder's
left ankle and pulled back his dress sock.

end of part 4

******

Vickie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sizzle part 5
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Painted Desert Medical Center
12:00 pm

"We're out of room," Annie said flatly as she walked into the lab.
"I have four beds in the ER and we have 'em stacked like
cordwood in the lobby. Total of 9 people have come in just in the
last hour and a half."

Scully closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "At this rate,
will you have enough IV's for the sterile water?" she asked,
remembering that supplies were low to start.

"Oh, that's not a problem anymore. Apparently there's a shipment,
being _air dropped_ in about an hour," Annie said, pulling up a
stool and joining Scully at the lab table.

"Air dropped? Why air dropped?"

"Because, old chum, we are in 'lock down'. Complete quarantine.
Nobody in, nobody out. If you make it to town, there are National
Guard troops standing there with guns to make sure you don't go
any farther." She crossed her arms with a grim expression.

"But the reservation? Most of these people are coming from the
village at the reservation? What are they supposed to do?"

"CDC is setting up a mobile unit over closer to the village. They'll
treat people there. But if you don't have the bug, you're on your
own."

"What do you mean?" Scully asked, a dark seed of dread forming in
her stomach.

"What I mean, Dee, is that this is the only medical facility in 75
miles, any direction. But if we are quarantined, and the CDC is
only taking flu-like symptoms, if somebody gets in a car accident,
falls off a horse, gets shot cleaning their gun, goes into labor . . ."

"They have to drive over an hour to get help," Scully finished the
thought, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she opened them and searched
her pockets frantically.

"Mulder! I have to call him. I have to get him back here!"

Annie put her hand on her friend's arm. "Did you just hear what I
said, Dee? There is no 'getting him in here'. The doors are
locked."

"But what if he has the disease? Annie, I just talked to him a
couple of minutes ago. He sounded horrible. Coughing, headache.
He says it's a cold, but I think it could be worse. I think he might
be coming down with it. He went running yesterday afternoon
before we came over to your place. If he ran by any of the flowers,
even if he didn't see them . . . the virus seems to be carried in the
pollen. He could be infected!"

"All right, all right, just calm down. If he is infected, he'd be better
off getting over to the CDC site at the res. They'll have the better
equipment and they can treat him there. Here, we're Old Mother
Hubbard and the cupboards are basically bare. Call him, tell him to
get over to the res immediately and they can take care of him."

Painted Desert Reservation

"Are you just plain loco?" Jack demanded as he stared at the
swollen ankle and the two very visible, angry red fang marks
standing out against the pale skin.

"I didn't . . ." Mulder gave up even trying to explain himself. It
would only have been something incredibly lame, like 'I didn't think
it was a rattlesnake bite' and he really didn't want to waste the
effort on such banality at the moment. All he wanted was for the
pain to go away, for his lungs to start working again. Scully was
probably right, he finally decided. He should have gone back to the
clinic with her.

"Shit, when did this happen, chief? How long since you got bit?"
Jack asked, grabbing a faded blue handkerchief and wrapping it
around Mulder's leg, just below the knee. Mulder noted that it was
tight, but didn't cut off all circulation. Next, Jack pushed the agent
flat on his back and elevated the ankle by placing it on the seat of
the car. The position was fairly uncomfortable, but since he was
well beyond 'comfortable' anyway, Mulder hardly noticed a
difference.

"At Hendricks' place," Mulder was finally able to gasp out around
shallow intakes of air. "Half . . . an hour. Forty . . . five minutes."
Another spasm of pain hit and all talking was rendered impossible.
Almost on cue, Mulder's cell phone rang in his pocket.

It was obvious that the agent was in no condition to answer the
phone, so Jack grabbed the offending object out of the other man's
suit pocket and answered it for him.

"Yeah."

There was silence for a beat, and then a woman's voice, sounding
very authoritative, came back. "Who are you and where is Agent
Mulder?"

"I'm Officer Jack Yellowhawk, Tribal Police and Agent Mulder is
indisposed at the moment. Listen, I gotta go, you can call him
later."

"No, wait a minute!" the woman said anxiously. "I'm Agent Dana
Scully, I'm Agent Mulder's partner. What's wrong? Is something
the matter with him?"

"Lady, Agent, whatever, this man has been bitten by a rattlesnake
and I need to get a doctor on the line fast, now if you'd just hang
up . . ."

"Wait!" Scully shouted and Jack winced as the sound came through
to assault his ear. "I'm a doctor and I'm at the hospital right now.
What did you just say bit him?"

"I said a rattlesnake! But he was too dumb to notice," Jack said.
He looked down at Mulder, who was nodding his head, and
reaching for the phone. The pain seemed to have subsided a bit, so
Jack handed him the phone and went back to examining the leg.

"Scully . . . it's me."

"Mulder, what the hell are you doing? How did you get bitten . . .
No, don't answer that! How bad is it? What are the symptoms?"

He could hear the panic in her voice. It caused his own panic to
jump up a notch. He hadn't known Scully long, but aside from
some mosquito bites on her own back, she didn't seem to get
panicked unless there was a damned good reason.

"Pain . . . Lots . . . of pain, Scully," Mulder rasped into the phone.
He couldn't seem to hold it up to his ear anymore, it was too
exhausting. He let it slip from nerveless fingers. He looked up at
the tribal cop, resignation in his face. "She . . . wants . . .
symptoms," he explained in a breathless whisper, then clenched his
eyes shut as more pain radiated up his leg from the ankle.

Jack quickly retrieved it from where it had fallen in the dirt and put
it up to his own ear. "This is Jack again. I'll give you his
symptoms. Pain, localized to the ankle, so far. Swelling, shit,
there's a lot of swelling. Twice, maybe three times it's normal size,
I'd say. Dizziness, trouble breathing. He's in bad shape. As soon
as I can get him in the car we're heading back to the hospital."

Back at the clinic, Annie, who had been looking at some of the
slides, heard the distressed tone in Scully's voice and raised a
questioning eyebrow. Scully moved the phone out from her face
for a moment. "Mulder's been bitten by a rattlesnake," she
explained. "A tribal cop is bringing him back here."

Annie's eyes grew wide. "Damn, Dana, they won't let him in," she
hissed in a whisper.

Scully's eyes flashed with anger. "They sure as hell _will_ let him
in! His life is in danger!"

"Dana, these guys play for keeps. They're National Guard and
they've been told _nobody_ gets into town. They'll shoot first and
ask questions later."

Scully's stomach dropped as she realized the truth of her friend's
statement. "Well, then they can go over to the CDC operation at
the res," she said hopefully.

Annie shook her head sadly. "Dee, they'll be turned away there,
too. They can't risk him getting infected by the virus."

"But he'll die of the venom!" Scully cried in anguish.

The phone in her hand started talking again.

"Hey, lady FBI! Hey, you still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here," Scully said, feeling every ounce of hope drain
from her body.

"Listen up. I heard all that. If the suits from Atlanta are here,
we're screwed, big time. I was around here during the hanta virus
thing. Those people have very little imagination and absolutely no
sense of humor," Jack said grimly. "But I gotta tell ya, he won't
make it to Albertsville," he added, naming the next closest town
with a hospital.

Scully was silent, not trusting her throat to open enough for her to
speak.

"Hey, don't worry. We occasionally ran into this problem before
you educated white folk came out here and taught us the wonders
of civilization," Jack said with half mocking cheerfulness, trying to
lighten the gloom that had suddenly descended. "Let me handle
this." He disconnected the line before she could object. "Well,
chief, looks like we do this the old-fashioned way."

Mulder was in too much pain to comment. Jack stood, thinking for
a moment. Then he opened the door to the back seat of the car and
half lifted, half dragged Mulder into the seat, pulling the man after
himself and getting out the other side. Considering the situation, he
noticed Mulder's briefcase lying on the floor of the back seat, and
used it to prop the infected leg. When he was done, he slammed
both doors shut and hurried to the driver's seat. "Hi ho, Silver," he
muttered as he turned the ignition and threw the car into drive.

Scully stared at the phone in her hand for several minutes before
Annie took it from her and replaced it on the base. No sooner had
Annie's back been turned than she heard Dana's heels clicking in a
run down the hall. Annie had to put on a full burst of speed to
catch up to her friend and spin her around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Annie demanded.

"Let me go, Sullivan," Scully hissed and pulled her arm out of
Annie's hand. "I'm going to my partner."

"And get shot in the back? What good will that do him?" Annie
retorted. "Now, just calm down and think a minute."

Scully was shaking her head, still looking out the doors of the
hospital. Two armed men stood in hazmat suits right outside the
door. She sighed and chewed on her lip. "He could be dying right
now. You don't understand . . ."

"Look, Dee, I'm not a monster. I know this has got to be killing
you right now. You said a tribal cop was with him. Was it Jack
Yellowhawk?"

Scully nodded absently.

"I figured. He's the only tribal cop we've got. Look, he was
trained in San Diego. He used to be an MP in the military. He
knows his stuff."

"Maybe we could get Mulder on a chopper, fly him to the nearest
hospital?" Scully said, looking at her friend and hating the tears that
were burning her eyes.

Annie drew in a deep breath. "How long since he was bitten?"

Scully shook her head. "I don't know. It couldn't have been that
long, I just talked to him about an hour ago."

Now Annie was chewing her lip. "The window is two hours. If he
doesn't receive some form of anti-venom within the first two hours
after the bite . . . It could take longer than that to arrange for the
chopper. But Jack knows that, Dee. What did he say to you? Did
you talk to Jack directly?"

"He said he'd handle it. That's all, just that he'd handle it."

"Then we have to believe him. Jack's a smart guy. We're lucky to
have him around. Now, are you going to be OK? Because I really
need you back in that lab to figure this sucker out. We don't have
to look outside that door to find people who might be dying.
We've got 'em all around us."

Scully looked longingly at the doors one more time, then closed her
eyes in resignation. "You're right. You're right," she murmured.
Slowly, she turned and headed back down to the lab. She couldn't
completely tamp down the feeling that she was abandoning her
partner when he needed her most, but until another opportunity
presented itself, at least she could be of some help to somebody.

Four miles from the site of the meteorite

"OK, Kola, you still with me?" Jack asked as he pulled the rental
car off the main dirt road on to a pockmarked cow path.

Mulder groaned. It was the most he was capable of at that
moment. The ride had only taken about 10 minutes, but it had felt
like an eternity. His whole leg, from the knee down, felt like it was
on fire. His head was splitting and he didn't know how he'd
managed to remain conscious, because the little air he was getting
into his lungs was certainly not sufficient to maintain awareness.
Nausea had decided to join the list of maladies and he wondered
idly if he'd have the strength to roll over if he did throw up. Maybe
it would be better just to die and get it over with, he'd decided.

"OK, I gotta leave you here for a minute, chief. Just hold tight, I
won't be gone long." Mulder heard the car door open and then
slam shut. It allowed a harsh breath of searing heat to enter the
compartment of the car, but he welcomed it. Suddenly, he was
getting very cold, lying in the backseat with his leg propped up on
his briefcase.

end of part 5

******

Vickie

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