Sizzle(2/2)

Sizzle part 6
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com
disclaimed in part 00

Mulder waited, barely clinging to consciousness. He was only
vaguely aware of Jack returning. The car door opened and strong
hands grabbed Mulder under the arms, pulling him from the car.
The movement sent pain shooting through his body. Speech had
deserted him, all he could manage was a quiet groan as he was
hoisted upright. The movement caused the throbbing in his ankle to
hit with renewed vengeance.

"Where..?" It was nothing more than a whisper as he tried to find
out where they were taking him.

"Hang in there, chief. I'm gonna show you how we did things
before you white fellas arrived to save the day." It was only when
Jack spoke that Mulder realized he was one of the men holding him
up. "You ever seen a sweat lodge before?"

Mulder could hear the words but they made no sense to him.

Jack continued. "This is where you get to sample healing without
technology, the way it's been done for hundreds of years."

Mulder tried to get a better look at his surroundings but his neck
wouldn't hold his head up. All he could make out was the dirt path
as he was carried to his destination.

Without warning his body dipped and he was helped through an
opening in what appeared to be a tee pee. But what had Jack called
it? A sweat lodge? God, that was the last thing he needed, he
could feel his own sweat running down his back, his face and his
legs. Yet he was so cold, so damn cold.

Inside it was warm though, and dark. Mulder noted a strange
pungent odor hanging in the air.

Jack and his assistant laid Mulder on a blanket on the ground. He
felt totally helpless, his body was not co-operating at all. Mulder
searched for Jack through hazy eyes but saw he was pre-occupied,
talking quietly with two other men off to the side.

He could hear their voices but not what they were saying. Jack was
in deep conversation with an older man, who was dressed
in traditional costume.

From his prone position it was easier for Mulder to turn his head
and look around. There was a small fire burning in the center, a
clay pot sat in the middle of the fire, its contents bubbling furiously.
Mulder could just make out steam rising from the pot. The strange
odor he'd smelt earlier seemed to be coming from there.

Mulder had seen pictures of lodges before, but this was much
smaller and appeared to be a frame of sticks with animal skins and
blankets used as covering. He closed his eyes and wondered idly if
the Indian's medicine could save him.

He felt so weak, his breathing reduced to shallow gasps. He forced
himself to concentrate around the agony in his head and leg. Afraid
that if he passed out he wouldn't wake up again. The earlier warmth
he had felt on entering the sweat lodge was quickly diminishing.
His shirt was damp and clinging to his body, which was shivering in
an effort to keep warm.

Mulder attempted to roll on his side, the mind willing but the body
unable to obey. He groaned as a wave of nausea washed over him.

The sound alerted Jack and he returned to Mulder's side. Putting
a hand on Mulder's shoulder he spoke gently to the agent. "Hey,
relax chief, we're going to have you feeling better real soon."

Mulder tried to answer, but the effort required too much energy.
He could feel someone taking his shoe and sock off, then hitching
his trouser leg up around his knee. The air felt cool and soothing
against his leg but the relief was short lived. A wet cloth was
pressed against the bite area on Murder's ankle. It was boiling hot.
As the liquid from the cloth seeped into the wound, the heat
penetrated deep into the infected leg.

The pain hit like a freight train, sudden, and full on. Mulder threw
his head back, mouth open in a silent scream, his body taut and
trembling. Still the cloth was held against his ankle and the torture
continued. It was more than he could bare and the darkness that
had been nipping at his heels finally took him. His body fell slack
on the dusty blanket.

Jack looked over at the older man sitting quietly in the corner,
worry evident in his eyes. He knew the ways of the 'medicine man'
and he knew they worked, but it had been a long time since he'd
sat in on a 'healing' and watching the FBI agent suffer like this made
him uneasy.

The older man nodded slowly, his face set like stone. His eyes
held a comforting wisdom and this alone was the reassurance Jack
needed that he was doing the right thing.

"Your friend must wake up. The poultice on his leg is only part
of the healing. He needs to drink as well." The man rose from
his position in the corner opening a leather pouch hanging from his
waist.

Jack watched in interest as the man shook some herbs into a small
clay bowl. Next he scooped some of the boiling liquid from the
large pot on the fire into the herbs, stirring the mixture
with a stick.

He handed the bowl to Jack saying "He must drink this. Wake
him."

Jack looked down at the agent's pale face, noting the little rivulets
of sweat running from his brow and pooling in the hollow of his
neck.

Jack gave Mulder a light slap on the cheek, trying to rouse him
into consciousness. "Hey! Mr. FBI, wake up!" No reaction. He
tried again this time slapping a little harder. "Come on chief,
wakey, wakey." Still nothing. Jack decided to try something
different.

"Hey MULDER!" he shouted and shook his shoulders.

This seemed to have the desired effect. Mulder stirred, groaning
as his eyes fluttered open. "Scully?" He mumbled.

"Mulder it's me, Jack." Not quite the words Mulder was expecting,
but for now it was enough to bring him back to awareness. He
looked up at Jack, grinning weakly.

"What the hell are you grinning at Mr. FBI?" Jack growled.

"Nothing," he whispered.

Jack ignored him, motioning instead to the young man who had
helped him earlier, to come and give him a hand. The man helped
Jack support Mulder's upper body .

"Here, I want you to drink this." Jack ordered, holding the bowl
up to Mulder's mouth. Mulder's nose wrinkled at the smell. He
took a small sip, but his throat still wasn't working right. He
couldn't swallow and the liquid remained in his mouth. Mulder's
stomach heaved as the foul taste of the liquid set off his gag
reflex. The herbal mixture spraying all over the front of his
dress shirt.

But Mulder's stomach didn't stop at the expulsion of the liquid.
It had it's own agenda, and at the top of the list was it's intention to
escape from his body. He'd eaten nothing all day so there was
nothing to bring up. Dry retching soon turned into painful stomach
cramps and had he had the strength he would have curled into a ball
and just waited to die.

Eventually the heaving stopped and the cramps eased. Mulder
opened his eyes, and looked up at Jack apologetically, too
exhausted to speak.

The old medicine man knelt beside Jack. "He must drink." His
tone making it clear there was no room for argument.

Jack held the bowl to Mulder's mouth, the smell almost causing a
repeat performance of earlier. "Come on, you gotta drink this no
matter what it tastes like. I don't want to be the one to have to
explain to your doctor partner why you didn't pull through."

At Jack's urging and the mention of Scully, Mulder opened his lips
and allowed a little of the liquid to trickle into his mouth.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he made a conscious effort to let it slide
down his throat, fighting his body's reaction to get rid of it.

As he drank the herbal mixture he could feel it burning a trail down
his throat and into his stomach. The burning sensation spread
through his arms and legs, up his neck and behind his eyes. Mulder
squirmed in Jacks embrace, swatting weakly at the hands that were
holding him.

God, he was so hot. In his confused state all he could think
was to get away from the heat, the fire. Suddenly he was gripped
with an all encompassing, totally unreasonable fear. He had to get
away. Mulder's mild squirming grew into desperate struggling.
Who the hell was holding him down. The panic grew as he
thrashed about, trying to free himself from the hands wrapped
tightly round his upper arms.

"No..No..NO!..NOOOO! Let...Me...Go!" He ground out through
clenched teeth.

Mulder dug deep and found the strength that had been eluding him.
It was the strength of a man lost in pain and delirium. With one
mighty shove he sent Jack and the other man sprawling to the floor.
Mulder sensed freedom within his reach and he lurched to his feet,
ready to run.

He almost made it but the instant he put weight on his injured
ankle, pain went ratcheting up his leg. This time he did manage
a scream. Just like his strength, it came from deep within. It
was long and loud, filled with anguish and agony.

Mulder lay in a heap on the ground, both hands clutching his ankle.
He was oblivious to everything else going on around him. His
world had narrowed to one singular existence. The resounding
throb in his foot.

Once again Jack found himself at Mulder's side. He observed the
the red flush on the agent's cheeks, standing out against the pallor
of his skin. Mulder's face was bathed in sweat, his body trembling
as his muscles tried to adjust to the stress they had just been put
through.

Mulder could feel himself being rolled onto his back, forcing him
to release the hold he had on his foot. He didn't bother opening
his eyes to see who it was, quite frankly he was past caring.
Everything hurt or burned. He thought he could hear Jack's voice,
but it seemed to be floating above him or around him or both.
There was a strange buzzing in his ears. His hands felt like they
had pins and needles, his lips tingling and his tongue felt thick and
awkward in his mouth.

Everything around him was fading out, withdrawing into the
distance. It slowly began to occur to Mulder that the pain was
fading too, in fact if he didn't know better he'd swear he had been
given the 'good stuff', the 'REALLY GOOD STUFF'. As his
muscles began to relax, so did his mind, and before he knew what
was happening, Fox Mulder was fast asleep.

Painted Desert Medical Center
2:13 pm

Scully looked at her watch and realized it had been about two hours
since she'd heard from Mulder. Her stomach dropped as the
implications flooded her. If Jack had been successful in finding
anti-venom or even just a simple snake bit kit, Mulder would have
called her already. The silence seemed to her to be the endless
moment before the tolling of a death bell on a ship at sea.

Angrily, she scrubbed at the tears pooling in her eyes and punched
in Mulder's number. Why hadn't she thought of that before? She
realized that the whole situation, the quarantine, the meteor, the
flowers, and most distressing, her partner falling prey to a
rattlesnake in the middle of the desert, was threatening to
overwhelm her.

She tamped down all emotions as she waited for the phone to ring.
It took some time, but finally there was an answer.

"Yeah."

It was Jack again. That did little to assure her.

"Jack, this is Dana Scully. How is Mulder?"

There was a grunt, and then some discussion in words she didn't
understand. Finally, when she was beginning to lose any hold she
had on her patience, Jack's voice came back to her.

"He's sleeping."

"Oh God!" she shouted. "He's in a coma? What did you do to
him? I thought you were going to help him!"

"He's not in a coma. That's not what I said," Jack replied calmly.
"He's sleeping. Look," he added, somewhat indignantly.
"Grandfather knows what he's doing. It's an old cure, but it
works. Right now, your partner needs to sleep. He'll need to rest
for a couple of days. But he's gonna be all right, so don't get on
your high horse, lady FBI!"

"I want to know everything you did to him," she seethed through
her clenched teeth.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jack answered in a wary tone.
"It's not something they teach at Johns Hopkins."

"How do you know he's not in a coma?" she growled.

"Well, do most people in comas snore?" Jack shot back angrily. In
a moment, she could hear something on the line. It did sound like
Mulder, Mulder when he would fall asleep on airplanes and end up
with his head leaning heavily on her shoulder. Immediately, she felt
relief at the sound. She was disappointed when Jack took the
phone again. "There. Satisfied?"

"Not really," she said, her anger still not quenched. "Where are
you? I'm coming to bring him back here."

"You and the Fifth Armored Division, lady," Jack huffed. "If I
could have got him into the town and the hospital, don't you think
that's the first place we would have gone? We were headed off at
the pass. They've circled the wagons and nobody's goin' in or
goin' out."

"We'll see," Scully said succinctly. "Now, how do I find you when
I get out of here?"

Scully hit the end button on the phone and slid it into her pocket.
The hallway was deserted as she stepped out of the lab. She
thought for a moment about leaving a note for Annie, but decided
against taking the time. She'd call her once she was outside of
town.

Transportation? There was no way she could drive out to find
Mulder. The National Guard had roadblocks and were nervous
enough as it was. She didn't need a weekend warrior using her
back for target practice. Maybe there was something smaller that
she could use, a motorcycle or something.

A thousand thoughts were running through her head when a hand
reached out an grabbed her arm.

"Agent Scully, I presume. Mind telling me where you're going in
such a hurry?"

Scully spun on her heel and regarded the man holding her arm in a
tight grip. "Excuse me, and you are . . . ?" she asked with forced
calm.

"Captain Jacob Turner, USAMRID. We just got here and I was
told you know more about this bug than anyone else. Let's go back
to the lab and you can update me."

Scully blinked. "I wasn't aware the Army's Infectious Disease unit
had been called in. I thought CDC was handling the operation."

Turner smiled without humor. "CDC knows when they're in over
their head. We have a threat to a civilian population, but it's likely
that it comes from a foreign source. Recon is saying that's a
downed Soviet satellite in the desert, carrying a bio-weapon."

Scully frowned. "Have they found the satellite?"

Turner shrugged. "Don't know. Suppose not, considering they're
still searching and I've not been informed of the find. I want to see
exactly what the delivery system was for this thing. But in the
meantime, what hurts it?"

Scully shook her head slowly. "Nothing."

Turner looked skeptical and the image almost caused Scully to
smile. "Take a look. I've been conducting tests since last night.
Nothing seems to have an effect."

"Well, it's understandable that radiation isn't going to affect it,
since its delivery system puts it outside the protective atmosphere,"
Turner said dismissively as he looked over the notes Scully had
made. He went back, flipping pages and reading more slowly. By
the third time through, Scully was beginning to lose her patience.

"Look, I told you, there is nothing to stop it. All we're managing
to do at this point is keep it at bay."

Turner nodded appreciatively. "Well, Agent Scully, I'm sure we'll
have need of your chosen field in good time. I'd be grateful if
you'd assist with patient care, in the meantime."

Scully narrowed her eyes and found her hands on her hips. "Excuse
me?" she said, with no intentions of being polite.

"We'll be taking over the lab work from now on. Your early work
will prove helpful, but we'll be conducting our own tests on the
virus." The man smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, effectively
ushering her out of the lab. "I'm sure Dr. Sullivan could use a hand
in the hospital. Thanks for all your help and we'll let you know
when we have a serum developed." He shut the door the minute
she was all the way out in the hall.

She stood there for several minutes, fuming. The audacity of the
man amazed her, but that was the least of it. Not only was he
obviously going to disregard her work, she was more certain than
ever that the meteor was _not_ a downed Russian satellite.

Annie was waiting for her next to the nurses' station in the patient
wing. "Our friends in orange have arrived," she said dryly,
referring to the men and women in hazmat suits now roaming the
halls.

"Hard to tell who's Army without the stripes," Scully retorted.
"When did USAMRID arrive?"

"About half an hour after the guys from Atlanta. Apparently, CDC
decided to defer to them when it became known that this isn't just a
meteor."

Scully frowned. "It fell almost two months ago, Annie. Wouldn't
Strategic Air Command have noticed it before now? And if they
suspected it carried a bio-weapon, which would have been fairly
common knowledge in the intelligence community, why are they
just now getting around to looking for it?"

Annie shook her head. "Don't look at me, I'm just a poor country
Doctor. You're the Fed," she grinned. Her grin faded when she
saw her friend's continued scowl. "Dee, what are you saying?
What's going on here?"

"I wish I knew, Annie. I really wish I knew."

end of part 6

Vickie

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

Sizzle part 7
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimed in part 00

The smell, that's what it was. It invaded his sleep and
assaulted his senses. A God awful smell that reached all
the way down to his stomach and sent it rolling and
grumbling. The familiarity hit him and he wondered why
on earth something so disgusting would be known to him.

Awareness returned. Mulder clamped down the urge to vomit,
his mouth set in a tight line, breathing through his nose.
Even though this did nothing to dispel the odor, he wasn't
game to open his mouth.

Eventually curiosity got the better of him and he
carefully opened his eyes, afraid of what he would find.

What greeted him was the late afternoon sky peeking through
a frame of criss crossing sticks. Straining to look a
little further he saw a wall of animal skins and blankets.

Mulder lay there for a minute, contemplating his situation.
Where the hell was he? And what was wrong with him?
Everything from his toe nails to his hair just plain
hurt.

He lifted his head to get a better look around, but the
sudden movement exaggerated the dull ache behind his eyes,
turning it into a violent explosion of pain.

"Arghhh." It was a low groan, deep in his throat. He rested
his head back down on the ground and closed his eyes.

Within seconds of groaning Mulder felt a flurry of activity
around him, then a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

"Nooo." He pleaded as the shaking set off a new round of
pounding in his head.

"Hey! FBI, you with me?"

Once again he forced his eyes open, trying to focus on the
face hovering above him.

"Come on, sleeping beauty, time to wake up." He recognized
that voice.

"Jack," he croaked. His throat was dry and his mouth
tasted like the bottom of a bird cage.

"Here, sit up and drink this." Jack urged.

OH YES! He was so thirsty. But the last thing he remembered
drinking tasted like that horrible smell that was threatening
to make him throw up all over himself. He pushed Jack's hand
away.

"Come on chief, you need water. You've had nothing to drink for
hours." Jack insisted.

Water? Now that sounded promising. He made a move to get up
but his arms refused to support him. He felt two sets of strong
hands lift him into a sitting position. Jack held a bowl to Mulder's
lips and he drank greedily.

"Hey, ease up there chief, or you'll make yourself sick gulping
it down like that."

Mulder started coughing and spluttering. His stomach heaving
once or twice, but he managed to keep the water down and get
himself under control.

Jack and his helper lowered him back to the ground.

"What happened to me?" Mulder asked. His voice still weak.

"You don't remember?"

"Not a lot, no." Mulder admitted.

"You got yourself bit by a rattler, and you were too damn stupid
or pigheaded or both to know it," Jack growled at him.

With Jack's words vague memories started to come back to him.
The excruciating pain in his ankle, which he was now relieved
to notice had died down to a dull ache. The headache and the
dizziness were still with him, but not as bad as before.

"I thought it was just a cold," he explained. But even to him
that sounded lame, given the pain he had been experiencing
in his foot.

Jack just snorted, cursing the out and out foolishness of 'city folk'.

As Mulder became more lucid, memories of the meteorite, Scully
back at the hospital, the possible quarantine and the need for a cure
came flashing back at him.

He jolted upright, grimacing as another sharp pain shot through his
head.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jack snapped at him.

"The crash site," he panted. "We have to get back there."

"Uh-uh, Mr. FBI. Your body has just been to hell and back.
YOU are not going anywhere. You need rest and plenty of it."

Oh god, that's all he needed, an Indian version of Scully. Scully!
Shit, he had better call her, she'd be going out of her mind by now.

"Where's my cell phone?" He asked, patting himself down.

"I've got it. What do you want it for?" Jack demanded.

"Scully, I've gotta call her." He replied, agitation in his voice.

"Relax, I was just talking to her, or rather she was talking to
me. I thought she was gonna try and climb through the phone
to get to you." Then with a wry smile he added. "Or my throat."

A smile played at the corner of Mulder's mouth as he imagined
Scully giving Jack an earful. "Any news from the hospital?"
Mulder asked.

Jack filled Mulder in on what had been happening at the
hospital. Mulder nodded slowly as Jack told him about the
quarantine, and the CDC operation out at the reservation.

"That settles it," Mulder said. "We have to get back to the
crash site."

"Are you deaf or just plain stupid? Didn't I tell you, you need to
rest?" Jack was becoming angry now and didn't bother trying to
hide it.

"Yeah. I need rest and people are dying from an unidentified
'alien virus'. How do you make sense of that?"

The look of determination on Mulder's face halted Jack
from pushing on with his lecture. As Mulder's words sunk
in he realized that perhaps his priorities had gotten
screwed up here. Before he could reply, Mulder continued.

"Look Jack. I'm going back with or without you, it's your choice.
But right now I'm not operating at my best and I would really
appreciate your help " Mulder saw Jack's expression soften as he
seemed to come to a decision.

"Well it would be damn neglectful of me to get you cured of a
snake bite only to have you go off half cocked and get yourself
killed in the desert. Besides, I don't want to be the one to
have to face your partner if something else happens to you."

Mulder grinned openly, relieved to have Jack on board.

Jack handed Mulder the shoe and sock that had been removed
during his healing. He squeezed his foot in. Most of the
swelling was above the shoe line so it wasn't too uncomfortable.

Mulder rose on shaky legs, Jack giving him a hand.
Once upright Mulder began to sway as the world tilted
precariously before him. Jack tightened his grip on Mulder's
arm to steady him.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute." Mulder whispered, still
holding Jack for support.

The dizziness passed and Mulder took a tentative step away from
Jack. As he put weight on his left foot he was rudely reminded
of the snake bite. A sharp pain shot up his leg but it was
nowhere near as bad as it had been. He took a few more limping
steps testing out his leg. Yeah it was sore but he'd manage.

He turned back to Jack and noticed he was involved in earnest
conversation with an older man. Mulder had fuzzy memories of
seeing him before he fell asleep. The two men were very animated
but Mulder couldn't make out what they were saying. He stood by,
waiting, not sure if it would be wise to interrupt them. One
look at his watch decided it for him. It was 5.30pm and he was
eager to get to the site before nightfall.

He cleared his throat,"Jack we need to get moving."

"We're taking Bill with us."

"What? Who's Bill?"

"He's the man who saved your life. Bill Longarrow, the grandfather
of one the boys that was out here with Mike Eaglefeather, the
kid who died."

The man who saved his life. He wondered about that and made
a mental note to ask Jack exactly how that had happened. But
now there were more urgent things to take care of.

"And why is he coming with us?" Mulder wanted to know.

"He says there's something out there. Something that wasn't
there when the meteorite first crashed. He wants to make sure
you know where to find it." Jack explained.

"Why? What is it?" Mulder pressed.

"Look, Mr. FBI, if old Bill says he's got something to show you
then I suggest you take his word and let him show you.
He thinks it's important and that's good enough for me. You
want to get going? Then let's do it."

The three men headed out to the car, leaving Jack's assistant
- as Mulder had come to think of him - back at the 'sweat lodge'
to clean up.

Mulder was still weak and moving very gingerly so was more than
willing to let Jack drive them out to the site.

Meteor Crash Site
5.45pm

As harsh as the desert was during the day with its heat,
at night it was just as cruel with its cold. Although
daylight was still with them, the sun was starting to set
behind the sheer rock walls that surrounded the canyon.

Mulder shivered as he stood by the car, just staring at
the huge meteorite. He had been there earlier but his memory
was sketchy and vague. Jack and the old man stood by the
other side of the car. They, too, seemed to be captivated
by what they saw.

The pink and orange from the setting sun reflected off the
black, shiny surface of the meteorite. To Mulder it looked
like a giant glowing spaceship, ready to take off.
He shivered again, but it wasn't the cold.

The old man moved off in the direction of the meteorite. Jack
glanced across at Mulder then followed after him. Mulder pushed
himself away from the car, staggering slightly on weakened legs.
Jack paused, waiting for the limping agent to catch up.

Bill Longarrow stopped at the base of the meteorite and
stared at it as if mesmerized. Mulder followed the old man's
gaze. On one side of the giant rock were the white
flowers, still growing out of the black fragments that littered
the ground.

On closer inspection though, Mulder could see something else.
There appeared to be some kind of orange mass that had attached
itself to the side of the meteor. It was pulsating, and oozing
towards the ground. Some of it had spread to the flowers and
where it had made contact, those flowers had shriveled up
in a dry, dead heap.

Could this blob-like substance be what killed the flowers?
And if it killed the flowers might it not have a similar effect
on the virus? These thoughts were running through Mulder's mind
as he shifted his gaze to the old man and Jack.

Jack looked as surprised as Mulder felt. But the old man's eyes
told him something more. Bill Longarrow knew what this stuff
was, knew it's capabilities.

"You know." Mulder directed this at the old man. But there was
no shift of emotion on the man's face. He just held Mulder's
stare and didn't move a muscle.

Mulder felt an unreasonable surge of anger rush through his body.
"How long have you known?" It was low and menacing. "How
long have you known about this and not bothered to tell anyone?
This is the cure isn't it?" Mulder's voice was rising with his
anger. "How can you keep this thing a secret when your OWN
people are dying?"

For the first time the old man's expression changed. There was
a narrowing of the eyes, but when he spoke it was calm, no hint
of the anger reflected on his face. "You do not understand the
Indian ways. You think I kept this thing a secret? No. You are
wrong. Yes I knew about it, but not the way you think."

"What are you saying?" Mulder asked.

"I had a dream. Last night. I was told of this cure and how to
use it. I dreamt about you too. It wasn't until Jack brought
you to me that I knew you were the one. This time white man,
we need to work together. The cure has to be made by the medicine
woman, at the hospital."

Mulder swallowed tightly. This man had saved his life and he'd
just accused him of withholding vital information when in fact
he'd been helping him.

"I'm sorry." Mulder wiped his hands across his forehead, rubbing
at his eyes with the heels of his hands. He looked
up at Jack and the old man, " I had no right to say those things."
Mulder felt like a jerk, but there was nothing to be gained from self
recrimination. They needed samples of this blob substance to
take back to Scully and Annie. The sooner the better.

"I've got some evidence bags in the car. I'm gonna go get them,
then we can collect the samples." Mulder suggested.

Jack spoke up. "You're forgetting one little thing chief. The
hospital's locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Between the National
Guard, CDC, USAMRID and whatever other government agencies
they've managed to rope in, we ain't gonna get to the Doc."

"Once we tell them what we've found they'll have to let us
through." Mulder reasoned.

"You got more faith in the government than I have Mr. FBI." Jack
said.

"Huh! Don't be so sure of that." Mulder shot back as he headed
off to the car to get the gear.

Mulder returned to the other two men and handed Jack a pair of
latex gloves, and an evidence kit.

"Let's get samples of the orange substance and the dead flowers.
Don't go near the live ones though, we're still not certain
how the virus is spread." Mulder said.

As he turned back toward the meteorite Mulder's attention was
drawn to something in the distance. Back along the road
they had driven out on. There was a dust cloud and it seemed
to be getting nearer.

Painted Desert Medical Center
5:35 pm

Scully felt someone pull at her sleeve. She tugged her arm away
and a hand came down on her shoulder.

"Dee, where the hell are you going?" demanded an angry whisper.
Scully sighed in relief and turned toward her friend.

"Mulder's out there, Annie, with no one to help him. I'm going to
do my job!"

Annie rolled her eyes and muttered a curse, then sighed in
resignation. "Well, you won't get far without a car," she reasoned.

"A car wouldn't make it through the roadblocks. I need something
that can go cross country. A truck or a jeep."

A gleam came to Annie's eyes. "We could jack one of the National
Guard hummers," she offered with a sly wink.

"Getting shot in the back is _not_ in my job description," Scully
retorted sourly. "No, we need something smaller. More
inconspicuous."

Annie stood in thought, chewing her lip. Then, her eyes lit up.
"Meet me in the nurses' lounge in 20 minutes. I think I'll have our
problem solved."

Scully made good use of her time. She gathered ampules of
anti-venom and epinephrine, syringes, bandages, and other odds
and ends she might need into a small plastic bag. She wished she
could put together some blankets, but didn't want the bulk. She
would be traveling light.

The nurses' lounge was actually a patient room without the bed. It
was now fitted with a couple of chairs appropriated from the
waiting room and an ancient kitchen dinette set. The room did
boast a private bathroom, complete with a window that opened and
allowed for some side stepping of the hospital's 'no smoking'
policy. When Annie arrived, moments after Scully, the young
doctor quickly ushered her friend into the small bathroom and
locked the door behind them.

Scully needed no further direction. She opened the window as far
as it could go and leaned out to look around. They were at the
back of the building, out of sight of either the front or emergency
entrances. Since there were only fire exits equipped with alarms on
that side of the building, no guards were posted there. Scully did
see a couple of guards turning the corner at the side of the building.
She surmised that they were on patrol. The dumpsters for the
cafeteria were just below the window, and parked in between them
was a beat up black motorcycle. Upon seeing the cycle, Scully
turned to Annie with an upraised brow.

"Born to be wild, Dee," Annie said with a wink.

Scully shot her a disapproving look, but said nothing. Annie went
through the window first, dropping easily to a crouch behind the
nearest dumpster. Scully came next.

The gathering darkness was working for them as they rolled the
cycle away from the building. It was about 100 yards to the nearest
structure, a metal utility building. They made it a split second
before the guards rounded the corner for another patrol.

A curfew had been ordered for nightfall, so the streets were quiet.
In hushed tones, Scully warned against starting the cycle until they
were well out of the village limits. Annie nodded in agreement.
They pushed the cycle for the eight blocks to the edge of the village
and stayed hidden behind an old barn.

"I don't see anyone," Annie commented, still keeping her voice
low.

Scully surveyed the area. Cliffs and outcroppings rose up from the
desert floor on the horizon, but in the growing darkness, it was
impossible to say if the cover was one mile or twenty in the
distance. She knew the reservation, where Jack had told her
Mulder was 'sleeping' was on the other side of the cliffs. They
could go around them using the main road, and be exposed, out in
the open, or . . .

"How far are those hills?" Scully asked.

Annie frowned in concentration. "Ten minutes by car if we use the
road. Maybe a little sooner cross country."

Scully sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Something in her
gut was telling her to head for the cliffs. "OK, here's what we do,"
she said, choosing her words carefully. "You go back to the
hospital and I make a run for the hills."

Annie had been focused on the distance of flat land before them and
Scully's words almost didn't sink in. When they finally did, she
protested loudly.

"Oh no, girlfriend!" she shouted, shaking her head angrily.
"There's no way . . ." She was cut off from her tirade by a pair of
headlights bouncing across the side of the barn.

"There's a curfew in effect," came a voice enhanced by a loud
speaker. "Show yourselves and we'll escort you to your
residence."

"Shit!" Scully muttered. In an instant, she was on the bike, pulling
Annie along behind her. "Keys!" she demanded, and Annie reached
around her to jam the key in the ignition.

"I repeat. A curfew is in effect. Come forward and we'll escort
you to your residence." They were still hidden by the barn, but
Scully knew that wouldn't last for long.

The echo of the last word was drowned out by the roar of the
motorcycle's engine. Dirt and rock flew up into a cloud behind the
two fugitives as Scully adeptly popped the clutch and sped out
across the desert.

"Where'd you learn to dirt bike?" Annie asked in awe as they pulled
away from the village.

"Two brothers, base housing, the usual," Scully explained, her
words all but lost in the wind.

"Hope that education included alluding the military police," Annie
shouted, then turned her head to view the National Guard jeep, fast
approaching.

"Nah. That's something Mulder's taught me," she said lightly and
slammed into the next gear.

The cliffs were growing on the horizon, reflecting the light of the
three-quarter moon. Scully didn't bother looking behind her,
Annie's knees in her thighs were giving ample evidence to how
close their pursuers were. Just don't start shooting, she prayed
silently. The almost immediate crack of rifle fire answered her.

"Uh, Dee? They can't shoot civilians, can they?" Annie shouted
into her ear.

At Scully's answering terse nod, Annie's knees dug deeper into
Scully's thighs to the point they were going to leave bruises. The
crackle of another rifle shot spurred Scully to jam forward the
throttle. The rocks were just ahead, if they could live long enough
to reach them.

end of part 7

Vickie

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

Sizzle part 8
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Box Canyon
6:03 pm

As he turned back toward the meteorite Mulder's attention
was drawn to something in the distance. Back toward the town.
There was a dust cloud and it seemed to be getting nearer.

Mulder narrowed his eyes, squinting in the fading light, trying to
get a better look at what was causing the dust. From this distance
it was impossible to tell.

Mulder felt Jack and Bill at his side. Jack's expression showing
confusion, Bill's told him nothing, the man's features were set like
granite as he stared off into the distance.

"What do you make of that, chief?" Jack asked quietly.

Mulder shook his head slowly. "I don't know. But I have a bad
feeling about it. I'll be right back."

Jack watched Mulder head off to the car again and open the
passenger side door. He noted Mulder was still favoring his left
foot and couldn't help but wonder what drove the man to keep
going. When Mulder returned he had a pair of binoculars in his
hand.

With only the last rays of sunlight coating the sky and the faint
glow of the rising moon to light the area, making out anything in
detail was difficult. The only thing that was obvious was that there
were two vehicles making their way along the road. The one in the
lead seemed to be smaller and traveling in an erratic manner.

Mulder's mouth was suddenly dry and an uneasy feeling was
growing deep down inside. The desert evening had taken on an
unearthly stillness only adding to Mulder's feeling of dread. A
shiver ran down his back and goose bumps were standing to
attention along his arms.

"Let's make this quick guys. Look's like we're about to have
company, and I don't think it's the kind that just drops by for a
friendly chat." He pulled the evidence bag from his pocket and
made his way over to the meteorite, Jack and Bill following suit.

Navigating their way amongst the debris scattered alongside
the meteor was proving difficult in the shadows cast as nightfall
drew closer. They picked their way carefully through the pieces of
black rock housing the deadly white flowers.

Once they reached the side of the meteorite they split up. Jack and
Bill moving off to collect samples of the dead flowers while Mulder
worked his way over to the area where the blob-like substance was
attached to the meteorite.

Mulder looked up at the rising moon, both thanking and cursing it.
Thanking it for the extra light it was offering as the sun
disappeared, and cursing it for exposing the area to whomever was
high tailing it out to their location.

Mulder had become engrossed in the task at hand. Up close the
orange blob resembled what he could only describe as a glutinous
sago substance. It was moving and pulsating like some kind of
living entity. As Mulder watched in fascination it seemed to be
multiplying before his very eyes. It would move and undulate,
emitting a sucking sound followed by a quiet pop. It reminded
Mulder of the sound plastic bubble wrapping makes when you
squeeze it between your fingers.

It was after the popping sound that Mulder noticed more of the
substance came oozing from within. This seemed to be the process
it went through to regenerate itself.

He opened the evidence bag and took out what looked like a
popscicle stick, a little device used to collect samples. He was just
about to make contact with the substance when all hell broke loose.

The sound of a roaring engine caught his attention first. As yet the
source of the noise wasn't visible. There was something else too.
An all too familiar sound could be heard over the engine whine.
The unmistakable clap of gun fire and the ping as the bullets
ricocheted off the surrounding rock. He saw Jack and Bill pause in
their action of collecting the flower samples and move from a
squatting position to a standing one.

"Get down!" Mulder yelled out to them. He caught a glimpse of
Jack grabbing the old man's sleeve and bringing him back down to a
squat.

At the same time Mulder was seeking some cover for himself. Just
to his left, not far from Jack and Bill he spotted a boulder jutting
out of the cliff face. If they could make it over there, it would
provide enough shelter to hide them from the intruders.

Mulder took one last look around, the engine roar was getting
closer. The revving noise was rising and falling as the driver
worked the throttle. Who ever was heading their way was in a
hurry and they weren't worried about the finer points of discretion.

With head down and still in a semi crouch position he weaved his
way over to Jack and Bill. The ground was rocky and uneven,
more than once he had to pick himself up before reaching Jack.

"Follow me!" He yelled, but Jack was already on his feet, the old
man in tow as he caught up with Mulder. The overhang was still
some 20 feet away when Mulder's left foot landed awkwardly on a
smooth rock. His foot slid off the side of the rock, wrenching his
ankle as it twisted beneath him.

Mulder hit the ground on all fours cursing under his breath at the
sudden stabbing pain. He didn't have the luxury of time to wallow
in the agonizing ache that now engulfed his foot. He was beginning
to wonder if he'd ever walk normally on his left leg again.

Mulder forced himself to his feet and took a couple of staggering
steps before his ankle refused to carry him. Just as he was
about to hit the ground again he felt someone grab his arm and
sling it over their shoulder.

"Too much more of this, chief, and I'll be hitting the FBI for
my chiropractor's bill." Jack gasped out as he half dragged,
half carried Mulder to the waiting shelter.

He eased Mulder down on the ground and leaned him against the
rock wall. Mulder lay there panting and cursing, trying to get his
breath back and cope with the new agony in his foot. He squeezed
his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, riding out the waves of pain. On
a scale of one to ten it was rating up there at ten, but Mulder knew
they all did at first. All he had to do was wait it out, he figured it
would even out at a five or six. He'd had worse.

"Did you say your partner was a doctor?" Jack asked, his own
breath coming in ragged gasps as he too fought to get his breathing
back to normal.

"Uh huh," was all the speech Mulder was capable of.

"Wise choice." Jack replied sardonically. He was perched at the
cave's entrance, keeping watch for their visitors. The engine noise
grew louder and one of the vehicles pulled into view. A
motorcycle, revving and kicking up dust as it burst through a
narrow canyon in the rock wall.

"We've got a motorcycle. There's no sign of the other vehicle
though. Who do you suppose they are?" Jack turned to face
Mulder again.

Mulder couldn't see a thing from his position against the wall.
He gritted his teeth and crawled towards Jack, keeping his foot off
the ground.

After the darkness of their hideout it didn't take long for Mulder's
eyes to adjust to the outside. He pulled himself into a kneeling
position to get a better look at the intruders. What he saw almost
stopped his heart. Shoving the pain in his foot clearly to the side,
Mulder launched himself to his feet and was half way through the
exit when he felt himself being yanked backwards and sat on his ass
by Jack.

"What the fuck do you thing you're doing FBI?" Jack hurled at
him. But one look at the haunted expression in Mulder's eyes,
and the despair on his face quieted his anger.

Jack stole a quick glance outside, then shifted his focus back to
Mulder. "Who *are* they?" Jack asked.

Mulder's shoulders slumped and when he spoke it was more to
himself than to Jack. His answer little more than a whisper.

"Scully."

******************************************************

Scully felt a bullet whiz past her left ear, making a sound like a
mosquito on steroids. She flinched to the right, leaning the
motorcycle, and Annie, with her.

"Could you go a little faster?" Annie whined into her ear, shouting
to be heard over the motor and the gunfire.

"Faster than a bullet? I don't think so," Scully said with a shake of
her head. "Just a few more yards . . ." To make her point, the
bullets started to ricochet off the granite of the cliffs ahead.

"Annie, is that an opening up there?" Scully took her hand off the
handlebars just long enough to point to a position to the right and
ahead of them.

"It's a crack in the rock face. Probably too tight to fit through,"
Annie said doubtfully.

"Guess we're about to find out," Scully said lightly, and gunned the
cycle once again, heading straight for the rock wall.

It was indeed a tight fit, the handlebars scraped against the rock and
took chunks of dirt with them, but after about ten feet, it opened up
in to a canyon of sorts. The Jeep, considerably wider than the
motorcycle, was forced to go around the rock formation, seeking
another entrance. Scully slowed the motorcycle and looked
around.

They might as well have been on the moon. It was dark and stark
gray and yellow in the lunar light. Scully sat on the cycle for a
moment, considering their options.

"This canyon bends to the right up there. Maybe that's a good
thing," Annie suggested.

"Mulder's nearby. I'm sure of it. Where are our 'friends'?"

Annie stretched behind her, then turned around again. "Not back
there. Maybe they went away," she offered.

"Doubt it," Scully returned. "The canyon gets too narrow, we
should leave the motorcycle and walk it from here."

"You say that like you know where we're going," Annie muttered.

Scully's expression grew determined but Annie didn't see it
in the poor light. "I know exactly where we're going." Her Mulder
radar is beeping full bore and she was certain they were going to
find him. With renewed purpose, Scully strode off towards the
opening at the end of the narrow passageway. Annie watched her
for a moment, then ran to catch up.

Annie and Scully broke into the clearing, pausing to make sure
their 'friends' weren't waiting to greet them. "Where do you think
they've gone?" Annie whispered.

"I don't know. But you can be sure they haven't taken their ball
and gone home." Scully replied, her brow creased in a frown
as she scanned the area stretched out before them.

"What's that over there?" Annie followed the direction of Scully's
outstretched arm. The whole clearing was bathed in the golden
glow of the huge desert moon. Off in the distance a little way
Annie could clearly see a huge dark object rising out of the ground,
glistening in the moonlight.

"I know what it looks like to me. And considering you're feeling
the presence of your partner I would hazard a guess that we are
at the meteorite crash site." Annie replied.

"Annie are you sure you wouldn't like to consider a career in
the FBI?" Scully teased.

"If partners that look yours are standard issue, I could be
swayed." Annie grinned back. "Although I'm beginning to think
he's more trouble than he's worth."

"He can be hard work sometimes but he's a good agent. And a
good friend. I know he'd be out here trying to find me if I was in
trouble." Annie made a mental note to question her friend on that
more closely sometime.

"Come on Dee, let's go find this partner of yours."

The two women picked their way carefully to where the meteorite
lay, keeping a watchful eye out for the return of the soldiers. As
they got nearer Scully gripped Annie's arm.

"Look! Over there. It's Mulder's rental." Not bothering to wait
for Annie's reply, Scully took off at a run, leaving Annie to
follow.

When Annie caught up, Scully already had the driver's side door
open and was inside the car. She rummaged around in the glove
box, and pulled out a flash light. "Might come in handy." She
mumbled to herself then turned her attention to the back, where
Mulder's suit jacket lay abandoned on the seat. She climbed
out of the car, the jacket still in hand and searched the pockets.
His cell phone was missing, maybe if he still has it she could
call him.

"Ladies." A deep voice from behind interrupted her train of
thought.

It only took Scully a split second to react to the sound of the
voice. She discarded the jacket and had her service revolver
out and aimed at the man's face in one smooth motion.

"Federal agent! Put your hands where I can see them." She
ordered, before she'd had a chance to see who it was.

"And that would be Agent Scully, yes? I've got someone you might
be looking for."

Scully shuffled her feet and eyed the man in front of her
suspiciously. Annie stood at her friend's side, shifting her gaze
between the gun in Scully's hand and the face of the man it was
aimed at.

"Who are you?" Scully's voice was loud, betraying her fear and her
worry.

"Dee, it's okay. I know him. It's Jack Yellowhawk, the reservation
cop." Annie reassured her friend.

"Where's Mulder?" No mucking around, Scully got straight to the
point. She could only assume the worst if he hadn't come himself.
"What's his condition?"

"He's over there and he's okay, in a manner of speaking. We took
cover when we heard the car engines and gunfire. What the hell
was that all about anyway?" Jack asked as he guided the women to
their temporary hideout.

"Good question. They must be protecting something pretty
important if they felt it was necessary to open fire on us." Scully
mused.

Jack ushered Annie and Scully through the opening of the small
cave. There, slumped against the back wall with his eyes closed
lay Mulder.

"Oh my god." Scully gasped. "We are too late. I knew it. I
should never have wasted so much time getting here."

"Hey relax, lady FBI. Unless you can die of a sprained ankle
your partner is fine. A little messed up maybe, but he's not dead."

"What do you mean a sprained ankle? I thought he was bitten by
a snake." Scully had had enough of being kept in the dark about
Mulder's condition. Worry and weariness were shredding what was
left of her patience. She dropped beside her partner and placed her
fingers against his neck searching for a pulse. It was a little rapid
and not as strong as she'd like but it was there.

Scully sat back and had a good look at Mulder. He certainly
looked like he'd been through the wringer. His once white dress
shirt was covered in dirt and a murky brown stain ran its way
down his chest and across his stomach. His hair was standing up
in all directions and his face was streaked with sweat and dust.
She leaned forward and placed her hand on his forehead. And a
fever thrown in for good measure. She remembered the cold he'd
been suffering from this morning and wondered if it had gotten
worse.

As she removed her hand Mulder shifted and stirred in his sleep.
His eyes fluttered open and focused on Scully's face.

"Hey Mulder. I can't leave you alone for a minute can I?" Scully
teased, giving him a smile.

"Scully. You're here? Are you all right? Where's Annie?" He
pulled himself up straighter and winced as the movement jarred
his ankle.

"Mulder, you're in pain." Scully announced as she moved to his
feet to examine the damage to his ankle. "Annie would you
hold the flashlight so I can see? Keep your body between us
and the opening. We don't want to be sending an open invitation
to our friends."

Scully didn't need to ask which foot was injured, it was clear
from the swelling surrounding the joint and shin area. She
pulled the plastic bag containing the anti venom, bandages and
other bits and pieces from inside her suit coat, and went to
work. She removed Mulder's shoe and sock and hissed when she
saw the angry red fang marks where the snake had bitten him.
A shiver ran up her spine when she thought how differently this
could have turned out. She ran her hands gently over the swollen
area just to make sure it wasn't more than a sprain. Satisfied
that it wasn't too serious she set about wrapping the ankle in
an ace bandage.

Mulder sat quietly through Scully's doctoring, but the look on his
face told her he was hurting.

"I don't suppose anyone has any water?" Scully asked as she
fished around in the plastic bag for the painkillers.

Jack unslung the canteen from his shoulder and passed it to
Scully.

"Thanks, Jack." Then turning back to Mulder she handed him three
pills, the water and the Snickers bar she'd grabbed for herself earlier
in the afternoon. "Here Mulder, you're gonna have to be able to
walk if we need to move quickly when those guys figure out a way
to get through."

"What's with the candy bar, Scully?" Mulder asked as he threw
back the pills and took a long swig of the water.

"When was the last time you ate?" Scully asked, glaring
at him and daring him to lie to her.

"Scully, I think we have more important things to worry about than
my dietary habits." Mulder returned, sitting up straighter.

"We don't need you passing out from low blood sugar, now eat the
damned candy. You'll need the energy." With that Scully packed
up her supplies and shoved the plastic bag back inside her jacket.

"So, what did you find out here, Mulder?" Scully asked.

Mulder went on to explain his theory on the orange goo at the
meteor, and Scully and Annie in turn filled Mulder in on what
had been happening at the hospital.

"You guys are the Feds, any ideas how we're gonna get out of this
mess?" Jack interjected.

"I have an idea but I'm not sure it won't land us in more hot water."
Mulder said carefully, looking around at the small group and
reading the concern on their faces.

"What are you thinking, Mulder?" Scully had a bad feeling about
this.

"Okay. This orange goo could contain the cure to the virus. I
think we should get a sample and take it back to the hospital. My
car is still out there so we have transport. Once we explain to the
military or CDC what we've got they'll let us through. They'll have
to," Mulder said, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt.

"Mulder, those guys were shooting at us. They're not going to let
us just wander back there and say we're sorry. They are acting like
this meteor is vital to National Security. The whole thing is verging
on the ridiculous." Scully countered.

"Well do you have a better idea?"

"Dee?" Annie spoke up. "Look, I'm not familiar with all this
gung ho stuff but I've got people dying back at the hospital. If this
organism can cure them I'm willing to risk it. Surely they'll listen
when we explain. We're all on the same side after all."

Mulder locked eyes with Scully for just a second. Both sets of
eyes reflecting how far from the truth that statement had been for
them in the past.

Her gut instinct told her there was only danger in the plan, but she
knew that Annie was right, this breakthrough might save lives.
And the thought of getting her partner back to the hospital, under
decent medical care was appealing.

She turned back to Mulder, about to answer him when the beam of
approaching headlights swept across the opening of their cave.

end of part 8

Vickie

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

Sizzle part 9
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Scully turned back to Mulder, ready to answer him when the beam
of approaching headlights swept across the opening of their cave.

Whether it was the result of the pills taking the edge off his pain,
the energy from the candy bar or just plain adrenalin, Mulder was
starting to feel his head clear and some strength seep back into his
body.

"Okay guys, looks like the party's about to begin," he quipped, but
his expression was grave as he stared at the group gathered around
him.

"It'll only be a matter of time before they either find us or send
for back up. Let's try and buy ourselves some time. They've more
than likely discovered my car by now so they know about me and
they definitely know about Scully and Annie. Jack, you and Bill
are our trump cards." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Now,
what if Scully, Annie and I make our way down to the meteor.
We'll approach it from the exposed side and try and collect a sample
of the orange goo. Jack, you and Bill go around the back of it, the
side that isn't visible from where you enter the canyon." He paused
again to make sure everyone was following what he had said.

"Go on." Jack encouraged.

"Okay, you and Bill try and take a sample from that side and then
make your escape, maybe via the same way Annie and Scully
entered the canyon. I'll leave that to you though, you'd know this
area better than me. If we are seen or stopped before we can get a
sample we can act as a distraction while you make your get away. I
don't think we'll be in any danger but it's hard to say. Just the fact
that they were shooting at Scully puts doubt in my mind. We are
Federal agents after all and if we co operate with them then I think
we will be okay. The important thing is to get that sample out of
here so it can be tested. Any questions?"

Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Okay, we'll go down first and when everything looks clear, Jack,
you make your move." Mulder made a move to get up. Stiff
muscles protesting as he got to his feet.

Scully sidled up to him and spoke quietly. "Mulder are you sure
you're up to this? You've been through a lot today. How's the
ankle holding up?"

"It's okay, Scully, really. The pain meds are helping and so is
the bandage. We don't have a lot of choice anyway so I'm going
to have to be fine." He gave her a crooked smile, one she was
hard pressed to see in the gloomy darkness of the cave.

Mulder, Scully and Annie made their way back to the meteorite,
sticking to the shadows created by the moon and the rocks. Mulder
was still a little unsteady on his feet. Scully stuck close to him just
in case.

Just as they rounded one of the large boulders near the meteor a
shot rang out of the darkness sending splinters of granite into the
air.

"Shit! Get down!" Mulder hissed, grabbing both Annie and Scully
and pulling them back behind the boulder. Mulder's heart thumped
loudly as it pushed the latest release of adrenalin through his body.
"What the hell are they playing?"

"Whatever it is, they're playing for real." Scully offered. "Any
other ideas?"

"Yeah. You two wait here." And before Scully had a chance to
react Mulder was on his feet and heading towards the jeep, ID
held up high in his right hand, his left held up at shoulder height
in the universal offering of surrender.

"I'm a Federal Agent. Hold your fire. I'm coming down to talk."
Mulder called out as he advanced on the soldiers.

A bullet whizzing past his ear was his reply. Followed immediately
by another that ricocheted off a nearby rock catching Mulder in the
side of his head, spinning his body, and sending him to the ground.

"Mulder!" Scully's scream echoed off the cliff walls in the sudden
silence that followed the gunfire. " God, Mulder." Ignoring caution
Scully was at his side in an instant.

He was hanging on to consciousness by a thread. His eyes
fluttering open, then closing as he fought to focus on Scully's face.
"Scully?" He reached out blindly with his hand trying to touch the
image swimming above him.

"It's okay Mulder, I'm here." Scully pushed his hair back, her hand
coming away slick with his blood.

"What the hell do you think your doing? Who are you?" Scully's
voice shook as she yelled her anger and frustration into the desert
night.

There was no reply though, just an eerie silence broken only
by the sound of her own harsh breathing and the pounding of her
heart.

"Scully, go. Take Annie and run." Mulder's pleas were coming in
short gasps as he tried to push himself up.

"Stay still Mulder. I'm not going any where..."

"And neither am I." Annie said as she arrived at her friend's
side. "How bad is he?" She asked nodding her head toward
Mulder.

"It's hard to say in the dark. He's bleeding but I don't think it's
deep. It looks like the bullet has glanced off something and grazed
him on the way past." Scully explained.

Suddenly the group were bathed in a bright light coming from the
direction of the jeep. Both Annie and Scully were using their hands
to shield their eyes. It was impossible to see anything, all traces of
their night vision gone.

As Scully squinted into the light, two dark figures appeared from
nowhere. Stepping from the darkness, their bodies were silhouetted
against the glare. One with his gun cocked and aimed at Scully's
head.

"Ma'am. I'm going to have to ask you to stand up and move away
from the casualty."

At first glance Scully could see he was a relatively young man, but
that was merely an idle observation. First and foremost in her mind
was the insatiable anger that burned deep down in the pit of her
stomach, spreading up her chest and running down her arms,
eventually pooling in her hands. She stood and worked her hands
into fists, clenching and unclenching her fingers. If she could just
get her hands around this man's neck she felt sure her anger would
be appeased.

A hand on her arm quickly brought her back to her senses.

"Dee, take it easy. Let's hear what they've got to say."

Scully glared at her friend, nostrils flaring, her eyes glinting as if
made of steel. She may have returned to her senses but her fury still
raged against what was happening. In a fleeting second of
rationalism she realized her anger was aimed in the wrong direction.

Turning her attention back to the soldiers Scully stood quietly, her
hands gripping the fabric of her jacket in an effort to maintain some
semblance of control. Someone who didn't know her well could
easily have mistaken Scully's demeanor for cooperation, but those
that knew her better would see she was wound tighter than a
spring.

"Do you realize you have just shot a Federal Agent." she seethed
at the young soldier. Scully took one more moment to look closely
at the man, noting his rank, a sargent. Quite low in the chain
of command. She wondered about the son of a bitch who was
feeding him his orders.

"Ma'am, I'm going to ask you one more time. Step away from the
casualty." The man's face wore no emotion, the perfect picture of a
man ready to die for his country, to follow orders to the letter. A
man committed to his duty, no questions asked.

"He's not a fucking casualty." Growing up in Naval compounds
and hanging around with two brothers had taught Scully how to
swear with the best of them and when the need arose she felt no
compunction at proving it. "We are not in a god damned war
zone. He is a federal agent, my partner, and thanks to your twitchy
trigger finger he is hurt. I am going to tend to him." With that
Scully ignored the rifle muzzle aimed at her face and returned to her
rightful position, cradling Mulder's now unconscious form in her
arms."

The soldier who had been speaking, the one without the gun
hesitated only a second before unslinging his own weapon from his
shoulder and taking up aim shooting at a target just above Scully's
head.

"Ma'am I suggest you take me seriously. If you do not comply with
what I am saying I have orders to shoot to kill. Now move away
from the casualty."

For the first time since this encounter Scully's anger was being
replaced by fear. She stole a nervous glance at Annie and saw that
same fear reflected in her eyes. What the hell was going on here?
This was overkill to the nth degree.

Scully swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, rose quietly
to her feet and taking careful steps came to stand beside Annie.

Her fear became terror as she watched the soldier lower his gun and
adjust the point of its aim in the direction of her partner, just below
his left breast.

Scully's sharp intake of breath was echoed by Annie's. Time
seemed to slow down, sound lost in a muffled cocoon somewhere
off in the distance. Scully held her breath and fixed her gaze on the
finger locked around the trigger of the gun. She looked on in
unadulterated horror as the sinews and tendons in that same finger
began to tense in anticipation of firing the bullet that would end
their partnership forever.

Scully and Annie jumped in unison as a loud report rang out from
the night. Slowly and surely all strength left the muscles in Scully's
legs, her knees ceased to support her and she sank to the ground as
if preparing to offer a prayer to God.

A lonely tear tracked its way along the smooth plain of Scully's
jaw, tucking itself under her chin before dropping silently onto the
collar of her shirt.

She stared at Mulder's prone body, steeling herself against the
sight that would greet her; Mulder's blood pumping through the
wound in his chest.

But wait. Where there should have been a gaping hole sucking out
the very existence of her partner, there was nothing.

Feeling slowly returned to Scully's numb limbs and sluggish mind
as a tiny glimmer of hope sparked itself to life within her.

A hand on her shoulder snapped her all the way back to the here
and now and the sounds that were a blur to her ears began to take
on meaning.

"Dee. Dee, look at me." Annie implored her friend.

There was enough in the tone of Annie's voice to snap Scully out of
her stupor.

"Dee, something's happening. Look. Up there. Along the top of
the cliffs. I think the cavalry just arrived, so to speak." Annie
looked at Scully, offering a wry smile.

Scully allowed two more seconds to reassure herself that Mulder
was still breathing and not spilling his blood onto the rocky ground.
Once satisfied that he had not been shot she lifted her eyes to
follow the line of Annie's outstretched arm.

Lights glittered all along the edges of the cliffs that created the
box effect of their canyon.

Scully edged her way out of the spotlight, sparing a quick glance at
the soldiers who had threatened their lives. One man stood
massaging his right hand with his left, weapon lying at his feet.
The other's weapon hung loosely from the strap slung across his
shoulder. Both wore expressions of shocked disbelief.

Scully moved further out into the darkness, squinting in an attempt
to focus on the lights, dancing and twinkling above them.

She watched on in fascination as a group of these lights bobbed
and wove their way down an unseen path leading from the top.
They momentarily disappeared from sight only to reappear again
at ground level with Scully.

As Scully's eyes grew accustomed to the dark she could see the
lights were actually fiery torches, flames hissing and flickering, held
high above the heads of the men who were carrying them.

Scully took another tentative step forward.

"Doc?"

The breath wooshed from Scully's lips and her knees threatened to
give way again, but this time in relief.

"Jack!"

"You okay?" Jack spoke as he circled Scully, and came around to
face the soldiers, lifting his rifle higher and keeping them in his
sight. The men that had accompanied him down the path took up
position on the other side, their stance aping Jack's.

He flicked his eyes in Mulder's direction, "Dammit. Is he hurt
again?" He didn't expect a reply, the answer was obvious.

"You won't get away with this. You are breaking martial law."
The sargent spoke with a false sense of bravado in an attempt to
regain some control of the situation.

"On the contrary, my friend, it is you that are threatening to cause a
full scale national incident. Just where do you get off shooting at
FBI agents and endangering the lives of innocent civilians?" Jack
asked, nodding his head in Annie's direction.

"Our jurisdiction gives us the power to act in the best interests of
national security, and you sir are hindering us from performing that
duty." With each word the sergents confidence grew in the
certainty that he was right. "Now I suggest you be on your way
and let us get on with our job."

"Son, I don't know who's been filling your head with these
delusions of grandeur, but let me assure you, your job here is done.
Unless you and your government are willing to wipe out a whole
Indian tribe, then I would strongly advise you to get on your bike
and get the hell out of here. But first I think we're just gonna pass
the time of day a little while longer while these good folks here take
their leave." Jack indicated in the direction of Scully, Mulder and
Annie.

Scully had moved back to Mulder's side. She was worried about
the length of time he'd been out of it. Maybe the wound wasn't as
superficial as she'd first thought. She examined him more closely,
the bleeding had stopped. She checked his pupils and sighed in
relief as they contracted in the bright glare of the spotlight. If he
had a concussion it was mild.

"Mulder. Come on wake up." She shook his shoulder and was
pleased to see him stir and then moan quietly, his eyes flickering
open.

"Scully. Ah shit." He slammed his eyes shut against the onslaught
of bright light. He brought his hand up to act as a shield.

"Come on, Mulder. I need you all the way up. The party's started
and you're missing the best part." She urged, as she got her hands
under his shoulders and helped him sit up.

Jack edged his way over to stand behind Scully, never taking his
gun off the soldiers.

"How is he? Can you get him to the car?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. How are you Mulder?" Scully asked as she tried
to read the level of discomfort in the expression on his face.

Mulder's heart sank as he recognized Jack standing next to them.
He'd really pinned a lot of hope on Jack getting out with the
sample. But confusion beat the disappointment away as he noticed
the rifle in Jack's hand and the soldiers quietly standing in
submission surrounded by five or six other Native Americans, all
with theirweapons trained directly at them.

"Help me up, Scully."

Annie joined Scully at Mulder's side. Her friend had always been
strong and tough, but lifting a man Mulder's size up off the ground
was stretching it a bit far.

Together they heaved Mulder to his feet. Both women supporting
him on either side as he began to sway and tip dangerously toward
the ground again.

"Easy, Mulder." Scully suggested as he made an attempt to shake
them off and stand on his own.

"I'm okay." He panted. "What the hell's going on?"

"Don't worry about that, chief. I've got things under control. Now
take your personal physician and Annie and get out of here." Jack
spoke as he reached into his pocket, palming a small bottle inside a
plastic bag. He held his hand out to Scully who in turn took the
offering from Jack and slipped it into her own pocket. "Now get
out of here. Go!"

Scully and Annie didn't have to be told again. Each taking hold
of one of Mulder's arms they led him off in the direction of the
rental car.

He stumbled along blindly, dependent upon the women supporting
him. His head pounded and his knees felt like jelly, and just to
make sure it wasn't forgotten his ankle shot little jets of pain
along his leg with each step he took.

Mulder felt himself being pushed down and forward, then felt
something soft and inviting under him. He sank gratefully into
the back seat of the rental and felt himself slipping sideways until
his head met something softer, and warmer and something that
smelled a whole lot better than he did at that moment.

Scully climbed into the back on the other side of Mulder and pulled
his head onto her lap, wrapping one arm across his shoulders, the
other resting lightly on the back of his neck.

"Dee! Keys! Where are the damn keys?" Annie called urgently
from her position in the drivers seat.

"Shit." Scully shook Mulder's jacket listening for the jingle of his
keys. Nothing. She moved her hands over his pants, patting down
the pocket in the side of his pants that was facing up, still nothing.
She reached under his body to try the other one, feeling her way
along his hip. Bingo! She scrunched her hand and wiggled it into
the confined space, gripping the keys and maneuvering her hand
free.

"Oooh, Scully. Not now, I'm really not up to it..."

"Shut up. Mulder." She tossed the keys to Annie, who in turn
wasted no time shoving them into the ignition and sparking the
engine to life. She threw the gear stick into drive, hit the
accelerator almost simultaneously and took off leaving dust and
gravel whirling through the air in their wake.

"Where to? " Annie asked as she hugged the steering wheel in
an effort to keep the car on the narrow path.

"I want medical facilities. I don't like the way Mulder is still
so drowsy, and I haven't had a good look at that snake bite yet.
I'm not convinced that what Jack did has completely healed him."

"I'm fine Scully." Mulder pushed himself upright to prove it and
immediately regretted the action as everything before him started to
spin. "Scully, I take that back. I feel like shit." And his eyes
promptly rolled back in his head as he slid slowly along the back of
the seat, his head coming to rest once again in Scully's lap.

Scully pressed her fingers gently to his neck to check his pulse,
rapid and shallow. She ran her hand across his brow, it came away
damp, and tinged with red as the blood from his head wound mixed
with the perspiration on his forehead. As Scully pulled his body
closer to hers she could feel him trembling.

"Dammit. Annie can you get this thing moving any faster? He's
going into shock." Scully reached around Mulder's body and
retrieved his jacket that had come to rest on the floor. She draped it
over his shoulders, trying to get some warmth into his body.

"The res clinic is just round the bend up ahead. It's not as well
fitted out as the hospital but I've managed to keep supplies up to
date by appropriating the odd piece of equipment when it became
what they considered to be unserviceable." She smiled knowingly
at Scully in the rear view mirror, but her friend's attention was
focused on the man cradled in her arms.

Minutes later the car came to a screeching halt in front of the small
clinic. There was a strange quietness surrounding the old clapboard
building. Both Annie and Scully had been half expecting CDC
people to be patrolling the area. But there was no sign of life at all.

Annie turned in her seat. "What do you think's going on?"

Scully's brow drew itself together as she considered the situation.
"There's no sign of life. In fact it doesn't look like anyone has even
been here. But that doesn't surprise me. These people are good at
covering their tracks" Scully gently eased herself from under
Murder's body and pushed the car door open. "Let's take a look.
You didn't happen to procure a gurney did you? He doesn't look
like he's going to wake up any time soon."

"Not a problem." She grinned at her friend. "One gurney coming
right up!" Then with some seriousness returning to her voice she
said, "Dee, you stay here with Mulder. This is my turf, if anyone
gives me a hard time, I'm supposed to be here. It looks deserted
though so I should be back in a sec."

Scully watched as one by one the lights inside the clinic came to
life. And true to her word, Annie was back with a gurney in a
matter of minutes. "All clear Dee. Let's get him inside"

End of part 9.

Vickie

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

Sizzle part 10
by Bahnsen bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
and Moseley vmoseley@fgi.net
disclaimer in part 00

Indian Reservation Medical Clinic
Painted Desert
10am the next day.

Would someone please turn off the damn lights? That was Scully's
first thought as awareness began to wind its way into her sleep
addled brain. Her next thought was to wonder if she would ever
be able to stand straight again as she felt the crick in her back and
stiffness in her neck. As yet she hadn't got round to opening her
eyes. When she did that she would have to face reality, and with
reality came responsibility and she just hadn't had enough sleep to
feel she could deal with that right now.

Then she remembered where she was. Mulder! She sat up straight
and her eyes flew open. A long drawn out groan escaped her lips
as the morning sun shone in her eyes through the curtainless
windows. The sudden movement sent protesting muscles into
a flurry of rebellion. She raked her fingers through her hair then
continued the path to rub her eyes. With her other hand she
reached behind and massaged the back of her neck.

After a second to regain her equilibrium she stood and arched her
back first to one side then the other. She bent down to touch her
toes, missing by some six inches but she didn't care. The stiffness
in her back was eased and she stood all the way up.

Scully covered the space between her and Mulder's bed in two
small steps. She rested a hand on his head, no fever and there was
a little more color in his face. She moved to the IV needle,
making sure Mulder hadn't dislodged it in his sleep. She ran her
hands up the line and checked the flow of liquid. Satisfied that all
was as it should be she went in search of a bathroom or Annie or
both.

The bathroom won. Annie was her next target but there was no
sign of her. She remembered Annie telling her during the small
hours of the morning that she was going back to the hospital.

Despite Scully's pleas that it might not be safe she could well
understand her friend's urgency to get back to her patients.
So Annie had gone with promises of returning as soon as things
were stable.

That had been some five hours ago and Scully was losing the battle
to control her fear.

She reached for her cell phone and wondered at the wisdom of
trying to call her. Would it endanger her more, or alert someone to
their whereabouts? Sighing she returned the phone to her pocket,
deciding to trust her friend for a while longer.

Scully moved back to Mulder's room, taking up guard beside his
bed again. She sat there watching him as he slept. Basically he'd
been suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, in the end his body
had just given up waiting for him to let it rest, so taking matters
into its own hands, had put itself to sleep without his permission.

As she sat watching her partner, she wondered how Jack had
fared with the military. She had a strong feeling the man could
take care of himself. She smiled quietly to herself as she recalled
the look of shock on the soldiers' faces when they saw themselves
surrounded. She noticed her hands had curled into fists as she
thought about the little weasel aiming his gun at Mulder.

Thinking of Jack reminded her of the sample bottle of orange goo
he had handed her before they left. She reached for the inside
pocket of her jacket and pulled out the bottle. She turned it around
and around in her fingers, examining it from all angles. She held it
up to the light, wondering what secrets it held. Where it had come
from?

Scully was pulled from her thoughts by a tingling feeling in
her spine. She was overcome by a strong sense of being watched.
She turned quickly and jumped in fright as she came face to face
with a man standing in the doorway.

"I know what that is." Bill took three or four steps into the room
and pointed at the substance in the sample bottle.

"What?" Scully asked a little more tersely than intended, but she
didn't appreciate having people sneak up behind her.

The Indian moved all the way into the room. He came and stood
next to Scully at Mulder's bedside.

"How is he?" Bill asked, directing his gaze at Mulder.

"After everything he's been through in the last twenty-four hours
and all things considered he's doing fine. With a little rest he
should make a full recovery." She adjusted the covers on the bed
as she spoke, then turning herself to look Bill in the eye, she
said, "Tell me what you know about this stuff, what is it?"

"Let me tell you a story. Sometime ago there was a rock that fell
from the sky, much like the one you saw last night, only smaller. It
didn't cause much fuss, it just lay in the desert, no real harm done.
A few small desert animals lost their lives but there were no human
deaths."

The old Indian seemed to withdraw into himself, his eyes glassy
as he recalled the past.

"I remember something though. There were white flowers, same as
the ones that appeared this time. Not long after the flowers started
to grow some men from the city came. The flowers were dead by
the time they got there. They asked some questions around the res,
but no one had anything to tell them. They spent some time
camped out near the rock. Digging and collecting things. Then, as
quietly as they had come, they left again."

"You have no idea what they wanted?" Scully asked.

"Oh yes, I have an idea." Bill paused and stared at Scully.

"And?" Scully encouraged.

"They were after the magic in the flowers. But the orange stuff you
have there in that bottle had covered them, and killed them."

"But what is it? Where did it come from." Scully asked, fingering
the bottle she held in her hand.

"From the desert." Bill stated.

"What? What are you talking about?" Scully's hope for answers to
this puzzle seemed to be diminishing the more she spoke with Bill.

"It is a desert plant. It comes and goes. Usually it appears when the
earth is in trouble. I saw it once many years ago near a mining
town. A truck had overturned on the road, its contents spilling
onto the ground. Poisonous fumes were making people sick. In
one night the orange plant had covered the poison on the ground,
by the next day all traces of it gone."

"You're telling me this is just a desert plant. Nothing more?"
Scully looked at the old man incredulously.

"Earth has a way of protecting herself, lady FBI. Is that so hard to
believe?" Bill moved towards the door. Before leaving he turned
back to Scully. "Take care of your young man. He is the chosen
one." Bill left the room, his cryptic message still hanging in the air.

Scully watched the man's retreating form. Not sure if she was
really any the wiser after that encounter. Her attention was caught
by a soft stirring behind her.

"He knew, Scully." Murder's voice was scratchy from sleep. He
worked to clear it but that just tickled his throat and sent him into a
bout of coughing.

Scully poured him some water from the jug beside his bed and
handed it to him. He drank greedily then placed the glass back on
the bedside counter.

"How much did you hear Mulder?" Scully asked as she checked
the IV again.

"Pretty much all of it. I think he knows more than he's telling us
Scully. There's gotta be more. The way the military reacted, even
for them that was extreme." Mulder laid his head further back in
the pillows. Speaking had set off a new round of pounding in his
head. He reached tentatively up and touched the bandage covering
the wound where the bullet had grazed him.

There was something else, too. A dull ache in his left foot.
Mulder lifted the covers and eyed his foot, wrapped and propped
up on a pillow.

"Looks like you've been busy, Scully. Or I have. The ankle I
remember but what happened to my head?" He asked a little
puzzled.

Scully went on to explain the chain of events that had occurred the
night before, that had led them to the reservation clinic.

"Where's Annie now?" Mulder asked, squinting in the bright
sunlight streaming through the window.

"She went back to the hospital to check on her patients. I haven't
heard from her Mulder and it's been five hours." She paused in her
speech, then added, "I'm worried about her."

As if on cue there was a knock on the door. Both agents turned
and watched as Annie entered the room. Her face was drawn, dark
smudges circled her eyes, evidence of her lack of sleep, but her
body language spoke of a person far more relaxed than she should
have
been.

Scully crossed the room and took her friend in an appreciative hug.
"You made it. How did things go at the hospital?" Scully asked
taking a step back to give her some room.

"Dee, it's the strangest thing. When I got back to the hospital
it was as deserted as this place. Except for the patients and other
staff members. No sign of the Military or CDC people. If I
didn't know better I'd swear it had all been a bad dream." She
shook her head in confusion. "And the weirdest part, every one of
the patients is improving. Dramatically so."

Mulder and Scully exchanged knowing glances. Scully saw
something in Mulder's eyes that she'd seen a hundred times before.
She saw a fire smoldering behind his gaze, a look that spoke of a
quiet determination to uncover the truth behind this latest
conspiracy. She knew he was not about to let this issue be swept
under the carpet.

"We have to get back out to the site Scully. I need to know what
they were covering up." Even as he spoke he was throwing the
covers back and readying himself to climb from the bed.

"Oh no you don't." Annie and Scully chorused together, both sets
of hands landing on his shoulders and pushing him back down.

"You are not going anywhere, even if I have to drug you or put you
in restraints or both. Mulder do you have any idea what you have
put your body through, how close you came to dying? Not once
but twice. I know you need to find the truth about this. But not
now." She softened her tone and took his hand in both of hers.
"You'll get your chance Mulder, but now, your body needs to heal."

Scully watched as he held his body stiff in resistance to what she
was saying. She held his eyes with her own though trying to
convince him of the sense in what she was saying. He seemed to
come to a decision, the fire in his eyes remained but his body
relaxed and he sank his head back into the pillows. He looked at
Scully through hooded eyes.

"I hear you, Scully. No restraints and no drugs necessary." He
paused and then added, "I could really use some tylenol though. I
have a killer headache here." He pleaded as he brought his hands
up to massage his temples.

"You still got that partner of yours doctoring you?" A familiar
voice rang out from the doorway.

"Jack! Hey you made it!" Mulder grinned at the Indian.

"Damn straight I made it. You didn't think a couple of trigger
happy young pups like that were gonna stop me?" Jack grinned
at him, and moved closer to the bed.

"Well you look a whole lot better than you did last night Mr. FBI,
but that's not really saying much. Whatever they're paying that
partner of yours, it's not enough. She has a full time job just
looking after you."

"Hey, I had a bad day. It's not always like this." Mulder pouted.

Scully clamped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle the
small cough of disbelief that had escaped.

"Scullleee, it's not. Tell him." Mulder had actually managed to
bring a whine to his voice.

"Annie would you show me where the pain meds are?" Scully
swiftly changed the subject and taking Annie by the arm left the
room.

Mulder had turned more serious as he addressed Jack.

"I didn't get a chance to really thank you for saving my life. And
from what Scully tells me on more than one account. Bill too, for
that matter. I don't remember much about what happened back in
the sweat lodge but I know that whatever Bill gave me for the
snake bite, it saved me. Thank you." Mulder reached out his hand
to Jack who in turn clasped it in his own and shook it."

"Don't mention it, Agent Mulder."

"Oh, Agent Mulder? Not 'chief', not 'Mr FBI'? What did I do to
deserve that?" Mulder asked his eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Don't push it, chief. You seem like a good guy to me. Not like
the other suits we've had out here throwing their weight around,
waving their jurisdiction in our faces. I like you, Mr. FBI. Maybe
we'll have a beer sometime and I'll tell you how we sent the two
Military fellas packing last night." Jack patted Mulder on the leg
then headed for the door. "Take care of that lady partner of yours,
I have a feeling you're gonna need her." With that Jack winked at
Mulder and left the room.

It was only a minute later that Annie and Scully returned.

"Where's Jack?" Annie asked.

"He left. He's an interesting man." Mulder mused as he stuck
his hand out to accept the pills Scully was offering him.

"Well, people, I'm going back to the hospital to check on things.
There have been no more cases brought in and a few of the patients
have improved enough to be released. I don't know whether it's
divine intervention or the CDC that had something to do with it.
Whatever it is I'm just glad this thing seems to be under control."
Annie moved to where Scully was standing. She took her friend
into her arms and gave her a hug.

"I'm glad this turned out okay, Dee. I've gotta tell you, I had my
doubts last night. You're good at your job. I'm glad you chose
the FBI over medicine. It's kind of comforting to know there are
people like you and Mulder out there fighting for us."

"Thanks for all your help, Annie. You handle yourself pretty
well in an emergency. How does Special Agent Annie Sullivan
sound to you?" Scully grinned at her friend.

"Uh-uh. Oh no. You two have given me enough excitement in the
last 24 hours to last me a life time. A nice country hospital with
nothing more than the odd stomach flu or snake bite sounds pretty
darn appealing right now." Annie gave Scully's arm one last
squeeze, then turned to face Mulder.

"Take care of yourself, Mulder. The human body can only take so
much you know." Then planting a small kiss on his cheek she
turned and left the partners alone

"So Mulder, what's your theory? What do *you* think they were
covering up?" Scully asked as she inserted herself back in the
chair beside the bed.

"I've been thinking about that Scully. What use would deadly
flowers have to the military or our government? I can think of only
one thing. Imagine it Scully. If they could get their hands on the
flowers and somehow process the virus it contains, develop it and
use it as some sort of biological weapon. If it is extraterrestrial,
imagine the power those people would have. They could virtually
hold the world to ransom.

"What if they've already got some of those flowers? They gave up
in the end without a lot of fight. I don't trust them Scully. When
we
get back to DC I want to do some more digging around." He
watched his partner take in what he'd just said.

Scully reached for the sample bottle again. She passed it to
Mulder.

"We still have this Mulder. Jack took a sample before he escaped
and gave it to me last night. I want to test it when we get back.
Run it through the FBI lab. The facilities here just won't cut it."

Mulder stared at the little sample bottle, willing it to give him
the answers. In the end he handed it back to Scully, his head
becoming heavy as the pain meds kicked into action.

"Get some rest Mulder" She squeezed his hand. "We can't do
much till we get back."

He nodded his head and shifted himself down in the bed to a more
comfortable position. His eyes closed and his breathing evened out
to slow regular breaths. In a matter of minutes he fell asleep, his
hand still resting in Scully's.

the end.

Endnotes: The authors would like to acknowledge some movies
that were used as reference works and sources of inspiration. First
on the list is 'Thunderheart' with Val Kilmer and Graham Greene.
You might recognize a little of Graham's character in Jack. Next
was 'Billy Jack' and if you've never seen that one, what is wrong
with you? And finally, to the best movie or book every produced
which dealt with downed spacecraft and their resulting toxic
impact, 'Andromeda Strain'. If you haven't seen these great
works, or haven't seen them lately, well, now you have something
to do while we wait for Season 7. Thanks for your indulgence.

Vickie

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"You know the prickling feeling
you get at the back of your
neck?
. . . That's them."

Cole to Malcolm
The Sixth Sense

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