TIMEOUT FROM THE ALIENS (2)

Scully didn't see how the perp could have gotten away from her,

especially when he had been trying to carry Mulder over his shoulder

and run at the same time. She may have been a little woozy still

from the half-remembered attack, but that didn't explain how the

guy had easily left her in the dust, so to speak.

Knowing further pursuit on foot would be a useless endeavor, she

hurriedly retraced her steps with a feeling of fear for her partner.

She absent-mindedly rubbed her neck where a tight, itchy feeling

persisted. In the dark, the dried blood on her fingertips went

unnoticed.

Long before reaching the place they had been attacked, it was

evident to her that the police had arrived from the excited sound of

voices and the flashing lights. Then with a suddenness that stole her

breath, she found herself directly in the path of two uniformed

policemen as they came barging down the walkway with flashlights

and guns at the ready. That she didn't get shot was a miracle, since

they were both jumpy after hearing the witnesses' stories.

She took charge with her FBI identification, telling them to secure

the scene and keep the witnesses handy while she called Detective

Palmer. She explained to the two officers that the detective was

working a similar case and would want to be involved with this one

as well. Meanwhile, they could get in touch with their own precinct.

While the policemen were busy, Scully walked over to the spot

where Mulder had been attacked. She tried to ignore the dark stain

on the sidewalk as she picked up the vial that had slipped from his

fingers. By some miracle, the glass container hadn't broken when it

hit the concrete. She pocketed the evidence, feeling a twinge of

guilt at the unprofessional action, but knew that Mulder's life or

death could hinge on something this small. She took the stake as

well, with a mirthless smile. Her belief in science was being

stretched thinner on every case she shared with Mulder, but if it

would save her partner, she'd just have to stretch it a little farther.

She called the detective on her cel phone, reaching him via a patch-

through to his home.

"Yeah?" He sounded sleepy or grumpy, or both.

Scully explained who she was, then went over the events of the

evening in detail, all to an unnerving dead silence. After she had

finished, a few seconds hung heavily between them before he replied.

"I thought there was only one of them."

"One what?" she asked impatiently, anxious to go search for her

partner.

"Nutcase. At the Bureau."

She fought the flare of anger, knowing that she may have to depend

on this man's help and it wouldn't do to antagonize him.

"Detective Palmer. Whatever you may think of Agent Mulder or

myself, the fact is that he's wounded, has been kidnapped, and is in

mortal danger."

A slight pause, and then, "I'm listening."

"I understand that the vampire-like attacks took place in and near

Catholic University. Had you narrowed their origin down at all? I

believe that's where this guy took Mulder."

Sounding very reluctant, he grudgingly suggested, "Why don't I

meet you at the university's admissions building with a couple of

officers right now? It'll save time and we can get started on finding

him."

Not caring whether he was happy about all this, she agreed and

ended the call. Taking a minute to tell the policemen she was going

in pursuit, she also made another quick call to notify the Bureau

official on duty of what was happening, asking for a few agents to

assist. Then she sprinted for her car. She could feel a heightening

sense of urgency, with visions of what might be happening to

Mulder tormenting her thoughts.

***********

Mulder didn't think he had ever been more uncomfortable in his life.

He was lying on a cold concrete floor, with his back sending flares

of pain out to remind him of the back injury. If that weren't enough,

he had a terrific headache, along with a strange, deep throbbing in

his neck, under his left ear. A tentative touch and the throbbing

changed to pain. Wincing, he pulled his hand down, noting the

blood, and remembering. Great. Now I'm lunch to some asshole.

Above his head in a murky twilight were heavy floor beams and

planks. He must be in a basement somewhere. A *big* basement,

he thought, as his eyes tracked left and right. There was a light

source over to his left that was woefully inadequate for the large

space and a clutter of crates, boxes, junked office equipment and

furniture were barely visible in the semi-darkness.

He remembered being in the cemetery with Scully...Scully!! He

groaned as his back protested the sudden movement he made, in an

attempt to get to his feet. He lay still again, hoping the spasms

would subside, when a dark figure suddenly loomed over him.

Although frightened, Mulder's first words were, "Did you hurt my

partner?"

Raymond was surprised. He'd expected screaming and cowering,

but not concern for someone else.

With his most ferocious expression, he growled, "What does it

matter, when you're about to die? "

"Why kill me? You only took those other people's blood."

Since Raymond had seen the stake and holy water that the man had

been carrying, he wasn't surprised that this man knew about his

other victims.

The vampire finally answered, his fangs glistening in the murky light.

"You are the first to see where I hide. Do you think I could let you

live, after that?" He slowly and menacingly bent down toward his

mesmerized prey.

Suddenly the vampire's snarling features were transformed into

amusement as he began laughing.

Thoroughly confused, Mulder used this moment to pull his weapon

from the waist holster and bring it to bear on his captor.

This seemed to tickle Raymond even more, and he clutched his

stomach as he laughed helplessly, staggering back a step or two. He

finally managed to calm himself down into an occasional chuckle.

"I was only kidding - the look on your face was priceless! You

won't remember any of this later, so it doesn't matter if you've seen

my 'home.' By the way, that gun is useless. Your partner shot me

several times and the wounds immediately healed." He fingered the

hole in his pant leg to illustrate.

"So what do you intend to happen?"

"I take some more of your delicious blood, then return you to the

cemetery where I found you." He shrugged, emphasizing the

simplicity of it all.

Mulder shook his head, saying, "You won't get to me without a

fight. And I still want to know what happened to my partner."

A flash of fangs as he sneered, "I ripped her throat out."

If Raymond had wanted to hear his victim scream, he was now

afforded the opportunity. Accompanying the scream of rage,

however, were loud gunshots, one following the other in rapid

succession. They slammed into the vampire, shoving him back

against a support post.

The silence in the aftermath of the gunfire was broken by a sob from

the agent on the basement floor. Through his grief, he watched in

shock as the being who had just taken five kill shots stood upright

and walked menacingly closer.

"I was only kidding about the woman, you idiot! I *hate* getting

shot. It stings."

With a move so swift that Mulder didn't see it coming, the gun was

slapped away and it skittered across the rough concrete floor into

the shadows.

"No more Mr. Nice Guy," the vampire growled, and he was on

Mulder before he could blink. In a vice-like grip, the agent's head

was turned to the side, exposing his neck, but then nothing

happened. A minute crawled by and Mulder gritted through his

teeth, "Admiring my manly physique or do you just like to torture

people?"

Raymond abruptly moved away, releasing his captive, saying, "Shut

up. I heard something."

Mulder tried to shout a warning both to alert whoever was coming

and to let them know his own location, but the pressure of a foot on

his neck effectively silenced him.

The vampire realized that what he had been hearing were cautious

footsteps on the ground floor, and they were headed for the upper

basement entrance. He would meet them up there and have a little

fun. He'd never killed anyone before, being fairly new yet at the

game; however, this situation might push him into it. He felt a thrill

at the thought. But first...

"Let's put you where you can't cause any trouble."

He grabbed Mulder around the waist and literally tucked him under

his arm. The agent bit back an anguished moan at this mistreatment

of his back, and of the undignified position. He felt like a sack of

potatoes that needed a chiropractor.

Raymond was chuckling again, and Mulder soon found out why.

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

Scully had been the first to reach the admissions building and she

waited impatiently in the car for the rest of the team to arrive. Soon

two pairs of headlights were turning into the parking area,

momentarily blinding her.

Detective Matt Palmer turned out to look like an ex-wrestler. He

was about 45 years old, had short dishwater blonde hair, piercing

blue eyes, and a sturdy, stocky build. The two uniformed officers

who exited the patrol car were both young and, judging from the

snickers and glances at the federal agent, they held the opinion that

the night's operation was bogus.

Fine, she thought; so long as they did their job.

The detective extended his hand and grasped hers, saying, "Sorry we

had to meet under these circumstances, Agent Scully." His blue

eyes bore into her own for a second, and then turned toward the

men following him.

"This is Officer Jim Kamen." The tall blonde hunk nodded. "And

that's Officer Tony diSilva." The shorter, dark-haired man simply

looked her over.

"What's the best place to begin?" she asked Palmer.

"Well, to be honest with you, we really haven't spent much effort on

finding this perp. He wasn't killing anyone - yet. We questioned the

residents in the surrounding area whenever someone could be spared

to do it. I covered a couple of buildings on campus where most of

the sightings occurred, and talked with a few students and faculty.

That's about it."

A man from campus security joined them at that point, introducing

himself as Pete Williams. He held a rolled-up drawing, which he

spread out on the hood of Scully's car, under one of the pole lights.

"I brought the diagram of the campus buildings like you wanted,

Detective Palmer. I've thought about it, and there are only three

buildings that might meet your criteria of unused spaces where

someone could hide over a long period of time."

Scully was impressed. Palmer hadn't been idle while on his way to

meet her.

They wound up separating into three groups; the detective on his

own, Scully and Williams together, while diSilva went with his

partner, Kamen. Williams gave them keys to the appropriate

buildings. The Bureau's reinforcements hadn't shown up yet and

they couldn't wait any longer.

Before they broke up, Scully hesitated, then said, "Be careful of this

guy. I put two bullets into him and it didn't slow him down. I don't

know what we're dealing with, but it's better to be cautious."

Williams looked apprehensive at this, but Palmer and his officers

clearly had a "let's humor her" expression on their faces when they

turned to get started. Scully was glad they didn't see the stake she

took with her from the front seat of the car before following the

security officer.

The building that Williams led her to was an older one, with ivy

covering most of the brick exterior. He found the switch and

suddenly everything was brightly lighted, making their flashlights

unnecessary.

"They only use this floor; the upper ones are vacant, as is the

basement. I can quickly check the upper floors while you begin with

the basement. Light switch is just inside the door on your right."

With that, he went bounding up the stairs. She was glad he seemed

to sense the urgency of the situation.

The basement turned out to be a disappointment. It had recently

been cleaned from the looks of it, and the fluorescent lighting lit up

all corners of the place. There was nowhere to hide. The separate

rooms at the far end held nothing but old parts from a dismantled

furnace.

Feeling more apprehensive by the moment over her partner's

welfare, she met Williams on her way back up. They decided to join

Detective Palmer at his assigned building, which was just next door.

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

As Detective Palmer had entered the vestibule, he patted his hand

along the wall, trying to find the light switch. He abandoned his

quest when he suddenly heard muffled gunfire coming from

somewhere in the building. Probably the basement from the sounds

of it, he thought, using his flashlight to find a way down.

Weapon in hand, he cautiously opened the heavy wooden door near

the main stairway and peered into the darkness. With the help of his

flashlight he was able to locate the basement light switch. It took a

second for his eyes to adjust to the harsh glare that lit up the stairs,

and then he descended as quickly as possible.

At the bottom, the room opened into a massive area, some of it

partitioned into smaller rooms. It was apparently used for storage,

but there was a spacious clear section in the middle. That's were he

spotted the young man, who looked extremely out of place in these

surroundings. And who had evidently been standing there in the

dark.

Pocketing the flashlight, he brought his ID case out with one hand

and held his gun ready at his side with the other. He approached

with caution.

"I'm Detective Matt Palmer from the D. C. police department. Who

are you and what are you doing here?"

The man's eyes locked on Palmer's, and the older man's brain

functions seemed to slow. It was mesmerizing to gaze deep in those

limitless depths...

Above them, the door at the top of the stairs banged open and two

pairs of footsteps resounded on the heavy wood as they descended.

***********

Scully immediately zeroed in on the two men in the basement as they

came into view. Detective Palmer appeared to be frozen, holding his

ID up and staring at...shit! It was the guy who had attacked them in

the cemetery!

Raymond had rather a similar reaction at seeing her.

Shit! The red-head from the cemetery! And she's carrying that

frigging stake with her. Won't these people ever quit? He wasn't

worried, but was pissed off about having to relocate his hideaway.

He was well-prepared to do so, but still hated to actually have to

pull up "stakes," he punned with an inner smile at his own

cleverness. Game's up for now, but first we need to lighten up.

Everyone looks so grim.

He noticed that the woman - Scully? - had now unholstered her gun

and was aiming at his head. He sighed.

"Federal officer - Put your hands out where I can see them! Now!"

He solemnly did as she asked and waited to see if she'd say what he

had bet himself she would say next.

"Where's my partner?! What did you do with him?!!"

He looked her in the eyes and deliberately said, "I sucked him nearly

dry and then turned him into one of my kind."

Raymond was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier and had just

told his last joke to the wrong person.

The holy water came out of her pocket, she flipped the lid off with

her thumbnail, and splashed the contents across his face and chest in

one very swift move.

"Son of a *bitch*!!!" he shrieked, as the stuff began to eat away at

his exposed skin. He did the only thing he could to escape the

agony, and that was to dissolve into a mist and float wispily up to

the high ceiling. Seething with anger, he watched the flurry of

activity below him. From the way they were acting, the humans

thought the water had completely melted him.

Good. He could plan in peace for awhile.

***********

Scully was asking a confused Detective Palmer if he had found this

guy here in the basement. At his nod, she said, "Then Mulder has to

be around here somewhere. Help me find him, please!"

Gathering his vacationing wits, the detective radioed his two officers

and told them to join in the hunt. He was told that Agents Ruiz and

Hillman had arrived, and said, "The more the merrier. Bring 'em

along."

Williams was trying to get Scully to listen, following her to a locked,

partitioned door, which she smashed open with one kick. While he

talked, she checked the cluttered room; it hadn't been entered in

years, from the look of the dust everywhere.

"This is the only building with a sub-basement..." Williams was

saying.

"What?! Why didn't you say so before?" she cried and motioned for

him to lead her to it.

They found that the thick wooden trapdoor in the floor was

padlocked, and none of Williams' keys would work in the

mechanism.

The impatient agent pulled out her gun, took careful aim, and fired a

couple of rounds into the device. That did the trick. Detective

Palmer appeared as though shot out of a cannon, since she had failed

to warn him of her lock-picking method.

He and Williams helped her lift the heavy cover and saw more stairs

leading down into a dark pit.

Muttering, "My turn to get the mutant," Scully set a foot on the first

step, snapped on her flashlight, grabbed the stake from where it had

fallen to the floor, and disappeared into the unknown. Though not

eager to follow after what they had recently seen, both men

descended behind her.

As Scully drew closer to the dim corner where the large mahogany

coffin rested, the hairs on the back of her neck were persisting in

standing up. She had been in creepier situations, but this case was

really doing a number on the logical part of her brain. After hitting

Mulder's attacker with two rounds fired from her weapon and

observing no discernable effect on him, and then seeing that same

man upstairs dissolve into a wisp of smoke after the holy water had

touched him...Scully's near-inexhaustible capacity for rationalization

was just about maxed out. She was scared to death of what she'd

find in the coffin that she now was slowly approaching.

She saw that there were two metal latches securely locking the lid in

place. Did she really want to open them and see what was inside?

Drawing a shaky breath, she lay the stake on a nearby box and set

about releasing the catches.

If this thing creaks when I raise it, I'm not promising I won't lose it

entirely, she muttered to herself, getting a firm grip on the satiny

wood and lifting the large lid.

It was surprisingly easy to raise, and it silently swung all the way

open. Forcing her eyes to look downward into the casket, the world

stopped entirely for her.

Mulder.

Mulder was lying quietly in the shadowy confines of the coffin, a

thin layer of what looked like dirt under him, his hands on his chest,

and his eyes closed. A dark smear on his collar was probably blood.

Hesitantly she reached in and brushed her hand over his cheek.

Before she could register that it was warm to her touch, his eyes

abruptly opened and locked on to hers.

"Ah, lunch," he said.

Scully gave a little shriek and jumped away from the casket. Her

hand found the stake as she brushed against the box where it lay, and

she brought it up in front of her.

But there was no fanged Mulder waiting to pounce on her. There

was only the unmistakable sounds of laughter coming from the

depths of a shaking coffin.

Not having noticed Detective Palmer's arrival, she jerked in surprise

when a hand closed on her arm.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking nervously toward the coffin.

"I'm not sure, but I'm about to find out," she replied, seeing that her

audience was growing. Williams was now standing next to the

detective, his eyes as big as saucers, and she could hear the rest of

the team heading their way from the far end of the room.

Pulling herself together, she took a few steps forward and

demanded, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Mulder?"

He was wearing a smug smile as he said, "You should have seen

your expression, Scully. So vampires are on your newly begun list

of exceptions to scientific laws?"

His smile died as he noticed Detective Palmer peering curiously over

the coffin's rim at him, followed by five other men.

"Don't need pallbearers yet, thanks, but could you help me up?" he

asked hopefully.

Several pairs of willing hands helped him out of his macabre bed,

and Mulder found that his back wasn't quite as bad as it was earlier.

Having a vampire use you as a floor mat, a sack of potatoes, and as

weights obviously had some chiropractic value.

"Are you all right, Agent Mulder?" one of the new arrivals asked.

Scully recognized the man. It was Stuart Hillman, an agent she had

dated once about a year ago. He flashed a smile at her when he

noticed her look of recognition.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mulder thoughtfully replied, not missing one bit of

the interplay between his partner and the tall, handsome newcomer.

Detective Palmer told diSilva to round up a forensic team and some

paramedics for the two agents, then turned to contemplate the pair.

"We'll take care of this area, Agent Mulder. You and your partner

should go up and get those wounds on your necks looked at. Now

that the perp is dead..."

"Dead?" Startled, he interrupted the detective with his exclamation.

Scully reluctantly admitted, "Well, when I threw that water from

your bag on him, he kind of..." she looked at the detective for input.

"Dissolved. Poof. Up in smoke," Palmer supplied.

The two police officers and the two newly-arrived agents stared at

Palmer, obviously thinking he was joking. But Mulder became

highly agitated and grabbed Scully by her shoulders.

"He's not dead. In fact, he's probably still hanging around."

A silence greeted that statement, some from confusion and the rest

from incredulity.

He tried again. "You saw him disappear; why is it so hard to believe

he could re-appear?" Looking around him, Mulder knew when he

couldn't win, and sighed.

"All right, Scully. Let's go up, get checked out, and give our

statements to whoever wants them."

Suspicious that he would back down so easily, his partner preceded

him up the stairs, leaving the evidence-gathering and other work in

the detective's capable hands.

(Continued in Part 4)

(Same disclaimer as Part 1)

TIMEOUT FROM THE ALIENS (4/4)

by Gerry Hill ([email protected])

When they emerged from the trapdoor into the first basement,

Mulder's head had turned and Raymond could have sworn he

looked right at him. Suppressing an urge to float back up to the

dark rafters of the ceiling, the vampire maintained his foggy

appearance at the back of the room.

Pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes, the agent had appeared lost

in thought for a few seconds, until his partner called his name from

the foot of the stairs that led to the upper floors. He'd shrugged his

shoulders and followed her up to the main entrance of the building.

Their reports had been recorded first, while waiting for the

ambulance.

Raymond had continued to hang around while the agents were

examined by the paramedics, amused at their reaction to the half-

healed neck wounds. The marks would remain for awhile, but the

wounds themselves tended to quickly heal, apparently due to

something in his saliva.

At long last the man and woman had been allowed to leave, despite

strong pressure to accompany the ambulance to the hospital.

Samples of their blood had been taken, however, for testing.

Transforming into a bat in the night sky, Raymond had no trouble

keeping up with the car driven by the woman.

While floating on the updrafts and skimming over rooftops, he was

contemplating what he would do with this pair of annoying humans.

He was furious about how his looks had been ruined. He thought

the disfigurement would gradually correct itself, but he wasn't sure

about that. Raymond wanted revenge. If he killed one of them,

however, the other would never rest until they caught and staked

him. If he turned them both into vampires, their personalities would

be retained and he knew beyond a doubt that they would drive him

crazy or kill him in no time. Therefore, he concluded, I need to kill

them both. The thought didn't repel him as he had expected it

to...instead, he felt a pleasant thrill of anticipation.

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

1:43 AM

In the Car, Outside Mulder's Apartment

Scully wanted to end the argument they'd been having ever since

leaving the university. She was tired and didn't care at that point

who won.

"No. I want to go home and sleep in my own bed."

"C'mon, Scully, I'm telling you it's too dangerous to split up. That

thing is still out there and might be feeling a little pissed off at us.

Just until dawn, OK?"

"If I can't change your mind, how about we go upstairs, grab some

clothes and things for you, and then go spend the night at my place

instead?"

"Oooh, I thought you'd never ask," he leered.

Musing whether she should punch him on the nose or ravage him,

she ignored the innuendo and opened her door. The night was chilly

and she pulled her coat closer before walking toward his apartment

building.

After a couple of steps she realized that she hadn't heard Mulder's

car door close or his footsteps behind her. She had a sickening

feeling in the pit of her stomach as she slowly turned around.

The tall vampire was behind her partner and held him against his

body. With one hand under his chin, Mulder's head was forced back

and slightly to the side where it lay against the creature's shoulder.

Although the street lighting was dim, she could see what she had

accomplished with the holy water; hideous scars and some melted-

looking flesh adorned the once-handsome face.

"Shall I break his neck or tear his throat out? Decisions, decisions."

Scully could see the light glint off the sharp fangs in his mouth.

"Don't..." she began, and moved closer to them.

"Get rid of your necklace or I'll kill him as messily as I can, right in

front of your eyes," he growled, and gave a small yank on her

partner's head. Mulder's eyes closed for a second with the pain, but

opened wide when he realized that Scully would do as this monster

asked. And then she'd be helpless against him.

"No. No, Sc..." he tried to warn her, but a powerful squeeze around

his throat cut off his words as well as his air. He tried to kick but it

was a feeble attempt and his blows weren't even noticed by his

captor.

Seeing his distress, Scully lost no more time hesitating. She swiftly

unclasped the necklace, drew it into her hand, and tossed it through

the still-open door of the car.

"We're going inside now so the neighbors don't get all excited,"

Raymond said, releasing Mulder only to place a firm hand on the

back of his neck.

A more intelligent vampire might have kicked the car door shut as

he and the agents walked past. But it never occurred to him, and

that's how, a few minutes later, a passer-by who was walking his

dog happened to see the car door hanging open, the dome light on

inside, and a cross necklace lying on the seat.

As a criminal lawyer, the fact that he was carrying a cel phone was a

given. His first reaction was to call 911. When the police dispatcher

received his call, there happened to be a patrol car just around the

block, so she sent them to the location quickly. They ran a check on

the license plate, found that it belonged to an FBI agent, and woke

the agent's boss up at 2:00 in the morning to report the mysterious

abandoned car belonging to Dana Scully. They hadn't been able to

reach anyone at her home number. Having checked the computer,

they had also tied her name in with a police report about some kind

of manhunt going on over at Catholic University a little earlier.

"I don't believe this," Assistant Director Walter Skinner grumbled

half to himself and half to the officer on the other end of the line.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. I'm on my way to check it out; just leave the car as-is.

Thank you for reporting it to me." Having recognized the address

as belonging to his pain-in-the-ass agent's, and on the off-chance his

agents needed immediate help, he then directed the officers to

Mulder's apartment and asked them to call him right back.

He disconnected with a sigh, wondering what he was going on this

time.

It took him just a few minutes to throw on some jeans, a shirt, tennis

shoes and a heavy jacket. He made sure his weapon had a full clip,

and then left his apartment to see what new kind of trouble they had

generated. Probably something with major international

repercussions, with his luck.

The call-back reported no answer at Mulder's door, so he told them

they could leave, since he was half-way there and would take over.

At that hour of the morning, he should make it in five more minutes.

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

The trio stood silently before the closed elevator doors in the lobby

of Mulder's building. Raymond impatiently jabbed the "up" button

for the tenth time. He finally exclaimed, "It's after 2:00 in the

morning! The elevator *can't* be that busy!"

They all finally heard the lumbering old car descending to the ground

floor and the door haltingly parted to allow them entrance. As the

door closed, they didn't notice the police officers hurrying into the

building and running up the stairs when they saw they had missed

the elevator.

Standing in the brightly-lit interior, nowhere to look but at the floor

indicators above the door as the car made its slow ascent, Mulder

frantically tried to think of a way for them to escape. He had a

strong suspicion that the vampire was going to kill them this time.

Scully was equally frantic to see a way out of their predicament, but

for some reason, her mind kept supplying the quintessential elevator

music that was missing from the scene; "The Girl From Ipanema."

She forced her mind back to the matter at hand, slanting a look out

of the corner of her eyes at her companions. The vampire was

grinning at her with a smug expression, as if he knew what was

going through her head. Scully refused to follow that thought.

The elevator continued to make its slow climb upward, maddeningly

stopping on the way at the second and third floors for no one.

She still hadn't figured out how to explain this guy's disappearing

act. The super-strength could be traced to adrenalin or drugs, but

reacting to holy water that way, and then dissolving right in front of

her...mass hypnosis? But the water apparently *had* ruined his

face, and that wasn't possible if it had been normal water and his

skin was normal...

The sudden jerking halt of the elevator at the fourth floor snapped

her back to her surroundings. The doors didn't move for an

eternity, then shuddered open at a snail's pace. They could all hear

the clatter of footsteps and the stairwell door close as they exited the

car and they thought, "Kids!" She led the group down the hall to

Mulder's door.

"Unlock the door and invite me in," demanded the vampire, giving

Mulder a shake for emphasis before releasing him.

Light dawned. Of course, a vampire couldn't enter your home

unless invited, the agent realized. He got his keys from his pocket

and motioned to Scully to follow his lead.

Fumbling a little with the lock, he finally felt it open. He stepped

back slightly, saying "Ladies first" as he pushed the door inward.

When Scully was halfway through the opening, he shoved her all the

way inside, dived in after her, tumbling both of them to the floor.

There was a giggling sound from the doorway behind them, which

wasn't exactly the effect Mulder had been seeking. He turned and

sat up, a sinking feeling in his stomach, to see the vampire laughing

at them - from inside the doorway.

"Damn, you are so gullible. And you've seen way too many

vampire movies," he added, shaking his head. "We can do

'Interview With a Vampire' next, if you'd like. You can be the

reporter and I can tell you my story before I kill you."

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

AD Skinner had reached Scully's car and found it unlocked. The

necklace still lay on the front seat, and he remembered it as the one

she always wore. He had idly wondered recently if the woman had

any other jewelry, but figured it was none of his business. A fleeting

thought touched his mind, then; he wondered if his agents had finally

succumbed to their obvious attraction for each other, and they were

in such a hurry to get inside Mulder's apartment that they'd left the

car door open... Expunging the unwelcome thoughts from his head,

he felt a vague embarrassment for doubting their professionalism.

Rummaging further, he discovered Mulder's vampire-hunting kit on

the floor of the back seat. At least, he was pretty sure it would be

Mulder's - he couldn't see his rigidly scientific partner having

anything to do with what it contained. He was concerned to find it

there, but not really surprised, given who he was dealing with.

Skinner sighed, looked up at the window to Mulder's apartment,

grabbed the bag and the necklace, and went to seek some answers.

Even though burdened with the heavy bag, he climbed the four

flights of stairs with no trouble and soon was striding toward his

agent's apartment.

He noticed the door opposite Mulder's opening a crack. Delaying

knocking on apartment 42, he asked the old guy peeking out at him,

"Sir, I'm a federal agent. Did you see anything unusual here this

morning?"

The door opened a little more and the elderly man replied, "A

couple of officers were here banging on his door and that woke me

up. I'm used to all sorts of commotion from Mr. Mulder's place; if

he's not beating the shit out of someone, then someone else is

beating the shit out of *him*. But after the cops left, there was more

noise and I peeked out to see Mr. Mulder and his lady friend looking

like they were in trouble from this guy they were with."

"I'd like for you to call the police, now. All right?"

"Get 'em back up here? Sure." The old guy nodded and

disappeared.

After all the lock picking and break-ins suffered by the old door on

apartment 42, it gave easily when Skinner landed a solid kick against

it.

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

Raymond grabbed Mulder by the throat and pushed him up against

the wall, leaving the agent's toes barely touching the floor. He

gasped, his fingers desperately trying to loosen the stranglehold in

which his neck was embraced, to no avail. His partner had

immediately thrown herself at the vampire, but Raymond didn't

bother to look in her direction when he disdainfully flung her across

the room with his free hand. Scully hit the wall with a thud and slid

to the floor. She felt a sharp pain in her back and head, and fought

to stay conscious.

"Now I'll drink every drop of your blood, and then rip her throat

out. After that, who knows? I like rain and fog; maybe Vancouver

would be nice."

He loosened his stranglehold on Mulder's throat and shoved the

agent's head to the side, exposing his neck. Raymond could see the

pulse beating under the skin, carrying all that delicious red blood

through the artery and veins. He sunk his fangs into the same marks

he'd made before and began to drink deeply. His victim moaned and

struggled, but the vampire took no notice.

Suddenly there was an explosion of noise, causing the monster to

interrupt his feeding. A man had broken into the apartment and

stood at the entry to the living room, staring in shock at the scene in

the apartment.

Raymond then made his final mistake with these people. He saw no

threat from the human and returned to finish his first course before

going on to this new second course so providentially provided.

*********

Skinner had switched the light on as he entered the apartment, and

now held his gun steady on the astonishing sight confronting him.

Scully lay crumpled on the floor across the room and this really ugly

guy was apparently draining Mulder of blood.

"Freeze! Federal agent!" Skinner bellowed, dropping the duffle bag

and getting a two-handed grip on his gun.

There was no reaction whatsoever, so he had no choice but to fire,

in an attempt to hit the guy in the leg and hopefully to miss Mulder.

"Argghh!" came from his agent's mouth and Skinner realized with

horror that he *had* winged Mulder.

"To hell with this," he muttered and grabbed a stake from the open

bag at his feet, leaving his gun on the floor. Mustering all his

strength, he flew at the ugly guy and rammed the stake into his back

with all his weight behind the blow. He felt it enter the man's body

with surprising ease, making a sickening crunching sound as it

penetrated various organs and smashed through bones.

Raymond stiffened, gave a horrifying scream, and dropped to the

floor. He gave several more shrieks as he thrashed around, and then

lay still. Mulder had managed to lean against the wall for a

moment, and then had slid to the floor next to Raymond, limp as a

dishrag.

As Skinner checked his agents' injuries, he could hear sirens at some

distance away, but they were growing steadily closer, and he

mentally thanked the old man for following through with the call.

**********

3:15 PM, The Next Afternoon

In A Hospital

Mulder's vision gradually cleared and the bulky, blurry figure that

blocked out one entire side of the room coalesced suddenly into his

boss. Confused for a moment, he simply stared, blinking, wondering

why Scully wasn't there instead. Every time he woke up in a

hospital - and this was clearly another hospital room - his partner

would be by his side, worried about his condition.

At his puzzled look, Skinner said, "You've had several units of

blood, Agent Mulder, but you're out of the woods now. How are

you feeling?"

"Uh," he croaked.

Skinner was fidgeting, which fascinated Mulder. He'd never seen

his boss do that before. Usually gruff and straightforward, he didn't

play games and came right to the point.

"Agent Mulder," he said, again hesitating. He cleared his throat and

continued, "When I tried to stop your attacker, I took a shot at him

and, er, sort of hit you in the calf of your left leg." He hastily added,

"It's just a flesh wound, as it turns out."

It took a second for the meaning to register, and then a world of

blackmail possibilities opened up to the injured man. He smiled.

"That's OK, sir. I'll live."

His smile faded as he asked, "Where's Scully? Is she all right?"

"Yes. Well, sort of. She has a mild concussion and a pulled muscle

in her back, but is doing fine otherwise. She tried to come in here to

check on you, but her back was so painful, it wasn't possible. I told

her that I'd do the honors."

Relief that Scully's injuries weren't worse washed over Mulder's

face, but then a sudden realization hit him.

"Sir! What happened to the vampire?"

"I, er, skewered him with a stake."

A delighted grin was the response, and Skinner shrugged.

"It seemed to work."

"And you *did* tell the M.E. to make sure no one removed the

stake? Remember Chaney, Texas?"

Skinner looked guilty and admitted, "I didn't remember to tell them

in time, I'm afraid. The...body has disappeared from the morgue.

We're doing all we can to locate it."

Mulder just nodded, knowing that the guy was long gone. He

doubted they would ever see him again.

"Well, I'm heading back to the office. You and Agent Scully should

be released later on today and you can finish recuperating at home.

She'll need bed rest, however, with her back. It should be painful

until the muscle has a chance to heal."

A furtive smile crept over Mulder's face. "Oh, I'll see that she rests.

She helped me when my back was out, and now it's my turn."

Suddenly a big, blonde nurse every bit as tall as Mulder walked

briskly into the room and announced, "I'm Marge. It's time for

your sponge bath."

Skinner took one look at the shapely Amazon and hastily excused

himself.

Mulder began to say, "But I don't need..."

"Nonsense!" she barked. More softly, she added, "I'll be gentle."

Marge coyly looked at him through her lush lashes and flexed the

well-developed muscles in her arms.

Mulder's eyes grew big, his lips parted, and a vision of his favorite

video flashed through his mind. But that was fantasy, and this

was...frightening. He gave a little yelp when the nurse from hell

grabbed the top of the sheet at his shoulders and announced, "Let's

see what you've got!" before ripping it off.

A nurse down the hall thought she heard a strange sound, but didn't

hear it again when she listened. It had sounded like a muffled

exclamation or a startled cry. Oh, well, back to work.

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

Later

Dana Scully's Hospital Room

A very clean Fox Mulder wearing very clean, fresh hospital pajamas,

carefully walked from his room, into the hallway, and directly into

his partner's room. At first he thought she was asleep, but when he

leaned over the bed to see, he noticed that her face was buried in the

pillow and her shoulders were shaking.

"Scully? What's wrong?" he worriedly asked.

Gasping for air, she turned her head towards him and he saw that

she was laughing. Hard.

"Oh...Mulder...you smell like lilacs!" And she was off again,

laughing and occasionally moaning when the laughter jarred her

injured back.

Suspicion narrowed his eyes as he asked, "Did you sic Godzilla the

Nurse on me?"

Wiping tears from her eyes, she nodded happily.

There was a dead silence, and Scully saw that his expression was

calm and undisturbed.

Sobering, she asked, "Is that your 'I don't get mad; I get even' face,

Mulder?"

"That would be it."

"Uh, what if I said 'I'm sorry?' "

"About what?" he blandly replied.

Uh, oh, this could be bad. Really bad. She knew he could be

terribly inventive in his revenge schemes, but she usually wasn't on

the receiving end of them.

"What are you planning to do to get back at me?" she came straight

out and asked.

He smiled generously.

"Why, nothing at all, Scully. I understand that your back is really

painful, so I wouldn't be so mean and petty as to go pulling practical

jokes on you at a time like this."

Then he dropped the other shoe.

"I just figured that I'd stay at your place for a few days, helping you

out. I already called your Mom and she thinks it's a great idea. We

both have to recuperate, and you're going to need some help."

"Help with what, exactly?" Her voice and expression were warning

him off.

He got up and began moving toward the door. "Dressing, bathing,

you know..."

Mulder was chuckling at her incredulous expression as he re-entered

the hallway, and he walked over to a smiling Maggie Scully.

"I've got her worried. Let her stew a little, and then you can tell her

that it's you who's moving in with her for a few days."

Maggie squeezed his hand and went to visit her daughter.

Mulder turned toward his own room and ran smack into Marge.

"Hi. I was wondering where you had disappeared. I still have a

couple of treatments for you, including a full body massage." She

winked.

Mulder, now in on the joke, gave her his best leer and said, "Only if

I can return the favor."

Marge's eyes widened as expected, but then she surprised the smirk

right off of Mulder's face by giving him a long, slow smile. Taking

Mulder's arm in a very loving, yet death grip nonetheless, she leaned

over until her lips were brushing the suddenly-very-worried agent's

ear. "I thought you'd never ask."

In Dana's room, mother and daughter gave a start at the

bloodcurdling, "Scullllllyyyyy!!!" that resounded down the corridor.

Alarmed, Scully looked quickly at the woman sitting demurely by

her bedside. "Mom, you didn't..."

Maggie smiled sweetly, smoothing the blanket covering her

daughter's legs. "He's a nice boy, dear, but he's such an amateur."

THE END