[For disclaimer information, see part 1.]

Games of the Mind (Part 7)
by Christina Shuy
cshuy@netcom.com

3 April 1997 - 4 days later

     She awoke slowly, her body and mind feeling extremely fuzzy.  She
groaned softly as a headache began pounding in her head.  The nausea also
started up at about that time. 

     <<<Ah, God, not this again...>>> Lisa's though ran as she recalled
what else her mouth tasted like... bringing with it a severely unpleasant
memory. 

     <<<'You know... a headache I expected after what happened before...
but I didn't think it would be a jackhammer!'>>> Christina thought. 

     <<<'What exactly DID happen?'>>> Caitlin asked.

     <<<'As Chris would say, "Not a sweet clue."'>>> Marie answered.

     <<<Why are we quoting Chris?>>> someone within asked.

     <<<It sounded appropriate.>>> Marie shrugged.  <<<Besides, he isn't
all that bad.>>>

     <<<'Yah, well... you know what they say... live and learn.'>>>
Valerie's answer was curiously mature for her. 

     <<<'Are you sure it isn't 'a hand in the bush'...?'>>> someone else
answered. 

     She felt the stifled laughter of several alternates and hoped it
wouldn't make her head hurt more.  She felt the smile bloom on her lips,
and wondered if she possibly looked silly. 

     "Christina...?" Chris' voice sounded worried.  She moaned softly,
then felt him lean over and kiss her on the forehead. "I'm right here,
love...  You've been unconscious for 4 days.  How do you feel?" The
concern in his voice was more than plainly obvious.  As was something
else. 

     <<<'I still don't know why he keeps calling us "love"!'>>> Julia
mumbled, now recognised as being the one who had asked why they had been
quoting Chris. 

     <<<'I'm sure he has a good reason... but I really wish I knew what
those reasons are.'>>> Valerie's attitude was waspish. 

     <'How about *because I LOVE YOU*!'> Chris' thought was instantly in
her mind. <'I've said it before.  Why don't you just believe me?'>

     <<<How about because we don't trust you?>>> Julia growled.

     "I'm awake..." she murmured.  "Question is, where am I?"

     "Georgetown Medical Center." Mulder's voice answered.

     Christina's eyes opened with a snap, and she groaned, regretting the
gesture instantly and slipping them shut again. 

     "Mmmph... Owww..." she sighed.  "My mother's gonna kill me.  There's
no way her health insurance is going to cover this, you know.  Especially
since I'm so far from home. " she immediately replied, opening her eyes
just a little and seeing Mulder and Scully to her right and Chris to her
left.  She favoured Chris with a faint smile. 

     "You're in the hospital and all you can think of is the insurance?"
Mulder asked, half-amazed. 

     "Knowing my mother... and knowing how expensive medical bills in this
country are, she's going to make ME pay for this... one way or another. 
Especially since I doubt I'm on her insurance anymore, having been missing
for ten months.  Besides, I was on the verge of being taken off her
insurance anyway.  They won't pay for it as a dependant afer age 24, and 
my mother was getting fed up with paying for me anyway..." 

     "How do you feel?" Scully asked, though there was a professional tone
in her voice. 

     Christina paused for a second to figure out exactly how she was
feeling at the moment.  Then, she answered as honestly as she could.  For
once, everyone in the system was listening and not talking. 

     "I'm fine." she answered.

     The reaction was almost instantaneous.  Mulder and Scully traded a
look which Chris and Christina could only interpret as 'Yeah, Right!'

     Mulder leaned in and smiled gently.  "Christina, how about the
truth?" 

     "I'm... tired... hungry... and I have a headache.  How's that?" There
was an amused grin on her face. 

     "Sounds about normal." Dr. Dana Scully smiled.

     "Will someone PLEASE tell me what the hell is going on around here? 
Who were those people and why are they after me?" Christina asked, her
voice sounded desparate, and she looked terrified. 

     There was a tense moment of silence as Mulder and Scully looked at
each other again.  At the same time, Chris squeezed her hand in
reassurance.  Something had to give, she was only afraid of what that
'something' was going to be. 

     "I know enough of what has happened to me to know that I don't like
it.  What else is going on that you're not saying, Agent Mulder?!" 

     "Well... the man who came in after you in Skinner's office did so
because of what you have been through.  I can't prove it yet, but he has
some role in a world wide conspiracy to cover up alien abductions." 

     "Interesting theory, Mulder, though I'm not sure Agent Scully would
agree with you on that point about aliens." she answered.  "And it would
explain why they came after me... but how would they know so soon?  I did
only turn up... uh... four days ago." 

     <<<'You still should have told us, Valerie.'>>> Marie insisted.

     <<<'There is a good reason I didn't tell you about any of this.'>>>
Valerie's voice took on an 'I told you so' tone which only served to
irritate everyone else. <<<'After all, take an engineering student and
make her an abductee... no one believes her...  especially since she
doesn't even believe it herself.'>>>

     <<<'But the question still remains... do we want to know, and would
it be safer if we didn't?'>>> Christina asked. 

     <<<'I don't know about anyone else, but I want to know.'>>> Marie
said. 

     <<<'Well, I-'>>> Lisa started.

     <<<'You what?  You of all people should know how badly we dislike
having the truth hidden from us!'>>> Christina protested. <<<'Both you and
Valerie, Lisa, have a LOT of explaining to do.'>>>

     <<<'It was for the good of all of us.'>>> Valerie reasoned.

     <<<'And you know what else they say, Valerie... the road to HELL is
paved with good intentions!'>>> Caitlin spoke waspishly. 

     <<<'Oh, Goddess, not this arguement again... so... in your opinion,
Valerie, the good of the many outweigh the good of the few or the one?'>>>
asked another, more mature sounding, voice. 

     "That I don't know.  He always knows.  Probably because the office
where you were and where Scully and I work bugged." Mulder answered,
eerily answering the conversation inside Christina's mind. 

     Christina wasn't sure she was listening anymore, to Mulder or to the
members of her own internal system.  She tilted her head back, sighing
softly.  She whimpered, though barely loud enough for anyone to hear. 

     Chris kissed her lightly on the cheek before he moved to sit down
again, his hand still holding on to the one of hers which he'd held for
the last few days. 

     "Is there anything you can tell me about my sister?" Mulder asked,
seeming a little anxious to find out what was going on with his beloved
sister, whom he hadn't seen in over 20 years.  He also seemed a touch
hesitant, almost as though he didn't want to push for the answers. 

     "I...  All we know, Mulder, is that she is being looked for.  The
politics of the universe is a very complicated thing... even more so than
here on Earth." Christina stated, though it felt someone was speaking
THROUGH her, more than usual.  It was, to say the least, spooky. 

     "Ah, good, you're awake." the nurse's voice made Christina feel like
screaming as she walked in and removed the IV from her left arm. "Just let
me take this IV out and I'll get the doctor." 

     "It's about time you took this out... and I don't want to see any
doctors!" she half-growled, as the nurse left the room.  Unfortunately,
the nurse didn't seem to hear her. She grumbled. "Deafer than a DOORKNOB."
Chris stifled a laugh, though not very successfully.  Christina stuck her
tongue out at him and then grinned. 

     "What do you have against doctors?  I'm a doctor..." Scully sounded a
touch offended. 

     "Nothing personal, Agent Scully, but doctors...  I haven't been to
one in years, and I... I don't like them..." 

     "That's quite alright... I know others who feel the same..." she shot
a glance at Mulder while she said that, and he looked somewhat embarassed
under her glance. 

     "You know what they say, Scully... doctors make the worst patients."
Mulder grinned. 

     "That's because they have no patience." Chris grinned, and for a
while, they all giggled. 

     "Look, can we just get the hell out of here already?  I would rather
not be in here, if you know what I mean." she said, grumbling. "I hate
hospitals... probably more than I hate doctors." 

     <<<'Don't we all...'>>> Lisa's voice echoed through her mind, though
she could feel the entire collective nod in agreement. 

     "I know the feeling." Mulder nodded as he and Scully headed for the
door.  "We'll see what we can do." he said, as they walked out of the
room, following the nurse. 

     As she clenched and unclenched her left fist, she felt the sore spot
where the IV had been inserted and sighed. <'Great... Another bruise... 
just like the last time we were in a hospital and in need of an IV. '> the
thought raced through the collective mind. 

     She felt Chris' hand on her cheek in an infinitely tender caress and
looked up a him with a smile.  She'd been lost in thought for a while and
had almost forgotten where she was, as well as who was still there with
her.  Who would *always* be there with her.  Even after what had
happened...  His expression held concern and caring.  And an emotion that
went far deeper than even love ever could.  It was what had always been
between them. 

     "Are you okay, love?" he asked, noting her clenched fist, which she
immediately relaxed.  She gave him a half-smile and he leaned over to kiss
her lightly. 

     "Yeah... more or less... right now, I want to get out of here and
maybe go back to L. A. for a little while and get my life together
before...  well, before I decide what the Hell to do next... I'm probably
not in school anymore... been gone too long.  You know how university
bureaucracies are..." 

     "Well, I suppose you could move in with me..." his tone was quite
serious. "I do have a place of my own now, and everything.  I love you and
I'm sorry for ever hurting you." 

     She smiled at him.  "Thank you...  As for moving in with you, I'd
like that.  But I want to find out what happened to me... This is about as
frustrating as trying to dig through my blank childhood... " 

     "We will... we will...  I promise you we will." his quiet
determination was breathtaking.  "Remember, I have a stake in this too." 

     She smiled lovingly at him.  "I know." she said, before she kissed
him softly. 

     The room door opened again and there was a tall female standing in
the door who was wearing a white lab coat and carrying a metal clipboard. 
A stethescope peeked out of one pocket. 

     <<<Oh no... oh gods no...>>> a collective groan, and she sighed.

     "Examination time."


     Christina grumbled as the doctor finally left the hospital room where
she'd been staying for the past four days. 

     It was bad enough that she was still *in* the hospital, but the fact
that some of her alternate personalities were chafing at even just the
thought of the medical exam had her wishing she were out of the area so
that the doctor wouldn't have to worry about getting her head ripped off
by an overly protective alter, or an overly angry one or even a
combination of the two. 

      Chris helped her to her feet and she clung to him closely before
moving a step.  She felt his hands caress her gently and she refamiliarsed
herself with the feeling of him as well.  Reluctantly, she finally let go
of him, but it was almost as though neither wanted to. 

     "Wait a minute... this aren't my clothes..." she said as she gingerly
stepped over to the chair where clothes were piled and picked up a white
shirt. 

     "Nope... It's something I got for you a while ago.  Your stuff is
with my dirty laundry." he answered. 

     "Well... thanks..." She sighed. "Now if only that physical exam had
gone a little better..." she paused almost sourly, a somewhat annoyed
expression on her face. 

     "It didn't go that badly..." Chris' expression was one of amazement
as he watched her pull on her clothing piece by piece and then run her
fingers through the tangled mess of her hair.  Christina'd managed to
convince the doctor to allow Chris to stay because during her checkup
because she'd warned that he was the only one who could keep her temper
under control. 

     "Yeah, right... I hate being poked and prodded like I'm some sort of
lab specimen..."  She turned to look at him for a moment, a mischevious
gleam in her eye, suddenly. "Besides... there are other things I'd prefer
to be poked and prodded with..." Christina grinned at him, tucking a stray
lock of hair under her ear as she finished dressing. 

     "Oh?  Like what?" Chris' eyebrows rose in amusement as well as
feigned innocence.  It didn't fool either of them and both knew it. 

     "Oh, I dunno... something of yours, maybe..." she grinned, wrapping
her arms around him and meeting his mouth with her own. 

     Just then, Mulder and Scully came back in with the nurse who had all
of the release papers.  For a moment, Chris and Christina were too
preoccupied with each other before the nurse cleared her throat,
interrupting them. 

     "Just sign these and you'll be out of here." the nurse said, handing
Christina the clipboard with various forms on it. 

      "I hate paperwork..." she grumbled, flipping through the forms and
signing them, laughing lightly as each of her signatures looked vastly
different. 

      One by one, she finished signing them and then the nurse breathed a
sigh of relief, though Christina was certain the nurse was relieved to
have her out of there.  "Okay, then, you're out of here.  Just heed the
doctor's instructions and get something to eat.  Start slowly, though. 
You've been on fluids for four days.  However, I do think you will feel
better once you get some food into you and get a little more rest.  You
may have been unconscious, but I do not think it was all too restful." 

     "Right... We'll make sure she gets something to eat." Chris said. 
Christina shook her head, smiling.  Chris would probably end up feeding
her to death... or something.  Their eyes met and after a moment, both
were fighting down laughter.  They were close enough now that they could
communicate without verbalising and often did. 

     "Where do you want to go now?" Mulder asked.

     "Los Angeles.  I have some business to wrap up... After that, I'm
going to have to figure something out." 


5 April 1997
6:25pm PDT
Outside the Physical Sciences building
California State University, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

     She had been back in Los Angeles for about a day now, getting the
third-degree from her mother, who couldn't quite believe she was back yet. 
Not only that, she kept getting asked questions, even the most basic of
which, she couldn't answer.  Fortunately, Chris kept her from wringing her
mother's neck. 

     Eventually, Mulder and Scully drove Chris and Christina out to where
she'd disappeared.  By now, Chris and Christina were inseperable, though
Christina just wanted to get away from everything.  Being asked questions
she still had no answers to was not easy for her to handle because most of
those questions were still coming from herself. 

     "I was coming out of physics lecture getting ready to go home when it
happened." she said, as they were approaching the building where the
physics labs and lectures were held.  She felt a touch odd, as though
there was something she needed to be doing.  "I was right at this spot
when-" 

     Right as she spoke those words, they reached the exact spot where she
had been standing when she had been blinded the last time and a bright
light flashed again. 

      The last thing on her lips was "Oh no, not again!" as the blinding
light overwhelmed her senses. 

End Part 7.