Legal Thingies are needed here so that I can't be taken to court and other bad stuff like that. 
  Okay, so the X-Files stuff belongs to other people like Chris Carter and all those other
  companies that have copyrights (those lucky people) and crud like that.  There, now no one can
  take me to jail (that's supposed to be a good thing).  Other legalities include the name of the
  Tremere which belongs to the authors and publishers of Vampire:  The Masquerade and the
  term, Thaumaturgy, if it needs to be.
  Special thanks go to everyone who put up with reading this while I was writing it, and especially
  Kathy and Joey who always nagged me to finish it, Michele for agreeing to be the villain, and
  Paul and Debbie just for reading it and everyone for putting up with all the questions I asked and
  their very valuable feedback.  I would also like to offer thanks to BabFab for her suggestion for
  using the Gotham Restaurant and Bar located in New York.
  
  
  Minion
  By Amber Kelsall (EnglshYew@aol.com)
  
  
       Special Agent Melia Barker strode down a beaten path toward the shooting range
  located just north of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's teaching facilities at Quantico.  She
  paid no attention to those who walked beside her or rushed past her frame as if she were just
  another student striving to get to class on time, she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts.
       The entrance door gave no resistance as she pushed on the dilapidated metal handle
  and let herself in.  She scanned the area as she always did and found Agent Adam Hudson
  behind the desk at the check-in counter.  The heels of her shoes clicked against the linoleum
  floor as she walked toward him.
       "Good morning, Agent Hudson."  Her voice seemed to chime.  
       It was not that she didn't like Adam, it was just that she wasn't always comfortable in his
  presence.   Despite her sporadic thoughts about him, the two had become friends in the past
  year that she had been instructing a weapons and arms course at Quantico.  He managed to
  raise her spirits when she had been having a particularly bad day.  She just wished he'd realize
  that they were never going to go out on a date together.
       "Agent Barker," Adam leaned his weight against the counter, "I hope you know how
  unfair it is to come in here and shoot with the students."
       Melia kept her face.  He was teasing her, as he often did, and she was determined not to
  let him get the better of her this time.  "It's even unfair to the Special Agents, Adam.  I'm just too
  good."
       Agent Hudson knew what she was talking about.  Barker had been transferred to be an
  instructor because of her immaculate marksmanship and her amazing abilities to help the
  students understand the basics of weaponry used by the FBI.  He had to admit to himself that he
  was glad she was transferred to the Academy.  Since the first day he had set eyes on her, he
  knew that was destined to go on a date with her.  
       'Now,' he thought to himself, 'if only she would realize that.'
       Agent Barker set her hands on the cold Formica countertop and searched for the sign-in
  log.  "So when can I get in?"
       "I guess I'll let you in now."  He smiled.  "It'll give the kids incentive, you know?"
       "Great."  Barker moved her hands into the pocket of her jacket.
       Adam couldn't help but look her over as he had done every time she had been near him. 
  Today she happened to have her straight, brown hair tied back with a decorative silver clip.  He
  liked it when she wore her hair down, especially when little bits of hair would brush against the
  milky white skin of her cheek.  She was a few inches smaller than he, but stood proudly at five
  feet, eight inches.  
       "Adam?"  Melia's voice brought his eyes back to hers.  
       At that moment, he thought he could listen to that melodic voice forever.
       "You know the drill."  He couldn't move his gaze from her muddy brown eyes.
       Melia knew the drill all too well.  She had already removed her gun from its holster and
  placed it on the counter beside her identification badge.  "Now, if you can stop staring me down,
  Agent Hudson, I might be able to practice sometime this century."
       Color filled Adam's cheeks.  He hadn't realized that she had noticed him admiring her. 
  "I'll be right back."
       He swept her gun and badge into his hands and took them to the computer.  He hated
  having to run everyone's badge and gun identification, but he knew it would eventually be
  needed as a record or a type of security that actually worked.  He glanced back at Barker for a
  moment, she had found a pen and the sign-in log.
       'She has such a fluency when she writes.'  He thought as he punched up the numbers. 
  'She's my version of perfection.'
       The computer called his attention back to the screen with its annoying beep.  As usual,
  she had cleared.  He moved from his chair back to the counter.  Melia held her hands out to
  receive her gun and badge.
       "Thanks."
       "Hey, Barker.  Why the itch to shoot?"
       Melia thought about it for a moment.  "It's a great stress reliever, Adam.  You should try it
  sometime."
       "I think I've had enough of guns for a lifetime."  He turned to the wall next to him.  It was
  full of cubby-holes and shooting gear.  He took a pair of glasses and padded earphones down
  for her.
       "By the way, when are they going to fix that damnable light above my booth?"  Melia put
  in.  "It's giving me migraines again."
       "I think we have a crew coming in later today."  He searched the log for her signature. 
  "Don't forget your headgear."
       "I'm glad to know the maintenance crews are still in their usual form." She put her gun in
  its holster and her badge back into her pocket.
       "At least their efforts haven't declined."  Adam laughed.
       Melia laughed with him as she grasped the gear and headed to the shooting booth. 
  "See you later."
       He watched her as she walked through the doors and silently wished to himself that it
  was her mind he was admiring, not her ass.
       Agent Barker focused on the targets of others as she passed their booths.  It filled her
  with a sense of pride that she was able to shoot directly through the target's heart every time. 
  As she neared the booth, she thought about what she had told Adam earlier.  She'd lied when
  she told him it was a stress reliever.  It was so much more than that.  She had missed the center
  of the target during one of her examples this morning and decided that she should get in an
  extra round.
       The booth was as it always was, dank and chilly.  The overhead light was still flickering
  in and out, but she knew it would improve her sight skills to practice beneath it.  Barker took out
  her gun, checked the ammo, and set it on the counter in front of her.  After she placed the
  protective gear on her head, she took the gun into her right hand.
       Melia carefully aimed for the target and fired.  The gunshots rang in her ears, even
  through the headphones, while the light began to flicker again.  As she aimed, her eyes gave the
  illusion of a faint blue light flashing on the range.  Barker shrugged the incident off and continued
  with her exercise. 
       The annoyance continued in its quest.  The crystalline flashes began to overpower her
  senses and she had to blink to lessen the glare.  She fought with herself to stay in control as she
  aimed for the head of the target.  These dream flashes had been plaguing her since she was in
  college and she was not about to give into them now. 
       Her finger was hesitant when it came near the trigger.  She couldn't believe what she
  was seeing and squinted her eyes in hopes of gaining focus.  She confirmed that it was her cold,
  blue face she saw in the range.  Melia fired several shots, desperate to rid herself of the fear her
  image invoked.  When the smoke had cleared, there was only the paper target and the wounds
  her bullets had left in it.
       She took a moment to settle herself.  Her head reeled as she damned her thoughts. 
  She didn't know where they had come from, or what they meant.  The only other person she had
  ever told about the dreams was her father.  He had immediately wanted to send her to doctors
  and have tests run to see if she had a tumor.  
       She loved her father for being able to look after her, but sometimes he inadvertently
  smothered her in his protection.  After she had been run through the maze of doctors she had
  decided it would be better for everyone if she never mentioned the flashes in the future.  
       Paranormal phenomena fascinated her like nothing else she had ever known.  In college
  she had spent a term abroad to study European folklore and legends.  She had never wanted to
  stop learning after that term, and when she wasn't teaching or firing a gun, she had her head
  buried in books that attempted to explain the paranormal.  
       Melia had kept her research a secret, though.  She quickly learned that outlandish
  thoughts such as those in her books were frowned upon by her superiors as much as partners
  getting involved with each other.
       She almost scoffed when she remembered that her superiors has assigned her as a
  shooting instructor for lack of a better place to put her.  She was a fine Agent, they couldn't deny
  that; her two years of field work had proven that beyond a doubt.  But she had somehow found
  herself getting involved with her partner, and was transferred to the academy. The Bureau had
  wanted her to know that her actions were not acceptable.  Less than three months later he was
  inexplicably killed in the line of duty.  
       Agent Barker looked down at her hand and realized that she was shaking so hard that
  her gun was rattling.  She placed the pistol back in her hip holster and removed the protective
  headgear.  The light above her began to shine steady as she left the booth and headed for the
  exit.
       Agent Hudson was glad to see her back at his post so soon.  "Good session?"
       "Um, I suppose so."  Melia set the glasses and headphones back on to the counter.  
       It was obvious that she was preoccupied with something.  The only thing that made him
  feel on edge was the meekness in her voice, he had never heard that tone from her before.
       She signed the sheet that Adam pushed toward her.  "I'll see you around."
       The air felt cool and inviting as Melia stepped into the current and breathed in deeply. 
  She had expected her lungs to fill with fresh air, but ended up coughing from the second-hand
  smoke.  She turned to see who was polluting the winds.
       "Agent Barker."  The mysterious man waved his cigarette in her face.  "You should be
  more careful who you associate with."
       "What are you doing here?"  She tried to remain calm so she would not draw attention
  from passers-by.  "I told you that I never wanted to deal with you again."
       "I know."  He took another puff.  "But sometimes, we really don't have a lot of choices."
       Melia's patience with this man was growing thin.  "What do you want?"
       She had worked with this man before, usually doing odd jobs that she didn't understand. 
       "It seems that I don't have anyone I can rely on for information in the X-Files."  The tall,
  greying man dropped his cigarette then took another from his pocket.
       "What does that have to do with me?"  She watched him carefully as he lit the cancer
  stick.
       "I want you to be my new contact."  He was blunt.  "It seems your other colleagues
  cannot be trusted with such an assignment."
       Melia thought about what the man was saying.  "Why me?  Why any new agents there
  at all?  They're trying to shut them down, why would they let another agent in?"
       "I have friends in high places."  He said.  "Most of them can't say no."
       "Most?"  She cocked her head slightly to the left to show her interest.
       "I need one more signature for your transfer."  He pulled an envelope from his pocket
  and handed it to Barker.  "Assistant Director Skinner."
       She took the papers from him and stuffed them into her jacket.
       "I'll expect to have you in by the end of the week." 
       She watched as he blew the smoke from his lips and could have sworn that she had
  seen the shape of a skull as it dissipated into the air.  "Yes, sir."
          
  XXX
  
       Assistant Director Walter Skinner sat at his desk in the FBI building.  His head was
  pounding today, though he didn't know why.  He hadn't had any run-ins with Mulder or Scully,
  the agents with the X-Files.  They always seemed to get into trouble, and last time he had put his
  life on the line for their work because he truly believed in what they were doing.  He hadn't had
  to deal with a strange colleague that he knew only as the Cigarette Smoking Man, though he
  preferred Cancerman because it was a bit more sinister.  In fact, everything about today seemed
  to be going quite well.
       Skinner almost jumped when his secretary buzzed the intercom.  He reached out his
  slightly tanned hand and answered it in one fluid motion.
       "Skinner."
       There seemed to be a slight silence, then his secretary spoke.  "Sir, Agent Barker is
  here to see you, may I send her in?"
       "Yes, send her right in."  Skinner acknowledged.  
       He suddenly realized that he might have brought something down upon himself as she
  removed his wire-rimmed glasses and rubbed his tired eyes.  
       As the door opened, he rose to his feet.  He saw his secretary usher in a young woman
  of about 26 years.  Her hair was cut chin-length and shone a deep chestnut brown, much like
  her eyes.  It would have been apparent to anyone in the room that he knew this person.
       After the door closed again, she spoke.  "Assistant Director Skinner."
       There seemed to be a wall of tension between them.  "Agent Barker."
       She glanced nervously around the room.  
       "Would you like to sit down?"  He offered.
       "Actually, no."  She moved toward the desk.  "I came to ask something of you."
       "What might that be?"  Skinner leaned back in his chair.
       "I received these papers at the academy yesterday."  She pulled the envelope she had
  been given and set it on her father's desk.  "I was told the only signature left to get was yours."
       Skinner looked at his daughter uneasily and opened the envelope.  A tense silence hung
  in the air as he read the orders.  "The X-Files."
       He dreaded letting her into them because of all the crap he had seen Agents Mulder and
  Scully go through in the past three years.  He couldn't see putting his only child at risk like that. 
  He scowled as he set the papers back on the hard wood surface.  He also didn't want to take
  away an opportunity for his daughter to work in an area that she had long  for years now.  He
  never hated his job as much as he did at that moment.       
       Melia could tell that her father was having doubts.  "You know I can do it."  
       Skinner nervously rubbed his chin.  "I know you think you can do it, but I have my
  doubts."
       "Oh come on!"  She threw up her hands.  "This isn't about you and me, Dad.  This is
  about being an Agent in the Bureau and being able to do a good job.  I've served my time."
       Skinner stood up and leaned toward her across his desk.  "And I'm saying that it's too
  dangerous, I will not send my only daughter to her own death!"
       "Being an agent is always about danger!"  She returned.  "I could be back in Violent
  Crimes having some psycho harassing me, I could be back at the Academy waiting for some
  freak to blow the entire building to pieces, or I could here where you could know my every
  movement!"
       Skinner was taken aback by that statement.  He knew that she would get where she
  wanted to be eventually.  She always kept at it until she was able to get what she wanted. 
  Perhaps she would learn that she didn't want to do it after a case, and return to the safety of
  being an academy instructor.  He set back into his chair and caught a glimpse of her eyes.  They
  were glowing with an inner fire of excitement.  
       "So?"  She crossed her arms across her chest.
       Skinner opened a file, and picked up a pen from it's holder.  He knew that she would be
  capable and wise in her work.  Perhaps he would finally get reports that he could make some
  sense of.  "I don't see that I have any other option here, with Agent Scully sick so much, it makes
  sense..."
       In the back of his head, Skinner calmly thought of ways to make her return to Quantico. 
  He hadn't wanted to give in to her, but he knew that he had no valid reasons to keep her from
  the transfer.  
       "Thank you, Sir."  She turned on her heel to leave.
       "Melia."  She stopped in her tracks.  He had never called her that while they were at the
  Bureau unless something was wrong.  Either he was mad at her, or he was keeping something
  from her.
       She turned towards him.  "What is it?"
       "Be careful."  He warned.
       "I'll try."  She shot back, and headed out of the office.
       Skinner pounded a fist against the oak on his desk.  He did not need this aggravation.
  As he rummaged through his desk to find a bottle of pain reliever, the phone rang.  
       "Skinner."  He brought the receiver to his ear.
       "Walter, this is Sharon."  A woman's voice sounded.
       Skinner leaned against the desk, and felt a bit of tension leaving him.  It was good to
  hear from his wife again.  "It's good to hear your voice."
       "I should think so."  Her voice sounded with laughter.
       "After today, it would sure be great to have a nice quiet dinner."  He confided in her.
       "That bad, eh?"  Somehow, he could see her smiling on the other line.  "How about
  seven?"
       "Perfect."  He smiled at the thought of seeing her again.  "I'll see you then."
  
  XXX
  
       Melia strode down the dank corridors of the Bureau's basement underworld.  It used to
  be only storage facilities, but soon became home to the X-Files when the Bureau's interest in
  them had died.  Fortunately, Special Agent Fox Mulder breathed new life into the dead cases
  when he had started to investigate them.
       She had heard so much about Fox 'Spooky' Mulder while at the academy, and silently
  hoped that he would live up to his reputation.  Recently, she began to hear about Special Agent
  Dana Scully in some context as well.  There were malicious rumors circulating that she and
  Mulder were secret lovers, but mostly it heralded what a brilliant scientist and doctor she was.  
       Melia had the opportunity to meet Scully when she had been teaching an autopsy
  course at Quantico.  She had lost faith that she would ever be able to enter that office with her
  head held high when she found that the files had been shut down.  She remembered hearing
  from a student that Scully was acting a bit 'spooky' herself during a class.
       The previous thoughts dissipated as she neared the corridor reserved for her new
  section.  She had received the transfer papers two days after she had talked with her father.  He
  had explained over dinner the previous evening that he had a hard time thinking of her in all
  those dangerous situations so he had let the papers sit as long as he could.  Melia sympathized
  with her father but told him that he needed to have a little faith in her abilities to take care of
  herself.
       A wry smile moved itself upon her lips as she brought her hand to the surface of the
  door to Mulder and Scully's office.  She knocked diligently, confident in her knowledge that she
  would be unexpected.
       From inside, and muffled 'come in' sounded, and she did so.
       Opening that door was like summoning a portal to another world.  As she entered, she
  felt as if she were an outsider, who did not understand everything in this room.  The only
  problem with this feign is that she did know what everything around her was about.  Everything
  except Mulder and Scully.
       She saw them huddled about a lighted table and Mulder did not bother to turn around. 
  Scully, on the other hand, was eager to see who was entering their territory.
       "Agent Barker."  She held out her hand.  "What a pleasure to see you again."
       "Agent Scully."  Melia took her new partner's hand and shook it gratefully.  "I heard about
  your sister, I'm very sorry."
       Scully did not need to think about what happened to her sister, or anything else that
  concerned that particular case.  In fact, she had come back to work to get away from her
  memories.  "Well, what can I do for you?"
       Melia immediately noticed that she had struck a chord that wasn't meant to be played. 
  She made a mental note not to do it again. "Well, I-"
       "She's our new partner, Scully."  Mulder turned to face the two women.
       Scully shot Mulder her 'why-am-I-always-the-last-to-know' look.
       "I know it's sudden..."  Barker was disappointed that the element of surprise wasn't on
  her side this time, but she hid it well.  
       Mulder crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter he had been
  working over.  "Why are you really here?  The men upstairs don't exactly think this project is
  worth the money it drains from the budget."
       Scully waited for Barker to make the next move.
       She made it sooner than she had expected.  "I was asked to come aboard in this
  section.  I wasn't given any particular reasons, just that this department needed an agent to keep
  you two out of the hospitals." 
       She pulled two folders from her satchel and handed them to Mulder. 
       Scully stepped toward the desks and fingered one of the folders.  "What are these?"
       "My personal files."  Barker stood tall in the doorway.  "I thought you might want to get to
  know me before we start our first case on Monday."
       Mulder glared at the intruder, trying to sense what her motivations were.  To his
  frustration, he wasn't able to crack her code.  Everything she said seemed to be neutral.
       Without another word, she left the office.  Mulder had expected her to slam the door
  behind her, but she didn't.  For some reason, that annoyed him even more.
       Scully turned to Mulder and eyed him.  "When did you find out we were getting a new
  partner, and why didn't you tell me?"
       "I just found out this morning when I passed Skinner in the hall."  Mulder replied.  "I was
  under the impression that he told you as well."
       "Well he didn't."  Scully picked up Barker's personal file.  "It only has her mother's name
  listed here, I wonder what happened to her father."
       He moved towards his partner and opened the top file that Melia had left for them.  
       Scully held out her hand to receive the file, and quickly scanned it for a name.  'Barker,
  Melia Yvette'.
       Scully took the bottom file in Mulder's hands without much disturbance, and flipped to
  the first page.  The file was a replication of the one that her partner was glancing over.  "Looks
  like we get to do a little studying tonight, Mulder." 
  
  XXX
  
       The whistle of Melia's teapot let out a terrifying shriek as it began to steam.  She rushed
  into the kitchen and pulled it from the burner.  She turned off the power and poured the hot water
  into a mug.  She then opened a tea bag packet, and watched as the bag soaked up the water
  hungrily.
       It was Sunday night, and Barker was beginning to get a bit stir crazy.  She had been
  sitting in her home doing virtually nothing since Friday.  She had managed to get a couple of
  cases from her Dad on Friday night, but they read fast and she had found herself just lying
  around watching "Key Largo".
       She had been able to get together with her father for dinner on Saturday evening, but for
  the most part it was uneventful.
       She took a sip of her tea and savored the taste of strawberries.  The warmth felt good
  was it made it's way down to her stomach.
       Melia found herself thinking about something that her father had said over dinner.  She
  reminded herself that he told her if she got bored with everything at home, that she could always
  go in to the office early in the morning.  He knew that she had trouble sleeping, and had always
  tried to offer any advice about it that he could.
       Melia sat in a kitchen chair and sipped her tea.  She knew that staying away from work
  was not one of her finer points, and neither was waiting.  She put down the mug and decided to
  head into work.
  
  XXX
  
       Agent Barker headed down the hallway of the J. Edgar Hoover building to an area which
  housed, according to her new partner Fox Mulder, "the FBI's most unwanted".  It was still the
  wee hours of morning--2:57 AM to be precise--but the building had still been filled with agents
  burning the midnight oil on their case loads.
       Melia was there only because she had trouble sleeping and had tired of the tedious
  tasks she could've done at home.  Her erratic sleeping habits had begun shortly after she had
  taken a fellowship overseas during her college studies.  Over the years she had tried just about
  everything to get her body to sleep properly--the so-called remedies ranged from warm milk to
  yoga to sleeping pills.  Every so often one of the methods might take effect for a short time, but
  in the end all failed to help her gain a sleeping schedule she could adhere to.  About two years
  ago, she had just given up entirely, and kept herself occupied with old black and white movies or
  reading a good book when she couldn't sleep.  She just decided that it was her destiny to be a
  night owl.
       She opened the door to her new office, a cluttered space about the size of an average
  home's living room, and set her small soft leather briefcase next to the coat rack.  There were 
  file cabinets stacked to the ceilings in some areas and loose papers piled on makeshift
  bookshelves that appeared as if they might collapse if she touched them.
       Mulder and Scully shared an old-fashioned double desk, and it reminded Melia of the
  desks she used to see in those old mobster films.  Scully's desktop was organized neatly, while
  Mulder's side boasted old paper coffee cups, take out bags, and several file folders.
       Melia scanned the office to find that her desk had been placed toward the back of the
  office in a dark corner.  It seemed so out of place to see a clean space amid the clutter.  She
  thought for a moment, though, how appropriate the placement of her desk had been.  It almost
  mirrored the situation she was in now.  She was walking in on the hustle and bustle of Mulder
  and Scully's investigations a virtual clean slate to them.  In actuality, though, she was no where
  near a clean slate.  She had read several case files to catch up on what her new partners had
  been up to, and had even researched some X-Files on her own while she had taught at
  Quantico.
       She reached up and turned on the overhead lamp that had been provided for her, then
  set her Winchell's bag next to a plain manila file.  For a moment she forgot about her midnight
  snack and sat down, taking keen interest in the file before her.  She opened it and began to read
  about a homicide that had taken place in South Fork, Texas.  She quickly ran her eyes over the
  autopsy report, noting that the victim had suffered acute blood loss and that the coroner reported
  what appeared to be teeth marks in the victim's neck and shoulder.
       'What would my partners have to say about this?'  She thought to herself.  From the
  case files that she had read, she assumed that Mulder would most likely link the death to
  vampirism while Scully would quickly dismiss it as nothing more than a cult killing or animal
  attack.  
       'But their opinions don't matter until 8 AM.'  She continued to have a conversation with
  herself.  'I should be at home sleeping like they are--like any normal human being in Washington
  DC should be.'
       Barker sighed and flung the file back onto her desk.  She rubbed her eyes and
  smoothed her hand over her hair.  After shaking her leather jacket off, she hung it over the back
  of her chair then reached for the Winchell's bag.
       The paper crackled as she reached in and pulled out a fresh cup of coffee and a
  chocolate donut with sprinkles in the icing.  The white plastic lid on her coffee departed company
  with it's paper cup easily, letting the steam rise into the air, only to disappear on it's way to the
  ceiling.  Melia gulped down the black liquid gratefully, thinking the last thing that she needed as
  a troubled sleeper was a strong cup of black coffee.  She dismissed the thought, however, and
  continued to mull over the case.
       While she had found some interesting items in the rest of the case, it was the actual
  police report that held her attention.  As she ran through the accompanying photos that the
  department had supplied, she stopped at one.  The victim was lying on his back and his shirt
  was ripped apart around his shoulder.  She noticed that the man had a tattoo; even through the
  thin layer of blood it seemed disturbingly familiar.  She racked her brain for several minutes
  trying to place where she had seen the art before.  On a hunch, Melia moved across the office to
  her briefcase and kneeled next to it.
       She filtered through it's contents only to experience that finding the file was an easier
  task than getting it out of the pocket she had placed it in.  Finally it came loose, and she opened
  X-File case #X131095.  The papers fell to the floor in a cascade of white and Melia silently
  cursed.  
       As she reached to collect the papers something else fumbled its way to the floor.  It was
  too awkward to be a piece of paper.  Melia reached for it instead, and realized that it was the
  photograph that she had been looking for.
       "Must be my lucky day."  Melia smiled, and rushed back to her desk.  
       She had taken the file home as possible reading material for her late night, and had
  indeed read through it all.  As she compared the two photos, she realized just how lucky she
  was.  She had managed to connect two cases by pure luck.
  
  XXX
  
       Mulder walked into the office expecting to be the early bird, as usual.  Instead, he
  walked right into his new partner, Melia Barker.
       "God, Mulder.  I'm sorry."  She apologized, trying to move out of his way.
       "What are you doing here?"  Mulder asked, searching the office for anything suspicious. 
  He didn't exactly trust his new partner yet.
       He noted that she was dressed in a pair of black jeans and an over-sized olive green
  sweater.  Even through her loose clothing, he could see that she was wearing her gun.  He also
  noticed that she was wearing a pair of tennis shoes.  This was something that wasn't normally
  seen on an agent in the Bureau.  Simples, he believed they were called.  He had seen a pair in a
  shoe store window a while ago and thought that they looked comfortable.  For some reason he
  went in wanting a pair, but came out with a new pair of wingtips. 
       "It's called a job, Mulder."  She turned to watch him hang his coat on the rack.
       "I'm just not used to having anyone else in here until an hour from now."  Mulder looked
  toward her desk, surprised that it had several notes scattered on top of open folders and an
  empty coffee cup sat at the foot of her chair.  "How long have you been here?"
       "You don't want to know."  Melia headed to her desk and retrieved her jacket.
       "You going somewhere?"  He asked.
       Melia was grateful that he was being civil toward her.  When they had first met, he had
  made it painfully obvious that her presence in the X-Files division wasn't a welcome one.
       "Well, I thought that I would go home and get cleaned up."  She pulled on her jacket and
  began to gather her files and notes.  "It will give you a chance to get your hour alone."
       "Long night, eh?"  Mulder slumped into his desk chair and scowled at the mess on his
  desk.
       "Mulder, I keep such strange hours that even a vampire would wince if I told him."  She
  quipped, stuffing the files into her briefcase and headed toward the door.  "Oh, and if Scully
  comes in before I get back, keep her here.  I want to talk to both of you about our new case
  assignment."
       Mulder took in the information, but wasn't quite sure if his brain processed the words or
  not.  When the door shut behind Barker, the click of the door handle mechanism seemed to
  knock in his head, reminding him that there was work to be done.
       He sighed and straightened the legs of his navy slacks, then checked his tie for stains.
  
  XXX
  
       An hour later, Melia returned as she had said she would.  She had changed into a
  conservatively cut navy blue pant suit.  To Mulder's surprise, she was still wearing her tennis
  shoes.
       "Have you heard from Scully?"  Barker headed toward her desk and slammed her
  briefcase into the seat.
       "She's on her way."  Mulder didn't bother to look up from his reading material.  He had
  read the file over three times.
       Melia took off her jacket and slung it over the back of her chair as she had done earlier
  that morning.
       "Mulder?"  Melia pulled a small stack of folded papers from the front pocket of her
  briefcase.  "Have you ever heard of the organization called the Tremere?"
       "No, why?"  Mulder looked in her direction.  "Am I missing out on something?"
       Barker handed him the stack, and he took it.  "They're an exclusive clan that believes
  that they have a dark gift, or what they faithful call 'the art of blood'."
       "You mean vampires?"  She managed to peak Mulder's interest.
       "Oh, much more than that."  Melia crossed her arms and leaned against her desk. 
  "They also believe that this 'art' gives them the ability to control the minds of others, ESP, and
  even Thaumaturgy."
       "Thaumaturgy?"  Mulder continued to leaf through the information she had given him. 
  "Expand my vocabulary, Barker.  I don't know what this word means."
       "Thaumaturgy is a form of sorcery believed to be powered by vampiric blood.  Though
  nowadays it seems that it is just a bit of mystic lore."
       "Psychic vampires that can turn me into a toad."  Mulder quipped.  "Now there's a
  frightening thought."
       "Apparently they are so exclusive that they run their clan through underground sources,
  checking the backgrounds of each prospective member."  She added.  "They even rejected an
  application from a relative of Bram Stoker."
       "If they're so exclusive, then how did you get your hands on this?"  Mulder raised the
  papers toward her.
       "Believe it or not Mulder, I do have friends."  She reached for the stack.
       As she leaned toward him to retrieve what she saw as pertinent information to their
  case, he caught a glimpse of a necklace that she wore around her neck.  He almost immediately
  identified the pewter charm as a compass rose, but could not place it's origin.  He wondered why
  she wore it.
       "So what do the Tremere have to do with our case?"  Mulder pinned.  "There's no
  indication that this isn't just some random psycho venting his frustration in a way that he or she
  feels is unique.  It's a cry for help, they're doing it for attention."
       She unfolded her arms, and headed back to the case folder that sat in her chair.  She
  reached inside and pulled out the photos that she had been studying so closely earlier that
  morning.  She dropped the photo from their current case onto the file in his lap.  He picked it up
  and studied it as best he could in the dim light.
       "This is a picture of the tattoo found on the body of Matthew Corland, the most recent
  victim in Texas."  She explained.  "It's the same tattoo that has been found on three other bodies
  in New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles."
       Mulder looked up at Barker, showing his interest in what she was leading up to.
       "The same tattoo--"  She dropped the other photo in his lap.  "--that each member of the
  Tremere has put onto their left shoulder blade when they have been admitted into the clan."
       "So this is what you do when you can't sleep, huh?"  Mulder compared the two photos,
  keenly interested.
       "Beats playing golf."  She smiled.
       At that moment, their office door opened to admit Agent Scully entry to the gloomy
  scene.
       "Morning, Scully."  He greeted her.
       "Morning."  Scully hung her coat next to Mulder's.  "What strange and unusual theories
  do you have for me this morning?"
       "How about the tale of South Fork, Texas?"  He offered.
       "You mean the corpse that's missing half of his neck?"  Scully retrieved her file from her
  briefcase.
       "That's the one."  Barker chimed.
       "Does this mean I should pack my bags?"  Scully looked back and forth between her
  partners' faces.
       "After this trip, Scully, you'll have enough frequent flyer miles for that Summer trip to
  Alaska."  Mulder closed his file and headed toward the coat rack.  "See you all at the airport."
       Scully threw Barker a look as their partner all but flew out of the door.
       "So tell me,"  Scully stuffed her case file back into her satchel,  "what did I miss?"
  
  XXX
  
       After filling Scully in on the details, Melia headed back to her apartment to pack for the
  trip.  It didn't take long, so she decided to grab something to eat while she was able to.
       As she entered the kitchen, the phone rang.  She headed to the counter and picked up
  the receiver.  "Hello?"
       "Melia."  A man's voice sounded on the other line.  "I heard that you and your partners
  were leaving and I wanted to wish you a safe trip."
       "Thanks, Dad."  She recognized her father's voice right away.  They once had a joke
  about how unforgettable Walter Skinner's voice really was.  "I appreciate that."
       "Have you been sleeping?"  He took his fatherly tone with her.
       "I'm fine, Dad."  She lied.  "I really need to get going, I have a plane to catch."
       "Well, let me know when you get back, Sharon and I want to have you over for dinner."  
       "I will Dad, as soon as I get back."  She promised.
       "Take care."
       "I will, Dad."  She repeated.
       "All right, Bye."
       She didn't bother to say goodbye because she knew his phone habits all too well.  As
  soon as he said goodbye, that phone was on the base.
       She hung up the phone and checked her watch.  Then for some unknown reason, she
  checked the wall clock as well.
       "Oh my..."  She checked her watch again.  She knew that she should have replaced that
  stupid watch battery before going back to work.  It was later than she had realized.  
       She decided to skip the snack and grabbed her bag, heading out the door in a frenzy.
  
  XXX
  
       "Where's Barker?"  Scully turned to Mulder.  
       He set down he cellular phone and looked at his partner.  "I don't know, she's not
  answering her phone.  I left a message on her machine, though."
       "We've got to get her a cellular."  Scully told him.  "Or at least a beeper."
       "Ladies and gentlemen, flight number 213 is preparing to take off, please fasten you
  seat belts and prepare for ascension."  The stewardess announced.
  
       Melia knew she was late.  After waiting in line for twenty minutes, she finally reached the
  ticket counter.  "I have a reservation under Barker."
       "Ma'am, that flight took off a half an hour ago."  The clerk informed her.  
       "I know, I need a ticket on the next flight."  She managed to remain calm.
       "All I have left are first class, is that all right?"  
       "Yeah that's fine."  She fished the government issued credit card from her satchel.
       After a few moments, the clerk handed her a ticket.  "Gate 33, ma'am.  I believe they are
  getting ready to board now."
       "Thank you so much."  Melia took her credit card back and stuffed it into her pocket.  
  
  XXX
  
       She arrived at the South Fork Police Station with little else going wrong.  For some
  reason, the events of the day were starting to get to her.
       As she flung open the front door, she rubbed her eyes.  The first thing she saw as she
  entered the small station was Mulder.  He was sitting on a desk watching the screen of a
  portable pocket television flicker in his face.
       She walked toward him and he looked up, sensing her approach.  "Well, if it isn't the
  pokey little puppy."  
       "My watch stopped."  She offered an excuse.  "What are you watching?"
       "The Knicks."  
       "Why?"  She kept her composure while still being able to convey her distaste.
       "Because they're good at what they do." 
       "Sure, in some countries."  Melia pulled out the chair in the desk and dropped into it. 
  "What have we got so far?"
       "We haven't really been here that long.  Scully is just about to wrap up her turn with the
  body and then we're going to head over to the murder site."  Mulder set the television on the
  desk.  
       "What about the police, do they have any suspects or leads?"  Melia closed her eyes,
  hoping that she could get a bit of rest while listening to her partner.
       "Actually, they have a couple of suspects, but the analysis of the evidence isn't back
  from the labs yet."  He looked toward a door on his right.  Scully had entered that door quite
  some time ago and he was eager for her to come back out of it.  "Without the lab results, they
  don't have enough substantial evidence to make an arrest."
       "How long has she been in there?"  She opened her eyes and rubbed them again.  She
  was getting tired.
       "A little under an hour."  Mulder picked up the television and turned the volume up a bit. 
  "She might take longer."
       "You know, I've heard it said that dead bodies tell the tale of what happened to a person
  in their lifetime."  Melia tried to make conversation.  "It's fascinating what a human body can
  convey without any words whatsoever."
       "Yeah, well let's hope this guy's body tells short stories instead of reciting novels." 
  Mulder focused on the game again.
       Barker shifted her head back and closed her eyes.
       About an hour later, Scully emerged from the autopsy bay.  Mulder was munching on
  sunflower seeds and Barker had fallen asleep.  
       Mulder looked up as he heard the sounds of Scully peeling off her plastic gloves.  "Did
  you find anything?"
       His partner took off her autopsy goggles and winced.  "There was really nothing to find,
  Mulder."
       Agent Barker suddenly started from her dream state, looking as if she were about to
  scream in fright.  Scully and Mulder stared at their partner.
       "Barker, are you all right?"  Mulder asked, reaching for more sunflower seeds.
       She turned to him, her eyes glazed.  Then, just as fast as she had wakened, her eyes
  returned to normal, and she turned to Scully.
       "Did you find anything, Scully?"  She asked.
       "Nothing other than perpetuating the preliminary findings--"  Scully took off the lab coat
  she had borrowed and hung it on the coat rack by the door.  "Barker, are you sure that you're all
  right?"
       "What do you mean am I all right?"  She tossed Scully a puzzled expression.
       "Well, when you woke up just a moment ago..."  Scully trailed off, reacting to the lost
  looks emanating from her partner.
       "Yeah, I'm fine."  She tried to put her at ease.  "Tell me everything I never wanted to
  know about a dead body."
       "Well, there were definitely teeth marks in the skin, but the way that the flesh ripped, no
  type of dental identification procedure can be performed."  Scully informed them.  "Other than
  that he was missing over four pints of blood, none of which was found at the crime scene,
  there's nothing else to tell."
       "I'll let you know if I find someone walking down the street with a bucket of blood." 
  Barker stood, and began to head toward the doors of the station.
       "Where are you going?"  Mulder asked her.
       "I want to see if we can get any info. from the crime scene."  She stopped in her tracks
  and turned back to them.  "Anyone care to join me?"
       Mulder and Scully followed her out to the parking lot without saying anything.  They got
  into their rental car while Melia took her own.  She felt that it was best to let them keep their car
  time.  It was always a precious amount of time for partners to discuss things, and she didn't want
  to intrude on that.  Perhaps some time down the road they would trust her enough to include her,
  but for now it was just a safer way to travel.
       Melia arrived first, flashing her badge at the police officer on duty, then entering the
  crime scene.
       Scully hadn't been lying when she said there was hardly any blood at the crime scene. 
  She found but a few drops on the white carpet beneath her feet.  
       As she looked around the office for anything that might be out of place, she saw Scully
  walking through the door.
       "Where's Mulder?"  Melia asked, surprised to see him away from her side.
       "He's searching for a motel for us."  Scully told her.  "It's been a long day and we've
  done just about everything that we can."
       "What do you think happened to the blood?"  She watched her partner pace across the
  floor, finally settling at the victim's desk.
       "I don't have enough information to make an assumption about it."  Scully opened a
  drawer and began filing through it.  
       "So what does Agent Mulder think?"  She stood and headed for a coffee table at the far
  end of the room.
       "He thinks that we may be dealing with the Undead."
       "Vampires, Nosferatu, and the like, yes?"  Melia sifted through some papers and sighed. 
  "What about you, what do you think?"
       "I think someone really sick is out there tonight with more blood than he needs."
       Barker continued to shuffle through the papers, but found nothing.
       Scully opened a few more drawers, but didn't seem to find anything.  "This case is
  turning into a mass of dead ends."
       "If we could get an address on the Tremere, that might be a start."  Melia offered.  "Are
  there any writing pads on the desk?"
       "Only one."  She held it up for her partner to see.
       "Do you think he wrote a phone number, maybe an address on it?"  
       Scully felt the paper with her finger tips and then examined the surface with her eyes. 
  "Nothing."
       "I think we're plum out of luck, then."
       A few moments later, her cellular phone rang.  She reached into her coat pocket and
  pulled it to her ear.  "Scully."
       "Hi, it's me."  Mulder announced.  "I just wanted to let you know that we're staying at the
  Tygre's Inn."
       "Great.  We should be there to meet you shortly."  She told him.
       "You didn't find anything?"  Mulder asked, hoping that her answer would be anything but
  no.
       "No, Mulder."  She glanced up at Barker.  "We haven't found a thing.  We've reached a
  dead end."
       "I was afraid that might happen."  Mulder took in a deep breath, then let it out.  
       "Why, do you have an idea about what might be going on in this case?"  Scully quizzed.
       "I'll know more when we meet for dinner."  He told her.  "I'll see you soon."
       "We're on our way."  Scully removed the phone from her ear and turned it off before
  returning it to her pocket.
       "You ready to head out?"  Barker asked, heading for the door.
       "Yeah."  Scully followed her.  "We're not going to find anything here."
  
  XXX
  
       Melia sat in a small outdoor chair, staring into the colors of the sunset.  She was pleased
  that a deck had been available for her to use.  She felt like she needed some time alone, like
  she needed to feel the elements on her skin again.  It was almost as if she were attempting to
  feel a bit more alive.
       She remembered lying to Scully at the police station.  She had having that dream for
  some time now.  It was always the same; a death that she couldn't prevent, no matter how hard
  she tried.  The more she attempted to drive her thoughts about the dream away, the more the
  images consumed her.  Eventually she gave into them again...
       She was standing in the blue fog, wondering why she was there.  The haze of her mind
  matched the haze surrounding her in the dank alleyway.  The walls seemed to be dripping with
  some unknown substance and was slimy to the touch.  There was a single light in the darkness,
  but it wasn't powerful enough to cut through the thick cloud of atmosphere she seemed to be
  plagued by.
       Melia did not call out, but instead chose to search her environment.  With each step she
  took the fog began to dissipate and her vision focused on the source of the light.  The small
  lamp was hanging from a hook that had been drilled into the stone wall.  As she examined it, she
  realized that it shined so dimly because it was running low on fuel.  
       From the distance, she heard the faint sound of footsteps echoing off of the walls.  It hit
  her ears in a strange fashion, almost making the sound too painful to hear.  She turned toward
  the footsteps, only to find that a man blocked her path.  She looked up at his face, and as the
  shadows ran away from his face, she realized who he was.
       Special Agent Kevin Farrence had been her first partner on field work in the Violent
  Crimes Unit.  They worked together famously and had eventually become romantically involved. 
  Unfortunately, it had dire consequences for them.  She had been transferred to Quantico, while
  he was introduced to a new partner.  He died mysteriously while working a case less than a
  month after they had been separated.  She never forgave herself for not being able to be there
  when he had needed her most.
       She reached out to touch him again, to feel his warmth.  Instead her fingers met cold,
  clammy flesh.  He seemed much like a zombie in those old horror movies than a living being. 
  He was like ice, unresponsive and frozen down to the bottom of his heart.  She flinched
  backward and almost lost her balance.  The cold was still there, even though she had stepped
  away from him.  It had chilled her to the bones, and she rubbed her arms vigorously in an
  attempt to force the gooseflesh away.
       "Kevin?"  She called to him, hoping that he would be able to explain his condition.
       He did not answer.  Only the light sound of windchimes filled the air.
       A feeling of fear suddenly gripped her as he began to move toward her.  The material of
  his trench coat folded over his hands as he moved through the mystic fog.  It was the folding that
  had initially caught her attention, but in the end, she found herself staring at his federally-issued
  handgun.  The little light that managed to show itself reflected off of the silver surface of the
  weapon like a lighthouse beacon.
       She moved to catch up with him, watching as he stared at some unknown point through
  the darkness.  She had barely taken three steps when the alley was flooded with an intense
  light.  She struggled to shield her eyes from the blinding rays but found that her efforts were
  futile.  She would just have to wait until her eyes adjusted.
       Melia continued toward the light, following Kevin as best as she could.  
       A movement of shadows in the corner of her eye finally brought on the realization of
  what was happening.  She was reliving her partner's murder.  It had haunted her like the plague
  for a year now.  This time, she would be there for him.
       "Kevin, don't go in there!"  She shouted.  
       They had suddenly entered an large reception room and he was determined to follow
  something that had apparently made its escape through a secret door.  He was pushing back
  the material that covered the door, and motioned for her to open it.  
       He looked her in the eyes and waved her toward him with his gun.  She walked across
  the blood red carpet, taking notice of the fine art that surrounded her.  
       Barker reached the door and took her stance to cover his entrance.  She looked at him,
  wanting to know that he was prepared.  He smiled in response; the smile that had made her fall
  in love with him.  It embodied his charm and personality.  She half-smiled back.
       He nodded and kicked in the door.
       Melia turned around.  The sound of chimes had seemed faint before, but now they grew
  louder.  She realized that she was in a different place now.  The room was practically bare, save
  for the lone chair in the middle of the room and the whisps of material that hung from the ceiling. 
  A blue light streamed through the white material and added an icy feeling to the situation, though
  the room was warm.
       She searched for Kevin and found him easily.
       "Damn it, you were supposed to wait for me."  She found herself chiding him.
       "Calm down, Melia."  He snapped back.  "It's not like I'm gonna die because of it."
       He laughed at his remark, but she knew better.  She knew that the shadow moving
  toward them was death itself, and she knew it was coming for him.
       She shadow grew larger and was often distorted by the material in front of it.  Melia
  grasped her gun tightly and began to sweep the area.
       "What the hell are you doing?"  Kevin asked.  "Why are you suddenly so paranoid?"
        Melia's mind wasn't initially able to comprehend his comments.  She was too busy
  watching the shadow transform.  The woman that had materialized from the darkness walked
  toward them.  
       "I'm warning you, lady, I'm armed!"  She yelled.
       The woman paid no heed and extended her arm toward them.  The blue light reflected
  off of the surfaces of the unknown woman's gun.
       Melia glanced at Kevin; his face was full of bewilderment.  She turned her attentions
  back to the woman ahead of them and the shock finally hit her.  This was his death, this was his
  murder.  She had to stop it, she had to stop the pain before it happened all over again.
       "NO!"  Barker's angst-ridden scream echoed through the room.
       The shot rang out in her ears, a haunting echo that clutched at her heart.  She had
  closed her eyes through the ordeal, and opened them when silence came again.
       It was a fact that she had been in front of Kevin when the shot was fired.  She knew that
  the shot should have wounded her, that she should be dead.  Melia quickly glanced down at
  herself to find that she hadn't even gotten a scratch.
       Fear gripped her instantly as she turned around.
       She was in a new room again.  She recognized it well.  It was the chapel where Kevin's
  funeral services had taken place.  Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she looked down.
       Kevin was in his coffin.  Like anyone else, he seemed to be at peace as he laid there. 
  She brought her hand to his face to touch him one last time.
       The intense light from the alleyway now invaded the chapel and engulfed her like a
  flame.  It burned away the scene and returned her to the secret room.  The blue light seemed to
  rob the material of what life the strips may have had.  The room smelled of death and Melia
  heard the crackling of the chimes again.
       She turned to find the chimes, but instead was met by a stone statue.  She could tell that
  it was the woman that had shot Kevin.  She fired her gun and shot off the head.
       In the distance, the chimes turned to laughter.  It was the most sinister laughter that
  Melia had ever heard in her entire life...
  
       Barker jumped from her chair and stood near the edge of the deck.  She stared at the
  empty seat, not wanting to return to that scene.
       She sensed that she was getting a headache immediately and closed her eyes.  Tears
  trickled down her face in frustration.  Why couldn't she just forget what had happened?
       "Barker?"
       Melia snapped her head up to see Scully leaning against the metal door frame that led
  into their room.  She quickly attempted to wipe her tears away from view, and gave her partner a
  half smile.  "Yeah, have you found something new?"
       "No."  Scully explained herself.  "I just saw you here and I thought that I would check to
  see how you were doing...are you alright?"
       Barker nodded her head yes.  "Sometimes memories just catch up at the wrong times."
       "Would you like to talk about it?"  Scully attempted to move toward her partner, but Melia
  held up her hand in protest.
       "Um, no, not really."  She knew that her partner meant well, but she didn't feel like being
  mothered at the moment.  "Maybe another time, but not now."
       Scully was encouraged by the response.  "Well, if you need anything, I'll be in the other
  room with Mulder."
       "Thanks."  She leaned against the wooden bench.
  
  XXX
  
       Scully knocked on the door that separated the two rooms they had rented for the night. 
  "Mulder?"
       "Yeah, Scully."  He called.  "Come on in."
       She entered the room to see her partner of three years sitting on his bed.  He was
  surrounded by papers that obviously came from the file in his lap, and the ashtray was
  overflowing with empty sunflower seed shells.
       "Putting in a little overtime, Mulder?"  Scully pulled a chair from the corner of the room
  and sat down next to the bed.
       "Well, there's just something that's been bothering me about this case..."  He popped a
  sunflower seed into his mouth.
       "And what's that?"  She asked.
       "Barker."  Mulder admitted.
       "Look, Mulder.  I know you don't like her but--"  Scully began.
       "But what?  She's been acting strangely; she misses the flight, skips out on dinner, she
  wouldn't even ride in the same car with us today."  He explained.  "How am I supposed to trust
  that?"
       "First off, she missed her flight because her watched stopped, secondly she didn't come
  to dinner because she wasn't hungry--and you know Mulder, I don't blame her.  When I first
  started working with you I wasn't very hungry either."  She placed her feet on the bed.  "Just give
  her a little more time, okay?  I just don't believe that she can be as bad as you think she is."
       "Why do you trust her, Scully?"  Mulder leaned toward her.  "What makes you think that
  she's not here to spy on us like *you* were supposed to do?  What makes you think that she's
  not here to separate us like Krycek was?"
       "That's just it, I don't trust her."  She shifted uneasily in her chair.  "But I don't think that
  she's this terrible monster of a person, either.  Mulder, when we came back from dinner, I saw
  her on the porch.  She was shaking and crying and it was really strange.  It made me realize that
  she's not just another agent; she's also human."
       He thought about Scully's words for a moment.
       "I know that she's not telling us everything there is to know about her, but I also have to
  think that maybe she's been thrown into a situation that she's not familiar with.  It's not such an
  extreme possibility that she may not trust us." 
       He had never really thought that someone wouldn't trust him.  Especially not someone
  who wrote her college dissertation on the possibilities of genetic mutations in humans as an
  explanation for extraterrestrial life forms.
       "You really think that she doesn't trust us?"  Mulder settled back onto the pillows he had
  propped against the headboard.  "Scully, when you first came to the X-Files, did you trust me?"
       She shifted under his gaze, afraid of how he might react to her answer.  He was her best
  friend, her partner, and she didn't want to upset him.  But she knew in the back of her mind that
  she had to tell him the truth.  There were no lies between them.
       "No, I didn't."  She brought her hand to her aching head.  "Mulder, I can't speak for her,
  but I know that it's hypocritical of us to think that she should automatically trust us even if we
  don't trust her."
       Mulder looked down at the edge of the bed and watched her shift her feet.  To hear that
  she hadn't trusted him at one point was painful, but he understood it.  He hadn't trusted her
  either.
       The next thing he knew, Scully was taking off her shoes and he was staring at her
  shapely legs.  They seemed so perfect in the light of the room, like they belonged to an ancient
  Roman goddess or in a work of art.
       "I'm sorry, Scully.  What?"  He realized that she had been trying to talk to him.
       "I think it's time for you to get some sleep, Mulder."
       "I just need five more minutes to finish Barker's dissertation, okay mom?"
       Scully feigned a light laugh.  "You know she has some interesting theories in there.  But
  with my experience as a doctor, I know that the hybridization of human genes would not allow for
  such elaborate beings to be formed in so little time."
       Mulder raised his eyebrows.  "Have you ever worked on genetic mutation experiments?"
       "No, but I've read about them throughly."
       "Have you ever thought that there are reports out there that no one dares to publish
  about this stuff?"  Mulder asked.
       "I'm not saying that it couldn't happen, Mulder.  I'm saying that it's highly unlikely."
       "I--I'm sorry I didn't mean to put you on the defensive."
       "Mulder, you don't have to apologize."  She swept a lock of hair behind her ear.  "It's the
  way we talk.  It's just that sometimes I think we both forget that."
       Her partner nodded and ate some more sunflower seeds.
       "So what do you think of this case, Mulder?"  She asked.  "You avoided the topic at
  dinner."
       "Did you ever get around to reviewing that case that I was assigned to while you were
  missing?"
       "You mean the LA vampires?"
       "Yeah that's the one."  He acknowledged.  "I'm highly inclined to think that their group
  just reformed and moved on, killing more people for blood as they saw fit."
       "Mulder, that doesn't fit their description.  There have been no needles found at the
  scenes.  Why would the group suddenly change their MO as well?  The MO for this killer is one
  death in several cities, theirs was several deaths in *one*."
       "Scully, I'm sure that they had to adapt to survive."  He crunched on another seed. 
  "Who's to say that it's not just several members in different cities?"
       "Do you have any evidence to support your theory?  I remember reading in your report
  that you believed all of the members had died in the fire."
       "No, not yet, but I'm fairly sure that once we get those lab reports and the police arrest
  their suspect that I'll get collaboration for my story.  Besides I'm sure that their group had other
  members besides the ones in LA."  Mulder shut the file in his lap and sunk deeper into the
  mattress.
       "It's an interesting theory, but I don't know if I would be so sure of it yet."
       "Why, Scully?"  Mulder looked at her.  "Do you have a different explanation?"
       "It's been documented that certain Satanic cults use blood, both animal and human,
  during a ritual performed at the beginning of springtime.  It's called 'The Rite of Possession'."
       "You mean the 'Rite of Passage'?"
       "No, I mean the 'Rite of Possession'.  It's an ancient tradition within a certain sect of
  Satanists.  It's like the rite of passage, in that the ceremony is held for the purification and
  initiation of new members.  It supposedly binds them to the group with what they believe is a
  psychic link."
       "So what does that have to do with this case?"
       "Well, if you'd let me finish..."
       Mulder waved her on.
       "I read an account of the rite in college.  A man named Brahms was caught stealing a
  blood of an animal.  When he was in prison he was so sure that the other members were going
  to get him out that he told the officers on duty everything about the rite and the cult itself."
       "Did his friends ever show?"
       "No, Brahms was found dead in his cell the next morning...his body was missing over
  three pints of blood."  She told him.  "His cellmate was brought up on charges and later
  convicted of the murder.  But he still claims that Brahms had been calling out the names of the
  other members of his sect in his sleep, telling them not to take his blood."
       "So you think this cult is out to get blood for their rite?"
       Scully nodded yes.
       "It's an interesting theory.  I guess we'll see who wins the jackpot tomorrow."
       "What about the Tremere tattoos?"  She asked.  "Even *I* don't have an explanation for
  that."
       "Maybe they thought a vampire's blood was better than a human's."  Mulder shrugged
  his shoulders.  "I've got a feeling this case will all be wrapped up in the morning."
       "I sure hope so."  Scully leaned into the chair and took a deep breath.  "After I got home
  from our last case I found out that my dog had eaten my favorite pair of shoes and my ice cream
  had spoiled."
       "Poor baby."  Mulder snickered and tossed another sunflower seed in his mouth.
       Scully threw him a look and headed for the door.
       "You forgot your shoes."  Mulder told her.
       "Thanks."  She nabbed them, then headed back to her room.  
       Mulder looked up to see her pause and turn to him one more time.  "Mulder, give Barker
  a second chance, will you?  I have a feeling..."
       "Of what?"
       "I don't know, just a feeling..."  Scully exited her partner's room.
  
  XXX
  
       Melia had been awake for about an hour now; sleep was not coming easily.  She looked
  at the cover of the book she was reading.  The words had lost all their meaning about a half an
  hour ago, but she had found herself turning the pages mindlessly anyhow.  A simple red design
  adorned the paper product, along with the title of "Jitterbug Perfume" and the name of "Tom
  Robbins".  She had been interested in the plot when she had read it the first time and now she
  just found that she had grown bored with it.  She silently chided herself for not grabbing her new
  book before heading to the airport.
       She looked over at Scully and envied her partner for being able to sleep.  After all that
  she had heard about their cases, she thought that Scully might sleep a bit lighter than she did.  
       She shifted in the chair and realized that she was getting restless.  She needed
  something to do and she needed to think of it fast.
       After mentally creating a list of options in her head, she decided to do a little jogging to
  wear herself out.  Barker quickly changed into leggings and a long-sleeved lycra top, then pulled
  her tacky red Hawaiian shirt on.  She nabbed a pair of socks and her tennis shoes from her
  travel bag and was on her way.
       Melia stepped into the courtyard outside the hotel rooms and sat on a wooden bench
  that wrapped around a large oak tree.  She pulled on her socks and shoes as fast as her fingers
  would let her.  As she was lacing up her left shoe, she heard a door open and close behind her.
       "You can't sleep, either?"  Mulder greeted her.
       She turned to see her partner dressed in a pair of tattered grey sweatpants and a New
  York Knicks t-shirt.  The navy blue garment was missing a rectangle of material at the waistline.
       Melia smiled to herself, almost glad that she had someone to share her run with.  So
  many nights of running the streets in the dark had gotten lonely.  "Good morning, Mulder."
       "Yeah, I'm sure."  He moved to take the seat next to her.  It was obvious that he didn't
  want to be awake, but his body had refused to let him sleep.
       She moved over a bit to give him some room.  
       "You know, Barker--"  He began to tie up his shoe laces.
       "Melia."  She corrected him.
       Mulder just stared at her, not sure how to react.
       "It's my name, Mulder."  She finished tying her shoe and watched as he tied his.  His
  fingers were agile and swift.
       "I know."
       "Look, I know that you have this thing about calling people by their last names, but I'd
  rather that you called me by my first; that is, if you don't mind."
       "Um, fine...Melia."  It didn't quite roll off the tongue, but he figured he might eventually
  get used to it.
       "Yes, Mulder?"
       "What?" 
       "You were going to ask me something?"
       "Oh, yeah.  I meant to ask you earlier--"  He pointed to her neck.  "That pendant.  Where
  is it from?"
       "Oh, this?"  She took it into her hand.  "It's a compass rose from some cathedral in
  Europe...Canterbury, I think.  It was a high school graduation gift."
       "Does it have any special meaning?  I noticed that you wear it all the time."
       "I suppose that I wear it as a reminder to myself.  Life is constantly changing, and my
  path and beliefs are changing with it.  For the most part, I just want something to remind me that
  even when it seems that there are no other options, there is always a way out.  There's always
  another choice."
       "That's a nice thought."  Mulder stood up and began to stretch.  "I wish that I felt the
  same way."
       Melia began to stretch as well.  "You may someday, Mulder."
       He was almost touched at her words.  It was odd, though, that she seemed to genuinely
  care about his well-being even though they had known each other for such a minute amount of
  time.
       "You want to run together?"  She suggested.
       Mulder looked at her.  She couldn't read his face and it made her uncomfortable.
       "I mean, since we're both here?"
       "Sure," he answered, "just so long as you can keep pace with me."
       
       After the five mile run, they both took refuge on the bench outside of their rooms. 
  Mulder's breathing was a bit labored, and Melia snickered at him.
       "Oh, come on."  She hit his arm playfully.  "It wasn't that bad, Mulder."
       He tossed her a dirty look and continued to steady his breathing.
       "You have to give yourself some credit, you really tried to keep up."  She continued to
  rub it in.
       Mulder had never felt so humiliated in his life.  Not only had he failed to keep up pace,
  but he just about collapsed in the parking lot.  
       With his breathing normal again, he turned to her.  "What are you, Wonder Woman?"
       "Yeah, I wish."  Melia began her cool-down stretches.  "I'm no where close to that."
       He sat silent for a moment, almost questioning her answer.
       "No bullet-proof bracelets."  She held up her wrists.
       Mulder was trying not to laugh, but he couldn't hold it in.  He was too tired to fight it.  
       Seeing her partner laugh, Barker joined him.
       Melia's laughter died first.  There was a calm silence between them that she enjoyed.
       "I think it's time to try sleeping."
       "Yeah."  She responded unenthusiastically.  "I'm afraid I have to agree."
       He headed toward his room, but she chose to stay seated.  "Good night, Agent Mulder."
       "You're not going to bed?"  He asked, wanting to find out why.
       "Nah, I thought that I might stay out here and think for awhile."
       "Ah, the avoidance game."  Mulder moved back toward her.  "So what is it?  What's the
  dream about?"
       Melia looked at him in shock.  She hadn't expected him to ask.  She wanted to talk to
  someone about it, but she didn't feel like thinking about it at the moment.  "Agent Mulder--"
       "Just Mulder."  He corrected.
       "Look, Mulder.  Thanks for the concern, but I'm just not ready to talk about it."
       "Barker, I didn't mean to step on your toes."
       "I know."  She pulled her legs up to her chest and watched as he took a seat next to her. 
  "I'm a bit sensitive about it, though."
       He waited in the silence, hoping that eventually she would give in and talk to him.  It
  knew it was strange to think that a few hours ago she had been just another obstacle between
  he and Scully finding the truth.  Now she was a real person.  It frightened him to think how much
  she was like him.
       Melia settled her chin on her knees and sighed.  "You know how there's certain things
  that you just can't forgive yourself for?"
       Mulder knew the feeling all too well.  He had felt the guilt of losing his sister since he
  was a young boy.  It still haunted him in every aspect of his life.  He suddenly realized that she
  must be talking about the death of her ex-partner.
       "I knew that this job was dangerous."  She continued to stare into the distance.  "I just
  thought that I would always be there if something happened.  I thought that I could be there to
  prevent it."
       "You couldn't be everywhere at once."  Mulder told her.  "Your partner's death wasn't
  your fault."
       Melia turned to him, her eyes misting over.  "You don't understand, it was *my* fault.  I
  was the one who let myself fall in love with him.  I made the choice to form a romantic
  relationship with him and because of it I was transferred; we were split apart because *I* made a
  mistake.  If I had never been transferred, I could have been there, Mulder.  Kevin could be alive
  right now.  My mistake caused the death of one of the most important people in my life." 
       "Love takes two, Barker."  Mulder had the impulse to comfort her, but kept his arms to
  himself.
       There was another moment of silence, and there seemed to be an understanding
  between them about it.
       "Mulder," she turned her body to face him, "I hope that one day you and Scully will be
  able to trust me.  I know that getting a new partner must really suck, but I'm just trying to do my
  best.  I'm just trying to do my job."
       "I know, Barker."  He knew that it would take more than just a five mile jog for them to
  bond.  Fortunately, he was starting to feel that he could get to know her and eventually trust her.
  
  XXX
  
       "Rise and shine, ladies!"  Mulder burst through the adjoining door.   "We've got our lab
  reports and we've got our suspect!"
       Scully hopped out of bed and began to pull her clothes out of her overnight bag.  "I'll be
  ready in a minute."
       Mulder watched as she headed into the bathroom then turned to check on his other
  partner.
       Barker looked up at him with wide eyes, clutching her blouse to her chest.  "Mulder!  You
  might try knocking before you burst into someone's room!"
       He smirked.  "Sorry."
       "Turn around."  She ordered.
       He did as he was told as she pulled on her shirt.  She was dressed in jeans and a blue
  blouse.  Mulder wore jeans and a black v-neck sweater over a white undershirt.  Scully emerged
  from the bathroom in an immaculate cream dress suit.
       "Somehow I feel a bit over-dressed."  She commented after looking at her partners.
       "Let's go."  Mulder headed for the door.
       They had all piled into the rental and arrived at the police station in less than ten
  minutes.  They were greeted by a lieutenant named Shelby.  He was a medium-sized man that
  looked good in his uniform.  It accented his blue eyes and made his blond hair stand out.
       "I'm glad you made it so quickly."  He shook Mulder's hand.
       "Has he said anything yet?"  Scully asked.
       "Nah, we just got him into the interview room."  He informed them.  "His lawyer is on the
  way."
       "What about the lab results?"  Mulder asked.
       "Ah, they're still printing up the file."
       "Where?"  Melia asked.
       "In the file room."  He pointed to a door at the far end of the station.
       "Let's see what we can find."  Barker murmured to herself.  "You two have fun with the
  suspect."
       "Will do."  Mulder put in.
       
  XXX
  
       Mulder sat back and sighed.  "I guess we were both wrong."
       After two rigorous hours of interrogating their suspect it seemed that there was no
  energy left in his body to function with.
       "Jet fuel?"  Scully handed her partner a Styrofoam cup.
       He accepted the warmed-over, day old coffee happily and gulped it down.
       Dana watched her partner, entertained only for the moment, then checked her watch. 
  She figured that Barker should have been more than done with her review of the lab reports by
  now.  "She's late."
       "Yeah, we've got to get that girl a cellular."  He crunched his coffee cup between his
  palms and shaped it into a dilapidated sphere.  He shot it toward the wastebasket half-heartedly. 
  "Hey, what do you know?  Two points."
       "Hey there, fellows."  Melia walked through the door as if she had been cued.
       Scully turned toward the door to see her new partner looking like a member of the
  walking dead.  She knew that Barker hadn't slept well the previous night.  Every now and then
  Dana had awakened to hear her partner's crying out in her sleep.  At other points, Barker had
  been reading, and at another she had been preparing to go for a jog.
       Scully decided that she would have to see if there was anything she could do to help her
  partner get a good night's rest.  She needed her partners to be alert and awake, especially on
  the strange cases that she encountered since she joined the X-Files.
       "Speak of the devil."  Mulder put his feet up on the metal interrogation table.
       "And she shall appear."  Melia saluted Fox with her coffee mug.  "What have you got?"
       "I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours."  He quipped.
       "May I see the lab reports?"  Dana took a sip of her coffee.
       "Sure." Barker threw the files onto the table, then sunk into a chair opposite Mulder.
       "So what can you tell me that I don't already know?"  He ran his hands through his hair.
       "According to the analysis, the suspect you interrogated is definitely our guy.  The police
  department pulled hairs, fibers, fingerprints--you name it, they got it."  Melia said.  "Otherwise it's
  just a lot of bloodwork.  There's nothing of real interest except for the fact that there is no trace of
  the victim's blood type on or *in* the suspect.  So far, there's no sign of a murder weapon or the
  missing blood."
       "Wait a minute," Scully looked up from the file, "it says here that there was an abnormal
  abundance of oxygen-carrying cells in the suspect's system."
       "Did he have some type of medical disorder?"  Mulder asked.
       "The cells were literally showing the characteristics of those cells that are sent to interact
  with the brain."  She continued.  "I don't have enough information to suggest that he suffered
  from any specific disorder, but there have been documented cases from all around the world
  that have reported the same phenomena.  It's just a way for the body to make up for a lack of
  oxygen in certain areas.  If I had to label it, I think that I would call it something like an internal
  yawn."
       "It's also a trait commonly found in those who claim to be victims of mind control."  Melia
  put in.
       Scully and Mulder exchanged looks.  His eyes almost seemed to be gloating about the
  fact that he finally had someone to back up his sometimes outlandish theories.  But at the same
  time, he had to question his new partner's enthusiasm for her work.
       Dana rolled her eyes and went back to studying the papers.
       Mulder looked about the room and glimpsed a coffee cup.  He reached out for the vessel
  and pulled it to his lips.  He was barely able to take one gulp before he rejected the liquid.
       "Mulder, that's my coffee!"  Scully yelled.
       'Shit,' he thought, 'why did I think that she had gotten more for me?'
       "What was that all about?"  Barker was slightly amused.  Scully shoved some napkins
  into Mulder's face.
       "Cream."  He answered, wiping his mouth on the back of his shirt cuff.  "How could you
  defile your coffee with cream, Scully?  It's like blasphemy."
       "Forgive me Mulder, for I have sinned against thee."  She shot back.  "You shouldn't
  have been drinking my coffee anyway."
       "I'm sorry, I thought it was mine."  He cleaned up his mess.
       "Are we finished with the caffeine wars or do we need a few more minutes?"  Melia sat
  back in her chair.
       He winced at the comment, then changed the subject.  "Anything else?"
       "Nope."  She took off her jacket.  "So, Mulder...I showed you mine..."
       "Right."  Mulder rubbed his eyes and tossed a photograph toward her.  "Meet Martin
  Udell, white male, aged 35, no previous record--not even a parking ticket.  He's a legitimate
  business man from New Jersey who was scheduled to meet with a new client in New York about
  two weeks ago.  When the client failed to show, he decided to make the best of a trip away from
  his wife.
       "That night he was approached by a woman in a club called 'The Red Letter'.  He went
  on to say that this lady offered him eternal life in exchange for killing the victim."
       "So he did it of his own free will?"  Melia asked.
       "Actually, no."  Scully spoke this time.  "He then claimed that he turned her down and
  actually tried to get away from her because she 'spooked' him.  The next thing he knew, her
  thugs were surrounding him in a back alley.  He said he didn't remember leaving New York, and
  certainly did not know the victim."  Scully paused for a moment.  "But I believe it's just an open
  and shut case of selective amnesia."
       "Was he able to give a description of the woman?"  Melia set her feet on top of the table.
       "He couldn't give a description of the woman or her entourage."  Mulder said.  "But he
  described a tattoo on her shoulder blade down to the last detail..."
       Melia's eyes lit up as she stared at a drawing rendered by a police sketch artist.  She
  recognized the picture right away.  "So the Tremere are involved."
       "My question is..."  Dana played with her hands.  "Why would the Tremere want to kill it's
  own members?  If I'm not mistaken, Barker, that print-out from your friend stated that attention is
  the last thing that they wanted from the public.  Yet by killing off it's own members, that's exactly
  what they are achieving."
       "I wish I had an answer for that, Scully."
       "Maybe a nice trip to New York would do us some good."  Mulder suggested.
       "Perhaps you have a good idea for once, Mulder."  Melia smiled, tipping her coffee mug
  to her lips.
  
  XXX
  
       They had made arrangements to meet in New York as soon as everyone could
  assemble.  Mulder went ahead of the two women, making arrangements for their stay.  Barker
  and Scully stayed in Washington during the lay over.  Melia needed to check for contacts with
  her source while Scully purchased and programmed a cellular phone for her new partner.
       They met back at the airport, Melia not so sure that she wanted to go anymore.  In fact,
  she was feeling quite sick, like a cloud of illness had set upon her and wasn't ready to leave.
       Scully noticed the green pallor of Barker's face right away, but made no mention of it
  until the plane took off.  "Barker, are you okay?"
       The dark-haired woman sat slumped in her chair; she made no move to answer.  She
  had been to New York when she was just a rookie in the FBI.  To have to go back to the city
  made her sick with thought.  She knew that her partner could never miss how she felt at the
  moment, but she decided to try to deny it as long as she possibly could.
       "Barker?"
       "You remember how you said if I ever needed to talk?..."  She turned to Dana, her eyes
  seemingly hollow.
       "You don't look good, Melia."  Scully placed her hand on Barker's forehead, checking for
  a fever.
       "I had a daydream, Scully."  She closed her eyes.  "You know those dreams where you
  feel like everything is happening right then and there?"
       Scully took her partner's pulse.  "What kind of daydream?  Good; bad?"
       "Like the one I had at the hotel before I went running."  She stared absently ahead of
  her.  "Like the one I was having at the police station...Scully I've been having these dreams
  since his death and I can't make them go away; I've tried, I've tried so hard..."
       "When we get to New York I can give you something to make you sleep.  You look like
  you could use a good rest."
       "Have you ever been afraid that if Mulder died,"  She asked suddenly, "you wouldn't
  want to live?"
       Scully arched her eyebrow, not sure if she should answer the question.  She had
  thought that Mulder could have died any number of times, but she had always wanted to stay
  alive, to seek revenge.  "Why?"
       "Because when my partner died of unknown causes in New York and all the leads
  vanished without a trace...that's exactly how I felt...how I still feel at three in the morning when I
  can't sleep because this dream plagues me."
       "What is it?  What happens in your dreams?"  Scully felt for her partner, she was having
  to face something that she wanted to avoid and she knew that Melia would be fighting herself
  constantly during this trip.
       Barker explained the dream in full detail to her partner, not wanting to carry the burden
  of it on her shoulders anymore.  After she finished, Scully stared at her in astonishment.
       "Is the case still open?"  She asked.
       "As far as I know, they shut it down three months after the incident."  Melia leaned back
  into the chair again, her throat was beginning to ache.
       Dana watched her partner, trying to figure out how she was ever going to trust anyone
  besides Mulder.  She knew how she felt at the moment, that she did trust this woman with her
  life, but there was always that little thought in the back of her head telling her not to.  Scully
  decided to listen to that thought for the moment.
       Melia suddenly stood up and headed for the bathroom.  "Excuse me."
       Scully moved for her partner, then settled back into her seat.  She unpacked her laptop
  from the overhead compartment and began typing up an addendum to the case.
       Melia made her way down the small aisle, hoping that no one was in the bathroom. 
  When she reached the compartment, she thought that it must be her lucky day, it was empty. 
  She flopped to the floor, quickly turning the lock.  
       There was no holding back now, she retched.  It was sour and foul and she wanted it to
  end.  When the burning subsided, her stomach settled a bit and she leaned back on the sink. 
  She dug the cellular phone that Scully had bought her out of her jacket and called her father.
       "Hello?"  He picked up.
       "Hi, Daddy, it's me."  She managed.
       "Melia, are you all right?  You sound terrible!"
       "I know, it's because I just threw up."
       "I thought you said you were fine--"
       "I was." She interrupted.  "It's going back to New York, it's making me sick."
       There was silence.
       "Dad?"  She asked.
       "Yeah, I'm still here."
       "I just wanted to tell you what's going on with the case, I didn't have a chance to do it
  while we were on layover.  The department picked up a man--name of Martin Udell, who claims
  that a woman put him up to the killing, he doesn't remember a thing and he has no other
  connection to the victim besides the murder.  Scully's thinking selective amnesia, and I'm
  thinking something else."
       "Such as?"
       "Mind control."
       "You've been spending too much time with Mulder."
       "No, I'm serious, Dad."  She began to feel a bit better.  "You had a little bout with
  someone who claimed mind control--did you read the report I left with your secretary?"
       "Yeah all this vampire stuff--Melia this is insane, your superiors are going to want to take
  you out of the X-Files faster than they put you in."
       "I know what I'm doing."  She snapped.  "I'm sorry--I just--I'm not saying that these
  people are actually vampires, it's just an organization that happens to hold certain beliefs and it's
  part of my job to determine what is the truth and what is fiction."
       "I'm glad that you understand that, your partner never seemed to get that rule."
       "You mean Mulder?"
       "Who else?"
       "Don't you think that you're being a little to hard on him, Dad?"
       "Don't get mixed up with him, Melia, I'm warning you."
       "He's my partner for god's sake!  I can't believe that you're still doing this, after
  everything that happened..."
       "I'm sorry, I'm your father; I get to worry about these things."
       "Okay, okay...listen I have to go type up another report and I'll fax it over when we get to
  the hotel all right?"
       "Make sure that you eat well tonight, Melia, you can't afford to get sick while you're in the
  field.  But remember, if it gets to be too much, you can back away."
       "I know."
       "But you won't want to."
       "You know me too well, Dad."
       "I sure hope so, Turtle."
       Melia let out a small laugh.  He had given her the nickname during her childhood.
       "What?"  Skinner asked.
       "You haven't called me that in a long time."
       Skinner composed himself, realizing this was a business call.  "Well, then.  I expect that
  report to be in my office tomorrow morning, okay?  If it's not there I'm going to call and wake you
  up."
       "You got it."  She smiled.
       "Take care of yourself."
       "I'll try."
       She didn't bother to say goodbye, she just hung up.
       "Barker?"  Scully's voice sounded from the other side of the door.  "Are you all right in
  there?"
       "Yeah, I'll be right out."  She called.
       Barker finished up in the bathroom and headed back to her seat.  She had just settled
  into the chair when the 'fasten seatbelt' sign lit up.
       "Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching New York please fasten your seat belts and
  prepare for landing."  The stewardess announced over the intercom. 
       Scully sat back into her seat and thought about what Barker had told her.  She was
  relieved that her partner had told her something that personal, it was almost a sign that she
  could trust her.  Just seeing the pain and energy fluxes that this dream caused her partner made
  her see that she was a human just as everyone else.  Dana wanted to trust Melia, but she knew 
  that because of her experiences with the X-Files, it was going to take something a lot bigger
  then a personal dream to make that a reality.
       The plane landed with hardly any trouble, but by the time they arrived, it was getting late.
       Mulder met them at the gate and escorted the team to a rental car.  They drove back to
  the hotel in a calm silence.  
       There they ate a quiet dinner together, the only conversation was about the latest
  statistics in hockey or the weather.  Scully excused herself early so that she could find a late
  night pharmacy for Melia's sleeping pills.
       Barker and Mulder headed out to the dining patio for coffee.  The night was cool, but it
  felt wonderful.  
       She took out her notebook computer and began to type up the report.  Mulder just sat
  back and looked at the stars.
       "Have you ever just looked up at the night sky and felt like someone was watching you?" 
  He asked her.
       "I've thought a lot of things about the stars."  She answered, still typing away.  "I think
  that the human race is quite egocentric to believe that any intelligent extra-terrestrial life would
  be interested in us.  I mean, we're not exactly the most interesting species in the universe."
       "You  sound like you're talking from experience."
       "Knowledge isn't experience, Mulder."
       "Edgy, aren't we?"
       "Speak for yourself."  She finally looked up at the stars.  
       Mulder turned to look at why she had stopped typing.  "I don't know why you're bothering
  with that report, Skinner gave up on post reports long ago."
       "I might as well do it, we can't meet with my contact until tomorrow evening anyway." 
  She set her hands in her lap, and continued looking at the night sky.  "Look, Ursa major."
       Mulder attempted to find the constellation, but wasn't having any luck.  "Where?"
       "There."  She pointed.
       He found it easily, and was in awe for a moment.  It was beautiful to be able to see it
  through the smog.  "We're lucky that the stars are so bright."
       "Yeah."  She returned to typing.
       "So what's going on tomorrow?"  Mulder asked.  "I mean with your contact?"
       "We're supposed to meet him after sunset at The Red Letter."  She told him.  "After that
  or before that, there's really nothing more that I can think of besides buying silver bullets."
       Mulder was taken aback by that statement.  "Silver bullets?  Aren't those for
  werewolves?"
       "If these people are really vampires and we get caught in the middle, they can be killed
  by two silver bullets; one to the head and one to the heart. Or at least, it'll slow them down
  enough for us to get out.  I sure don't want to take a chance with them if I don't have to."
       "Where are we going to find silver bullets?"  Mulder flicked his tie.
       "Don't worry, I know a place."  She finished up the report, then clicked on the save
  button.
       "I don't doubt it."  Mulder muttered under his breath.
       "What?"  
       "Nothing."
       Melia drank her coffee and pondered what Mulder could have said that he wouldn't want
  to repeat.  "You up for a run tonight?"
       "In this weather?"  Mulder loosened his tie.  "Definitely."
       Barker ejected the disk with the saved report and handed it to him.  "Do you think you
  could handle faxing this over to Skinner before eight tomorrow morning?"
       "Sure."  He took the disk and placed it in his jacket pocket.
       "I'm going to change."  She stood up.  "Will you meet me in the lobby in about fifteen
  minutes?"
       "Yeah, I'll be there."  
  
       Melia was in the lobby in fifteen minutes, just as she had said she would be.  But Mulder
  was late.  She checked her watch again, then turned toward the doors, pondering whether or not
  she wanted to go out alone.  She had her gun, so it really wouldn't matter.
       She looked back up and spotted Scully coming back from her trip to the pharmacy.  
       "Where are you off to?"  Dana greeted her, shoving a white paper sack toward her.
       "I was going to take a run with Mulder, but he doesn't seem to be showing, would like to
  come?"  Melia didn't reach for the bag.
       "No, running is Mulder's thing.  I personally stick to exercise in the home.  I don't like to
  make a fool of myself in public.  I'll put these pills by your bed in case you can't sleep when you
  come in."
       "Thanks, Scully."  She smiled.
       Mulder came up behind them and gave a sheepish grin.
       "Have you been flirting with the hotel receptionist again?"  Scully questioned.
       "And this time,"  he held up a piece of paper, "she gave me her phone number."
       "Come on loverboy, we're going running now."  Melia headed out the door.
       "See you in a bit, Scully."   He followed her.
       Scully breathed in exasperation, wishing that Mulder would stop trying to pick up girls
  while they were supposed to be working.  She stuffed the pills into her jacket pocket and headed
  into the restaurant area for a cup of coffee.
       The room was fitted in bright mauves and shades of forest green like everything else
  about the hotel.  Dana took a seat at the bar and ordered her coffee.
       
  XXX
  
       Kailyn DeFrance studied the woman as she approached the bar.  She seemed
  preoccupied by something--what was it?  Kai swept a few of her lofty brown-blonde curls behind
  her shoulder, and reached for a flute of red wine.  
       "Kailyn?"  Her male companion spoke.  He was tall, and quite handsome by the
  standards of the 90's. His hair was dark and cut short, and his clothing sat well on his body.  His
  skin was tan and his jaw-line was well defined.
       "Hush, Daniel."  She held a slim, pale hand up to him.  "I believe I have found the last
  victim."
       Daniel swung his head to search the bar.  He seemed almost disappointed when the
  only person he saw was a short, redhead sipping coffee.  "Her?"
       "She's perfect, Daniel, don't you see?"  Her French accent was unmistakable.  "She's so
  small and plain that no one would really notice her.  We need to be more discreet this time."
       "What do you want me to do?"  He rubbed his hands together, suddenly feeling cold.
       "Nothing for the moment, let me have a chance to probe her mind." 
       Kai stared at the back of the woman's head, concentrating.  "Scully?  Is that your name? 
  Why yes it is, Dana Scully.  You're worried about your new partner...in the FBI?  My my, it seems
  that I have hit the jack pot.  At least you will know what you're doing.  Yes, you'll be an easy
  target, you have so much on your mind you won't be able to fight me.  But all in good time, my
  dear.  I would like to know a little bit more about you."
       Daniel pulled at his sweater while his companion whispered the information to him.  He
  looked her over again, like he did every night.  She was beautiful, her features almost classic
  with a slight variation of modern cheek bones.  Her pale skin shone in the lights of the room, and
  he longed to be touched by it just as he had the first night they met.
       Kai broke her concentration and turned to Daniel.  "She's perfect, Danny, down to the
  last detail.  She's even here with her partners to investigate our undoing of the Tremere.  Now
  how often would I happen to luck such as this?"
       "I wouldn't know."
       "No, no, you never know.  I have a feeling that everything is going to work out
  wonderfully...and by this time tomorrow night I will be Mistress of the Tremere and we will go
  back to being that respected society we once were.  No more of this initiation of those who want
  to be vampires.  What a farce."
       Daniel took a gulp from his tea cup and looked into the lobby.  Other than people coming
  and going, there wasn't anything interesting to see.
       "Daniel I want you to set up a date with her for tomorrow night.  It will program her then. 
  My my, it's all coming together!"
       He sighed and headed to the bar without responding to her.  He approached Scully with
  a bit of apprehension.  "Excuse me."
       Dana turned to face him.  His voice had slid over her back like silk.  "Yes?"
       He looked at her, studied her face.  He hadn't counted on her eyes.  They were as
  dazzling as sapphires and reeked of innocence.  There was a part of him that wanted to let her
  go, let Kai find someone else to abuse.  But he knew that unless he wanted to die a malicious
  death at her hands, he had to do her bidding.  "I know that this is going to sound like a pick up
  line no matter how I try to phrase it, so I guess I just wanted to know if you would like to join me
  for dinner tomorrow night."  
       Scully smiled.  Was this handsome man actually asking her out?  She hadn't been on a
  date in so long, and she had been feeling as if she would never go on one again.  Even being
  around Mulder didn't help.  She looked him over quickly, taking in his features.  He seemed to be
  everything she dreamed of.  Besides, if Mulder could get dates and phone numbers while on
  assignment, why couldn't she?  
       'No, that's not my style,'  she thought, 'I'll leave the insubordination to Mulder.'
       "I'm sorry, I can't."  She tried to smile, her voice sweet.
       Daniel lowered his eyes, then touched Scully's hand.  She stared at his fingers touching
  hers, then looked into his eyes.  They were a deep chocolate brown, and she felt safe while she
  looked into them.  She felt a blanket of warmth come over her.
       'Do not refuse me,'  Daniel pushed into her mind, 'you want this date, you deserve this
  date.  I know you NEED this date, Agent Scully.'
       Scully started and pulled her hand away from his.  She felt a sudden chill run down her
  spine, then it went away as quickly as it had come.  She felt warm again, and she smiled at him.
       "Come on, just give me one chance, okay?"  He leaned against the bar nonchalantly.
       She wanted to, but she just wasn't sure...
       "Please?"
       Any doubts that Scully had disappeared.  "I would love to...um..."
       "Daniel.  Daniel Forrester."  He held out his hand.
       Scully took it, not able to take her eyes away from his gorgeous smile.  "Dana Scully."
       Their hands released and he reached into the back pocket of his jeans, taking out a
  card.  "Here's my number, Dana.  I thought that I would pick you up around seven o'clock?  You
  are staying at this hotel, aren't you?"
       "Yes."  She took the card.  "I look forward to it."
       "As do I."  His voice sent a shiver over her again.
       The bar keep approached her and set the bill down.  
       "I'll get that."  Daniel set his hand over it, then dug out his wallet and set down two dollar
  bills.  
       "Thank you."  
       "I suppose I should be thankful that you are a night owl, otherwise I might not have ever
  met you."  He took the seat next to her.
       Dana looked at her watch.  It was getting past 11:30, she needed to get some sleep. 
  "I'm sorry Daniel.  I look forward to tomorrow night, but I'm not used to staying up this late.  I
  have an appointment tomorrow morning that I can't break."
       "I understand."  He flashed his brilliant smile again.  "I will see you tomorrow evening."
       "Good night."  Scully stood up.
       Daniel took her hand in his and kissed it lightly.  "Good night."
       He watched as she left the room, and realized that having spoken with her, she was a
  beautiful woman.  He didn't mind having to spend more time with her.  
       'In fact,' he thought to himself, 'I wouldn't mind spending eternity with her.'
       He turned back to Kai and set himself down.
       "I trust it's all worked out."  Her voice was like ice.
       "Yes."  
       "You don't sound pleased, mon amor."  She brought her lips to his.
       He pulled away.
       Kai gripped his face in her palm.  Her fingers felt like she meant to crush his jaw.  "Don't
  get any ideas, Daniel.  You're mine for all eternity.  You made the choice."
       He stared at her, knowing that any answer might anger her.  
       "I'm glad that you understand."  She released him.  "Now that our plan is in the works,
  let's go celebrate."
  
  XXX
  
       Melia twisted in her bed, a light sweat from the heat of sleep coated her skin. 
  "Daddy...Daddy..."
       She sprung up from the mattress, barely aware of the darkness of the room.  She hadn't
  taken any of the sleeping pills that Scully had offered her, she thought that tonight would
  somehow be different.  And it was, in a sense.  The dream was different; Kevin, her father,
  Scully and Mulder stood in a black room.  There was a single door on all four sides, all of them
  missing handles.  Melia was hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier, her arms above her
  head.  Somehow her wrists had been bound together, otherwise she hung free.
       "Somebody get me down!"  She struggled with her bounds.
       None of them responded.  It seemed that they were only shadows of themselves.  
       Melia looked upwards to see only more darkness, then turned back to those in the room. 
  
       The floor began to make a gurgling noise and swallowed Kevin into its depths.
       "No!"  She struggled more, but it only seemed to make the bonds pull tighter.  "Kevin!"
       A door opened near Scully and a pair of arms pulled her into somewhere beyond her
  comprehension.
       "Scully!"  She knew that she was watching helplessly.  "Mulder, help her!"
       He did nothing.  Another door opened and shots rang out.  Mulder dropped to the floor in
  a bloody heap.
       "Shit!  Shit!"  She began to whimper.  "Daddy do something, you have to do
  something..."
       Skinner looked up at his daughter, and stared.  He seemed perplexed that a woman
  should be hanging from the ceiling in such a fashion.
       The door opposite Skinner opened, and the mysterious Smoking Man entered the room,
  gun in hand.
       "No!  No!  Not my father!  Anything but my father!"  She screamed at him.
       He took the cigarette from his mouth and blew the smoke into Skinner's face.  "You think
  it's your father we want?"
       "If not him, what do you want?"  She strained to see him.
       "We want something that you have."  He looked up at her.
       "I don't have anything of yours."  
       "Oh, but you do."  He shoved the butt of the weapon into the small of Skinner's back. 
  "And we want to know what you've done with her."
       "Not my Daddy...please not my father!"  She struggled with her bonds but still had no
  progress.
       Shots rang out in her ears, shocking her system.  Her eyes became wide as she focused
  back on the floor.  Her father was lying face down on the black surface, Cancer Man standing
  over him.  Skinner's shirt was covered in blood.
       "Daddy...Daddy..."
       Melia wiped the sweat from her forehead and paused to see that she had indeed
  awakened from the dream.  Scully was sitting up in the bed next to her, a concerned look
  marring her features.
       "What is it?"  Dana pushed the covers back.
       "I'm sorry to have woken you."  Melia flipped the lamp switch.  "It was just another
  nightmare."
       "You didn't take a sleeping pill?"  Scully waited for her eyes to adjust to the light.
       "No, I--I didn't want to.  I don't trust pills."
       Scully glanced at the alarm clock next to the hotel bed.  "Well, it's seven anyway.  I
  would've been up in a half hour."
       "I'm going to take a shower."  Melia moved off of the bed, and headed toward the
  bathroom. 
       Dana looked up to see Barker stop in stride and turn back to her. 
       "Thanks for the concern, Scully."  She smiled, then entered the bathroom, closing the
  door behind her.
       "Anytime."  She whispered to no one in particular.
  
  XXX
  
       "We're going in."  Mulder spoke into his cellular.  
       "I gotcha."  Scully replied, watching her partners from a bistro conveniently located
  across the way from the Red Letter.
       'They don't look like the FBI tonight,'  Scully thought to herself.  Melia was dressed in a
  long black dress, a jean jacket covered the shoulder holster that Dana knew was there.  Mulder
  was dressed in the usual blue jeans and v-neck black sweater with the white of an undershirt
  peeking out.  Mulder wore his gun at the back of his hip, the sweater hid it well.
       Scully was dressed up herself, she wore a long maroon dress with a black vest thrown
  over it.  She had chosen the bistro earlier and had told Daniel that she would meet him there. 
  She wanted to be available in case anything went wrong for her partners.
       Melia stepped through the doorway, the darkness enveloping her.  She waited as Mulder
  paid the cover charges and then proceeded through the red velvet curtains.  The club was one
  large room, there were people dancing on either side of her.  
       "I think I'm going to be sick."  She whispered.
       "What?"  Mulder yelled over the music.
       "There's too many people in here!"  She spoke directly into his ear.  
       Mulder flinched slightly as her breath touched the nape of his neck.  He hadn't been
  expecting that.  He shook the feeling off of his skin as quickly as he could and began sorting
  through the crowd.
       Melia's eyes kept meeting the flare of the revolving lights and the glare of the black light
  off Mulder's white t-shirt made her feel as if she'd go blind.  She grabbed onto Mulder's arm and
  began to look around the club.
       It seemed like a regular dance club, there were women dancing in cages, there was a
  full bar to the side of the dance floor, and even another door that led to a restaurant.  Melia
  listened to the beat as it flowed through her, and realized that the song was one of her favorites. 
  She pulled closer to Mulder.
       "My Bloody Valentine."  She said.
       "What?"  He turned to her.
       "My Bloody Valentine--the band."  She explained.  "I love this song."
       "That explains a lot about you."  Mulder was trying to avoid contact with the people
  dancing around him.  "Have you seen your contact yet?"
       "No."  She moved on through the crowd and made her way to the bar.  "He said that
  he'd find me."
       "Isn't it kind of dangerous to NOT know who your contact is?  I mean, at least what they
  look like?"  He followed her.
       "I know what he looks like."  She hopped up on a stool.  "But he said that he'd find me. 
  It's for his protection."
       Mulder hopped up on the stool next to her, silent.
       "You want something to drink?"  She asked him.
       "Yeah, iced tea."  He turned back out to the dance floor.  He was nervous, he didn't like
  being in this club.  There was just a feel about it.  "So how do you know this contact?"
       "I have my sources."  She smiled.
       "Such as...?"  Mulder tried leading her into an answer.
       "I can't tell you.  I'm sure that your sources don't want to be named, either."
       Mulder silently conceded that she had a point. 
       Melia ordered an ice tea for Mulder and a Dr. Pepper for herself, then turned to see what
  was happening on the floor.  "I haven't been dancing in ages."  
       "I don't dance."  Mulder told her, turning to retrieve the iced tea on the counter.
       The lights and the colors paraded around on their owners in front of her as she searched
  for her contact.  She had met with him only once before, and to tell the truth, she only half
  remembered what he looked like.  She hoped that he found her soon; sitting on a stool with her
  partner wasn't exactly exciting.
       "Care to dance, beautiful?"  A voice sounded from her right side.
       She looked at the man that came with the voice.  He was fairly handsome, but not her
  contact.  He was a little over-confident in his come on.  She nudged Mulder and hoped that he
  could get rid of the intruder.
       "The lady's with me."  Mulder stood up, setting his drink down.
       "Fine, but I think that she can speak for herself."  The young man looked back at Melia.
       "I'm sorry, but I'm spoken for."  She smiled at him, hoping her line would be enough.
       "Doesn't mean you can't dance."  He grinned back at her, thinking that the smile she
  gave him was meant more than she meant it to.
       "Back off."  Mulder stood in front of his partner.  "She said no."
       "I think you should call off your dog, gorgeous."  He pulled her out of her seat.  "Unless
  you want to remain in the dark the rest of your life."
       Melia pulled herself out of his grip, showing him that she was terribly upset.  "Don't you
  touch me again.  You touch me again and I'll rip your god damn arm out of it's socket."
       "I think you should reconsider that."  He dug into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin
  that he flipped over in his fingers.  
       Melia stared at the object.  It was the signal that her contact had found her.
       "Having seconds thoughts about that dance now?"  He grinned maliciously at Mulder,
  telling him that he was the dominant male in the area.
       Mulder stared at him hard, then turned to his partner to read her face.  She nodded
  acceptance to him, and he realized that this jerk was supposed to take her to the contact.  "Don't
  be too long."
       "Why Mulder,"  the young man took her hand and began to pull her through the crowd, "I
  didn't know you cared."
       Melia didn't like having to hold the guy's hand.  It was cold and clammy and felt like wax.
       "Where is he?"  She asked.
       "He'll be here in due time."  
       "No, I want to talk to him now."  She pulled her hand from his.
       "I don't think that you're in the position to be making orders, petite."  He stopped and put
  his hands at her hips as he began to sway to the slow sounds of Dead Can Dance.
       "Don't call me that."  She shoved his hands away from her.  "If you expect to keep living,
  keep your hands off me."
       "It's not a choice whether I want to live or die."  He kept time to the music as he spoke. 
  "You see, I already have a ticket to eternity."
       "What do you mean?"  She was standing in the middle of the floor, she felt so out of
  place.
       "Vampires, my dear."  The words seemed to slither off of his tongue.  "Almost all of us
  are vampires here."
       Her eyes widened and he laughed at her.
       "Don't look so surprised."  He took her in his arms and began to sway.  "You knew what
  you were getting into when you walked through the front door."
       "I told you to stop touching me."  She struggled to get out of his arms, to reach for her
  gun.
       "You don't want to get away from me, Melia."  He smiled at her.  He had an inviting
  smile.
       "I...I don't?"  She felt her mind clouding, she couldn't remember how she felt toward the
  man she was with.  His eyes were pools of darkness, and she felt as if she were falling into
  them, and there was no ending in sight.  "What am I doing?"
       "Why you're dancing with me."  His hand brushed the line of her jaw as he pushed
  strands of hair behind her ear.
       "I...I don't think that I want you to do that."  She pulled out of his arms.  She could hear
  the sweet melancholy voices of the Cocteau Twins calling her back to herself.
       'What the hell is happening to me?!'  she thought, struggling to regain control.
       "What have you done to me?"  She asked, feeling sick to her stomach.  The kind of
  sickness you get when you've just been pushed out of the plane without a parachute.  "What did
  you DO?!"
       "Nothing that you didn't want."  He replied.
       She felt her mind clearing again.  "How do you know I wanted it?  I don't even know
  what it was!"
       "I could see the lust in your eyes."  He had stopped dancing and had taken to staring at
  her.
       "That wasn't for you."  She snapped, her head felt on the verge of exploding.
       "Then who was it for?"  He asked.  "Your lanky, overly-dark, boring partner?"
       "No!"  She raged.  How could this man think that she was thinking about either one of
  them when she was thinking of Kevin and the times they had at dance clubs such as these.
       "Enough, Thomas!"  A voice came from behind them.  It was a woman.  Her hair was
  short and blonde, and she was dressed in black leather pants with a black v-neck sweater. 
  "Kinkaid wants to see her now."
       "But Darrah, Melia and I were having so much fun."
       Darrah scowled at his response.  "Kinkaid finds out about you messing with her mind,
  and you're taking the fall alone, buster."
       "Come now, it was all fun and games."  He smiled.
       "Messing with my mind is no game, asshole."  Melia spoke up, the rage emanated from
  her skin like fire.  "You touch me in any way ever again and I'll pull you apart a strand of muscle
  at a time."
       "I heard that's painful, Thomas."  The blonde was impressed.
       "I like pain."  He licked his lips.  "Sounds like fun."
       "Thomas, drop it."  Darrah grabbed hold of Melia's jacket.  "This way."
       Melia followed the woman through the crowd to the restaurant door.  She stopped before
  they went in.  "Can my partner go with me?"
       The blonde looked at her, then at Thomas.  "Go get him.  We'll wait here."
       Melia made her way back to the bar and caught Mulder up to speed with the situation.
       "Are you alright?  You seem distracted."  He asked.
       "We have someone to meet."  She avoided the question.
       "Thanks for not ditching me."  He said.
       "To tell you the truth, I would have gone alone," she admitted a bit reluctantly, "but that
  guy creeps me out."
       "How so?"  He titled his head toward her.
       "He did something to me Mulder.  And for a moment...I couldn't remember who the hell I
  was, where I was...it was all darkness.  He even had the audacity to say that just about everyone
  in this club is a vampire."
       "What?!"  He stopped and faced her.  "Do you know what this means?"
       "I know exactly what it means."  She tried to rub the gooseflesh off of her arms.
       "Instant Thaumaturgy.  Actually, mind control, but the Thaumaturgy has such a ring to it,
  don't you think?"  He voiced her thoughts.  "The guy was messing with your head.  This is proof,
  Melia.  You have to include that in your report."
       "Mulder!"  A headache, great--just what she needed in the middle of all this chaos. 
  "How can you be thinking about reports?  I can't put that in writing!  The guy raped my mind! 
  You know what people would think of me if I wrote this down?"
       "That you're 'spooky'?"  He asked, a little hurt.  He hadn't had to deal with this subject in
  a long time.  He and Scully had come to a silent agreement in that area.
       "No."  She lowered her eyes, knowing that she was lying.  "That I'm weak."
       "You're by no means weak, Melia."  He told her.  "You're just afraid that if you admit to
  having experienced the paranormal that people will think you're a heretic; like they think about
  me."
       "It's more than that."  She continued back toward the restaurant entrance.  
       Mulder followed at her heels.  "So what is it?"
       "They'll take me off of this case, Mulder."  Her voice was partially drowned by the music. 
  "I'm not about to screw myself out of a job just because some guy made me feel queasy.  I need
  more than just his chilling stare to make an assumption like that.  You know it as well as I do.  I
  need to follow this through.  I'm sure that you or Agent Scully would feel the same way."
       Mulder contemplated the thought as they approached Thomas and Darrah.  The blonde
  ushered them through the door and toward a booth in the back of the restaurant.
       Melia stared at her feet as she walked, taking in the view of the imprints that her shoes
  were making on the plush red carpeting.  
       "Remember, I do the talking.  You're here merely as an ornament.  Be my eyes and
  ears."  She pulled her partner closer to her for a moment, whispering in his ear.  "And if needs
  be, you be my gun."
       "Oh, slave boy has quite a ring to it."  He quipped.
       "This is no time for jokes, Mulder."  Melia's face was deathly white and perfectly serious.
       "Sorry."  
       Darrah stopped and spread her arm out to the booth beside her and remained standing. 
  Melia slipped into the other side of the velvet covered booth and Mulder stood beside her, facing
  the blonde.
       "It's good of you to meet with me again, Ms. Barker."  A tall, thin man with wavy black
  hair spoke.  His eyes were the perfect shade of green, and his skin was pale, but not white.  His
  hair was pulled back and he was dressed in a silver lycra t-shirt with matching leather pants. 
  The black boots on the table seemed almost out of place in the ensemble.
       "I should be telling you that."  She responded, her professionalism surfacing.
       "And I thank you, but I'm afraid that we can't talk here."  He leaned forward, handing her
  a card.  "Meet me at this address around ten tonight.  It's a little party that I'm giving.  I'm sure
  that I'll be able to keep you well entertained."
       "I won't be going alone, so I'm sure the burden you feel is lifting now.."  She took the
  card and shoved it her jacket pocket.  "I'm bringing my partner."
       "But our deal was you and me."  He protested.
       "You didn't keep your side of our deal."  She pointed to Darrah and Thomas.  "Your little
  friend here decided it would be fun to play with my head before we came to meet you.  I didn't
  appreciate that.  I want to make sure that it won't happen again."
       He stared down Thomas with cold eyes and the young man bowed his head, then left
  them.  "It won't be happening again."
       "I'm bringing my partner."  She insisted.
       "Well, if you must, but he seems like such a bore."  He stared at Mulder.  "You are a
  lovely woman, and you could use someone more your style."
       "And who might that be?"  She knew where this was leading.  Geez, how many more
  times did she have to get hit on tonight?
       "Why, Ruben Kinkaid, of course."  He laughed lightly.  It made her want to laugh as well,
  but she held her composure.
       "And you're Ruben?"  
       "Yes."  
       "How are you tied to the Tremere?"  She felt Mulder move a little closer to her.
       "Why I'm their fearless leader."  He announced with pride.  "Don't you want someone
  strong and powerful?  Beautiful as you are?  Ms. Barker, there is so much more to life that I
  could show you--"
       "We'll be there."  She jumped from the booth seat as he reached for her hand.  Her
  voice was stone cold; she was getting tired of having to deal with these people.  She shoved
  past Mulder and headed toward the exits.
       "Good."  His voice was as soft was the velvet material of the seat coverings.  "I look
  forward to meeting with you again."
  
  XXX
  
       Scully stepped out of the shop when she caught sight of her partners crossing the street. 
  She met them at the curb.  "So what's going on?  Anything new?"
       Melia shook her head and handed Dana the card Ruben had given her. "He wants to
  meet with me at this address, ten o'clock tonight.  Mulder will be with me inside the house, I
  need you for back up, can you do that?"
       "Yeah, I'll try to get back a little early."  She acknowledged.  She didn't mind not being
  invited to the party, she liked having the advantage of being outside the situation anyway.  She
  felt like she had more control when she was on back-up, especially if she wasn't part of the
  original equation in the criminal's plans.
       "You have a date?"  Mulder asked, surprised.
       "Yes,"  she told him, a little annoyed, "I have a date."
       "Just be back on time, Scully."  Melia muttered.
       Scully didn't hear her, she was too preoccupied by the ranting of her other partner.
       "This is terrible."  He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.  "Melia gets hit on by
  two different guys in the span of fifteen minutes, you have a date, and the secretary who gave
  me her phone number...well, let's just say the line was disconnected two weeks ago."
       "Poor baby."  Melia said.  "We'll have to set up an ad for you in the personals when we
  get back to Washington."
       "Besides, Mulder."  Scully smiled at him.  "I thought you were partial to home
  entertainment."
       He didn't respond to the joke.
       "I didn't want to be hit on."  Barker explained.  "Those guys creeped me out, and that's
  hard to do to someone in the Bureau."
       "What are you talking about?"  Dana asked, worry in her voice.
       "Nothing, they just didn't have a great feel about them."  She stared at Mulder, warning
  him to stay quiet about what she had told him.  There was no way that Scully would understand
  what she was talking about; her partner would think she was a nutcase.
       "Yeah, I've been around a few of those people in my days."  She nodded her head,
  remembering some of the weirdos she had come into contact with while working on cases in the
  X-Files.
       "Well, we're going to head back to the hotel until later."  Mulder pointed toward the rental
  car.  "Let us know if you need a ride or something."
       "Oh, there he is now."  Scully spotted Daniel coming down the walk.  "I'll see you later."
       "Ooo!"  Melia crossed her arms, looking over the man headed towards them.  "Agent
  Scully scored a major leaguer!"
       "Goodbye."  She didn't bother turning around.
       "Bye, Scully.  Be sure to do everything that I wouldn't do."  Mulder pulled his partner
  down the sidewalk.
       Daniel walked up to Scully, a smile on his face.  He looked from her face to the bistro,
  then back to her.  "Why don't we go somewhere else?  This place looks a little crowded."
       Scully turned to look in the window and realized that he was right.  "That would be
  great."
       Daniel offered her his arm and led her to his car.
  
  XXX
  
       Dana couldn't believe her eyes when they pulled up to the Gotham Bar & Grill a few
  minutes later.  She had heard that it was one of the most exclusive restaurants in New York, and
  very expensive.
       Daniel pulled the vehicle into a parking space, then helped Scully out of the car.  When
  they walked into the restaurant, the matyr'd brightened.
       "Daniel!"  He shouted a bit too loud. "Your table is waiting for you!"
       She looked at her date, wondering what he had to do to have his own table.  Was he
  rich?  Did he have influence in government?  Was he family or a close friend of the owner?
       "Follow me."  He waved his hand toward the back and grabbed two menus from a
  nearby counter.  
       Daniel set his hand at the small of Scully's back and gently pushed her toward the dimly
  lit hallway ahead of them.  She glanced at the decor, feeling like she had just walked on to the
  set of every 'Batman' movie ever made.
       She followed as they stepped through black velour curtains and into a small back room
  that was decorated with beautiful potted plants and a large mahogany table.  The wood was
  dark and rich underneath the grey table cloth.
       The matyr'd set down the menus, then leaned into Daniel to hear his whispers.  "No one
  bothers us, understand?  Has she arrived yet?"
       "Yes."  The matyr'd picked the menus back up, feeling a bit nervous.  "The usual it is,
  coming right up."
       He hopped out of the room as Scully hung her purse over the back of the chair, then sat
  down.  "Wow, they really like you here.  What'd you do to get so popular?"
       Daniel smiled as he spotted Kailyn walking through the drapes.  She was wearing a silky
  red gown that hugged her body and flaunted her great attributes.  But despite the fancy dress,
  she was not wearing shoes or any other accessories, and her hair was done in a simple braid
  down her back.
       Scully looked at the woman, sure that the blonde woman had just lost her way back to
  her own table.
       "Daniel."  She spoke.  "Agent Scully.  Welcome."
       Scully realized it was nothing that she thought it was.  "What the hell is going on?"
       She suddenly began to come to a realization.  She had never wanted to come on this
  date in the first place.  It was all a setup.  How did she end up falling for it?
       "You tricked me!"  Scully moved for her purse.
       Her date looked her in the eyes, then jumped her.  "I'm sorry, Dana."
       They struggled for a few moments until finally he was able to pin her arms behind her
  back, then held her neck straight with his free arm.  His strength was astounding to her.  
       "Ah, my new found friend."  Kai put a well manicured fingernail, painted bright red, to
  Scully's lips.  "There's no need to struggle any more.  You're safe with me, I can make anything
  safe."
       Dana struggled nonetheless, wanting to go for her gun.  But her purse was on the chair,
  and it would be hard to get to it before something happened.  "What do you want from me?"
       "Why,  just simple gesture of friendship."  Her french accent slid over Scully, soothing
  her like a hot bath after a long day at work.  She felt her muscles relaxing, and her mind
  numbing.  "You see, I am part of the elite group known as the Tremere.  I know you're heard of
  us, Agent Scully, you're here to find out why I've been ordering all these deaths.  Well, the
  answer is quite simple--domination.  Our pathetic leader, Ruben has turned the race of vampires
  that belong to our organization into a farce.  He lets anyone who can swallow blood in here for a
  proper fee.  You understand that I can't let that happen anymore, don't you?  If someone started
  hurting your family, wouldn't you try to eliminate them?"
       Scully dropped to her knees, her head resting on the cool black tiles.  Daniel released
  his grip on her, and left the room.
       Kai took Dana's head in her hands, and forced her to look into her eyes.  "Are you
  listening, Dana?"
       Scully felt like she was falling into an abyss.  The feeling of cool water filled her mind as
  she began to dream.  
       She and Kai were standing on the white sand of a beach, watching someone writhe in
  the water.  It was obvious the figure were drowning.
       "Do you want to save that poor woman, Dana?"  Kai pointed to the splashing water.
       "It's so black..."  Her voice was almost a whisper as she replied.
       "Do you want to save her?"  
       Scully tried to focus on the woman who was drowning.  She could see the woman's lips
  forming words, but no sound came out of them.  She met the woman's eyes, and her face began
  to twist in the horror of recognition.  "It's me..."
       "Do you want to save yourself, Dana?"  Kai asked again.  Her voice made Scully feel
  like she had just tasted a special alcohol and it's warmth was lingering in her throat and
  stomach.
       Scully screamed as the ground slid out from underneath her.  She looked up at Kai and
  found that the woman was the only thing keeping her from falling.  
       The blonde woman was down on her knees on the cliff; Dana's hands were wrapped
  around her right arm.  
       Scully was suspended in the darkness, struggling to keep her grip on Kai's arm.  "Don't
  let go...don't let me go!"
       "I wouldn't dream of it, petite."  She smiled.  There were no signs of fatigue or over-
  exertion in her face.
       Scully was overtaken by the feeling of sheer terror.  She had never felt this helpless in
  her entire life.
       "Would you like me to save you?"  
       Dana struggled with herself and her options.  She could let this strange woman save
  her, or fall into the emptiness.  But this was only a dream, right?
       'If I fall,' she thought to herself, 'nothing will happen.  I'll just wake up.'
       "What happens to me if I accept your offer?"  Scully asked.
       "You'll be under my control."  She stated.  "But don't think there are any other options,
  because there aren't.  Dana, I need you, and I don't want to make this any harder than it already
  is."
       Scully stared into Kai's eyes, seeing that she meant what she'd said.  She stared back
  into the abyss beneath her, then let go.
       "Dammit, why do you insist on making this harder than it has to be?!"  Kai swore,
  shaking Dana's head.
       Scully was still looking into the woman's face.  She felt Kai's cold hands against her
  cheeks.  They were cold and felt like melting wax.  Dana was breathing hard, realizing what
  might have happened if her assumption about dreaming had been wrong.  She was getting a
  tremendous headache.
       "Now, we play hard ball, Ms. Scully."  Kai clenched her jaws together, the muscle
  contractions barely noticeable against her pale skin.
       But Scully noticed.
       "Look back at me."  She ordered.  "Don't you trust me?"
       Scully still felt groggy, like she had been drugged without her knowledge.  The room
  began to swim as she looked back into Kai's deep blue eyes.
       She was back in the water, struggling against it, gasping for breath.  She heard
  someone singing a lullaby in French, the words were soft and coaxing her into sleep.
       Dana felt her eyes grow dim, and the world around her began to disappear.  She felt the
  water line move over her chin, then her nose, then her eyes.  Until finally she was staring at
  herself fully submerged in the darkness.
       "Do you want to save yourself, Dana?"  She asked again.
       Dana stood on the shore, stiff.  "No."
  
  XXX
  
       "Where the hell is she?"  Melia paced the length of Mulder's hotel room.  They had been
  awaiting Scully's return for over an hour.  "I have to get to that party.  I don't know how long I can
  count on Ruben's willingness to give me the information we need."
       He checked his watch, it read 9:30.  "I'll try calling her cellular again."
       Melia watched as he dialed her number, and listened for it's tones.  They had been
  trying to get ahold of her for the past hour and a half this way, but she hadn't been picking up. 
  They even tried checking out the bistro and The Red Letter for Scully and her date.  She was
  worried about her partner.
       "Scully?"  Mulder spoke into the phone, his voice expressed uncertainty.  "Where have
  you been?"
       She couldn't hear the other side of the conversation.  She slumped into a chair and
  listened as he spoke.
       "Are you alright?"  He looked over to Barker.  "You sound terrible...Are you sure?...Okay,
  be there in a half an hour, we're on our way to the party."
       Mulder hung up the phone and sprang from the bed.  
       "Did she say what happened to her?" Melia followed her partner through the hotel to
  their rental car.
       "I didn't ask."  He unlocked the doors and they climbed in.
       He sped through the hill streets and managed to get them to the rendezvous point ten
  minutes early.  The house was in fact a mansion, towered menacingly against the night sky. 
  The round driveway was lined by parking lights, and music emanated from behind the front door. 
  Melia could see people elegantly dressed, dancing without care, while others were drinking or
  eating.
       They walked up to the front door, Mulder calling Scully to make sure she was in place,
  Melia knocking on the door.  He confirmed that Scully was at the police station as a man
  dressed in butler attire answered the door.  Melia handed him the card that Ruben had given
  her, and he ushered them in.
       The mansion was decorated in pure Victorian attire and seemed an odd place to hear
  the bumps and grinds of dance music.  She spotted Ruben walking toward them, three wine
  glasses in his hands.
       "Welcome to my home."  He greeted them, handing each a glass from his hands.
       Melia took the glass and set it on a nearby table.  "We need to talk, NOW." 
       "Fine."  He was a bit taken aback by her abruptness.  "Let's retire to my study.  But I do
  have one condition."
       "What?"  Melia asked.
       "Your partner stays here."  He smiled.  "We talk alone."
       She looked at Mulder; concern marked his face.  She pulled him into a little alcove,
  away from Ruben and the other guests.  "Mulder I know this doesn't sound like a good idea, but
  we've got Scully outside and we need this information.  Otherwise we're going to be doomed to
  just sitting on our asses and waiting for something to fall into our laps.  You've seen how these
  people can cover their tracks to a clear shine...can we really afford to lose this opportunity?"
       "I want to stand outside of the door, I want to make sure that this guy isn't leading both of
  us into a huge trap."  He nibbled on the end of his thumbnail nervously.
       "Why don't you search the house?  I'm sure that you'll be able to find something--talk to
  the people--"  She suggested.
       "Why are you so suddenly on his side?"  Mulder interrupted her.  "Is there something
  going on that I don't know about?  Are you part of this?"
       "I assure you, that I'm not, Mulder."  She touched his arm lightly.  "I've worked hard to
  gain your trust and it's obvious that I don't have it yet, but I think that this is the only way to go if
  we intend to solve this case."
       Mulder sighed and shoved his hand into his jacket pocket.  "I guess we have no choice,
  but I want you to wear this and set it off if anything happens."
       Melia looked down at his open palm.  "You just happen to have a panic device on you. 
  Jesus, Mulder, you really are paranoid."
       "Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness."  He smirked.
       Melia shoved the device into her jacket pocket and gripped Mulder's shoulder
  reassuringly.  "I'll be all right.  You take care of yourself.  See what you can find out down here."
       Mulder nodded as he watched her walk back to Kinkaid.  
       "Let's go."  She looked at her partner again, then followed the host to his study.  
       The room was fairly small, and decorated in much the same style as the rest of the
  house.  Ruben sat down on a black leather couch at the far end of the room, the silver outfit he
  was wearing made him stand out.  
       "What do you have for me?"  She took off her jacket, revealing the holster beneath it.
       "My what a big gun you have, grandma."  He mocked.
       "The better to kill you with."  She smirked.  "Now stop dancing around the subject and
  tell me what you know."
       He sighed, realizing that he could not win this fight.  "You're looking for a killer, one that
  leaves little or no blood in it's victims.  And one whose victims bear a certain tattoo on their
  shoulder blades.  It appears that these murders are random as they have occurred in several
  different states, and to several different individuals."
       Melia nodded, noting that he was on the right track.
       "I know who you're looking for."  He leaned forward.  "She's right here under my own
  roof."
       "What's her name?  What is her purpose?"  She asked shifting her weight from one foot
  to another.
       "If I tell you, I want you to do something for me."  He opened a small package on the
  table in front of him and pulled out a clove cigarette.
       "You shouldn't smoke."  She stared at the cigarette in disgust.
       "It's not like it's going to kill me."  He laughed.
       
  XXX
  
       Mulder stood with the wine glass in his hand, wondering if he should indulge himself or
  not.  He hated being left behind; he was worried about his partner.  She had seemed so shaken
  by the young man at the club.  If this guy was the leader, what could he be doing to her right
  now?
       He had been talking to several of the guests, but none of them gave any pertinent
  information to the case.  The house seemed somewhat cut off, as he tried several door handles
  only to find them all locked.  At least he had found the bathroom when he needed it.  
       He had checked in with Scully and informed her of the goings-on.  She had seemed very
  quiet and distant.  Now he was worried about everyone involved.  He didn't like the feeling of the
  house or the people in it. 
       Mulder put the glass down on a near by table and headed down the hall that he had
  seen Melia disappear through earlier.  He had to know what was happening. 
       "She's safe."  A woman stepped in front of him.  He felt a hand on his shoulder, it was
  running up the curve of his neck and through his hair.
       The pale woman was in her late twenties, she was wearing an exquisite red gown, and
  her brown blonde hair was pulled back in a thick braid.
       "Who are you?"  He asked.
       "Ruben sent me to fetch you."  She told him.  "My name is Kai."
       For a moment he thought that maybe his situation had turned for the better, but he
  quickly snapped out of that mind frame.  "Where is she?"
       "You mean your partner?"  She laughed.  "I told you, she's safe with Ruben."
       "You may have to pardon me for saying so, but I don't think that anyone could be safe in
  this house with you people."
       "Well, isn't that an awfully rude way to thank your hosts?"  She pouted.
       Mulder stood in front of her, looking for a way to get around.        
       "Come with me, I will take you to your partner."  She took hold of his hand and led him
  through the crowd to a large circular stairway.  When they reached the top, she turned to him
  and smiled mischievously, taunting him to follow her down the hallway. 
       Against his better judgement, he did.
       She opened the door to a bedroom that was decorated in black and white.  A lot of
  plastic and leather.  Even for the modern designs and styles the room was lavishly decorated
  like the rest of the house.  It was obvious that whoever owned it lived in the lap of luxury.
       After he went inside, she closed the door behind them.  "We're supposed to wait here."
       She slinked her way toward him, letting her finger play over her lips seductively.
       "I can think of so much we can do while we're waiting."  She touched him again.  Her
  hands clutched at his chest, pushing him down on the bed.
       "Wait, what the hell do you think you're doing?"  He mumbled through her kisses.  He
  tried to pull away from her, but only ended up pulling the sheets down.  
       "My my."  She sat straddled over his chest, staring at something beside him.  
       Mulder turned his head to find a pair of eyes staring blankly at him.  They were brown,
  like the man's hair, and were surrounded by pale skin.  The man had a well defined jaw and
  most definitely dead.  He turned back to her, struggling more.  His arm ended up struggling more
  with the body beside him then with the woman.  "Who is this man?"
       "Agent Mulder, dead men tell no tales."  
       "But you do."  He continued in his struggle, trying desperately to reach for his gun.  She
  was much stronger than he had anticipated, and had him locked down to the mattress.  
       "I guess Daniel decided he didn't want to be with us anymore."  Kai's voice was
  unsympathetic.  She lowered her lips so they were barely brushing Mulder's.  "But his blood was
  warm and coppery, just the way it should be.  Just the way yours will be."
       Mulder finally got a grip and threw her off of him then sprinted for the door.  She hissed
  at him, bearing her teeth.  He noticed that her canines had grown to sharp points much like a
  wolf's.  
       "Shit!"  Mulder stumbled against the door.
       She launched herself at him, throwing off his equilibrium.  He fell to the ground with her
  on top of his chest once again.  Her eyes were glowing red as she pushed her hand through his
  hair and pulled on it.  Kai began to thrash, throwing his skull into the black and white tiles of the
  floor, screaming like a banshee.
       An insatiable fear gripped Mulder as he realized that there was no way to ell his partners
  what was happening to him.  He was feeling desperate, wanting to live through his ordeal.  He
  opened his mouth and screamed.
  
  XXX
  
       "I don't do deals."  Melia told him.
       "Oh, I know."  He took a lighter out of his pocket and lit the cancer stick at his lips.  The
  smoke was sweet and musky as he blew it into the room.  "But I have something to offer you in
  return."
       "I can't promise you anything."  
       "All I want is your protection."  He took another drag.  "You see, an former lover and a
  honored member of the Tremere is out to get me."
       "Why?"  She listened as he laughed nervously.
       "It seems she doesn't like the way I run the show.  She thinks we've turned ourselves
  into a freak show, and she's killing everyone she thinks has helped make that delusion a reality. 
  All those who were murdered were loyal to me, and very powerful.  You see, she's challenging
  my leadership.  She's going to try to kill me next.  I want everyone on my side."
       Melia sat in a small wooden chair next to the desk and looked at him.  "I need her name;
  a description of her, anything that you can give me."
       "Her name is Kailyn DeFrance."  He began, then went on to describe her features. 
  Melia took a pen and paper from the desk and wrote his words down.  "Are you on my side
  now?"
       "It's my job to be one your side, Mr. Kinkaid."  She admitted, picking up her jacket. 
  "You're a target in the middle of a murder investigation, albeit the circumstances are a little odd,
  but you're entitled to protection.  I need to get this information to my partners, start a search--"
       "But you're not going to do it for me?"  He asked, there was hurt in his eyes.  "I can offer
  you freedom from your pains, Melia.  I see it in your eyes, it runs through my veins like alternate
  realities.  I can take away your nightmares."
       "What?"  She pulled her jacket back on, and headed toward the door.
       "Wait."  He reached out for her, but was too late.  He had sensed the other woman
  coming to the door, but didn't count on Melia being there when it opened.
       The door flew in and Scully came through it like a wild animal, knocking Melia to the
  ground.  Melia shook her head to clear her vision and recovered in time to pull her partner back
  into a struggle before she reached Ruben.
       "Scully what are you doing?"  She yelled at her partner.  But Dana's eyes were blank
  and she looked as if she were a zombie.  "Scully!  Scully!"
       Melia shook the shorter woman and even tried slapping her across the face.  Her
  partner only got mad and swung at her.  She was hit square in the jaw and her grip eased for a
  moment.  
       Dana wiggled out of Barker's grasp and went for her gun.  Melia struggled to keep
  control over her partner, but ended up with Scully's heel in her face.
       "Ruben get out!  Get out of here!"  Melia ordered.  She brought her hand to her head
  and realized that she was bleeding at the hair line where Scully's heel had caught her face.  She
  brought out her gun.  "What are you waiting for?  Get the hell out of here!"  
       Dana brought the gun up and aimed it directly at Ruben's chest.
       "Bullets can't do anything to me, little one."  He mocked her.
       "They're silver!"  Melia brought her fist into the small of Scully's back.  She prematurely
  shot.  "Damn it move out of the way!"
       Ruben's face fell when he realized that the silver could hurt him.  He felt the bullet rip
  through the flesh of his stomach.  He gagged and screamed, feeling the blood pour from his
  wound.  "Oh, damn."
       Scully picked up her gun and scrambled from the room.
       "What the hell is going on here, Ruben?"  Melia yelled at him.  "My own partner just
  attacked us both!"
       "I told you, it's Kai.  She has chosen your partners as her final victims."  He held his
  hand up to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
       "What do you mean, 'Partners'?"  She questioned, afraid of his answer.
       "She needed the woman to kill me, and the man for his blood.  Once she drinks his
  blood, and I'm dead, she becomes the leader of the Tremere."  He explained.
       "And you let me leave Mulder out there?!"  She screamed at him. "Stay here!  And the
  next time I tell you to move, move for heaven's sake!"
       "What about this?"  He pointed to his wound.  
       "Put some towels on it, try to stop the bleeding.  Can you get someone in here to call
  and ambulance?  I need to find out where she's going."  
       "Yes, you find her."  He stumbled from the couch and headed in to a small bathroom just
  off of the study.
       She rushed from the room, trying to find any sign of where Scully might have run off to.
       "Shit."  She realized that she had waited too long to go after her.  Instead, she headed
  back into the reception room to find Mulder.  She clicked off the safety on her gun.
       The guests began to scream and gasp at the sight of Melia running through the house,
  screaming her partner's names.  The music stopped and they all began to rush for their coats
  then head out the door.  Through her search she heard the screech of tires as the guests' cars
  pulled out of the driveway.
       "Did anyone see a short redhead run through here?!"  She yelled.  When no response
  came, she headed into the other rooms.
       She stopped in her tracks.  She recognized the room immediately.  She walked across
  the blood red carpet, taking notice of the fine art that surrounded her, and the golden draperies
  that fell over the walls from the ceiling.
       "The dream."  Suddenly, she was there again.  "Kevin."
       She whispered his name, knowing that what stood before her was only an apparition. 
  She watched as it pulled back the material and waved her toward a hidden door.
       She ran to it, her heartbeat speeding up, her breathing becoming shallow and fast.  She
  pushed through the door with all the force she could muster.  
       Melia turned around.  The sound of chimes were loud in her head.  The room she
  entered was practically bare, save for a lone chair to her left and the whisps of material that
  hung from the ceiling.  A blue light streamed through the white material and added an icy feeling,
  though the room was warm.  "Oh my God."
       Fear gripped her instantly as she turned around.  Kevin was gone, and registered the
  scene before her in horror.  Mulder was tied to a chair, he was groggy and looked as if he had
  been drugged heavily or hit on the head one too many times.  She rushed over to him and
  began slapping his face to see if it would bring him around.  
       "Mulder. Mulder wake up."  She switched her gun from one hand to the other.  He was
  only moaning.  "Dammit, this is not the time!  Wake up!"
       She went for this binds, but couldn't get much done with only one hand.  It would have to
  wait, she wasn't about to put her gun down, that would put both of them in danger.
       "Oh, he won't be waking anytime soon."  Kai stepped into the room, Scully at her side. 
  "In fact, I'm going to usher him into eternal sleep."
       Melia stared at Scully, wondering what was wrong with her partner.  In an instant she
  knew.  It was obvious that Dana was under the control of her companion.  Her eyes were
  clouded over, her movements were slow.  "Scully, snap out of it!"  
       Dana could hear her partner calling her name, but she was in a dark room, there was no
  way out.  She felt like she was trapped and she began to bang on the walls, hoping someone
  would hear her.  But she knew that they wouldn't, she was trapped in the recesses of her own
  mind.  She had to find a way back before she hurt anybody else.  
       Melia realized that this was the woman Ruben had been talking about.  She raised her
  gun.  "Ms. DeFrance, I'm warning you, I am armed."
       A shrill laugh filled the room.  It echoed off of the walls and mixed in with the chimes.  It
  replayed in Barker's mind, inflaming her eardrums.  She was living her dream.
       "My God."  She looked back up, a realization had hit her like a ton of bricks.  "You killed
  Kevin.  It was you!"
       "If you must know, yes."  She waved her delicate hand in the air.  "He was insignificant,
  just meal like all the rest.  I tell you, though, drinking through bullet holes is messy work.  We
  have to keep some victims looking like accidents, you know."
       "You fucking bitch!"  Melia began pulling on the trigger.
       "Kill her."  She ordered Scully. "Kill them both.  We can make this all look like an
  accident.  Evidence is wonderful when placed in the correct patterns."
       Dana rushed Barker, knocking her to the floor.  
       "Stop doing that, dammit!"  Melia fumed.
       Mulder began to rouse, blood was flowing down the side of his head.  His moaning
  caught Scully's attention, and she turned the gun on him.
       "Scully, NO!!"  Melia looked up.  "He's your partner!  You've got to get control!"
       Mulder was staring at his partner in shock.  Her face was so cold, and her gun was
  trained on him.  "Scully...Dana, what are you doing?"
       Dana's head flew up, she was still trapped in the darkness.  Did he realize that it wasn't
  her on the surface?  She pounded harder on the walls that trapped her.  "Mulder?  Mulder help
  me!"
       Scully's face began to contort as she struggled within herself.
       Melia walked in front of Mulder, gun trained on Scully.  "Put the weapon down.  Scully, I
  know it's not you, don't make me do anything that we'll both regret!"
       "Kill HER!"  Kai screamed.  "Kill them NOW!"
       "NO!!"  Mulder yelled helplessly.
       Scully pulled back on the trigger, and fired several shots.
       Melia felt the metal go into her guts as she fell to the floor.  She was still holding her gun.
       "Barker!"  Mulder yelled.  "Shoot Kai!  Shoot the woman!  You can break the hold she
  has over Scully!"
       Melia pulled the gun toward Kai, and thought about her knowledge of vampire lore.  She
  hoped that the part about freeing a human from mind control by killing their master was true. 
  Otherwise, they were in deep trouble.  
       Her vision was dizzy, and everything was fading quickly.  Melia knew that she had to
  shoot now or never.  She forced the trigger back countless times until the clip was empty.  She
  felt weak and scared.  Barker rolled on to her side to look at Scully.  
       "Help me..."  Everything was a blur and slowly turned to black as Barker passed out.
       Dana opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room, wondering how she had gotten
  there.  She took in the scenes of Barker bleeding on the floor; Mulder tied to a chair, bleeding as
  well.  She began to cry.  "What have I done?"
       "Scully?"  Mulder called her over to him.  "Help me out of these ropes."
       She did as he asked, then looked up to see Kai on the floor.  Her body was bullet ridden
  with wounds on her face as well as her chest.  She pulled out her cellular and called the police.
       "Mulder what happened?"  She asked, trying to check the vital signs of their partner.  
       "It's a long story."  He winced when pain rushed through his head.  "I'll tell you on the
  way to the hospital."
  
  XXX
  
       Melia opened her eyes and the brightness of the overhead light made her flinch.  She
  could hear the sounds of machines beeping, and the murmurs of people around her.  There was
  someone holding her hand, and there was an oxygen mask over mouth and nose.
       "Where am I?"  She whispered, her voice hoarse.
       "Turtle, it's me. It's Dad."  Skinner brushed stray hairs back from his daughter's face,
  relieved that she made it through.  He had worried; with the amount of metal she took to her
  stomach she should have died.  Thank the stars he had his little girl back.
       "Daddy, I don't feel well."  She looked at him, his fuzzy frame began to come into focus.
       "You're in the hospital, you were shot, Melia."  He told her.
       Suddenly it all came back to her in a rush.  "Mulder and Scully?"
       "Agent Mulder was released from the hospital over a week ago."  He spouted.  "Agent
  Scully only had a couple of bruises.  The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.  All the
  proper reports have been filled out and filed.  Everyone's been worried."
       "What about Mr. Kinkaid?"  
       "He sent you flowers.  Lots of them."  Skinner smiled.  "There were so many that the
  nurses had to start giving them to other patients because there was no more room for them in
  here.  Mulder and Scully both sent flowers and they've been asking about you every time I turn
  around.  This past week's been utter hell."
       "I've been out of it for a week?"  She asked.  
       "About two actually.  You were always a slow healer."  He touched her face lightly, love
  filled his eyes with tears.  "It's good to have you back, Melia."
       "I wouldn't think of leaving you all alone, Dad."  She smiled.  "Who would you play piano
  with?"
       "You know, I sat in my office, I sat at home and worried myself sick that something like
  this was going to happen."  He admitted.
       "You aren't going to make me quit are you?  Everyone gets shot at least once in their
  career.  It's a hazard of the job."
       "I know, but that doesn't make me feel any better.  I'd like to take you out, but my
  problem is that I have no other reason to except my personal involvement.  Melia, I can't take
  you out because you worked for this and it wouldn't be fair to either one of us to take that away
  from you.  When you're released from the hospital, your desk in the X-Files will be waiting for
  you."
       "Thanks, Dad."  She managed a half smile.
       "That doesn't mean that I have to stop worrying about you, and that doesn't mean that I
  can't keep tabs or that you don't have to call in anymore.  It's been forever since someone has
  kept me informed on what's happening on these cases and I'm not about to give that up now."
       "I won't let you down."  She promised.
       "I know you won't, punkin."  He planted a kiss on her forehead.
       Melia pulled herself up with her father's help and they hugged, almost a little too tightly
  for her liking.  "Ow."  
       "I'm sorry, I should get the doctor, let him check you out."  He released her and stood up. 
  "I'll be right outside."
       "I love you , Dad."  She laid back down against the stiff hospital sheets. 
       "I love you, too."  He opened the door.
       "And Dad?"  
       "Yeah?"  He turned back to her.
       "Could you do something for me?  I want your name to be listed in my FBI files."  She
  pulled the mask off of her face.  "I want them to know that I'm proud to have you for my father."
       "I'd be honored to change those tomorrow morning.  Now try to get some rest."  He
  smiled, then went in search for a doctor.
  
  XXX
  
       "Mulder..."  Scully stepped into the basement office of the X-Files, entranced by the file
  Skinner had handed her on the way down.  "Have you read this?!"
       "You mean Agent Barker's paternity?"  Mulder crunched some sunflower seeds between
  his teeth.  "I'd never have thought..."
       "I'm in shock."  Dana admitted.
       "I wonder why she didn't tell us."  He tossed a few more into his mouth.
       "I'll have to ask her."  Scully mad a mental note to herself.
       "So, you ready to start our next case?  After those two weeks off I feel like a new man."  
       "I don't think so, Mulder."  She handed him a thin file folder.  "I just came to collect some
  things that I need to take with me while I'm away."
       "You're going on leave?  NOW?"  He sat up, startled.   
       Scully sighed, she didn't want to have this conversation with him right now.  Barker was
  being released from the hospital and Scully had offered to help her recover.  "It's only two
  months, Mulder."  
       "Yeah, but Melia is going to be on her feet in less than two weeks.  It says here that you
  reasons are to help her recover."  Mulder didn't know what he was going to do without Scully. 
  She had become such a constant.
       "Mulder I need to do this."  She slumped into her chair, she was tired and need a good
  rest.
       "Why?"  He pushed.
       "Because I need to find out what happened to me.  Mulder, I lost all self-control."  She
  seemed a million miles away from herself.  "I shot my partner in cold blood, and I would have
  shot you.  We all could have died in that room and I did nothing to stop it."
       "Scully, you didn't have a choice."  Mulder tried to console her.  "That woman raped your
  mind and made you into something that you weren't.  That's more of a reason to stay and find
  out what happened than to go and find nothing."
       "Mulder, there is no such thing as mind control."  She rubbed her forehead.
       "Then how do you explain the Pusher?"  Mulder asked.
       "I told you, I don't know!"  She became agitated.  "I didn't know then and I don't know
  now!  Damn it, Mulder!  I need to do this for myself.  I need some time alone."  
       "What can you get from yourself that you can't get from these cases, from your
  partners?"  His voice raised slightly.
       "It's not about you and Barker.  This is about what is going on in my life and my head." 
  She turned to him, her blue eyes wide.  "That's why I need this time.  I need answers that can't
  come from our work.  I need to reconnect with my family, with myself.  I haven't felt like myself
  for a long time and I need to reevaluate where I stand.  Besides, you'll have Barker here in two
  weeks, and until then you can handle yourself.  You handled yourself quite well until I came onto
  the scene."
       "You're not going to leave the Bureau are you?"  He leaned forward, worried.
       "I don't know.  You're asking all the questions that I don't have answers for yet.  I'll have
  to wait and see what I find before I make any big decisions.  I can't keep putting you and Melia in
  danger.  I need to make sense of what happened to me, what happened to my sister, what
  happened in that mansion..."
       There was an uncomfortable silence between them, but Mulder knew that Scully had to
  do what she felt was best for everyone.  Even he would back away after hearing how she felt.  "I
  hope that you find what you're searching for, Scully.  The truth is hard to find."
       "I know."  She whispered into her hands.  "I hope so too."
       Mulder watched as she packed a few things such as files and pens into her satchel and
  then swung it over her shoulder.  "Well, that about does it."
       "So what are you going to do?"  He moved from his desk and got Scully's coat for her.
       "I thought that I might take Clyde camping.  A nice wooded area.  Maybe catch up on
  some reading..."  She smiled.  
       Mulder helped her with her coat, then she turned to face him.  "Are you scared of what
  you might find, Scully?"
       Dana broke, she had tried so hard to keep up appearances for her partner, but right now
  she needed his friendship and support more than ever.  She was about to find some answers
  and for the first time she let herself acknowledge that she might not like everything that she
  might find.  Her face became a frown and she sank into Mulder's arms.
       He hugged her, wanting to let her know that he would always be there for her.  She was
  his best friend.
       "Everything's gonna be okay, Scully."  He whispered into her hair.  "No matter what you
  find out there, I will always be here for you."
       
  XXX
  
       Scully walked into Melia's hospital room to find her packing up her things, ready to be
  released.  She had collected her thoughts and had composed herself since she broke down in
  Mulder's arms.  She needed to have a serious talk with her partner.
       Barker looked up and smiled.  "Scully, spring me please.  The faster the better."
       Dana was suddenly overcome with guilt as her mind was flooded with thoughts of what
  could have happened.  "How are you feeling?"
       "Scully, I've never slept better in my entire life."  Melia invited her to sit on the edge of
  the bed.  She stopped packing and sat next to her partner.  
       "Melia, I--"  Scully started.
       "I know what you went through--and before you interrupt me--I also know that you'll
  eventually believe in what happened to you.  You're a very sensible person, Scully, and you
  have every right to question what happened.  But I want you to remember that it wasn't your
  fault.  I made it through.  You were there to call the ambulance when Mulder and I needed you
  there.  I can never thank you enough..."
       "But, I--"  Scully was tearing up.  "I want to say so much to you..."
       "You don't have to say it."
       "But I do."  Dana wiped the tears from her cheeks and composed herself.  "I can never
  thank you enough for what you did in that room.  If you hadn't been there who knows what I
  would've done to Mulder.  He's my best friend, he's my partner, and one of the people I care
  about most.  In the beginning I have to admit that I didn't trust you.  We had previous experience
  when working with others and I'm afraid that it influenced the way I thought about you.
       "But what you did in there.  I know now that I can trust you with my life, and with
  Mulder's.  That means a lot to me.  If you can ever forgive me for what I've done--"
       "Scully, stop."  Melia set her hand on Dana's shoulder.  "It means everything in the world
  that you trust me after all that has happened.  There's nothing to forgive.  I was only doing my
  job.  We were all doing what was destined to happen.  We were all just doing our jobs."
       "No, we weren't."  Scully insisted.  "None of us had a clear head in that room, in that
  house."
       "We were all doing what we could, what we knew to be right at the time."  Melia
  explained.  "No one can be blamed for anything in this case except those who instigated the
  crimes."
       Scully gave up trying to fight with her.  Both women obviously had their own thoughts
  about the case.
       'Who knows,'  Dana thought, 'maybe I'll feel different when I come back.'
       There was a silence, and Melia and Scully both took the opportunity to breathe.
       "So why didn't you tell us about your father?"  She asked.
       "We didn't want people to think that the only reason I was getting assignments was
  because the Assistant Director was my Daddy.  I wanted to gain a name in the Bureau on my
  own."
       "What about Sharon?"
       "My stepmother?"  Melia asked, surprised.  "Yeah, she's great...almost like a real mom,
  you know?  My Dad met my mother when they were younger, and when he was about twenty, I
  was born.  My mom left about a year later; they were never married.  I admire my Dad a lot for
  sticking by me, for raising me.  I respect Sharon for accepting me, even though I was just about
  half-grown when they married.  She's more like a friend than a mom.  When I went into the
  academy Dad frowned on it, but Sharon convinced me that I should go for it.  I'm glad that she
  did, but I hated the fact that I had a lot of hurtles to jump.  Being the daughter of a prized agent
  makes others expect more from you or expect too little because they don't think you got in on
  your own merit."
       "That must have been hard on you."  Scully played with her hands.
       "I think it was harder on my father.  I love him more than life itself, and when I asked him
  to take his name off the file, I think it hurt him a lot.  My Dad was always there when I needed
  him.  I just want to make him proud."
       "I'm sure he is proud.  The news is all over the bureau, even the security guards are
  talking about what happened to you."  Scully looked her partner in the eyes.  "They think you're a
  heroine."
       "What about you?"  Melia asked.  "What do you think about what happened?"
       "I don't know what to think about it.  Mulder wrote in his reports that he believes the
  Tremere do have the abilities of blood magic and mind control, but I don't see it.  I never see
  what he sees."
       "So you blame yourself for what happened?"
       "There's no one else to blame."  
       "Scully, you can't do this to yourself."  Melia protested.  "Did you go over your bloodwork
  when you and Mulder were checked out?"
       "Yes, but--"
       "And were there abnormal amounts of oxygen going to your brain?"
       "Yes, but--"
       "Scully, I think that says it all."
       "You are so like Mulder!"  She sprung from the bed.  "You don't understand!  There is a
  rational explanation out there!  I have to forget about the X-Files and focus on my mind, focus on
  where I slipped up.  I'm a danger to you and Mulder until I know what's going on."
       "Scully, if you refuse to believe the truth, then you're always going to think that you're a
  danger to those around you.  You're a good person, in control, obviously these people had a
  power stronger than you or I and they got the better of us.  They made us fall."
       "I could have fought it."  She looked down at the floor.
       "I'm sure you tried, but there's so much that you and Mulder have been through together
  on these cases--emotional distress makes it easier to get into someone's head."
       "I need to get strong again."  Scully settled next to the doorway.  "I need to think about
  everything that has happened...I've experienced so much and I just need to evaluate what I think
  I've found."
       "Then do it, Scully.  Obviously there are answers that you're seeking that you can't find
  while you're working.  Do what you need to do.  No one can blame you for wanting to be at your
  best while you work."
       "Thanks."  
       "Now go get those papers so I can get out of here."  Melia could feel the angst building
  and she wanted to be rid of it.  Changing the subject seemed to work.  
       "You got it."  Scully gave one of her prize-winning smiles as she headed out the door.
       Melia got up, a dull pain rushing through her stomach.  She walked over to the water
  pitcher and poured a glass of water for herself.  She lifted the vessel to her lips, the liquid was
  cool and soothed her parched throat.
       "I'm glad to see you're better."  A man's voice sounded behind her.  "We were all worried
  about you."
       Melia knew who it was.  Just the sound of his voice made her cringe.  She turned to face
  him.  He looked significantly different without a cancer stick hanging from his lips.
       "I know you found out certain things on this case.  Now that you're all better, I want to
  know what it was."
       "I don't think that this is the time or the place."  She gritted through her teeth.  She wasn't
  in the ideal state to deal with him today.
       "Then when and where?  I'm here, you're here.  Why not now?"
       "Scully's just down the hall."   She pointed out.
       "Oh, worried about your cover are you?"  He mocked.
       She looked at his wrinkled face, anger mounting up in her.  She tried to breathe for a
  calming effect but it didn't work, she just got angrier.  "I want out.  I want nothing more to do with
  you or your precious Majestic 12.  I don't care if you take me out of the X-Files, I don't care if you
  have me killed.  I can't live a lie the way you can. It makes me sick to look at myself in the mirror
  when I wake up in the morning, I want to be able to be honest with people. I want to be able to
  trust without fear.  I can't do that while I work for you."
       "Are you joking?"  He laughed.  "Your performance on this case was immaculate.  Not
  even your father would let me take you out the X-Files.  I know that you'll change your mind soon
  enough.  We have ways..."
       "I won't.  Lying in that bed; looking up the barrel of Scully's gun..."  She explained.  "I
  knew that if I made it through I couldn't do this anymore.  You see, there's a difference between
  me and you.  I have morals and a conscience."
       "Morals are dangerous in this business."  He took out a cigarette and put it behind his
  ear.  "Have you ever heard the term that there's nothing more dangerous than a man with
  nothing to lose?"
       "Yes."
       "You trust people and you have more than your life to lose.  That trust commits them to
  death.  You committed yourself to the cause, you can't just walk out now without taking innocent
  lives with you."  He raised his voice.
       She stared him down, her eyes as cold as stone.  "I haven't told anyone yet, no one else
  has to get hurt or die."
       "How do we know that they don't anything?"  He asked.  "Do you really think that we'd
  trust a traitor?"
       "No one has to die.  I'm getting out!"  
       "You're not joking are you?"  His smile faded.  "I hope you know that there is no way out
  other than six feet under.  You've chosen the wrong people to double-cross, young lady.  No
  matter where you go, we will find you.  No matter what you do, we'll know what it is."
       "You couldn't touch me with a ten foot pole right now without everyone knowing.  You'd
  expose the entire group.  Not even they could agree to killing me off right now.  There's too
  much involved; too much at risk.  What about your precious work?  Have you ever stopped to
  think that maybe it would be more beneficial for the public to know what we do instead of
  keeping them in the dark?"
       "If we exposed our knowledge it would cause a wide spread panic.  My job is to protect
  Americans from their worst fears come true.  If they knew the truth the world as we know it would
  fall into chaos, and cease to exist.  We'd be forced into technological advancement before our
  time.  Millions of lived would be lost in wars over what we know."
       "I'm willing to take the risk of getting out.  Maybe someday you'll understand why.  If you
  ever get emotions."
       "Well all have emotions, Agent Barker.  When your friend Mulder shoved a gun into my
  face, I was scared.  But I also knew that without me, there's a wealth of information that could
  never be known.  It gives me a certain power."
       "Don't count on it."  She returned to packing her things.
       "I'm warning you now, little girl."  He opened the door.  "I'll be there when you make a
  mistake.  We'll know every move you make from now until your death.  We'll always be watching
  you.  I'll be your undoing."
       "Not unless you want to make a martyr out of me.  My death would only rouse
  suspicions.  You know that, don't you?  I have the advantage for now."
       "The first time you make a mistake, I'll be there to watch you fall."  He took the cigarette
  from behind his ear and put it back in his mouth.
       "Leave."  She pointed to the door.  "NOW."
       Melia watched as he fled into the hallway and kept her eye o him until his figure
  disappeared from view.  She chastised herself for letting it go as far as it had with the Majestic
  12.  She wished that she could erase that mistake from her life.  Hopefully Cancerman had
  gotten the message that she didn't want to be contacted in any way ever again.  Maybe she
  would have to give up her new job faster than she realized.  Why had she been so hopeful that
  they would just let her go?  They had others on their lists, but she was the one they had used
  most.  Where was she to go from here?  She supposed that she would have to take everything
  one day at a time.
       She sighed and realized that no matter what happened, she would be living in constant
  fear.  How could she have ever been so naive about these people?  Her frustration overtook her
  as she sank onto the bed and a single tear ran down her cheek.
       Scully came back into the room.  "Barker, I have your release papers, you have to sign
  them--what's the matter?"
       Melia wiped her eyes dry and look at her partner.  "It's a long story, and someday I'll be
  able to tell you about it.  But right now I have some thinking to do myself."
  
  
  XXX  The End  XXX