"True Business" (Parts 2/3)

From: "TSbrown" <tombrown@tiac.net>
Subject: "True Business" PG
Date sent: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 18:36:12 -0400

Part 19/37

3:30 PM
April 13
Arlington Memorial Hospital

After a few hours of sleep Vanessa woke up and saw
Samantha's brother staring out the window of the room.
She still had one hand free, the one without the
plastic tube. She patted the bed to get his
attention.

<Hey, you should still be sleeping,> he thought.

She shrugged, =I don't like this place. I want to
leave here.=

<Yeah, I know what you mean,> he replied.

She stared at him. Samantha had said that he would be
nice to her and that she could trust him. She
couldn't be sure about that anymore. She said he
never hit or hurt her.

Vanessa wondered what had happened to him after
Samantha had left. If she wanted she could just go
inside his mind and take the memories from him. She
knew that this was wrong, a mind rape, she had been
taught. It took her a long time to learn not to do
this, it was so much easier than waiting for answers
to her questions.

<What's wrong?> he thought.

She shook her head, = I'm thinking, thinking.=

He nodded, moving toward the chair next to the bed.

=You want to know things about me, that's why all the
tests right?= she asked.

He nodded again. He chastised himself, I'm a selfish
bastard, he thought to himself. When will he learn
that his need to know the truth doesn't give him the
right to put others in danger.

She tapped the bed again to get his attention.

=Why don't you just ask me what you want to know.
Stop playing games, giving tests. Ask me what you
want to know and I promise to be honest with you.=

He regarded her. She looked so tiny in that bed, so
vulnerable. He remembered what that felt like and it
wasn't a nice feeling.

He sighed,

=I need to learn how to trust you again and you need
to learn how to trust me. Let's talk and be honest.=
she replied.

He leaned back on the chair, <Do you read my mind all
the time? How much do you know about me from reading
my mind?>

She did the best she could to sit up. =Okay, what
else?=

He saw her struggling and wished he could help her but
he knew his touch was not welcome.

<Let's start there,> he replied.

She sighed, =There are many different levels to
people's thoughts, like layers of an onion. I have
ability to go into person's mind and work through the
layers to uncover thoughts, feelings, memories. But,
I don't do it, unless I have permission first. It
would be same as rape of the mind if I just went ahead
and did that.=

He nodded. <Why can you read me so easy and how many
layers have you gone through with me?>

=You different, you do the mindtalk. I can't help but
feel what you feel, see what you see, hear what you
think! I work hard building up partitions to keep
your thoughts away from me. You think too much, too
fast. It makes me very tired. Also, I'm not
interested in knowing all your thoughts. Now, I'm
open to your mindtalk, the first layer of the onion.
I will not go deeper unless you want me too or if I
must to protect myself.=

His head snapped up.

She was having a hard time getting comfortable, =Right
now, I don't know who to trust.=

He nodded,

His stomach clenched again, knowing that he was
responsible for this pain.

<Why am I the only person who can do this mindtalk
with you?> he asked

Her eyes got wide, =You don't remember?=

His brows furrowed, turning to face her, <What do you
mean?>

=I don't know best way to tell you this. You have a
choice; I can tell you, or I can help you remember it
yourself.=

He felt a little dizzy. This wasn't an easy choice.

<Just tell me for now and maybe later you can help me
to remember myself.> He swallowed hard.

She was terrified he might get angry again. She took
some deep breaths, he needed to know.

<You were brought to the place where Samantha and I
lived, when you were very young. It started when you
were 4 years old. They did tests on you. They were
planning on taking you when you were older, but then
they met your sister.> She tried to read his
expressions, not wanting to enter his thoughts.

He was shaking his head. He didn't believe her. He
would have remembered, he remembered everything. He
had an eidetic memory for crying out loud.

He looked at Vanessa. <What happened to me at this
place?>

=When there was a new test to be performed they came
and got you, or if the 'Broker' had a new 'Product'
you came in for that.=

Mulder rubbed his face, jeez, what happened to him.
Product? Tests?

She tapped the bed again. =When you come to this
place, you are given the ability to mindtalk, so you
can interact with them.=

<Who is ''them''?> he demanded.

She jumped, =We called them people but they look
different. I believe your name is 'Grays.' =

His eyes widened, Oh no!

He had to get up, he had to pace. All these years,
all this time he searched for the truth, all the risks
he and Scully took and the truth was * inside * him!

=You have seen them again. You were in Puerto Rico,
and they came and took you that day for a short time.
They wanted to make sure your memories were gone.=

He shook his head in disbelief, <Why?>

=Because of your work, they wanted to know if you
remembered being there as a kid. I think they worried
about you remembering things before the time was
right.=

<When would the time be right? Is there a plan? What
part am I playing in this? Is Scully in danger? What
does Samantha know? Is she involved in this too?> He
panicked.

Vanessa looked down at the bed and asked, =Are you
O.K.? Are you getting angry?=

He sat back down on the chair and put his head between
his knees. He needed to calm down. His quick temper
had gotten him in trouble many times but the last time
had almost cost Vanessa her life. Looking at her he
pleaded, <Explain to me what you can.>

She swallowed, =We're not informed of the entire
Project Plan, but we knew what our parts were. We
knew that we were there to help with the transition
period.=

=First contact,= she replied.

He stood up again, <How can you say 'First Contact' if
they've been here, taking people, taking my sister,
all the tests. I was told that they have been here
for quite some time.>

She nodded, =Yes, true, but only few people involved
now. Later, the world will be involved.=

He looked at her, <Do you know when?>

She shook her head no. =I don't think a definite time
has been set. A goal has been set but I don't know
when. You believe me, right?=

<This is a lot for me to take in. I need . . . I need
a minute.> he rubbed his eyes with his good hand.

He looked up at her, <Why did you leave?>

She was getting tired, =Samantha told me she thought
it would be best if I left. That I wasn't safe there
anymore.=

Surprised, <Why?>

She gnawed at her lip, =Because it was only a matter
of time before they found out about me.=

He shook his head, <What do you mean?>

She was so ashamed of so much. How can she tell him
about this? She steadied herself, I promised to tell
the truth. =I'm a Teke, and I can do other things
too. If the 'Broker' found out he would have me
killed.=

<Why, Vanessa, why would he have you killed?>

She looked at him her face red, =Because I'm
different. I do things others can't do. He doesn't
understand it and that frightens him.=

That bastard. He needed to calm down. =What's a
Teke?= he asked.

Her hands betrayed her nervousness, =I make things
happen by thinking about it.=

<Are you saying you have telekinesis, um . . . like
turning on my computer?> he stated.

=Right, machines are easy.= she replied.

He nodded and rubbed his chin.

Vanessa yawned. =I'm sorry. I give you too much too
soon.=

He gave her a little smile, <Yeah, you've given me a
lot to think about. You're tired. Go to sleep.
Scully will be here soon.>

She nodded, =I'm sorry I overwhelmed you.=

He started to reach for her hand and then stopped
himself. <Don't worry about me, I'm O.K.>

Yawning again, =Your hand must hurt, you should ask
the doctor for help.=

<Okay, I will.> he smiled slightly.

He sat back on the chair and sighed.

End Part 19/37

Part 20/37

4:30 PM
April 13
Arlington Memorial Hospital

Scully walked into the room and found both Vanessa and
Mulder sleeping. She grabbed Vanessa's chart and
looked it over. Her blood pressure was back to
normal, heart rate slow but steady at 61, she was
improving.

She walked over to Mulder. How could he sleep in one
of those miserable chairs she wondered. She touched
his shoulder, "Mulder, I'm here."

His head rolled toward her and he slowly opened his
eyes. "Hey Scully," he croaked. He cleared his
throat and attempted to straighten up in the chair.

"Ouch!"

Scully grinned, "Those chairs are possibly the most
uncomfortable piece of furniture ever invented."

"Yeah," his voice was stronger.

She got a good look at his eyes. "What's up Mulder?"
she asked.

"Hmm, nothing much. Vanessa woke up and we talked for
a while. Jeez, my hand hurts."

"What have you been taking for the pain?" she asked.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "The nurse gave
me some Tylenol."

She instinctively put her hand to his head, "Your
warm. I'd like to take your temperature."

He waved her away. He hated it when she was in
hovering mode, besides, Vanessa was the one in the
hospital bed not him.

"I talked to Skinner," she said.

He looked up at her, "Yeah? What did he have to say?"

Scully dropped her head and pursed her lips, "He wants
to make sure that Vanessa is protected. He believes
that it is in her best interest if people didn't know
who she was or where she came from."

"How are we going to do that? She's in the hospital,
for crying out loud, there's a paper trail a mile
long. There are guards outside her door. I think
it's a little late to keep her out of site."

She licked her lips, "I know, I essentially said the
same thing. He gave me his assurance that there will
be a successful clean up of paper work and we have a
cover story for being here in the hospital."

He was surprised, "Cover story? Okay, what is it?"

"Vanessa doesn't exist. You and I are here working on
old paperwork related to a case that Skinner will
fabricate. While we working here you had an accident
that required medical attention and that's why we
stayed in the hospital overnight."

Mulder sighed, "Scully, that's a lousy cover story.
Too many people are going to remember having a deaf
girl almost commit suicide here."

"I thought about that too. You know Gallaudet has a
lot of students and employees who could feasibly live
in this area. It'll work, Mulder, it has to."

His head hurt, "Yeah, okay Scully, whatever works."

"It has to work Mulder, because Skinner has put us in
charge of protecting Vanessa, so we'll need to be
careful when we go out."

Mulder rubbed his eyes with his good hand, "We'll
think up something. We always do."

Scully heard voices in the hall becoming louder. She
recognized Andrew's voice but there were two others.

"Dr. Walsh," she said as they came into the room.
There was a college aged woman with him, and a 40ish
man, must be the interpreter and the psychiatrist, she
thought.

Mulder stood up a little too quickly. He felt the
room shift and he had to catch himself on the bed so
he wouldn't fall.

"Hello Dr. Scully, how are you feeling Agent Mulder?"
he asked.

"I'm fine, Dr. Walsh, who do you have with you?" he
did his best to sound professional.

"I'd like you to meet Christine Lowery, she will be
interpreting for us today and I also brought Dr.
Vincenzio from psychiatry to talk with Vanessa. Is
she awake?"

They made all the expected pleasantries.

Mulder offered, "She was awake a little while ago, let
me see it's been a few hours. She seemed to be doing
okay."

Even in her sleep, Vanessa could feel the presence of
more people in the room. She didn't know these
people. She felt vulnerable and forced herself awake.

Blinking a few times she saw a group of people
crowded around the foot of the bed. She tapped the
bed until she caught Scully's attention.

=What's up?= she signed to Scully.

"She's awake," Scully announced and stepped over to
the head of the bed.

=Hi Vanessa, how are you feeling?= she asked.

=I'm O.K. Who are all these people?= she rubbed her
eyes.

=This woman is the interpreter, and there is a
psychiatrist with her and Dr. Walsh. I'm not sure how
to handle this, so I'm going to ask the interpreter if
she will take over. Is that O.K.?=

Vanessa started biting her lower lip, =I don't know
these people.=

Mulder looked at her and thought, <It's okay. We'll
stay or leave whatever you want, but you will need to
speak with the psychiatrist before you can leave here.
Do you understand?>

She stared at him and nodded slightly.

=I need both hands to communicate,= she looked at Dr.
Walsh as both Scully and the interpreter voiced for
her.

The women looked at each other, "Sorry, " started
Scully, "didn't mean to step on any toes. I'll let
you do your job."

The interpreter interpreted this to Vanessa, who
signed, =Whatever.=

In the meantime Dr. Walsh had come around to the bed
and undid the right hand restraint. He noticed the IV
had been removed, per his request. There was no
reason for her to still be in this restraint. He
moved the head of the bed upright so she could see
everyone.

=Thank you,= she signed to Dr. Walsh and looked at the
interpreter to see if she voiced correctly. She
seemed to be okay.

The psychiatrist began, "Ask her if . . . "

Mulder, Scully and the terp started, "No, don't say .
. . "

They stopped and awkwardly looked at each other.

"Dr. Vincenzio," the interpreter explained, "talk to
her normally. Look at her when you ask a question,
look at her as I voice her response. I'm just here to
facilitate communication."

"Oh," the psychiatrist said, "Sorry. I'm a quick
learner, it won't happen again."

Dr. Walsh motioned for Scully and Mulder to come out
in the hall with him.

=No! Wait! Where are you going? Please don't leave
me! I don't know these people!= the terp shouted.

Scully and Mulder ran back in, =What's wrong?= he
signed.

=Please don't leave me alone with these people,=
Vanessa begged.

The terp's voice was an annoyance to the two agents
who had become accustomed to communicating with their
hands.

Scully looked at the psychiatrist, =Would you mind if
we stayed, I think she'll be more cooperative.=

Dr. Walsh interrupted, "I need to discuss some things
with you Dr. Scully if Vanessa doesn't mind?"

=I'll stay with you,= Mulder signed to Vanessa.

She nodded, =O.K.=

End Part 20/37

Part 21/37

4:40 PM
April 13
Arlington Memorial Hospital

Out in the hall Andrew leaned his back against the
wall and sighed.

"Andrew, are you feeling all right?" Scully asked.

He grinned, "I'm real tired, Dana. You know how it
is."

She smiled, "Yeah, I do. So, what's up with Vanessa?
Is she doing okay?"

"She's doing great. Her heart rate, her pressure her
EKG everything is good. Unless Dr. Vincenzio states
otherwise, I'm ready to release her to your care."

Scully blinked, "Really? Don't you think it's a
little early to release her?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Under normal
circumstances, yes, I would definitely keep her here
for a few more days." He looked into her blue eyes.
God I could get lost in those eyes he thought.

God I could lost in his eyes, she thought to herself,
then cleared her throat.

"But, these are not normal circumstances are they
Andrew?" she asked.

He smiled, and reached out to touch her hair. He said
softly, "No, these aren't normal circumstances."

She felt her face flush and quickly looked up and down
the hall to see if they had been caught. Hmm, seems
all is clear, she thought.

She reached up and took his hand in hers and squeezed
it briefly. "So, what are you thinking?"

He took a step closer to her, "I'm thinking if I don't
see you again soon I might combust."

Laughing she murmured, "I feel the same way."

They heard a door open and he took a step back from
her.

"Dana, I think that due to Vanessa's history she would
do better at home. She doesn't need strangers coming
in all the time and touching her and failing to
communicate with her. If you agree, I'd like to
release her into your care. She should come back in a
few days to have the stitches removed, but other than
that I think you can handle anything that might come
up."

Scully nodded, "I think that's a good plan."

He stood up straight, "In that case Dr. Scully, I was
wondering if you would accompany me to the lounge."
He placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'll write out
all the prescriptions you'll need for Vanessa and
Mulder and answer any questions you might have." He
let his finger trace the outline of her arm to her
fingertips.

She smiled, "Thank you, Dr. Walsh, I do believe I have
a question or two."

4:40 PM

Vanessa looked anxiously at Mulder.

He looked at her, <Do you want me to mindtalk, to help
you get through this?>

She nodded slightly.

The terp looked at Mulder to see if he was signing to
her, but he was just sitting on the arm of the chair.

=So, Vanessa. I understand you hurt yourself pretty
bad. Do you want to tell me about it?= he asked.

She shook her head no.

<Be more cooperative, he'll make it easier if you just
feed him what he wants to hear.> Mulder told her
through mindtalk.

Her eyes flashed to him and then back at the terp.

=Well, Vanessa, I was hoping we could talk today, but
if you're not willing . . . =

Vanessa interrupted, =It's O.K., I'll talk with you.
Maybe you could start out with smaller things and then
ask the harder questions. That would be helpful to
me.=

Mulder smiled, hell, she was a pro!

The psychiatrist nodded, =Good, that's very helpful to
know. Okay, how are you feeling today?=

=I'm feeling much better today, though I do feel
ashamed about what I have done.=

=You say you feel ashamed, why is that?= he asked

=Because I overreacted to a situation. I realize that
I have been walking around in fear. Now that I am
getting better physically, I've decided I don't want
to live like that anymore.=

The psychiatrist looked surprised, =Really, what would
you like to change?=

Vanessa couldn't look at Mulder because she knew she
would start laughing.

=I've decided that I want to live and that I very much
want to start therapy and get help to resolve my
issues. I also want to grow professionally and am
considering applying to a University. . . =

The rest of the interview could have been taken out of
a text book. Mulder tried not to laugh. She could
play the game as good as he did!

End Part 21/?

Part 22/?

6:30 PM
April 13
Arlington Memorial Hospital,

Fortunately, they didn't have to take care of the
usual paper work hassles that Mulder was so familiar
with. While Vanessa was changing into the clothes
Scully had brought her, he got a 'script for pain for
his hand and Scully was getting Vanessa's 'scripts and
stuff together.

He had just taken a pill for his hand but it wasn't
really working. He had a killer headache, too.
Probably from too much sleep, he thought to himself.
He'll have to remember to tell Scully that any more
than 4 hours of sleep for him made him sick. Maybe
she'd lay off badgering him about his insomnia. Well,
not that he really minded.

Scully walked looking flushed.

"What's up Scully," he asked.

"Oh, not much. We'll need to stop at the pharmacy on
the way to my place. I'll change your bandage when we
get to your place then I'm going to take Vanessa back
home and get her settled in."

He looked at her squinting, his head hurt, "Scully,
you're planning to ditch me!"

She half laughed, "No, I'm taking care of my two
patients. You both need to rest."

He shook his head, "I have rested, a lot! I want to
stay with you guys. I need to talk with Vanessa some
more. We started a conversation earlier and I want to
finish it. Plus we need to get ready to go to
Vermont, so I'm coming with you."

Vanessa came out of the bathroom in blue jeans and a
gray turtleneck.

=I'm ready to leave here,= She announced.

Mulder looked at Scully, "Well?" he challenged her.

He was surprised to see her grinning. He was sure
she'd insist on her plan. =Sure, we're all ready
let's go.=

7:45 PM
Scully's Apartment

They had picked up everything they needed from the
pharmacy and had even stopped at McDonald's on the way
home.

Mulder signed with his mouth stuffed with fries, =I
can't believe you really took us to McDonald's Scully.
I'm waiting for the heart attack speech or the
arteriosclerosis speech, whichever the mood strikes
you.=

=Sometimes it's just easier to not fight you on
everything. I'll make sure we start eating better
tomorrow, O.K.?= she grinned.

She was in an exceptionally good mood he thought.
What's got into her, he wondered?

Vanessa didn't realize how hungry she was as she
gobbled down her cheeseburger and drank her soda. She
tapped the table. =What do we need to do for
Vermont?= she asked.

Mulder thought,

Scully interrupted, =If you don't mind I would like to
be included in the discussion. And by the way what is
up with this mindtalk between you two?=

Vanessa signed, =Sorry.=

Mulder, mouthful of BigMac signed =Same.=

=I'll try to explain,= Vanessa began, =but if I get
it wrong you let me know O.K.?=

Mulder nodded.

Scully, you remember when we first met and I told you
I wish I could do mindtalk with you and Fox, because
we had hard time with communication?= Vanessa signed.

Scully looked at them both, Quarter Pounder poised in
front of her mouth and nodded.

=I have ability to do mindtalk, but it's different
than 'reading your mind.' That's silly. People
don't think in words, they think by emotion, by images
that pop up, by the way something smells and then
these translate into thought patterns. I can pick up
on them. It takes work for me, because I have to open
up my mind to feel and interpret those patterns. The
longer I know a person the easier it is to do.=

She was tired and she took in a big breath and let her
arms dangle by her sides.

She started again, =I think there different reasons
why mindtalk with Fox is easy for me. I think because
I spent so much time with his sister and their
patterns are similar it was simple to pick-up. That's
one reason any way.= She looked at Fox, it was his
decision to tell Scully about time he spent undergoing
the tests.

Scully put her soda down, =Can you mindtalk with me?=

Vanessa nodded, =I can, yes. But, I won't until you
give me permission. It's not fair that I can hear
your mindtalk and you can't hear mine. I need you to
understand that just because I open my mind to you
that I will know all your deep secrets or anything. I
only know what you want me to know.= She offered the
layers of the onion analogy again.

After grabbing a handful of Vanessa's fries and
stuffing them in his mouth he signed, =Scully, you
want to be able to mindtalk, same as me and Vanessa?=

Scully stared straight ahead for a moment, not
blinking. Then, =I don't know. I think I want to
understand it better before I would agree to doing
this. I want to know what the consequences might be
and if these are worth risking.=

Mulder snickered, =Consequences? Scully, what's the
problem? Do you think she'll give you an aneurysm or
something? It's just another form of communication.
You really need to relax more about this stuff.=

Scully shot him a nasty glare, =I don't think there's
anything wrong with knowing all the facts before
entering something new.=

She swore she heard him say "Pshaw," but that wasn't
like him.

=Seriously, Mulder think about it. You are now using
a part of your brain that you hadn't before. What
happens when this part of the brain gets stimulated?
What are the ramifications of this electrical change
that occurs in the brain?=

Mulder smiled, =Oh I get it, it's like the
'Ichthyologist' right? Every time he met someone new
he forgot the name of a fish.=

Vanessa laughed, =Interesting.=

=Well, neither of you saw Vanessa's EEG at the
hospital and I did,= she stated.

=Oh,= Mulder was downing the last of Scully's fries,
=What did you see 'oh wise one.' =

Vanessa frowned, here we go again.

=For your information, Mr. Oxford University, I saw an
EEG that was all over the place. It indicated that
there was much more brain activity than the norm.=

Mulder laughed, "So what? What's wrong with learning
how to use the dormant parts of the brain? There is
so much possibility locked up inside our gray matter,
Scully. I don't see what's wrong with tapping into it
and learning from it."

"That's the problem, Mulder!" she yelled, "You aren't
learning anything here, you are just blindly going
forward into something you don't know anything about,
once again. If you were doing this to learn about how
the brain functions, I would agree this would be a
worthy endeavor, but it's not to you. It's. . . it's
a convenience for you and that's all there is to it.
Admit it Mulder, come on!"

He sat up in his chair and readied himself for yet
another Scully confrontation until he saw Vanessa.

She was fast asleep, head resting on her arms on the
table.

Mulder said aloud, "Do you think we bored her?"

Scully blinked a few times, "Maybe. I'll make up the
sofa bed and do you think you can carry her over or
does your hand hurt too much?"

"No, I'm fine, Scully."

Scully removed only her shoes after he placed her on
the bed. There was no reason to wake her up just to
change clothes, and the dressings could wait until
morning.

"Mulder let me look at your hand," she requested.

"Why?" he asked defensively.

"Because, I want to see if the dressing needs to be
changed?" What was his problem, she thought.

"It's fine Scully, leave it alone."

Her brows furrowed and she bit the inside of her lip.
She knew what that meant, something was wrong and he
didn't want her to know. Well, fine this time she
thought. I don't feel like arguing about it.

"Do you want to stay here or are you going to go to
your place or what?" she asked.

He was relieved she didn't challenge him. He had
enough of her hovering for now.

"Well, I guess I can take a cab home and be back in
the morning. I did promise Vanessa I'd take her
shopping for hiking gear and stuff."

Scully shook her head in amazement. Why was it that
guys always thought they were giving you this great
gift when they took you shopping. It was like a pat
on the head for being a good doggie or something.

"Sure, whatever. Do you have any money for the cab?"
she asked knowing the answer.

His eyes grew big and he grinned at her. "Uh, Scully
can you lend me cab fare?"

"Jeez, Mulder, didn't you learn to always be
prepared?"

"Sorry Scully, didn't make it to boy scouts, I was too
busy studying at Oxford," he smiled.

Scully let her shoulders drop and decided to let her
next comment drop as well.

"Uh, Scully? Can I borrow your key to my apartment?"
he grinned sheepishly.

Scully shook her head and went to find her bag. Men!

She successfully got him in the cab, with enough money
to take him to Alexandria.

As she closed her door she realized how incredibly
exhausted she was and sighed. Maybe tomorrow will be
less interesting she thought. I sure hope so.

End Part 21/37

Part 22/37

10:30 PM
April 13
Mulder's Apartment

Mulder continued stretching in front of his building.
He needed to run. It always helped him clear his
head, Scully should really try it, he thought. It
felt good to be on his own for a little while. The
quiet was necessary to sort his rushing thoughts.

It was a little weird that Vanessa could see into his
mind. She had asked him once if he wanted her to help
him uncover some of his more repressed memories. He
pondered if she could also help him to see into
other's people's minds. He thought about the people
at work and decided, this isn't something he really
needed or wanted. But the idea of it intrigued him.
He had told Clyde Bruckman that he envied his psychic
ability. Well, here is an opportunity to explore that
aspect of his mind. Hmm, he needed to put those
thoughts in the back of the pile and move onto
something else.

He noticed it right away even before he took the
bandages off. His cut was breaking down and becoming
infected. Oh great! Why couldn't he just heal like
normal people. Then he got into the shower and he
thought he was going to black out when the hot water
hit his wound. He leaned against the tiled wall
holding his hand up and reminded himself to breathe
normally. The last thing he needed was for Scully to
find him unconscious in his bathroom.

Hey, he thought, who cleaned the place up? He said a,
"Thank you," to Scully. She knew he wouldn't be able
to handle seeing all that blood again. She probably
got her mom to come over and clean it up. He'll have
to remember to ask her tomorrow and send her some
flowers or something.

His hand hurt! He showered as best he could and got
changed. He found some antibiotic cream and put it
over the wound. Yikessss! That hurt. He put a
bandage on it and got into the blue cast again. He
went to the kitchen and got an iced tea and brought
into the living room. He turned on his TV and grabbed
the bottle of pain pills Scully had gotten him. He
tossed two of them in his mouth and washed them down
with the tea. He got comfortable on the couch and
started surfing through the channels. Oh to be home
and be in charge of the remote! He sighed and tried
to relax and let the medication go to work.

He's going to see Samantha in a few days. Jeez, what
does he want to say to her? What does she need to
hear from him? He wondered what she really looked
like, clone not withstanding. She had such big eyes
as a kid, he pondered. Is her hair still long ? Does
she know that dad died? Has she forgiven him for not
protecting her like he promised?

He felt the medication starting to work. He couldn't
feel his lips anymore.

He'll see her soon and he'll take her home. Finally,
he can bring her back home.

He noticed the remote was falling out of his hand but
he didn't care.

Let it go, he thought as his mind began to quiet and
his body followed toward sleep.

April 14
Scully's Apartment
8:00 AM

Scully had been working on finishing up reports on her
laptop when she heard the trademark Mulder knock.

She clicked on the save icon and went to open the
door.

"Hey Scully, what took you so long?" he had coffee and
muffins this morning for them.

"Good morning to you too Mulder." She rubbed the back
of her neck. He noticed the sofa bed had been put
away.

"Where's Vanessa?" he asked.

Scully opened the bag and examined the contents for a
blueberry muffin, "She's in the tub, better use your
mindtalk to tell her your here," she added
sarcastically.

"Very cute Scully." But he did it anyway.

"Mulder, why do you insist on getting muffins with
cranberries in them? It's not natural! Those tart
little things ruin the whole muffin," she teased.

Looking at her sternly, "For your information, I grew
up in New England, you know where the cranberry bogs
are? I lived off this stuff my whole life. Hey, if
you want I can be like that character in Forest Gump
and give you a run down of everything my mom made with
cranberries in it."

Ah, she found her blueberry. "No thanks." She
deadpanned and returned to her laptop.

"Are you going into the office today?" he asked.

"Yes, I am." She put her hands on her hips. "Do you
think you might grace the office with your presence
sometime before we head up North?"

He grabbed a cranberry muffin, "I don't know.
Shouldn't one of us stay with Vanessa?"

She watched the crumbs from his muffin hit the couch,
coffee table and floor. Fine, I don't have anything
better to do than clean up after you all the time, she
thought. Gee, there was one really good reason to not
have the mindtalk skill.

"Mulder, stop being a pig, you're making a mess.
Yeah, you're right one of us should be with her. Do
you think the office has been bugged again?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. We've given them plenty
of time. Maybe I'll bring Vanessa in with me this
afternoon and she can check it out."

He grabbed one of the coffees.

"Do you think it's safe to do that?" she asked.

"Well, I think she'll know, once we get there. You
know what I mean. I'll call you if anything happens."
He slurped his coffee.

Vanessa came out of the bathroom and tapped on the
wall to get Scully's attention. She was embarrassed
she was wearing only a towel, but she needed help with
all the bandages.

Hearing the tapping, the agents turned towards the
sound.

Mulder saw her wounds for the first time. Oh my God,
he thought. The lines of dark stitches stood out
against the paleness of her skin. She cut each wrist
three times horizontally as well as on her ankles. He
turned around and put his food on the table. <Sorry,>
he sent the thought to her. To himself he
concentrated on the series of flip flops his stomach
had just performed.

=Go back into the bathroom and I'll help you with the
bandages,= Scully signed to her.

Vanessa nodded and disappeared back into the bathroom.

He kept his head down and avoided her eyes, "Scully, I
had no idea. . . I mean I didn't think she . . Is she
okay?"

Scully had watched his reaction at seeing Vanessa, he
was probably struggling to keep his breakfast down.
"Yeah, Mulder, I know. She was real serious. I'll be
back in a few minutes."

Mulder lay his head back on the couch and close his
eyes.

Vanessa was trembling from the cold. Scully got
another towel and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She examined the wounds and they were healing nicely.
She could probably have the stitches removed the day
of their trip.

It took a few minutes to wrap the gauze around her
arms and legs. She signed, =Thank you, Scully. I'll
be out in a few minutes.=

Scully wondered how Mulder's wounds were healing. She
was going to ask him, but decided not to in the end.
If he needs her help he can ask her.

Mulder was considering telling Scully about the tiny
infection, but decided not to in the end. If he told
her, she'd make a fuss, drag him to the doctor's, make
him take more pills. It just needed some time for the
antibiotic cream to go to work. There's no way he was
going to be late for his sister.

"Scully, thanks for having my bathroom cleaned up.
Did your mom come over and do it?" he asked.

"Yeah, I called her and asked her if she would mind.
She's a mom, she can handle that kind of stuff. I
couldn't do it because I was with you two and she
volunteered."

Mulder nodded, "Does your mom have a favorite flower
or something, you know something she really likes?"

Scully smiled, he could be so sweet. "Yes, mom likes
yellow roses."

He whispered, "Thanks." He was grateful she didn't
make a big deal over it.

Vanessa appeared wearing her new jeans and a white
scoop necked shirt with long sleeves to hide the
bandages.

=Hi Fox,= she smiled, =You take me to M-A-L-L today,
right?= Scully snickered.

Mulder grinned, =Yes, you and me will shop today for
out trip and maybe you see other things you need.
We'll see.=

Vanessa went to the kitchen to make herself some tea
and get breakfast.

"Extortionist," Scully clucked.

"Scully, tell me honestly, if you went out shopping
and somebody picked up a great Donna Karan dress with
the perfect Prada shoes and accessories that it
wouldn't make your day," he challenged her.

She considered it. "Mulder how do you know those
designer names? Reading Cosmo these days?"

"Only for the articles. You didn't answer the
questions," he chided.

She dropped the files into her briefcase, leaned on
the table and looked over to him and said, "I'd love
it. And if you ever bring this up again you'd better
be wearing a kevlar vest."

He laughed as Vanessa came back into the room.

=I'm going to the office. You two have fun and I'll
see you later.= She signed. Then she stood behind
Mulder so only Vanessa could see,

=Don't be shy about getting things you want, you need
many things especially clothes and jewelry.=

Vanessa smiled.

=What?= Mulder asked.

"Nothing Mulder. Bye," she waved on her way out the
door.

End Part 22/37

Part 23/37

April 14
9:35 AM
Washington, DC

Mulder decided to take her to the Georgetown Mall, the
largest one he knew. Noticing how quiet she he felt
somewhat disappointed that she wasn't more
enthusiastic.

He stuck out his right hand and wiggled his fingers
within her peripheral vision, so he didn't startle
her.

She looked at him expectantly, =What's up?=

He signed, =Mindtalk okay for me?=

She nodded, driving and signing at the same time would
be very awkward and the way Fox drove, possibly
lethal.

She turned towards him, as much as the seat belt would
allow and signed, =Fine. I'm worried you drive and
watch me sign maybe difficult. I want time alone with
my thoughts and wanted to take this opportunity.
That's all,= she smiled.

<Oh, sorry for the intrusion.>

=No problem,= she signed.

They drove in silence. Mulder felt uncomfortable,
uneasy.

Vanessa looked over at him, =What?= she asked.

She rolled her eyes, =No, I have my walls up. I
recognize your thoughts to me, they feel stronger,
compact. But, no, I'm making up a list of things I
want, if you must know. Feel free to think about
whatever you want, I promise not to 'listen'. = she
was somewhat irritated.

Hey shrugged in response. They'll have more time to
talk while they shop. He wondered if he should have
called American Express and get a current balance.
Maybe, that's better left unknown, he thought.

Vanessa couldn't believe how big this mall was and
felt a little overwhelmed. She told Fox she needed to
sit for a little while. He grabbed a map and joined
her on the uncomfortable bench.

<Here, this is a map and a list of all the stores
here. We can plan how to use our time. Where do you
want to go to first?>

She nodded and signed, =I think you need to sign with
me. It might look weird me signing to you and you
just sitting there, you understand? We can do
mindtalk when we're not with people.=

That would look a little suspicious he thought, and
signed to her, =You're right, I'll sign and if I
forget you remind me O.K.?=

She nodded and pointed to the name of a store that
sold telephones and accessories. =I want go here
first.=

This surprised him. What does she want, a cell
phone, a beeper? =Sure,= he signed and found the
store quickly.

She signed to him, =You interpret for me?=

He nodded and smiled weakly, this wasn't exactly his
greatest skill.

A sales woman approached them, "Hello. How are you
two doing this morning?" she smiled.

He turned to stand next to the woman. She looked at
him strangely as he began interpreting for Vanessa.

"Good Morning. I'm interested in buying a TDD today.
What do you have?" Mulder voiced.

"Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf? We have
several different types. Let me show you where they
are." He signed for Vanessa. Even though he lived in
the D.C. area for the last 10 years or so he still
couldn't get over the difference between the courteous
Southerner's compared to the stoic and at times rude
New Englander's.

They looked at the different types, even a portable
one and decided on a medium range model. It plugged
right into the phone jack and even had an answering
machine feature. This model had paper tape so that
conversations/messages could be printed out and saved
for later use. After they left the store Mulder
turned to her and asked, =How did you know about these
and why did you want one?=

She hiked the bag down to the crook of her elbow and
signed, =I used Scully's computer last night and
talked to people on Internet. People explain to me
about TDD and how to use it. I want to be
independent. I don't like relying on interpreters
every time I need to communicate. So, I want to call
Dr. Hobart later today to reschedule SAT test, myself.
O.K.?=

=Yes, that's wonderful idea. Will you teach me how to
use the TDD?=

=Sure, but what you really need is to find out the
Relay phone numbers for what area you are in and a
person can relay your messages to me through a TDD at
the phone company. Cool huh?=

He smiled and nodded, =Yes, nice= he signed
awkwardly. The flat right hand moving slowly palm
down over his palm up left hand slowly over his cast.

They both found hiking boots at one store and decided
to wear them in effort to "break them in," prior to
their trip.

There were several shops that specialized in hiking or
camping and they visited them all, picking up tents at
one store, sleeping bags and backpacks at another,
warm socks and thermal underwear at another, more gear
at the rest.

Mulder felt a mall headache coming on. He could
handle doing the shopping thing for only so long, even
if it was something that he liked. He suggested they
go back to the car and get some lunch.

=Yes, go to car, drop off all bags, but then come back
eat lunch here. I need to shop for a few more things.
Is that O.K.?= she asked.

Oh yeah, the headache was going to be a bad one.
=Sure, no problem.= He signed and then let out a big
sigh.

Mulder's taste in restaurants were very different than
Scully's. He was happy to just go to the food court
and grab something, but she wanted to go to one of the
nice little places around the fringes of the mall.
They compromised at an upscale pizza parlor, that made
pizza's individually. So Mulder could got all the
toppings he loved instead of the healthy veggie
version Scully was always ordering for them.

As they ate, Mulder felt his headache start to
dissipate. Unfortunately, it didn't make him look
forward to whatever Vanessa had in mind. Probably
clothes shopping, ugh.

Mulder noticed Vanessa had stopped eating. He looked
up and saw her far away expression.

He waved his hand in front of her face and she was
startled out of her thoughts.

=What's up? You don't like the pizza?= he asked.

She made a little "oh" shape form on her lips as she
straightened up. =I was thinking about Samantha,= she
signed.

His pizza filled hand stopped mid air. He furrowed
his brows and leaned his head forward in a questioning
manner.

=I miss her,= she began, =you have same eyes as her.
You remind me of her a lot and I miss her.=

He dropped his food allowing his hands to be free.
=What is she like? Tell me about her.= He leaned
back in the chair.

=What exactly do you want me to tell you?= Vanessa
inquired.

He looked around the room, collecting his thoughts.
=Is she happy or sad? Is she afraid or hurt? Does
she miss us, me and our parents? Anything, Vanessa,
just tell me whatever you want.= His eyes were
bright.

Vanessa considered her next action. It was another
risk, but she decided he could handle it. He needed
to know.

=Fox, you want to try new way to communicate? Very
fast, very clear and very different?= she asked.

He shrugged, =Yeah, sure why not.= He struggled with
removing his leather jacket, it had gotten hot all of
a sudden.

Vanessa waited until she had his attention again.
=It's like mindtalk, but different. I send to you
information, but not mindtalk. You understand?=

He half laughed, =No,= he replied, =that's fine.
Let's try.=

She grinned, and held out her hand.

He wearily put his hand in hers.

=Close eyes,= she signed and watched as he did so.

She took a deep breath and thought of her friend.
Thought of her smile, remembered how patient she could
be and her kindness, felt the warmth of laughter they
shared and the comforting hugs when tears were shed.
She focused on her image and sent these thoughts to
Samantha's brother.

His hand ripped out of hers.

Vanessa saw that he was breathing fast and he looked
like he was ready to run out on her.

=I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you. I shared with
you my feelings, memories. You wanted to know, I gave
you what you wanted to know!= She tried not to show
her fear, he was angry. True, he made promises, but
people make promises all the time and it means
nothing. She worked hard at not crying and not being
terrified.

Turning away from her he put his hand up to his eyes
and rubbed them as he slowed his breathing.

She patiently waited for him to make the first move,
and hoped he wasn't angry.

He turned and faced her again, his eyes were
completely dark and she saw the rims filled with
tears. Swallowing hard he put his hand out on the
table.

<It was too much too fast, Vanessa. I needed time to
sort through everything you threw at me. Can we try
again but you go slower. One thought or feeling at a
time. I'm not mad, don't worry.> He smiled and
tipped his head toward her.

She put her hand in his.

Vanessa shook her head no.

She nodded and closed her eyes.

He watched her and did the same.

One feeling, only one feeling, Vanessa searched for
the one that stood out the most for her. She
protects, she teaches, she encourages laughter, she
worries . . . Vanessa decided on one and concentrated,
sending it to Fox.

He let out a little gasp and held her hand tighter.
He felt bathed in the summertime sun of the Vineyard,
he was warmed by the scents of cloves and cinnamon, he
felt lighthearted as if running along the shore or
playing softball, he felt embraced by unconditional
love and respect.

There was no pain, no guilt, no fear.

They opened their eyes, slowly.

Still holding her hand, he lightly lifted it to cheek,
and she felt tears fall slowly on her hand. He looked
up at her and nodded. He understood.

She had given him a wonderful gift that day. He was
determined to reciprocate, mall headache or not.

She found some more clothes she needed and he was
patient as she tried things on. She had picked up an
identical lavender shift like the one that was ruined
but he made her put it back and pick out something
else.

While she was in the dressing room, he asked one of
the sales people what she might recommend as something
special for the person he was with. She showed him a
light blue floral print slip dress.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"With her dark hair and light eyes, definitely."

"What uh, . . . kind of shoes and stuff would you wear
with this," he asked shyly.

The sales woman had no problem finding the right shoes
and purse.

He told her it was a surprise and she wrapped
everything up for him before Vanessa got out of the
dressing room.

His jaw dropped at the total. Why were women's
clothes so expensive? he wondered. He could
definitely get a real nice suit with 3 or 4 shirts and
a few ties that would last years with what he was
spending on this stuff. Well, of course, the bureau
regularly reimbursed him for all the clothes he got
beaten up, kidnapped, drugged or shot in.

He was trying to think of a way to expense some of
this stuff when Vanessa announced there was one last
store to visit.

He sucked it up and gave her his best faked smile and
signed, =Fine, no problem.=

He grimaced when he saw it was a jewelry store. What
could she possibly * need * at a jewelry store.

=Let's find something nice for Scully,= she signed.

He gave her a surprised look. =Sure, why not.= He
wished the idea had occurred to him.

They looked around and Vanessa picked up and examined
practically everything in the store.

She found a tiny pearl bracelet. They had it wrapped
up in pretty paper, he knew Scully would love it.

=Scully will like this a lot,= he signed to Vanessa.

=I hope,= she smiled.

Whatever, He thought, just let me get out of this
place before I have to kill somebody.

End Part 23/37

Part 24/37

April 14
4:40 PM
FBI Headquarters
X-Files office

"Scully," she answered the phone.

"Hi, it's me. How's the paperwork going?"

"Where are you Mulder, I thought you were coming by
the office today?" she asked impatiently.

"I thought it might be a bad idea to bring our new
friend to the office. Besides, I'd like to do a
security check just for our benefit."

"That's probably a good idea. We should be very low
profile until this whole thing is over."

"That's a good idea. I was as careful as possible
today. I'm pretty sure we weren't followed while we
were out."

"Followed! Mulder who would be following you?" she
asserted.

"Us, Scully, following us. I think it's obvious that
the person we call Cancer Man is the same person
Vanessa refers to as the 'Broker.' "

She pursed her lips, "Yes, that occurred to me. I'm
still trying to make sense out of this whole
situation, Mulder."

He nodded, "I know Scully. Look, will you bring some
of that paper work off my desk to me? I need
something mindless to do, you know keep me busy before
we leave."

Scully restrained herself. She hated that he could
take care of his share of the paperwork quickly,
efficiently and to her chagrin brilliantly.

"Sure Mulder no problem. Where are you?"

"I'm at your place now. I'll stay here until you get
back, if that's okay."

She looked at the huge stack of files on his desk and
smiled. She'll need a big mail box crate, but she *
will * find one and bring them all over.

She smiled, "Okay, great. I'll see you later."

She heard him hang up the phone.

She was figuring out the best way to the mail room
when the phone rang again.

"If you think I'm stopping by for pizza on the way
home forget it." She announced.

She heard a man clear his throat, "Uh . . . This Dr.
Walsh calling for Agent Scully?"

"Andrew! What a nice surprise. Sorry about that.
What can I do for you?" She settled into the desk
chair.

"Dana, you play the straight man a little too well,"
he laughed. "I wondered if you could stop by my
office. I have those PET results and honestly, I
don't know what to make out of them. Do you have some
time today?"

She was playing with her necklace and grinned, "I
think I can make some time. I'll be there in about an
hour?"

"Great, and if you want, I'll order the pizza," he
laughed easily.

He made her laugh, "Great, I like mine Hawaiian."

"I think I can handle, that. See you in an hour."

"See you then," she hung up glad no one was around to
see her blush.

7:00 PM
Scully's Apartment

Mulder was watching over Vanessa's shoulder as she
made her call to Dr. Hobart.

HI! VANESSA CALLING FOR DR. HOBART Q GA

=What's Q and GA?= asked Mulder.

She signed, = 'Q' means question and GA means Go
Ahead.=

He nodded.

DR. HOBART HERE HI VANESSA HOW R U Q GA

I FINE CAN I RESCHEDULE SAT TEST WITH U Q GA

SURE NP WHEN DO U WANT TO TAKE SAT TEST Q GA

=What's NP,= asked Mulder.

=No Problem,= she signed. =Can I go tomorrow to take
test?= she asked Mulder.

There was still plenty of time before they had to
leave, even though he was anxious to get underway.

=Sure, I can take you or Scully will, fine,= he
signed.

CAN I TAKE TEST TMRW AM Q GA

I NEED TO CHECK THE SCHEDULE HLD PLS

She held up her right hand with the little finger
parallel to the floor, =I'm on hold,= she explained to
Mulder.

=I knew that,= he replied.

HI BACK AGAIN CAN U COME TMRW 10:00 AM Q GA

Vanessa glanced at Mulder, who was nodding his head.

YES TMRW 10:00 AM FINE CAN U GIVE ME NAME OF PERSON
TO CALL FOR TOUR OF CAMPUS FOR AFTER TEST Q GA

NP I LL HAVE ONE OF MY STUDENT S SHOW YOU AROUND OK
WILL SEE YOU TMRW AM GA

YES THANK YOU FOR UR HELP SEE YOU TMRW 10:00 AM

THANKS MUCH BYE FOR NOW GA TO SK

=Stop keying,= she signed to Mulder.

GREAT SEE U TMRW TO SKSK

SEE YOU TMRW SKSK

SKSK

=Wow, impressive,= Mulder exclaimed. =You learn how
to do this from the net?=

Vanessa smiled, =Yes, easy. People very nice and help
me a lot. Should I be nervous about this test?=

He shook his head, =No problem for you.=

Scully walked in and saw the two hunched over a small
typewriter. Chinese food containers were strewn
throughout the room. She sighed inwardly.

Dropping the large white contained she found in the
mail room, she signed, =Hi! What's up?= and walked
over to the desk.

=Hi Scully,= Vanessa signed, =I got a TDD today and I
just made my first call!= she smiled.

=Great,= Scully smiled back, =Who did you call?=

=I rescheduled my SAT for tomorrow and I will have
opportunity to see campus with one of the student's.
Neat, huh?=

=Wonderful. Don't worry about SAT, I think you will
find it boring.=

Vanessa laughed, =Hope that's true.=

She excused herself, sensing Scully wanted time alone
with Fox. She decided to clean up their dinner mess.

Mulder sat down at the TDD and started typing on it,
practicing his GA's and SK's.

Scully put her hand on top of the desk chair, "Mulder,
I need to show you something." She pulled out a large
tan file holder.

"What have you got there, Scully?" he was intrigued.

"Results from Vanessa's PET scan, of course
'officially' it belongs to a Jane Doe."

He stood up to give her the chair as she pulled out
the PET films. She tilted the desk lamp toward her
and held up the first film.

"Okay, what am I looking at here?" he saw several
cells with colored pictures.

"Something pretty amazing, Mulder. Each cell
represents a layer of the brain."

"Just take a thin slice off the top, right?" he
kidded.

"Close, it's more like 8 cross sections. The colors
represent activity. The range would be blue, which
indicates inactivity, and yellow heavy activity."

He stared at the different cells.

"I don't get it Scully."

She pulled out another film, "Here is a PET scan from
a 'normal' adult." She held both films up to the
light. "If you look at the 'normal' film you'll see
that most areas of the brain are dormant, represented
by the lack of color."

He got his glasses and looked again at the films side
by side. "Start me out with something simple, obvious
where can I see the auditory part of the brain?

"Unfortunately there hasn't been a great deal of
research on the auditory cortex, say versus the visual
cortex. We know that audition is largely in the
temporal lobe, but it can also extend into the
parietal lobe."

She was in doctor mode now, "Okay, well what about
language."

She circled a small area on one of the cells, "Well,
we know that language is developed mostly on the left
side of the brain at what is called 'Broca's' and
'Wernickes's' area. Broca's area is the center of
language production and Wernicke's is the area of
language understanding. However, research has shown
that language is associated with the right hemisphere
by the association cortex as well as by the basal
ganglia and the posterior thalamus."

He stared at her for a moment, "That doesn't really
help, Scully."

"Okay, look at the film. Right about here is
approximately where Broca's and Wernicke's area
exist." She pointed to the other set of pictures, "
and here it is on this film."

"Uh, Scully, they look the same."

"Of course they do Mulder, Vanessa has language, in
fact she is bilingual ASL and English. You'll see
that this spot on the right parietal lobe shows more
activity than on the normal film."

Mulder looked at the two sets of pictures, "I think I
see it."

Scully let out a sigh, "There is a lot to be learned
yet about how the brain functions. What I wanted you
to see is in comparison to the normal cells, Vanessa's
brain activity is higher."

"Uh-huh," he murmured glancing back and forth between
Vanessa's and the other set of pictures.

"I'm going to get changed." She touched his shoulder,
"You just take your time and look this over."

"Uh-huh, 'kay," he mumbled.

Scully rolled her eyes. She knew when her partner was
deeply intrigued by something to leave him alone. Of
course the possibility of him ditching her always
exists, but he might stay around for a little bit.

"So Scully, what I think I'm, seeing here is proof
that Vanessa's brain is more active." She emerged
from her bedroom in her comfy clothes.

"Right."

He glanced at her, "And what I'm not seeing is any
evidence of damage or lesions."

She settled in the chair and wrapped her legs in a
throw blanket.

"Right again, Mulder."

He turned to face her, "So, the fact that I can do the
mindtalk thing doesn't mean that I have any kind of
brain damage or any problems."

"As far as I know, yes."

Vanessa walked into the room and saw the films.
=What's that?= she asked.

=Pictures of your brain,= Mulder signed.

=Oh.= She settled in on the couch. =Where did you
put that movie we were going to watch?= she asked.

Scully held up the video and smiled.

Mulder held up the collection of pictures, =Don't you
want to see what your brain looks like?= he goaded.

Vanessa considered it and replied, =No, I want to see
the movie. Scully can you set up the closed
captioning?=

Scully reached for the remote and turned on the TV,
=Sure, no problem.=

Mulder put the films down on the desk. How could she
not find this fascinating? He knew one thing for
sure. He was not going to sit through another showing
of "Pretty Woman", he lived the shopping scene that
day.

He got up grabbing his coat and said his good byes.

"Don't forget your paper work Mulder." Scully called
out.

Oh yeah, right. "Thanks Scully, where's your
briefcase?"

She smiled, "It's not in the brief case, it's in the
mail bin."

He looked at the huge white plastic basket. Great,
just great. "You're enjoying this," he accused Scully
seeing her grin grow broader.

"Have fun tonight, bye Mulder." She waved him out.

Mulder signed to Vanessa, =Don't forget her present on
her dresser. See you later.=

Vanessa nodded, =See you later.=

End Part 24/37

Part 25/37

April 15
8:45 AM
FBI Headquarters

Mulder dropped the heavy white bin on the floor of the
elevator. It took most of the night to make a dent in
the paperwork.

It felt good to be back at work. He was pleased that
Scully volunteered to take Vanessa to the University
this morning for her test and visit. He made a mental
note to check the office for any audio or video
devices.

He watched the elevator fill up. One problem with
working in the basement is depending on the stupid
elevator. It took forever to get his office.

"Hi Mulder. Where have you been hiding yourself?" a
feminine voice asked.

He looked down at the warm voice next to him.
"Sheila, hi. I've been around, maybe you haven't been
looking hard enough," he smiled. He heard snickering
from others in the elevator.

"This is my floor," Sheila announced, "call me."

He watched her exit the elevator then peered around
the door, "You can count on it," he replied.

One more stop before his floor.

At the next stop there was a rush to exit. Mulder got
knocked off balance by one over zealous field agent.
He thought to himself, must be new here, no one that
is that enthused to go work.

He regained his balance and saw three men in dark
suits who remained in the elevator. Suspicious,
Mulder thumbed the snap off the latch that held his
weapon.

The balding man in front pulled the STOP button before
the door could open to the basement. The large man
standing next to him turned quickly and pinned
Mulder's arms up against the elevator wall, making an
extra effort to slam his left wrist and then kneed him
in the groin. Seeing stars, Mulder started to fall to
the floor. The third suit turned around and hit
across his right jaw then quickly followed by a left
hit over his cheekbone. Mulder saw blood on the man's
hand, covering some kind of ring.

The large man grabbed him by the hair and slammed his
head against the wall. The pain that shot through his
eyes turned numb as he felt the blood drip down his
neck.

He began to kick in attempt to defend himself and
landed a solid kick to the stomach to the man with the
ring. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to incapacitate
him.

The large man grabbed his throat and began choking
him. Mulder felt the burning in his lungs as he
struggled for air. The man with the ring kicked
Mulder's legs out from under him. Mulder made a solid
thumping sound as he hit the floor.

"Forget about the girl Agent Mulder. We know what
you've been up to and we insist that you cease your
involvement with her, now," stated the man at the
door.

Mulder was only able to take short breaths, that
burned his throat. He wanted to speak but found he
was unable. He lifted himself off the floor with his
right arm but was pushed back down by the insistent
foot of the man with the ring. The large man grabbed
chunks of hair and made his head immovable.

He saw the balding man had a syringe and watched him
squirt out part of it's contents.

"NO!" he croaked.

"Hold him steady," to the large man.

Mulder felt the needle puncture his neck. Ohno ohno
ohno! he thought, then felt himself fade in nothing.

The three men exited the elevator at the basement and
took the stairs up to the parking garage. "Good job,"
the balding man murmured.

A.D. Skinner wondered what was taking the elevator so
long. He was on his way to see Agent Mulder who was
rumored to have been in the office today. He was
curious about Vanessa and also wanted to discuss how
to handle any bugs they might find in the future.

The elevator "binged" announcing it had arrived.

Skinner saw Mulder unconscious on the floor. Blood
splattered on the walls and there was a pool of blood
collecting around his head.

"Call 911 now!" he yelled.

He entered the elevator and pulled the STOP button.
An agent entered and attempted to lift Mulder out into
the hallway.

"NO! Don't move him!" Skinner yelled. "He may have
a spinal cord injury, we need to wait for the EMTs."

Skinner moved towards Mulder's unmoving form. The
first thing he noticed was the blue lips.

"He's not breathing, someone check his pulse while I
start mouth-to-mouth," he ordered.

Skinner moved Mulder's head back and up in attempt to
free up his airway, took a deep breath and blew into
Mulder's. He repeated the process.

"He has a pulse, sir, but it's weak," the helpful
agent informed.

Skinner nodded and expelled his breath into Mulder's
body again. "I want you to keep your hand on that
pulse, Agent, and tell me if anything changes," his
own breathing labored.

"Understood sir," the agent replied as Skinner
continued mouth-to-mouth. He noticed that Mulder's
lips were getting pinker. He held his hand in front
of his mouth and felt the quick, labored breaths. He
was going to need those EMTs now!

He continued mouth-to-mouth to insure Mulder was
getting enough air in his lungs.

"What do we have here?" a uniformed EMT asked while
she and her partner brought in boxes of equipment.

Skinner was out of breath and looked at the agent that
had been assisting him.

"We found him on the floor of the elevator unconscious
with an apparent head wound. He wasn't breathing and
we started mouth-to-mouth. His pulse is thready," the
agent informed.

Skinner nodded in appreciation and something caught
his eye.

He pointed to the corner of the elevator, "Looks like
he was shot up with something."

One of the EMTs turned and saw the emptied syringe.
She grabbed it and put it in a bag for the lab at the
hospital to analyze.

"Looks like they got him in the neck," the other EMT
pointed out the needle mark that had continues to
bleed.

"We need to start an airway, I'll bag him first."

A plastic mask attached to a football shaped pump was
placed over Mulder's mouth. The EMT pumped squeezed
the bag, allowing the air to fill the lungs.

After inserting a temporary airway and hooking him up
to the oxygen tank, they hooked him up to a portable
EKG monitor, and started an IV.

"Heart rate is picking up. Okay let's move him."

The EMTs loaded Mulder and all the equipment on the
gurney and headed for the ambulance.

"I'm going with you," Skinner announced.

"Fine, ride up front," the female EMT replied.

Pointing to the agent who had assisted him, Skinner
ordered, "You, follow us in your car. Let's make
sure Mulder gets to where he needs to go." With that
both men sprinted toward the vehicles.

9:20 AM
George Washington University Hospital

The ambulance was met by the team at the ER's door.

"What have we got?" The doctor in charge, a dark
haired woman barked.

"We have a male approximately 35 found unconscious at
the scene. Respiration is labored, we have an airway
established. We found an empty syringe at the scene
and found the needle mark on his neck."

The doctor ordered, "Nurse take that syringe to the
lab stat we need to know what was in it."

"Yes, doctor" the young male nurse moved quickly down
the hall. "What else is going on?" she asked.

"Trauma to the back of the head, suspicion of
concussion. Bruises to the chest, possible broken ribs
as well as bruises. Swelling on his throat and his
left arm is red and swollen, possibly from a previous
injury. We had to remove a cast probably stabilizing
a broken wrist and found an infected wound on his
hand."

The doctor in charge yelled, "Good job people, we'll
take it from here."

Watching outside the trauma room Skinner heard vital
signs repeated and saw Mulder's clothes being cut off
of him and discarded on the floor.

"I need a tox screen, gasses, type and cross, let's
get CBC's and electrolytes while were at it. Nora get
a portable chest and then call downstairs and set up a
CAT scan. If we don't have the lab results from the
syringe by the time your done give them a call, too."

Skinner did his best to follow what was going on. He
thought he better call Scully when he heard a high
pitched sound.

"We've got flatline, charge the paddles at 200
joules."

Another nurse handed the doctor the paddles and then
turned back to the box watching the number, "200
joules Doctor!"

"Clear people!"

Skinner heard the thump of the cardiac paddles sending
a jolt of electricity through Mulder's body raising
his torso.

"No conversion doctor," the nurse announced.

"Let's do it again people 200 joules."

Skinner heard the machine recharge.

"Clear people!"

Again the thump.

"We've got conversion doctor."

"Someone go down to the lab and get me those results
from the syringe now!"

Skinner didn't realize he had been holding his breath.
He let it out when a man came up beside him.

"Excuse me, isn't that Agent Mulder?" the man asked
him.

Skinner grabbed his arm with one hand, pushing him up
against the wall with his other. "Who the hell are
you and how do you know Mulder?"

The man rasped, "I'm Dr. Walsh, I took care of his
wrist at Arlington ER."

Skinner eyes opened wide, "What are you doing here,
doctor?" he accused.

"My brother is a surgical resident here. I came to
pick him up." He rubbed his chest.

"I apologize for my unnecessary roughness Dr. Walsh. I
tend to get irritable when someone tries to kill one
of my agents."

The doctor croaked, "No problem."

They both turned abruptly when a shout "Morphine! The
syringe held Morphine!" occurred.

"Give me the numbers Nora, enough to kill him?"

"No, but very close!" the nurse shot back.

Skinner turned to Dr. Walsh. "Would you mind letting
me in on what's going on in there?"

Walsh looked at all the equipment and related his
deductions. "It's hard to say, I just got here, but
it doesn't look good. He's on a respirator and his
heart has effectively, stopped twice. It looks like
he has some damage to the ribs, they'll have to wait
for the x-rays to see if anything was broken or if a
lung has been punctured. It also looks like the wrist
I set has been broken again. I'd say someone was out
to kill your agent, sir, or keep him out of
circulation for a few weeks."

Skinner sighed and leaned against the wall. "Why?" he
hadn't meant to say it out loud.

"You'd know better than me, sir."

Skinner offered his hand, "I'm Assistant Director
Skinner, Mulder's supervisor at the bureau."

Taking his hand, "Dr. Walsh. Wish we met under better
circumstances."

Skinner nodded.

"Would you like me to call Dana and let her know
what's happened, Mr. Skinner?" he asked.

Skinner thought, Dana?

"Thanks Dr. Walsh, but no, I need to make that call.
Would you do me a favor and stay here until I get
back. I don't want to be left out of the loop."

He stared at the authoritative figure, remembering
Dana asking him to hide her from him when he showed
up. He obviously cared about his agents and
definitely knew how to handle his position of
authority.

"Of course, sir," he replied and watched Skinner head
toward the pay phone.

End Part 25/37

From: "TSbrown" <tombrown@tiac.net>
To: <submissions@x-philes.com>
Subject: "True Business" PG
Date sent: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 18:36:12 -0400

"True Business" (Parts 26 - 37)
by Sarah Flemming, address tombrown@tiac.net,
Copyright, 1997

Rating: PG (a small bit of language, a blow by blow
fist fight and a lovely mutually agreed upon love
scene)

Classification: S, A, R,

Spoiler Warning: Some references to Duane Barry,
Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, Little Green Men,
Colony , End Game, Talitha Cumi and Herrenvolk.

Keywords - Scully/Other Romance, Mulderangst

Summary: A Deaf woman, with unique abilities assists
Scully and Mulder in locating Samantha.

Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Walter Skinner,
The Lone Gunmen, Cancer Man and the rest of the cast
of the X-Files are property of Chris Carter,
Ten-Thirteen Productions, and Fox. Vanessa is mine,
please don't use her with out asking first. Feel free
to post, please keep my name with the story. Thanks.

Part 26/37

April 15
11:30 AM
Gallaudet University

Agent Scully was sitting at a computer carrel near
where Vanessa was working through her SAT's.

Dr. Hobart had been called away, but not before
remarking how well Vanessa had performed on the other
tests he administered.

Scully squinted at Vanessa's screen. Looked like
trigonometry. She seemed to enjoy the math sections,
Scully noticed. The reading comprehension section had
taken more time than Scully had anticipated.

Dr. Hobart came back into the room with another man.
He reminded her of someone but she couldn't think of
who.

"Agent Scully I'd like you to meet Alex Skinner, I
think you know his cousin, Walter." He voiced and
signed.

Alex shook her hand and signed, =Nice to meet you
Agent Scully, I've heard nice things about you from my
cousin.=

Scully shook his hand in shock and then signed, =Happy
to meet you.= She was concerned, something was wrong.

Dr. Hobart explained, "Dr. Skinner is going to give
Vanessa her tour. He is one of our psychology
professors. Your boss is on hold on the phone in my
office across the hall. He said he needed to speak
with you ASAP."

She nodded, "Thanks. I'll call later to see when I
should pick up Vanessa." Oops, she forgot to sign.

"I'm sorry," she turned to Alex Skinner, "I forgot to
sign . . ."

He waved her off, "It's fine go talk to Walt before he
gets pissed off," he smiled.

=Thank you,= Scully signed to both men and sprinted
across to Hobart's office.

"Scully," she said picking up the phone.

"Agent Scully, I need you at GWU hospital. Mulder's
been attacked."

"Oh my God," Scully said, "What happened? How is he?"
she asked.

"I'll explain everything when you get here. Better
make it fast, Scully."

Oh no, she thought, not again. "Understood, sir, I'm
on my way."

12:15 PM
George Washington University Hospital
Emergency Room

Scully burst through the ER doors with authority.
Scanning the waiting room for Skinner, she went
directly to the admitting desk and insisted on knowing
Mulder's current status. The coordinator started
asking questions about medical insurance and would she
sign off on this and that document.

Scully was ready to pull her gun, "I want to know
where Agent Mulder is now!"

The coordinator, shocked, stood silent.

"Fine, I'll find him myself!' Scully yelled and
entered the trauma area opening up doors and curtains
at random.

"Mulder? Mulder?" She continued yelling down the
hall.

"Dana, calm down, he's going to be okay," a voice said
behind her.

Turning she said, "Andrew? What are you doing here?"

He shook his head, "That's not important, I'll answer
later. Look Mulder is getting a CAT scan right now
and then he'll be assigned to a room."

"Where's Skinner?" She insisted.

Andrew sighed, "With Mulder. He felt he needed
protection."

Wiping her bangs off her forehead she took a deep
breath.

"Dana. Sit down and let me tell you what I know," he
said gently.

Nodding, she allowed him to lead her to the waiting
room.

After he told her what he knew she had more questions.

"Who attacked him and why? How did his attackers walk
into the FBI offices and casually walk out after
leaving him for dead. This doesn't make sense,
Andrew."

Shrugging he said, "I'm sorry. Those are questions I
can't answer."

She nodded and walked over to the coordinator's desk.

"What's the number for the CAT Scan room?" she
demanded.

The coordinator dialed the number for her.

"Two rings. CAT scan, Dr. Chen here."

"This is Special Agent Scully, I'm looking for
information on my partner Fox Mulder. I'm a medical
doctor and would appreciate anything you could tell me
about his condition."

"Dr. Scully, I am agent Mulder's attending physician,
we're almost through with the scan. Uh . . . hold on
someone wants to talk to you."

"Scully, it's Skinner. Don't worry I'm here with him.
I know you have a lot of questions, believe me I have
some for you as well."

"Sir, I'm relieved you're with him, but I would
appreciate a more thorough report from Dr. Chen. I
need to know exactly what's going on," she said
urgently.

"Hold on Scully."

"Okay Scully, Dr. Chen is sending a print out of
everything they have to the desk at the ER. Do you
have your cell phone?"

She saw the printer start up and the first page was
already completed, "Yes, sir, I do."

"I'll call you when we have a room. Do what you need
to do and call for some back up. I want Mulder
watched by someone you trust at all times. Is that
understood?"

Someone I trust? She thought incredulously,
"Understood, sir."

"That print out is for me," she informed the desk
coordinator. Turning to Andrew, she asked, "Why are
you here?"

"I came to pick up my brother, he's a surgical
resident here. I saw Mulder on my way to the doctor's
lounge." He answered.

She was wondering who could she really trust?

"Where is your brother now?' she asked as casually as
possible.

Andrew looked at his watch, "My guess is on the
parkway on his way back to our house."

Her eyes softened, "You stayed here for me?" she
asked.

He smiled and opened his arms which she instinctively
fell into, "Of course I stayed for you, Dana. I knew
you'd be worried. I didn't want you to be alone."

She looked up at him, "Thanks."

He cleared his throat, "Look. I know a lot has
happened. This might sound stupid, but if you need to
check out my or my brother's credentials do it, okay.
I mean I think this whole thing is really weird. I
just want to make it easier on you." He kissed her
forehead.

"Thanks," she sighed, and allowed herself to close her
eyes for a moment and just breathe before she tackled
the stack of papers that continued to escape the
printer.

2:30 PM
George Washington University Hospital

Vanessa and Dr. Skinner found Mulder in the ICU. The
ICU was round, the patients separated by a series of
curtains. The nurses station was also circular to
accommodate the room. There were machines every
where.

Vanessa looked at Mulder in the bed, hooked up to the
respirator, the EKG, the EEG, and 3 different IV's.
He was naked. His face was swollen and bruised. He
had stitches across his cheek and his head bandaged in
gauze. She could see material that was placed tightly
around his ribs, and all the bruises on his upper
body.

She looked over at Scully. She was studying the
machines and kept looking at the chart on her lap.

Why was Dr. Walsh here, she wondered?

She watched Dr. Skinner give his cousin a hug, and
begin a conversation. She didn't watch to be polite.
Scully and Dr. Walsh noticed her standing there.

Walking over to Mulder, Vanessa held his hand. His
index finger had a plastic clip on it. She looked at
it and looked up at Scully questioningly.

Scully signed, =It tells machine how fast Mulder's
heart beats,= she explained.

Vanessa nodded and turned back to Mulder. Please
think something to me she pleaded. Please mindtalk
with me.

Nothing.

=Scully what happened. I'm scared for Fox. He looks
very sick. Soon he wake up and feel fine, right?= she
bit her lip.

Scully thought, I should be used to this by now.
Mulder always pulls through and he will now. As a
doctor I know this. Why am I always so afraid? She
looked towards Skinner, he was having a conversation
with his cousin. She sighed thinking, I'm so tired.

She felt Andrew rub her back and she gave him a smile.

=Vanessa, I need something to drink. Come with me and
I'll explain what I can to you,= she signed.

End Part 26/37

Part 27/37

April 16
2:45 AM
George Washington University Hospital

Scully was trying to sleep in the visitor's lounge.
She and Vanessa decided that one of them would stay
with Mulder, until he's better.

There was an FBI agent outside of the curtain that
shielded Mulder from the world, but Vanessa didn't
know this person and didn't trust him, yet. Vanessa
watched Fox breathe. She kept her mind open to him in
case he needed to reach her but so far nothing.

4:00 AM

Vanessa felt a sting in her throat and realized the
sensation came from Fox. She stood up from the chair
and looked at him closely. His eyes were moving
underneath his closed lids. His head began to move
and she could see him wince in pain.

She ran out to the Agent and handed him a prepared
note.

GET SCULLY NOW!

She came back into the room and saw that Fox's eyes
were open. She took his hand so he would know she was
there. He looked up at her and then at his
surroundings.

Vanessa signed, =Mindtalk, Fox. You okay?=

He winced again. <Get this thing out of my throat I
can't breath.>

She could feel him start to panic.

=Scully say it help you breathe. Relax, relax.=

She could feel his panic grow.

Scully touched her shoulder.

=Scully Fox panic because of respirator. He asks for
it to be removed now.=

Scully leaned close to Mulder and put her hand on top
of his head.

"Mulder, you have a bruised larynx and trachea. You
need to be on the respirator right now. Try to relax
and let it do the work for you." She said in a
soothing voice.

Vanessa signed the information to Scully.

Two people entered the area and Scully told her to
leave for a few minutes.

Vanessa was trying to be patient but at one point she
felt a sharp pain in her throat. She started coughing
and needed to sit down on the floor before she fell
down. Fox was hurting. She tried to build up the
walls to keep his feelings away, he didn't need her to
feel his pain.

She felt somebody pull at her arm. The agent watching
Mulder was talking to her and pulled her up to her
feet.

She signed, =Deaf, can't hear you.=

Shrugging, the agent went back to his chair by the
curtain. After a few more minutes the hospital staff
left and Scully said it was okay for her to see Fox.

He had a clear plastic tube over his nose instead of
the big tube down his throat. Scully was giving him
tiny pieces of ice. He looked horrible.

<Don't look so worried Vanessa, I've been through
worse than this.>

She swallowed hard and nodded.

Scully signed, =Is he doing mindtalk with you?= she
asked.

Vanessa nodded.

Scully turned to Mulder and spoke to him, "Mulder, can
you hear me?"

He nodded.

"Look, I don't want you to even try to talk yet. You
need time to heal. Use the mindtalk with Vanessa and
she'll tell me what you say, okay?"

He nodded.

<What's the damage?>

Vanessa signed for Scully.

=Vanessa, I'm going to use my voice only to talk with
Mulder. I'm sorry I can't do both right now, I need
to concentrate. I don't want to be rude. I'll answer
any questions you have after he goes back to sleep.
Do you understand?= She signed.

=O.K.= Vanessa signed, she didn't like it but
understood that both Scully and Fox needed answers to
their questions.

Vanessa was watching Scully mouth words to him. He
nodded occasionally and she continued to give him the
tiny ice pieces.

His eyes were glazed and vacant, if she didn't feel
his presence Vanessa would have sworn he had gone
away.

Scully spoke.

Vanessa interpreted feeling shock and fear.

<Yeah, I'd appreciate that.>

Scully hit the nurses call button.

Scully grabbed a kidney shaped bowl and held it as he
emptied the contents of his stomach.

<Ouch! That hurt. Don't sign that Vanessa.>

She kept her hands still.

Scully was speaking with the nurse and Vanessa watched
as the nurse left, trying to figure out what was
wrong.

Scully nodded continuing to stroke his forehead until
the nurse came in and shot something into his IV.
Scully intended to stay there until he fell asleep.

Scully rubbed her eyes. =Vanessa, why don't you try
to get some sleep. I need to call Skinner and I want
to be here when he wakes up. I'll make sure you know
when he wakes up next.=

Nodding Vanessa asked, =Will I be safe in the lounge?=
she worried.

=I'll have Agent Thompson sit outside the door. He'll
protect you.=

=O.K., but I doubt I can sleep.=

Scully smiled, =I know it's hard but try. Fox will
need us both to be rested and healthy when he gets out
of here.=

Vanessa had a list of "What if's" but decided against
asking them. She left with Agent Thompson after she
spoke with him.

Vanessa lay on the couch pulling the blanket up around
her neck. I should never have come here, she thought.
I thought I would help Fox and Samantha but all I've
done is hurt people. I'm so sick of the hurting! She
felt the tears come and she cried as quietly as
possible until she was too tired to cry anymore and
allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

6:15 AM

There were three men. A man stood forward controlling
the elevator. A tall men stood alongside another man
wearing a college ring. They wore dark suits. Pain
in my left wrist, incredible blinding pain, but that
was only the beginning. . .

Vanessa woke in a sweat her heart racing and breathing
hard. She had a bad dream, that happens sometimes.
This was different. It wasn't her dream. This one
belongs to Fox.

Scully startled her when she opened the door.
=Vanessa, he's awake.= She regarded her for a moment,
=Are you okay?=

Should she tell her about the dream/memory? Vanessa
decided it wasn't hers to tell and followed Scully.

He didn't look much different than he had a few hours
ago.

=How you feel?= Vanessa asked.

He half shrugged before he winced in pain.

=I saw your dream,= she informed him.

<What? What dream?>

=I saw the three men in the elevator. I saw how they
hurt you. I saw their faces. I felt what you felt.=

He was lying, she knew. Instead of pushing the issue,
she shrugged.

=Will you be ready for Vermont? If you're not ready
I'm going anyway. You understand?= she asked.

His face changed.

<Don't even think about ditching me. We're all going.
I'll sneak out of here if I have to, I don't care.
Don't you dare consider leaving me here.>

She was unsure how to respond. He was so determined,
but would it be enough? If his body wasn't healthy he
couldn't go.

<I'm serious. I'll be fine.>

She bit the inside of her lip and nodded.

End Part 27/37

Part 28/37

7:00 PM
George Washington University Hospital

Mulder had moved from ICU to a private room. Most of
the machines were gone. Only the small box that
regulated the IV drip was there. He was beginning to
ask for food and everyone said that was a good sign.

He was sleeping a lot, but the dream hadn't come back.

Scully had turned on the TV and told everyone not to
turn it off. It was like a comfort blanket to Mulder,
enabling him to sleep better. This TV didn't have
closed captioning though so Vanessa didn't really
understand everything that was going on. She found
different sports and games, because she knew that was
his favorite. She could follow the games fairly well.

He was awake. She looked over at him, he seemed
better, his eyes more focused.

=What's up?= she signed.

Vanessa shook her head, =No, no, that's not right.
Gray people don't 'clone' that's stupid. They have no
reason to do this. True, they feel sad about how this
planet has been abused and neglected, but they have no
intention of taking over. They want to help. They
hope to live in harmony with people here. You must be
talking about the others.=

His eyes widened, <What do you mean others?>

She looked at his face, how could he not know about
this? =The other people who regularly visit here, as
well as others. They are very different than the
Gray's.=

=Where to start?= Vanessa looked away. =They are
known to us as 'The Warriors.' They hurt people, kill
people and don't care. Their home is almost
completely destroyed, because there were so many
different conflicts occurring on their planet. When
their home became unlivable, they left and began
searching for new homes. You want more?=

He nodded.

She sighed, =The Grays were here first and the
Warriors came later. They recognize Grays as
benevolent and don't bother them. They have stolen
some of the research the Gray's have done, but they
don't use it to help. They use information to destroy
and hurt. They intend on taking over this earth in
the future. The Grays believe that they will destroy
themselves before this will occur.= She shook her
head, =Clones? Sounds like Warriors not the Grays.=

=Let's try. I need to touch you though. I can't
share feelings or images unless I touch other person.=

<That's okay, just find a place that's not black and
blue.>

Smiling she stood up next to the bed and took his
right hand in both of her hands. She nodded to him
and he closed eyes and began to concentrate.

. . . a fuzzy form. Brown curly hair and big blue
eyes. Athletically built, medium in stature.

She removed her hands. =No, that's not Samantha. I
don't know who that is, I've never seen a female who
looked like this where I lived. No, not Samantha.=

She shrugged, =I assume, but I don't know for sure.
The Warriors use people to get what they want. They
have special ability to change how they look. Makes
it easier for them to interact with people here. I
remember being taught about cloning. We mostly
discussed the philosophical reasons why this may be
good or bad idea. Technology to create clones is
known by everyone, Grays, Warriors and people here.
Grays clone if it helps heal bodies that are hurt.
Warriors, I don't know. Possible they use clones same
as they use others, to further their work. Why did
you think there exists only one other race that visits
here?=

Vanessa grimaced, =I don't know. I know they like
this planet because of abundance of chloroplasts so
maybe their blood color is green. I don't know. I'm
sorry they fooled you by using your sister. That is
very cruel.=

Looking away from her he nodded. <I'm sorry, this is
a lot to take in and I'm feeling tired,> he looked up
at her,

=Only if I can have sole power over remote control.
I'm tired of sports,= she smiled at him and thought
she saw him move a little, as if he laughed.

End Part 28/37

Part 29/37

8:00 PM
Scully's Apartment

There wasn't much time and there was so much to do,
Vanessa thought. She found where Scully kept her
luggage and different travel bags and pulled them all
out into the living room. It was time to get
organized and packed. She got a weather report off
the television, even though it took forever to get the
specific report for New England. It was going to be
colder than normal for this time of year. They'll
need more layers, she thought.

She used her TDD and using the telephone relay,
reserved seats on the shuttle from D.C. to Boston and
a Jeep Cherokee for the day after next. Hopefully,
Scully won't be too pissed that she used the number
off one of her credit card statements to reserve the
plane seats and the vehicle. It had to be done, and
no one else was willing or able to get the job done
right now.

Samantha will be so disappointed if her brother
doesn't show, Vanessa thought. He seemed to be doing
better, but who knew when the hospital would release
him and even if he is released soon, he might not be
able to handle this trip. His body was so damaged,
how could he possibly hike up to the clearing in the
woods where Samantha would be? Well, she was going to
see Samantha even if Fox or Scully wouldn't/couldn't
come. She'd have to teach herself to drive, but how
hard could that be?

10:00
George Washington University Hospital

<Vanessa, I need some water.> Rolling his head,
Mulder tried to open his eyes. The drugs they gave
him made him feel sluggish. He cleared his throat,
<Vanessa, can you get me something to drink?>

"How are you doing Mulder?" Scully asked.

He forced his eyes open. It was dark out. "What time
is it, Scully? Did Vanessa leave?"

She was pouring him some water, "It's about 10:00 at
night and I sent Vanessa home a couple of hours ago.
She needs to get her rest too. Here's some water,
drink it slowly."

He gratefully accepted the cup from her, "Scully, I
don't want anymore sleeping pills or whatever. I
don't like the way they make me feel." The water felt
cool and soothed his throat. He realized he was
hungry. "Any chance I can get something to eat and
maybe some iced tea?"

"It's late but I'll send Agent Thompson to the
cafeteria and see if he can find something decent,
okay?"

He nodded attempting to grin.

"By the way, thank you for the bracelet. That was
really nice of you to do," she smiled.

"I'm glad you like it, Scully."

She was patting his arm, "I'll talk with your doctor
about the medications, but once they start to wear off
a little you might wish you were back in them," she
advised.

Handing the water glass back to her he said, "Scully,
I need to be someplace in a couple of days. I don't
want to be too drugged up when it's time to go."

She gave him one of * those * looks and put her hand
to her hip. He watched her rock back and forth on one
of her heels before she spoke. "Mulder, you're not
going anywhere any time soon and I'm telling you right
now that this is a fact. I know you want to go to
Vermont to search for your sister, but physically it
is not possible." She watched his face become stoic
and fixed. He was probably planning how to ditch her
this very second.

"Scully, you don't understand. . . "

"Oh? I think I understand quite a bit Mulder. I
understand that you are recovering from a serious
concussion, that your wrist is broken and you have
several cracked ribs. I understand that you got a
needle in your neck so full of Morphine it should have
killed you. I understand that less than 24 hours ago
you were in the ER with no heart beat necessitating
that 200 joules of electricity course through your
body to jump start your heart. Let me think, have I
missed anything? Gee, no, I don't think so."

Silence. Dead air. Nothing.

"Hey, Mulder I found a turkey sandwich, a can of iced
tea from the machine downstairs and as a special treat
a bag of M&M's. If you find a gray one it's mine."
No response. Scully was staring at her shoes and
Mulder was staring out the dark window. "Or you can
keep the gray one, no problem." Another fight. You'd
think they were married or something, he thought to
himself.

Mulder turned up the TV, there was some medical show
on, and started unwrapping the sandwich. He had lost
his appetite after Scully's last speech, but if he was
going to get out of here he needed to regain his
strength.

Scully sat down on the uncomfortable chair and
pretended to be interested in the TV program. He
wasn't going anywhere. No way. She'd restrain him
herself if she had to, she order the Morphine herself.
No way is he getting past me, she seethed.

11:30 PM

Both agents were startled by the ringing of Scully's
Cell phone.

"Scully"

"This is relay operator #1013 I have a call for Fox
Mulder from Vanessa, have you used relay before?"

"Uh, no, let me put Mulder on though." Handing him
the phone, "It's a relay operator for you," she said
with her brows furrowed.

"This is Fox Mulder. No, I haven't. Uh -huh, okay."

The operator voiced Vanessa's typed message. "Hi Fox
were you asleep? Go ahead"

"Hi Vanessa, no not yet. Why did you call me on
Scully's cell phone? Go ahead."

"Oh, because I couldn't get through the hospital
switch board. They have a rule about no calls after
11:00 PM. Anyway, I need to discuss something with
you and I'm not sure Scully should know. Can you do
this with her there? Go ahead"

"Yeah, sure Vanessa. It's nice of you to call. I'm
doing better, even ate a sandwich tonight. So, what's
up? Go ahead."

"I'm packing up our gear, I've reserved seats on the
shuttle from Dulles to Boston and have a Jeep rented.
The shuttle leaves at 3:00 PM. I need to know if you
can make it. Go Ahead"

"Hey, that's a good idea. Hold on a second. Uh not GA
whatever that is just hold."

He took a drink of water and calculated as quickly as
possible how he could make that flight. "So, how did
you get back to Scully's place? Don't tell me you
learned to drive in the last day or so." He needed to
know how she was planning on getting to the airport.
"Um, sorry, Go ahead, GA."

"Agent drive me here. Tomorrow, I plan to do take cab
to get to airport. If I'm on my own I'll learn how to
drive the jeep, I have to be there for Samantha. I'll
do what I must. What about you? My guess is Scully
won't let you take a walk down the hall let alone a
drive in the mountains. Go Ahead"

He suppressed a laugh, "You got that right. You know
what, I wouldn't worry Vanessa, I think what you did
is fine, really great." He caught a look from Scully,
"Um, Are you planning on visiting me tomorrow? GA"

"Yes, Skinner has arranged for us to be driven by an
escort to and from the hospital, so I'll have a ride
in. Fox, I need to get into your apartment to drop
off my stuff and to pack for you. I'm thinking about
taking a cab to your place after we hang up. I need
to pack for you, just in case you can make it. I'll
need at least three hours to find everything and pack
it up. Is that okay with you? Go Ahead"

"Wow, Vanessa you continue to surprise me. Yes, I'd
appreciate that and if you can bring me some donuts
when you get here tomorrow morning I will be in your
debt forever. GA."

"Okay, I'm on my way to your place. Put Scully back
on and I'll say good night to her. Do you think she's
suspicious? Go Ahead"

This time he did laugh, "Always. Okay, we'll talk in
the morning. Good night to you too. Here's Scully.
GA."

He handed the phone to Scully and quickly explained
what she had to do with the operator. "Hi Vanessa,
this is Scully."

"Go ahead, say that," Mulder urged.

"Oh, go ahead."

"Just want to say good night. I'm very tired. So
much has happened. Will you stay with Fox tonight?
He has been having bad dreams and I worry about him.
Go Ahead"

"Don't worry Vanessa, I won't let him out of my sight.
You need your rest so go to bed and I'll see you in
the morning. We'll talk about those donuts, later.
Okay, good night then. Go ahead."

"Okay, good night. See you tomorrow go ahead to stop
keying."

She looked over at Mulder, "Good night again, Vanessa
. . . "

"Scully, say stop keying or SKSK," he prompted.

"Uh, stop keying."

"SKSK"

"Thank you operator"

"You're welcome."

Scully turned the phone off. "That was interesting,
how did you know about the stop keying thing?"

"She taught me how to use her TDD that day after
shopping." He spoke through a yawn.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to help you
sleep?" she asked, "Do you need anything for pain?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine." He said closing
his eyes. After a few minutes he thought he had
feigned sleeping well enough that Scully had stopped
staring at him and listening to him breathe. He had
to come up with a plan. Finally, after all these
years, he is going to see his sister. Yes!

End Part 29/37

Part 30/37

April 17,
8:00 AM
Scully's Apartment

Vanessa sat at the table with an empty cereal bowl and
a cup of tea. The bed was still unmade, one of Jose
Chung's books open on the table. Scully waved, =Hi
Vanessa. What do you think about the book?=

Vanessa grimaced, =That man has strange ideas.= She
shook her head. =You want me to start coffee for
you?=

=No, Agent Landon will drive you to the hospital.
He's waiting outside.=

=Oh! I need to finish getting ready. I'll be right
out.= She went into the bathroom.

Scully heard a knock on the door. "Agent Scully it's
Landon, can I use your head?" Ugh, Scully thought. I
don't even want you in my house, she thought. Where
did Skinner find this guy? she wondered. She had
never met anyone who could talk so much in the early
morning. He also wore highly offensive cologne. Must
of used half of the bottle she thought. Lucy for him
it's so cheap. "Come in Landon. Vanessa's using the
bathroom right now, but after she's done it's all
yours," she tried to sound as pleasant as possible.
How am I going to get that stench out of here? she
shook her head and went into the kitchen to start the
coffee maker.

Emerging from the bathroom Vanessa began making up the
bed and straightening up before she left.

"Hi there little lady, you must be Vanessa I'm Agent
Landon, I'll be your driver this morning."

Vanessa was searching for the small pillows Scully
liked to decorate the couch with.

"Not a morning person yourself? Well, I sure am, I
love the morning. Wake up every day at 5:00 AM, just
like when I was on the farm. You know the cows can
only wait for so long." He laughed.

Walking into her living room, Scully waived in
Vanessa's direction to get her attention and signed,
=Agent Landon is talking to you,= she rolled her eyes
up and went back to the kitchen to watch the coffee.

Vanessa turned to the awful smelling Agent. She
signed, =Deaf, can't hear you.=

"You got real pretty hands there little lady. I don't
know any of that sign language stuff, so you'll just
have to read my lips."

Vanessa shook her head at the man with the beard and
mustache. =Me deaf. Me not hear you, Me can not see
your mouth,= she attempted to throw in as much mime
as possible so he would understand.

Scully walked back in shaking her head.

"Well, excuse me little lady, I gotta visit the
porcelain goddess."

They watched him go into the bathroom. Vanessa made a
sign, from a closed fist she opened her hand in an
"Okay" hand shape the "O" facing toward the bathroom
door as she flicked her other fingers.

=What a stupid man!=

Scully laughed, =Yes, exactly right,= she signed.

Vanessa shrugged, =How is Fox?=

=He slept well. He's still on the pain medication.
You can expect him to be tired most of the day. I
think tomorrow he will get the doctor's approval to go
home. How did you sleep?=

Vanessa shook her head. =Not good. I always have
other people sleep same time with me. Last night I
alone for first time. I had hard time with sleep, but
the book helped.=

Scully smiled, =Well, I guess that's good. O.K., I
will give you money for bagels, not donuts and
absolutely no coffee for Mulder. If he begs you for
coffee do not give it to him. He doesn't need the
caffeine.=

=Whatever. Do they make cranberry bagels?= she asked.

Scully let her head fall back as she uttered,
"Ughhhhhh!" Then faced a wide eyed Vanessa, =I don't
know, but if you find some Mulder would enjoy very
much. I hate cranberries myself, I don't understand
how he can eat those little things.=

=Samantha loves cranberry foods too. I guess helps to
remember mother's cooking, I suppose.=

After Agent Landon emerged from the bathroom, Scully,
using SimCom signed asked him to stop at a bagel shop
before seeing Mulder.

"No problem there Agent Scully, I'll take care of the
little lady. I'll take her where ever she wants to
go."

Vanessa looked at Scully with a raised brow, how
stupid is this man?

=He really smells awful! How was your car ride home
with him?=

Scully smiled, =Vanessa, you're lucky you can't hear.
I'll go and find some nose plugs if you want.=

=I doubt it will help, but thanks,= they both laughed.

"Let's hit the road little lady," he clapped his hands
and rubbed them together.

Vanessa signed, =I guess he's ready?=

Scully nodded.

=Wish me luck Scully, see you later,= she waved.

=Good luck, bye.= Scully opened the windows in the
living room and then made a dash for life's blood -
coffee.

9:15
George Washington University Hospital

Vanessa was surprised to see Fox sitting up in the
chair beside the bed. =Hi! You look better.=

Nodding, =I feel better. Before you came I walked
around the nurse's station a few times. What's in the
bag?=

She was surprised he was signing instead of using
mindtalk. =Bagels. Scully said you can't have donuts
or caffeine, but I got you coffee with no caffeine.=
She made the "Hooray" or "Applause" sign hands open,
palms forward, should width apart and wiggling her
fingers. =No cranberry bagels, sorry.=

He snorted and was glad she couldn't hear it. What an
embarrassing noise. =Thanks.=

"Well here's the little lady, " began Agent Landon,
"You sure can run up those stairs."

Vanessa turned to see that Fox was looking at the
miserable Landon guy. She saw his beard moving and
figured he was rambling on and on as he did on the
way over. She turned back to Fox who had a little
smile on his face. She frowned and rolled her eyes,
=Jerk.= she signed. Fox didn't understand so she
finger spelled it for him slowly and then taught him
how to sign it.

=He's still talking, I can't believe it but he is.
You so right Vanessa, what a jerk.= They shrugged in
unison.

11:00 AM

Landon had finally taken his place outside the room as
a guard. =At least you didn't have to listen to him,=
Fox signed to Vanessa.

=We need to think about leaving soon. Scully say you
continue to take pain medication. You think you can
go?=

He began pulling out something between the pillow and
it's cover. Four little yellow pills. =I decided to
save them for later,= he smiled.

=Scully said she brought you a bag with clothes,
yesterday. The bag is where?= she asked.

=In the locker over there,= he pointed to it. =I have
an idea. I'll tell the nurse that I want to have
lunch with you in the cafeteria downstairs. I'll
change into more appropriate clothes and we'll leave
from there to the airport. Can you get me the bag, I
have no idea what she brought.=

Vanessa got out the bag and placed it on his lap.
=Good idea about going to cafeteria. You think Landon
will go with us?=

He shook his head as he opened up the bag, =No, I'll
tell him something, I don't know, maybe ask him to go
get us something from a deli across town. Don't worry
about it.= He checked the contents of the bag. Blue
sweat pants, his white long sleeved tee-shirt, a pair
of jeans, his only in tact gray sweatshirt, white
socks and his running shoes. Perfect. =Is everything
packed?=

=Yes and everything is at your home. I depend on you
going with me,= she was smiling.

=Well, I always try not to disappoint a friend,= he
answered.

She wrinkled her nose twice, a sign meaning "I
understand", but realized Fox had missed it. =Scully
is going to very angry with us huh?=

Lifting his shoulders he gave a small shrug, =Yes, but
I need to see my sister. She doesn't understand.
Don't worry, she'll get over being angry. She always
has in the past anyway. Don't worry, when that time
comes we'll worry about it. Right now, we need to get
to the airport.=

=Why you use sign with me today and not mindtalk?= she
wondered.

=I thinkt it is not fair to you. I feel guilty taking
the easy way out and not working on my signing skills
with you. Plus, I understand that ASL is your first
language, it isn't appropriate for me to make you
understand my English all the time. I know I make
many mistakes with my signing but I really want to
learn.= He started putting on his shoes, but didn't
tie the laces, just tucked them in the side.

She waved to get his attention and saw he was
blushing. =Thank you for learning sign and trying
very hard to communicate in my preferred language.
ASL very important to me, I feel my voice is strongest
when I sign. You understand?= she asked.

He thought about it for a moment. =I think so. You
mean you feel most comfortable with sign because you
feel respected more. Right?= he raised his eyebrows.

She smiled and nodded, =Right.= She took his hand and
squeezed just a tiny bit.

12:45 PM

Mulder had called for a cab from the pay phone near
the cafeteria, he ducked into the men's room and
changed as Vanessa picked up some sandwiches and
drinks for the ride.

Fortunately, Vanessa was so organized the only thing
Mulder needed to do at home is grab some cash from his
"emergency cash box" he kept hidden in a sock drawer.
The cab left dropped them off at Dulles in time for
the 2:00 PM shuttle.

=Wear this, = Vanessa tossed a blue cap to him,
=covers big white bandage.=

Mulder pulled on the cap and struck a dashing pose.
=What do you think?= he asked.

She smiled, =You look like boy scout.=

=Is that good?=

She shrugged.

=Vanessa, have you ever fly in small plane before?=

=No, why?=

He grimaced, =Did you pack something called
'Dramamine' in one of those packs?=

Vanessa thought about it, =I don't know. Scully have
big medical kit. I take that, but I not look at
everything in it. Why?=

He shook his head, =Nothing, forget I brought it up.=

End Part 30/37

Part 31/37

2:45 PM
Somewhere over New York

She was getting either sympathetic or real angry looks
from the other passengers on the small plane.

=Here take this bag,= Mulder handed her a third air
sick bad. If she didn't stop soon he was going to
begin sympathetic barfing.

She grabbed the bad and wiped her mouth with a clean
paper towel. =Why pilot not fly some place smooth,
nice, easy? Why? Why?= She asked.

He shrugged and tried not to watch her dry heave into
the third bag.

3:10 PM
Logan Airport
Boston, MA

=I never want to do that again,= Vanessa stated as
she dried the last of her tears.

=Don't worry, I won't let you,= replied Mulder. What
a miserable flight. He was watching the luggage
carousel go around until he saw the first of their
back packs. Bending over he pulled it up and then
found himself on the floor trying to catch his breath.
Oh yeah, my ribs are cracked. They worked it out
that he would tap Vanessa on the arm when he saw the
second pack and she would pick it up. Jeez, what a
team. She couldn't stand to watch the conveyor go
round and he could hardly lift his pack. They
retrieved the second pack and headed for the rental
desk.

He signed off on all the papers and they found the
green Cherokee quickly. Dumping off their packs in
the back, Mulder got into the driver's seat.

=You want to teach me to drive now?= asked an eager
Vanessa.

He did a double take on her. =You're teasing right?
You can't seriously want to learn how to drive in
*Boston*. No person in their right mind would even
drive in Boston if they had other choices. No, Boston
driving is for highly experienced driver's only. I
teach you later, after Worcester.= He put the car
into drive and headed out towards the Callahan Tunnel
and toward the Green Mountains of Vermont.

3:15 PM
Washington D.C.

Scully looked at Andrew across the table, "This was a
great idea. I love having a long leisurely lunch. It
makes what I have to face for the rest of the day more
palpable, if you'll excuse the pun."

He smiled and gently rubbed his fingertips across her
hand. "It's nice for me too. My schedule makes it
difficult for me to get out and actually have a social
life."

"Hmm," Scully grabbed his fingers and held them in
hand. "When do you have to be at the hospital?"

He looked at his watch and then frowned, "I have about
30 minutes before I have to leave. I'd rather spend
the day with you though. We finally have a nice warm
day."

"We could take a quick walk by the reflecting pool if
. . . " She was interrupted by her cell phone. She
sighed, "Sorry Andrew, this will only take a second."
She thumbed on the phone, "Scully."

"Scully, this A.D. Skinner. Would you like to tell me
where the hell Mulder and Vanessa are right now?"

She glanced over at Andrew, "I assume, sir, they're at
the hospital." She could hear him clench his jaws
through the phone.

"Guess again Agent Scully. Apparently they sent
Landon on a wild goose chase this afternoon for a
lunch run and when he came back they were no where to
be found. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have
as to their current whereabouts." He seethed.

She shook her head, Damn him. Damn him for ditching
me again. "I'm on it sir, I'll contact you the moment
I know where they are."

"You better Agent Scully."

She stared at the phone as she turned it off.

"Dana, what's wrong? Is it Mulder or Vanessa?" Andrew
asked.

She took a deep breath and pursed her lips as she put
away her phone. "Yes," she nodded, "it seems both of
them have disappeared from the hospital."

"I'm guessing Mulder wasn't discharged yet."

"No, " she shook her head, "he wasn't." She put her
hand up to her mouth. She was going to scream. Right
here, right now, in this restaurant she was going to
make a spectacle of herself because she was so pissed!

"Dana, what can I do?" Andrew asked as he began
paying the bill.

"I know where they're going, well, not specifically
but I have a good idea of where." She looked at him,
"I need to go home and figure out their plan. I'm
relatively sure Vanessa orchestrated this, and I need
to see what documents were left behind and whatever
else I can to piece this together."

"I'm driving you home, then." He said with
determination.

Scully looked at him, "Andrew no, you have to go to
work. I don't want to get you into trouble. Besides
Mulder is my partner and Vanessa is supposedly in my
custody."

"I know Dana, but Vanessa is my patient and you are my
friend. Don't worry about me, I haven't taken any
vacation or personal days for months. Let's get
moving and I'll call the hospital on the way to your
place. C'mon let's go." He held her chair for her.

Dana Katherine Scully, this might be as close as you
ever get to a knight in shining armor.

6:00 PM
North Adams, MA

Vanessa had been driving for the past 30 minutes or
more. Except for having a lead foot and a tendency to
stand on the brakes when a nice little nudge would do,
she was doing fairly well, Mulder thought. Having
sole custody of the radio was good as well. He
remembered some of the better Boston based Rock
stations, now referred to as, ugh, oldies. He was
starting to feel pretty lousy. The pounding in his
head was competing with the pain in his side for which
hurt the most. He tapped the dashboard within
Vanessa's view. =Find good place to stop, like store
with drinks and food okay?=

=Store food and drinks,= she repeated. It wasn't easy
driving and communicating by sign. She wondered how
others managed and what did they do at night time.
Was it okay to drive with the map light on so people
could see each other? It would make sense, but was it
legal? She made a mental note to ask someone.

Mulder saw a mom and pop store coming up on the left.
He tapped the dashboard again and pointed to the store
and signed, =Stop there.=

She nodded, turning on the left signal and moving into
the parking lot. =What's up?= she asked and noticed
his pale coloring and the sheen of sweat on his face.
She thought, I knew he wasn't up for this trip. I
made another big mistake. She signed, =You look sick.
What can I do to help you?=

He signed, =I'm okay, I just need something to drink
and something light to eat. You do too. As I recall
you lost your entire day's food content on the plane
ride.=

=Don't remind me,= she signed. =Do you want to come
in or do you need to rest here?=

=You go on in and start finding stuff, I'm going to
look in the pack for that medical kit. What color bag
was it?=

She held her fist close to her face and open and
clenched her fist, =Orange.=

He was grateful she couldn't hear him yelp when he got
out of the car.

6:00 PM
Scully's Apartment

Scully slammed down her phone, startling Andrew.
"What is it Dana?"

"Apparently Vanessa reserved seats on the shuttle from
D.C. to Boston using my credit card and then reserved
a Jeep, again using my credit card. Both the ticket
agent and the rental car agent recall someone calling
via relay yesterday."

"Do you know if they made the flight all right? Asked
Andrew.

Looking down she softly pounded the head rest of the
couch. "Not only did they make the flight, they made
an earlier flight putting them into Boston around 3:00
this afternoon. The rental agent, after threatening
to arrest him for obstruction of justice, confirmed
that an F. Mulder picked up the truck close to 3:30
PM. He ditched me Andrew, he ditched me again."

He wasn't sure what to do. Dana certainly didn't seem
the type that required comforting or taking care of in
times of crisis. "Let's go to Boston," he offered.

She let her head fall and rubbed her neck. "No,
they're headed for Vermont. The Green Mountains of
Vermont. That's where I need to go."

Andrew walked over to where she was standing and
started rubbing her neck and shoulders. "That's where
*we* need to go Dana. I need to go too. I know
you're a doctor but your also an FBI agent. Let me be
your back up."

"Skinner will never go for it," the shoulder rub felt
incredible.

"Skinner doesn't need to know," Andrew whispered in
her ear.

Scully laughed. "So, how are you fixed for hiking and
camping gear Andrew? Mine seems to be en route
somewhere in New England at the moment."

He turned her to face him. "No problem there.
Between me and my brother we have enough gear to live
in the Green Mountains for months."

Her eyes brightening, she gave him a nice long kiss.
"Give me a couple of minutes to change and pack a few
things. You call the airport and find out the fastest
way to get to Middlebury, Vermont."

"Middlebury, great skiing. No problem, I am on it."
He grabbed the telephone and watched Dana head towards
the bedroom.

End Part 31/37

Part 32/37

9:30 PM
Leicester, VT

Mulder was exhausted. He had taken some ibuprofen
when they ate, but it didn't do much for him. He
found a motel with a vacancy sign and pulled in.

Vanessa turned to him, =Stop now why?= They were so
close, only another 25 to 35 minutes of driving, the
hike would be difficult in the dark, but she had
packed flashlights. What was he thinking?

=Vanessa, I need to rest and so do you. We'll get up
early in the morning and we'll be there in time.
Don't worry, O.K.? We have time. It's fine that we
rest right now. You agree?=

She understood his logic, but she never was exactly a
patient person. In fact she was a very impulsive
person, impulsive enough to say, sneak out after
Mulder fell asleep. =Fine,= she signed.

She watched him fill out the registration form using
the names John and Susan Smythe. He didn't sign, but
she thought she caught him explaining to the manager
that they were brother and sister on the way to a
family reunion. The manager moved around a lot
getting keys and an extra set of towels, so she
couldn't really follow what he was saying.

Mulder looked at her and said, =Come on, Sis,= and
indicated direction by pointing with his chin.

Vanessa was bringing in the bags that held clothes and
the medical kit. Looking around the room she saw two
beds, a TV and a telephone. She saw a light off to
the right and figured it must be Fox in the bathroom.
Shutting the door she began locking all the locks.
She saw a shirtless Mulder waving to get her
attention.

=I'm taking a shower. I might need help with all this
stuff,= he held out his broken wrist and dropped it to
his ribs and opened his hand with the bandage that had
covered the wound on his head.

=O.K., no problem. Let me know when you want me to
help.= She picked up his bag with the extra clothes
and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he spoke and disappeared into the bathroom.

Turning on the old TV she tried to figure out if it
had closed captioning. She was thinking probably not
because only three channels were visible.

Fox emerged a few minutes later wearing his gray
sweats and holding a towel up to the back of his head.
He held up the towel and she saw the blood.

Helping him to sit down on the bed she saw him wince
and grab his side. =Here let me help,= she signed.
She took a comb and combed away the hair that had
gotten into the wound. She saw that the wound had
become infected, just like the one on his hand. She
stood in front of him and signed, =Infection on head
and hand.=

He nodded, =Pills in medical kit will help.=

=O.K.= she signed and put clean bandages on his wounds
and wrapped his wrist in the blue cast. She helped
him stand so she could turn down the bed, and placed
the two pillows together so he could sit somewhat
upright. Then she helped him into bed and covered him
with the bed clothes. =You cold?=

He shook his head no and pointed to the medical kit.

Grabbing the kit she gently handed it to him. He
looked through it and pulled out one brown vial of
pills and then one more.

=Water please?= he signed.

She came back with a glass of water and he took three
pills. She recognized one of the pills as the pain
medication he had hidden while in the hospital. =You
sure you okay?= she asked.

He nodded, =Looks worse than it is,= he replied.

She began scanning the room for the keys to the jeep.
She felt a tap on the bed and looked over at Fox.

Smiling he displayed the keys to her and then dropped
them in his pants.

She frowned. Great, wonderful.

He smiled, =I don't want you wandering off without
me.=

She gave him a sarcastic look and picked up her bag.
A shower would feel pretty good right now. Maybe a
nice long bath. It's not like she was going anywhere
soon.

9:30
Athol, MA

"I apologize for calling you at this late hour, sir,"
Scully said.

"That's not a problem Scully. Have you located Agent
Mulder and Vanessa yet?"

She looked over at Andrew who was at the wheel. "No,
sir but I think I know where they are headed."

"Vermont, I assume," Skinner said impatiently.

"Yes sir. Vanessa has convinced Mulder that Samantha
is going to appear some where along the Green
Mountains close to the town of Middlebury, Vermont. I
have confirmed that they took a shuttle from D.C. to
Boston and rented a vehicle from Logan Airport. I'm
currently in central Massachusetts and plan to locate
them as soon as possible."

"Agent Scully, Why is it that you and Agent Mulder
never cease to find a way to piss_ me_ off.
Considering recent events you should have some back up
with you. I'm going to send out an Agent to meet you.
Under the circumstances it was foolish for you to act
on your own."

Scully took a deep breath and glanced again at Andrew,
"I'm not alone sir, Dr. Walsh is with me. When I
locate Mulder and Vanessa I believe that any trouble
they may encounter will be of medical consequence."
She imagined crossing all of her fingers. He's going
to have a cardiac event, she thought, and waited for
his reply.

"Agent Scully, I don't appreciate you pulling a
civilian into Bureau matters, you are putting a man at
risk here."

She bit the inside of her cheek, okay here it comes
he's going to let her have it now.

"However, considering Agent Mulder's tendency to
require a great deal of medical attention whenever he
goes off on his own, having Dr. Walsh, a man that we
have all learned to trust to some degree in the last
week or so is a good choice. Call me when you know
more," he stated as calmly as possible."

Raising her eyebrows she shrugged at Andrew who had
been watching her during the conversation. "Thank you
sir, I will." She thumbed off the phone. "Well that
went better than I had expected."

"Skinner seems to be a good man, Dana. I was with him
when Mulder was brought into the ER at GWU Hospital.
He really cares about you guys." He reached for her
hand and held it briefly.

"We have about 2 hours before we hit the town of
Middlebury and when we do, we won't be seeing any
motels. It's a big B&B town. My guess is Mulder and
Vanessa have already stopped for the night I think we
should do the same."

Scully sighed, "You don't know Mulder."

"True," Andrew began, "but I know how patients who
suffer from concussions, broken bones and cracked
ribs feel like two days after their injury. He's not
going to be able to drive anymore and didn't you say
there is some hiking involved? There's no was he's
going to hike out at night."

"Okay, I see your point. I'm starving anyway, we
haven't eaten anything since lunch and I am getting
tired." She looked out the window.

Andrew looked over at her and smoother her auburn hair
off her face. "Hey, we'll get an early start in the
morning. We emergency room docs are used to getting
up early."

She nodded, "Well, we FBI agents are used to not
sleeping at all." She looked toward him and smiled.
"I like your idea better."

He smiled back, "I think I do too."

11:00 PM
Leicester, VT

Fox had fallen asleep buy the time Vanessa finished
her bath and dressed for bed. She left the bathroom
light on and turned off the lamp on the stand between
the two beds. She looked over at the TV and saw a
news program on. After prying the remote from
Mulder's hand she flipped to the two remaining
channels. Both news and no captioning. Great.

She looked over at Fox. He hadn't moved since she
took her bath. She stared at him trying to see if he
was breathing. He had taken all those pills, maybe he
stopped breathing. Quietly and as gently as possible
she moved toward him on his bed. He still hadn't
stirred. She was starting to get worried. At the
hospital she could see his belly rise and fall
underneath the bed clothes, but she couldn't see here.
She slowly took hold of the sheets and began to
gently pull them down toward his hips so she could see
that he was breathing. He still hadn't moved, didn't
seem to notice the cool air on his chest. She stared
at his bruised stomach and waited to see movement.

=What the hell do you think you're doing?= he pushed
her off his bed.

She rubbed her backside and got up to her knees. =I
worried you stop breathing. I feel scared because
all the medicines you took,= she signed.

Cocking an eyebrow in disbelief, he signed, =Right,
sure.=

=True business,= Vanessa signed back and got off the
floor and onto her bed. What a grouch!

He signed, =You are not getting the keys, so just go
to sleep and I'll worry about my breathing.=

She made little movements with her mouth and rolled
her eyes, mimicking him.

=Go to sleep Vanessa,= he gave her an almost caustic
look, =We get up in a few hours.=

=Fine,= she signed and climbed under the sheets.

=Fine,= he signed and pulled his sheets up to his chin
and turned his back toward her.

She made an obscene sign.

he thought.

She sat upright, how could he . . . ? She looked
across the room and saw the big mirror over the
dresser. She saw him sign, =Sleep now,= in the
mirror. She made a forced smile and settled back into
the bed. This was going to be a long night.

End Part 32/37

Part 33/37

April 18
6:30 AM
Green Mountains, VT

They had been walking for about an hour. Vanessa,
using her flat left palm facing up, took her right
open flat palm and tapped it at a 90 degree angle on
her left hand, =Stop.=

=Why?= Mulder signed, he was feeling fuzzy from the
pain pill he had taken the night before. He was
wishing he hadn't taken it, he didn't like this
feeling.

=I'm cold, I want to find a sweater, O.K.?= she
signed.

=If you wear it now in another hour you'll want to
stop to take it off because you're too hot. Let's
continue walking,= he insisted. =Let me see your
map,= he signed.

She pulled out the printed map as well as her own hand
drawn map that depicted exactly where they needed to
go.

He took the printed map and unfolded it on a rock.
=O.K., right now we are here,= he pointed to a spot on
the map, =and we want to be where?=

Vanessa pointed to an area about 10 miles northeast.

That's a lot of walking, he thought, and felt a slight
burn in his throat and chest when he breathed. =We'll
follow the water until here and then take this trail
east, he pointed out the route.=

=Fine, let's go,= Vanessa lifted her pack back onto
her shoulders. =Ready?= she signed.

He nodded. She was sprinting ahead of him. Oh great,
he thought and ran as best he could to catch up with
her. =You follow me, understand?= he signed.

=Why?= she asked.

=Because we might run into a bear or something and I'm
the one who has a gun,= he explained.

Her eyes widened, =O.K., you go first.=

=Thank you,= he signed back and got into the rhythm of
an acceptable pace.

9:30 AM

He looked back at Vanessa, =Let's rest,= he signed.
His head and chest was going to implode at any second,
he was sure.

Vanessa shrugged her pack off and helped Fox with his.
The brief touch of his hand let her know how much
pain he was in. =Fox, how you feel?= she asked
knowingly.

=Fine,= he signed, refilling his canteen with fresh
water from the stream. It felt good to sit, he
thought. He was cold and chastised himself for not
letting Vanessa get her sweater when she wanted to.
He was going to need his before they took off again.
He drank some water, wishing it was hot coffee, and
leaned his head back against the large rock. He just
needed to close his eyes for a minute. He felt a hand
on his forehead and it startled him. =What?= he
looked over at Vanessa through his Ray-Bans.

=You look sick. I believe you have fever. Fox, I
very worried about you.= And I am prepared to go
alone to see Samantha, she thought to herself.

He shook his head, =I feel fine. I need to rest and
have some breakfast. What do we have?= He pulled the
cap out of his coat pocket and put it on. The sun was
so bright, it hurt his eyes.

She counted off on her fingers, =We have cereal,
PowerBars, juices, dried fruit, or I can catch a
fish,= she grinned.

=I'd like to see that,= he smiled back. =Give me a
juice and a PowerBar,= and then added, =please.=

She dug out an apple juice box and a mixed berry bar.
=Don't know if that has cranberries,= she shrugged.
She saw him bob his head like he laughed. She pulled
out some food for herself enjoying the warmth of the
sun on her face.

9:30 AM
Green Mountain Ranger Station

The ranger placed the phone back into it's cradle.
"Looks like your friends got an early start. We found
an abandoned Jeep Cherokee with the plate number you
gave us outside a park entrance in Leicester, Nick
said the vehicle felt slightly warm to him, so maybe
they haven't gone too far."

Scully was eyeing the huge map on the wall, depicting
the Green Mountains in detail. "Officer can you show
me on this map where the Jeep was found?" she asked.

They followed the ranger as he walked toward the map.

"Sure, it was found here," he pointed.

Scully scanned the map, "And we are here, right?" She
pointed to an area north of his finger.

"That's correct, Ma'am."

Scully felt her face flush, she hated that she had to
ask this question. "Officer, can you tell me please
if there is an area near where you have indicated that
has had numerous UFO siting reports?"

Andrew looked at her quizzically, what's that about?
He wondered.

The ranger smiled and shook his head. "You're people
going UFO hunting huh? Well, we New Englander's are a
little too practical for that kind of thing,
especially in an area that have so many lights from
the ski lodges. Well, yes, there is a spot that the
out of towners like to go to. Let me pull that map
out for you and I'll show you the best way to get
there." He stifled a laugh.

Scully saw Andrew's expression. "Look, it's not my
idea it's Mulder's, he's the one who believes in
aliens and big foot. My job is to try and keep him in
line with reality."

"Well, that make's more sense," he said.

"Here's the map, if you'll come over here I'll show
you how to find that spot."

"Thank you Officer, I appreciate your help," a stoic
Scully replied.

12:30 PM
Green Mountains, VT

The terrain had gotten rockier and Mulder was having a
hard time keeping his balance. He was also starting
to have more trouble breathing. He stopped to check
his watch and found they were about 2,000 ft. above
sea level. Okay, it's the altitude, yeah, that's why
it hurts like hell to breathe, he tried to convince
himself. He felt a bump from behind.

=OOPS, sorry,= Vanessa signed. She hadn't been
paying attention. =Everything O.K.?= she asked.

=Yeah, fine. Needed to check something,= he replied
and turned back to the trail.

She hated those sunglasses. It was difficult to know
if he was telling the truth without seeing his eyes.

1:15 PM

Jeez, the pack is heavy, thought Mulder. He couldn't
catch his breath at all. He stopped to see where
Vanessa was, and saw she was about 100 ft. behind him.
He wriggled out of the pack and bent over trying to
catch his breath. Each breath burned and he felt
pressure on his chest.

=We're very close,= Vanessa signed, =let me help you.=
She began to pick up his pack.

=No, I can carry it. I need a minute that's all,= he
replied.

She took the time to take in scenery. They were
surrounded by tress and jutting granite. Some of the
pieces of granite were the same height as she. It was
a perfect New England day, brisk with a warming sun
above. They were so close to the clearing she could
hardly stand it. She took a deep breath and made an
attempt to relax and focus. She saw Fox was getting
start to pick up his pack and she readied herself to
being walking again.

He bent over and started to lift the pack when the
world shifted beneath him. The feel of wet moss and
jagged rock assaulted him. He saw a bigger rock ahead
and tried to grab onto it, unfortunately he tried to
use his left hand, "Ouch!" He bumped and rolled
forever until he stopped at a clearing with lots of
ferns, trees. He could smell the dark soil.

Vanessa had witnessed this in horror. She ran down
the hill to the clearing. He was bleeding. His face
and hands were bleeding from fresh scratches. She saw
blood seeping through the layers of clothes on his
left arm.

He turned onto his back, Oh no, that was a mistake!
He couldn't catch his breath and he knew he dislocated
his shoulder. Great time to play the klutz, he
chastised himself. He saw Vanessa doing a more
controlled slide down the hill.

=Fox you're hurt.= She took off her pack and then her
anorak. She folded up the latter and placed it behind
his head. =You try relax, I'll go get medical kit
from your pack.=

He did his best to nod at her and watched her scurry
back up the mountain trail. He just needed to close
his eyes for a second.

She was back in record speed, bringing with her about
five pounds of dirt, he thought as he spat out the
soil in his mouth. He felt her take off his hat and
sunglasses. The bright sun accosted him. He tried to
move his hand up to block the sun, but his body
reminded him he had been injured, "Ouch! Shit!" he
voiced.

Vanessa put herself between the sun and Fox as she
cleaned off the blood on his face. Nothing too deep
thank goodness, even though the cut above his left eye
continued to bleed. She tried too look through the
layers of clothes to see his left arm but he was
refusing, moving slightly under her touch. I suppose
I'll need to do the hard part now, she thought.

=Fox, I know that your shoulder hurts and I know how
to fix it. Can you trust me to fix your shoulder?=

=No, no fix shoulder. Shoulder fine,= he signed with
his right hand squinting against the sun.

She signed, "I don't believe you." He felt her touch
the fingers above the cast and he snapped them away
from her, "Don't touch me!" he yelled. His body
language required no ASL.

=Fox, you stubborn. Let me help you. I know how to
put the shoulder back in place. Let me do it. I'll
go gently. Cooperate with me please,= She insisted.

He considered spending the rest of his life on his
back with a bunch of ferns and decided to take a
chance on Vanessa. How much worse could it get? He
nodded and let him take his arm up towards her. He
was so cold but he was sweating hard.

She didn't need to touch him to know how much pain he
was in. She had his arm in the correct position and
signed to him, =Count with me to three, ready?=

He nodded slightly.

Watching each other's fingers; one, two, and crackkk!

The bright sun had been replaced with the hot blinding
white pain he felt in his head. The burning in his
shoulder had lessened, but even so he felt himself . .
.

She was relieved to see him lose consciousness. She
still had to clean up the wound on his shoulder and
she had to make sure everything was where it was
supposed to be.

Grabbing all four layers he was wearing she took them
off at once, gently laying his left shoulder down on
her sweatshirt. She folded his arm across his chest
and looked at the wound on his upper arm. This was a
deep cut with a good deal of debris. She got the
water canteen and began to clean him off. This would
require stitches. She looked in the bag and found the
kit she would need to do the job. Once again grateful
he was unconscious she disinfected the wound as well
as the contents of the kit and began to stitch him up.

She had finished stitching him, bandaging him and had
him in clean dry clothes. She had ripped apart one of
his tee-shirts and fashioned a sling to help him hold
his shoulder in place. She managed to stop the
bleeding above his eye and cut the adhesive part of
bandage strips in to half inch sections. She used
these as butterfly bandages. She saw him begin
shivering and his teeth chattering.

Looking around, she realized there was no way she
could start a fire here. Besides, they were so close
to the meeting place, maybe one mile away. As much as
she hated to do it, she began to shake him awake. His
color was not good. The contrast between his one day
shadow from his dark beard made him look more pale
and sickly. She shook him again and watched his eyes
open slowly.

Mulder felt disoriented as he slowly opened his eyes.
The sun had moved, for that he was grateful. He was
becoming aware of the pain in his left arm, shoulder,
his head, his face, come to think of it his hair hurt.
He focused in on Vanessa's face.

=Can you see me? Fox? See me fine?=

He nodded and that cost him pain shooting through his
body.

=Fox, we need to make camp and get you warm. But
can't set up camp here. Can you try to walk? You
need walk only short length,= she signed.

He remembered falling and the dirt and the blood and
the pain. Oh yeah, his shoulder. He looked down and
saw he was in clean clothes and a sling kept his arm
against his chest. He nodded toward her.

She went behind him and supported his neck and
shoulders as he sat up. This was a good start.

Well, he thought, the good news is that I'm still
conscious. He allowed himself to be helped to a
standing position.

She steadied him until she felt confident he could
stand without falling. She quickly put her back on
and grabbed the orange medical kit. She took his
right arm and slowly led him back up the hill.

End Part 33/37

Part 34/37
April 18
1:15
Green Mountains, VT

"Well, the good thing is there's no blood anywhere,"
Scully announced and accepted a bottle of water.
"Usually, Mulder gets himself into some kind of
trouble by this time."

Andrew saw a glint of something and walked over
towards it. He lifted it, "PowerBar wrapper. I think
we're following their exact route."

Scully grabbed the wrapper and recognized it as
something taken from her gear. "Yes, it was nice of
that ranger to make us such a precise map. Well, if
this was breakfast we have more walking to do. I'm
hoping it was lunch."

Andrew was refilling his bottle of water at the
stream. "Don't worry. We'll find them before night
fall."

Scully handed him her bottle to be refilled as well.
Yes, she felt confident they would meet up with them
soon.

3:30
The Clearing
Green Mountains, VT

Mulder navigated the hill as best as possible, meaning
he didn't fall again. They had been walking for a
while though and he was getting tired. He didn't feel
good. He wanted more than anything to sit by a warm
fire and rest. He was aware that his body was in
shock. He didn't want Vanessa to know, though. He
looked over at her. She was wearing her pack,
carrying his and still managing to help him walk.

She pointed to a clearing on the bluff. She took her
hand off of Fox's elbow, =Stop here. I'll set up the
tent and start a fire.=

He watched her unload her pack and begin to set up the
tent. Walking over to the bluff he gingerly stepped
toward the edge. He saw below camping grounds with
picnic tables and grills set up. He hated the
"touristy" part of camping. If you were going to
camp, pitch a tent and sit on the ground.

He turned and began to walk back toward Vanessa. She
had the tent up quickly. He was looking forward to
crawling into his sleeping bag.

=You need water, food if you think your stomach can
handle it.=

He nodded and reluctantly made the sign =mindtalk.=

She nodded, under the circumstances it was probably
best he didn't try to sign.

She nodded and finger spelled, =S-H-O-C-K.=

He nodded.

She helped him to lay on the small mat propped by bags
and wrapped his sleeping bag over him. =I go collect
wood for fire. Talk to me if you need me back here.=

He nodded again and mentally took inventory of the
medical kit. What could he use for pain without
knocking him out completely? He concentrated on
listing everything in that kit to help divert his
attention to the amazing pain he felt.

5:30 PM

He hadn't been able to keep down the soup and
peanutbutter crackers she made for him. She handed
him another cup of hot water, the only thing he was
keeping down successfully. This wasn't working and it
would be dark out soon.

=Samantha come at night. Time when? I don't know.
Why don't you lay down and sleep, true business. I'll
wake you when it's time.=

He shook his head, <I'm not sleepy.>

She shook her head, =I can see you want to sleep.
Really, I will wake you, I will not let your sister
miss seeing you tonight.=

He considered it.

=Fine to do what?=

<I'm freezing, and yes I need to lay down for a little
bit. It's easier if I show you a picture, come here
and touch me.>

He took out his right arm from the sleeping bag and
she held it in her own.

She took a deep breath and let it out, allowing
herself to accept his image. The sleeping bags were
arranged oddly and she saw . . .

She dropped his hand, =I can't do that.= She informed
him.

His teeth chattered, <I'm not asking you to have sex
or anything, I need to share your body warmth. It's
okay, I'm in no shape to harm you believe me.>

She nodded and tended to the fire making sure it would
continue to warm them for some time. She got out her
sleeping bag and placed it on the ground next to his.
She got him to relinquish his bag and she quickly set
up the two together and helped him to lay down again.
Making sure he was comfortable, she took off her boots
and climbed in. Once she was next to him she took off
her layers of clothes and lay down next to him,
curving her body towards him. She reached up under
his layers and put her warm arm and what body weight
she thought he could support over him. He was so
cold.

<Thank you.> He sighed and closed his eyes.

6:00 PM
The Campsite

Scully walked around the camp site. There were plenty
of picnic tables and grills set up for the people who
vacationed here.

"Dana, I don't see anything that would indicate they
were here at all," said Andrew.

Scully put her hand on her hips and took in the view,
"I can't find anything either. I'm sure we followed
the rangers map. I don't know."

"We probably beat them here. Think about it, " he sat
on a table wrapping his arms around her and put his
head on her shoulder as they both looked out over the
mountains, "Mulder is hurt and that will significantly
slow them down. How sure was Vanessa about where they
were going?"

Pressing her cheek against his, "I don't know, she
seemed vague in a way. At first she said to go to
Middlebury and then we find their Jeep in Leicester,"
she narrowed her eyes. "I don't know. I have a
feeling something is wrong."

He released his arms, "What do you want to do?"

"We only have another hour of day light. I think we
should walk around the perimeter of the campsite, we
might see something there."

He nodded, "That makes sense. How many aliens show up
at a campsite?" he grinned.

"Oh you'd be surprised," she said as she put on her
back pack.

End Part 34/37

Part 35/37

10:00 PM
The Clearing

His shivering had almost stopped and he had actually
fallen asleep. Because she was touching him she
experienced every thought, every emotion and every
pain that he did. She tried to put up her walls to
keep him out but she couldn't do that. There was a
chance she might block out the energy pattern of
Samantha.

10:15 PM
The Campsite

Andrew had made a warm fire and they were finishing
the last of the coffee. "Dana do you think it's time
we call the ranger station and get some help?"

"Believe me, I've been considering it since we found
this site. I know Mulder is here. He has to be
somewhere close, between what I remember from Vanessa
and what the ranger said we should have run into each
other by now."

Andrew nodded, "I think you're right and that's what
makes me so worried, although that's in my nature.
Maybe I'm just blowing things out of proportion."

Scully smiled, "No, I can tell you for a fact that you
are not blowing things out of proportion, not where
Mulder is concerned." She stood up and began to pace
trying to get the kinks out of her back. Something
was bothering her, something wasn't right if she could
just put her finger on it. "I don't know," she
spoke/sighed, and warmed her hands by the fire.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw. . . something.
"Andrew, look up there," she pointed to above the
bluff.

He stood next to her and followed her gaze. "What is
it? I don't see anything."

She sighed, "I thought I saw fire light. Is there a
way we can get up there without killing ourselves?"

He brought out the map and they discussed the
different ways they could reach the clearing by the
bluff.

"Basically, there's no way to get there in the dark.
Did you see this drop?"

"Dana, that's a steep hill, I wouldn't call it a
'drop' exactly." He said.

She looked at him seriously, "You would if you worked
with Mulder."

He shook his head, "Well, can you get a helicopter or
something to take us there or call the ranger, maybe
they can make it there with whatever equipment they
might have."

She smiled, "It's worth a phone call." She took her
phone out of her jacket. "Oh no."

"What?' he asked as he put more wood on the fire.

"My phone's dead. How stupid!" She slapped the
table. Of all the stupid things Dana Katherine
Scully, this is the dumbest.

"Okay, we're stuck here until morning then we go look
ourselves. We'll probably meet them along the way,"
he attempted to soothe her. No reaction. "Dana, we
knew that this might be an option. We will all be
okay, you have to trust that."

She snickered, that word, trust, it keeps popping up.
"You're right. Let's set up the tents and get ready
for the night." She saw him looking at his feet.
"What?"

He shrugged, "I was hoping you might be somewhat more
enthused at the thought of spending the night with me
under the stars."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, "Tell me
you packed chocolate and marshmallows and I'll be
jumping up and down."

"Hmm, " he said in response to her light kiss, "how
about a roll of life savers and a cup of ginger tea?"

She kissed him again, not so lightly, "Well, don't
expect any jumping up and down, but I'll take it."

10:30
The Clearing

They were coming, she would know that energy pattern
anywhere. She shook Samantha's brother gently. His
eye's opened.

=Time to see your sister,= she signed.

He nodded. He hadn't meant to fall asleep.

Vanessa got back into her clothes and put on her
shoes, watching the slow movement of Fox as he sat up
on his own and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. At
least he wasn't shivering anymore.

He looked up at Vanessa with a panicked expression.

=What's wrong?= she asked.

<It's nothing.>

She stood the way she saw Scully did when she knew he
was hiding something.

<It's just that I wish I brought her a present or
something. I know it's stupid.>

Vanessa signed back to him, =You sweet,= and smiled.

She helped him put on another coat and to replace the
sling so his hand would be outside all the layers.
She stumbled forward a bit.

<What's wrong?> he asked.

=They're close, I feel them very strongly. Can you
walk we need to walk just a little to over there.=
She pointed to a clearing northwest of their position.

She smiled, =I'll try.= She took the elbow of his
right arm and slowly led him forward.

=Here we are!= she signed to the sky.

The lights began to flash; white, red, white blue,
white, red. There was no sound! He had recalled loud
noises the last few times. He felt his heart begin to
race.

Vanessa turned to him and shook her head, =No. Don't
feel afraid. Nothing will hurt you.=

He swallowed hard.

A soft light showered them. He saw Vanessa close her
eyes and smile.

=Yes, he's here. I miss you best friend. Come see
your brother.=

End Part 34/37

Part 35/?37
April 18
10:30 PM
The Campsite
"Andrew what's that?" Scully referred to the flashing
red and white lights?

He shielded his eyes, "Do you think it's the police or
forest rangers?"

She shook her head, "I don't know."

"Do you think it's a UFO?" he asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Andrew."

He shrugged as they both gazed at the lights.

10:35 PM
The Clearing

He looked up into the light and the pain from it's
brightness hurt his head and made him dizzy.

He felt himself starting to fall and Vanessa caught
him before he hit the ground. He blinked a few times
trying to regain a modicum of normal sight when he saw
a figure coming towards him. He put a knee to the
ground to steady himself.

The woman coming toward him was beautiful, robust.
She was wearing the same kind of dress that Vanessa
had appeared in. Her hair was dark and very straight.
She's grown into her eyes, he thought.

The woman signed to Vanessa, =Hi, Vanessa. Are you
O.K.?=

Vanessa smiled and nodded. =Samantha this is your
brother, Fox.=

He looked up into her blue eyes, as she took his arm
and helped him to stand straight.

"You were always so much taller than I, " she said
tears flowing as she smiled.

"How do I know this is you?" he asked.

She nodded, "I'm sorry you have been used so much in
the past few years. It's me, Samantha, your sister,
butt munch."

He laughed and grabbed her into his arm and hugged her
as tightly as possible. He spun her around until they
fell and they both laughed .

"I've missed you so much, I have so much to ask you
and so much to tell you," he said.

"Fox, please forgive me. I'm so sorry for leaving you
and mom and dad. It wasn't fair to you."

His tears were flowing freely, "Fair to *me.* You were
the one abducted, taken from us."

"Yes, but you were the one has suffered."

He shook his head, "That doesn't make any sense.
Samantha they took you away from us! They did tests
on you! They held you against your will!" he
screamed.

Samantha hugged her brother and kissed him on his
forehead. "The best thing that happened to me was to
be taken out of that house." She faced him and he saw
pain in her expression. "Yes, they did tests on both
of us and they didn't always hurt. But I was the one
who got to stay with them, you were forced to go back
home. I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, "I don't understand."

She was trying to control her tears, "I remember the
fights between mom and dad, I remember the beatings,
especially yours. Dad never hit me like he hit you.
I remember one time I had left out some books on the
floor of the living room and dad came home so angry.
They were books I wasn't supposed to read because they
were to 'mature' for me. Dad assumed it was you who
made the mess and I remember seeing him drag you to
our room. I remember hearing the crack of his belt on
you, and I remember waiting to hear you cry out. When
you finally did you were close to passing out. I
never said it was my fault. I never told dad it was
my mess. I'm so sorry," she sobbed, "I was too
afraid of him to say you didn't do anything wrong.
Please forgive me, Fox, please."

He had remembered that beating. He got a new baseball
glove for that one. He shook his head, "None of that
matters now. You're home. I'm going to take care of
you and we'll move on."

She shook her head, "I'm only here to see you, Fox. I
can't stay long. "

"What do you mean?" he asked hurriedly, "You have to
stay. Samantha, I've looked for you my whole life,
I'm not letting you go now."

"I'm sorry Fox. You have your work and I have mine.
I am choosing to go back and finish what I've
started," she informed him.

He shook his head, "No. They've brain washed you.
I've seen this happen many times with kidnap victims
and their captors. No, Samantha you're coming with
me." He tugged her closer to him.

"Fox, we don't have time to argue. I need you to . .
. "

Another beam of the soft light appeared.

"What is that?" he asked.

Samantha smiled, "My escort."

Dazed he look down toward her. "Your what? What did
you say?"

Samantha gently took his face between her hands.
"Listen to me. There are others out there who want to
cause a lot of harm. You've met them. You are needed
here to continue your work. To expose the truth. I'm
working for the good guys, Fox. Has Vanessa explained
any of this to you?"

He nodded, "She told me the difference between the
Grays and the Warriors, is that what you mean?"

"Yes. It's the Warriors who deceive, kill and use
people to their own advantage. They have to be
stopped before they begin to colonize. Fox, you have
to do this."

He shook his head, "Why me? I'm no one special, Why
not the president or someone else?"

"Because no one else is willing to fight for the truth
like you are."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blur. He looked
up and saw a 'Gray."

"Samantha, you're coming with me," he held her tightly
in his arm, "I can't lose you again." And then
pleading, "Please don't leave me."

She nodded, she replied.

Fox's eyes were bright. "I heard that. I heard what
he said to you and what you said to him. I heard it!"

"It's the mindtalk we use with them. You've been with
them several times before I left and then once when I
was there. I'm sorry they had to take away your
memories. You were always so frightened."

She combed his hair with her fingers. "My work is
important to me. We are working toward a peaceful
coexistence. I'm a teacher Fox! I love it. Who
would have thought I'd be a teacher!" She laughed.

"I can't lose you again," he whispered to her.

She bit her lip, and whispered into his ear, "You are
not losing me."

He shook his head.

"I watch you. I see the trouble you get into. I know
what you do. You're right not to trust the man we
call the "Broker," you have another name for him."

"Cancer Man."

She nodded, "Yes. He's always been nice to me, but I
know that he uses me and our family to manipulate you.
He's working both sides Fox, don't trust him. Don't
give him anything he can work with."

His eyes pleading, "You can't go, not now, please
Sam."

She smiled and wiped a tear off of his face and
touched his nose. "Yes, I am leaving. I miss you.
I'm sorry to hurt you again. Please understand that I
believe my work is as important as your work."

He nodded.

She forced him to look at her. "Promise me you won't
give up. Promise me right now so I know that you will
go on living the life you were meant to lead."

"I don't know Samantha, I just wanted to see you
again."

She turned around slowly, "So you have. Who do you
think I look like?"

He grinned, "You take after mom's side."

They said in unison, "Thank God!"

"Will I see you again? I need to know that I'll see
you again, Samantha please."

They both looked at the other being.

"Yes, you'll see me again. I don't know when, but we
will be together. It's only because of Vanessa that I
can see you know. She arranged everything for me."

He turned to see Vanessa standing about 100 feet away
looking at her shoes. "Does she go back with you?" he
asked.

Samantha waved her arms and Vanessa walked over to
them. Samantha signed, =What is your decision?=

Vanessa smiled, =I choose to stay. I am no longer
useful to you, I can make a difference here.=

Samantha began to cry again, =I'll miss you so much!=

Vanessa signed, =Same.=

Fox heard both of them sob.

Fox shared, <She said one minute!>

Everyone's eyes fell on him.

"What? Did I yell?" he asked.

Samantha grinned, "You always yell." They both
laughed.

She hugged him again and whispered, "I love you so
much. I'm sorry there's not more time."

She started to leave when he pulled her back in to
himself. "I love you Sam, don't wait 23 years before
I can tell you that again." He rocked her slowly for
a moment then let her go. He couldn't watch her leave
again.

<How fortunate you are to be so loved by this
wonderful woman. Believe her Fox Mulder,> from the
Gray.

The flashes of lights started again and then there was
Silence. Dead air. Nothing.

Fox fell to his knees and Vanessa rushed toward his
side and held him as he cried. After some time, he
signed to her, =Thank you, for helping me to see my
sister.=

=Your welcome.= She would hold him forever if he
needed her.

End Part 35/37

Part 36/37

April 19
7:30 AM
The Clearing

"Is that it?" asked Ranger Bob, pointing to the yellow
tent about 1,000 feet ahead.

"That's them," replied Scully, "I recognize my tent."
Why is there only one tent up, she wondered? There
must be something wrong, she worried. She looked over
at Andrew and he squeezed her hand.

Vanessa sensed Scully's presence. The events of the
night before had left her so tired. She looked over
at Fox. He hadn't moved at all since they went to
sleep last night. Vanessa closed her eyes again, she
wasn't ready to face the world yet.

"Andrew you have your medical bag?" Scully asked.

"Right here Dana, don't worry," he replied as they
reached the tent.

Unzipping the tent Scully saw the two forms sleeping.
Mulder was laying flat with some find of sling holding
his arm across his chest. His head slightly elevated
by a couple of bags. Vanessa slept as far away as
possible from her partner, cocooned in her sleeping
bag.

"Mulder?" she watched for him to stir. "Mulder, it's
me." He hadn't stirred.

She grabbed a handful of Vanessa's sleeping bag and
shook it. She saw Vanessa's eyes open and she began
to sit up.

"What's going on Dana?" asked Andrew.

"I'm not sure yet, Vanessa is just waking up. Mulder
is still out."

The tent was much too small for three people. Scully
signed, =Vanessa are you okay?=

Vanessa yawned as she signed, =I'm fine. You need to
check Fox. He fell yesterday.=

I knew that was a drop not a hill, Scully thought.
=Vanessa, I want you to come outside with me and
explain what happened to Fox. Dr. Walsh is here and
he's going to check him out.=

Vanessa nodded and followed Scully out of the tent.
She signed to Scully, =You angry with me and Fox?= she
asked.

Scully shook her head, =Don't worry about that right
now I need you to tell me what happened after Fox
fell. I'll voice for Dr. Walsh and the other man with
us is a park ranger, his name B-O-B.=

Vanessa told them how Samantha's brother had fallen
down the hill and hurt his shoulder and arm. She also
told him that he had complained about being cold, but
that seemed to be better. Finally she told them about
the headaches and painful breathing, although she
didn't inform them how she got this particular
information.

Scully turned to Andrew and nodded, "Go check him out,
please." She watched him enter the tent.

Vanessa asked for some water. Scully absent mindedly
asked Ranger Bob to give her water while she stared
into the opening of the tent.

"Dana, we'll need to Med-Evac him out of here. Get Bob
on it and come in here please."

The Ranger went to his truck and began ordering the
helicopter pick up.

Scully came into the tent, "What have we got?"

Andrew put his stethoscope around his neck and
released the gage on the blood pressure cuff . "The
cursory exam shows cuts and abrasions on his face and
I believe he dislocated his shoulder. They did a
good job at getting it back to the proper position,
but I'd like to examine him myself. He has a fever of
102 degrees and BP is 110/70. I'm also hearing
congestion in his chest, I suspect pneumonia has set
in.

Scully spotted the orange Medical kit she had packed
up. She grabbed the bag and began looking through the
contents to see what was missing. "It looks like
he's been taking Amoxicyllin and Ibuprofen. He knew
he was getting sick. Also, all of the betadyne is
gone. Vanessa said he had a cut on his arm. Let me
get more details."

"Ask her if he's had anything to eat or drink
recently, " Andrew called behind her.

=Vanessa,= Scully signed, =tell me more about the cut
on his arm.=

She explained that it was deep and that she stitched
it up.

=Where did you learn to do that?= Scully asked.

=First Aid training,= she replied matter-of-factly.

Scully chewed the inside of her lip, what kind of
training could she have received. Scully wanted to
see that wound. She didn't trust that Vanessa could
do a proper job.

=Last time he had food and water was when?= she asked.

Vanessa was squinting against the sun, =Last night he
try to eat but threw it up. He drank hot water, three
cups. Water to take pills last night about midnight.
That's all.=

"Andrew, we need to take a look at that cut on his
arm. Vanessa said she stitched it herself."

"You're kidding," he responded.

She shook her head, "She said she received some
training. He hasn't been able to keep any food down
but he has been drinking water. Vanessa said he took
some pills last night. I have a bottle of Valium in
the bag. I wouldn't notice if only one tablet was
taken."

Andrew nodded. "Let's take a look at that wound. Can
you undo that knot on the sling?" He found scissors
in his bag.

"It's tight. I'll slip it over his head."

Mulder murmured something but didn't wake up.

"Dana, I don't like him sleeping through this, he
should be awake by now," he began cutting the lower
left sleeve of his jacket and cut up to the shoulder
quickly.

"I know, I'm worried too."

The bandage was exposed. Andrew cut through the gauze
and revealed the wound.

"Oh My God!" they exclaimed in Unison.

Andrew got out his pen light and examined the wound
more closely. "It looks like the work of a plastic
surgeon. The stitches are small and neat. No sign of
infection. She did a real good job Dana."

"Agent Scully," called the ranger.

"I'll be right back," she told Andrew.

She saw him standing by his truck and she ran over to
him. "What's happening with the helicopter?"

"They'll be here any minute. The EMTs called and
advise to prepare for transport."

"Okay, we'll get him ready."

"How is he, Agent Scully?"

"I'm not sure, he's not conscious, and that has me
concerned." She heard the pounding of the helicopter
blades and could see it approaching. She started back
towards the tent when Vanessa caught her arm.

=Scully, what's up? What's wrong? Is Fox very sick?=
she signed.

Scully made the sign for =hold= and left to help
Andrew get Mulder ready to go.

The Ranger looked at Vanessa and said, "So, you do
that sign thing, huh?"

She sighed and turned towards the tent. Yeah and you
do that speech thing, huh? She thought sarcastically.

Mulder was strapped into the metal basket and Scully
ushered Vanessa into the helicopter after the EMTs had
Mulder in and Dr. Walsh was with him.

Thinking about the plane ride, Vanessa was not
enthused to get into that helicopter, but there was no
time for discussion.

After they had lifted off the ground Scully began to
ask Vanessa questions: How long has he been asleep?
Did she know what pills he took last night and how
many? When did the fever start?

Vanessa began to answer her questions when the
helicopter banked off to the right. After that, the
only thing she wanted to do was hold onto the sturdy
metal pole. She closed her eyes and hoped this trip
would take less than an hour.

4:00 PM
Deaconess Hospital
Boston, MA

When Scully entered Mulder's room she saw Vanessa
asleep in the chair under the TV. She rubbed the back
of her neck, it had been a long day.

They had stopped at St. Catherine's Hospital near
Rutland, VT initially. They were able to ascertain
the extent of damage done to Mulder's shoulder, did a
toxicology screen and started him on I.V.'s. However
by 1:00 PM, Mulder hadn't regained consciousness.
Scully and Andrew decided to fly him down to Boston
where there was more equipment available to try and
figure out what was going on.

They did another toxicology screen and ordered a CAT
scan and a spinal tap. They all came out negative.
So, why wasn't he awake?

Scully sat in the chair by the bed and started to talk
to Mulder. "Okay Mulder, you've had a nice long nap
but it's time to wake up now. I really want to hear
about your trip with Vanessa. Looks like you had an
exciting time, wish I was there."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Vanessa sit up
and rub her eyes.

=Is he awake?= she asked.

Scully shook her head. =I don't know why he's not
awake. I have no medical reason to explain why he is
still unconscious.= She shrugged and looked back at
her partner.

Vanessa stood on the opposite side of the bed.
=Maybe,= she began, =he doesn't want to wake up.=

Scully's brows furrowed, =Why would you think that?=

Vanessa shrugged, =Instinct I have, that's all.=

=Vanessa, what happened that night? I saw lights
flashing. Was it his sister? Did he see Samantha?=

=Yes, Samantha saw her brother.=

=What happened? What did she say? Why isn't she
here?= Scully demanded.

Vanessa looked over at Mulder, =Not my story to tell.=

Scully sighed. Some answers would be very welcome
about now. She watched Vanessa go into the locker
that held what was left of Mulder's clothes. She took
something out of the jacket pocket and came back
toward the bed.

Vanessa held the palm size object, walking back over
to the bed. She placed the object in his right hand
and closed her eyes. She focused on the feeling she
had shared with Fox that day in the restaurant, the
feelings of his sister. After a moment she felt his
hand close over the object and she opened her eyes.

Scully, watching what was transpiring between the two,
straightened when she saw his hand close and she
looked up at him. "Mulder, are you ready to wake up?"
she asked gently.

She watched his head move slightly and heard a deep
sigh. He began to slowly open his eyes and he focused
on Scully's face.

She smiled, "Hi partner, how are you feeling?"

He cleared his throat, "I feel like I fell off a
cliff."

Scully lightly brushed his cheek, "Well, that's
because you did."

"Hmm, makes sense now," he croaked.

Vanessa poured a glass of water and handed it to
Scully to give him.

"Here you go, take small sips," she put the glass up
to his lips and held it for him as he drank.

"Thanks." He squinted then looked over at Vanessa.
He nodded toward her, "Hi," he said weakly.

=Hi yourself,= she signed.

He was rushed by memories and emotions of seeing his
sister. Had it really happened or was it a dream?
Just a fever dream? He closed his eyes and tried to
take a deep breath. Was it real? He realized Scully
had been talking to him. "Sorry Scully, I uh . . .
what did you say?"

"I was telling you that you're in Boston and we needed
to do some test on you, so that will contribute to the
aches and pains you acquired on your own."

He nodded. He was holding something. He brought it
up closer to his face and saw it was some kind of
picture, like a 3D picture or something.

"What is that Mulder?" Scully asked.

"Picture." He brought up closer. He remembered this.
"Me and Samantha at the beach when we were kids." He
showed it to Scully

She saw the two youngster's holding hands by the
water. He looked like he was 9 and she was 5. The
picture was heavy, like metal. She turned it over to
try and understand what it was and saw the writing.

"Mulder, there's an inscription on the back," she
handed it back to him.

He looked at it, "Scully where are my glasses, I can't
read it."

Scully signed to Vanessa, =Please find his glasses.=
She saw her go back to the locker and begin to search.

"Here Scully, read it, please."

She took the picture and flipped it over. "It says:

'The peace which others seek they find;
The heaviest storms not longest last;
Heaven grants even to the guiltiest mind
An amnesty for what is past;
When will my sentence be reversed?
I only pray to know the worst;
And wish, as if my heart would burst.

O weary struggle! Silent years
Tell seemingly no doubtful tale;
And yet they leave it short, and fears
And hopes are strong and will prevail.
My calmest faith escapes no pain;
And, feeling that the hope is vain;
I think that he will come again.'

He blinked, "Wordsworth."

Vanessa signed, =I saw Samantha put in your pocket.=

He nodded. So it was real. I saw her! "Scully," he
began, "I saw my sister." He started to laugh/cry,
"I really saw her!"

She took his hand in hers and she lightly brushed away
his tears. "When you're ready tell me all about it,
okay?"

He nodded, holding the picture tightly.

End Part 36/37

Part 37/37

He dropped his bag in the foyer. It was good to be
home.

"Mulder, I almost tripped over this thing," Scully
complained, carrying a bag full of prescriptions and
first aid supplies.

"Sorry, Scully," he replied as he lay down on his
couch. He was tired after the trip.

Vanessa carried the last of the luggage and looked
over at him.

=Bedroom please,= he signed.

She nodded and he waited to hear the thump as she
dropped it on the floor.

The women came into the living room. Vanessa moved
his legs and sat on the couch with him. Scully had a
glass of water and a handful of medication to give
him.

He signed, =Scully what is all this? I thought I was
getting better?=

"You're getting better Mulder because you've been a
good boy and taken all your medicines." She looked
over at Vanessa and mouthed, "Sorry," and made a
display of her full hands.

=O.K.,= he signed then took the glass and held his
hand out for the pills.

=No palming them, I'm going to check to make sure,=
she signed and voiced.

He sighed, =Found out again.=

=You need to come up with something new, I guess,=
signed Vanessa.

He smiled before dropping all the pills in his mouth
and swallowing them down with one big gulp of water.

=How do you do that?= Vanessa asked?

He shrugged, =Practice.=

Scully signed, =Vanessa are you ready to go over to
Dr. Skinner's?=

She nodded, =All packed, ready to go.=

=Why don't you stay with Scully until classes start?=
Mulder asked.

=Dr. Hobart and Dr. Skinner think I would benefit from
living with a Deaf family. You better call me though,
I'm taking my TDD.= She explained.

=I'm an expert at using Relay. I'll call you, don't
worry,= he responded.

She nodded. She saw both Scully's and Fox's heads
turn toward the direction of the kitchen.

Scully signed, =I'm making tea. Excuse me.= She gave
them some time to be alone.

=Vanessa,= he began, =how can I thank you for bringing
me to see my sister?

She smiled and thought for a moment. =Samantha asked
you to do something for her. Do what she asked.=

He nodded, =I promise.=

=True Business?=

He laughed as he signed, =Yes,= he took her hand and
looked into her gray eyes, "True Business."

The End
(Open flat hands facing towards the face turn outward
- finish.)

Author's Note: If you are interested in learning more
about the world of the Deaf , I would highly recommend
taking an ASL class taught by a Deaf person. There
are also many books available that wonderfully depict
the culture and the history of the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing and I would be happy to send you a
bibliography of suggested reading. (Unfortunately,
there are several books that aren't so great. If you
really want to know more E-Mail me and I'll send you
the list.) There is a great series of children's
books by a Jean Andrews, who shows how the hearing
and the Deaf can mutually benefit from each other
after the barrier of bias and prejudice is demolished.

If you are curious how to sign "True Business" here's
a written attempt to instruct:

"True" - Right index finger slide upward on chin and
out at a slight angle

"Business" - Right hand "B" hand shape (Open palm,
fingers closed together with the thumb over the palm),
slide left to right across left open palm, closed
fingertips facing out at 45 degree angle or so, palm
side towards you.