From: "Gemma Kingsley" <gkingsley@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Bars on the Windows" (1/5) MSR
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 19:21:05 PST

"Bars on the Windows" by Gemma Kingsley
(gkingsley@hotmail.com)

Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully and the rest of the gang belong
to CC 'the surfer babe', 1013 and Fox. I mean them no harm
and I promise that I'll give them back when I'm done.

Rating: PG-13

Classification: T, R (MSR), A

Spoilers: Minor spoilers for Redux II, Unusual Suspects

Summary: On the wrong side of the law, Mulder and
Scully must prove their innocence while racing against time
and the people who want them out of the way for good.

Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance

"Bars on the Windows" Part 1 by Gemma Kingsley
(gkingsley@hotmail.com)

-----------------------

Crack! The door was kicked open violently and slammed
against the wall behind it with a resounding thud.

"What the He-!" Mulder exclaimed, still half-asleep and
none too pleased at having been woken so unceremoniously.
He scrabbled for the weapon he knew lay on the table next to
the bed, but before he could reach it he felt a pair of handcuffs
being slapped onto one wrist and his hand being jerked up and
away from his gun.

"Lights coming on." one of the intruders called, and
Mulder grimaced, blinking eyes that were still heavy with
slumber, as the motel room was suddenly lit up by the stark
fluorescent bulb.

The scene that was revealed caused everyone to pause for
a moment in confusion. Mulder was not alone in the room as
they'd originally believed. While they'd been preoccupied
with restraining him, Scully had somehow managed to lean
across Mulder and get hold of his weapon. She was currently
engaged in aiming it directly at the head of the man who had
cuffed Mulder and was now hindering his movement.

Mulder was equally distracted for a moment, wondering
how the buffoons who'd asked for his and Scully's assistance
on a case and then opposed their work at every move, now
came to be holding weapons on the two of them in their hotel
room.

"Well, well, well, looks like you two do more than chase
little green men together." the man they recognized as Agent
Burke said jeeringly.

"I was in my own room when I heard loud noises coming
from Agent Mulder's. Naturally I came to investigate." Scully
covered.

Another agent walked through the connecting door to
report to his supervisor. "Agent Scully wasn't in her room."
he told Agent Burke. "And the bed doesn't look like it's
been slept in."

"Oh really, Agent Scully." Burke continued. "And I
suppose it's FBI policy for partners to share their pajamas too,
is it?" he mocked. "Must save you plenty of money if you
wear the tops and Agent Mulder wears the bottoms."

A tiny crease formed between her brows as she realized
there was nothing she could say to counter Burke's statement.

"Look, just what is this about anyway?" Mulder
interrupted, gesturing with his cuffed wrist.

Burke snapped back to business. "If you'll hand over
your weapon, Agent Scully." he ordered.

"Not until you tell us what is going on." If anything, her
grip on the gun tightened.

"Agent Markham, read them their rights."

"Now just wait one minute there." Mulder stated angrily.
"I'd like to see the warrant."

"Of course, 'Agent' Mulder." Burke agreed patronizingly,
handing over the warrant.

Mulder perused the document hurriedly. "We're being
accused of what?"

"Mulder, what?" Scully asked worriedly.

"We're being accused of..of first degree murder." he
told her, bewildered.

"We're what?" Dropping the gun, Scully reached for the
warrant to confirm Mulder's interpretation.

"Agents Mulder and Scully, you have the right to remain
silent. If you choose to give up that right, anything you say
can and will be held against you in a Court of Law.."

Mulder cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, we're federal agents,
we know our rights."

"Can I at least get dressed first?" Scully appealed to Burke.

Burke smirked as his gaze rested on her bare legs and
Mulder shot him a dirty look.

"I think we can allow that Agent Scully." he assented.
"Agent Markham, will you ask Angela to come in here and
escort Agent Scully to her room."

"Sir, are you sure you want Agent Clark in here?"
Markham queried worriedly.

"Markham." Burke said warningly.

"Right away, sir."

"Agent Burke, I'm sure there's been some kind of a
mistake."

"No mistake, Agent Mulder." Burke responded
uncompromisingly, fastening the other side of Mulder's
handcuffs.

Scully glanced helplessly at him as Agent Angela Clark
entered and escorted Scully back to her own room. As soon as
they were out of sight, Burke pulled roughly on Mulder's cuffs
to lead him out to the car.

"Shouldn't we wait for Scully?" Mulder queried
worriedly. He was still convinced that this was a case of
mistaken identity or the like, but he figured they'd be better
off sticking together.

Burke laughed harshly, his sarcastic good cheer grating
on Mulder's nerves like the monotonous staccato of a
drum beat.

"You'll be spending plenty of time together in a cold
prison cell." he told Mulder. "The rest of your lives if we have
anything to say about it."

A couple of the agents laughed as though their supervisor
had said something particularly amusing, but Mulder wasn't
quite up to appreciating the humor of the situation.

Burke pulled on the cuffs again, and Mulder was led
reluctantly out to the car.

----------------------

"Angela, what's going on?" Scully appealed. The female
agent had been one of the few who'd actually welcomed
Mulder and Scully's contribution to the case they'd recently
wrapped up, and her present reticence was confusing.

"I prefer Agent Clark, _Agent_ Scully."

Scully appeared disconcerted, pausing for a moment as
she dressed to give Angela a questioning glance.

"I'm sorry, I really need an explanation of what this is
all about." Scully sat down on the bed to pull her shoes on.
"Mulder and I get woken up in the middle of the night, told we're
being arrested, and.."

"Agent Winton is dead." Her posture was stiff and gave
away nothing, but the lines of pain etched on her face were
more revealing.

Scully's eyes widened in shock, regret filling the deep
blue depths. "Your fiance? Oh my God Angela, I'm so
sorry." She reached out towards the other Agent, but Angela
backed away promptly, her hand going to the gun at her side.

"Angela, what is it?" Scully tried again.

"Several shots were fired." The agent dictated almost
detachedly. "The gun was later retrieved from outside
the building."

Scully's gaze slid unobtrusively towards the bedside table
and her heart skipped a beat in alarm as she noticed that her
own firearm was missing from its accustomed position.

"Two unrelated witnesses observed yourself and Agent
Mulder exiting the building only moments after the shooting."

"Surely you don't believe that Mulder and I had anything
to do with this?" Scully asked her, disbelief evident.

"They're waiting for you outside." Angela gestured for
Scully to precede her.

"Angela, listen to me. I swear that neither Mulder nor I
had anything to do with this." Scully's impassioned words
didn't convince the other Agent, but they seemed to have
some effect.

"I thought the two of you were different." Angela said
bitterly. "Like Jack and I.." She swallowed deeply before she
was able to continue. "Like we...were. Actually interested in
putting the bad guys behind bars. Justice, you know." She
regarded Scully with a look close to hatred. "Now I find out
you're just like all the rest. Lying crooks. And worse than
that - murderers."

"Angela, Mulder and I do care about that. You have to
believe that we would never.."

"They're waiting outside." Angela spoke resolutely,
then turned away, signifying that the conversation was
over.

-------------------------

Mulder tensed as he heard the key turn in the lock and the
awkward shuffling as another prisoner was thrust into the
small enclosed space.

"Hello." he said tentatively. Until a few moments ago
he'd been sharing the holding cell with a drunkard whose
breath had smelled like rancid meat and whose loud and
consistently off-key singing had started to give Mulder a
headache.

"Mulder?" the other occupant of the cell queried
hesitantly.

"Scully?" he asked jubilantly. "Scully, is that you?"

"Yes. Yes, where are you?" She peered through the
half-light, trying to make out the definition of his body in
the shadows of the cell. Scully almost jumped when she felt
his hand on her shoulder, but then she reached for him
thankfully and allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace.

"Hey." He buried his face in the silken softness of her hair,
feeling her breath hot on the side of his neck. "You alright?"

"Yes I'm.." Scully paused and pulled back, her nose
wrinkling with distaste. "Mulder, you smell like..." She
took another careful sniff. "Well I'm not exactly sure what
you smell like, but believe me, it smells baaaaad."

"Yeah well, if you have any complaints, you'll have to
take them up with my previous room-mate." Mulder
commented dryly.

His remark abruptly reminded Scully of why they were
here in the first place. "Have you found out anything more
about what's going on?"

"No." he admitted. "I mean, at first I thought it might be
some kind of sick joke. About what you'd expect from Burke
and some of the others. But if that's what they're playing at,
they've taken it way too far."

"I think this is definitely serious." Scully said. "I know
we've only been in town for a few days, but Angela didn't
seem the type to be in on something like this. And she was
genuinely upset when I talked to her in the hotel room."

"Yeah, I agree. So what do you think we're looking at?"

"Mistaken identity?" Scully suggested.

"Or a setup." Mulder pointed out.

"And whichever way you look at it, Winton's dead. Oh
God, poor Angela."

"Yeah." Mulder tightened his arms around her.

"Why would anyone want to kill a rookie like that
anyway?" Scully wondered aloud. "He couldn't have been out
of the Academy even five years."

"Which is exactly why I think this is tending more towards
an elaborate setup than mistaken identity."

"For what purpose?" Scully queried, still slightly dubious
about Mulder's latest theory.

"To get rid of us. Discredit us. Send us to jail.
Whichever."

"You really think they'd go to this extent to put us out
of the picture?" Scully asked

"They have before." Mulder reminded her. "And it's been
awfully quiet lately. Too quiet, I'd say."

"I take it you don't believe that the Smoking Man's really
dead."

"Do you?" he asked.

"I don't know. Skinner said he was..but.." Scully
shrugged her shoulders to indicate a lack of absolute
conviction.

"But we're still not a hundred percent sure of where
Skinner's loyalties lie." Mulder completed her sentence.

"Does it feel weird to you to be in here? On the other side
of the bars?" Scully asked, changing the subject.

"We've both been on this side before."

"At least this time we haven't done anything that could
possibly be construed as wrong." Scully observed.

"I'll say. We catch a serial killer in a record three days,
and then the oh-so-grateful local FBI branch of Middlesboro,
West VA, show their appreciation by tossing us into a
holding cell. Just charming."

"Yeah, well, maybe we're just overreacting." Scully said
optimistically.

"Wishful thinking, Scully. But if that is the case,
Skinner'll sort it out."

"You called Skinner?" She sounded rather apprehensive
and Mulder looked at her questioningly.

"Who else was I supposed to call? Your Mom? Mine?
The Gunmen? 'Cause if you've got a better solution I'm
ready to hear it." Mulder replied.

"No, I...it's just, what are we going to tell him?"

"Oh, I already told him on the phone. That we're being
accused of murdering an FBI Agent. And that we didn't do it,
of course. He sounded irritated, but it's not like we got ourselves
into trouble on purpose." He looked at Scully and she still
seemed concerned.

"No, I meant about the fact that we got caught in bed
together." Scully elaborated.

"Oh. That. Well they didn't literally catch us in bed."

Scully rolled her eyes in exasperation. "They might as
well have done." she told him. "Burke and his flunkeys may
be dense, but they're not that dense."

"There isn't actually an official rule against it, you
know." Mulder told her.

"What, you memorized the FBI handbook?" she teased.

"Well I sort of went and reread that part, just to see. And
in case this ever came up." he explained.

"No kidding? How come you never mentioned that to
me."

"Oh, it was a while ago." Mulder replied. Something in
his tone of voice made her suspicious.

"Exactly how long ago?" Scully asked. He didn't reply
and she twisted around to look at his face. "Okay, here's
an easier question. We've been intimately involved for
almost five months. Did you check the regulations before
or afterwards?"

"I don't really remember." he said, trying to evade the
question. "I guess it was a few.."

"A few what?" she demanded. "Weeks? Months?"

"Years." Mulder admitted sheepishly.

"So you'd been thinking about it for a while, even before
we.." She made a gesture that was designed to encompass
the current state of their relationship.

"Oh, and you hadn't I suppose?"

"Well, maybe just a little." Scully divulged in her turn.

"A little? Yeah, right." Mulder said, sounding so
insufferably smug that she just had to elbow him in the ribs.

"Look, enlightening as this discussion obviously is, it's not
helping us decide what we're going to say to Skinner." Scully
pointed out.

"You never know, he might surprise us and be in a
good mood."

-------------------------

"Agents Mulder and Scully, have a seat." Skinner
instructed them sternly.

Mulder grimaced silently. The AD did not look like he
was feeling particularly cheerful. His jaw was clenching and
unclenching sporadically in a way that looked positively painful.

"Uh, Sir.." Mulder gestured awkwardly to the handcuffs
that had secured the wrists of himself and his partner for
their transportation from the holding cell to the interrogation
room.

Skinner nodded abruptly to the guard that had brought
them in. "Take the cuffs off."

"That's not procedure." the guard responded stiffly.

Mulder was very glad that Skinner's displeasure had
been diverted, however temporarily, towards another source.
The guard however was becoming rather uncomfortable
under the force of the AD's unyielding stare.

"I, um, I guess I could make an exception just this
once." the guard finally agreed, shifting nervously. "You
being an AD and all." He unlocked both Agents' cuffs and
then fled from the room and away from Skinner's gaze as
fast as he could.

"Have a seat, Agents." Skinner said again.

Scully dropped gratefully into one of the
uncomfortable-looking chairs adjacent to the desk, but the
perverse streak in Mulder's nature led him to be difficult.

"If it's all the same to you, Sir, I'd rather stand." he
informed the AD.

Scully shot him a reproving look and Mulder had the
childish impulse, which he fortunately restrained, to stick
his tongue out at her. Actually, the whole experience was
making him feel rather like a recalcitrant schoolboy who'd
been brought to the Principal's office to be disciplined.
He wished he could share the idea with Scully but she didn't
look like she'd welcome that kind of a confidence just at the
moment.

"It's not all the same to me, and you will sit down Agent
Mulder." Skinner told him firmly.

Before Mulder could object any further, Scully reached
for his arm and practically dragged him into his chair.

Skinner pinched the bridge of his nose between two
fingers, and regarded the two Agents gravely. "I hope both
of you appreciate the seriousness of the charges that are
being laid against you." he said.

"You are talking about the accusation of murder, aren't
you, Sir?" Mulder clarified. "Because Scully was worried
that you'd be ticked off about.."

"Shut up, Mulder." Scully hissed, making him yelp as
she pinched him hard on the thigh underneath the table. "Sir,
what Agent Mulder meant was.." she began, addressing
Skinner.

He waved his hand decisively to cut her off. "I think it's
quite clear what Agent Mulder meant. Perhaps we should
deal with this.." he paused, trying to think of a suitable
euphemism, "er, other matter, before we move onto the
main consideration. I think that might be best, don't
you Agent Scully?"

"Yes, Sir." She felt slightly uncomfortable, but pushed
that aside so that she could concentrate on the questions that
were to follow and try to keep Mulder from putting his
foot in it again.

"How long have you and Agent Mulder been
involved?" Skinner asked.

"We've been partners since March of 1992."

Skinner frowned. "This is no time for obtuseness,
Agent Scully."

"Sir, I fail to see how this has any bearing on the case at
hand." she countered.

"Well at least tell me it didn't just happen during this
case." he appealed.

"The nature of the relationship between Agent Mulder
and myself has not altered in any way over the course of the
last week." Scully stated, neatly sidestepping any actual
revelations while simultaneously answering the AD's
question.

"Good." Skinner responded. "Now I'm sure you're
familiar with FBI regulations on this topic."

"Yes we are, Sir." Mulder told him, earning a small
smile from Scully for the improvement in his behaviour.

"Be that as it may, and although there is no official
dictate preventing partners from developing a _deeper_
relationship, if I see any sign that this is affecting your
work, you'll be separated straight away. No second
chances. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir." Mulder answered, bristling slightly at the
AD's implied threats.

"I just have one more thing to say on the topic, and then
we'll consider it permanently closed." Skinner added,
removing his glasses and placing them on the table.

"Uh, yes Sir." Scully replied, exchanging a slightly
confused glance with an equally bewildered Mulder. What
more was there to say?

The AD looked up and gave his two Agents a small
smile. "Congratulations, and it's about bloody time."

Mulder and Scully stared at him in shock, trying to
take in this out-of-character behaviour from their perennially
austere superior.

As the first to recover from his surprise, Mulder answered
for both of them. "Thank-you Sir, we really appreciate how
well you're taking this and everything."

"That's fine, Agent Mulder, just see to it that you don't
do anything that warrants another reaction from me." Skinner
requested firmly.

"Meaning you want us to keep it under wraps?" Mulder
clarified.

"Is that going to be a problem?" the AD asked.

"In terms of this case, possibly yes." Mulder paused as
Skinner took a seat and replaced his glasses. "As you've
obviously heard, when we were arrested earlier, Burke and
the others walked in on us together."

"Frankly, that's the least of your worries right now." Skinner
told them. "I'll be straight with you - this case is not looking
good. I don't know how much they've told you so far, but.."

"Not a lot." Scully replied. "I know that Agent Winton
is dead. And that they think we had something to do with it.
Agent Clark said something about witnesses. And that
they'd retrieved a weapon."

Skinner opened the folder that lay on the table before
them and pulled out the relevant document. "Yes, a Smith
and Wesson 1076. Which you both use."

"Mine was missing from the hotel room." Scully said.

"You didn't tell me that." Mulder said reproachfully.

"Well we were busy talking about other things." She
blushed slightly and Skinner decided that he _really_ didn't
want to know what it was that they'd been talking about.

Skinner cleared his throat. "In that case, I expect we
can assume that Agent Scully's firearm was the murder
weapon."

"I trust you're not implying anything with that remark,
Sir." Scully stated stiffly.

"Such as?" Skinner inquired with studied
nonchalance.

Mulder frowned, watching their boss carefully.

"I think you understand exactly what I mean." Scully
rejoined uncompromisingly, the look emanating from
her eyes quite frosty.

"Sir," Mulder interrupted, "You're not really trying to
suggest that.."

"Relax, Agent Mulder." Skinner pulled a huge stack of
papers and folders out of the briefcase on the floor next to him,
depositing them deliberately on the desk. "Even if I'd had
reason to suspect either of you, which I didn't," he qualified,
"I would have changed my mind as soon as this was handed
to me."

Mulder reached for the top sheet of paper and examined
it, puzzled as he was unable to find any significance in the
lists of dates and figures. "And exactly what is this?"
Handing the sheet to Scully he regarded the AD intently.

"Ostensibly this is your motive." Skinner informed them.

"Our motive?" Scully demanded, just as confused as
Mulder. "How?"

"All of this," the AD gestured to the documents and
other records, "is supposedly evidence of a five-year
embezzlement scam that the two of you have been running,
swindling money out of the Bureau."

Mulder choked on a laugh. "You've got to be kidding
me!"

Skinner shook his head. "I wish I could say that was
true. And I agree with you that this is ridiculous, but
whoever's behind it has done a very thorough job. There's
a paper trail ten miles long and it's going to take months for
a team of accountants to sort through this, let alone work
out how it was fabricated in the first place."

"So you agree that we've been set up?" Mulder asked.

Skinner shrugged. "It certainly looks that way."

"That bastard!" Mulder declared fiercely, slamming his
fists into the table. "I should have killed him when I had
the chance."

"The Smoking Man?" Skinner queried, ignoring
Mulder's display of temper in favor of the idea he was
expressing. "It can't be him. All that blood - there's no
way he could have survived. And it's been five, almost
six months and we haven't seen or heard anything from
him."

"So maybe he's been hiding out. Recovering and waiting
'till we let our guard down before he gets us. And now he's
making his move." Mulder suggested.

"Look, just wait a minute. What's the link between this
embezzlement setup and Winton's death?" Scully asked.
"Right now, it makes no difference who's responsible.
What we should be worrying about is how we're going to
prove that we're innocent. They're throwing some heavy
accusations at us, and we could end up in serious trouble if
we don't figure it out."

"Blackmail is supposed to be the connection." Skinner
explained.

"We were blackmailing Winton?" Mulder demanded
incredulously.

"No, apparently he was blackmailing you." the AD
told them.

"Well that's absurd from the start." Scully insisted.
"No-one who knew Winton would believe that. Why he
was just a kid."

"Regardless, the accusation is that he found out about
your corrupt financial dealings with the Bureau, tried to
blackmail both of you, and you killed him to shut him up."
Skinner closed the file he'd been reading from and regarded
his Agents with some consternation. There really was no
knowing how they were going to take this.

"Goddammit! I hate this." Skinner looked at Scully in
surprise. He'd expected anger from Mulder, but Scully
usually kept her feelings to herself. "No wonder Angela
was furious with me. Winton died because of us whichever
way you look at it. I'm with you all the way on this one,
Mulder, I say we find that son-of-a-bitch and take him
down."

"Whoa Scully, calm down." Mulder placed a reassuring
hand on her shoulder. "You know I want the men who did
this to us, who killed Winton, just as badly as you do, but
you were right the first time. We have to figure a way out
of this before we do anything else."

"Alright," Scully sighed. "So what's the plan?"

"I'll field that question." Skinner replied. "I've got one
of the Bureau lawyers coming down. Kelly Shaw. She's one
of the best."

"Yeah, I've heard of her. But can she be trusted?"
Mulder asked.

"I think so. But you can decide that for yourself when
you meet her." Skinner told him. "Other than that, I guess
you'll want your families contacted before they see this in
the Press." Both Agents nodded and Skinner assured them
he'd take care of it personally.

"It shouldn't be too hard to get Bail." Skinner added.
"Most of what they have is circumstantial. But we'll know
more when Shaw gets here."

A curt knock on the door followed and the same guard
as before entered, his disposition apparently not improved
by the absence. "Time's up." he declared peremptorily,
and was slapping the cuffs back on Mulder and Scully
before anyone could object.

"Well, I guess it's back to our cozy cell." Mulder said
sarcastically.

"Not this time." The guard told them mockingly.
"Don't expect special treatment around here just because
you're FBI. It's into the general lockup this time for both
of you."

"You're splitting us up?" Mulder demanded. "No!"
He grabbed for Scully with his free hand, but the guard
was faster, roughly fastening the cuffs and jerking Mulder
away from his partner. "Haven't you heard?" the guard
continued. "We don't take well to crooks who go after
one of our own."

Skinner grimaced uncomfortably at his last view
of Mulder's anguished expression as his partner was
dragged away from him.

--------------------------

End of Part 1.

"Bars on the Windows" Part 2 by Gemma Kingsley
(gkingsley@hotmail.com)

For Disclaimer etc. please see part 1.

-------------------------

Mulder looked up as the cell door clanged and was pulled
open.

"Fox Mulder." The guard said. "Come with me, you have
a visitor."

Mulder got to his feet, his body slightly stiff from sitting
on the cold concrete floor of the cell for a prolonged period.
"What visitor?" he asked the guard as he shuffled past the
other inmates and into the only slightly less stuffy
hallway.

"Do I look like your social co-ordinator?" the guard said
sarcastically. "How the Hell should I know?"

Mulder winced as the cuffs were slapped onto his
wrists again and he was led back to the meeting room. The
guard took the handcuffs off without being asked this time,
and Mulder found himself pushed into the room.

"Mom?" Mulder said, surprised to see her. "What are
you doing here?"

"Oh Fox, I came as soon as I heard. This is just awful."
Mrs. Mulder said concernedly.

"Hey, don't worry Mom." Mulder patted her
reassuringly on the shoulder. "I'm alright."

"Oh I know, I know." she replied distractedly. "But you're
in prison. What will people think when they hear about it?"

Mulder drew back abruptly. "Silly me," he said
cynically, half to himself, "For a moment there I thought
you might actually be concerned about my well-being."

"Now come on Fox, your mother's had a lot on her mind
recently. You know it's important that she isn't placed into
tense situations."

"Fox, this is your father's lawyer, Mr. Evans." his mother
told him, introducing the man who'd just spoken.

"Yes, I know. We met after Dad's death." Mulder explained,
reluctantly shaking hands. Evans' palm was damp and clammy
and Mulder had to fight the urge to wipe his hand afterwards.

"He's here to help with your case." Mrs. Mulder continued.

"That won't be necessary." Mulder said politely but firmly.
"I already have an attorney, provided by the Bureau."

"Oh, a _government_ lawyer." Mrs. Mulder's tone of voice
implied that, in her opinion, _government_ lawyers were rated
only a little higher than pond scum. "Well I'm sure that's
all well and good for those who can't afford any better, but Mr.
Evans is here now and he'll be handling your case."

Mulder looked like he was about to speak, but his mother
cut him off again. "Now, now, don't worry about thanking me,
honestly, what would the world be coming to if a mother
couldn't organize a lawyer for her only son. Mr. Evans was
just telling me he's already worked out how we're going to
get you out of this, weren't you?"

"I certainly was." Evans responded obsequiously. He
started shuffling papers on the table and Mulder sat down
resignedly, figuring he'd go along with it for the moment
to avoid antagonizing his mother, and tell her he wasn't
interested later on.

"The way I see it," Evans continued. "They really don't
have anything much linking you to this crime. The
embezzlement charges are laughable as soon as the
matter of the inheritance left to you by your father comes
into play."

"I haven't touched that money." Mulder objected.

"That's beside the point." his mother insisted. "Now
be quiet and pay attention to what Mr. Evans has to say."

"As your mother said, just the fact that the money's
there renders any suspicion of your needing money
ludicrous. The minor concern of the two witnesses
shouldn't be too difficult on its own, and with any luck we'll
have you out of here by this time tomorrow."

"What about the murder weapon?" Mulder queried. "Isn't
that rather important?"

Evans frowned, looking over his papers. "I was under the
impression that the weapon used wasn't yours."

"That's right. It was my partner's." Mulder clarified.

"Oh well that's alright then." Evans said, apparently
relieved. Fits in well with the embezzlement angle."

"Angle? What angle is that?" Mulder queried
suspiciously.

"Oh." Evans glanced at Mrs. Mulder. "I thought you
said you'd already discussed that with him and he agreed."

Mrs. Mulder turned her gaze on her son with a slightly
guilty look. "We haven't actually discussed it yet per se,"
she revealed. "But I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Mulder had a feeling he wasn't going to like what was
coming. "Exactly what won't be a problem, Mom?"

"Mr. Evans and I agreed that the best way to set about this
would be if we, let's say, emphasize the part played by your
accomplice." his mother explained.

"My accomplice?" Mulder demanded nonplussed. "You
mean my partner, I take it?"

Evans nodded in a way that he intended to be encouraging.

"Let's cut straight to the point here." Mulder stated
grimly. "You're saying it's in my best interests to let Scully
act as the fall guy and take the blame for the whole thing."

"There, I told you he'd see it our way." Mrs. Mulder
crowed triumphantly.

Mulder simply regarded her with bitter humor.
"Sometimes I honestly can't believe that you're my
mother." he told her caustically. "Scully is my partner,
my lover, and hopefully someday soon, my wife. Although
I wouldn't blame her if she wanted nothing to with my
family after this. She gives me a damn sight more love
and loyalty than anyone else around here and I would
rather die than betray her."

"That's all very noble, son," his mother conceded, "but
you've got yourself into one Hell of a mess and frankly, this
is the easiest way out."

"The easiest way isn't always the best." It was taking
every ounce of Mulder's willpower to avoid yelling at his
mother for her selfish ideas. "Now I suggest you take this
lawyer back wherever you found him and stay right out of
my personal business in the future."

Mrs. Mulder got to her feet, her manner deliberately
formal. "Come Mr. Evans, I think I know when I'm not
wanted." She paused to brush her son's cheek with a kiss
that had more to do with what she saw as her obligation
than with any affection she felt for him. "I hope you know
what you're getting yourself into, Fox." was her final
comment as she swept from the room, Mr. Evans trailing
dutifully behind.

I hope so too, Mulder thought as he waited for the guard
to come and take him back to the cell.

--------------------

"Court will now come to order. All rise."

Mulder looked across at Scully again. Having spent the
night apart in separate cells they'd been reunited in the court
about half an hour ago. Too bad the occasion was their joint
bail hearing. "We'll be alright. We always are." he whispered,
squeezing her hand as the judge entered the court. A quelling
look from their attorney, Kelly Shaw, prevented further
communication and they watched with some perturbation as
the judge took his seat and the rest of the court followed.

Judge Ellis adjusted his glasses and looked down at the
case details in front of him. "Fox Mulder and Dana Scully,"
he peered out over the court, his gaze focusing on them.
"You are both accused of embezzlement, conspiracy to
commit first degree murder, and the commission of the
crime itself. Do you understand the accusations being
brought against you?"

"Yes." Mulder answered. Scully elbowed him in
the ribs. "Yes, Your Honour." he corrected.

"Yes, Your Honour." Scully repeated.

"How do you plead?" the judge asked. He sounded
almost bored.

"My clients plead not guilty, Your Honour." Kelly Shaw
informed him.

"Fine, fine." Judge Ellis continued. "And both of them
are seeking bail, is that right."

"Yes, Your Honour. My clients are FBI Agents and they're
just as anxious to find out who really committed this crime
as everyone else." Shaw told him.

"Are they indeed?" the judge queried, regarding Mulder
and Scully appraisingly. "In that case, bail is set for...."

"Your Honour, if I might speak at this point." the
prosecuting attorney interrupted insistently.

Judge Ellis sighed. He had rather hoped that the hearing
would be wrapped up in time for a round of golf before his
afternoon case.

"Yes, go ahead if you must. What is it?"

"Releasing either of these Agents on bail would be
inadvisable with their previous records." the attorney
warned the court.

"Records?" the judge asked, regarding the notes in front
of him more carefully. "I was under the impression that
the accused were FBI Agents."

"They are, Your Honour." Shaw informed him.

"But Agent Mulder has left the country several times in
his career without the sanction of his employers at the
Bureau." the prosecutor pointed out.

"Agent Mulder's profession requires that he be able to
travel at a moment's notice." Shaw countered. "It's not
always practical to file for permission when in pursuit of
a suspect."

"As I'm sure the court is aware, FBI jurisdiction is
restricted to within the United States, so Agent Mulder
should have no reason to leave the country in the course of
his work." the prosecuting attorney reminded everyone.
"And I for one would be interested to learn exactly what
criminal Agent Mulder need to pursue to Tunguska,
Russia."

Mulder got to his feet abruptly. "I was pursuing
evidence about a rock which was linked to a deadly
contaminant."

"Agent Mulder, sit down." the judge ordered.

"The piece that came into our possession was only a
fragment of the entire rock, and it was of vital importance
that we obtain further information about...."

"Agent Mulder, I don't want to have to say it again," Judge
Ellis stated angrily. "Sit down!"

"But, Sir, if you'd just let me explain how..."

"NOW, Agent Mulder."

"Yes, Your Honour." Mulder reluctantly took his seat
again.

"And as Agent Scully's previous criminal record
indicates," the prosecuting attorney continued, smirking
slightly, "she was jailed for Contempt of Congress after she
refused to disclose Agent Mulder's whereabouts."

The judge leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed.
Mulder and Scully glanced at each other worriedly as they
awaited his decision.

Finally he spoke. "In light of this new evidence, I'm
afraid I'm going to have to recommend that Fox Mulder
and Dana Scully be remanded into custody without bail."

Mulder was back on his feet in a second. "NO! You
can't do that!"

Judge Ellis continued as though he hadn't been
interrupted. "I'm going to counsel as early a trial date as
possible, but the flight risk posed by the accused is too great
to allow them to go free at this time. Case closed."

"Dammit! No!"

"Mulder, it's too late. There's nothing more we can do
now." Scully spoke gently, trying to convince him to
accept what they couldn't change.

"Mulder, Scully, I'm really sorry about this." Kelly Shaw
told them, genuinely contrite.

"It's not your fault." Scully reassured her. "Just, one of
those things."

Scully swallowed hard as she saw the prison escorts
coming up behind Mulder with cuffs. "Could you...could
you just give us a minute." she pleaded with them,
breathing a sigh of relief when they agreed.

"Mulder," He was still staring angrily after the judge.
"Mulder." she repeated.

He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, Scully."

"Mulder, listen to me." She said insistently. The
expression in his eyes was listless and sad. "This is not
your fault. I want you to remember that. Okay?"

"I failed." he said despondently

"You did nothing of the sort." Scully told him
emphatically.

"God Scully, do you know what I felt last time you
went to jail for me? I felt like the biggest cur on the
planet. And that was only for one day. This could be
months, years even." Mulder bemoaned.

"Well I'm glad you're so optimistic about our
chances." Scully said wryly, coaxing a reluctant smile from
her partner.

"Look Mulder, there's something I have to tell you."
Scully told him seriously.

"Really - what?"

He was already worried about her, she could see it in his
eyes and hear it in every word he spoke. Was it really fair
to place an added burden on him at a time like this. No,
it can wait, she decided.

"Just, I love you Fox Mulder." she said.

"I love you too." Mulder told her, pulling her into his
arms.

"We'll be alright, Mulder." Scully insisted from where her
head was buried against his chest, biting her lip to keep from
crying.

"Yeah." he agreed, but he didn't sound convinced.

"Alright lovebirds, that's enough." the guard interrupted
them. "The Federal prison system has two cells with your
names on them and we don't want to keep them waiting, do
we now?"

Mulder loosened his grip on Scully. "Goodbye." he
told her miserably.

"Hey, what did I tell you about being optimistic." she
reminded him. "Not goodbye, just see you later." She
leaned towards him to plant a tender kiss on his mouth.
Mulder deepened it slightly but the kiss remained gentle.
A kiss not of passion but of promise. I love you. I'll
miss you. I _will_ come back to you soon.

The prison guard rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Come on." he groaned.

Scully pulled back from Mulder unwillingly.
"Smile, Mulder. I'll see you later."

He nodded and for her sake allowed a small smile to
grace his face until she'd been escorted from the Court.

The sound of a deliberate cough caused him to turn
around. "Sir? What are you doing here?"

Skinner looked slightly disconcerted and Mulder
suddenly thought of what the problem might be. "Oh
geez, this isn't about Scully and me kissing just before,
is it, because these were extenuating circumstances
and all, and...."

Skinner cut him off. "No, no, that's fine. I just
wanted to let you know how sorry I am that you didn't
get bail, and that I'm going to have people working
around the clock preparing your case."

"Thank-you, Sir." Mulder said, surprised at how
obliging their boss was being. He looked up to see the
guard waiting to take him away. "Well, prison calls
I guess."

Skinner nodded, then abruptly offered his hand. Mulder
shook it, gratified. "Again, thank-you, Sir."

"Good luck, Agent Mulder." Skinner said as he watched
him being led from the Court. I have a terrible feeling that
you're going to need it, was his final thought.

---------------------

1 week later
Lorton Reformatory, VA

"I really think this is a bad idea."

"Yeah, alright Langly, you've already mentioned
that several times." Frohike told him. "But Mulder's in
there and he needs our help. You don't want to come, fine,
turn around and go home."

"I mean, they lock guys like us up in here." Langly
continued as though he'd never been interrupted.

"Only if you get careless." Byers pointed out. "And we
don't."

"I still think it's a bad idea." Langly repeated.

"Too late, we're here now." Frohike told him as they
walked through the metal detector. It beeped.

"Langly, I thought I told you to leave the metal file
at home. Mulder's never going to go for our plan to
break him out of jail anyway." Frohike hissed under his
breath.

"Chill, it's just the car keys." Langly explained, taking
them out of his pocket and walking through the detector
again. "See."

"Okay, okay. You guys stay here and I'll find out
where we're supposed to go." Frohike walked over
to the front desk and looked under the grill at the
prison warden. "Uh, hi, we're here to see Fox Mulder."

"That right?" the warden demanded unhelpfully.

Okaaaay, Frohike thought. "Could you perhaps tell
us where we're supposed to go." he asked politely.

"Yeah, I could." the warden confirmed, sucking
noisily on his gums.

"Well where are we supposed to go?" Frohike
demanded, his exasperation increasing.

"Right through that door." The warden told him,
gesturing at the opposite wall, then turning back to the
small-screen TV that was occupying his attention.

Frohike rolled his eyes, walking back over to the
others. "Come on, through here."

"Sign in here." The prison guard on the other side of
the door told them. He raised his eyebrows at the
unusual first names, but wisely decided not to comment.

"Here to see...?"

"Fox Mulder." Byers filled in.

"Okay, right this way." The guard led them through
a locked and barred door then showed them into a meeting
room, bolting the door after them much to Langly's
discomfiture.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys." Mulder got up from his
seat behind the table and greeted them enthusiastically.

"Hey, this isn't too bad." Frohike commented, looking
around. "I've stayed in plenty of hotels worse than this."

"Room's probably packed full of listening devices."
Langly commented, regarding the walls, door and ceiling with
considerable suspicion.

"So have you heard how Scully is?" Mulder asked eagerly.

"We're heading over to DC Jail to visit her tomorrow
morning." Byers informed him.

"I wish I could talk to her, or at least just find out if she's
okay." Mulder said uneasily. "You guys'll keep an eye on her
for me, won't you?"

" 'Course we will Mulder, but I suggest you don't tell her
you asked us to." Frohike joked.

"So you and Scully are...you know, are you?" Langly
asked curiously.

"Are what?" Mulder questioned guilelessly, putting every
effort into keeping a straight face.

"You know, dating and that." Langly clarified.

" 'Fraid so." Mulder confirmed, an amused glance at
Frohike.

"Hey, I know when I've been out-maneuvered."
Frohike said good-naturedly. "And I'm happy for you,
really I am."

"Yeah sure you are, Frohike." Langly said, still
checking for bugs and other listening devices. "Okay,
I think the room's clean. So you want to hear our big
plan, Mulder?"

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this?"
he asked, half to himself. "Alright guys, what've
you got?"

"He's never going to go for this." Byers said.

"I'm never going to go for what?" Mulder demanded
impatiently. "Because if you've figured out a way to
get Scully and me out of this mess I'm all ears."

"That depends on how flexible you are." Frohike told
him. "We're talking out in the literal sense." He turned
to Langly. "You bring the map?"

"Yeah." He pulled it out of his pocket, spreading it
on the table and trying to smooth out some of the
creases.

"There's a railroad about 3/4 of a mile east of here."
Frohike told him, indicating where it was marked on the
map. "Now we can organize an empty railcar with
engine attached, but we only have a limited time window
available. Four days, Mulder, it's this Sunday night or
nothing."

"Whoa guys, you're seriously talking about breaking
out of jail?" Mulder asked incredulously. "Byers, surely
you don't agree with this?"

Byers nodded hesitantly. "We've seen what they've got
on you and Scully, and it's going to be damned hard to
prove that you didn't do it. Whoever's setting this up really
knows what they're doing. But if you were outside instead of
in here, you'd at least have more of a chance at finding
them."

"Yeah sure, but breaking out of jail. If this goes bad, we'd
end up a lot worse than we started."

"It won't go bad if you do exactly what we say." Frohike
promised. "At least let us show you what we've got, then
you can think about it."

"Alright." Mulder conceded, still very doubtful about
the whole idea.

"Sunday night 7:30 p.m., you're at dinner in the main hall.
Yes?" Langly queried.

"Yes." Mulder acknowledged. "Been spying on me,
guys?"

"You don't trust us, Mulder? I'm offended." Frohike
joked. "Anyway, 7:40 exactly the power goes off."

"What about the generators?" Mulder asked, making sure
every angle was covered as began to seriously consider going
ahead with their plan.

"Already taken care of." Langly confirmed. "The switch
which enables them to take over directly when there's a power
cut will have been mysteriously disabled."

"So the power cut takes care of the alarms, but there's still
a locked door between the hall and the outside. And then the
main gate gets locked at night."

"Not until 8 p.m." Byers told him. So you have twenty
minutes maximum to get out of there. "We took a look at
the gate mechanism, but it's automatic, and mechanical
rather than electric so there's nothing we can do. Just
make sure you get out of there as fast as you can."

"And as for the key you need," Frohike continued,
"we've got someone inside who'll take care of that."

"Take care of it how?" Mulder queried.

"Not sure exactly." Langly admitted. "But he said he
will, and he's never failed us before."

"So what do you say, Mulder? You in?" Frohike
asked him excitedly.

"I say you're asking me to take some pretty huge
risks." Mulder said frankly.

"But worth it." Frohike insisted. Seeing that his
friend was still uncertain, he continued, "Look, don't
decide anything now. Just think about it for a coupla
days. I can get a message to you then and you let us
know what you decided on."

"Yeah, okay." Mulder agreed. "And thanks for coming
to visit me, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, man." Langly replied. "You know you
can always count on us."

"Give Scully my love when you see her, Frohike."
Mulder said, chuckling.

"Ha, ha Mulder." Frohike answered as he knocked on
the door to tell the guard to let them out. "Now you just
think about what we said." He counseled as they walked
out of the room.

What the Hell am I getting myself into, Mulder
wondered, as he watched them leave.

----------------------

Mulder was startled abruptly from sleep for the second
time recently. He swallowed deeply, the cold barrel of the
pistol he could feel pressed into his neck encouraging him
to keep silent. A pair of glittering eyes looked down into
his intently, daring him to make a move.

"Who are you?" Mulder whispered grimly.

The pistol was withdrawn and Mulder sat up quickly in
his bunk. "Who are you?" he repeated.

"You don't recognise your former partner? I'm insulted
Mulder."

"I ought to kill you right now Krycek." Mulder hissed.

"Now, now. Let's not forget who's the prisoner and
who's the one with the gun." Krycek reminded him.

"What are you doing here?" Mulder demanded
hostilely.

"I was sent to kill you." Krycek told him simply.

"You what?" Mulder tensed, preparing to defend
himself.

Krycek laughed ironically. "Don't worry, Mulder. If I
was going to kill you'd be dead already. I was feeling
friendly, so I thought I'd warn you instead. He wants you
out of the way and he's taking it very seriously this time."

"The Smoking Man? So he's not dead?" Mulder asked
him.

"What do you think?" Krycek said ambiguously.

"I think that I don't trust a single word you say." Mulder
responded promptly.

"Suit yourself." Krycek slipped silently out of the cell,
locking it behind him. "But remember, I could have killed
you, but I didn't. Next time you might not be so fortunate."

Dammit, Mulder thought, punching his fist into the
bunk's mattress. But at least it solved one problem - if he
wanted to stay alive then he had to go along with the
Gunmen's plan, escape and take his chances on the outside.
He was damned if he was going to stay here and let them
pick him off like a sitting duck whenever it suited them.

--------------------------

End of Part 2.

"Bars on the Windows" Part 3 by Gemma Kingsley
(gkingsley@hotmail.com)

For Disclaimer etc. please see part 1.

-------------------------

"Just look at this place, Dana. What your father would
say if he were still with us, I don't know."

"Oh, he'd probably say something about being brave and
facing the challenges that life throws at you." Scully smiled,
trying to reassure her mom.

"But you shouldn't be...here." Mrs. Scully insisted.

"Prison, Mom. You can say the word, you know."

"Yes, prison. It gives me nightmares just imagining you
locked in here every night. Are you sure you're alright?"
she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Scully told her firmly. "And hopefully it
won't be for too much longer. We've lodged an appeal for
Bail and it's looking hopeful."

"Have you heard from Fox?" Mrs. Scully asked, trying to
find a more pleasant topic of conversation than prison and
Court cases.

"Not since the hearing. But one of the guards told me
he was being taken to the Lorton Reformatory." Scully
explained. "And some friends of ours are going to be
dropping in later today, so hopefully they'll have some
news."

"Well I do think he could have taken the time to contact
you personally." Mrs. Scully complained, twisting her
wedding ring distractedly, "after all, it's because of him
that you're in this situation in the first place."

"What? No, Mom, this is not Mulder's fault in any
way, shape or form."

"If you hadn't joined the FBI..." Mrs. Scully started to
say.

"....then I might be working in a hospital somewhere. I
could have been stabbed by a knife-wielding mental patient,
I could have been infected with contaminated blood, or I
could be languishing in prison after being sued for
malpractice."

Scully's list of the alternate misfortunes that could have
befallen her coaxed a reluctant smile from her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I know you don't like a lot of the
choices that I've made, but I need you to respect my right
to make decisions for myself." Scully appealed.

"I know, sweetheart, I know. But it's hard sometimes.
I still see you as my little girl. And it's not that long ago that
we were afraid we'd lose you for good." Her mother reminded
her.

"I understand." Scully said, embracing her mother.

They separated as a knock came on the door announcing
another visitor for Scully. Frohike shuffled into the room,
and stood there rather awkwardly as he took in the presence
of Mrs. Scully.

Mrs. Scully raised her eyebrows as she observed the
new visitor but said nothing.

"Uh, Mom, this is Frohike. He's a friend of mine and
Mulder's." Scully performed the introduction.

Frohike blushed deep red when Scully described him as
her friend and Mrs. Scully looked at her daughter
questioningly. Scully almost laughed at the slightly-
horrified look on her mother's face. Hope she takes it
better than that when I tell her about Mulder and I, she
thought.

"See you later, Mom. Thanks for coming to visit me."
Scully told her. "And don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Alright, dear. You just be careful." Mrs. Scully replied.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Frohike." Frohike blushed even
deeper red, if that was possible.

"Uh, nice to meet you too, Mrs. Scully."

When Mrs. Scully had left, Frohike hurried over to the
table and sat down. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, "didn't
mean to interrupt anything."

"No..she was just getting ready to leave anyway." Scully
reassured him. "So have you seen Mulder? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yesterday." Frohike revealed. "He seemed like
he was doing alright. Pretty worried about you though.
He said to give you his love." Frohike smirked.

"Alright, yes very funny. I take it he told you about us,
then." Scully said.

"Hey, don't look at me. Langly's the one with the
overdeveloped sense of curiosity."

"No, I mean I don't mind. Actually, it makes what I
have to say easier." She looked rather nervous and
Frohike wondered what on earth she was about to tell him.

"I'm pregnant." she blurted out suddenly.

Frohike went white, then green, then white again, and
stared at her in shock. "With a baby?" he asked stupidly.

"No, with a monkey." Scully joked.

"Whoa, Scully, this is, um," Frohike was trying very
hard to form a coherent sentence, but his brain didn't quite
seem to be co-operating. "It's, um, well, congratulations."

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "But you see the thing is,
and this is where I need a favor from you, Mulder doesn't
know yet. I mean I know I should have told him, but we
were working so hard on that case, and it just didn't seem
the time to bring it up. And then I was going to tell him in
the Courtroom," Scully continued, "but he was already
so worried, and telling him then would just have made it
worse. But he deserves to know, and so...."

"Scully, you're babbling." Frohike said kindly.

"I know. But it's just..."

"I'll tell him." Frohike agreed.

"You will?" she queried delighted. "Oh thank-you
Frohike." Leaning over she kissed him on the cheek and
he blushed red again. "I really appreciate this."

It'll be worth it just to see the look on Mulder's face,
Frohike thought to himself.

----------------------

As it turned out, Frohike didn't get to break the news
to Mulder personally after all. Crossing their fingers that
Mulder was going to agree to go along with their escape
plan, the Gunmen decided that two visits in one week
might look a little suspicious.

So when Mulder got back to his cell after exercise the
next day, he found a folded note on the floor:

M,

Everything's set, just waiting for your go ahead.
Leave the reply on the floor of the cell, our friend will
collect it.
We know you'll make the right decision.

P.S. Congratulations. S said to tell you that you've
gotten her knocked up.

F.

Mulder's eyes widened. What the Hell was that last
line? He read it again and it still said the same thing
but he could hardly take it in.

Suddenly it hit him. Scully's having a baby! We're
having a baby! I'm going to be a father, he realized.

Mulder wanted to jump up and down and yell for joy
but he had a feeling that might not be appreciated by the
guards and the other inmates. Ripping the bottom section
of the note off and stuffing it in his pocket so he could
read it over and over again, he quickly scribbled a reply
on the other side of the note. He put it back on the floor
where it could be retrieved by the whoever the Gunmen's
inside friend was, and lay down on his bunk to read Frohike's
final comment again.

This is really happening, he thought. We're gonna have
a baby.

-------------------

The Next Day
Lone Gunmen Headquarters, D.C.

"That's a good color on you, Langly." Frohike told his
friend.

"One more word and you'll be doing this on your
own." Langly cautioned belligerently.

"Oh, and nice hat, Byers." Frohike regarded his outfit
critically. "Just one question. What were you planning on
doing about the beard?"

"I think I'll be okay as long as I stay away from any
bright lights." Byers frowned, looking at himself in the
mirror. "You don't like my hat?"

"Sure we do. It's cute. Matches your eyes." Langly
teased.

"You know I still think we should have told Mulder
what we were planning." Byers said.

Frohike shook his head. "You read the note. He was
stressed out enough over Krycek's threats. He would have
had a coronary if he'd known what we're about to do. So
everyone ready?"

"Yep. You got the drugs?" Langly queried.

"Right here." Frohike answered, tapping his pocket. "Let's
move."

-------------

"Hi."

The warden looked up as he heard the seductive greeting.
"Hey, baby, haven't seen you around here before."

"Yeah, a friend got me a job working in the kitchens last
week. It was pretty quiet, so I thought I'd take a little walk."

"So, I guess a pretty girl like you must have a steady
boyfriend." the warden continued.

"No, I live all on my own. Gets lonely at times."

The warden smiled. "Well we can't have that. Why don't
you..." He froze, listening carefully. "Did you hear
something?" he asked his companion.

"No, nothing. So what were you saying?"

The warden walked across the room, still listening for
any signs of a disturbance. When he heard nothing, he
picked up his mug of coffee and took a large gulp. His
companion sighed thankfully, but the warden didn't see it.

"I was saying...I was....ohh...suddenly I don't feel
so good." The warden grabbed for the edge of the desk as
his companion watched coolly, and was soon passed out
on the floor, snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

"You alright, Langly?" Frohike asked as he and Byers
ran up.

"Yes, no thanks to you." he said, pulling off the wig.
"What the Hell was that noise? You almost gave the game
away."

"Yeah, we ran into a little trouble when we met up with a
rather suspicious _female_ guard. But we took care of it."
Byers explained.

"And it's all clear now?" Langly queried.

"Yeah." Frohike confirmed. "But you should have seen
me flirt with the first guard we came across. Damn I was
good. He was so hot for me, wasn't he Byers?"

Langly shuddered. "I really don't want to know. Let's
just find Scully and get out of here. When that warden
started coming onto me - yuck - I'm sure I'll have
nightmares about it for weeks."

"Right." Byers said, looking at the plan on the wall of
the warden's office. "She's in B block."

They hurried through the halls as quietly as possible,
Langly particularly reluctant to stumble across any more
guards.

Inserting the key in the door to Scully's cell, they
listened carefully, not wanting to alarm her. Byers winced
at the grating noise as Frohike turned the key, and Scully
had apparently been woken as well.

"Who's there?" she called out sharply.

"Scully, it's me, Frohike." he whispered as loudly as
he dared.

"Frohike?" she whispered back, approaching the door
as all three of the Gunmen trailed into her cell. "And Langly,
and Byers too? What are you guys doing here?" She looked
in astonishment at their dresses and wigs. "And what on
earth are you wearing?"

"All questions will be answered later." Frohike assured her.
"But for now, we're getting you out of here."

"Out as in we're escaping from prison?" Scully squeaked.

"Krycek was sent to kill Mulder." Byers told her. "They
might send someone for you too and it's not worth the risk."

"Ohmigod, is Mulder okay?" Scully panicked. "You'd
tell me if something had happened to him, wouldn't you
guys?"

"Relax." Langly reassured her. "Mulder's doin' just
fine and we're getting him out tomorrow. So are you
coming with us or not?"

"Are you kidding? Yes! There is no way I'm letting
Mulder run around the country by himself, trying to track
down whoever set us up." Scully already felt uneasy just
imagining what kind of trouble her partner could get into.

"Good, then let's get on with it." Langly said, leading
the way out of the cell. Byers followed, but Scully
grasped Frohike's arm, holding him back for a moment.

"Did you, uh, tell Mulder about..." she asked him.

"Yep, all taken care of." He decided not to give her
the exact details of how he'd communicated the news to
Mulder since it probably wasn't quite how she'd
envisioned telling him. But Mulder knew, and that was
the most important thing.

Before they could move any further, Langly and Byers
ducked rapidly back into the room. "Shit, someone's
coming." Langly declared.

A few seconds later, Krycek appeared in the doorway
and advanced into the room. "My, my, my, a pajama
party and I wasn't invited? How thoughtless of you."
His gaze fell on the Gunmen. "And these must be
Mulder's friends, the paranoid freaks. Lovely dresses
ladies."

"What are you doing here?" Frohike snarled hostilely.

Krycek raised his eyebrows. "My business is with
Scully." he told them.

"Well you'll have to get through us first." Langly
asserted boldly.

Krycek shrugged nonchalantly. "If that's the way you
want to play it then who am I to stand in your way."

Langly's eyes widened in alarm and he took a hasty
step backwards.

"Enough with the melodrama, Krycek." Scully regarded
him without fear. "Why are you here?"

Krycek looked at her speculatively. "I'm here to give
you the same warning I gave Mulder, although it would
appear you're already taking drastic steps to protect
yourself." He stepped back into the doorway. "I suggest
you lie low for a while. Certain people are going to be
most displeased about this."

Langly breathed a sigh of relief once Krycek had left.
"That guy gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, whatever." Frohike agreed. "Now we'd better
get moving, he's delayed us enough already."

I can hardly believe I'm doing this, Scully thought to
herself as she followed the Gunmen back through the
prison. An FBI Agent, sworn to uphold the law and work
for justice, and currently involved in her own jail break.
Suddenly she stopped short.

"What?" Langly asked, having bumped into her from
behind.

"I just had a thought." Scully related. "My Mom was
already upset by the fact that I was in prison. She's going
to have a fit when she hears about this."

Frohike snickered quietly to himself as they continued
to make their way along the passage.

---------------------

Lone Gunmen Headquarters, D.C.

"Boy am I glad to get that skirt off." Langly said

"Just because you don't have the legs for it." Frohike
teased, grinning as Scully rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Guys, be serious for a minute." She pleaded.
"Shouldn't we be working on our plan to break Mulder
out of jail."

"Uh, *our* plan, Scully?" Langly queried. "Your only
part is hiding out here until we bring Mulder back."

"Guess again." She slipped the map of the Lorton
Reformatory into her pocket. "I'm coming with you."

Frohike approached as though he was going to try and
get the map off her.

"If you so much as think about it I'll break all your
fingers." Scully threatened him.

"But Scully," Langly whined, "Mulder'll kill us if we
let you go too."

"So I'll tell him I made you guys agree. Which I did."
She pointed out. "You're not going to get very far without
the map, are you?"

Langly, Byers and Frohike had a rapid, whispered
conversation which Scully watched, part in annoyance,
part amused.

"Okay, you can come." Langly told her begrudgingly.

"Good. Now what's the plan?"

----------------------

Mulder glanced quickly at the clock again as he
swallowed another mouthful of disgustingly mushy peas.
Twenty-five past seven. Almost time. Sure enough, just as
he finished scraping his plate a few minutes later, the
lights suddenly went off.

"What the Hell?" one of the guards exclaimed in
alarm. "Why didn't the generators kick in?"

Some of the other prisoners had let up a whoop of
excitement when the lights went out, and Mulder could hear
crashes as plates and cutlery were thrown on the floor and
tables were upended.

Come on, come on, where's Frohike's friend, Mulder
worried as the seconds ticked past and no-one approached
him with the key he so desperately needed. Just as
he started getting up, resolving to attempt to make his way
out of the room anyway and see how far he could get, he
felt the requisite key pressed into his palm.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mulder got to his feet and
took a step towards the door, only to find himself slipping
in a pile of someone's uneaten baked beans and mashed
potato.

"Dammit." Mulder groaned, wincing at the pain in his
arm as he stood back up. He was about to head towards
the door again when he suddenly realized something that
caused him to freeze, paralyzed. The key, I've lost the
wretched key!

Crouching on his hands and knees, Mulder began
searching frantically through the soup of broken
crockery and food mess that now littered the floor. His
fingers slid through the slimy mess, trying desperately to
grasp hold of something key-shaped, but to no avail. No,
dammit, I won't give up now, not when I'm so close, he
resolved. Sliding forward on his knees, he stretched still
further, instinctively ducking as one of the last intact
plates flew dangerously close to his head, breaking on the
bench where he'd been sitting a few minutes earlier.

Relax Mulder, he cautioned himself. Sitting up and
closing his eyes, he concentrated hard on remembering
the exact moment that he'd fallen and dropped the key,
trying to guess which way it had flown and where it was
most likely to have landed. A little further to the right,
he conjectured, his hands traversing this new area. He
almost skipped over it the first time, thinking he was
imagining it, but then he paused, and his fingers went
backwards slightly. Grasping the cold, hard metal of
the key he pulled it out from under the bench and stood
again, making sure he had a very firm grip on the key
this time.

Time's ticking away, no more space for mistakes, Mulder
told himself firmly.

----------------

Byers looked through the binoculars at the Lorton
Reformatory again. "I don't like this. He should have
been here by now."

"We can wait a bit longer." Frohike pointed out.
"If we try and leave now, Scully'll have our heads."

"Speaking of which," Langly said, overhearing the
last comment as he climbed up the rungs of the ladder to
the engine railcar, "could you go back there and talk to
her Frohike, she's been trying to convince me that we
should go over and storm the place."

"I'll talk to her." Byers offered. "But make sure you
keep an eye out for Mulder."

"Will do." Langly agreed with a mock-salute. "How
much longer can we afford to wait?" he asked Frohike
as Byers climbed down the ladder.

Sudden light, loud noise and movement answered his
question as the alarms started to blare at the Lorton
Reformatory.

"Fuck." Frohike swore abruptly. "Our time window
just ran right out.

Langly leaned out the door, telling Byers to get back in
the engine car this instant because they were about to leave.
Byers climbed back in apprehensively followed closely
by Scully.

"No, I won't let you leave." she told Frohike angrily,
trying to wrest the keys from his hand.

"Scully," he said, gripping her wrist with more strength
than she'd have guessed he possessed, "you know we can't
stay here."

"Yes we can," she insisted vehemently, still struggling,
"I'm not leaving Mulder."

"Oh yeah, and what help will it be to him if you get
caught again?" Frohike demanded as he passed the keys
to Langly who then started up the engine.

"I don't care." Scully told him, pulling her wrist free
of his restraining grasp.

"Well fine, maybe you don't, but Mulder sure does."
Frohike replied. "First thing he asked when we saw him
was 'Have you heard about Scully? How's Scully?' That
man adores you, and he would never forgive any of us if
you endangered your life or that of the unborn baby you're
carrying, to save him."

Scully sighed. "But..." she tried to protest further.

"But nothing." Frohike said firmly. "Mulder will
understand. They catch you now, they'll lock you up and
throw away the key, and I'm not going to take that risk."

Scully knew when she'd lost the argument. "Fine. But
I want you to remember that I'm deeply against this."

"Great." Frohike said. "Now go lie down on that mattress
we put in the railway car. It's two hours by rail, then we have
to switch to the car."

Scully descended the ladder with a heavy heart and
clambered back into the rail carriage. It's just not fair, she
thought, we came so close.

The mood in the front engine area was no more cheerful.

"This sux." Langly stated as the train started to move.

"I know, but what else could we do?" Byers asked.
"Staying any longer would have meant putting Scully at
risk. At least this way, one of them's safe."

"What was that?" Frohike suddenly asked.

"What?"

"I thought I heard something." He said, listening
intently. "There it is again."

The other two Gunmen fell silent, trying to hear the
noise that Frohike was talking about.

"Wait!" They heard faintly.

Langly ran to the window, peering out into the darkness.
For a second he thought he was imagining things, but he
blinked, and the man running diagonally towards them
across the field was still there. "OH MY GOD - it's
Mulder!" he yelled. "Frohike, stop the train. Quick,
quick!"

"I can't stop it." Frohike told him. "We're only a few
minutes ahead of the Express train and we have to get off
this section of track as fast as possible. He glanced
hopelessly toward the field on their right, "Tell him to run,
maybe he can catch up."

"Run, Mulder, run!" Langly shouted out the window.

Mulder strained with every last bit of energy he had,
his heart pounding, every breath tightening his lungs
a little more. Havetocatchthattrain...havetocatchthattrain
havetocatchthattrain throbbed in his head with some kind
of manic rhythm.

But it was going too fast, he was close, but not close
enough, and the train was pulling further away from him
with every second that passed. Langly was yelling
himself hoarse trying to encourage Mulder to run faster,
but nothing seemed to work.

That is, until Scully stuck her head out of the carriage
door. "Langly, what are you yelling about?" she demanded.

"Mulder, Mulder!" Langly cried, gesturing to where
he was running alongside the railway line, behind the
train.

"What?" she screamed, and then she saw him. He was
still striving staunchly to catch up to the train, but his head
was drooping, his breaths seemed labored, and he was
dropping further back with every passing moment.

"MULDER!" Scully cried out, as loud as she could.
"RUN!"

His head shot up, eyes focusing steadily on the train. That
sounded like....oh my God, it is Scully, he realized. A new
burst of speed seemed to accompany the knowledge. I'm
getting on that train, he determined.

"Run, Mulder!" Scully continued to yell, inwardly
rejoicing as he began to narrow the distance between himself
and the train. "Come on, you can do it!"

His long strides and seemingly renewed strength brought
him to the door of the train in seconds.

"Take my hand and jump!" Scully called, reaching out
from the train as far as she dared. "You trust me don't you?"

"Always!" he shouted back, taking a running leap
towards the doorway, flying through the air until his hand
met Scully's and she hauled him into the carriage where
he promptly collapsed on the floor.

She was beside him in a second, "Mulder, Mulder,
are you alright?"

Mulder pulled himself to his knees, staring at her as
though he still wasn't sure whether to believe what his eyes
were telling him.

"I am now." he said, and Scully threw herself into his
arms.

-----------------------

End of Part 3.

"Bars on the Windows" Part 4 by Gemma Kingsley
(gkingsley@hotmail.com)

For Disclaimer etc. please see part 1.

-------------------------

"Think I should go back and check on them?" Langly
asked his friends.

"Not unless you want an eyeful." Frohike paused for a
second as he considered what he'd just said. "On the other
hand maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"Frohike." Byers warned.

"Kidding, kidding." Frohike assured him. "Can't anyone
make a joke 'round here anymore?"

"Frankly, running from the law seems to put a damper on
my sense of humour." Langly told him.

"Come on, let's not argue. There's a long way to go yet."
Byers pointed out.

"I still think we should check on them." Langly repeated.

"NO!" Byers and Frohike replied in unison.

----------------

"You sure you're alright, Mulder?" Scully asked again,
running her hands over his face to reassure herself that he
was really there.

"I'm fine." he insisted. "I feel like I was in a food fight
then ran a marathon, but other than that, never been better."

"You have made rather a mess of yourself." Scully
commented as she examined his baked bean, pea and
mashed potato splattered outfit.

"Yeah well the table manners of some of my
companions left a lot to be desired." he explained.
"Not to mention the fact that I ended up face-down
on the floor after slipping on a strategically positioned
pile of food."

"You fell over? Did you hurt yourself?" Scully was
instantly in doctor mode, eager to help.

"My arm." He held it up and she could see where the
bruises were already forming. "But it's fine now."

Scully was not to be dissuaded from checking it out
for herself. "Does this hurt?" Mulder shook his head.
"How about this?" she inquired further.

"Uh-uh. Really Scully, I'm fine." he insisted.

"You don't hurt anywhere?"

"Well actually," Mulder started to say, his eyes
twinkling mischievously.

"Yes, what?" Scully asked with concern.

"I could use some attention here." He took hold of
her hand and pulled it into his lap, gasping slightly
with pleasure when she began to stroke him.

"Oh I don't know," Scully teased, "you really think that
needs a doctor's attention?"

"*A* doctor - no," Mulder responded, gulping as she
squeezed him gently, "*this* doctor - definitely yes."

"You want to play doctor with me, Mulder?" Scully
invited seductively.

He nodded vigorously.

"Good." She said, giggling, "But I suggest we move
this check-up to the mattress before the patient catches
pneumonia from sitting on the cold floor."

"You're not propositioning me, are you doc?" Mulder
asked, feigning artlessness.

"What do you think?"

-----------------

"So now that we're off the main line, we continue on
for about an hour and a half until we hit this disused
byline. Then..." Frohike paused in his explanation as a
distinctive thump was heard from the carriage behind
them.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and tried again. "So
then we.."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Byers turned bright red and suddenly found the view
out of the window fascinating.

Thump. Thump. Thump-thump.

Frohike raised his eyes towards the ceiling. "Whose
bright idea was it to stick a mattress in there anyway?"

-----------------

"Mulder." Scully whispered, kissing his chest, and
looking down at him.

"Mmm hmmm."

"You awake?"

He opened his eyes. "Yes." Rolling over to face her
they exchanged a long, slow kiss. "Why? You wanna go
again?"

"Maybe later." she told him, curling up against his side.
"I was just thinking."

"Well that's a good sign." Mulder joked. "Thinking
'bout anything in particular?"

"Kind of."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, I'm
afraid." He touched her hair gently, a little concerned by
this sudden reticence.

"I was thinking about...I mean, Frohike said he told you,
that is...." Scully's words trailed off as she waited for his
response.

Mulder grinned, suddenly catching on. "You bet he told
me. Wanna see?" He climbed off the mattress and started
digging around in his pile of clothes.

Scully rolled onto her side, unabashedly admiring
his nude form. "See? What do you mean?"

"Ah! Here it is." He pulled the crumpled but precious
piece of paper out of his pocket, handing it to Scully.

Sitting up on the mattress, she read it quickly:

P.S. Congratulations. S said to tell you that you've
gotten her knocked up.

"Oh that weasel Frohike is going to pay for this!"
Scully declared.

Mulder laughed. "It did the job didn't it? Actually,
I kind of like it. Maybe I'll get it framed and hang it up
on the wall."

"So, you're not upset then?" she asked, her tone still
rather hesitant.

"About Frohike? Nah, he was just having a joke."

"No, I meant about the fact that I'm pregnant. About
the baby." Scully clarified.

"Upset about the baby?" Mulder sat down next to her
on the mattress, confused, and wrapped his arms around
her. "Why would I be upset about the baby?"

"Well, I mean, we never talked about anything like this."
Pressing her head against his shoulder, she whispered so
quietly that he had to bend his head down to hear her. "And
I didn't know if you wanted it."

"Aw geez, Scully. Is that why you didn't tell me
earlier?" Mulder asked her. She nodded woefully,
hiding her face in his neck.

"Scully," he said softly, "Look at me, please."

She lifted her head uncertainly, gentle hazel eyes
meeting still slightly frightened blue ones.

"I wish you could have seen me when I first read that
note." Mulder told her. "I was literally ecstatic. So
happy I could hardly believe it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." he confirmed.

"Bet you were shocked first." Scully guessed.

"Well, maybe just a little." he confessed. "But in a good
way."

She nodded and gave him a small smile.

"So what else is the matter?" Mulder asked.

"Um, I'm not sure exactly." Scully answered, looking
away from him again.

"You know if I had to guess, I'd say maybe you were the
one who's not quite sure about this."

Scully swallowed heavily. Mulder's last conjecture had
come a little too close to home. "That your professional
psychologist's opinion?" she joked.

"No, it's the personal opinion of your life's partner." he
corrected.

"I'm scared." she finally admitted, her throat choking up
slightly. "I keep thinking, what if they did something to me
when I was taken. How did I even get pregnant in the first
place if they took my ova like you said? And even if I carry
it to term, what if there's something wrong with it?" It was
a relief to let her fears out, to share them with Mulder, and
he felt the heat of her tears on his skin as she cried against
him.

Mulder felt his heart tighten painfully as Scully let him
witness her vulnerability. "Scully, I.." he gulped as he
felt the tears forming in his own eyes, "I can't answer any of
those questions for you. I wish I could, you don't know how
much I wish that." He squeezed her tightly against him. "But,
um, I can promise you this - that I will always be there beside
you and that we'll face whatever happens together."

He buried his face in the comforting softness of her hair,
rocking her gently as their cleansing tears chased away the
darkness in the past and gave them hope for a brighter
future together.

------------------

FBI Headquarters, D.C.

Skinner walked into his office, pinching the bridge of his
nose sharply. 7:30 a.m. and he already had a headache.
The headline of Sunday morning's paper about Scully's
prison break had put an end to any hope of a relaxing
weekend, and although he'd expected today's parallel,
'Mulder escapes from jail' article, that didn't make it any
better reading.

He froze abruptly as he recognized a smell that had been
missing for a number of months now.

"Mr. Skinner," the Smoking Man said, stepping out
from the corner of the room, "what a pleasant surprise. I
didn't expect to see you here."

"This is my office, asshole. Get out now or I'm calling
security to throw you out." Skinner asserted.

The Smoking Man took a calm drag of his ubiquitous
cigarette. "My, my, aren't we cocky. Everything perfectly
under control, is it?"

Skinner remained silent, staring down his adversary.

"You wouldn't have had anything to do with say, this and
this, would you?" the Smoking Man asked, grinding his
cigarette into the newspaper pictures of Mulder and Scully
as he spoke. "Because," he said, walking towards the door,
"it would be a very great shame if an Assistant Director of
the FBI turned out to be involved in such a scandalous
affair."

He remained unperturbed as he took in Skinner's
impassive expression. "Not to worry," he continued, lighting
up another cigarette, "they'd be foolish to head anywhere
other than the Canadian or South American borders, and
we'll have a very warm welcome waiting for them when
they turn up. Very warm indeed."

The Smoking Man paused in the doorway to deliver his
final comment. "Oh, and don't worry Mr. Skinner, I'm
perfectly aware that you weren't involved in this. Just
wanted to see how you were taking it."

Skinner grimaced distastefully once the man had left
his office. Maybe I wasn't involved, he thought, but I
might have been if I'd come up with the idea first.

-------------------

"Okay, it's all clear." Frohike whispered.

Scully rolled her eyes. "They really go for this cloak and
dagger stuff, don't they?"

Frohike frowned at her reproachfully. "On my count, 1,
2,"

"3!" Mulder called out, grabbing hold of Scully's hand
and pulling her across the street to the doorway of the Lone
Gunmen's Headquarters. Rapping on the door three times
as he'd been instructed, they waited for a response.

"Password." Langly asked through the door.

"Ohmigod Langly, open the door quickly, Scully's having
the baby!" Mulder yelled.

"What?" Langly squawked, panicking as he fumbled
with the lock on the door. Throwing it open he stared at
them with wild eyes....and was brought up short as he
was confronted with Mulder's wide grin and Scully
turning red in the face from laughing so hard.

"I can't believe you fell for that, Langly." Scully teased
as they walked into the main room. "I'm only three months
pregnant, for God's sake."

Frohike gave Mulder and Scully a critical look as he
came in. "I could hear you guys from across the street."
he complained. "Try and remember that we're running
from the law here and that secrecy would be a very good
idea please."

"Sorry." Mulder mumbled penitently, winking at Scully.
He figured that anything was worth it if it made her laugh.

"So, what's the plan now guys?" Langly rubbed his
hands together eagerly in anticipation.

"The plan is to get some sleep." Mulder announced.
"It's four in the morning and I for one haven't slept in a real
bed for over a week."

"I thought you slept on your couch anyway." Frohike
pointed out.

"I used to, but not anymore." Mulder looked at Scully
fondly and she blushed slightly under his scrutiny. "You
guys do have beds here, don't you?"

"As a matter of fact," Frohike said, slapping Mulder on
the back, "we converted one of the storerooms into a
bedroom specially for you two."

"And Langly and I decorated it." Byers told them.

"Why does that thought make me very afraid?" Scully
whispered to Mulder as they followed Frohike upstairs.

------------------

"Mulder, this is even worse than I could have possibly
imagined." Scully said once the Gunmen had left the room.
"It's pink."

"It certainly is." Mulder agreed.

The carpet was pink, the walls were pink, heck, even
the ceiling was pink. But the crowning glory was the
waterbed (pink again) in the middle of the room.

"Surely no-one could really have taste this bad." Scully
asked rhetorically as she stood staring around the room.

"Come on Scully, it's not _that_ bad." Mulder insisted.
"They probably thought it was romantic."

"Well if they did, I really pity any woman who gets
involved with one of those three." she pronounced.

"I think the only women they have a connection to are
more likely to be of the two-dimensional kind." Mulder
theorized.

"So you're saying this could be a situation out of a
Playboy shoot, is that right?"

"I wouldn't know, I only read it for the articles."
Mulder countered. "Hey, I was just kidding," he
continued, noting the mock-threatening she was giving
him. "You know I gave up all that kind of thing when
we got involved."

"Humph." was Scully's only response.

"Look, if we turn off the lights it won't be so bad." Mulder
suggested, flicking the switch to demonstrate his point.

"Yeah, but there'd better not be any cameras in here."
Scully said. "Mulder, where are you?" She could hear him
moving around in the dark somewhere.

"I'm right...here." he replied, pulling her onto the bed,
on top of him.

"Why so you are." she said, smiling wickedly in the
darkness as she reached down to grasp him.

---------------

All three of the Gunmen were down in the main
computer room when they heard the noise start upstairs.

Thump. Thump.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Frohike
begged.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

"Who on earth has that much stamina?" Byers wondered
aloud.

"Uh, I think I'm going to pass on that question." Langly
answered.

"Look, let's just ignore it. It's not that loud." Frohike's
suggestion sounded like a good idea...until that is, a strangled
YESSSS! noise floated down the stairs, causing all three
of them to groan simultaneously and bury their heads in
their hands.

---------------------

"Mornin' guys, sleep well?" Mulder greeted them
cheerfully the next day.

"Oh yeah, just great, what with you and Scully- "
Langly started to say, but was elbowed sharply in the
ribs by Frohike and told to shut up.

"Where's Scully?" Byers asked, noticing she hadn't
come down yet.

Mulder grimaced. "Morning sickness."

"Oh ewww." Langly declared. "She makes a mess,
you're cleaning it up."

"Don't suppose you guys have found evidence
proving our innocence yet?"

"Afraid not Mulder. We did manage to get a copy of
the so-called proof of your embezzlement." Byers gestured to
a precariously balanced stack of papers on one side of the
room. "But it's going to take us ages to get anywhere with
that."

"Okay, this is what I want you to do." Mulder instructed
them. "Find out everything you can about the murder.
Whatever info you can get about the victim, Jack Winton.
Ditto with the crime itself. Ballistics on the weapon,
fingerprints, all that shit. Maybe they slipped up somewhere."

"And what are you gonna be doing?" Frohike queried.

"I'm going after Krycek."

"No way! How?" Langly demanded.

Opening his fisted hand, Mulder revealed a thin
matchbook, the type you might find in any motel.
The type that commonly had the motel's name
printed on them, as did this particular one.

"He dropped it?" Frohike asked, instantly
suspicious.

Mulder shook his head. "I very much doubt it. I
think he left it there on purpose for me to find."

"Then isn't it more likely to be a trap?" Byers
suggested

"Sure, maybe." Mulder acknowledged the
possibility. "But he could have killed me, and he didn't.
And from what Scully told me, he could have killed her
and you lot as well if he'd wanted to. The fact that he
didn't suggests to me that he some other intention. I'm
going to find out what that is." He crossed to the door.

"Now, you're leaving now?" Frohike questioned
anxiously. "Scully's puking her guts out upstairs on your
behalf and you're going to walk out on her? Man will
she be pissed off at you when she finds out."

"Yeah, I know." he said dejectedly. "But she's in this
mess because of me in the first place, and I don't want her
or our unborn baby in any more danger. Keep her in the
dark for as long as you can, then run for cover as she lets
off steam."

"He's going to be in such deep doodoo when she finds
out." Langly said, shaking his head sadly as they watched
Mulder flag down a cab and hop in.

"When she finds out what?" Scully inquired, breezing
into the room, apparently over her morning sickness.

"Uh, what?" Langly tried to cover, flustered. "No, we
were, uh, just..."

"...talking about this new computer game." Byers filled
in.

"Yeah right, new computer game. That's it." Langly
agreed.

"Okaaay." Scully said, looking at them doubtfully. "So,
um, where's Mulder?"

"Mulder? You want to know where Mulder is?" Byers
asked as though she'd just said the moon was made of green
cheese or something of the sort.

"Yeah, Mulder. Remember him? Tall, brown hair, the
cutest hazel eyes you've ever seen and a body to die for.
Sound familiar?" Scully queried.

"Oh thaaat Mulder." Frohike answered. "Oh I'm sure he's
around here somewhere. So, any big plans for today?"

"Guys, what is going on? Tell me now or I promise I will
make you live to regret it."

"There's nothing going on." Byers protested. "Nothing at
all. Isn't that right Langly?"

"Yep, nothing out of the ordinary. Actually, Mulder just
stepped out a few minutes ago to..uh...to run some errands,
yeah, that's it. A few last minute errands he'd forgotten
about."

Scully sat down and looked at the three men
menacingly. "I want to know where he's gone and why,
and I want to know now!"

--------------

Half an hour later, threats and recriminations hadn't
gotten her any further, so Scully decided to change her
tactics.

"Frohike, you don't really want to upset me, do you?"
she asked pleadingly, giving him a mournful face.

"No, of course not, Scully." he instantly reassured her.
"But Mulder was worried about you, and we are too."

"I know." Scully continued, sniffling a little for effect,
"but I'm worried about Mulder too. And you know he
always needs me there to keep an eye on him."

"Yes, but..." Frohike said, weakening under the
onslaught.

"And what kind of life would it be for our child,"
she asked fervently, "if both his or her parents were in
jail? A home with bars on the windows and locks on all the
doors. Please Frohike, I need your help." She bent her
head as though to hide tears that were beginning to fall,
and Frohike was lost.

"Alright Scully, I'll give you the address, just please
don't cry." he implored her.

She kept her head bowed until he pushed the piece of
paper into her hand, then looked up at them with completely
dry eyes and just the hint of a smile. "Gotcha." she told
them.

"Damn she's amazing." Frohike said admiringly as
they watched her hurry out into the street, the address
he'd given her clutched tightly in her hand like a
talisman.

-------------------

Krycek had left a message for Mulder at the motel's
reception, telling him what room he was staying in. The
owner bestowed a rather speculative look on Mulder, but
had given him the directions willingly enough. He knocked
warily on Krycek's door, and a voice from inside bid
Mulder enter.

"I see you got my clue." Krycek told him.

Mulder swiftly flipped the matchbook onto the worn
couch. "Enough with the games. What do you want?"

"Drink?" Krycek offered, gesturing towards the half
empty bottle on the table top.

"No thanks." Mulder managed to grind out.

"Your loss." Krycek poured himself a glass of the amber
liquid, raising it to Mulder in a silent toast.

"Krycek, I'm not in the mood for this crap." Mulder
growled.

He sighed with resignation, putting down his drink. "Well
at least you haven't arrested me yet. Oh wait, that's right,
you're a fugitive too now."

"You could have killed me in prison and you didn't."
Mulder stated. "I want to know why."

"Have a seat, Fox."

"Mulder." he corrected firmly.

"Fine, Mulder then." Krycek acquiesced.

Mulder took a seat at the table. "What game are you
playing, Krycek?"

Krycek drained his glass and banged it back down on the
table before he spoke. "This one's personal."

"Every time's been personal for me. So how does it feel
to have the tables turned on you?" Mulder asked derisively.

"You want to hear this or not?" Krycek's tone was
unmistakably belligerent.

Mulder shrugged. "Suit yourself. Talk if you want, but
I'm not particularly inclined to believe anything you say."

Krycek appeared slightly irked by Mulder's indifference,
but continued anyway. "Like I was saying, it's personal
this time. You met Angela Clark, well she's my cousin."

"Seriously?" Mulder demanded, intrigued.

"Despite what you may think, Mulder, I am human and I
do have a family of sorts." He sighed. "In this case I expect
our Smoking friend assumed I'd be so caught up with
thoughts of revenge against you and Scully for the murder of
my cousin's fiance that I wouldn't stop to consider the fact
that it was out of character."

"Oh gee, such flattery." Mulder commented sardonically.
"But are these just suspicions or do you have actual proof.
'Cause assumptions and conjectures are no good to me at
all."

"I can get proof." Krycek promised. "I can get the guy
that did it. But I need your help. Whaddya say? Partners
again?"

"Only one person holds that title, and it's not you."
Mulder declared firmly.

"In that case, guess it'll have to be accomplices." Krycek
pronounced. "So do we have a deal?"

Before Krycek could even consider suggesting that they
shook on it, Scully burst through the door, eyes wide and
frightened. Taking in Mulder and Krycek in one rapid sweep
of the room, she cried, "We have to get out of here! Someone
called the cops!"

"Mulder," Krycek growled, "this had better not be your
idea of a joke."

"Are you kidding?" Mulder demanded furiously. "We
get caught now and we'll be in at least as much trouble as
you, and probably a damned sight more."

For a long second Krycek stared at them, breathing
heavily and trying to decide if it was in his best interests to
rely on anyone but himself. "Alright," he said, decision
made, "we can get out the window in the bedroom. Come
on. But if I find out that you've double-crossed me...."

Hurrying into the bedroom, Krycek jumped out the
window just as they heard the cops kicking the door in.
Mulder and Scully looked into each other's eyes, terrified
by the split second decision that had to be made.

"Go." Scully urged and he didn't stop to argue, knowing
that this was their only chance to find proof of their
innocence.

"I love you." he told her, his voice laced with the
anguish of another separation as he leapt out of the window
only an instant before the cops set foot in the room, weapons
out and aimed at Scully's head.

"Quick, round the back." one of them yelled, seeing the
open window and deducing the escape route. Two of them
hurried back through the motel room to race in hot pursuit
of Mulder and Krycek.

"Hey, Detective Nelson, I recognize her." said the cop
who'd whacked the cuffs on Scully. "She was on the front
of the paper. Escaped from jail, she did."

"No kidding." Nelson remarked, examining Scully
closely. "I see a promotion in my future for this one."

Scully glared at him hostilely, unflinching under his
scrutiny as the litany 'Please let Mulder get away...Please
let Mulder get away' repeated itself over and over in her
head.

---------------------

End of Part 4.

"Bars on the Windows" Part 5 by Gemma Kingsley
(gkingsley@hotmail.com)

For Disclaimer etc. please see part 1.

-------------------------

Later that day

"What's the matter, Mulder?" Krycek flopped tiredly
down on the couch. "We got away, didn't we?"

"Scully didn't." Mulder replied uncompromisingly. "And
where's the damned phone?"

"Over there." he gestured towards the other side of the
room. "Who are you calling?"

Mulder rolled his eyes. "Relax, I'm a fugitive too,
remember?"

"I'm not likely to forget it." Krycek responded. "Can't
say I ever thought we'd end up working together again."

Mulder didn't answer as his call had gone through.

"Frohike. Turn off the tape." he insisted.

"Mulder, thank God. We saw on the news that Scully'd
been arrested again, but they didn't say whether they'd got
you or not. What the Hell happened?" Frohike demanded on
the other end of the phone.

"Ah, the jerkhead motel owner called the cops." Mulder
related. "Scully got there just in time to warn us, but she
couldn't get away." Mulder's eyes closed in pain as
he relived the heart-wrenching decision to leave her behind
again.

"Mulder, you still there?" Frohike asked anxiously after
the prolonged silence on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, still here. And not particularly impressed by the
fact that you told Scully where'd I'd gone."

"Give me a break. You know how she gets when she
really wants something. I didn't stand a chance." Frohike
insisted.

"Yeah, I understand. Sorry, didn't mean to take out my
frustration on you." Mulder paused for a moment, thinking.
"Don't suppose there's any chance of a repeat of that
prison break?" he finally asked.

"Afraid not, Mulder." Frohike confessed reluctantly.
"They've thought of that already and stuck her in the high
security wing. Twenty-four hour personal guard and the
place is built like Fort Knox to begin with."

"Damn." Mulder exclaimed as his last hope for being
reunited with Scully in the near future was extinguished.

"We're doing what we can. Going through the papers,
looking for that info you asked about. But it's not looking
that good. What about you? Did your lead pan out?"
Frohike sounded hopeful and Mulder wished he had
more to tell him.

"I've got something." Mulder revealed to his friend.
"But it's tenuous at best."

Krycek raised his eyebrows upon hearing this description,
but remained silent nevertheless.

"Well we'll be crossing our fingers for you." Frohike
promised.

"There's one other option." Mulder continued after a few
moments.

"Yeah, what?"

"I was thinking, that maybe I should give myself up." He
explained to Frohike. "I'm pretty sure I could convince them
that I was responsible for the murder and that Scully had
nothing to do with it."

Frohike swallowed deeply, not sure how to respond to
This suggestion. "Yes, you could do that." he answered
cautiously. "If you think you could stand to spend the rest
of your life in jail."

"If that's what it takes."

"Away from Scully, away from your child." Frohike
continued.

"If that's what I had to do to keep them safe then I'd
manage." He barked a self-derisive laugh. "It would be
the hardest thing I've ever done, but if it's the only way then
what choice do I have?"

"It's not what Scully wants." Frohike pointed out as a last
resort. "She said something to me this morning, about what
kind of a life it would be for your kid if home was a place
with bars on the windows and locks on the doors."

Mulder bit his lip hard - he could almost hear Scully saying
those words.

"Mulder, I think what you have to do is take the risk and
follow this lead." Frohike asserted. He waited in silence for
several minutes, the only sound Mulder's even breaths on the
other end of the phone.

"Okay, I will." Mulder finally answered. "If Scully was
here, I think she'd tell me that too."

"You're making the right decision, Mulder."

"I hope so." The silence stretched away again for another
few moments before Mulder continued. "Listen," he said into
the phone, "I don't know when I'll be able to contact you
again. But tell Scully that I swear I'll come through for her.
One way or another."

"Of course." Frohike agreed. "Shall I tell her that you
love her too?"

Mulder smiled. "She already knows."

----------------------

2 months later

From his seat in the body of the courtroom, Frohike
frowned as Scully was brought into the court, her hands
handcuffed behind her back. She looked pale and tired,
the dark circles under her eyes an indication of the many
sleepless nights she'd spent worrying about Mulder and
about what was going to happen to their child if she
was found guilty of murder today. She raised her head,
scanning the room before her, but Frohike knew he was
not the one she wanted to see there.

He'd spoken with her that morning, the ban against
having visitors repealed on the day of her trial.

"Have you heard anything from Mulder?" she'd asked
straight away, almost pitifully eager.

Frohike swore he'd heard her heart breaking when he'd
had to tell her that Mulder hadn't called since the day she'd
been recaptured.

"He's not dead." she'd told him insistently, although he
wasn't sure if she'd been trying to convince him or herself.
"He wouldn't leave me. He promised."

Frohike was brought abruptly back to the present as the
Judge came in and everyone rose to their feet. Scully scarcely
seemed to notice. Her eyes continued to scrutinize the
courtroom, faltering slightly when they focused on Frohike.
She afforded him a small smile, then her survey of the
spectators continued.

Come on Mulder, Frohike thought, you swore you'd
be here and I know you're not the type to break your word.
Specially not when it's a promise to the woman you love.

As the plaintiff began to make his opening statement,
Frohike forced his attention back to the trial being played
out in front of him, hoping against hope that Mulder was
coming, and that he'd get there before it was too late.

--------------------

"Can't you drive faster?" Mulder implored.

"No I cannot." Krycek answered firmly. "We're already
breaking the speed limit, and getting pulled over right now
would ruin everything we've accomplished in the last two
months."

"Grrumph." came from the back seat.

"What'd he say?" Krycek queried.

Mulder glanced into the back at their prisoner. "I couldn't
quite make it out, but I think it was something
uncomplimentary about your mother."

Krycek grinned. "Never would have guessed you had a
sense of humor, Mulder."

"Never would have guessed you had any morals." Mulder
countered.

"What, just because I didn't blow that murdering bastard's
head off where he stood?" Krycek inquired, gesturing at the
trussed and bound man in the back of the car. "Hey, I
figured I owed you."

Mulder grunted in disbelief.

"What?" Krycek looked over at him. "You don't believe
me? And here I was thinking we'd got our working
relationship back on track."

"Come on, don't go getting sentimental on me." Mulder
said sarcastically. "We both know damned well that we're
only helping each other out 'cause it's convenient, and that
we'll be on opposite sides again as soon as this is over."

"Sentimental, huh?" Krycek questioned, his attention still
focused on the road. "I'm not the one who's about to settle
down with the little woman and raise 2.3 kids in a house in
the suburbs."

"How'd you know about...?" Mulder demanded
suspiciously.

"What, you don't read the papers? Hottest story in ages."
Krycek explained. "Female Fed arrested for murder,
pregnant and not telling who Daddy is, deserted by her
partner."

"I didn't desert her." Mulder told him angrily.

"Hey, I don't write the newspaper articles, just read
'em." he protested.

"Yeah, whatever." Mulder said. "Just hurry up and
drive."

"Will you relax. We're nearly there, okay?"

Five minutes later they were pulling up outside the
Courthouse and Mulder was out of the car before it had
even stopped moving.

"Slow down, Mulder." Krycek cautioned. "I still have
to get the stuff out of the trunk, and you'll have to untie
some of the ropes that are round Prince Charming in the
back if you want him to be able to walk up the stairs."

Pulling off the aforesaid ropes with more haste than care,
Mulder dragged their prisoner out of the car, ignoring
his struggles and exhorting Krycek to hurry. Hauling the
man up the stairs, closely followed by Krycek, Mulder
pushed open the great double doors of the building and
made his way inside.

A gaggle of leftover reporters who hadn't been able to
find room in the Court itself immediately rushed over to
Mulder and his companions.

"Hey I know who that is!" one of them yelled. "That's
Fox Mulder. He's the other one who escaped from prison!"

"Fox, what are you doing here?" "Are you here to turn
yourself in?" "Are you the father of Dana Scully's child?"
they all yelled out.

"Quiet!" Mulder shouted authoritatively, waiting until
they'd all shut up before he continued. "I'm here to deliver
justice. This man," he said, gesturing to the prisoner he
had hold of, "is the real perpetrator of the crime we've
been accused of. Scully and I are innocent."

Camera flashes went off and a babble of questions
followed this speech, but Mulder ignored them, barging through
the crowd until he reached the door of the main Courtroom,
then throwing it open without ceremony.

People at the back of the court began to turn around to see
what the disturbance was and a buzzing whisper rose up as
they peered at the two dark-haired men who held another
bound and gagged between them.

Careless of the sensation he was creating, Mulder strode
down the aisle straight to the front, his eyes seeking out
Scully and feeling his heart leap when their gazes met and
he saw her whole face light up with joy.

"What is the meaning of this?" the judge asked sternly,
getting to his feet and peering over the bar at Mulder.

"That's Fox Mulder!" one of the guards called out.
"Arrest that man!"

"Your Honour, please let me speak." Mulder beseeched
fervently. "I have information that's of vital importance
to this case."

The judge pondered it for a moment, then agreed. "Alright,
let's hear what he has to say. Can't hurt."

Shooting Scully a brief look of reassurance, Mulder began
to explain. "This," he gestured to his prisoner, "is Thomas
Lee, and he's the one who killed Agent Jack Winton.
Neither Scully nor I had anything to do with it."

The prosecuting attorney leapt to his feet. "Your
Honour, this is highly improper. Agent Mulder is
accused of the crime too so this testimony is
inadmissible."

"Sit down, Mr. Fowler." the judge instructed him
firmly. "I will decide what is and what isn't permitted
in my courtroom."

"Well, take the gag off him." the judge continued.
"What do you say to these charges Mr. Lee?"

"I didn't do nothin'." Lee snarled hostilely.

"Is that right?" Krycek demanded, approaching the
bench.

"Who are you?" the judge asked, and Scully seemed
equally shocked by Krycek's sudden appearance.

"Someone who has proof of Lee's guilt, that's who."
Krycek pronounced. "Surveillance photos of Lee
committing the actual murder." He dumped them down
on the desk. "Contract signed by Lee detailing the job
and his payoff." It was placed on the table next to the
photos. "Lee's bank account details. And, the original
crime scene report before Mulder and Scully's
fingerprints were substituted for the ones that were
really found there. I suspect you'll find they're a match
for Thomas Lee."

"These are very serious accusations, do you have
anything to say in your defense Mr. Lee?" the judge
questioned him.

"Look, I needed the money, 'kay." Lee declared abruptly.
"An' I didn't know he was a cop 'til after."

"You admit to the crime then, Mr. Lee?"

"Yeah," he groaned, "might as well. He's gone and
proved it now, ain't he?"

The judge nodded to one of the police officers who came
forward to arrest Lee and started to read him his Miranda
rights.

"Your Honour, I strenuously object to this." The
prosecuting attorney tried again.

"Shut up, Mr. Fowler." Judge Ellis insisted. "We've
been here for hours already and the only thing you've
proven conclusively is that you enjoy listening to the sound
of your own voice."

Fowler sat down chastened as the judge continued his
spiel.

"I suggest, Mr. Fowler that you forget about this case and
start considering that of Mr. Lee. It shouldn't be too
difficult even for you," the judge told him sarcastically, "in
light of the fact that he just confessed and all the evidence
has been handed too you on a plate."

"Yes, Your Honour." Fowler responded meekly.

"And as for you two," the judge said sternly, regarding
Mulder and Scully in turn. He broke into a wide smile.
"Case dismissed."

The crowd cheered and Mulder let out a whoop of joy
as he bounded over to Scully, snatching keys off the nearest
officer and unlocking her handcuffs.

"We did it!" he yelled, pulling Scully into his arms and
embracing her fiercely.

"You're safe, you're alright." she murmured thankfully
into the warm skin at his neck. "I was so worried, Mulder."

"I know, I know," he said, drawing back slightly so he
could kiss her forcefully again and again. "And I had such
nightmares about you alone in a cold prison cell." he told
her, breaking off for a second to catch his breath.

"Don't think about it," Scully insisted, kissing him back
unrelentingly. "We're together again now."

"But it was so close." Mulder mumbled into her mouth.

"Yeah, and I could hardly believe it when Krycek started
helping us."

"Mmmm." he agreed, "speaking of which." Drawing back
but not releasing his hold on Scully, Mulder looked quickly
around the courtroom for Krycek. "Damn, he's gone."

"Well you weren't going to arrest him after that, were you?"
Scully queried.

"No, actually I wanted to thank him." Mulder explained,
"but it doesn't matter, I think he knows." He was about to
kiss her again, when Skinner came up behind them and
tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sir?" Mulder was very surprised to see him there, and
even more so when Skinner handed over their badges and
weapons.

"Good work, Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." Skinner told
them. "I expect to see both of you in my office first thing
Monday morning."

"Uh, actually Sir," Mulder interrupted, "I was hoping we
could have a couple of weeks vacation."

"Two weeks vacation? Where are we going?" Scully
asked her partner.

"I was just getting to that." Mulder answered. Clearing his
throat nervously, he dropped to his knees in front of her.
"Dana Scully, will you marry me?"

Her jaw dropped and she froze. Whatever she'd been
expecting, this wasn't it. Most of the court had fallen
silent too, watching this little melodrama as it played out
before them.

"Aren't you going to say something, Scully?" Mulder
asked apprehensively. "Make an honest man out of me and
all that?"

"Well when you put it like that. Yes." Scully said
unwaveringly.

"Yes?" Mulder queried.

Scully nodded, confirming it.

"Alright!" Mulder yelled, and the whole court rose to its
feet and cheered as they kissed again. Even the judge was
clapping his hands and smiling.

When some of the excitement had died down and Mulder
and Scully had drawn apart slightly, Skinner revised his
earlier statement. "In that case, Agents Mulder and, er,
Mulder, I'll see you in my office in two weeks." So much
for keeping this under wraps, he thought.

"Yes, Sir." Scully confirmed. "And while we're on the
subject of the Bureau, I've been meaning to tell you that I'll
have to fill out some forms for maternity leave sometimes
soon."

Skinner blinked in shock, opened and closed his mouth
without any sound coming out, then stared again at his two
best Agents who were sharing rather foolish looking grins
with each other.

"How ya feeling, Momma?" Mulder was asking Scully,
his hand resting possessively over her belly as he rubbed it
gently.

"Wonderful now that you're with me again." she admitted,
gazing at him, her eyes full of love. "What about you? Are
you ready to be a Daddy in a few more months?"

"Can't wait." Mulder told her ecstatically.

Before Skinner could respond to this latest development,
Frohike came racing up to them, closely followed by Langly
and Byers.

"Byers and Langly just got here, and they figured out how
the embezzlement evidence was forged!" Frohike exclaimed.

"Yeah, so we can prove Scully's innocent and then we can
all go and look for Mulder!" Langly declared, stopping short
suddenly when he saw Mulder and Scully in each other's arms,
smiling happily.

"Dammit!" Langly complained, "How come Mulder always
gets to be the hero and we're just the amusing sidekicks?"

"Search me." Frohike responded.

"I don't know." Byers said.

"Never mind guys," Mulder tried to cheer them up,
"Actually, there is something you can do for us."

"Yeah, what?" Langly asked eagerly.

"Tickets on a plane to Vegas tonight."

"Why do you want tickets to...." Byers started to ask, but
was cut off by Frohike's groan.

"Because they're getting married." he moaned.

"Come on, Frohike," Mulder said, amused by his friend's
antics, "she's carrying my child. You didn't really think you
still had a chance, did you?" Grinning at his bride-to-be, he
clasped her hand firmly in his and led her out of the court.

-------------

The three Gunmen sat down despondently in the front
row of chairs.

"This ending sux." Langly declared. "We didn't get to
save the day."

"None of us got the girl." Frohike continued.

"And we don't get to ride off into the sunset and live
happily ever after." Byers concluded.

They sat there looking dolefully at the ground until they
saw a shadow on the floor in front of them. Langly looked
up and his eyes widened in terror as he recognized the
warden who'd ogled him when they'd been breaking Scully
out of prison.

"Hey man, don't I know you from somewhere?" the
warden asked.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Langly's scream echoed throughout
the building as he ran out of the court as fast as his feet
could carry him.

"Was it something I said?" the warden queried.

"No, never mind." Frohike said, laughing so hard that
tears were streaming down his face.

The warden shook his head in confusion and walked
away.

"You know Byers," Frohike said, almost choking on his
laughter as he turned to his equally overcome friend, "I've
changed my mind. I think I like the way this ended after
all."

The End.

Comments, criticism, or just letting me know that you read
it are very, very welcome. Gemma at gkingsley@hotmail.com