Transplanted

Sun May 04 1997
Subject: Transplanted
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

This story was partially posted last year by Christian Webb
and never finished. Well, after bugging him to death to finish
it, I offered to do it for him. This story has been revised since
the unfinished parts were posted, so if you have read the other
parts, re-read this version.

Disclaimer: I am sick of writing these things, I mean we all know that
they don't belong to us, right? The great Chris Carter thought them
up, and 1013 and Fox owns them. I am not making
any cash off of this, so you lawyers can just go...oh, but I
digress...also, Dr. Brace and ideas from the movie 'Brainstorm'
belongs to MGM.

Rating: R for language.

Classification: very grey area here. Has a conspiracy X-File, has
action, has Scully Angst, has Pendrell and the Lone Gun Men, and
has *some* MSR thrown in at the end. Set after Herrenvolk but
before Leonard Betts. A mild spoiler.

Summary: Mulder is returned from a mysterious disappearance
with implants that have life-altering consequences.
Scully, Pendrell, and the Lone Gun Men race against
time and their enemies to save him, while Scully deals with her fears
and feelings about Mulder.

Authors: Parts 1-8 by Christian Webb (Christian.Webb@fina.com)
Parts 9-12 by Amy Clayborn (aclaybor@busprod.com)
Parts 1-8 revised by Amy Clayborn
with some revisions by Margo Foster

Transplanted 1/14

Washington Memorial Hospital

<<Oh, God, Mulder. Not again. Please be all right.>>
Dana Scully could not believe what she saw when she
opened the hospital room door. Mulder was laying there
on the bed with tubes sticking out of his body in the most
unnatural places, seemingly asleep, but she knew the truth.
Fox Mulder was in a deep coma and the doctors said there
wasn't much chance of him coming out of it. He had been
missing for two weeks before they found him, dumped naked
right in front of their favorite spot in front of the
reflecting pool. And as always in our nation's capitol, no
witnesses. Collapsing in the bedside chair, Scully finally
broke down.

<> She lowered her face into her
hands and cried, deep, racking sobs of loss and guilt.

It had been a month and a half after his re-appearance
while she was on "administrative leave" when she got the call
from Mrs. Mulder. She had haphazardly thrown on the nearest
clothing and dashed out of her apartment and drove like a
hellion to the hospital. Bursting into the hospital room,
she came face to face with *him*. The rat-bastard that was
probably behind it all, standing there breaking nine
different city codes and laws sucking on that cancer stick,
with that smug, all-knowing look plastered on his wrinkled
face. The man Mulder had dubbed CancerMan, exhaled smoke
coolly into Scully's face. Scully instinctively reached
for a pistol holster that wasn't there.

<<Damn me for rushing out with out accessorizing.>>
she thought sarcastically.

"Relax, Agent Scully. You two are in no danger...
this time." CancerMan said with a self-satisfied look.

Scully wanted to blow that smug look right off his face
with a 'cop killer'.

"It seems that your partner has started to come around.
I'll leave you to alone to get... re-acquainted."

With a sick smile on his face, he forcefully brushed
passed her and moved silently out of the room.

Mrs. Mulder sat cowering in the bed side chair, visibly shaken.
The last time she had a brush with CancerMan, she had ended
up in the hospital, too.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Mulder? Did he harm you? What did he
say?"

"Oh, Dana, he's such a monster! He said 'if it happened
again', Fox would not come out of the coma so easily."

<<If *what* happened again?>> Dana thought.

"Are you sure you're okay? I can call a nurse in if you
like."

Caroline Mulder waved off the offer with more visible
strength that Dana thought she had. Dana snatched
up Mulder's chart and began scanning it for pertinent
information. It said that he had exhibited erratic
breathing and accelerated heart rate and had mysteriously
just came out of the coma into semi-consciousness as if
someone had flipped a switch.

<<Could be exactly what happened.>> Dana thought, aware
that her paranoia sounded incredibly like Mulder's.

Physically he was sound, but he hadn't completely come
around yet, and had been mumbling incoherently for the
first hour. Mulder stirred and she rushed over to his
other side.

"Mulder? Can you hear me? It's Scully, Mulder. We always
seem to end up here, don't we?" she asked with a shaky
laugh. She was so relieved that he was awake, she
could have literally jumped for joy.

"Huh... wah ....." Mulder started to come around.
"Where am I? God, my head feels like it's going to
split wide open!" He made a feeble attempt to lift his
head trying to take in his surroundings through squinted
eyes. He looked up at Scully with a confused look.

"Who are you?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No, Dr. Scully, I'm not telling you Mr. Mulder has amnesia. He
is having a psychotic episode stemming from what seems to be
an attempt at brain washing. He thinks he is someone else."
Dr. Marcus Keller was trying to keep Scully from going
off the handle. She was visibly upset and did not want to
accept what he was telling her.

"He has given us a name, social security number, address,
relatives, job location and title...even a brief description
of the last year. He actually thinks he is...
oh, here it is,...... Thomas Vance. We had our contacts at the
police station do a check, and his story appears to be true
by all accounts. If it weren't for you and the FBI's records,
there would be no reason for us to *not* believe he
isn't who he says he is."

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Scully didn't
know what to say, she was stupefied. She wanted to collapse
again, and escape this nightmare.

The doctor slowly shook his head.

<<This isn't possible! How could they have done this to
him! Their secrets were safe. Even if she and Mulder
were able to find a scrap of truth, they could have it
covered up before it ever made it to the press.
She *knew* they were responsible somehow.>>

An idea came to her suddenly.

"Doctor Keller, You have to x-ray him for anything unusual.
Look for any foreign objects in his neck, skull or
spine. Trust me on this one, Dr. Keller, you don't want the
details and I couldn't tell you if you asked. It's classified
information. Just believe me when I tell you that you will
probably find at least one micro-chip embedded in his neck,
but look for others. Mulder's situation is similar to others
we have run across in our case work."

"I will do no such thing! I know what kind of "case work"
you do, Agent Scully. Mr. Mulder needs to be admitted to
the security wing of the Psych ward! He's acting erratically and
is increasingly violent. He needs mental help, not a physical.
And from his record with the Bureau, he has needed one
long before now."

"I don't think so, *Doctor*. I will discharge my partner
myself and take him somewhere else, somewhere where a fellow
doctor *will* take my advice and will listen to a federal
agent and a physician who has jurisdiction here. If you
try to stop me, I'll bring you up on charges of obstructing
justice, and hindering the actions of the F.B.I. on an
official case!"

With that, she stormed out of his office and headed to the
nurses' station.

<<I've got a friend from med school who is practicing in
Manassas, Virginia. I can admit him there into her care.
Pam will listen to me...help me.>>

Dana followed the ambulance closely all the way down Highway
66, not getting even one car behind them.

<<I know what this traffic is like, I can't afford to let
even half a car-length get between us. Hell, this traffic is
worse than the Beltway. The suburbanites are crazier than the
people who live in D.C..>>

They arrived at Prince William, the small hospital on the
border between Manassas and Manassas Park after the longest
two hours of Scully's life. The paramedics were moving
Mulder out of the ambulance and checking his restraints.
He was screaming for help and for someone named Lois. For
some reason, hearing him call for this woman hurt Scully
to the core.

"My mother-in-law used to work
here! Just call Lois Jenkins and she'll tell you who I am!"
Mulder was writhing around like he was dying on the gurney.

<<Mother-in-law??? I am not sure I can take seeing him
like this...Mulder, please come out of it. You *have* to.>>

Scully asked for Dr. Pamela Salinger at the front desk and
started filling out the paperwork for admittance. The nurse
could see she was extremely upset, and paged Pam 911.
Ten minutes later, Pam walked up to her.

"Pam! I am so glad you are here. You have to help me!"

"Dana, what is wrong with you? Why did you take your partner
out of the care of the head of ICU at a major hospital in
Washington, D.C. to bring him *here*?? What the hell is
going on here?"

"Pam, please, you have to understand! That man would not
even listen to me. He didn't seem to accept my authority,
or my expertise in this situation. He was biased against
Mulder from the beginning because of our line of work.
He even said that Mulder needed psychiatric help *before*
the coma, given his interests. I am a doctor too, Pam.
I have seem this type of psychosis before."

She was lying through her teeth. She had never seen this
before, and it scared the hell out of her.

"If you just x-ray him, you will find at least one foreign
object implanted in him. I really can't give you any details,
because it might put you in danger. This *is* an official case,
not just me being hysterical. Please, Pam!"

"All right, Dana. I believe you. It isn't like you to be
hysterical, anyway. Just relax and I'll check out
your partner. You're probably going to have to deal with
the police soon, that Dr. Keller threw a royal fit and made
fifty phone calls. One was to your boss. He is outside."

"AD Skinner would be an ally right now. Mulder is a federal
agent, and when it comes to Bureau matters, he likes to
take care of them internally. He would want me to do
whatever I can for Mulder. Honestly, the police have
no jurisdiction in this matter." Scully told her.

Skinner would fend off the police. She just needed Pam
to do as she asked. Mulder's life depended on it.

End of part 1/14

Amy Clayborn
aclaybor@busprod.com
cfoxrun@geocities.com
The Lovers of Mulder in Glasses Society
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/1577/LOMIG.html
"Just Say No to Contacts"
The Gossamer Specialty Archives
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/2440

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:43:07 1997
Subject: Transplanted 2/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt.2/14

Prince William Hospital

While Skinner was finishing off the Prince William police,
Scully watched as they wheeled the restrained man on
the gurney towards the elevator. Pam had promised to take
him straight to x-ray and do as Dana had instructed.

It was a good thing that at least one person in med school
hadn't thought of her as the "Ice Queen".
She'd told Dana later that she had recognized her as a
younger version of herself.

'You're just driven by different forces than the other
students here, much like I was. Still am in some ways. That's
all. So what if they can't deal with you not having time
for them and their little games? Some of us have better
things to do, right?' Pam was one of Dana's only social outlets
during med school. Probably her best friend there.
She decided to leave all the official stuff to Skinner
and other agents right now. Hell, she was still on
administrative leave anyway. Taking the elevator up to
x-ray, Dana leaned back against the back wall and
closed her tired eyes.

<<This is entirely too much stress for one person>>, she thought.
She'd had a throbbing headache since the first
whiff of smoke at Washington Memorial. She couldn't think
straight. The pain and fatigue was just too overpowering.

<<Maybe I'll try to relax while Mulder is in x-ray. Hahaha!
Very funny. Too tired to stay awake, to worried to rest.>>
And she was very worried, for reasons she was afraid to
admit to herself.

*DING!*

She had arrived. As the elevator doors opened and she
stepped out, she ran right into a big orderly...one of the ones
who was wheeling Mulder around the last time she saw him.

"Oh, excuse me Miss. I didn't mean to bowl you over like that.
You're the one who brought in Mr. Mulder, right?"

"Yes, I'm Agent Scully, Agent Mulder's partner. Is he in x-ray
now?"

"Yes, he's in with the doctor and the technician. Listen, I
don't mean to pry, but how does your partner know Mrs.
Jenkins?"

"What did you say?" Scully asked.

"I asked how he knew Mrs. Jenkins. I worked with her for a
lot of years and I know most of her friends and have met most
of her family at her daughter's wedding. Neither of you
look familiar."

"Does Mrs. Jenkins still work here, Mr. .........."

"Scanlon, Brian Scanlon. No, she doesn't work here any more. I
think she went to Fairfax Surgical Center. I do think she
still lives here in Manassas though."

"Thank you, Mr. Scanlon, I appreciate the information. Excuse
me."

Scully brushed passed him and moved into the hallway as
quickly as she could. She wanted to avoid any more of his
questions. She needed some answers.

Later, in the x-ray waiting area, Scully paced up and down the
hallway, wearing a fine trench in the old shag carpet.
Pam suddenly burst out of the x-ray lab, startling Scully.

Quickly moving over towards Dana, Pam tried not to look to
nervous, but she couldn't help glancing around, peering into
the shadows like a scared rabbit. Scully knew that look.
It was the look of someone who had seen something they
shouldn't have and didn't know how to handle it.

"Dana, you were right! He's full of little pieces if metal.
They're hidden all over his body! They're also hard to find.
I'm having the tech go back over him to make sure we found
all of them. The foreign objects are very thin and are hidden
quite well, behind organs, sitting at just the right
angle so you can't find them easily. I've already paged and
talked to the on-call surgeon. He's on his way, and I'll assist.
Who *did* this to him, Dana?"

"I don't know. Maybe our own government." Dana didn't mean to
sound so sarcastic, but the stress was starting to get to her.
She needed rest. She wouldn't be any good to Mulder if
she couldn't think straight. How many times had she said
those same words to Mulder? Will she ever be able to again?
What would she do without him?

Pam noticed that her friend was barely holding herself upright.
"Dana, they've already got your partner's room set up in ICU.
I was able to pull a few strings in admitting since you're FBI.
Why don't you go down there and get some rest.
You can't do anything until he is out of surgery anyway.
It's room #42."

Dana smiled at the coincidence, <<His lucky number>>
and nodded weakly as she turned to drag herself
back to the elevator.

End pt 2/14

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:46:01 1997
Subject: Transplanted 3/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt 3/14

Pam Salinger paced the scrub room while she waited for the
on-call surgeon.

<<Took you long enough>>, she thought when he arrived.
He asked her to brief him on the situation.

"Of course, Doctor. The patient has several foreign objects
believed to be some type of computer chip implanted in his
body. The majority of the objects are attached to the nervous
system. The initial diagnosis was severe amnesia due to a
botched job of brainwashing, but it is theorized
by a colleague and myself that it is these objects are the
cause of the memory loss. The origin of the objects is
unknown to us, but is possibly an experiment by parties
unknown. The case has been classified under FBI jurisdiction,
so further information has been denied to us."

<<Whew. I feel like a windbag!>> Pam thought after filling him in.

"Great. Just friggin' wonderful. This is just what I need on my
night off. Maybe we'll get lucky and not get blown to bits by a
new experimental suicide bomb. I want this operation recorded
on video *and* audio."

The nurse rushed out to have an orderly prepare the recording
devices. " All right Dr. Salinger, are you ready? This is
definitely going to be one to remember."

"Hey, I've been waiting for you, remember? Lets get going."

<<Jeez, this guy is pompous! I guess I'd be that way too if
I was a respected surgeon.>> she thought. <<Either that, or
he's just an asshole.>> She liked option number two the
best.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prince William Hospital

"Mulder, where are you going?" Dana felt so confused. "What's
going on here?"

"Scully, I've got to be going now. I have a whole different
life. A family, a wife and children, a home. I can't *play*
FBI anymore. To me, there is no Sam...no you.
Neither of you exist in my world. There is no room for you
in my life."

"Mulder, wait! That's not you! Your family is here, your
mother is recovering from her stroke! She needs you...*I* need
you. The people who love you are right here!"

Mulder turned and took the first step. It got cloudy...hard to
see.

"Goodbye, Dana. Fox Mulder doesn't exist anymore. There is no
Mulder anymore. He is dead."

There was a bright light shining through the fog and she couldn't
see Mulder anymore.

Dana woke up with tears streaming down her face, screaming.

"Wait! Mulder,..... Fox! I love you, please don't leave me here,
alone....... again."

<<A dream, only a dream. What a nightmare...>> She didn't want
to dwell too much on the content of her dream...its possible
meaning. <<Mulder! I have to see how Mulder is...>>

Crawling out of the hospital bed in wrinkled clothes, Dana
made her way to the bathroom. She froze in place after the
first step. There was Mulder in the bed next to her,
asleep, covered in bandages with all the obligatory tubes
stuck in everywhere. Rushing over to his side, Dana sat down
in the chair next to the bed.

"Mulder? Can you hear me?" She asked as brushed a lock of
hair back from his forehead.

"He's not going to be hearing you for a few hours, Ms. Scully."

Startled, Dana jumped up reaching for her pistol. It was just
the nurse, checking in on all the patients.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you, Ms. Scully. I heard you
screaming and came as quickly as I could." Then she
realized the woman was pointing a gun at her. The nurse
backed up a few steps. <<Well, that's the first
time anyone pulled a gun on me in *this* ward!>>

"Are you all right? If you would step out into the hallway,
I will update you on Mr. Mulder's condition. Dr. Salinger
left orders with me to brief you when you woke."

Stepping outside, Dana turned to steal one last look at her
partner.

<<God, he looks horrible. You *have* to be okay, Mulder.>>

"Ms. Scully, the doctors are very worried about Mr. Mulder.
According to Dr. Salinger, he sustained some severe
electrical shocks while in surgery. She could not say how
or why it happened. She thought the shocks may have came
from the objects they were removing. We won't know
until he comes around, but he may have suffered some brain
damage from them. At least he seems to be recovering well
under the circumstances, and he should be coming out of
the anesthesia soon. It's too soon to tell."

"Thank you for the briefing, Nurse, may I ask you a few
questions?"

"Of course, go right ahead."

"Do you know or had any contact with a Mrs. Lois Jenkins? I
understand she used to work here."

"I'm sorry Ms. Scully, I've only been working here at Prince
William for a couple of months. I don't know anyone by that
name."

"That's okay. Thank you." Scully replaced her pen and notepad
and turned to go back to Mulder's side. Reaching in her
coat pocket, Dana pulled out her cell phone and
Pam's number and dialed.

"........ Hullo?..." came a hesitant, sleepy voice.

Dana was sorry for having to call Pam in the middle of the
night, but she had to know exactly what happened, and
Pam couldn't have been asleep for too long.

"Pam, it's Dana. I just got a synopsis from the nurse, but
I need to know exactly what happened. Can you tell me
now?" She didn't want to sound too insistent, but her patience
was gone now...had been gone for a long time when it came to
Mulder.

"Dana, it's four in the morning. I gotta get some rest, I'll be
in at eight. Let me say Mulder is okay for now, and I'll give you
the whole story tomorrow. We taped the surgery, so you can
watch it in the morning."

"Wait! Don't hang up Pam. Just tell me who I have to talk to so
I can get the video and watch it now, I can't go back to sleep
and I might as well watch it now. That way I won't have as many
questions and we can get started as soon as you get here."

"Ok, go down and talk to the nurse or orderly who is on duty in
O.R. and they can set you up. I gotta go Dana, or else I won't
be able to go back to sleep either. Bye."

>Click< Pam was gone. Dana jumped up and rushed out,
determined to see this video.

End pt. 3/14

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:46:58 1997
Subject: Transplanted 4/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt 4/14

Prince William Hospital

Scully couldn't believe her eyes. They were pulling enough
micro chips out of Mulder to put a main-frame computer together.
He was full of them, from his head to his lower legs. No wonder
he was so covered in bandages. The electrical discharges
were the worst. Watching Mulder's body arch up off the table
five times was unbearable. She noticed she was crying by
the end of the tape. They said he'd suffered electrical burns,
but thankfully, none of them were serious.
The charges made it hard to remove certain chips because
of the cauterizing of the incisions. Scully thought this could
have been some fail-safe from removal, but the surgeon was
skilled at his job, and successfully removed even the most
dangerous ones. Thankfully, none of the shocks occurred
near any organs, but she was sure that was the plan, too.

The plan.

<<What in the hell was *the plan* ? Was this the last straw,
the one when the Consortium decided Mulder had to be
"taken care of"? What a way to do it. How many other poor
souls did they do this too? Or was Mulder the first,
the guinea pig? Probably.>> Scully thought.
<<*They* just loved experimenting on human subjects.
And with the power of the Consortium, they could get
away with it. They always do, according to Mulder.
Oh, Mulder. What are we going to do?>>

Scully stood and stopped the tape. <> Pocketing the tape,
Scully shut off the equipment and turned to leave.
She needed to get back to Mulder's room and check on him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Location unknown

The office was filled with the constant presence of
smoke.

<>

"So the procedure was successful?"

"Yes, so far as we know, completely
successful. He has no idea what has happened and believes
he is someone else, just like the others. The only problem
is that partner of his. She took him to the hospital and
had the implants removed. We don't know if the success rate
lessens if they are removed. We never took that into account.
The re-write program may not be installed deeply enough.
But one way or another, he won't be a problem any longer.
Even if the program wasn't completely finished,
the damage will still be substantial. He might even come
out of this a vegetable because of the shock virus.
I don't know if it caused any brain damage yet.
It's too soon to tell."

"Never count Agent Mulder out until you know all the facts.
We have to be sure he is incapacitated. The woman is of no
consequence. She will find only dead ends, and with the leak
being out of the loop now, she has no one to give her the
inside information she would need to find us out. Have Mulder
observed for a while longer, until you can give a complete
report. That will be all Dr. Myers. Good work."

End part 4/14

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:47:45 1997
Subject: Transplanted 5/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt 5/14

Prince William Hospital

Scully sat with her head hung low at Mulder's bedside.
Holding back the tears, she looks up at her partner.

"Mulder? Are you listening? I have to go now, I've got a case
to work on, you know. I can't just sit here all day
waiting for you to wake up." She tried to keep her voice
light, but the quiver in her voice betrayed her.

Scully got up and headed for the door, and the phone rang.

"Hello? Langley?
How did you find me? No, never mind, I do NOT want the
details. Mulder's doing okay for now. Listen, can you
check something out for me? I need you to find everything
you can about the implantation of artificial intelligence
into living beings. I'll give you the details on Mulder
when we meet, AFTER you get the information. No, don't
you dare put Frohike on, I don't have time for this shi...
oh, hi Frohike. Yeah, can you guys do this little favor
for me? Please? I knew you'd come through for me, bye.
Yeah, see you soon, goodBYE, Frohike.
I'm hanging up now Frohike. Goodbye!"

<<Geez. That guy just will not give up!>>

<<You don't think it is remotely possible you could be hot,
Scully?>>

<<Where did *his* voice come from??>> she thought. She
couldn't let this get to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

J. Edgar Hoover building

"Agent Pendrell? I've got a new puzzle for you. Can you
check this out?" Scully had met Pam on the way out of the
hospital and picked up the chip that she'd removed
before the surgery. <<It's a good thing this is classified.
She could lose her license for that favor.>> All the other
chips, in excess of thirty, had *mysteriously* disappeared.

"Sure, Agent Scully, watcha got?"

"It's similar to that other chip I had you examine
before, but this has to be a different type. I need
you to do a full diagnostic on this thing. We have no
idea what it is for. It could be dangerous."

"Sure, I can check it out right now, you can stay and
help if you want."

"No, I can't. Call me when you have anything.
I have a meeting to go to right now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Office of the Lone Gunmen

"The experimentation of implanting artificial
intelligence in animals has been around since the
invention of the computer, Scully. Although there
have been no DOCUMENTED success cases, our sources
have verified that there are chimpanzee's studying
physics at MIT as we speak."

<<Byers always LOOKED like the normal one.>> Scully
thought to herself. <<He's so paranoid, now he believes
MIT is putting mainframes into monkeys.>>

Langley looked up from his PC, pushed up those ridiculous
horn rimmed glasses and chimed in with, "It is completely
possible that this science has been perfected, in
other technology advanced countries. Probably Japan, maybe
Germany. Is this what you are working on? Artificial
intelligence?"

"This was removed from Mulder. It was embedded under
his skin."

Byers and Frohike exchange one of those patented looks
and turn their attention back to Scully.

"It seems like they are feeding information into his
brain and re-programming him. The last time I talked to
Mulder, he didn't know who I was or who he was. He kept
screaming his name was Thomas Vance..........."

A light went on in Scully's head.

"That's IT! Check out Vance, maybe we can find a link!
I'll call the Bureau, and have them do a trace too."

"Hold on Dana. We really have to do some checking
on this chip, too. Look here....", Frohike took the chip
over to the work table and held it under the huge
magnifying glass.

"This thing has the manufacturers name on it. This is
a better place to start. Maybe this way, we can find
out about the research that went into developing this chip."

Sitting down heavily, Scully slumped down in the old chair
holding her head in her hands. "You're right, Frohike,
how about you guys check out the manufacturer
and I'll take Vance alone. That way we kill two birds
with one stone."

Frohike tried valiantly to break her bad mood, "I don't know
about *killing* two birds, but at least this way we've got
steady aim." He failed miserably.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

J.Edgar Hoover Bldg.

"This is turning out to be a dead end, Scully. This guy
Vance has got a file two feet thick, but it doesn't look
like he's ever had any dealings or contacts with
'Arkady Corp.' at all. His only Gov. contact has been
a enlistment in the US ARMY, but other than that, that
idea is a dead end too." Pendrell's eyes were bleary
from reading the computer screen so intensely.

"I know, I have the Department of Defense records
here. No record of any special projects, no
connection with the Pentagon, no overly long stays
in the hospital, nothing. Looks like the guy is clean.
Damn! Wasted time!" Scully was visibly frustrated as
she absently thanked Agent Pendrell and rushed out of
the computer lab. Dialing up the Gunmen's main number,
she got their voice mail. "Guys, it's Scully. I'm on
my way over, hope you got more than I did, Vance
was a dead end."

End pt. 5/14

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:48:35 1997
Subject: Transplanted 6/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt. 6/14

One day later, Prince William Hospital

Dr. Pam Salinger gazed at the handsome man who lay in
the hospital bed before her, wondering just what he had
done that could have made someone do this to him.

<<What does he know?>> she thought. <<This poor man has
been through hell, and it isn't going to get any
better. We still don't know if he is ever going to
wake, and if he does, what kind of condition will he be
in. Even after the removal of the foreign objects, who
is to say he will wake up in any better condition than
before the surgery?>> She jumped at the creaking door
that opened behind her.

"Excuse me, are you Dr. Salinger?" the man at the door
asked. Pam slowly turned, clutching her heavily
thumping chest. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to
startle you," he said.

"It's okay," Pam answered. "Yes, I'm Dr. Pamela
Salinger. Can I help you, Mr. ........."

"Donaldson, Jeffrey Donaldson. I'm an old friend and
co-worker of Mr. Mulder. I was wondering if I could
see him and get an update on his condition. I
heard through the grapevine at work that he was here,
and I got worried. They said he was in pretty bad
shape."

"Mr. Donaldson, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to
leave. Mr. Mulder is in no shape for visitors, and we
have a closed visiting list for him. Only a few close
friends and family will be allowed in his room. If you
wish to be put on this list, you may contact his
partner or his boss. Otherwise, you won't be able to
visit him."

"All right, Dr. Salinger, but can I at least get an
update on his condition from you, out here in the
hall?"

<<Meddlesome bitch!>> the man raged inside himself.
<> He managed to keep his
anger from surfacing.

"Sure, Mr. Donaldson. Follow me. I can give you a
brief update, but I'm afraid I can't tell you much.
So, if you don't mind?" she said, gesturing toward
the door.

"After you, doctor." Donaldson moved aside to let Pam
precede him. As she moved past, he quickly grabbed her
from behind, covering her mouth with a cloth he
produced from his coat pocket. <<Boy, these henchmen
come prepared, huh?>> were Pam's last thoughts as she
slumped into his arms.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hoover Bldg. parking garage

"I know, Frohike. What did you get on Arkady?" Scully
asked slowly into her cellular, barely controlling her anger.
"What do you mean, 'NOTHING'? Do you mean to tell
me the vaunted Lone Gunmen can't dig up just a *little*
dirt on a multi-million-dollar, world-wide company?"
Scully clenched her teeth in frustration, closing her eyes
as she took a deep breath to soothe her frayed nerves.

"Well, how about Roger Arkady, the CEO?" she suggested
impatiently.

<<Geez, I never thought I'd have to give THESE guys
ideas!>> Scully thought as she pushed the END button on
her phone. <<It's a good thing he called me right back
on my cell; I would've been ready to put all three of
them in leg irons if Frohike had waited until I showed
up to tell me this useless garbage.>>

Scully jumped into her car, ready to drive like a bat
out of hell. She had backed out of the space and began
to steer the car forward when a shadowy figure stepped
in front of her. She stomped on the brakes, leaving
the car running, and quickly stepped out of the car.
Before she could say anything, the person spoke.

"Fancy meeting you here, Agent Scully."

Scully was thrown totally off guard. She never expected
to hear that voice again; not after seeing the blood at
Mulder's apartment.

<<This man is supposed to be dead!>> Scully thought.

"You're wasting your time with Arkady, Agent Scully,"
the man, known by Scully only as X, said in his deep
and distinctive voice. "YOU won't be able to find a
thing on him or his company. Neither will those pitiful
little men who fancy themselves conspiracy experts."
Scully simply stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Why, Agent Scully, you look surprised," X continued.
"You don't *actually* believe we don't know about your
little friends, do you?"

"What do you want?" Scully responded angrily. "If you
have something for me, give it up; otherwise, get out
of my way," she said, beginning to get back into her car.

<<I've gotta play my cards right if I want anything out of
this tight-ass!>> she advised herself.

"Agent Scully, don't play games with me," X warned
ominously. "I *need* Agent Mulder; he's a very
important part of my plan, and you are *no*
substitute."

X handed Scully a large manila envelope and drew away
quickly. He winced as he began to walk away from her
with an irregular gait, as if nursing a healing wound.

"Wait!" Scully called after him. "How did you get
away? There was so much blood..."

"That's not important, Agent Scully," X said, turning
again to face her. "The important part here is that you
get to work on that information, and that you stop
asking stupid questions and wasting precious time.
Thomas Vance needs his life back, too."

X disappeared into the shadows of the parking garage,
leaving Scully in wonderment and confusion, staring at
the documents that even Mulder wouldn't believe.

End part 6/14

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:49:29 1997
Subject: Transplanted 7/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt. 7/14

F.B.I. Headquarters, Technical Forensics lab

Scully desperately read over the document labeled
"Top Secret, level 7", still trying to absorb all the
information it held.

<<This is unbelievable! The entire project is outlined here!
This is too much information to absorb at once.>>

"What have you got, Pendrell?", Scully said, hoping he was
able to understand some of these documents better than
she with his technical prowess.

"Well, it looks like this project,....", Pendrell paused, looking
back to the first page of the document folder he was holding,
".. Brainstorm, was a research project created by a Dr. Michael
Brace, originating with Xavier-Xain labs, which
were taken over by the government, and contracted out
to Arkady. It's based on the idea of computer generated
information inserted directly into the brain by way of a
connection through the central nervous system. It looks like
they had it refined enough for it to work from just about
anywhere in the body, thereby bypassing the need for a direct
artificial connection to the brain. I guess that would keep more
test subjects alive, saving their brain from being fried with a
variant electrical impulse signal. Let me know if I'm talking over
your head at any point, Agent Scully. The micro processors
were designed to save any form of information and transmit it in
the form of nerve stimulus to the brain. But it could transpose a
3-D computer graphic in a way that made it seem like real life to
the test subject, so the chip could actually be transmitting the
events of a high level video game for example, and the
transceiver would somehow alter the imaging to create a more
realistic image to the brain. It would be like taking a typed letter
from your pen-pal, whom you've never seen, and processing it in
a way that in your head, you actually see an image of a person
speaking the typed words, almost like eliminating the readers
imagination. The education possibilities with a technology like this
is unlimited! But it looks like it was only used for military training."

"So what your saying is, Thomas Vance and his whole life could
be a computer-generated fabrication?"

"Yes, Scully, but it could also be just as real. Remember, these
microprocessors can also record real thoughts and memories,
so it is just as likely that Vance was implanted like Mulder, but
recorded instead of being downloaded into. And it could have
been done without his knowledge, as much as this guy was in
the hospital. It said in his medical records that he'd been in for
an appendectomy. There could have been an implant at that
time, and many others."

"Ok, what about Brace? Could he reverse the process?"

"I don't think so, he's dead. In the documents, it's stated that he
was 'taken out of the picture', due to extreme disapproval of the
warping of his research. He was in the process of getting
together a lobbying/protest group to take on congress.
The guy who continued to refine and perfect the project
was,..... here it is, Dr. Ben Myers. He's the one who
started to warp the project into military research. And he's
probably a 'company man', so he wouldn't be so inclined to do a
reversal, *if* one is possible."

"Let's see if we can dig up anything on him, we might be forced
into blackmailing him to do it. Also, I'll have the Gunmen check
Brace, he might not be dead, just underground. Are you
ready for some field duty, Pendrell?"

Pendrell didn't know what to say, he'd never done any real field
investigation work before. "A-a-a-anytime, Agent Scully. It'll have
to be officially approved though, I can't just leave the lab."

<<What am I saying? I'm a tech, I don't belong in the field!>>

"Don't worry, AD Skinner will give us an immediate verbal
approval, I'm sure. He's backing me up on this investigation
completely." She was lying thru her teeth, knowing that Skinner
had told her earlier today that she could not actively be a part
of the investigation.

<<Skinner's going to 'skin' me for this one.>>, Scully thought
devilishly. "Keep going over these document files and don't let
anyone see them. We...we didn't come by them playing by
the rules. Be ready to leave when I come back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Office of the Lone Gunmen

"Ok, here it is,.... Dr. Michael Brace, deceased. Born Oct 8th,
1947, died Dec 13th, 1988. Ph.D. in physics, medicine, chemistry,
engineering, and psychology, masters in communication
technology, graduate of MIT, valedictorian, class of '70.
One of the twenty youngest MIT graduates ever.
Ground breaking research & development in robotics,
artificial intelligence, and your project "Brainstorm".
Survived by his wife and son. Present address, Fresno,
California. Our sources show Brace was not only a brilliant
scientist, but an all around genius. Existing information of
his past studies and work indicate a photographic memory.
But he had abilities he never used in his research for
Xavier-Xian labs. He designed aerodynamic flying 'crafts'
and other types of transportation, his favorite being his personal
mode of transportation, the "Bricicle" that could achieve speeds
up to forty miles per hour with maximum exertion. Not a spot
on his record. The guy was a boy scout, Scully. Not one iota of
negative feedback on this dude." Frohike sat up from his
slouched position in the reclining office chair and ran his fingers
through his long, oily hair. Rubbing the spot between his eyes
where his glasses rested, he continued.

"Where are we going with this, Scully? Are you actually
going to waste time trying to dig up a dead guy?"

"I think this Dr. Brace may not be as dead as everyone seems
to believe. You said yourself, the guy was a genius. He could
have faked his own death to avoid further prosecution by the
government. They were *going* to kill him anyway. He was
a thorn in their side. He might have been able to prevent the
further warping of his research if he'd bent the ear of the right
people. Since we're all working on this at the same time it won't
hurt to cover *all* the bases here, this is Mulder's life
we're dealing with, not some anonymous case handed
down from on high!"

<> She just wished
that Mulder would be around to come up with more. She
was starting to get really scared that he might not.

End part 7/14

From aclaybor@busprod.com Sun May 04 22:50:45 1997
Subject: Transplanted 8/14
From: aclaybor@busprod.com (Amy Clayborn)
--------

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted, part 8/14

Office of the Lone Gun Men

"All right Langley, get on the 'net and start in on a cross
reference for Dr. Wayne Harper. See what our sources can dig
up on the guy, we need blackmail material, and fast." Frohike
was taking charge on this one.

<<There's too much at stake this time, everything has to
be perfect if we want to save Mulder.>>

"Byers, get that chip to Ragman, see if he can figure it out.
If we can't get anything on Myers and Scully doesn't find
anything in Fresno, we might have to have Mulder worked on by
the Underground."

<<God, I hope not>>, Byers thought. <<Those guys are a
bunch of MIT rejected butchers!>>

"Are you sure about that one? The Underground is extremely risky,
they don't always know what they're doing."

"Yeah, I know. But, they're the only group of artificial
intelligence researchers we can trust.
The only ones we KNOW aren't involved in any government
funded work. They may turn out to be our only hope!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dulles Airport

"NorthWest Airlines now boarding for,......"

<<The sounds of the airport always helped to calm me down.>>
Scully thought.

"Almost as well as the sea," she accidentally spoke out loud.
She glanced to her left to see if Pendrell had been paying
attention, but he was absorbed in the latest copy of
Scientific American.

"Scully, what time did you say our plane took off?"
Agent Pendrell was feeling very nervous about his first
field assignment.

<<What am I so worried about? It's not
like we're going on a raid, just a little
investigative man hunting.>>

Pendrell was pulled away from his thoughts by the
announcement that their flight was now boarding. "C'mon
Scully, that's us." He waited for Scully before entering
the boarding line. He absently thought of how he used to watch
Scully be led away on another case time and time again
by Agent Mulder, and he wondered if he'd ever see that sight again
as he instinctively placed his hand on the small of her back
to guide her into the plane.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prince William Hospital

Dr. Ben Myers absently checked Pam's monitors, wishing she'd
never got in the way of his benefactor's man.

<<She'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time>>,
he thought to himself, trying not to feel guilty about the
situation he'd put a colleague in.

<<But, I can't be bothered with guilt. Too much of my research
money is riding on this little experiment to let my conscience
get in the way now.>> He cared nothing for the FBI agent
who'd been his first subject, but this woman was another doctor,
a colleague, a peer. He thought he'd be un-effected by the
repercussions of his work on others, but now he was beginning
to wonder.

<<If I get this memory transplant project perfected, what's going
to stop them from doing it to me?>> It was at this point, he
decided he didn't care. The project was all that mattered.
His research would forward the mental health profession decades,
no time to dwell on the *test subjects* quality of life.
Agent Mulder and Dr. Salinger had become laboratory animals,
he could no longer think of them as human beings.

<<So, what should we program Dr. Salinger with, eh? How about
the,... nah, not that one,...... no, not that one either,....>>,
Myers thought to himself with maniacal glee.
<<Well, she is a fellow doctor, and a good one. So maybe I'll
just re-arrange a few things in there. That can be almost as fun.>>
Dr. Myers didn't notice that Fox Mulder was awake, silently
screaming, eyes as wide as saucers as he watched the other man
bend over his former colleague. No, Dr. Myers was in his own
little happy world; a world of someone else's memories.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jerry's Pizza and Sub Shop,
Manassas, Va.

Jeffrey Donaldson sat smiling as he went over in his mind
his last successful mission at the hospital.

<<Well, *almost* completely successful, if it hadn't been
for that doctor who got in the way. Too
bad; she was quite attractive.>>

As he continued to silently stuff his face, his new partner
gave him the once-over.

<>,
thought Dameron Moch, Donaldson's new partner.
<>

"Well, Donny, how'd it go? And please, finish that bite before
opening your mouth, I'd hate to
ruin these nice peoples' dinner by shooting you." Moch replied.

Swallowing hard and chasing the under-chewed food down
with a long drag off his draft Miller Light, Donaldson ended
the scene choking and coughing before being able to answer.

"Well, it *almost* went off without a hitch, but some doctor
got in the way and,...."

"And WHAT? You didn't do something stupid, did you?"
She couldn't believe this. Donaldson was supposed to
be the best,... now. Ever since Krychek disappeared, at least.
"Tell me you didn't make a mess out of this."

"No, no, everything was taken care of. I just took her
out with my magic chlorophyll cloth, and our contact at
the hospital took care of everything after that. The merchandise
was delivered safely to him. Geez, that
guy is one sick bastard. As I was leaving, he was pacing the
room, wondering what to download into her noodle.
You should have heard some of the choices."

"Well, look, we need to get the hell outta this town,
we have a new assignment from the big guy. You want to hear
now, or on the way?"

Donaldson gulped the last of his beer, "On the way.
Never in public. You're so *green*, Moch. Lets get going."

<<My memory is long, you jerk. You just wait, and we'll see
just how green I am.>>, She thought as they got up to leave.

End part 8/14

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted, part 9/14

Fresno Air Terminal, Fresno California

"Pendrell, will you please stop handling me with the kid
gloves? I am *not* falling apart here. Can you just look
at this like any other case?" <<Keep your hands
off of me!!>> Special Agent Dana Scully was
a little more than irritated with her new
temporary partner.

<>

"Look, agent Scully, I meant nothing by it. It came almost
natural, after seeing Mulder do it all these years. I guess
I assumed too much, I thought you were in need of something
familiar, and in my position, it just felt natural. I hope I
haven't offended you."

"It's ok Pendrell, just lay off. I don't need your sympathy,
or any moral support. I'm going to solve this case, and save
Mulder's butt again, I will not let this one go. Come on, we
need to get a car, we don't have any time to spare."

"I know, that's why I called ahead and reserved us a car.
They should have one waiting for us."

"Let me guess, a blue Ford Taurus?" she joked.

"Yeah, it's all they had. How'd you know?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Office of the Lone Gun Men

"So, what did the collective Doctors Frankenstein say
about our little beauty?", Langley said, trying not to
look as startled as he felt when he saw the disheveled Byers
storm into the office.

"I certainly hope you've found something on Myers, since
you're sitting there on the...... Oh ho! WWW.Playboy.com,..
hmmm, Langley?"

"Yes, I did manage to dig up a bit of info, but I asked
you first. What did the *Underground* have to tell us about
the incredible edible microchip?"

"They descended on me like a bunch of buzzards! But, after
several tests, they were able to come up with nothing. I left
it with them for further study, maybe they'll come up with
something. So, how was the surf?"

"Well, I was able to find some rather extensive background
information, but nothing worth mentioning, until I came across
*this*. It's a rap sheet that one of my e-mail pals who's a
clerk in the State Department that was able to access his file.
Harper has been investigated three separate times on human and
animal rights crimes, but was cleared of all charges each time.
I'm not sure we'll be able to hold anything over this guy's head."

"It's still worth something to know your adversary. We'll probably
have to bluff something. It's time to get dirty boys." Frohike
said with a devilish grin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Somewhere in Clovis California

"What's the name of the street I'm supposed to be looking
for?" Pendrell was making a sad attempt at reading a road map
and watch the road signs at the same time.

"Cromwell Avenue. Are you *sure* it's out this way? I thought
they were supposed to be in Fresno? We're out in the sticks!"

<<His sense of direction is about as good as Mulder's!>>

"Well, I'm only going by the guys directions from back at
the gas station. I can't find it on the map anywhere.
<pause> Wait! Here it is. It's almost right where he said
it was. Three more blocks, we should see....."

<screech of wheels> "From now on, *you* drive, *I* navigate.
There it is, get ready. I'll do the talking, ok?"

"You're the senior agent, Scully. Your wish is my command."

<<Then I command you make Mulder Mulder again>> she thought
desperately.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Prince William Hospital

Pam opened her eyes and looked groggily around her.

"Wh...where am I?" she stuttered.

"You are in the hospital, Dr. Salinger. You were ill,
but you are going to be fine now." Myers informed her.

"Thanks, Dr. Myers. With *you* as my doctor, I can't
imagine being anything else." Pam smiled up at him.

<<ONE part worked...>> Myers laughed to himself.

"You collapsed while you working on Agent Mulder..." Myers
prodded.

"Agent who?" Pam asked with a confused look on her face.

<<Perfect!!>>"That's not important now. I took care of
everything for you. Now you lie down and rest."

"I'm glad. Have I ever told you how much I admire you?
You are SUCH a brilliant doctor..."

<<THIS is going to fun...>> Myers thought to himself.
<<Now if I could only get my hands on Cindy Crawford...>>

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Brace house

Scully and Pendrell pulled up to the house and
walked up to the front door.

"Let me do the talking, Pendrell. I have more
experience at these things. Just follow my lead,
okay?" Scully told him.

"No problem, Agent Scully."

"Scully rang the doorbell, pulling out her badge
in preparation for whomever opened the door. They heard the sound
of several locks being opened, and then the door
opened slowly after several moments. A woman peeked
out of the crack of the door with the chain still attached.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"Mrs. Brace? I'm Special Agent Dana Scully, and this Special
Agent Brian Pendrell. We're
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Can we speak to you about you husband?"

"My husband is dead. Other than that, I have nothing
to say."

Scully managed to stick her foot in the door before
Mrs. Brace slammed it shut. She winced from the pain,
but nothing was going to stop her from talking to
this woman. Pendrell looked shocked at Scully's boldness.

"Please, Mrs. Brace. I need to ask you about your husband's
research. A man's life depends on it. This is as much
personal as it is professional. You may be his last
hope."

Pendrell gave Scully a sidelong glance at her impassioned plea.
He wondered if she would be so desperate if *he* were the one
in Mulder's situation. Somehow, he didn't think so. She would
care, but Mulder was...special somehow.

The woman looked off to the side behind her, reluctantly
nodding. She then opened the door to them. Pendrell
noticed Mrs. Brace looking around nervously outside
before she closed the door and proceeded to put ten
dead bolts in place.

<<We aren't paranoid, are we?!?>> Pendrell thought
to himself, noticing Scully's raised eyebrow as well.

The woman led them into the living room and invited
them to have a seat.

"I am sorry for my behavior, but we can't be too careful."
she apologized.

Scully opened her mouth to speak, but paused when
she noticed a pair of eyes peering at them through
a slit in a door off to one side of the room.

"Um, that is alright, Mrs. Brace. Did you say 'we'?"
Scully asked. "Is your son here?"

The door Scully saw was thrown open, and an man
came through it. Scully observed that the man's hair was
short and unruly, and he desperately needed a comb
and a shave. He was wearing dark clothes and a lab coat.
The words 'mad scientist' came to her mind. His eyes were
so intense and bloodshot, she was uncomfortable to have
them focused on her. It was like he could see into
her soul.

"The 'we', my dear, is *me*, and I don't see what
I have to do with your *friend*". The way he said 'friend'
made Scully feel like he knew something she didn't.

<<This nut is very perceptive.>> Pendrell thought.

Scully answered him. "My *friend* has had his entire
identity masked with a new one, using techniques *you*
developed. Certain people in powerful positions
consider him to be a threat to their operations,
so they found a way to stop him without making
him a martyr to the cause of exposing the truth about them."

"These 'powerful people' are the reason I am a virtual
prisoner in my own home. I faked my own death to escape
their clutches, and I am not about to let them know I
am still alive. They took my humanitarian research and
warped it into some evil cousin I no longer recognized.
I refuse to involve myself in this...this...atrocity again.
I never considered using this technology for brain-washing;
not even for a moment. They are everywhere, Agent Scully...
Waiting to pounce on anyone or...or anything they can
use against their enemies. Big Brother is here,
and they see all, but NOT in this house. I have made
sure of it."

He spoke in a condescending tone to them, which irritated
Scully to no end.

"What I am not sure of is that you are who you say you are.
You don't seem to have their usual 'tact', so I can
deduce that you aren't one of 'them'." he continued.

At the word "them" he reeled around to look right through her
again, making her squirm. She could see the genius in his
eyes, laced with a hint of insanity, even though his expression
itself revealed nothing.

During his entire diatribe, Dr. Brace walked slowly
back and forth in front of the couch, holding his hands
in front of him, fingertips touching.
Pendrell felt like he was at a tennis match.

He continued his ranting soliloquy. "I cannot be
sure whether you are trying to trick me into showing
you the reversal process to sell to the highest bidder.

<<There he goes again...his eyes are so...so
eerie.>> Scully thought.

"You see, *that* is the one thing I took with me
when I made my "exit", so to speak, and I will
never let them get it. Maybe they won't
be so quick to unleash something they don't know
how to fix."

"That has never stopped these people before, Dr. Brace.
They HAVE used it and they don't *care* if they
can fix it. They don't *want* to fix it!" Scully
tried to convince him.

"I don't need to know *how* you reverse it, if that's what
it takes, I just want you to go and do it.
Please, Dr. Brace,
you are our last hope to help him."

"I'm sorry for your friend, but I vowed never to
touch that...that *filth* again."
Dr. Brace turned to leave the room.

That is when Scully lost control.
"You call yourself a scientist?? You create technology
in the name of humanitarianism. But what *possible*
good could research like this come to in the hands
of the government? You've seen how they took other
'humanitarian' discoveries and twisted them to serve
their purposes. Just ask Oppenheimer. And yet now you
refuse to help someone who has been victimized by
what *you* have created! You are just as much at
fault as they, Dr. Brace, only you are worse. You
stand on your moral ground, and yet you would condemn
a man to live a life that is not his own, and those
who know him to lives of mourning for the man they
knew because he is dead. And *you* killed him."

With that, Scully stormed out the front after struggling
with all ten dead bolts.

<<Kind of ruined your dramatic exit, huh???>> Pendrell thought.
He was surprised at Scully's actions, and he thought
it time to step in.

"I apologize for Agent Scully's behavior, sir, but
this is a very personal matter to her. It is her
partner that has been implanted, and she's not
thinking rationally right now. She cares about him
a great deal."

"I can see that, and I am sorry for her, but I
won't compromise my principles for anyone."

end part 9/14
Amy Clayborn
aclaybor@busprod.com
cfoxrun@geocities.com
The Lovers of Mulder in Glasses Society
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/1577/LOMIG.html
"Just Say No to Contacts"
The Gossamer Specialty Archives
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/2440

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted part 10/14

Outside the Brace home

Outside, Scully stood beside the car fuming. She was actually
closer to tears than she cared to admit. She heard a car pull up
behind her, and she turned around just in time to avoid the first
gunshot that ripped through the back window of the car and
came through the side. Ducking down, she pulled out her gun
and returned fire.

"Damn!" Moch said as she ducked, "that bitch almost hit me!"

"Well be careful! We're supposed to be doing them, not the
other way around!" Donaldson yelled.

Scully managed to climb into the passenger door. She hoped
that if she drove off, they would follow her instead of going after
Pendrell and Dr. Brace. She started the car and peeled out.

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

Inside, Pendrell heard the gunshots. He ran to the window,
unsure of what to do. He had just drawn his gun and decided
to go out and help her when she drove off. He was stunned for a
moment as he watched Scully drive away, pursued by the car
that was shooting at her.

"She left me!" He exclaimed. "I can't believe she ditched me
like that! Those assholes shot at her, and she took off! I
*cannot* believe it!"

Pendrell heard Dr. Brace emerge from his hiding place. to which
he dove when they heard the first gunshot.
Pendrell whirled around with his gun still drawn,
causing Brace to duck again.

"Look, you lunatic, we are risking our lives trying to save our
friend, and this is the treatment we get ? I refuse to let him
'be' Thomas Vance for the rest of his life! He is *my* friend too,
and one of the best agents in the FBI. You *will* help us! I
will *not* let Agent Mulder down!"

Brace came up at Pendrell's last statement.

"Did you say Mulder? *Fox* Mulder?"

"Yes." Pendrell replied in a huff.

"Well, Good God, boy, why didn't you say so before?"

"What the hell difference would *that* have made to your
'principles'?" Pendrell was highly annoyed at this point.

"Let's just say I know of Fox Mulder, and he is *no* friend to
the men I am hiding from. Let me gather up a few things..."

Pendrell was a bit shocked by the sudden turnaround,
wondering if the gun he had just held on him had urged him to
action, or if whether he really admired Mulder that much. Either
way, he was going to help him. Brace came running through
the door he had left through with a small silver briefcase that
was handcuffed to his wrist.

<<He looks like a secret agent out of a bad spy movie.>>
Pendrell mused.

"Okay, let's go." Brace replied as he headed out the door.
Pendrell hopped in the driver's seat, grabbed the keys, and
raced off in the direction Scully had gone before.

End part 10/14
Amy Clayborn
aclaybor@busprod.com
cfoxrun@geocities.com
The Lovers of Mulder in Glasses Society
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/1577/LOMIG.html
"Just Say No to Contacts"
The Gossamer Specialty Archives
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/2440

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted pt 11/14

The Office of the Lone Gun Men

"Byers, don't forget the infrared goggles."
Langley reminded him.

"It's broad daylight, Langley! What possible
good could infrared goggles be?" Byers asked
incredulously.

"One can *never* be too careful." Frohike interjected.
"Since they have moved him out of his hospital
room, this is going to harder than we thought.
Myers' lab will have tougher security."

"There is no security system *I* can't handle."
Langley declared.

A man stood there listening to their exchange, while he set up
various pieces of equipment.

"Ooooohhh, you Underground boys have some pretty
gadgets...all nice and shiny!" Frohike said
with admiration.

"We try." The man replied dryly.

"Just be ready in 2 hours to work on Mulder.
If we aren't back by then, we probably won't be back."

They had done some more checking on Myers, finding out
that he had a lab in the hospital Mulder was in. After hearing
that Mulder had disappeared from his hospital room,
they found out that a man with Mulder's description
had been taken there earlier that day. The Underground
thought they had found a way to help him, so they
decided to spring Mulder from the mad doctor's clutches
before it was too late.

The man looked them over as they prepared to
leave, all dressed in various outfits of black.
Langley, in a black flannel shirt, t-shirt, and
jeans; Frohike in a black turtleneck and jeans; and
Byers, a black suit, shirt *and* tie.

He chuckled to himself,
wondering who the hell they were trying to fool,
since it *was* broad daylight.

The Gunmen left the office one at a time, with Byers
as the lookout. Langley was the first to go, ducking,
running, and stopping momentarily just to see
if anyone was looking. He was followed by Frohike,
about ten feet behind.

<<So they're not commandos...>> Byers thought.

Byers then strolled out casually and got into
the drivers seat, reminiscing of his old college
days, and thinking how much this all looked like
a scene out of Animal House...

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

Somewhere near Clovis California

Scully drove like a maniac trying to lose
her assailants, the whole time ducking to avoid
the bullets they shot at her. The shooters' car
managed to pull up beside her, ramming into
the side of the Taurus.

As her assailants sped up over the last hill,
Scully saw them maneuver to come along beside
her. With one powerful swipe, Scully's car was thrown
off the road, and came to an abrupt stop against
a tree about 500 feet into the forest.

<<There goes our security deposit>> She thought wryly.

After a quick check, Scully found she was unhurt,
aside from the nose bleed and a slight cut above
her right eye. She jumped out of the car and
scrambled into a copse of small trees that offered
a little cover to wait for her attackers to return.

She heard the car stop, and two doors slam.
The crunching debris on the forest floor signaled
their approach as they checked out the car.

"She's not in here. Check around those trees." Donaldson
instructed Moch. She went off to the right
as instructed, while Donaldson headed towards
where Scully lay in wait. Scully sat very still,
waiting for the sound of his footsteps in
the forest debris to get as close as possible,
before losing her element of surprise.
After the footfalls were so loud she could
barely stand it, she wiped the blood from her
good eye as best she could, stepped out and fired.
Missing on the first shot, she ducked back behind
the tree to avoid the return fire before letting
another shot go. The second slug found its mark,
and Donaldson crumpled to the ground. Moving out
from behind the tree's as stealthily as possible,
Scully crept up to the man on the ground, and
kicked his weapon out of his reach before reaching
down to check his pulse. Finding none, she ran off
in the direction the other had gone in pursuit.

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

Pendrell followed the trail of skid marks left
by the two cars to the scene of the accident.
Seeing the rental car smashed against a tree,
and the other car parked on the side of the
road, he pulled his gun and jumped out of the car.

"Stay in the car. This could be dangerous." He told
Dr. Brace.

<<COULD be dangerous??>> Pendrell thought as he headed
into the forest.

Running into the woods, he called for Scully,
praying that she was all right. After seeing the
empty Taurus and the dead body, he ran off into
the forest to find her. He stepped into a clearing,
spotting Scully moving quietly through the trees.
Hearing a noise off to the left, he noticed a
woman taking aim on Scully behind her and slightly
to her left. Pendrell raised his gun, his hand
shaking from nerves. He had never fired at anything
but a target outline, and she was awfully far
away. But he knew it was now or never if he
intended on saving Scully's life. Taking aim as
best he could, he let off a shot, hitting
the woman in the upper body, probably the shoulder,
but it was hard to tell from this distance.
Deep down inside, he was just glad he hadn't
made a killing shot.

Dropping her gun in pain, Moch turned and ran off
into the forest. At the sound of the gunshot,
Scully had whirled around to face her attacker. Seeing
Moch running away holding her shoulder, she looked and
saw Pendrell with his gun still drawn with a
shocked look on his face. Scully ran over to him.

"How did you find me? Are you okay? she asked.

"Uh, I followed the skid marks. I guess I'm okay"

"Thanks for your help, but I could have handled her.
You took a big risk firing form this distance."
Scully scolded him.

Annoyed by her condescending tone, Pendrell snapped out
of it.

"Well, she would have shot *you* in the back if I hadn't
"taken the risk" he smirked.

Regretting her remark, Scully tried to lighten the
situation.

"Well, uh, thanks. Not a bad job for your first
field action." Scully commended reluctantly.

<<I'm beginning to act like Mulder!>>

"H...how did you know I'd never been in the field
before?" He asked in amazement.

"Come on Pendrell, you only step out of that lab
for lunch. Believe me, it's obvious. But you did
an excellent job for your first time. Now let's go."

end part 11/14

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted part 12/14

Prince William Hospital

The Lone Gun Men were obviously casual in their entrance to the
hospital. The two others lagged by the entrance while Byers
perused the directory listing for Myer's lab.

"Well, amazingly enough, the number was in the directory." he told
the others.

"Yea, but I bet we can't just walk in there." Langley said.

"It's on the third floor. Let's go."

"After finding their way to the third floor, they moved carefully
towards Myers' lab. Checking the door, and finding it locked,
Frohike took out some tools and began to work on the electronic
lock, while Langley and Byers covered him. Luckily the hall was
deserted. The door opened in short order, and the three of them
cautiously entered the lab. As Byers went towards the small
exam room where he saw Mulder, Myers came out of a side door.

"I hope you took care of those." he seemed to be expecting
someone else. "What the...who are you??"

Byers answer was to knee Myers in the groin, punch him in the
stomach, and knock him upside the head with the case he
carried. Myers slumped to the floor, semi-conscious.

"Good work, man" Langley said in with awe in his best Sean
Connery voice.

Byers was straightening his suit. "No problem whatsoever. You
guys get Mulder, and I will take care of this clown."

Langley and Frohike went into the exam room to grab Mulder,
who seemed to be sedated. He was muttering in the delirium
about his 'wife' with the occasional "I *am* Thomas Vance"
thrown in. Hearing this from Mulder, Frohike could
understand Scully's behavior in the investigation. If it
bothered him this much, he could only imagine what she
must be feeling. Mulder was a lucky bastard to have someone
like Scully care about him so much.

"Come on," he prodded Langley, "Let's get him outta here.

The two scooped up Mulder, and supported him in between them.
When they walked out into the main lab area, Byers had Myers
thrown over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Whoa," Langley said, "go Byers, he-man warrior."

"Anger can do wonders for one's abilities." He turned and walked
out of the lab door. The hallway was deserted, so they moved
towards the stairwell where they would be less likely to
run into anyone. Just as Langley and Frohike reached the door,
a security guard spotted them.

"Hey, you...Stop!! Where are you going with that patient!!"

"We need to disappear, Byers." Langley yelled. "Kick it!'

The security guard reached the stairwell and descended after
them, and Byers knew they would be waiting at the bottom.
he took an exit door on the second floor, and the five of them
ducked into a supply closet down the hall. They heard the
commotion outside.

"They aren't downstairs, maybe they snuck back around to
the elevator."

Hearing them scatter, Langley checked the hall to find it
clear.

"They are checking the passenger elevator, we should hit the
freight elevator." Frohike suggested. Reaching it easily,
they rode down to the basement garage where the van
was parked. They made it to the van just as the guards
came out of the stairway entrance. Tossing his cargo
into the back, Byers jumped into the driver's seat
while Langley and Frohike got Mulder into the van.
He peeled out just as the guards reached the van.

"That was close, my friend," Langley said, "too close."

"We're not out yet, guys, hold on!" They all braced themselves
to run through the blockade arm that was lowered across the
parking garage exit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fresno International Airport

Scully buckled her seatbelt on the plane as it prepared for
take-off. She was beginning to feel the pre-flight jitters
she still got; even after all of the air time she had put
in with Mulder all of these years. She squelched the voice
that wondered if he would ever be here to distract her
again. The thought of his goofy jokes brought a small
smile to her face, and yet brought immense sadness to her
at the same time. Pendrell could see that she was
upset by something.

"Are you gonna be okay? he asked awkwardly.

"Yes, Pendrell, I'm fine. It's..just that...I am not fond
of flying, and Mulder...,well, Mulder can usually make
it...bearable."

"Don't worry, Agent Scully, I understand. You guys have been
partners for four years. You miss him."

"Yes, Pendrell," she said as she looked down at her lap
behind a veil of her hair. "I do....I do."

Taking a deep breath and pulling herself together, she turned
her attentions towards Dr. Brace.

"So, doctor, Would you *mind* telling me how this reversal
equipment works? How you can restore Mulder's memory?"

"You see, the chips hold stored memories that override
normal memory functions, basically rewriting the brain.
The override is complete, and the subject experiences
no leakage. All *real* memories are masked by the implants.
These aren't vague memories I am talking about here,
Agent Scully. I am talking about experiences, thoughts, feelings,
sensations, everything. I can wire you in, press record, and
every thought, every feeling, every memory would be stored on
this CDROM. Can you imagine those being revealed to the wrong
people, Agent Scully?"

He looked intently at Scully, causing her look away from him.

"This information can be condensed to a microprocessor that
transmits directly to the brain. These transmissions have
a certain frequency, a tag if you will. A memory that has
been implanted into the brain still carries the tag, and
collects them, or deletes them, in words *you* can comprehend.
it continues to scan until it finds no tagged memories. Once
all of the implanted memories are removed, he *should* regain
all of his own memories."

"Is there any chance you could erase any of his actual
memories?" Scully asked.

"As...I said, the implanted memories are tagged at a certain
frequency. I did this so that *I* could tell them apart from
real brain waves. Human brain waves don't hit this
frequency."

"I suppose this is what you didn't tell them.
That you tag the implanted memories." Pendrell
deduced.

"Precisely. I told them that this frequency is the best one for
memory retention. The only stable one. They didn't bother
to find out differently. If they are using my equipment,
this CD will restore Mr. Mulder's memory, provided all
microprocessors have been removed form his body."

"And what happens if they aren't?" Scully asked.

"If a transmitter chip is transmitting at the same time the
program is running it could overload it, causing it to
delete all brain wave frequencies."

"You mean..." Scully began.

"Yes. His entire memory could be erased permanently. Or worse.
He *could* be terminated entirely."

Scully did not like the sound of this, but this man was Mulder's
only hope. She would have to take a chance.

end part 12/14

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted 13/14

"The car is ready, so we can go." Pendrell told her.

She walked out to where the rental was parked. A smile
curved at her mouth. "A blue Ford Taurus...how did you know,
Pendrell." She said in a teasing tone.

"Hey, I learned from the best!" He laughed.

Scully peeled out of the lot. She just had a feeling that
she needed to hurry. She couldn't explain it to the others. They
needed to go get the Lone Gunmen and then go get Mulder, fast.
In the back seat, Dr. Brace opened the briefcase and began to
boot
his laptop with the CDROM that contained the reversal program.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Office of the Lone Gunmen.

The makeshift lab was full of people and equipment. Mulder
was strapped in a dental type-chair, hooked up to an
EKG and a heart monitor, and other electronic equipment.

"Don't forget to ground him, we don't want to fry ourselves!"

"I need that surge protector hooked up to this machine NOW!"

Frohike and Byers had Myers tied up in the corner,
and were trying to get some information out of him.

"Look you son of a bitch, you better be straight with us!"
Frohike yelled at him.

Myers was shaking and practically in tears. "I swear...I
can't reverse it! They didn't want to know how to reverse
it. They just wanted me to be able to do it!"

They had been at this for some time, and it was obvious they
were getting nowhere fast. Frohike was tired of listening to
the guy whine.

"Well, what good are you, then?" With that, he knocked him
on the back of the head with a nearby wrench, and Myers crumpled
in his seat.

"Thank God! I couldn't stand his blubbering anymore!" One of
the Underground members replied.

"Okay," the Underground guy continued, "I think everything is
set up. It is time to begin. Everyone cross your fingers..."

"I sure hope you guys know what you are doing..." Frohike
said hesitantly.

Just then they heard someone pounding in the outside door.
Everyone stopped where they were as Langley ran over to the
security camera to check it out, practically whooping for joy
when he saw Scully. He ran to the door and let them in.

"Scully, we've got Mulder. Don't ask, it's a long
story. The Underground boys were just about
to get started. Who are *these* guys?" Langley asked, giving
Pendrell and Brace the once over.

"This is Agent Pendrell, and this is the very much alive Dr.
Brace. He can help Mulder." She turned to Brace.
"These are the Lone GunMen."

"Nice to meet you boys. I am a fan. Never miss an issue."
Brace replied.

"Well, you have good taste, then." Byers replied.

"Let him get started, because I get the feeling the
Underground guys don't know as much as we thought."
Frohike said.

Brace took in the scene and acted quickly.

"Get out of my way! Let's see, I don't need this...or this...get
this machine out of here! Good God! What were trying to,
melt his brain?!? You! Come here and help me. Hook this into
that machine..."

Brace continued to prepare to run the program on Mulder.

"Well, make yourself at home." Frohike quipped sarcastically.

Scully came to his defense. "If he can save Mulder, I would
let him take over the entire FBI if it were necessary." She then
went over to the chair where Mulder was strapped in.
He was unconscious, yet he only appeared to be asleep.
She ran her fingers across his forehead to get the hair out of
his face, and then down the side in a caress.

<<He looks so peaceful like this, so innocent. Why did those
bastards do this to you? Were we getting to close?>>

This last question brought another question to her mind. Were
they too close to the truth..or to each other? Looking down
at his face, she was beginning to realize just how close
they had become in the last four years. She wasn't sure when
her feelings had started to change to what she felt now. This
mess seemed to have intensified them, however.

<<Oh, Mulder. You *have* to come out of this okay. You may
not feel as I do, but I still need you. I know I can never tell
you how I feel., and it may be selfish, but I need your help
to help look for the truth. I need your strength, your open
mind, your openness to extreme possibilities...I need YOU.>>

The thoughts she was having nearly caused the emotional
breakdown that had been threatening to surface during this
whole incident. The only outward indication of her emotional
turmoil was a single tear that fell down her cheek, and a
slight trembling of her lower lip. The guys noticed it, but none
of them wanted to step in. Pendrell knew she was
frightened, and he knew she needed a moment with Mulder
before Brace began. It was more than obvious that she had
other feelings to deal with than merely being worried about
her partner, which is something he had suspected all along.
He felt a moment of disappointment, but it passed quickly.
All the men were feeling pangs themselves at the possible
outcome of this. A few minutes later, Brace interrupted the
uncomfortable silence.

"I am ready to begin. I need everyone to step back." Brace said as
he waved his arms to shoo everyone away.

Scully straightened up, wiping the tear from her face, only now
realizing how she had acted in front of a room full of people.
She was too damn scared to care at this point. She welcomed
the hands both Pendrell and Frohike placed on each of her
shoulders as Dr. Brace started the program. The room became
silent as everyone watched.

End part 13/14

Disclaimed in part 1

Transplanted 14/14

Scully's bedroom, one week later.

Dr. Brace sat near Scully's dresser, looking out the window intent
on the recording he was reviewing. His face was blank,
revealing nothing about what he saw to Scully. She sat on the
edge of her bed where Mulder was sleeping. He had not woken
up yet, but Brace had been recording Mulder's brain activity
during the past week to monitor his progress. Brace wore
a device that, to Scully, looked like a telephone operator's
head piece. He suddenly reached out and hit a key on his
computer, and a pleased look came to his face. Scully waited
anxiously for the verdict.

"Well, I reviewed all of Mulder's brain activity the last week.
His dreams seem normal. I can't detect any implanted
memories left in his memory. He *definitely* has much of his
memory back, because most of his dreams were...well...
about YOU. He looked her directly in the eye when he said
this, which made Scully VERY uncomfortable. His eyes
could really penetrate to the soul. And from his tone of voice
and sly grin on his face, she could only imagine *what*
kind of dreams he has been having. He looked like he
knew some kind of dirty secret about her.

"Well, Mulder's fantasy life is none of my concern." She said
with a blush.

"The only thing that concerns me is his dreams about his
sister's disappearance. From what I have heard and read,
Mulder believed his sister to have been abducted by aliens."

"Well, yes, he does." she replied sheepishly. "He uncovered
certain memories during a regression. He dreams about the
abduction all of the time."

"That is my concern. The dreams he is having now indicate
another story entirely. From what I have seen, I would say
this wasn't the first time Agent Mulder has been brainwashed."

Scully took in the implications of Dr. Brace's words as Brace
prepared to leave.

<> She
suddenly remembered something.

"Dr. Brace, what about the *real* Thomas Vance, if there is one?
He will need your help too, if we can find him."

"I will call you in two weeks with new instructions for contacting
me. It is obvious that I am too easy to find, so my wife and
I need to relocate."

"All I can say is thank you. If there is *anything* we can do,
please let me know. We are in your debt."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that day...

Mulder awoke at the feel of someone's fingers brushing the
hair out of his face. He knew from the scent that enveloped
him exactly who it was. He struggled to keep the grin from his
face when an evil idea came to him. Keeping his eyes
closed, he suddenly reached up and grabbed her arm.

Lost in her own thoughts, Scully worried about him. She wanted
him to wake up. The hand that grabbed her was completely
unexpected, and it scared her to death. She jumped and
emitted a strangled scream that seemed to pierce Mulder's
skull. He winced, even while he began laughing at her reaction.

"MULDER!!" she said, smacking his arm. "If I weren't so damn
happy you are alive, I would shoot you!"

"Again?" He chuckled and pulled her down beside him on the bed.

She smiled at his joking reminder.
"Do you remember anything about the last few days?" Scully
asked with great concern.

"I remember some things, but it's a little vague right
now. Things keep coming to me little by little.
I think I know how people feel while in a
coma now. Unconscious, yet somehow *aware*.
I remember being someone else, as if it were a
dream, but I know it was real. I still have some
lingering flashes, but now it seems more like a
story that was told to me. I feel like they will
all be forgotten soon, and somehow, that
frightens me. It's almost as if I'm forgetting
myself, it's hard to explain. And then there are
the memories that seem as if they were my
own, but different,..."
He looked hesitant about something.

"Mulder...tell me what you remember about Samantha."
She decided to get right to the point.

He looked relieved that she asked. "I know I *used* to see
her abduction, but now I have a specific memory of two
men in black coming to the door, telling me that they worked with
my dad. When I wouldn't let them in, they forced their way
in , and I felt a prick of a needle in my arm. Everything is
blank after that. I think I even know who one the bastards
was."

Mulder was getting agitated, so Scully tried to calm him down.

"Dr. Brace told me that he thought you had been brain-washed
before. Now we know. It'll be alright, Mulder. we can still find
the truth."

"I know, Scully. And it might be even closer than I thought." Mulder
started to get up, but the pounding in his head was excruciating.
Groaning, he flopped back onto the bed.

"Whoa, Spooky, you aren't going anywhere for while. Doctor's
orders." Scully told him.

"I can't disobey my doctor, now can I?" he said, teasing her.

She laughed. "That would be a first!" She continued chuckling
at the thought, but stopped abruptly when he grabbed her hand
and laid it on his chest wrapped in his. The look in his eye made
her breath catch. Desperate for a diversion, she changed the
subject.

"I do have some news you might not like, Mulder...Skinner
decided that Pendrell did so well in the field and on the X-Files
that he should be permanently re-assigned."

"You don't mean..." Mulder moaned.

"I *do* mean. As of Monday, he will be assigned to *you*"
she said with great pleasure.

She knew this was punishment for her actions in trying to
help him.

"Aw, jeez. You *had* to ask him for help, didn't you?!? You
know how that guy gets around you."

"Maybe before, but he was much better during this
investigation, Mulder."

"I guess this means that I need to stake my claim before he
tries to horn in, then." he said softly.

Scully froze at his words. "Stake your claim on what, Mulder?"

"On you." His eyes danced, challenging her to deny his claim.

He knew she wouldn't; he could see it in her eyes since the
moment he woke up. Something had finally changed during
this ordeal. He had been waiting long enough for her to
realize it.

She hesitated in her answer, staring down at their entwined
hands. A twinge of a smile came to her face.

"As much as I would *love* to knock you off of your little
egoistic high-horse..." she looked back up at him. "I won't.
I *can't*. For once, Fox Mulder, I am admitting that you are
right. You'd best enjoy it."

He looked up at her and grinned. "I will, most definitely, as
soon as my head quits pounding."

"Pain means you are alive, so you can just suffer." she said
flatly, but then a smile came to her face as she produced some
pain-killer.

"I knew there was a reason I love you," he said, "unlimited
access to drugs. Doctors are handy to have around."

This light-hearted banter and Mulder's declaration proved
to be too much for Scully. She could not stop the tears from
welling up in her eyes. Mulder noticed immediately.

"Scully, I am going to be okay...it's *okay*.." he pulled her
down onto his chest to comfort and hold her while she let
it all out. He rocked her gently back and forth, rubbing her
hair. She couldn't believe that he had his arms around her.

"Mulder, I was so scared. I thought I had lost you forever.
You were there, but you weren't you. I think I could have
handled it better if you were dead, but you weren't. I just..."

"Love me too much??" he supplied with a hopeful voice.

She pulled herself up and looked at him. "Yes. I do."

He smiled at hearing her say it. "Me too."

"Mulder, we do have a problem. What about Pendrell?
And *us*"

"Well, the pipsqueak doesn't really need to know how we feel
about each other, now does he?"

"If this 'pipsqueak' hadn't known how Agent Scully felt about
you before, Agent Mulder, I found out during our investigation.
Don't worry. I understand." Pendrell said from his position at the
bedroom door.

Mulder looked a little chagrined at having been caught
calling him a pipsqueak.

"I think I can best fill my capacity with the X-Files should be
in the lab, with an *occasional* jaunt into the field. It has
worked well so, far, hasn't it?" Pendrell said.

"We will play it by ear, Pendrell. You okay with this?"
Mulder said.

"Yea, I mean, this is the most excitement I have had in a long
time." Pendrell said with enthusiasm.

"Fun. I am not sure *I* would classify governmental conspiracies,
aliens, fluke men, liver-eating mutants, and bizarre religious
cults as *fun*, but to each his own." Scully said dryly.

"Gee, Scully, you didn't ENJOY having your head strapped
to a chopping block or being taped to a dentist's chair for an
amateur lobotomy? What's wrong with you?" Mulder teased.

Pendrell's eyes widened when he realized they weren't really
joking.

"Stop scaring Pendrell, Mulder. It's not *that* bad. Uh, usually."

"The lab is sounding better and better." Pendrell replied nervously.

"I think the three of us are going to get along great." Mulder
said with a smile.

"We still need to find Thomas Vance." Scully reminded them.

"He is not who he is..." Mulder quipped with a big grin.

"I can see your sick Mulder sense of humor has remained intact."
Scully teased. "I should have had the new you made to my
specifications."

"Oh, you love the *real* me, Scully, and you know it."

"Yea, I guess I do." They gave each other knowing smiles.

"Well, I'm outta here. SOMEONE has to find Vance. You need
to rest, Mulder, and Scully, you need to spend some quality
time here, okay? I'll take this one."

"Thanks, Pendrell. be careful, and if you need help, give me
a call." Scully told him.

"Well, this arrangement might not be as bad as I thought."
Mulder mused. He reached for Scully and pulled her back
down with him on the bed as Pendrell left the room, giving them
a wistful backward glance. She gladly
went, and the two of them snuggled together as Mulder fell
asleep.

The end.

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