TITLE: The Truth is Back There (1/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent
Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of
worship and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms. But
please be kind, although both of us have been writing for years, this is
our *first* piece of fan fic!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Desperate to find the answers to help Scully, Mulder
employees the help of young scientist, Quinn Mallory, who has just
returned home after being lost between dimensions for years. Using
Quinn's new time travel technology, the small group goes back to
Germany 1943 to find a young Victor Klemper.

SPOILER WARNING: It may be helpful to know that this story does contain
spoilers from the whole cancer story line. (Hey, does that mean I just
spoiled my spoiler warning? Oh well, I figure if you haven't heard about
Scully by this time: exactly what cave *have* you been living in?)
Anyway, nothing past Memento Mori though, would have been too much
work trying to keep up with the new developments.

KEYWORDS: crossover, MSR, angst, Sliders, cancer, time travel

DISCLAIMER: Ok, I, Lady Redlum, am going to try and make this as short
and sweet as possible (a very hard thing for me). Anyway, here's the
deal: if you recognize *anyone*...they ain't ours! We're just borrowing
them to satisfy our warped, obsessive minds! If Carter and Torme are
nice we *might* put them back were we found them, maybe...  Oh, I guess I should mention that Dr. Darin Glen belongs to Agent
Newbeau but she says that she's "willing to rent him out for a reasonable
rate, or a weekend with DD." (Yeah, right - as if she'll be able to get him
away from me! Geez, the things that go through that girl's head!)

NOTE:   It's our hope that we've successfully written this story in such a
way that you will be able to enjoy it even if you've never seen an episode
of Sliders. So please, just give it a chance even though it's a
triple-crossover! We promise it's 98.5468219% X-Files, which is pretty
damn good considering this deals with characters from two other shows!
We pulled the third crossover out of the vault, but we're saving it for a
surprise! :)

YET ANOTHER NOTE: For the benefit of those of you who may not be
familiar with Sliders, please allow us to explain. Sliders is about four
people who travel through alternate dimensions but are unable to return
their home world due to, shall we say, technical difficulties. But for the
premise of our story, the sliders have returned home. Oh, and for those
of you who keep up with the show: the professor, is *not* dead in our
story. (Still p.o.'d about that one.) But if you have any questions about
that aspect feel free to ask one of us or check out the official Sliders site:
www.mca.com/tv/sliders

And now  onto the story...(please refrain from  throwing
rotten fruit (Of course, email is welcome at any point!) till the end of the
torture, uh, I mean, story! Don't worry, I don't think it's *that* bad! See? The
disclaimer is already over!)...


Part 1

Basement of the J. Edgar Hoover F.B.I. Building
8:49 am

Fox Mulder was late to work that morning, something that was very
unusual. He was usually the first person to the office in the morning and
worked until late into the night. His work was his life, his one focus was
finding the truth and his sister. It now boarded on obsession that which
had only broadened with the realization of his partner's development of
cancer just a few months before.

"Are you feeling okay today, Mulder?" Scully asked as he sat down at his
desk running a hand through his dark hair.

"I'm fine, Scully."

, Scully thought as she
looked through files. She had been worried about Mulder before, but this
time he had been through too much. True, she had as well, more so in
fact. But Mulder seemed to have taken it more deeply than she had ever
dreamed or anticipated.  Scully sighed casting another
glance at her partner across the room, 

"Hey, Scully," he mumbled after a few minutes. "Do you believe in the
possibility of time travel?" 

 "Long night with the Sci-Fi
channel, Mulder? Well, I don't think such a thing is possible despite what
movies would have us believe. And from the point of view of the
scientific world, so much of physics is still just speculation..."

"True, but there are documented cases of what is known as a time slip,
where a person slips backward or forward in time for usually just a
matter of minutes, but some cases have been known to last longer. One
of the most famous cases is of two schoolteachers from England who
were visiting Versailles around the turn of the century when they
traveled back to the time of the French Revolution. They even claim to
have seen Marie Antointte."

"I'm familiar with that case, Mulder. Although very fascinating,  you must
remember that the women did not think to write down their experience
until years later. Besides what they experienced doesn't
necessary...wait, why are you asking me about this?"

He paused briefly, refusing to meet her eyes, "If you could go back in time
and stop your abduction, would you?"

She sighed heavily, unconsciously rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"Mulder..."

"Hypothetically speaking of course."

"Okay, then I would have to say no."

His hazel eyes widened considerably, "No?"

"Mulder, that experience and all that followed has changed my views on
so many things. I like who I've become as a result of all that...I wouldn't
want to be anyone else, tumor or no. I think it's the difference between
twenty minutes of complete insight and a life time of blindness."

He nodded slowly, taking it all in, "Well, how about if we could travel back
in time and find Victor Klemper or at least some of his comrades and get
the answers from them?"

Scully smiled slightly, 
"Now I *know* you've been over doing it on the Sci-Fi channel." 

"Always Scully," he said enjoying her daily bout of humor especially in
light of the previous topic of discussion, "but I'm serious this time."

"Mulder..." she started but suddenly decided to humor him. "Okay, how
could we do that, Mulder? Time travel at will is not possible. Time slips, if
they do indeed occur, are at random."

"Well, what would you say if I told you that I know of someone who could
safely send us back in time to Germany in the 1940's?"

"I'd say you're crazy."

"Thanks, Scully," he said as one of his cryptic smiles spread across his
face. 

It had been so long since she had seen him smile. They had both lost so
much, almost including each other, that even a single smile from him made
her day brighter. To her dismay, he had become so much a part of her
that she couldn't imagine life without him.

"Hey, Scully, you okay over there? You're zoning out on me."

She shook her head to clear away any thoughts of him, "Sorry, I had a
rough night last night, dreaming about Melissa."

"Yeah, I understand. It takes a long time to get over something like that,"
he tried making some form of eye contact with her but her gaze was in
her lap.

"Mulder, can we talk about something else?" She shifted uncomfortably in
her seat. Melissa indeed! Well, as least it wasn't a complete lie, she *did*
have a nightmare about losing someone very dear to her. Of course it
hadn't been Melissa. "So, where are you heading with this? I'd like to hear
more about this time travel thing."

He smiled, "No you wouldn't, but it's nice to be humored. Besides, I'm not
the one you should hear it from. Get your coat on, Scully, we're going for
a drive."

"Mulder, where are we going?" He didn't answer, just kept smiling that
smile of his, the one that made her realize why she put up with him and
his theories, "We're not going to see the Gunmen are we? I'm not in the
mood to fend off Frohike today."

"He promised to behave himself. Now lets go because if all goes well, we
will be able to get done with this today."

"Today? Mulder, what are you talking about?" she called after him. But it
was too late, he was already on his way out and she had to run to catch
up with him.


Lone Gunmen Headquarters
Undisclosed Location
9:46 am

"Mulder, you mean you're serious about this?" Byers asked, nervously
running a hand through his reddish hair.

"Well, yeah...weren't you?"

Scully arched an eyebrow and sighed heavily, "Mulder..."

"Don't worry Scully, you're still on bureau time. See, Byers and I were
discussing the details of time slipping over a nice game of Doom the other
night..."

Frohike spoke up before he could continue, a sly grin spreading across
his face, "And since both of them can't play, they ended up just using the
chat mode instead. Now when it comes to record high scores, I, on the
other hand..."

"...Have no life, and therefore are forced to spend all your time on line
practicing..." Mulder shot back as Langly sat smirking in the corner, not
wanting to touch the subject.

"Now, now having a life or not having a life is purely subjective," he
slowly snuck a side long glance in Scully's direction, only to have her sigh
even louder and roll her eyes in true Dana form. "Besides Mulder, if I didn't
have my internet connections you wouldn't even be here."

"Would someone please tell me what is going on here?" Scully asked,
getting slightly annoyed at the way the men were acting.

"What? Besides the fact that Frohike has no life outside of online doom
and Mulder can't find the turbo flame thrower for any amount of money?"
Langly said catching an exasperated glare from Scully, "Okay, we found
a scientist in the D.C. area who claims to have invented time travel." 

"It was forwarded to us from one of our online connections. Mulder, of
course, wanted to check into it immediately," Byers put in, a small smirk
playing with the corners of his mouth. "Oh, by the way Mulder, here's that
info you requested on Klemper's locations during the war. Let me tell you,
*that* took some major digging!"

"Thanks, I owe you one, Byers," Mulder took small file and flipped through
the pages, it was perfect or at least he hopped so.

"So who is this guy? Pleas don't tell me I came all the way  over here to
hear about another delusional paranoid..." She trailed off, noticing Frohike
move closer to her out of the corner of her eye. She in return slowly
inched away, moving closer to Mulder. 

Mulder glanced over at her and smiled. He had always thought the whole
thing was funny, but obviously Scully didn't appreciate Frohike's
advances. One thing he could say for Frohike, he sure had good taste.
Scully was one of the most beautiful women he had ever met, but he
knew they could never be more than partners, he quickly corrected
himself, .

"Patience Agent Scully, here's the guy's file," Langly said, handing a copy
of the file to each agent. "It has a lot of information that you really don't
need, so we'll just give you the facts. If you really have a burning desire
to read his file, pick an evening where you don't plan to do anything else."

"How much do you know about this guy?"

"Just what's in the file," Byers said. "His name is Dr. Darin  Glen, 56 years
old, head of his class at MIT, and is living right here in D.C. He's been
working with time travel for a long time, but just until very recently has
been successful, with a little help of course."

"Tell'em about the assistant," Frohike interrupted. "That guy is an X-File in
himself."

"I was just getting to that," Byers said. "The assistant is a man by the
name of Quinn Mallory, a physics grad student  from Los Angeles."

"San Francisco," Langly corrected.

"San Francisco. Anyway, he claims to have traveled to parallel universes
for a number of years before meeting up with Dr. Glen and inventing time
travel."

"Sounds like this is definitely something we have to check into. Thanks for
the info guys, we'll tell you how it went when we get back."

"Get back? Where are you going?"

"To see Dr. Glen and hopefully he'll give us a taste of this time travel
thing," Mulder answered, guiding Scully out the door. "Oh, and by the
way, Langly, there is no such thing as a turbo flame thrower..."

"Of course there is Mulder," Scully mumbled, some how catching the
startled eye of all four men. "It's in the sub-anti chamber on the eighth
level." With that she turned, taking the keys from a stunned Mulder, and
continued on outside.

The gunmen and Mulder exchanged a brief glance. Naturally, Frohike was
first to break the confused silence, "Well, I said it once and I'll say it again
gentlemen -- she's hot!"

 Mulder thought to himself as he followed the
disappearing form of his partner down the hallway.


San Francisco Airport
8:27 am

"Are you sure you should be doing this, girl?" Rembrandt said as he
released the small brunette that was Wade Wells from his hug, "It's been
a long time since you've seen Q-Ball, things have changed a lot for both
of you."

"Yeah, I know Remmy," she said, meeting his dark eyes with uncertainty.
"But there are still too many feelings left, you know? I guess need to
know once and for all where I stand with him. It may sound cliche, but
now that our lives are back to normal, I have to move on, in what ever
direction."

"Well, I never saw Q-Ball as the type to run out on you."

"Me neither, Remmy, but maybe that's why I need to see him one last
time."

Rembrandt's dark brow knitted in concern, "Are you sure this is the right
time to be doing this? I mean, have you even been in contact with him
since he left?"

"I know this is the right time," Wade said, and suddenly she  was the
strong figure he had always known her to be. "Quinn was one of my
best friends for years and I can feel that this is the right time. And no, he
has no idea that I'm going to D.C. I haven't heard from him except once
since he left, and that was a Christmas card that didn't say anything, not
even that he missed me."

Rembrandt gently wiped away a tear that had begun to roll down her
cheek, gave her once last hug, saying softly, "Take care of yourself, girl,
and tell Q-Ball hello for me. He may have forgotten about us, but I haven't
forgotten him."

"I will. Goodbye, Cryin' Man, I'll be in touch." With that, she turned away
and walked to the gate to board her plane.

***

Wade settled into her seat and waited for the flight to begin. The flight
attendant began her pre-flight speech "Hello and thank you for choosing
AirOne, we will be arriving in D.C. in  four hours. Our in flight movie will
be Stalag 17, starring William Holden. Enjoy."

 Wade thought to herself. 

She had decided to watch the movie, but her mind was on Quinn. She
wasn't sure how he would react to her, if he would even want to see
her. She had loved him for so long and was thrilled when he started to
treat her as more than just a friend. Everything had been great in the
beginning. She knew that no matter what happened, even if they never
got home, that she and Quinn would have each other.

Then they had returned home and that was, oddly, the beginning of the
end. They had all settled back into their lives, Arturo went back to
teaching, Rembrandt went back to his music, and she went back to work.
Quinn tried to get the scientific community to accept his discovery of
sliding, but they wouldn't listen. But then somebody did listen and believed
him; Dr. Darin Glen had taken Quinn away from her.

She remembered it as if it were yesterday, she had been so excited for
Quinn when he got the letter. Finally he was going to get the recognition
he deserved. At the time, she didn't realize that it would cost them their
relationship.

 she thought. He could
have at least told her that it was over, that they should see other people,
get on with their lives. But he had just left, with barely a "so long, it's been
nice but it can't go on like this." There were times she had regretted that
she had ever met him, but there were other times when she knew that
she still loved him and had to see him again. That, she figured with a hint
of humor, was why she was flying all the way across the damn country
to see him.


Callahan's Bar and Grill
10:46 am

Mulder stood outside the ladies room, biting his lip in concern, it had
happened again. Half way to Dr. Glen's laboratory, the sadly familiar
stream of blood had begun to trickle out of Scully's left nostril. God, he
never knew what to say when this happened. He knew she hated it
when he fussed over her, so he had tried keeping a professional, yet
concerned distance. And although Scully seemed most comfortable with
it that way, that  same distance was killing him from the inside out.

The door opened slowly revealing the ever present strength of Dana
Scully. 

"I'm fine, Mulder," she stated simply to the unspoken question in his eyes,
he only nodded slowly as he followed her back to the car. Suddenly, for
the first time in his life, Fox Mulder found himself afraid of the answers he
stood to find. The stakes now seemed so high that he almost felt as if
were a piece of his own soul that he was fighting for. And who knows,
maybe he was.

End of Part 1

HA! AND *YOU* THOUGHT I'D LET YOU GET AWAY WITHOUT YET
*ANOTHER* NOTE!!   Lady Redlum here and I'll be infesting the end
notes of all ten parts -- you have been warned! Anyway, I realize this
first part may seem a little on the slow side, I do apologize but *please*
hang with it, believe me -- it picks up big time in the parts to come! Oh, and
by the way, credit should be given to Spider Robinson for "Callahan's Bar
and Grill" -- it's a bit of a play on his novel "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon"
...I just stuck it in there to somewhat lighten the scene for those who may
have caught it .

Once again, any and all email to: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com)
and/or Agent Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)



Part 2

Lab of Dr. Darin Glen
Outskirts of Washington, D.C.
11:14 am

Dr. Darin Glen sat at his computer, staring at the screen, his mind on his 
assistant instead of the e-mail he was supposed to be answering. In all 
the time he had known Quinn, he had never known the young man to have much 
of a life outside of his work. He never went out, didn't appear to have 
any friends, despite the fact that he was considered good looking by 
society's standards, that is if tall men with dark hair and blue eyes 
were still considered good looking.

Quinn had always seemed to have an air of sadness about him. Dr. Glen 
suspected it might have to do with something that had happened on an 
alternate earth or that maybe he had left somebody back home that he 
missed very much. He didn't talk much about his friends back home, just 
that he hadn't been in contact with them since he left. Since his mother 
had moved away, he had no need to return to San Francisco.

Quinn entered at that moment, carrying two steaming cups of coffee and a 
bag of doughnuts, one of which was in his mouth. His hair was mussed and 
he looked like he hadn't slept very well the night before. "Morning, 
Doc," he said around the doughnut, "I brought us breakfast." He set 
the coffee and bag of doughnuts down on his desk.

"Quinn, are you feeling okay?" Glen asked, swirling his chair to face 
him.

The younger man only shrugged, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"No other reason besides that you look like you got very little sleep, 
your hair's a mess and you should have been here three hours ago. I was 
beginning to get worried about you."

A little smirk showed in the corners of Quinn's mouth, "Sorry, Doc. I 
was up late last night working on some stuff, I guess I just slept later 
than I should have. Sorry I didn't call, but just I didn't think to. 
It won't happen again."

Dr. Glen was about to say something when there was a sharp knock at the 
door. "Were you expecting anybody today?" Quinn asked.

Dr. Glen shook his head no as he headed for the door. Looking through the 
peephole, he saw a tall, dark haired man wearing a rather "interesting"
 tie standing beside a shorter woman with auburn hair. Both were wearing 
trench coats.

He opened the door pausing briefly as the man asked calmly, "Are you Dr. 
Darin Glen?"

"Yes," he paused for a second, considering the two visitors. "Uh, 
this is my assistant, Quinn Mallory. How may I help you?"

"My name is Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully. We heard about your work 
from some friends of ours and we're interested in speaking with you." 
Glen opened the door and stepped aside as the man continued to ramble on, 
"...and I would like to say that I believe in your work and I hope that 
you can help us."

"Help you how?" Quinn asked. He wasn't quite sure if he should trust 
these people just yet. Besides, the man's name sounded made up, who 
would name a child Fox anyway?

"Well, we're very interested in traveling back in time. See, we're 
with the FBI," Mulder said as he and Scully flashed their  badges, 
"and we are investigating a someone who was brought to the U.S. after 
World War II. Unfortunately, when we went to talk to him sometime ago, he 
refused to tell us anything specific and then he was...well, then he 
passed on. Do you think you could help us?"

Glen and Mallory looked at each other and then back at the two  agents, 
"We might be able to help you if you give us more information on when 
and where you want to go. Of course, Quinn will have to go with you. We 
haven't perfected the machine enough to where we can send someone 
without one of us."

Mulder nodded slightly, "Great, oh and we would also like to ask you and 
your assistant some questions. Standard procedure, you understand."

"Of course, ask anything. Please have a seat," Dr. Glen said, 
motioning towards the chairs in the corner, they all sat down and room 
grew quiet for a few seconds. Mulder wasn't used to people actually 
cooperating with him and Dr. Glen wasn't used to people not ridiculing 
him for his ideas.

"So, uh, how did you and Mr. Mallory meet?" Scully asked, unsure of 
what line of questioning Mulder exactly had in mind. 

"Oh well, I read a few accounts of his interdimensional travels and 
figured he could help me develop time travel so I sent him a letter 
telling him that I wanted to meet him. I'd followed Professor Arturo's 
theories for quite some time, but they were  only theories until Quinn 
made them a reality. Arturo being one of the actual people to travel 
interdimensionally with Quinn."

The room grew silent as Quinn studied the two agents before him, they were 
hiding something, he could tell. The woman was doing the same thing with 
her lip that Wade used to when she was nervous or unsure of something. 
"So, where exactly were you two interested in going?"

Mulder glanced at Scully who only shrugged but her eyes seemed to say it 
all, "Hey, it's your deal Mulder -- you can't get around *this* 
part."

"Uh, Germany actually, around say 1943..."

Quinn's eyes bulged, "No way on this earth!"

"Mr. Mallory..." Scully began.

"No! You've got to be crazy! As many places that I've been, all 
the crap I've had to go through to keep my technology safe do you really 
think I would *voluntarily* walk into the lion's den?"

"But..."

"No! This conversation is over, sorry."

Dr. Glen fidgeted with his glasses before saying softly, "Quinn. We'll 
hear them out, Quinn, everyone deserves that chance...you of all people 
should recognize the importance in that."

Quinn stopped and stared down at his feet for a moment. Scenes from years 
past ran through his mind, the pain his friends had gone through just to 
back him up when it came to the sliding technology... Slowly he nodded his 
head in resignation and slumped back down into his chair. "Sorry, 
I...it's just really important to me that technology like this doesn't 
get into the wrong hands."

Mulder looked at the young man with a new found admiration, "Look, we 
understand Mr. Mallory. But I believe that the information that we can 
retrieve will have a huge impact on putting people like that out of 
power...and keeping them out."

Rubbing his eyes slowly, Quinn glared over at the agent, "Okay, but you 
must understand that I *will* do anything to keep this safe...I don't 
hold my life that dear that I won't trade it for the safely of millions. 
I don't even want to think about what would happen if the Nazis got a 
hold of time travel." Mulder only nodded seriously and the young man 
seemed to relax visibly.

"Right," Dr. Glen said briskly. "Now why don't we get you three in 
some period clothes. I doubt the Germans of the 1940's would find Mr. 
Mulder's tie as, um, humorous as most."

Mulder grinned and looked down at Scully who, for the first time that day, 
realized his tie was adorned with tiny exotic dancers each sitting on a 
rather normal-looking paisley.


Lab of Dr. Darin Glen
Two hours later

Mulder watched with amazement as the Quinn Mallory carefully entered the 
time and location data into the main computer system. "So, you're the 
assistant huh?"

Quinn's deep blue eyes shot up from his work, "Yeah, that's 
right." Mulder could see the distrust that lay in him, not he could 
blame the young man of course.

"So why are you playing second to Dr. Glen? You obviously have the know 
how for this sort of thing...I mean, inventing interdimensional travel in 
your basement is no small feat!"

The younger man shrugged slightly, "Well, I never got into this line of 
work for the petty things; you know, fame, money, women falling at your 
feet - that sort of thing. Besides, when you put your heart and soul into 
something only to have no one believe you in the first place...well, 
let's just say it's a very humbling experience."

"But weren't there three other witnesses?"

"'Witnesses' is an interesting choice of words Agent Mulder, 
considering we felt like prisoners half the time! But to answer your 
question, no. No one took them seriously either. So basically, when we 
finally got home we just tried to get our lives back to normal. Professor 
Arturo went back to teaching, Rembrandt Brown is pursuing his music career 
and, uh, I don't know where Wade Wells is. I haven't been in contact 
with any of them since I left Frisco."

Quinn tried not to think about Wade. He knew he had hurt her by leaving, 
but he knew it was for the best. Their relationship would never have 
survived long distance. Maybe one day they could meet up again and still 
be friends, but he doubted they could ever be anything else. Quinn shook 
his head sadly, when had his life taken such a damned nose dive? True, he 
was flourishing scientifically but in every other respect he was empty.

"I don't know Agent Mulder, it's amazing what people will call a 
hoax just because they are too lazy to open their minds. It just seems 
like no one wants to put their heart on the line anymore."

Mulder's eyebrows raised slightly, a small smile dawned across his face, 
"I couldn't agree more Mr. Mallory."

Just then Scully made her exit out of the back room, now dressed in the 
attire common to the average German woman of the 40's. Suddenly sensing 
Mulder's eyes on her, she turned and joined them deciding it best to 
keep track of the conversation from now on. "So, assuming this will 
work, how is it done?"

"Well, do you want the novel or the cliff notes?"

"Uh, I'm not very up to date on my Latin and Greek so why don't we 
just try the layman's version," Mulder mumbled and leaned back on a 
fairly safe looking console.

Quinn nodded in turn, "Right, well what we do, in theory, is to peal 
away the veil that lies between our perception of time and reality."

"And what perception would that be?" Scully asked arching a  thin 
eyebrow.

"That time really doesn't exist, that it's an idea born in the 
mind's of humans to compensate for our lack of understanding. See, the 
machine doesn't look at time the same way we do, therefore using my 
sliding technology, it simply creates a gateway through the fabric of 
time. All we have to do is make sure someone is monitoring the lab and sit 
back and relax. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe - I used to do this 
non stop for over two years before I finally stumbled on to my home world 
again. Actually, once you get the hang of it, you kinda start look forward 
to it. Or as a friend of mine once put it, it's better than sex."

Quinn smiled to himself at the thought of Wade's comment from  years 
ago, but couldn't help but notice how the agents' eyes had widened. 
The man suddenly looking uncomfortable, could only manage a weak retort, 
"You sure about that?"

"Well, there are so many variables in that equation I've never touched 
it and I'm surly not going to start now!"

Scully nervously rubbed the back of her neck,  She glanced 
over at Mulder to see his reaction but was only met with his quiet gaze, 
 "So, why isn't Dr. Glen coming?" she asked, slipping back into 
her FBI agent mannerisms.

"Well, a couple of reasons. One, I'm more experienced with sliding in 
general. Second, on the Doc's last little venture he kinda had a bad 
experience that's left him pretty burnt out on the whole adventure part 
of the invention."

"Oh really? If you don't mind..."

"A couple of weeks ago he set the timer wrong and zapped himself back to 
November 22, 1963...poor guy had a front row seat."

Mulder quickly turned to Scully, that damned little boyish look of 
excitement on his face.  
"Fox Mulder, don't you even *think* about it!"

"But..." She glared up at him, her answer firm in those crystal clear 
eyes. Mulder sighed heavily and nodded in his defeat.

Quinn watched them out of the corner of his eye, 

"Are you ready to go then?" Dr. Glen asked, as the computer ran the 
remaining the pre-slide tests.

"We're ready...well, at least I am. What about you two?" He asked 
the two slightly nervous looking agents.

"Ready whenever you are, Mr. Mallory," Mulder answered.

"Hey, please call me Quinn. I mean, we're going to be spending a lot 
of time together...well, hopefully not *that* much time if you get my 
meaning."

Mulder chuckled lightly, "Good point. Nazi Germany doesn't sound all 
that appealing in the first place -- especially if we're talking long 
term."

Quinn smiled in return, then brought out a small electronic device, 
"Okay, Doc, set the timer for 1943, Germany, latitude..."

"Already been done, my boy!"

"Trying to get rid of us Doc?" Quinn said as he slipped into an old 
woolen over coat, Mulder was helping Scully with hers.

"Not in the slightest! The quicker you leave the quicker you can get 
back safe! Say, Quinn, you want auto or manual retrieval?"

"Better go with manual Doc, if anything does happen the last thing we 
want is for the vortex to open on it's own in front of the Fuhrer!"

Mulder glanced over at Scully, who was uncharacteristically quiet. 
"What's the matter, Agent Scully? Scared?"

She looked up at him to see a soft smile barely touching his face, "Now, 
what do I have to be scared of, Mulder? Just because we're going back in 
time to Nazi Germany to talk to doctors who aren't exactly known for 
their kindness is no reason to be scared."

"Can't you just relax and enjoy a vacation, Scully?"

"Vacation? You mean like that 'nice trip to the forest' that landed 
us in quarantine for a month and a half?" She was about to hurt him when 
she saw that he was smiling fully now. She was beginning to wish he would 
stop doing that so damn much,  she could never think straight when he 
looked at her that way.

Suddenly Quinn pushed a button on the small device and the room was filled 
with a shimmering blue vortex. Waving goodbye to the doctor he leapt 
confidently through the gateway, the swirling liquid blue enveloping him. 
Mulder glanced down at Scully, the heavy dark woolen clothing hanging 
loosely on her body. "Come now Dr. Scully," he whispered softly in her 
ear. "It's the ultimate adventure wouldn't you say?"

Scully shivered slightly at his closeness then brought her eyes up to meet 
his, "You mean 'to boldly go' ...that sort of thing?"

He smiled lightly, his hazel eyes suddenly warm, "Yeah, who knows maybe 
the truth isn't necessary out there but back there. Besides," he 
mumbled as he slipped an arm around her, "do you really think I'd run 
off and leave you here to miss all the excitement?"

A pair auburn eyebrows shot up as a small knowing smiled threatened her 
serious demeanor.

"Well, okay, bad choice of words..."

***

Dr. Glen watched the pair disappear after Quinn and said a silent prayer 
that all of them would return safely. It was then that he noticed another 
figure had entered the room.

Wade Wells stood perfectly still in shock, she had finally arrived at the 
Lab just in time to see Quinn and two other people walk through the 
vortex.  she thought to herself 

"When will he be back?" she asked the small man at the desk. He simply 
shrugged as he studied her with concern.  With that thought 
she jumped into the gateway just before it closed.

Dr. Glen stared after her in amazement, wondering who she was. He would 
bet anything that she was very possibly the girl Quinn had left back in 
California. Smiling to himself, he wished he could see his young 
assistant's face when got a look at the stowaway.  Contented, Dr. Glen settled back and checked the 
readings on the main data bank. This particular slide had been set for 
three people, but one more shouldn't hurt the configurations to terribly 
much...at least the young lady wasn't driving a cadillac.

End of Part 2


Still reading? Please hang in there! Hey, just think of it as racking up 
karmic bonus points!

As always, any and all feedback to:
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau (karminoacid@ho
tmail.com)

TITLE: The Truth is Back There (3/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent
Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of
worship and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


Part 3

Somewhere in Germany
1943

Snow blanketed the small valley in the half light of morning. The outlining
forest, still dark, hide the wary eyes of those on patrol. Sweeping back to
the right a lone soldier, dog by his side, left the valley to itself...and the
sudden up lift in the wind and the growing blue light.

Quinn stumbled out first, just barely catching himself before hitting the
cold ground.  he thought as he quickly scooted to his feet just in time to see
the two FBI agents fumble out of the vortex, landing in a pile.

"How come we didn't land here at roughly the same time as we left??"
Mulder asked, standing up and then reaching down to help Scully to her
feet. He didn't say anything, but she could see the concern in his eyes.
 Scully thought but smiled up at him
anyway.

"I'm not quite sure how this works exactly. It could be the time difference
between the U.S. and Germany or there's a natural default in the system
that specifies landing at dawn," Quinn said.

"What?" Mulder asked, looking away from Scully momentarily.

"I was just answering your question about the time discrepancies."
 Quinn thought as he brushed himself off. Of course it had
taken him a while to realize exactly what Wade had meant to him. That is,
until he screwed it up by pushing her away in exchange for the
opportunity to work with Glen.

"Hey, what's that?" Scully called to Quinn as she pointed to the closing
vortex. "Looks like another person..."

 Quinn thought to himself as he recognized
the person. "Dear God...Wade? What the hell?" He staggered back,
making room for her to land. 

She came flying out of the vortex, arms swinging wildly. Impressively,
she managed to avoid the cold hard ground stumbling only a few steps
before regaining her balance completely. Wade smiled pleased with
herself and her landing ability, "Wow, amazing how old habits die hard!"

"Wade!" Quinn stood in complete shock, he'd expected maybe Nazis with
guns, immediate death but this..."Wade, what the *hell* are you doing
here?"

"I fly across the damn country and I don't even get a hello from you Quinn
Mallory?"

"Fine -- Hello. What are you doing here, are you out of your mind?"

"Well, I must be if I thought it'd be worth it to come all this way!"

Mulder and Scully stood in silence watching this strange exchange,
"Geez, they're like an old married couple!" Mulder whispered to in his
partner's ear, of course this wasn't lost on the hurt brunette before them.

"Now, *that* is one hell of an overstatement!"

Quinn, his senses regained, looked down at the familiar face in front of
him, her dark eyes filled with hurt. "I...I'm sorry Wade, I was just caught
off guard before." Carefully, mostly for his own safety, he wrapped his
long arms around her and pulled her close. "It's amazing to see you again
Wade," he whispered softly in her ear as she finally began to relax in his
arms.

"I just missed you Quinn, and when I saw you slide...I don't know what
would have happened if you didn't come back."

"Well," he said reluctantly pulling away from her. "I'm not exactly sliding
again. You're not going to believe this but we're not in an alternate
dimension, we're on *our* world...in 1943, Germany to be exact. I kinda
call it time sliding..."

"Wait, you invented time travel? Is *that* what that doctor wanted you
for?" He nodded slightly, remembering that he hadn't exactly told here
why he left California. "1943 Germany? And you thought *I* was out of
my mind! Why on earth would you want to travel back here?"

"Uh, I'm afraid that's where we come in Miss Wells. Hi, I'm Fox Mulder, this
is my partner Dana Scully, we're with the FBI." Mulder said offering his
hand and was followed by Scully. "See, we're investigating certain
doctors that worked for the Nazis during World War II, I guess you could
say we wanted our information first hand."

Wade's dark brown eyes widened considerably and a small smirk crept
across her face, "Yeah, I'd say! A little obsessive aren't we?"

Scully's arched a thin eyebrow and peered over, or rather up, at her
partner. "Scully, you say it and Frohike will find himself with your cell
phone number."

"Now, Mulder, whatever do you mean?" She turned to the other woman,
"you may want to add paranoid to that list."

"Or he could come in possession of a copy of your apartment key..."

Scully smiled up at Mulder, "Wow, Fox Mulder plays hard ball after all."

"Yeah, but it worked didn't it?"

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Quinn asked slightly annoyed, he wanted to
get out of here as fast as humanly possible.

"Well," Mulder began, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulled out an old
map. "If everything worked out correctly, we should be here, about 10
miles east of the town of Hammelburg. Our records show that Victor
Klemper worked there for some time during the winter of '43. Actually, if
my information is correct, we should have a fairly easy time obtaining
what we need. It wasn't until the fall of '43 that Klemper's experiments
were found to be of value by his government."

"Meaning?" Quinn asked, drawing his coat closer.

"Meaning that there should be little security problems, if Victor wasn't
taken seriously there would be no reason to protect him."

"Gotcha, so what do you need Wade and myself to do?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged a long thought out glance before she finally
answered simply, "We need you to stay here and wait for us, hopefully
we should get this done by the end of the day."

"Look," Wade piped up. "Quinn and I have been in far worse fixes than
this -- you could use our help."

"She's right," Quinn put in. "I'd feel a lot better if we all stuck together. You
never know when you might need an escape route, the last thing we
want is to leave someone here if you have to slide in a hurry."

Mulder nodded vigorously, still trying to keep somewhat warm, "Good
point, and the last thing I want is to get a nasty letter from some eighty
year old threatening to gum me to death because I slid with out them fifty
years ago!"  Quinn and Wade chuckled lightly while Scully merely rolled
her eyes, 

"Hey, what are those areas that are circled in red?" Wade asked, pointing
at the map in Mulder's hands.

Scully looked closer as Mulder watched her face turn grim, "Those are
various Stalags, prisoners of war camps."

Wade's brow wrinkled in thought, "Well, according to this map there are
several in the area. Wouldn't it stand to reason that these woods would
be heavily guarded because of that?"

Dark realization dawned on the three faces before her, she noticed how
the female agent began to edge closer to her partner almost involuntarily.
Suddenly the shrill bark of a dog echoed off in the distance, followed by
harsh sounds of those yelling in German.

"Run, now!" Quinn yelled as the four of them scattered off through the
woods. Focusing only on the vanishing form of Wade before him, Quinn
barely registered the sound of several gun shots. He did, however, clue
into the out cry of pain that belonged to one of those behind him.

End of Part 3


Okay, so this part is a tad on the short side. Sorry, I just couldn't resist the
baby cliffhanger syndrome! Sickening, isn't it? ;) At least I'm not as bad as
a certain TV show producer who shall remain nameless... 

As always, any and all feedback to: 
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau
(karminoacid@hotmail.com)


TITLE: The Truth is Back There (4/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent
Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of
worship and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


Part 4

Germany, 1943
Dawn

Fox Mulder refused to push his numb feet to their limit. After all, if he did
he would easy out run the small red headed figure just in front of him.
Suddenly he felt his leg buckle beneath him and he had to stumble wildly
in order to keep his balance and continue running. In front of him he
caught the worried look on Scully's face as she slowed and reached for
him.

"No, damn it! It's just a cramp...go, go!"

"Mulder..."

Clenching his teeth he grabbed her arm forcefully and shoved her
forward a little more roughly than he had intended.  "Scully, go - now!"

Dana was about to speed up her pace when she caught a glimpse of
bright red as it began to totally soak through Mulder's right pants leg,
"Mulder, you're hurt!" This time stopping dead in her tracks.

Mulder collapsed to the ground, the weight of his body too much for his
wounded leg. Even as he clinched his eyes shut he could feel her
presence as she struggled to get him to his feet. "Goddamnit, Scully!
Would you just go...if you get captured I couldn't..."

"Shut up Mulder," she mumbled as she now sagged under his weight.
Suddenly she felt strong hands lift Mulder's arm from around her
shoulders and place it over their own. Startled, she turned to meet Quinn
Mallory's cool gaze.

"It's okay, Wade's just ahead...I'll take care of him. Quick, run! Now!
They're just over the hill..." Scully didn't think twice, finding new footing on
the icy ground she sprinted off in to the safe darkness of the trees.

Quinn just managed to get the unconscious body of Agent Mulder
comfortably situated when he heard the unmistakable sound of several
guns cocking into place not six feet from them. Turning as best he could,
his temple met with the hard butt of an infantry rifle.

***

Wade crouched down with in the large grove of trees, breathing heavily
into her hands.  she thought simply, now shoving  her hands under her arms,
she was in no way dressed for this kind of weather. Her entire body felt
numb although her mind was on the total silence of the surrounding
woods,  Straining, she could just make out
the faint sound of voices off in the distance, slowly leading away.

Sometime later, Wade heard soft footsteps coming straight towards her
only to abruptly stop and slide back into the dead silence. She caught her
breath suddenly as she felt a hand rest lightly on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Miss Wells...it's Dana Scully." 

Wade spun around to see the stone like face of the red-haired woman
she had just met, "Where's...?"

"They," the words caught in Scully's throat before she quickly masked
over her concern. "Mulder was shot...and he and Quinn were captured. I
watched the soldiers take them off to the east."

Wade watched the older woman's face, she could see the tremendous 
concern hidden under her cool professional detachment. Then her
thoughts registered on Quinn... Quickly, she sprang to her
feet only to be pulled back down by Scully, "Let me go! We've gotta
help..."

"Shhh! Listen, we go after them and we'll only be putting ourselves in
danger."

"I don't care about me! Quinn's being held by the goddamn Nazis! You may
only think of yourself but..."

Scully turned her cold gaze to the frantic young woman beside her,
"Excuse me? Look, you're not the only one with a loved one out there,
okay? But, we have to think through this Wade. We can't let our hearts
get in the way of rational thinking. Believe me, if I let my heart talk me into
half the things...I'm sorry. I just keep thinking about Mulder." She hung her
head momentarily, refusing to meet Wade's eyes, "He's just all I have left,
that's all."

"Well, Quinn's all I have and all I want, so what the hell were you planning
Agent Scully?"

Scully smiled sadly, she hadn't known Wade long but could guess  she
wasn't going to like what was coming next, "We're going to Hammelburg."

"What?!"

"We can worry about Mulder and Quinn *after* we get the information we
need. Look, they've most likely taken them to the nearest Stalag..."

"So *this* is rational thinking?"

"You can always wait here while I search out Klemper."

"No, I'm going with you. I, uh, was just curious as to what you're heart is
telling you to do?"

Scully bit her lower lip nervously as the feelings already close to the
surface threatened to bubble over. "My heart tells me while I am prepared
to die for Mulder, he's prepared to die for the truth. And ironically, this
truth he seeks...he does it for me. He's killing himself for me. And once he
gets started on something there's no stopping him, I mean, dear God -
we're in 1943! So Wade, I guess you could say I owe it to him to not be
confined alone in his search. I don't know, I'm probably not making any
sense." She paused, noticing the younger woman smiling at her broadly,
"What?"

"I just think it's amazing. The two of you have found each other and yet
both of you are still lost because you refuse to realize you feelings."
Scully's delicate eyebrows shot up almost defensively. "Don't worry
Agent Scully, I learned many, many slides ago that love rarely ever makes
much sense."


Stalag 13
2:07 pm

Mulder's leg throbbed steadily as he slowly opened his eyes to find
himself weak and freezing as he leaned against the cold stone wall.
Surrounding him, the room's bars gleamed softly in the mid-afternoon light.


"'Bout time you woke up, I was beginning to wonder," he heard Quinn
whisper before moving closer. "How you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot then thrown under a tank, how long have we been
here?"

"Well, as best as I can tell, a few hours...you sure you're okay?" Quinn
asked suddenly as he got a good look at the agent's pale face.

"Yeah, I'm okay, you'd be amazed at how fast I can bounce back." He
cast his gaze downward, letting it rest on his lap; he was almost afraid to
ask.

Quinn watched as the large spectrum of emotions swam over the other
man's face and knew exactly what he was thinking, "Hey, she's okay, I
saw her get to safety before they knocked me out - they never saw
either of them."

Mulder let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God."

They sat in silence for a while, listening carefully for any sounds of life
only to find none at all. "So," Quinn said simply. "What's the deal with you
and Agent Scully?"

Mulder turned abruptly, staring at the younger man, "I'm sorry?"

"Just trying to make small talk..."

"Then keep it small."

"Hey, I didn't mean to step on your toes!  What, is she married or
something?"

"No," he mumbled curtly, wishing more than anything that the subject
could be changed.

"So, you two aren't together?"

Mulder tried to hold back any signs of irritation, this was making him more
than uncomfortable. Hell, he got agitated when *he* was the one who
broached the subject of his feelings for Scully. Now he shuddered to
think that he could have been so outwardly obvious..."No! Look, we're
just partners, okay? Now you and Wade..."

"Interesting logic you have there Agent Mulder, your partner and yourself
are off conversational limits but Wade and I are fair game."

"Yeah, my logic is as legendary as my selfishness and curiosity."

Quinn couldn't help but smile at Mulder, God knows he was in pain with
that leg. Who knows how touchy he was about his feelings toward his
partner, "Fair enough. Well, once we got back home I think both of us
knew where the other wanted to go in terms of our relationship. But
when I got the opportunity  to work with Dr. Glen," he paused, shrugging.
"I took the chicken shit way out and rambled on about not wanting to have
a painful long distance relationship."

"But it's never that simple."

"Right. In reality I didn't want to drag her into what I was afraid my life
would turn into, you know, the stereotypical absent minded professor. I
didn't want to wake up one morning  to find that the woman I loved more
than life had walked out on me because of my neglect."

"No offense, but I like your first excuse better."

"Yeah, me too. But Wade's as stubborn as hell and I guess she saw
straight through it, wouldn't have been any different with the truth
though."

"But it would have been the truth none the less."

Quinn paused thoughtfully,  "Well Agent Mulder, I guess we're not that different after all.
We're basically losers who drag the people we care for the most into our
own little fits of painful denial."

Mulder nodded, a weak smile on his lips, "Touche, Mr. Mallory, touche."


Hammelburg, Germany
2:48 pm

Wade slipped quietly into the seat across from Scully, adjusting the heavy
woolen shaw that now was wrapped closely around her head. "Okay,"
she hesitantly cast her casual gaze around the small bar-like place, "So
are you going to enlighten me as to why we're sitting in this particular
bar? Or are we being the sitting duck on purpose?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm going on a hunch?"

"Only if you promised you were really joking."

Scully smiled warmly at the woman across from her, for someone thrown
in the most strange of situations Wade was handling it surprisingly well.
 "I don't have
Mulder's memory, but I think I remember reading in Klemper's file that he
was nearly killed in late July of '43 while still in Hammelburg. Turned out
that the bar where he was a regular was in actuality part of the
underground movement. He visited the place late at night on and off for a
year without ever realizing what lay right under his nose."

"And you think this is the same bar?"

"Well, my German isn't what it used to be in college, but from what I can
tell there are only two bars in town. And the other," she mumbled,
nodding her head toward the rather loud bar as several drunken German
infantry men stumbled out of its doors on to the street. "Didn't seem as
quaint as this one."

"But this scientist you're looking for, wouldn't he be over there with all the
rest?"

Scully frowned, thinking back to the New Mexico case when she had met
Klemper. He had stood before her, his dark eyes tired yet content among
his flowers. Eyes, that were once perhaps kind, only then acting as a
mirror to a troubled soul. Troubled eyes, she realized suddenly, not unlike
Mulder's. Except Mulder's only seemed to carry a strange mixture of love
and guilt, while Klemper's held years of unrealized sadism and hurt pride.
"No. No, actually I think he would have preferred the quiet. Besides,
Victor Klemper was laughed at by his government until late November of
'43. So, I would guess that he would have steered away from those who
mocked his work."

"I don't understand Agent Scully, what exactly did he do?"

"You've heard of the various forms of experimentation that went on with
the Jews?" At receiving Wade's slight nod Scully dropped her gazed into
her lap, "Victor Klemper helped start a chain of events with his 'research'
that...still effects people today. Myself in particular." She paused, noticing
that Wade's hand had moved to cover hers. Scully started to look up in
confusion when it suddenly hit her that she had begun crying. Self
consciously she moved her free hand under her nose, relived when it
came back moistened only with tears. "Because of this man, I was
diagnosed with cancer not to long ago."

"You keep it all bottled up inside don't you?" Wade asked quietly, almost
unheard by Scully. Almost.

"I have to, I...I can hardly stand the look of pain on Mulder's face when it's
brought up. He feels responsible when he shouldn't."

"But you need his strength?"

"Always."

Wade nodded reassuringly, "Then search your heart for in it lies the
purest of truths." Scully cracked a small smile, liking the feel of the young
woman's understanding words. This wasn't lost on Wade, "I don't
remember where I heard that, but I think it rings true enough."

Silence settled over them as Scully quickly down shifted back to her
professional mode. Her crystal blue eyes flicking from face to face
lighting only a second, looking for recognition. She was fairly sure
Klemper had yet to make an appearance.

"I'm sorry to keep prying, this whole thing probably being top secret and
all but I gotta know something."

"Let me guess, what in the hell are we hoping to find?"

"Something like that."

 Scully thought with only slight amusement.  "I think we'll know it when we
see it." 


Stalag 13
6:34 pm

"Mulder?" Quinn whispered fiercely. "Mulder! Do you hear that?"

Mulder shifted against the hard floor, trying not to move his leg but failing
instead. Wincing in abrupt pain he focused on the faint sound of foot falls
coming down the hall, "Someone's coming..."

"On your feet!" Came the quick command in heavily broken English, "Now!"

Mulder and Quinn quickly stood as best they could before focusing on the
demanding presence now before them. Garbed in the dark uniform know
only to the Gestapo, the tall figure was flanked by a pair of heavily armed
guards. Taking out a set of keys one of them unlocked and swung open
the large door to the cell.

"Greetings on behalf of the Fuhrer and welcome to Stalag 13. Your
names, please?"

Quinn and Mulder exchanged a brief glance but remained silent.

"Come now, do not make this hard on yourselves. This is an easy
question, even for American scum caught outside several know prison
camps dressed in German civilian clothes."

"Mulder and Mallory," they muttered in a hushed tone.

"Very good, so we move on. This was found on you," he said indicating
Quinn, as he pulled a small rectangle device from his over coat. Mulder
recognized it as the timing device for the vortex. "At seeing this
wonderful contraption of yours the Commandant of this camp notified me.
The German army is very curious about this...technology. So, we can go
about this one of two ways gentlemen..."

End of Part 4

Here's your mantra for the day: "If I keep reading and reply to this story
not only will I be worshipped by its authors but they will *even* erect a
temple in my honor!" (Right next door to 'The Chris Carter Church for the
Obsessed' or maybe 'The Vince Gilligan Shipper House of Worship' or
even 'The John Shiban Cat and Goat Sanctuary' ....yes, the latter *was*
said in the worst of sarcasm.)  

Any and all feedback to: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or
Agent Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)


TITLE: The Truth is Back There (5/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent
Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of
worship and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


Part 5

Stalag 13, Germany 1943
7:14 pm

Something was up, something very important, that was what Col. Robert
Hogan thought when the Gestapo arrived within a few hours of the
prisoners. He hadn't even met the new prisoners yet and already the
Gestapo was there. His curiosity was peaked even more when he
noticed that it was not Hochstetter who was usually there, but another
Gestapo officer of higher rank. And then Klink had sent someone other
than Schultz to summon him to his office, something very strange indeed
was going on at Stalag 13 and Colonel Hogan intended to get to the
bottom of it right away.

"Do you think maybe they captured a general?" Carter asked.

"I don't know," Hogan said, slipping into his jacket. "But I'll find out soon
enough. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

"I still think it could be a general," Carter mumbled after Hogan stepped
out.

"Not bloody likely," Newkirk said. "Schultzy would have told us what was
going on by now. Bloke can't keep a secret to save his life!"

"But Schultz hasn't been by here today, Klink sent somebody else to get
Col. Hogan," Lebeau said.

"Strange," Kinchloe replied, running a hand over his dark face.

The men looked at each other, shook their heads, and continued with their
card game. Hogan would tell them what was going on when he got back.

***

Mulder and Quinn quickly came to attention when they heard footsteps
approaching again.  Quinn wondered, casting a
worried glance toward a battered Mulder,  Mulder's leg was throbbing constantly from the bullet
wound and Quinn had developed a black eye from the brief but luckily
non-revealing interrogation.

Three men approached the cell. Mulder struggled to stand up but his leg
hurt too much, 

His condition seemed to catch the attention of the younger dark haired
man, a man neither of them recognized. They did, however, remember the
two other men. Although they could not remember their names, only that
the tall bald man was the commander and the fat white haired man was a
sergeant or guard of some sort.

"Hello, men. I hope you are feeling better," the tall man said almost too
politely. Quinn wanted to strangle him, but he felt that would only cause
him more pain and he was in enough already.  Quinn thought gingerly touching his
bruised eye.

"We will be letting you out shortly and put you in the barracks with Col.
Hogan here." The tall man turned to the dark haired man. "These are the
new men, Quinn Mallory and Fox Mulder. If anything happens to them, I
will hold you personally responsible. They are *very* important."

"So is that why the Gestapo got to them before I did, Klink? You know,
according to the Geneva Convention..."

"Uh, excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but what's going to happen to
us?" Quinn asked.

"You are a prisoner and will remain so until the war is over," Klink
sneered. "And don't even think about escaping, there has never been a
successful escape from Stalag 13 and you are not going to be the first."
He turned to Hogan, "You may have a word with the men now, Colonel."

"Thank you, Commandant." He turned to Mulder and Quinn, "I'm Col.
Hogan, senior P.O.W. officer here at Stalag 13. I'll make sure one of the
boys takes a look at your injuries when we get back to the barracks."

"Thank you, sir," Quinn said. Mulder didn't say anything, he finally stood
up, but had to hold onto the wall for balance. It could have been much
worse, they could be dead. He had been dead before and that was part
of why he was here.  he thought.


He shook his head, noticing Hogan calmly talking with the commander,
"...Klink, if you have no further business with these men, I'd like to take
them back to the barracks."

"Fine, Hogan, just make sure they know the rules. Schultz, escort Col.
Hogan and the new prisoners here to the barracks."

"Jawohl, Herr Commandant," Schultz replied with a quick salute. He pulled
out a set of keys and unlocked the cell door.

Mulder took a step and stumbled, he went down on his knees as pain
ripped through his injured leg. He felt like screaming, but did not want to
show weakness in front of the Germans, that could only get him in more
trouble.

Quinn rushed to Mulder's side and helped him up. "You're going to be
okay, Mulder," Quinn whispered. "Just lean on me and I'll help you walk."

***

Inside was a flurry of activity, men were standing around talking or laying
on beds reading. One man stood by the stove stirring something in a pot
and three men sat a table playing cards. They all looked up when Hogan,
Mulder, and Quinn walked in.

"Did you find out anything, Colonel?" the small man at the stove with the
heavy French accent asked.

"Not much, Lebeau. Nobody's talking, but I'm sure we can take care of
that. A little chocolate for a bribe and Schultz'll talk quickly enough. Oh, by
the way, these are the new men, Fox Mulder and Quinn Mallory. Mulder
here is injured, so somebody needs to steal some medical supplies. Any
volunteers?" No one said a word.

Suddenly, a bunk in the corner raised up to reveal a tall black man
emerging from what appeared to be a hidden room or tunnel in the floor.
"News from London, Colonel," he said, making his  way over to Hogan.
"They report that our old contact is back in place in Hammelburg and will
start making his daily check ins as soon as everything is set up there."

 Mulder thought. 

"Thanks, Kinch," Hogan said. "Now, does anyone want to volunteer to get
those medical supplies?"

"Sir," a dark haired man with a thick British accent spoke up. "My mum
used to use brandy on us kids, it works good at stopping infections and
we have some left over. Besides, sir, I don't think anyone wants to risk
sneaking into Klink's office, what with the Gestapo poking around."

Hogan sighed heavily, "Fine, use the brandy, Newkirk. I don't believe this.
You men will blow up bridges, factories, sneak out of camp in the middle
of the night, but you won't go into Klink's office for medicine."

"But the Gestapo's out there, sir. It's got to have something to do with
these two blokes." Newkirk turned to face Mulder and Quinn, "Well, no
matter! Welcome to Stalag 13 gentlemen, largest back door for the
underground ever to work behind German lines. Hope you enjoy your
stay as our next escape project."

Mulder and Quinn exchanged yet another glance, each holding one
thought, 


Hammelburg
10:17 pm

The young man with old, tired eyes slowly entered the darkened bar and
made his way over to the corner booth. Setting his stack of notes down
he motioned for the waitress who promptly came over with his usual dark
ale.

Taking a few long drinks he calmly flipped through the notes from earlier
that day. Astounding! And to think, he'd hardly even begun to understand
what exactly he had accomplished, and yet, it might just be enough to
actually get the recognition he deserved. A trap door, that's what he had
found. A way to manipulate the human body in such a way that it
automatically reacted the *exact* same way to what ever disease
happened upon it. It was almost comical, with his new discovery, the
killing agent would not be the disease but the treatment itself, what ever it
happened to be. No one would think that with this, their salvation would
lie in simply in the waiting.

"Let them laugh at Victor Klemper now," he mumbled into his drink. Upon
returning quietly to his notes, he failed to see the two young women
across the room eyeing him closely. However, they too failed to see the
rather dark figure in the far corner who sat calmly watching the entire
room. Especially the two new beautiful patrons.

End of Part 5

Okay, so the third crossover is Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971). But I think
it's safe to say that you needn't know of the show in order to enjoy the
story. 'Twas Newbeau's idea anyway, I've only seen about 5 episodes in
my entire life! Anyway, all flames and/or compliments in the Hogan's
Heroes area should go to her. BTW, we disclaim all those characters as
well! (Even though Newbeau really seems to want to own Newkirk...and I
thought *I* was strange! )

As always, any and all feedback to: 
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau
(karminoacid@hotmail.com)

TITLE: The Truth is Back There (6/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent
Newbeau (karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of
worship and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


PART 6

Stalag 13
1:38 am

"What the hell do you mean you couldn't find them?!" Mulder yelled,
earning surprised looks from Lebeau and Carter after they had returned
from their nightly search with the bad news. The few hours that they had
been out searching for Scully and Wade, Mulder had spent hoping and
praying they would return safely. But his prayers had gone unanswered
when the two men returned empty handed.

"We looked everywhere, I promise Mr. Mulder," Carter said. "They just
weren't there."

"Look, if it will make you feel better, there was no evidence of bodies or
capture. Perhaps they found a house somewhere. Not all the Krauts are
bad people," Lebeau said, trying to reassure the frantic Mulder. 

Quinn remained in silent shock thinking only of how close Wade was to
never knowing how sorry he really was. "It's gonna be okay, Mulder,"
Quinn mumbled, dragging a nervous hand through his thick hair. "Maybe
they found some place to stay, like Lebeau said, or maybe they went on
into Hammelburg. I don't know Scully, but I know Wade and she's not the
type to just sit there and wait. If she was in danger, she'd go someplace
where it's safe. Besides, worrying won't bring them back."

"If anything happens to Scully, I don't know how I'll...I want her here,
goddamnit!" Mulder said, slamming his fist on the table.

"Calm down, mate, calm down," Newkirk said, grabbing Mulder's arm and
turned him around to face him. "No need to be pounding on the table or
you'll end up with a broken hand to go along with that leg."

"That's easy for you to say, it's not your friends lost out there
somewhere in this godforsaken frozen hell hole!"

"I know what you're going through, mate. We've all come close to losing
friends or getting caught ourselves out in the field,"  Newkirk gently
grabbed Mulder's shoulder and seated him down at a near by table next
to a only seemingly less worried Quinn.

"Listen, I've seen plenty of what's going on. I've seen men die in battle,
lots of them younger than Mallory here, I've seen cities bombed until
there's nothing left, and I've seen some of the men that come in here who
have been tortured until they were barely hanging on. Just because I'm
rotting away in this prison camp doesn't mean I don't know what in bloody
hell is going on in this war." He paused thoughtfully and taking a deep
breath and continued. "Look, Lebeau and Carter are good men and I know
they tried their best to find your lady friends. Worrying won't help you
any. Just relax, mate, and we'll play some cards or something -- get your
minds off the waiting. Tell me about these ladies who seemed to have
two grown men over come with worry." He motioned to Quinn. "Come on
Mallory, you too. You look like you could use some relaxing too
considering neither of you look like you'll be satisfied with sleep."


Hammelburg, Germany
1:47 am

Victor Klemper slowly drained off what was left of his third ale when a
rather strange yet familiar feeling came over him: he was being watched.
He could feel several pairs of intense eyes burning into his back. Klemper
scanned the small smoke filled room only to make direct contact with a
young red-haired woman not ten feet away. Her crystal blue eyes cut
through the haze as she mumbled something to her companion a made a
slow, calculated path toward him.

He swallowed nervously and shuffled his papers aside so as they could
not be seen by the unusually intense presence now standing above him.

"May I sit with you a while?" came her soft soothing voice, sounding
almost unsure if she had even said the correct words.

It only briefly crossed his mind that he couldn't quite place what part of
Germany she might have been from. Although giving her strange accent
and formal way of speaking only the briefest thought, Victor gave it no
more attention through the haze of  the ale and nodded politely, "Why of
course, Fraulein. I always welcome the company of such beauty."

She managed a deep blush as she slipped gracefully into the seat across
from him. "So Fraulein, what do you find so interesting over here?"

"I was just wondering what makes a man drink so," she spoke softly
again, almost as though she was shy, yet her eyes showed an
unfathomable amount of depth and conviction. Victor was automatically
enraptured.

"Well, Fraulein, today is the beginning of the rest of my life, so I celebrate.
Today, I found my purpose, it is a beautiful feeling once it happens."

"Really? I'm afraid I do not understand," she looked genuinely curious
now.

"Tell me, have you ever been in love?"

Victor saw a very faint smile dance across her lovely face before she
answered softly, "Yes."

"That is how it feels to know your life will be meaningful. Now, has this
love of yours ever been realized and returned?" She shook her head
rather sadly but remained silent. "A pity. For then Fraulein, you would
know how it feels to live your life meaningfully. Tonight I celebrate
because I am in love, and soon my love will be acknowledged and then I
will be complete."


Stalag 13
2:01 am

"Sounds to me like you're bloody well in love, mate," Newkirk said simply
after hearing Mulder's ramblings. He began to cut the deck for another
hand.

"She's my friend, that's all," Mulder said, although deep with  in himself, he
knew Newkirk to be right. He was in love with Dana Scully and had been
for so long that he had actually tricked himself into believing she was just
a friend. Even after he had seem the faint realization in her eyes that day
at the hospital, he had still managed to convince himself otherwise.

"Trust me on this one, mate. I know plenty about women and I know
bloody well how a man acts when he's in love. You're so in love yet in
such a state of denial that there's only one sane thing you can do."

"What's that?" Mulder asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Tell her how you feel and see how she reacts. If she doesn't act too
shocked, kiss her. If she doesn't slap you, then there's only one thing left
to do."

"Which is?"

"Start shopping for a diamond ring," Newkirk answered with a smile.

"If she turns up you mean." Mulder said quietly, more to himself than to the
men around him.

"Now don't talk like that, mate. We'll find them, it just might take some time.
Our contact in Hammelburg will more than likely find them before we do.
So don't worry so much, our people are the very best! Tell you what I'll
do, I will personally lead  tonight's mission to find them. I know how
important finding them is to you and I understand how you feel. If my girl
was lost out there somewhere, I'd be worried sick about her and try my
best to find her. I've known plenty of women over the years, even been
in love a time or two myself."

"Thank you, sir. We appreciate your help," Quinn said, grimacing at the
cards in his hand.

"Least I can do for you under the circumstances. And don't call me sir,
the name's Peter Newkirk, I never cared much for this sir business. The
only one that gets called sir around here is Col. Hogan and he's earned it.
Okay, dealer takes two...now my young Mallory unburden yourself."

"Uh, there's not much to tell..."

"Nonsense! You've got guilt behind those eyes of yours -- spill it."

The card game continued on as Quinn retold his story and lost what little
money he had on him. "Well, one thing's for sure - you're a bloody fool,"
Newkirk said when Quinn was finished.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, lad."

"I take offense to that," Quinn replied, a bit stunned at the Englishman's
blunt honesty. This was a man who let his opinions be known and didn't
care who heard him.

"Sorry, mate, but that's how I see it. You gave up a woman, who by your
description, is beautiful and thinks the world of you, to pursue your
science. That, by my personal definition, is a bloody fool. Does your work
make you happy, does it cheer you up when you're down, does it keep
your bed warm on cold winter nights?"

"No, it doesn't," Quinn admitted quietly.

"Then you are a bloody fool. Maybe she'll take you back if you make time
for her, I think that's what she wants. Any woman who would travel
great distances in the middle of a war to see someone they hadn't heard
from in a long time is a woman who wants a second chance in the
classical sense. I suggest you give it to her, before you regret it."

Before Quinn could answer, the bunk in the corner rose up and Kinch
emerged, holding a piece of paper. "What is it, Kinch?" Newkirk asked.

"Message from our contact in Hammelburg. Where's Col. Hogan?"

"In his office," Carter said from the far corner. "I'll get him."

Hogan emerged from his office a moment later rubbing the sleep from his
eyes, "What's the news, Kinch?"

"Not much. Some Nazis around, no idea where Hochstetter is. Things are
real quiet in town. Wait, here's something that might be of interest to you
two," he said turning to Mulder and Quinn. "He spotted two women at one
of the local bars talking to a German doctor by the name of Klemper. One
woman had red hair and the other was a brunette. They just might be
those friends of yours."

 Mulder
thought upon hearing the news, and sighed in relief.  Mulder smiled lightly at his
last thought's double meaning before fiercely pushing it back into the
corner of his brain  labeled: "Denial" 

"Kinch, send him a message," Hogan was saying. "Tell him to not to let
those women out of his sight. Stress that they are *very* important and
that he is to report anything he finds out about them," Hogan ordered.
"Then get some sleep!"

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied, a big grin spreading across his face and
disappeared back into the tunnel.

"Well lads, I do believe it's time we all follow that advice. Now, I realize
both of you are a bit on jittery side at the moment but if you feel the need,
there's a couple of uncomfortable German issue bunks over there. 'Night."

"Night Newkirk," Mulder mumbled suddenly aware of a distant  look in
Quinn's eyes. "What?"

"Damn, I've been sitting here all night worried out of my mind about Wade
when what I should be concerned about is getting the damn timer back
from the Gestapo!"

"Women, purely walking distractions!" Mulder added dryly.

"I'll say. Hey, Newkirk," Quinn whispered and soon a head popped up
from one of the bunks.

"Ruining me beauty sleep lad..."

"What if the Gestapo had a certain piece of property of mine that I need to
get back?"

"I'd damn well kiss it good bye mate," Newkirk muttered sleepily.

"What if I told you that I would give my life in order to get it back?"

"I'd say that you were a bloody fool. Again."

"Fine. What if I told you it was a matter of national security and it could
mean the war if the Nazis got a hold of it."

"Then I'd...you're serious?"

"Very."

Quinn and Mulder heard a loud sigh escape from across the room then
quietly, "Damn! Looks like I'll be making a little unofficial visit to Klink's
office tomorrow night. Bloody hell! So, anymore little surprises?"

"Other than the fact that we need to get the hell out of here ASAP, nope."
Mulder added quietly as he settled himself on to a spare bunk.

Newkirk chuckled light-heartedly, "Right, tell me something I don't already
know mate!"


End of Part 6

Well, if you've made it this far you deserve a metal or something!
Hummm...what to give you in appreciation? Oh, I know! You can have one
of my senseless ramblings!!! (Geez, don't look so thrilled.) Hey, if you're
really good, I'll tell you what Jell-o is *really* made out of...but only on
request!

Anyway, here's the deal: if Donald Duck only wears a shirt, why does he
wrap a towel around his waist after he gets out of the shower? X-File?
Or is it possibly a visual representation of the wide spectrum of
paradoxes that make up the universe as we perceive it? Showing us
how we only tend to recognize such things with a purely linear sense of
awareness, rather than comprehending it as its true nature: the infinite 'IS'
or state which is being and non being. hummmmm....Anyone else worry
about the whole Donald Duck paradox? Send your theories to Lady
Redlum!! (It's okay, I really am sane...I know, it must be a strange mixture
of meditating daily and overdosing on fanfic! ;)

As always, any and all feedback to: 
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau
(karminoacid@hotmail.com)



TITLE: The Truth is Back There (7/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau 
(karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of worship 
and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


Part 7

Hammelburg, Germany
3:19 am

Wade awoke with a jolt and shifted uncomfortably in the stiff backed chair 
as she moved her sleepy gaze around the room and locked on to Scully and 
Klemper. They had been talking for almost a hour now. At times Scully's 
face reflected emotions ranging from slight amusement to sadness, while 
Klemper's showed only the shallow drunken enjoyment of her company.

For the briefest second she caught Scully's eye but at her slight head 
shake Wade knew that the agent had gotten no where in her questioning. 
Sighing heavily Wade laid her head back down a soon slipped back into an 
uncomfortable sleep.

***

"So, you yourself are a doctor, Fraulein?"

"Yes, for almost nine years now," Scully said, desperately trying to 
stay awake and attentive at this point. 

"I could tell, you know. It's there," he said holding a finger not 
six inches from her face. "Right there, behind those amazing eyes of 
yours. A blind man could see the intelligence and spirited determination. 
Remarkable." 

"You flatter me, sir," she muttered, her blush once again deepening.

"No, Fraulein, it is *you* that flatter me! Your presence here with me 
means more than you could ever realize. You reach into  my soul with your 
eyes and touch something that has been asleep for years..." he suddenly 
grasp her hand and pressed it to his chest. Scully's tired eyes widen at 
this sudden burst of passion,  "I 
know I will never see you again Fraulein but..." Victor shook his head a 
bit too dramatically, reaching through the alcohol for the right words. 
When none came to him he simply raised her small hand to his lips, 
muttering softly, "You have given me something I had thought lost."

"A heart?" Scully shot back only to startle herself by the words. It 
had been meant as a thought but through all the lack of sleep and worry, 
she simply wanted to be done with him and had voiced it.

Victor, too, sat in shock. Releasing her hand he sat back in his seat, a 
confused glare resting in his glassed over eyes. "So, the Fraulein 
remains a mystery in herself, huh? What is that? That look in those eyes 
of yours? Hatred, Fraulein? Have you grown to hate me so within the hour? 
What have I ever done to you?" His glare seemed to soften and harden in 
the same instant as pointed to the small cross just barely visible around 
her neck, "Hatred, Fraulein, eats away at the soul. How can you wear 
*that* and have such venom in your eyes?"

Scully just sat quietly as Klemper's word sunk in. Something, deep 
within her which she keep hidden so well, screamed out in pain. It had 
remained so controlled, so neatly keep for so many years that it simply 
erupted in anguish. He was right. Was it plausible that such a deep seeded 
hatred could devour the soul to a point that one would be blinded to the 
love that lay right before them?

Slowly, Scully released the one breath she had seemingly been holding for 
years. And for second the inner pain intensified only in the next moment 
to completely fade away, "You are right Victor...and you are forgiven."
 With that she slipped out of the booth and made her way back over to the 
sleeping form that was Wade.


Stalag 13
6:57 am

Mulder awoke the next morning to the sound of dogs barking in the distance 
vaguely wondering when his couch had gotten so thin and itchy. He shifted 
to get more comfortable and pain ripped through his leg, bringing with it 
the realization of where he was. It was 1943 and he was in a German P.O.W. 
camp.

"How you feeling this morning, mate?" Newkirk asked, jumping down from 
his bunk.

"Like bloody hell, as you would say."

Newkirk laughed lightly, "Well, best get over it, time for roll call. No 
way out of it, our Schultzy would hate it if you escaped now." With that 
he hurried out the door.

"When do you think we can get out of here?" Quinn asked Mulder as he 
ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.

"I don't know. He left before I could ask."

"Do you think we can trust him or any of them?"

"Yeah, I'm fairly sure we can, after all, we're dealing some of the 
most trusted people in history. Believe me, that says a lot coming from a 
professional paranoid! Now help me outside before they get the Gestapo 
after us again."

***

Roll call went relatively smooth, considering that Mulder was practically 
in tears from standing on his leg for almost a hour. Once they were back 
in the barracks, Quinn approached Hogan about planning the escape.

"Well, it can't be from here that's for sure," Hogan said. 
"Klink is very proud of his no escape record and we like it that way. If 
something goes wrong we run the risk of having the operation exposed or of 
having Klink transferred and nobody wants that."

"Why is that?" Quinn asked.

"Because they might send us somebody who's competent. We've got to 
find some way to get you out, but not from here. Any ideas?"

Just then Carter burst through the door. "Schultz coming this way, 
Colonel!"

"Thanks for the warning, Carter. Okay, we'll figure this out later," 
the door opened and the large figure of Schultz stood in the doorway. 
"Morning, Schultz. What's new?"

"I have very important news for some of your men, Col. Hogan," Schultz 
said through his thick accent. He pulled a paper out of his breast pocket, 
"The new prisoners, Mulder and Mallory, are to be transferred to a safer 
facility in Berlin by order of Colonel Gottschalk, Gestapo. They will 
leave this afternoon."

Hogan's eyes narrowed slightly in thought, "Thanks, Schultz. Anything 
else?"

"Why yes actually, Commandant Klink is missing a bottle of brandy. Do 
any of you know anything about that?"

"What would we do with brandy, Schultz? Who needs to drink when 
surrounded by all this beauty?" Hogan said.

The sergeant nodded in agreement, missing the sarcasm, "Excellent point. 
Well, I shall return at 4:00 for the prisoners."

As soon as Schultz was safely gone, Newkirk turning to Hogan, "That sure 
throws the escape plan into a tailspin, doesn't it?"

"Actually, no it doesn't," Hogan said. "I think we can use the 
transfer to our advantage." He thought for a minute and then said, 
"Okay, here's the plan. As soon as the truck is safely out of camp, we 
go out and hijack it. We 'kidnap' Mulder and Mallory and get them into 
town. We send a message to Hammelburg telling the contact to get in touch 
with the women and have them meet Mulder and Quinn at the bar. It's as 
simple as that."

"There's only one problem, Colonel," Newkirk said.

"Which is?"

"It'll still be light then. Wouldn't it be better if we did this 
after dark?"

"Nice idea, but it wouldn't work. If we were to wait until after night 
fall, then they would already be in Berlin and then we'd never get 
them."

"Then how do you suggest we pull this off?"

"This road will probably be guarded at both ends. We wait until the 
truck is about thirty miles down the road and then we hijack the truck. 
The road is less likely to be guarded that far along. Any other questions?
"

"What about my property that the Gestapo took from me? There's no way 
I can leave without it," Quinn said.

"Fine, what was the plan for retrieving it?" Hogan asked.

"I was going to sneak into Klink's office and steal it tonight. But I 
didn't plan on the Gestapo being in such a bloody hurry to get these two 
out of here," Newkirk said.

"None of us did, Newkirk. Stay with the original plan and deliver the 
property to them at the bar. Then get back here as soon as possible. No 
telling who'll be roaming around after we pull this off."

"Yes, sir."

"One last item of business before we get on with the day," Hogan  
said, turning to Quinn and Mulder. "It would probably be a good idea to 
send a message to our Hammelburg contact and give him a password of some 
sort. This whole deal will be shot to hell if your lady friends don't 
trust him. So, is there anything either one of you could send him with so 
that your friend will know he's with you?"

Mulder thought briefly before a lop-sided grin planted itself on his face. 
At least that part wouldn't be too hard.


Hammelburg
9:28 am

Wade slowly opened her eyes to find herself, oddly enough, in a soft bed. 
Quickly, she practically leapt off the bed only to startle Scully out of a 
sound sleep. "How the hell...?"

Scully stifled a yawn as she looked at the younger woman's confused 
face, "Oh, after I was done talking to Klemper I asked the bar tender if 
we could stay in his back room. I just explained that my friend couldn't 
hold her liquor."

Wade sighed heavily, "I'm sorry Dana, I didn't mean to fall asleep 
on you like that. I guess you used to a little more efficient type of back 
up!"

"Yeah, a lot of good that back up is doing me now! I swear, he's 
*always* getting shot or captured...but don't worry about it Wade, 
Klemper was anything but violent, I was fine."

Silence settled over them for a moment, both of their insides craving some 
form of coffee. "God, I could use some Java," Wade muttered, relived 
to see Scully nod in agreement.

"Yeah, but I don't suppose I could get a hold of a double Irish creme 
latte in war torn Germany..."

***

The small bar was empty aside from the owner and his wife who sat at one 
of the front tables drinking coffee and occasionally speaking in hushed 
tones. They only nodded graciously as the two strange little women emerged 
from the back room and settled themselves in one of the back booths.

"So, how did it go last night?" Wade asked after a few minutes.

Scully snapped out of her own thoughts and turned her attention to Wade, 
"Um, he was drunk, I didn't get anything of use. Between his over 
flattering remarks all he did was ramble on about some form of biological 
trap door or something like that. Personally, I think we caught him a 
little too early on in his career to do us any good."

"Great, your partner's going to love that!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. Speaking of which, that's our next order of 
business -- to get the hell out of here."

"Thank god, I couldn't agree..." Wade stopped suddenly as a tall man 
slowly entered the bar and made his way over to their table.

"Good morning, and how are you at this beautiful day?" He asked 
carefully, shocking both Scully and Wade with his broken English, "You 
are Frauleins Dana and Wade, yes?"

Wade glanced over at Scully to see the other woman only in mild shock as 
she regarded the visitor closely. Wade watched in confusion as Scully 
replied back to the man in German, "Perhaps, do you always come up to 
strange women and ask such questions?"

He chuckled lightly, answering back in his native tongue, "Only when 
they are as beautiful as the two of you." Scully arched a thin eyebrow 
in suspension, catching this the man smiled even more before replying 
seriously, "That and whenever I carry important information regarding 
certain friends of yours."

"I'm sorry, but we are here by ourselves..."

"Then if that is the way you insist on playing it, Fraulein Scully, then 
Quinn Mallory and Fox Mulder will be very disappointed."

At hearing the names amid the flowing German, Wade turned hurriedly to the 
man, "What? Where are they? Are they..."

"Ah, finally, my question is answered!" He said, his English 
returning, "Do you not trust anyone Fraulein Scully?"

"Only rarely," she said simply, reverting back to English as well. 
"How do we know we can trust you?"

"So, always with the cloak and dagger? I was warned I would have to be 
run through the gauntlet, as you say, so your friend felt you would trust 
me if I convey...one moment, do not wish to get this wrong," he quickly 
dipped into his back pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Ah, 
he, this friend Mulder of yours, wishes to convey his deepest apologies 
for 'dragging you off on another nice trip to the forest.' He says to 
'look on the bright side, at least you are not dealing with liver-eating 
mutants or rolling around in sewers.'" The man met her eyes, unsure if 
the bizarre message was right, "This is correct, yes?"

Scully exchanged a glance with Wade, who looked understandably doubtful. 
Scully, however, was glowing from within but kept her exterior cool and 
collected,  "Yes, you're correct."

His smile broadened even more, "Wonderful! That is some cryptic 
wording you've got there Fraulein, not an easy thing on the middle 
man!"

"Well, if you'd been through half of what we have, you'd be more 
than wary too, Mister..."

"Please, I am know as Schweppes, and yes, I have been through much -- I 
am not offended." A warm smile spread across his face as he stood and 
motioned for the two of them to follow, "Now, if you would Frauleins, 
you are not in danger at the moment but I like to keep a low profile, if 
you will follow me."

As they left the darkness of the bar, Schweppes lead them to one of the 
more run down houses on the edge of town. Upon entering, he simply nodded 
in greeting to the small family who sat calmly eating breakfast and 
proceeded down into the basement.

"So," Wade asked, slipping the heavy shaw off her head. "Are you 
with some sort of resistance movement?"

"You could say that, I work with the operatives in various POW camps, 
together we help rescue many a soldier or in this case damsels in 
distress. I believe your word for it is..." he paused searching for the 
translation.

"Underground?" Scully offered, making herself comfortable on the soft 
couch.

"Ah yes! Underground, I work with the Allied Underground, it is based 
in London, England. By the way, your friends are being held at Stalag 13. 
But not to worry, one of our best men, a Col. Hogan, controls all 
underground activities in the camp."

Wade sighed heavily, "So what now?"

Schweppes shrugged and patted the large communication console to his 
right, "Why, Fraulein Wade, we sit and wait."


End of Part 7

NOTE: Yes, 'Schweppes' is a brand of ginger ale, which I (Lady Redlum) 
just happened to be drinking while writing the bar scenes, so, I guess the 
name just stuck! (Good thing I wasn't drinking 'Canada Dry')

Oh, and in reference to the first page of this part when Scully says that 
she's been a doctor for 9 years, I'm sure this is probably wrong but 
it's just an estimation on my part. Here's my logic, please correct me 
if I'm wrong:  If she joined the X-files in '92 and had been out of 
the academy since '90. And I'm not sure how long they train at 
Quantico so I'm just calling it one year, meaning she entered training 
in '89. And I'm guessing since she was recruited out of medical school 
that she graduated in either '88 or '89. Well, that's my Scully time 
line, if anyone has the correct one or at least a better take on it, 
*please* let me (LR) know!

As always, any and all feedback to:
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau (karminoacid@ho
tmail.com)
*
TITLE: The Truth is Back There (8/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau 
(karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of worship 
and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


Part Eight

Military Access Road
15 miles outside Stalag 13, Germany
4:23 pm

The large military truck bounced along the road to Berlin, jostling the 
four men in its back compartment. The two stone faced guards were quite 
used to the terrible conditions of the roads, but the other two sat 
stiffly, only wanting the trip to be over.

Quinn risked a glance at his companion,  
Mulder's leg had long since stopped bleeding but the shear pain was 
apparent on his face. Although the bullet had passed straight through, he 
had lost large amounts of blood and his constant worrying didn't help 
the situation in the slightest.

Mulder felt Quinn's stare and managed a small reassuring smile before 
turning his attention back to the passing road. It was completely up to 
the underground members now, and Mulder found himself fascinated by the 
fact that he had placed his trust in them so easily. All he had to do at 
this point was sit back and hope that Hogan's men to get to them before 
it was too late.

***

Just down the road two men in civilian work clothes frantically began to 
cut down a road side tree. While a third stood look out, awaiting the 
arrival of the prisoner transport.

"When should the truck arrive?" one asked.

"Within ten minutes. I sure hope this works," another, with a heavy 
French accent, answered.

The tall Brit turned away from the road, "Don't worry, it will. Now 
get back to work." The two men went back to cutting down a large tree 
while the third returned to watching the road.

"I'm sure glad Col. Hogan thought to have a jeep waiting for us or 
else we wouldn't have made it," Carter said.

"How else would we have done it? Quit talking and help me with this 
tree," Lebeau snapped, getting a bit frustrated.

"Hush up the both of you and get that blasted tree cut down before the 
truck gets here," Newkirk said. "If this doesn't work, I'll 
personally hold it against the both of you."

"Geez, you're sure in a mood today," Carter observed.

"Look, those are my friends on that truck and if something happens to 
them I'll have it on my conscience. Now, get that tree chopped down and 
make sure it falls into the road. We don't want to mess up this 
mission," Newkirk said, pulling out a pistol and waving it in the 
general direction of the road. "That truck will be here in a few 
minutes. When I give the signal, grab your guns and follow my lead. And 
don't slip and forget your accent. Lebeau, you just stay quiet, mate."

Within a few minutes the tree was in place and all the men had to do was 
wait.

***

Mulder and Quinn braced themselves as the truck came to a sudden stop, 
they knew what was about to happen. The guards began speaking rapidly in 
German, both prisoners noting a hint of panic in the soldiers' eyes. One 
of them climbed unsteadily out of the truck while the other stayed to 
guard Mulder and Quinn.

Within seconds he reappeared, followed by a short man holding a gun. The 
other guard jumped down to help, but was quickly stopped by the small 
pistol at his back. "I wouldn't even think of trying anything if I 
were you," Newkirk said in a passable German accent. "We've got 
someone taking care of the driver so just be good little boys and 
everything will be fine."

A few seconds later the driver appeared followed by Carter, "What do we 
do now?"

"Tie'em up and then we get the hell out of here," Newkirk said, 
producing several long pieces of rope. Handing a piece to each Lebeau and 
Carter, they quickly tied up the German soldiers. "Now stay right here 
until someone comes to get you. That could be a long time, but don't 
worry, it passes quickly." He turned to Carter and Lebeau and whispered 
softly, "You drive Carter. Lebeau, you stay up front with him. I'll be 
in the back with the lads." The three men climbed into the truck and 
were soon on their way, only this time in the direction of Hammelburg.

"Hope you weren't too worried about us, mates," Newkirk said, a 
broad smile on his face.

"Nah, we knew you'd make it," Mulder reassured him. "So, where to 
now?"

"Just a few miles down the road and then we will leave the truck. It's 
not too far to a safe house of ours, the people there will get you to the 
bar in town. Your lady friends should be there waiting on you, just be 
sure not to leave until I can get back to you. I'll have to wait until 
after dark to sneak into the Commandant's office and get the uh, what 
exactly is it that I'm getting?"

"Let's just say that it's a piece of technological equipment that 
the U.S. government considers very sensitive," Quinn explained as best 
he could.

"Oh, then say no more, say no more, I understand completely."

Mulder managed to hide his smile, for a second there he felt a bit like he 
was stuck some Monty Python skit. "So, how long do you think it will 
take before you can get the property to us at the bar?"

"Shouldn't take too terribly long if everything goes according to 
plan. Just as soon as it gets dark enough, I'll just sneak into 
Klink's office and get it out of the safe. Then all I have to do is get 
out of camp and into town without getting caught, simple as that."

"Won't it take you long to get the safe open?" Quinn asked.

"I've got the bloody combination memorized. You're dealing with a 
professional here, mates. I was a magician before the war, packed 'em 
in, I did. Breaking into Klink's safe is nothing compared to some of my 
tricks from the old days." He tapped on the window separating them from 
Carter and Lebeau, "Stop just around the bend, I think we can walk from 
there."

"How far is it to this place?" Mulder asked, knowing he couldn't 
make it too far with his leg. He just wanted to get back to his own time 
where such things as penicillin and painkillers existed. Having brandy 
splashed on his leg was not the most pleasant of sensations.

"Not too far, you should be able to handle it. You've made it this 
far, you can't rightly give up now, can you?"

The truck came to a stop beside a grove of trees, in the distance Mulder 
and Quinn could see a small shack. "Is that where we're heading?" 
Mulder asked, indicating the building with the slight nod of his head.

"That's it. Think you can make it okay, mate? Or judging by that look 
in your eyes, I'd say you're liable just to stand up and walk out on 
me!"

"With a little help from my friends I should be able to get by."

"I'll help you," Quinn said, smirking at Mulder's bout of humor.

With little difficulty the five men started out through the grove, 
arriving at the safe house only minutes later.

After making sure Mulder's wound didn't reopen during the short trek, 
Newkirk knocked on the door. After a brief wait, a raspy voice came 
through to greet them, "Yes?"

"'One the lips of the intelligent is found wisdom, but on the mouth of 
the wicked conceals violence,'" Newkirk muttered into the solid oak 
door frame.

Soon the came the soft reply, "'Truly the evil man shall not go 
unpunished, but those who are just shall escape.'" Then the door 
opened to reveal a older man, obviously a civilian working for the 
underground.

"Evening, Fritz," Newkirk said, warmly shaking the man's hand.  
"Got some men here for you to take care of. This is Mr. Mulder and Mr. 
Mallory, they need to get to the bar in Hammelburg this evening. Think you 
can handle it?"

"Should not be a problem," Fritz said, his strong German accent almost 
overriding his broken English.

"Very good, we owe you one, old man." He turned to Mulder and Quinn. 
"Well, this is goodbye for now, mates. I'll see you at the bar as soon 
as I can."

"Thanks for all your help, Newkirk," Quinn said. "Be sure to thank 
Col. Hogan and everybody else for us. We certainly couldn't have done 
this without any of you."

"Nothing we haven't done a hundred times before, mates. You just work 
everything out with your ladies and you get that leg taken care of, 
Mulder. Well, bye for now lads."

The men shook hands and said their good-byes. When they were gone Quinn 
turned to Mulder, "So, what do we do now?"

Mulder was about to answer when the older man pulled him into a nearby 
chair, "First, I redress your wound here, then you feed yourselves, and 
*then* we head into Hammelburg."

"But..."

"None of that, young man! Now, you," he turned quickly to Quinn, 
then Mulder. "You serve yourself and your friend here. And you, you drop 
your pants."


Outskirts of Hammelburg
5:46 pm

"Dana, wake up! Quick!"

Scully awake slowly to find the young woman panic filled and hovering over 
her, "What's wrong, Wade?"

"The Gestapo is searching the house! Come on, we're getting out of 
here!"

Scully sprang out of bed and in one swift motion had her coat and shoes 
on, "Where's Schweppes?"

"Guarding the trap door, you ready?" Wade yelled, already sprinting 
down the hall to retrieve the contact. Absently Scully reached for her 
firearm, only to sigh heavily remembering that Mulder had insisted on her 
leaving it back in D.C.

"Quick, Frauleins -- out the back! Take the small path into the woods, 
when you reach the fence, head east till you reach a large oak -- I will 
meet you there...go now!"

Wade was already out the door when Scully turned back to see Schweppes 
frantically destroying his communications system. Without looking up he 
could feel her eyes, "Fraulein Scully, unless you wish never to see this 
friend of yours again, I suggest you leave now."

"But you..."

"We all have our time, Fraulein," he replied in an oddly calm way. 
"And right now I don't think you want to die without having lived 
first...you own it to him and yourself."

After that Scully felt as though she was running on legs other than her 
own, even as the closing darkness of dusk enveloped her she had only 
solitary thought: the bar.


End of Part 8

Note: Yes, it's me again, the long winded co-author: Lady Redlum! For 
those of you who may be a bit curious about the quotes used by the 
underground for entry into the safe house, let's just say it's 
proverbially Gideon.  Don't worry, I think it's a bit of a dead 
give away although I would still be very interested in knowing who figured 
it out! Of course if you don't feel like doing the research, let me 
know and I'll pass on the answer to my pathetic little mind game! ;)

Oh, one last thing: Agent Newbeau and I would like to beg your forgiveness 
for our petty Monty Python and Beatles references! We apologize deeply, 
we simply couldn't resist our other two lesser obsessions! After all, 
I never wanted to be a writer...I wanted to be a lumberjack!  

As always, any and all feedback to:
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau (karminoacid@ho
tmail.com)



TITLE: The Truth is Back There (9/10)

AUTHOR: Agent Newbeau and Lady Redlum

FEEDBACK: Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau 
(karminoacid@hotmail.com)  Flames, kind comments, letters of worship 
and/or death threats will be embraced with open arms!

CATEGORY: CRA

RATING: PG-13

**See part one for disclaimer**


Part 9

Hammelburg, Germany
7:14 pm

Quinn glanced at his watch as Mulder sat quietly scanning the small bar. 
They weren't there yet. The contact, Schweppes, had assured them that 
"the Frauleins" would be waiting for them at the small pub at the end 
of town. But for some reason Quinn was under the impression that Wade and 
Scully would be waiting for *them*, not the other way around! "So, 
how's your leg?"

Mulder blinked out of his blank stare, "Screaming for morphine, what 
about your head?"

Quinn shrugged, "Don't feel a thing, I've been through a lot 
worse." Mulder only nodded and returned to watching the room. Quinn 
observed the other man for a moment,  He 
noticed how careful Mulder was to keep the blood stained clothes safely 
hidden beneath his overcoat. But even more so, he noticed the deeply 
concealed worry in the other man's eyes, "It's okay Mulder, 
they're just running late."

"Actually, I'm not really worried about that, I just don't think I 
can trust myself..."

Quinn's brow knitted in momentary confusion but suddenly he truly 
realized what exactly Mulder was talking about. He'd barely admitted his 
feelings to himself let alone actually decide on a course of action, 
"Well..."

Just then a sudden movement grabbed Quinn's attention as three darkened 
figures uneasily dragged themselves into the bar. As he watched the 
shorter two converse with the taller everything seemed to come home for 
the young scientist. There she was, exhausted, dirty, but alive and safe. 
Quinn had never seen a more beautiful sight in all his life.

Funny, it never really occurred to him exactly how patient Wade had been 
through the years. Hell, she had been in love with him months before they 
had even started sliding together. If he'd only...

"Quinn?" Mulder asked, nudging his arm. He hadn't bothered to look 
at what held the young man's attention.

Quinn turned his bewildered gaze on Mulder, unable to voice his feelings 
that only now overwhelmed him. Instead he only mumbled the one thing that 
came to his mind, "You know Mulder, I once read somewhere that you 
should search your heart for in it lies the purest of truths. Amazing how 
simple yet complex something like that can be, you know?" With that he 
softly gripped Mulder shoulder and rose to his feet.

***

"Please calm down Frauleins! I promise you, that was just a routine 
search, the Gestapo likes threaten the locals on occasion -- you are safe. 
Now, I'm sure your friends are here, perhaps in the back, yes? If they 
are not here now..."

"How are we to know if the escape attempt failed, Schweppes? We could be 
waiting around here for hours and never know if they're even alive!" 
Scully demanded, her hands resting impatiently on her hips.

"Look, Fraulein Scully..."

"There he is," Wade muttered, lightly tugging on Scully's sleeve. 
"Thank God."

Scully turned in shock to see Wade maneuver through the tables and throw 
herself into the arms of Quinn Mallory.


Stalag 13
Commandant Klink's office
Sometime after dark

Newkirk slowly opened the door to Klink's office, careful not to make 
any noise that might alert anyone to his presence. All he wanted to do was 
open the safe, get the device, and get the hell out of there. He knew 
Mulder and Quinn were waiting for him so they could leave. He almost hated 
to see them go, having gotten to know them in the short time they had 
spent at Stalag 13.

He crouched down in front of the safe and carefully turned the knob to the 
first number, then the second and finally the third. As he reached to open 
the door he was suddenly aware of the fact that he was more nervous than 
usual. Every mission had an element of danger, but this one, while not 
exactly dangerous, carried grave consequences if he failed.  he told himself. 

He pulled the handle, but the door didn't open. Realization swept over 
him of what was going on, "Oh bloody hell, the Gestapo must have changed 
the combination. Damn it!"

He reached into his pocket for his trusty stethoscope when he heard the 
footsteps outside the door and voices echoing through the halls. "I 
don't care how safe it is Commandant, I would still like to take another 
look at the device we took off the Americans."


Hammelburg, Germany
7:19 pm

Mulder smiled to himself at seeing the two young people in their embrace. 
He craned his neck around the corner but still could not make out Scully 
through the thickening crowd. "Damn," he muttered and slowly pushed 
himself out of the corner booth and unsteadily onto his feet.  His eyes began to search frantically, his mind already 
beginning to fear the worst.  His leg began to throb even 
more and he felt himself grow faint. He still couldn't see her and pain 
engulfed him, sending him closer to blacking out. His leg grew to a heavy 
pounding sensation and as suddenly as he felt it give way he felt two 
strong hands surround his waist and ease him back into his seat.

"I swear to God Mulder, I wish we could just take *one* trip without you 
getting hurt!"

He sat still for a moment, his pain filled eyes trying to focus on the 
familiar voice. Scully. He felt her small hand move softly over his cheek 
as he finally focused on her now intense blue eyes, "You scared the 
living crap out of me Agent Scully."

Her eyes seemed to light up and she flashed him one of her more rare, 
radiant smiles, "What? You getting taken to a Nazi prison camp wasn't 
supposed to effect me in the slightest?"

"Why Dr. Scully, is that a hint of sarcasm I hear in your voice?" She 
chuckled lightly in response, but quickly quieted and turned her gaze to 
her hands. "What is it, Scully?" He asked, his pain seeming to subside 
with her presence.

She swallowed, finally looking up to meet his concerned gaze,  "Mulder, I..."

Just then Quinn and Wade slide into the booth, both looking disgustingly 
happy, Mulder decided. "So, no sign of Newkirk yet?" Quinn asked, 
careful to keep his very American voice down to a whisper.

Mulder shook his head, "No not yet, give him some time. It's not like 
he can rush through that sort of thing."

Scully frowned in confusion, "What's going on?"

"Uh, when we were captured the Gestapo kinda took the time sliding 
device..." Quinn began.

"Well, doesn't *that* sound familiar! Quinn, I swear, you should 
have that thing surgically attached!" Wade shot back, a strange little 
grin playing with the corners of her mouth.

Quinn only nodded in defeat, allowing her only the slightest of sarcastic 
smirks, "Yeah, well, the underground has a guy that's in the process 
of stealing it back as we speak."

"But don't worry," Mulder put in when he saw the look that flashed 
across his partner's face. "I get the feeling that these guys do this 
sort of thing often enough. We just have to wait till he gets here."


Stalag 13
Commandant Klink's Office

Newkirk froze, unsure of what to do. There was no place to hide in the 
office and he knew if he were caught, thirty days in  solitary was the 
least of his worries. The Gestapo would not think twice about having him 
shot. After all, shoot first ask questions later seemed to ever be their 
philosophy.

"It's in my safe and I have changed the combination as a precaution, 
as you suggested," Klink was saying. "What exactly is it?"

"I'm not sure, that's why I am taking it to Berlin with me tomorrow. 
Now, to your office to get the device," the other man said.

"Certainly, Colonel."

Newkirk could imagine Klink giddy with delight over being part of 
something vitally important to the German government.  he thought.

He heard a key in lock and still he did not know what to do. The only real 
place to hide was under the desk and that was too risky. What he really 
needed was a diversion outside, something to distract Klink from the 
office long enough for him to get the safe open and get out.

Suddenly from outside came the sound of shouting and fighting.  Newkirk thought, a small grin on his face.

"What is that noise?" Gottschalk demanded.

"Sounds like some of the prisoners fighting. Come, the device will still 
be here when we get back."

Newkirk waited until he was sure Klink and the other men were gone before 
getting back to work. He carefully listened for the distinctive sounds of 
the clicks and soon he had the new combination. He opened the door and 
pulled out a rectangular object that was easily unlike anything he had 
ever seen before. Whatever it was, it sure looked like something the Nazis 
had no business getting their hands on.

He closed the safe, pocketed the device and quickly slipped out of the 
office before the Commandant returned. Now all he had to do was get safely 
into town and make his delivery.

When the disturbance, which just turned out to be a fight over a card 
game, was under control, Klink and Gottschalk returned to the office.

"It's not here," Gottschalk said in dismay after searching the safe. 
"Where is it, Klink?"

"I swear to you, I put it in there myself. It must be there."

"Well it isn't! Perhaps you will be able to find it at a different, 
less respectable post...say, the Russian front?"

Fear swept over Klink as he realized just how serious the situation was, 
"I will have my men turn the entire camp up side down -- it will be 
found, Col. Gottschalk, I swear it!"

"It better be Commandant, for your sake."

Just then the phone rang, Klink picked up the receiver with a shaky hand, 
"Yes? Of course, he's right here. It's for you, Colonel."

Gottschalk took the phone, "Yes...when did this happen? Well, dispatch 
men to look for them! It is most important that they be found. I don't 
care! Find the prisoners or I hold you personally responsible! Yes, 
Heil Hitler," he said and hung  up the phone. Slowly he turned his cold 
stare toward Klink, "That, Commandant, was Berlin. The truck was found 
abandoned outside Hammelburg, and there was no sign of the prisoners. The 
guards say they were attacked by three men halfway to Berlin."

Klink ran a nervous hand over his bald head, "Oh dear, this is not 
good."


Hammelburg
8:36 pm

Mulder sighed heavily, he was feeling remarkably better although his leg 
had yet to leave him alone. He scanned the room for the thousandth time 
that night, hoping to find Newkirk and their ticket home. But instead he 
only saw Quinn and Wade in the corner of the small dance floor, slowly 
moving to the soft music, comfortable in each other's arms.

"They truly love each other, don't they?" Scully muttered, following 
his gaze.

He turned to face her, the strangest of expressions in her eyes, "Yeah, 
some people just belong together I guess."

Scully nodded in agreement, quickly breaking Mulder's suddenly uncomforta
ble stare. Mulder could feel the sudden shift in the air around the small 
table too, making it hard for him to breathe. "Well, Scully, I hope you 
don't think me rude if I don't ask you to dance. All I have is one 
left foot and a right one that's out of order."

Scully smiled lightly, for once enjoying his humor as it broke the tension 
that had enveloped them, "Want me to take a look at it?"

"Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."

"Give me a break Mulder, here, let me help you up." With that Scully 
helped Mulder to his feet and lead him into the back room.

***

Quinn broke the soft kiss first, looking down at the woman in his arms his 
whispered softly with all the feeling in his heart, "I am so sorry, 
Wade."

Her mouth curled into a sly smirk, "Now what do you have to be sorry for 
Quinn Mallory?"

 "Well, for starters I'm sorry I 
thought I could live my life without you once we had returned home. But 
more importantly, I'm sorry for not listening to my heart when I should 
have years ago."

"It's okay, Quinn..."

His blue eyes darkened, refusing to meet hers, "No, it's not okay 
Wade. I've wasted years of my life that I could have spent like this, 
with you. I don't think I could forgive myself for being so blind for so 
long."

Wade simply smiled and reached up to run her hand through his hair, 
"You, Quinn, are being a tad over dramatic. Just let the past die in the 
past; life's too short, you know?"

He finally raised his gaze to meet hers and smiled, "Yeah, it stays 
here, in the past." With that Quinn pulled her closer, happy to finally 
feel complete again.

***

"Drop your pants Mulder," Scully said, waiting for the sarcastic 
comment to follow.

"Wow, twice in one day...sorry Scully, some old German guy already beat 
you to it."

 Scully 
thought to herself, hiding back her smile. "Funny Mulder, now do you 
want me to look at it or not?"

Mulder bit back another remark and pulled down his pants, relived to see 
that the wound still wasn't bleeding, "So Doc, what's the verdict? 
Death? Amputation? Years of living as a vegetable?"

Scully pulled back the bandage and studied the wound before answering 
seriously, "Um, amputation actually."

Mulder's eyes bulged and the blood drained out of his face, "WHAT?!
"

"Gotcha," she replied calmly, amused by the look of total confusion on 
his face. "What's wrong Agent Mulder? You can dish it out but not take 
it?"

"Scully, I do believe this trip has done something to your sense of 
humor..."

"No, that's from the four years with you," she said simply. Mulder 
only chuckled in appreciation before the silence again settled over them. 
Scully sighed heavily, "Mulder, I talked to Klemper."

"Really? Well, that's great..."

"He didn't know anything, Mulder. If you want my opinion I'd say we 
caught him too early on in his career to learn anything of use. Maybe if I 
had known exactly what you were hoping to find here..."

"No," he said slowly shaking his head. "It's okay. I think I may 
have just been reaching for anything at that point, honestly. I guess I 
was hoping that Klemper know something about how to help you..." he 
trailed off, his warm eyes searching hers.

"Oh, Mulder," Scully muttered, resting a hand against his cheek. "I 
wish you would stop thinking that it's in your power to stop this."

"I know, but I can't stand just sitting here watching you go through 
this Scully. The answers *are* out there, and I know if I stop looking for 
them you'll never have the chance!"

Scully sighed, dropping her hand to his arm, "I'm not gone yet, 
Mulder, and oddly, I'm not even afraid of that. But the one thing that I 
*do* fear is that you'll be so busy rearranging chairs on the Titanic 
that by the time you realize that it was a waste, we..." she swallowed, 
forcing herself to hold his gaze. "*We* won't have any time left. 
Please stop killing yourself for me Mulder...right now that's not what I 
need from you."

His deep hazel eyes grew even warmer as he leaned closer, slowly running a 
finger down the gentle slope of her face, "Then what do you need from me 
Scully?"

She shivered at his sudden closeness before answering quietly, "God, 
Mulder, I just need you."

He nodded, "Good, because right now, that's the only thing I can give 
you." Then a small smile spread across his face as he leaned closer and 
gently brushed his lips to hers.

End of Part 9


Still there? I know, sorry you had to wait through nine parts to get to 
the RST stuff! But, hey, we can't help it: we're obsessed and we 
practically feed off of angst! Oh give me a break: you know damn well 
you're the same way! 

As always, any and all feedback to:
Lady Redlum (bagpipes@hotmail.com) and/or Agent Newbeau (karminoacid@ho
tmail.com)
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Part 10

Hammelburg, Germany

Fox Mulder was free. His soul had felt so confined for so long that he had 
never known what it meant to be truly *free*. That is, until now. Holding 
Dana Scully in his arms, he felt whole, as if his soul had finally found 
it's home after straying so far.

But it was more than the kiss itself, it was the complete realization that 
whatever time they had left it would be spent together, in the purest 
sense. No more hiding, no more denial, no more pain, simply acceptance 
that had alluded him for so long.

Suddenly there was a sharp knock at the door and reluctantly Scully broke 
their embrace, her eyes lingering on him for a brief second, "Yes?"

The door opened and Quinn stuck his head in, arching an eyebrow at the 
scene that greeted him. After all, Mulder still had his pants around his 
ankles, "Uh, sorry to interrupt but our ride home just arrived."

Mulder's color deepened as he yanked his trousers back into place, 
getting only an amused look from Scully, "Newkirk? Bout time, I was 
beginning to think we might have to do a Von Trapp over the mountains."

"Hiding away in here, is he?" The Brit pushed past Quinn, handing him 
the timer in the process, "Sorry about the delay, would you believe 
they've got half the bloody Gestapo out looking for you blokes! Now 
listen, I've got to get back to camp but we've got a contact not five 
miles from here that can get you four to the border."

"Actually, that won't be necessary," Quinn stated as he pocketed the 
timer.

"Well, how the hell do you expect..."

"Let's just say we've got connections of our own," Mulder said, 
getting to his feet, only to have to lean against Scully for support.

Newkirk nodded, "Right, probably has to do with that little device of 
yours, it being top secret and all. Well, I'll leave you to it, gents, I 
never was one to mettle in the affairs of state!" He turned to leave, 
simply nodding to Wade and Scully with a knowing grin,  "Oh, and ladies, keep an eye on these 
two, they have a tendency to be a bit on the delusional side. May have to 
shoot'em or at least slap them around a bit."

"Already been done," Scully muttered, casting one of her enigmatic 
smiles up at Mulder.

Newkirk's eyebrows shot up in appreciation, "Very nice! She's 
definitely the one for you, mate!" With that the tall Brit simply 
vanished into the crowded bar and began the trip back to his prison camp.

"Well, I take it you two are all done here?" Quinn asked as he pulled 
the timer back out. Mulder and Scully didn't need to ask each other for 
confirmation, instead they simply nodded tiredly. "Thank God, just give 
me a second to double check the settings and we'll be on our way."

After a few minutes the room began to shimmer in the brilliance of the 
deep blue vortex as it slowly grew to it's maximum size. Quinn let Wade 
go first and after making sure Mulder would be okay, he leapt into the 
gateway himself.

"Well, Dr. Scully, so much for the ultimate adventure," Mulder whisper 
in her ear as she helped him over to the vortex edge.

"Oh, I don't know Mulder, seems to me this is just the start."

"I like the way you think," Mulder said, and leaning down he placed a 
soft kiss one her lips.

"Good, because you're stuck with me," she replied, that strange 
little grin on her face once again. The grin only grew wider as she 
followed Mulder into the vortex and back to the present.


2 weeks later
Apartment of Dana Scully, Washington, D.C.
11:21 pm

"You know Agent Scully, you actually have everyone fooled," Mulder 
said, standing in the light of her refrigerator.

Scully came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his slim waist and 
pulling him closer, "Oh?"

"Yeah, you're worse than me when it comes to keeping food in your 
frig. I mean, look at this, nothing in the freezer but ice and only some 
ancient looking Chinese take-out down here."

"Now, Mulder, the take out is for prosperity..."

He turned around in her embrace, enclosing her small frame in his long 
arms, "You trying to be funny Scully?"

"No, actually *you* left the take-out in there last week. I just wanted 
you to feel at home so I didn't move it."

He smiled lightly, "Oh, *now* you are being funny." He bent down, 
pressing his lips to hers, soon feeling her fingers intertwined in his 
hair. Suddenly the door bell sounded, followed by a loud impatient 
rapping. Frustrated, Mulder pulled away from her, "I guess that would be 
your other sex toy...ouch!"

Scully hit him roughly across the shoulder one last time before making her 
way towards the door, "Yeah, that's it. I'll be back right after I 
tell Frohike that I'm not in the mood tonight."

She could still hear his soft chuckling as she came to the door and looked 
out the hole. Outside her door stood a tall nervous looking, middle aged 
man, "Yes?"

"Dana Scully? I have something I am to give you."

Quickly Mulder was at her side, gun drawn. Slowly, Scully opened the door 
although leaving the chain on, "Do I know you?"

"No, not really, but I do believe you knew a close associate of 
mine...Victor Klemper," the two agents exchanged confused looks as the 
stranger continued. "I understand your concern, but if I may come in I 
will gladly explain everything. I assure you, I am unarmed Mr. Mulder."

Mulder sighed and removed the chain, "Fine, you've got five minutes."


"More than enough, thank you," he stepped inside quickly and sat 
himself on her large over-stuffed couch where he was soon joined by the 
other two. "Ms. Scully, you knew Dr. Klemper, yes?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I actually knew him, considering I 
simply talked to him on one occasion, just before he died actually," she 
said quickly, her mind briefly drifting back to bar in Hammelburg only 
weeks before.

"Two occasions you mean."

Mulder and Scully caught their breath and yet shared a single thought, 
 Mulder leaned over to her and whispered so 
softly she had to strain to hear him, "Quinn and Wade wouldn't have 
talked, and Dr. Glen didn't know enough of what went on to spill 
anything of importance." Scully only nodded silently in return.

"Please, don't bother yourself with details, I only know that Victor 
held you in the highest regard. He always said that you were the one 
person who made him realize what he had been missing from his life."

"And what was that?"

He smiled for a second, "I have no idea, but I must admit I'm curious 
about that part myself! Actually, I'm nothing more than a delivery 
boy. You see, I worked with Victor for many years as a personal assistant 
at the Vegreville Research Facility in South Carolina. When he finally 
retired in November of '94 he gave me a sealed envelope and told me to 
follow the instructions on it." At this he carefully removed a long 
legal size envelope from his breast pocket and passed it to Scully. On it 
simply read:

     To be delivered on April 17, 1997 to Ms. Dana K. Scully. 107 E. 
Cordova, Apartment 35  Washington, D.C.

Scully's eyes widened as she glanced at Mulder's confused expression 
before turning back to the man who was now moving towards the door, 
"Wait, how did..."

"Please, I know nothing, I only did this out of respect for Dr. Klemper. 
Now, if you will excuse me, I wish to take my leave," Mulder nodded and 
walked the man to the door, locking it behind him.

When he returned to the living room, Scully was already reading the 
letter:


                                             September 28, 1994

     Fraulein,

     No one was more shocked than myself to see you laying upon the table, 
even now I don't understand it all. I can only guess that the image I 
saw all those years ago in Germany, was a sign of the pain I would come to 
cause. I realized that today, seeing you lay there. However, I do not 
believe in regret and I know that through the pain I have caused, much 
good came of it. But even though I know this I still feel as though I do 
own you something. You gave me something that I had lost so completely I 
didn't even realize what it was until today. Or as you put it years ago: 
A Heart. I have existed my whole life without living, without a heart or 
soul. I guess I do regret one thing.

     Anyway, those are simply the ramblings of an old man who feels 
responsible for your state of health as it is at the reading of this 
letter. All that They did to you I'm sure will haunt you for years to 
come, but rest assured, under the right conditions you will live a long 
healthy life. And I hope you live it well, for what I am about to reveal 
to you I do at great personal risk. For me, death would be a pleasant 
experience if They were to find this.

     Fraulein, these things They are doing to you are greatly rooted in my 
own research, that which I started back in Hammelburg. I believe I 
remember telling you of a biological "trap door" that so confused the 
body that it is deadly for those who seek treatment. I had always thought 
that this was my greatest and most insignificant contribution to the 
project.

     I tell you this now, Fraulein, your salvation is in the waiting, any 
treatment of any kind will only activate my "trap door." If you simply 
live your life, this cancer that now racks your body will eventually kill 
itself off on its own. You see, They are testing more than the human body, 
They are testing the limits of the human soul. But you shall over come 
this blackness -- it is my gift to you. You have only to trust in this 
letter and the patience I know you possess.

     I am hoping I am not too late in giving you this, for the sickness 
They are placing in your body has an incubation period of just over two 
years. But what I am looking for in this letter is absolution, and I know 
that if you were to over come this, I will be granted that. I give you 
life, Fraulein, in exchange for my forgiveness.

                                      -- Victor Klemper

"Truly, the evil man shall not go unpunished, but those who are just 
shall escape."


Scully sat in amazement, only vaguely aware of Mulder's arm around her 
or the tears slowly flowing down her checks.

"Dana?" He asked, tenderly running a hand through her hair.

She turned to face him and what she saw in his eyes took her completely 
aback. Love. Love running so deep that it simply transcended all forms of 
space, time and logic. "I'm fine, Mulder."

A little smirk played with the corners of his mouth, "Yeah I know, 
you're always fine, but are you *okay?*"

She paused for a moment considering Klemper's letter.  she thought to herself.  "No, actually, I *am* fine 
Mulder."

He nodded, his eyes searching hers as he pulled her close to him and 
kissed her deeply, with all the carefully hidden passion of the past four 
years. Upon breaking the embrace, his lips brushed her ear gently, 
whispering, "In sickness and in health, Love?"

She smiled broadly in return and slipped the letter into his hand, 
speaking softly in reply, "So be it."  she thought to 
herself as she watched his eyes slowly took in the letter, and the dark 
hazel depths held confusion for the briefest moment. But as realization 
set in, they slowly began to fill tears and a small smile soon spread 
across his face.

The End

AUTHOR END NOTES: (run now!!)

    Hello everybody, Agent Newbeau here. Yes, I do exist I bet a few of 
you were beginning to wonder about that. I hope you enjoyed this story, my 
first venture into writing fanfic, but hopefully not my last.
    The original idea of this story was mine, but I never could have 
written it without the help of Lady Redlum. She took my idea and made it 
into something better than I would have ever thought possible. It was hard 
at times, but we managed to finish without killing each other. 
     I would like to conclude with a quote that seems appropriate to this 
story:

"Nothing gives you more zest than running for your life."
                                  Robert A. Heinlein


     Lady Redlum here, yes, the long winded one that has plagued the 
ending of every part of this story!  First of all, I'd like to 
thank my co-author for giving me the freedom to do what I wanted with the 
all of the bar scenes as well as part 10 of this story! Thanks for 
humoring me, chica!
    Secondly, for those of you who think I may have copped out on the 
ending, this couldn't be farther from the truth. I honestly believe that 
each of us possesses the ability to heal ourselves. Especially since any 
disease of any kind is only about 30% physical; the rest lay in the realms 
of our spiritual and mental health. In regards to this story, once Scully 
finally released herself from all burden and accepted her heart, any *dis* 
- *ease* she may have had finally succumbed to the metaphorical illusion 
that it was. So I guess the moral of the story is: through our own 
awareness, we will truly heal ourselves. Whether it be the healing of the 
heart, a tumor or both.
     Sorry, I have a bad habit of 
rambling! (Newbeau, don't you say a word -- I know where you live!!
) Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If not, hell, 
that's cool with me, but please keep your turbo flame thrower on the 
gentle setting, both of us are a bit on the thin skinned side! (I know, 
pathetic isn't it?) ;)

    Source: geocities.com/televisioncity/set/9847