Eyes In the Night - Part 5/6 Summary and disclaimers in Part 1 ***** Mulder was exhausted, and though he wouldn't admit it to Scully, he was sore. The activities of last night had pretty much done him in! Muscles he didn't know he had complained as he walked along. He glanced down at Scully. Her cheeks were rosy in the cold, and her breath came out in white, frozen puffs. The humidity made it feel colder than it actually was. And she didn't look any more comfortable than he felt. He decided to start a conversation to help distract both of them. "We need to figure out what we need to do if Cat and Monroe didn't have any luck." Scully started laughing. He looked at her in surprise. "What?" "Have you noticed that you call her Cat, and I call her O'Neil? Or how I call Justin by his first name, and you always call him Monroe? Don't you find that a little odd?" Mulder smiled. "Guess we better find a good psychologist to have that explained." "Hate to break it to you, Mulder, but you are a good psychologist." "Yeah, but I'm way too tired to try and figure that one out!" Scully was silent for a moment. Then, "She's nice." "Who?" "O'Neil. I like her. And I'm glad you found a partner who believes in the work." "Only took eight months," Mulder commented wryly. "Does she have a boyfriend?" Mulder gave her an amused glance. "Do you mean 'Is she available?'. Is that your not so subtle way of asking if I have ever been interested in her?" "Are you?" Scully asked. "I mean, I've seen the way she looks at you." Mulder sighed. "Ten years ago, yeah, I might have been more than anxious to get in her pants. But I've grown up." He looked down at her. "Last night was right where I belong." Scully smiled. "If anyone should be jealous here, it should be me," he continued. "Monroe follows you around like at big, horny dog." Scully started laughing. Hard. She stopped walking, trying to catch her breath. Mulder stopped as well and turned to look at her. "What!?" Scully took a deep breath. "Mulder, you don't have to be jealous of Justin. If any one should be jealous of him, it should be me." Mulder's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?!" With a slightly embarrassed smile, she said simply, "He's gay." The impact of the words hit Mulder full force. He groaned and doubled over in feigned agony. He didn't know weather to laugh or cry. "Monroe!?" He never would have guessed. Scully nodded. "And he told me just yesterday how he understood my attraction to you!" "But he's so..." Mulder stood straight, brushing his hands over his face. "He's so protective of you." "Yes, he's loyal and very protective. But that's just who he is. He was also assigned to San Francisco before he came here. He knew Bill." "Ugh!" He started laughing. "No wonder he hates me!" Scully started walking again, a smile still on her face. Mulder quickly caught up to her, grabbing her hand in his. He loved to see her smile. They walked the rest of the way back to the cabin like that. Hand in hand. The cabin was still warm when they reached it, the last remnants of the fire glowing in the hearth. Mulder immediately went over to work on it, building it up again. Neither he nor Scully were comfortable, both desperate to get warm. Cold and wet yet again, they took off their coats and shoes, warming up in front of the newly awakened blaze. "We need sleep, Scully." Mulder's teeth were chattering. "Okay, Mulder." Scully was agreeable. "But that means the clothes stay on!" Mulder gave her a disappointed look, but then laughed. Together, they climbed into the warm bed, clothes on. For a while, they both lay on their backs, staring at nothing. Then Mulder heard a loud, exaggerated sigh coming from Scully, and he felt the bed move. He looked over to find that she had turned to lie on her side, back facing him. With only a slight hesitation, Mulder reached for her, curling up behind her, arm around her waist. She sighed again, this time in contentment, and settled back against him. Mulder realized this was what she had wanted him to do in the first place. With a smile, he quietly fell into a deep sleep. ************************************************************ Matthew Ross' Cabin Hayden Lake, Idaho The first thing Scully noticed when she woke up was that she was hot. She opened her eyes and quickly shut them again, as a bright light was shining right in them. Slowly, she opened them again. Sunlight poured through the window. It was low in the sky, but Scully smiled anyway. Sun this time of the year was a wonderful thing. It also meant that rescue was imminent. It was then she became aware of the fact that the sun wasn't what was making her so hot. It was the 'heater' behind her on the bed. With a soft laugh, Scully turned in Mulder's arms to look at him. He was sleeping soundly, a rare event, undisturbed by the sun or her movements. Laying on her back, his arm heavy on her belly, Scully reached over and brushed his hair off of his forehead. He didn't move, but he did sigh in contentment. She lay there, feeling much better after her short nap, and stared at the ceiling. Her mind was quickly waking up and starting to work overtime. Ross, other pending cases, her new relationship with Mulder. All the problems in her small universe began crowding in on her. Then her unfocused gaze focused. Something was atop the rafter beam right above the bed. Glancing at Mulder, Scully slipped out from under his arm, then got up to stand on the bed. On her tiptoes, she could barely reach the beam, and she almost lost her balance once. Finally, she managed to reach the object hidden in a rather good hiding place. But before she could look closely at the little book in her hand, Mulder's voice, husky with sleep, asked from beneath her on the bed, "Is this a private ritual, or can anyone join in?" Scully jumped, startled. She turned and kneeled down beside him. "I thought you were asleep." "It's kind of hard to sleep when someone is jumping up and down on the bed," he remarked dryly. Scully didn't even bother to respond to that. She held up the book. "Look what I found." Mulder sat up quickly. "Better get a pair of gloves." Scully nodded, laying the book down on the bed, then getting up to retrieve two pairs of latex gloves out of her pack. Handing one pair to Mulder, she climbed onto the bed and leaned her back against the headboard next to him. Gloves on, she picked up the book. It was a woman's diary. Kim Ross' diary, to be precise. Scully and Mulder slowly flipped through the little book. The entries were simple, dates and names rather than thoughts and feelings, but through it, the agents gathered that Kim was Matthew's mother, and that this cabin had been more than a simple get-a-way for her. It was where she did business. Kim Ross had been a very classy, high-priced call-girl. And according to the names listed, she had been a favorite among the politicians and millionaires in the area. Scully began to feel sick. No wonder she and Mulder had been so uninhibited here; it was probably something in the air! "We could cause a lot of trouble for a lot of married men if we let this little baby get out in the open," Mulder said softly. Scully elbowed him. "I'm just glad I don't see anyone I have learned to like and respect since I've been here in there." Not all politicians were womanizers. "This is just a record of her deals, pretty much. She doesn't even get into any juicy details." He sounded disappointed. Scully glared at him. "And you would enjoy it so much better if she did? Would it be better than watching all those videos that aren't yours?" "Oh, come on, Scully. You can't tell me you've never read a romance novel before. Smut is smut, no matter the medium it's presented in." Scully didn't respond. She wasn't about to admit that she occasionally did take in a Silhouette novel or two on occasion. She especially liked the ones about law enforcement partners who became more than friends. Mulder had continued to flip through the book. "The last entry is dated January 23, 1995." He looked up, intent on a thought. "When did the Beast start killing?" "The first death we attributed to him was in November of '95. But there was an unsolved murder of a hooker in February of that year." She paused. "Do you think that after his mother died he may have started killing?" "It's possible he loved her or hated her so much that her death was a catalyst. Serial killers often start their dirty deeds after a traumatic event in their lives. Death of a family member, divorce, etcetera, etcetera." "Do you think he killed his mother?" "Probably not. But I am betting that her death released him from some kind of unnatural hold she had on him. She probably abused him, made him watch while she worked, things like that. That would explain his hatred of whores." As Mulder talked, he began flipping through the empty pages at the back of the book. Suddenly, the pages were no longer blank. "Scully. Look at this!" His voice had taken on a breathless quality. Scully took the book from him and looked carefully at the writing. A date, like a traditional diary, topped the page. 'February 3, 1995' it read. 'Turned out to be a whore called Gloria Parker'. "That unsolved case you mentioned. The victim's name wasn't Gloria Parker, was it?" Mulder asked. Scully nodded mutely, and continued reading. Twenty-three names were listed, names the killer obviously hadn't know when he killed them, only to add them later, after the bodies were found and the names printed in the paper. Some names were written in a different pen than the dates; Those bodies hadn't been found immediately. The date 'June 16, 1999' was nameless. Scully knew it belonged to Jainey Conrad, the woman they had found two days ago. Ross hadn't gotten the chance to write the name in yet. "It's an inventory of his 'work'," Scully said softly, disgust dripping from her voice. "Just like his mother." Victim number 17 was Brianna Anderson, Moira's sister. She looked at Mulder. He nodded his head, his eyes bright. "We got him." A faint roar caught their attention. They both rushed off the bed and ran to the door, opening it to look out. The sun was getting close to setting, but even through the long shadows cast by the trees, they could see the snow plow making its way up the road toward the cabin. Behind it was a government car, most likely carrying Justin and O'Neil. "Well," Mulder sighed. "Looks like the vacation's over." His voice was full of regret. "Yeah," Scully muttered. She was happy to go back, to have a shot at catching the killer. She was glad to get away from this cabin now that she knew what it had been used for. She was overjoyed to be getting back to the real world. Then why was she so sad? ************************************************************ Days Inn Downtown Spokane Matthew Ross was arrested around 7 P.M. that evening. The evidence against him was enough, and it had been obtained legally. Three working girls, friends of victims, positively identified him as a regular visitor to their neck of the woods. There wasn't much Ross could do to deny it. His lawyers would, no doubt, argue that he was just obsessed with the Beast and collected information on his victims from the papers. But the date of Jainey Conrad's death (it had been confirmed by a friend that she had indeed disappeared on the night of June 16) without a name, a name that hadn't yet been released to the public, was pretty convincing. How had he known what day she died if he didn't even know her name unless he had killed her? The case was nearing closure, and Mulder and Cat were going back to DC in the morning. Mulder sat on the bed watching the local news. All the local stations were re-running clips from the press conference the task force had held at 9 P.M. The speaker detailed how an anonymous witness had led to the arrest of Matthew Ross earlier that evening on suspicion of being the Beast. The speaker looked great on TV. Scully had worn her hair up in a French twist, her clothes were clean, and her make-up fresh. She showed no signs of having spent the previous night in a deserted cabin with an insatiable lover. She was once again the calm, unflappable Assistant Special Agent in Charge. But he could remember her last night, her hair wild and unruly. He could still smell her, musky and sweet. He could still taste her... He closed his eyes and groaned. It was very fortunate indeed he hadn't let his memory tease him while they had worked at the office. But now, when he was relaxed and alone, tease him it did. Now what were he and Scully to do? Did they dare attempt a long-distance relationship as he had asked about two nights ago? Or did they just go back to the way things had been for the past year, just letting the events in the cabin become a fond memory? Could they even contemplate a change in location that might bring them closer together? Could he seriously leave the X Files to move out here just to be closer to her? Hell, yes, he thought. But he knew she wouldn't allow him to do that. The memory of how upset she was when she discovered his dying interest in the X Files came to mind. No, she would not be happy if he quit. And he honestly didn't think it was the right thing to do anyway. He had things to do there, unfinished business that he didn't think would let him alone to be happy quite yet. He still had work to do. A knock sounded at the door. For a moment, his heart leapt, thinking it might be Scully. But his mind didn't recognize the knock as hers. Strange, he thought as he got up to walk to the door. He never realized before that he would know Scully just by her knock. He looked through the peephole to see Cat standing nervously in the hall. He opened the door to admit her. "What's up?" It was after 11 P.M. Too late for work. Cat stepped into the room. "Nothing. Just seeing if you were okay." She turned to face him. "You've been really quiet ever since we picked you up at the cabin. Not like an agent who just caught a serial killer." Mulder closed the door and moved to turn off the TV. He saw Cat glance at Scully on the screen before he flipped it off. "Something happened between you and Scully up there, didn't it?" There was concern in her voice, as well as a bit of jealousy. He nodded. He had never lied to Cat, and he wasn't about to start now. "Is she coming back to the X Files?" Now she sounded worried. That was something Mulder hadn't let himself hope. He shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt it. She's committed herself to her job here." "But you would take her back in a second if she said she wanted to come back, wouldn't you?" "Cat..." "I know, I know," Cat cut him off. "She's your best friend, maybe far more, and you were great together." She looked at him, her eyes pleading. "But I really love this job. I love the X Files. I don't want to leave." Mulder sighed. "Cat, even if she did, for some strange reason, want to come back, I'd make sure you could stay on in some way or another." He shook his head sadly. "But I'm sure we won't have to worry about that." Cat nodded, looking relieved. The she let out a soft laugh. "You do realize that the X Files were the reason I joined the FBI in the first place, don't you?" "I seem to recall you mentioning something like that once." "Scully was...is...my idol. I know that sounds corny, but it's true. But I also know she's human, too. And I know how much of you she took with her when she left the X Files, because I see how you interact with her, and you're different. Whole." She took a deep breath. "Have you even asked her to come back?" Mulder looked at his partner, and for the first time saw her as a friend. He knew she probably still had an interest in him as a man, but she also knew his heart belonged to Scully. And that would never change. Cat belonged with the X Files, and he was determined to see her stay, but that didn't mean Scully couldn't come back. "You're right," he said finally. "I should ask her to come back. Just as I should have asked her to stay a year ago. The X Files can handle more than two agents now. It just might work!" He was getting excited now. Cat smiled. "Good," she said softly. She had learned to care for Mulder a great deal in the past few months, but her respect for Scully and his obvious devotion to her had kept Cat from making any moves on her partner. Besides, it wouldn't be professional. So why was she encouraging him to ask Scully back when it was obvious they were more than friends? Hell, they'd been through enough trouble. They could easily handle romance! "Good luck," she whispered as she left. But Mulder didn't even hear her. He was too busy trying to decide what to say to Scully to get her to come home. ***** End 5/6