TITLE: All the Time in the World
AUTHOR: A. J. S. S.
SPOILERS: Memento Mori
RATING: PG-13 (for language)
CLASSIFICATION: X
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully friendship/UST
ARCHIVE: Yes.
SUMMARY: How DO you deal with a girl who refuses to die? 

Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and any other X-Files used in this story
are not mine. They belong to Chris Carter, Fox, and 1013 Productions.

**Note** This story is set after Memento Mori but before Redux and Redux II.
In my universe, Redux and Redux II have not happened.

*******Before everyone starts sending me feedback about how these places in
Connecticut don't really exist, remember this a work of FICTION, and any
similarities to any locations are purely coincidental. 

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The door swung open. She threw her keys on the coffee table, and closed 
the door with her foot. She had just finished a case with her partner, Fox 
Mulder, and now here she was. A Friday with nowhere to go and nothing to do 
except and wait until Monday morning. 

She went to her couch and took out her ID and idiotically read it. 
"Special Agent Dana Scully. Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI." She 
tucked her badge back in her coat pocket. She looked at her watch-only 9:00 PM? 
This was crazy! Why was she so bored? Ordinarily she would relish these precious
moments. 

Moments when she wasn't chasing little green men or listening to her
partner tell her about how the government was involved in one conspiracy or
another. Not this time. This time-today-had been different. Maybe if she could
sort things out in her mind, she'd be more relaxed. She closed her eyes.....

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FBI Building, D.C.
8:05 AM

She walked down the long corridor and down to the basement office of her
partner. It was a typical Thursday. She stepped inside and he smiled.
	
"Morning, Scully!" 
	
She answered, "Good morning, Mulder." They never called each other by 
their first names - most partners never do. "Why are you So happy?" she asked, 
though she could guess.
	
"Gotta love this job! Not all agents get to travel as much as we do at the
Bureau's expense." He waved a file in front of her face. She took it and began 
skimming it. 
	
"Two guys rob a Connecticut Bank...A woman gets shot saving someone
else...Body is stolen...I don't get it. Where's the X-File?" She looked at him
with a puzzled look. 
	
"It's what's not in the report. It's in what I, uh, borrowed from the 
bank" he told her as he popped a tape into the VCR. He hit the PLAY button. 
"Just watch." 
	
She turned her attention to the tape. She saw the robbers take the money, 
and shoot a young woman who stepped in front of another older woman. She sighed.
 
"Keep watching" he coaxed as he fast-forwarded it to after the medics had
come and gone and the bank was empty. What she saw next startled her. 
Impossible! The blood-stained arm unrolled the white sheet and the woman rolled 
over, moaned, and then became still again! Then the screen blanked out. "Well, 
it's not Scorsceze, but what did you think?"
 
"I still don't see where you're going with this, Mulder." She was a little
annoyed. "The ME who performed the autopsy says that he remembers waking up
with a bruise on his head from a lamp. Talk about getting beat up at work."
She gave up. "Granted, it's strange, but where is the X-File?" 
	
"I'm getting to that." He put his feet up on his desk. "When they ran the
prints, guess whose they were." Oh no, don't say it she thought. He grinned. 
"Hers." 

Scully raised her eyebrows. "The victim's?" She glanced at the file. "Uh,
Alisha Starr's?" Mulder nodded. "But why us?" Scully had given up. 

"Because" Mulder said, "Alisha Starr died 5 years ago in a plane crash. 
Pack your bags, Scully, we leave tomorrow!"

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Highway Motel, Connecticut
6:35 PM

"Shit." A girl held up a bullet then dropped it next to the other five on 
the sink counter.

"Jesus. Six bullets. What'd they think I was? A freakin pin cushion?" 
	
She wrapped herself in a towel and sat down on the bed, placing the 
bullets on the night stand. She turned on the TV. 
	
"In local news" a woman said, "16-year-old Alisha Starr was killed today 
when 2 men robbed the Creston 1st National Bank." 
	
Alisha shot up. "What the hell?!" 
	
The announcer continued. "The body has been stolen and police are asking
anyone with information to come foreword." 
	
Alisha turned of the TV and kicked the bed. "Great. Just great!" Now every
yahoo with a badge would be looking for her. "Maybe I can wait them out. I'll go 
off into the woods for a while, not long. Two? Three years maybe?" What did she 
care? She had time. She had all the time in the world. 

She put on her PJs and sighed."Oh well, it's not like I'll die anytime soon." And 
with that she drifted off into a peaceful, but light sleep.

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Connecticut Nat'l Airport, CT
10:05 AM

"Did you get it?" Scully asked her partner. 
	
"Yep, lets go." She buckled up and turned to Mulder. 
	
"Where exactly are we going?" She started unfolding her road map. 
	
"Look for a place called Creston" Mulder said turning the ignition. 
	
"Found it." And with that, the car sped off. 
	
About a half hour later, she broke the silence. "Mulder, I think I 
figured it out. Your video, I mean." He looked at her for an instant before 
turning his attention back to the road. She continued. "There are hundreds of 
explanations for what we saw." 
	
"Such as?" 
	
"Such as: the body may not have been totally dead; or perhaps the chemical
pulses that are stores in dead cells started acting up. Also, about the
prints. The pulses must have caused her arm to extend, causing her hand to
strike the lamp as she was wheeled in. Also we must assume the culprit wore
gloves. When he hit the ME, obviously he wouldn't have left prints, and the
only other set on there would have been hers." 
	
He shook his head teasingly. "Pulses strong enough to lift the sheet? Is 
that the best you can do?" She kept her eyes on the map. "O.K., let's hear your
explanation...And turn left at this light." 
	
"I think there's more going on here than meets the eye. I think that what
we're looking at is a human being that can heal herself 100 times faster than
an average human." 
	
She felt relieved. "At least you didn't say you thought she was an alien." 

She looked up and saw him smile faintly, and she knew what he was 
thinking.

Mulder hanged the subject. "You know, I've been thinking. What should we do 
when we get to Creston?" 
	
"Well," Scully said, "I'd like to go down to the morgue and talk to the ME
who performed the autopsy" She glanced out of the corner of her eye quick
enough to see Mulder's face turn sour at the thought of being in a morgue
where he believed a body had risen, and then go back to normal. He hoped
Scully didn't notice. She laughed inside. "On second thought, maybe I should
go down to the morgue while you interview the parents." 

Mulder cocked an eyebrow. "You think I'm not man enough to handle being
there?" 
	
Yes, you'd let your imagination run wild she thought but kept her voice
steady. "I just think that it would save time, that's all." She hoped she 
hadn't offended him, and when he perked up, she saw she hadn't. 
	
"Good thinking Scully." Mulder smiled. Finally they arrived, and he let
Scully out. "I shouldn't be more than 2 hours." With that he drove off.

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Creston County Morgue
11:30 AM


Scully entered the building. She spotted the room and began tearing away 
the yellow tape, attempting to make an entranceway. Suddenly, a bulky man stepped
in front of her, blocking her path. 

"Hello, Bright Eyes. I'm officer Jon Callaway." Before she could draw her ID, he went 
on. "I expect to make Sergeant by this time next year. Say, what's a lovely lady 
like yourself doing out here without 'protection'? Maybe I should escort you home." 
He raised his eyebrows. 
	
"Only if I can say something." She began to smile. 
	
"Stage is all yours, Bright Eyes." 
	
She had never been so glad to draw her badge. "I'm Special Agent Dana 
Scully. I'm with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I'm looking for the ME 
who performed the autopsy on Alisha Starr. Do you know where he is?" 
	
If he had just been shot, the officer wouldn't have looked more stunned. 
"Y-Yes ma'am. Back towards the front. First door on the left." With that he left 
quickly, cursing himself silently. 

Jerk, Scully thought as she entered the office."Uh, Dr.Miller?"
 
The short statured man looked up at her. 

"Yes. May I help you?" 

"I'm Special Agent Scully." She withdrew her badge again. "You called our
office?" 

The man ushered her in uneasily. "I suppose you want to know what 
happened?"

She nodded and withdrew her notepad. 
	
"I'm sure you've read the police reports. Well, they're not entirely
accurate. I lied. I do remember what happened. I didn't tell them because I 
didn't want to go on record as being crazy. What really happened was this:
they brought that poor girl in here and said that she had died from multiple 
gunshot wounds. I begged to differ, but before I had a chance, they left. Rather 
hastily too. Anyway, I begged to differ because for a young woman who had just 
been shot several times, there wasn't enough blood on the cloth, which was very 
inconsistent with the cause of death. I also observed the bullet wounds had healed. 
I'm talking about the kind of healing that occurs months after surgery, hot hours
after death. Anyway, I was about to open the chest when it happened...she
breathed. Shallow at first, but then it turned consistent. In the next few
seconds she opened her eyes! The thing was, I wasn't scared. I was just
frozen. The next thing I remember is a lamp coming at my face and then waking
up on the floor." 
	
Scully looked up from her notepad. "Let me see if I understand this correctly. You 
say that the victim began breathing and reviving." Nod. "You say that you were
frozen in shock the entire time? Nod. "And you say that this revived corpse
stood up, hit you over the head, and walked out? In plain daylight?" 
	
"I told you it sounded crazy." 
	
Scully had a different explanation, however. " Doctor, are you currently 
taking any medication?" He hesitated and pulled out a bottle. 
	
"They're sleeping pills" he said as he handed her the bottle. 
	
She read the prescription. Some sleeping pills. She kept the thoughts to
herself, however. "Uh, thank you for your time Dr.Miller" she got up and walked 
out. 
	
"Agent Scully?" She turned around. "This is off the record, right?" 
	
She smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She exited the building 
and took out her cell-phone. Mulder was going to love this.

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Starr Residence, 185 Park Dr., Creston
11:45 AM 

Mulder stopped the car and walked up the driveway to the brick house. He
climbed the steps and rang the bell. An old woman answered. 
	
"Mrs. Starr? I'm Special Agent Mulder with the FBI. I'd like to ask you 
some questions about your daughter." 
	
"Please, come in." She closed the door and gestured for him to sit down. 
	
"Mrs. Starr, are you aware that you're daughter died yesterday?" 
	
She shook her head. "That's impossible. My Alisha died five years ago in a 
plane crash."

Mulder tried again. "Have you seen the news?" 
	
"No, I sold my TV a while back." 
	
"Mrs. Starr, are you aware that the body was identified as your 
daughter's?"
	
"I don't see how that can be. My baby is dead and buried. I have a copy 
of the death certificate." 

Mulder had heard what he needed to hear. "Thank you Mrs.Starr, that won't 
he necessary. I apologize for the inconvenience." With that he walked out the 
door. 
	
"Young man!" she called after him. He stopped and turned around. "You will
let me know if you find out whose impersonating my Alisha?" 

Mulder gave her a smile. "You can bet on it." He then got in the car and 
drove off. 

Just then his cellphone rang. 	"Mulder," he answered. 
	
"Mulder, it's me." 
	
"Scully? What did you find?" 
	
"Nothing much, just that it seems the good Dr. has lied to us. It appears
that he saw Alisha's body rise up, hit him on the head, and walk out." 
	
Mulder slammed the brakes. "Mulder? You there? I also found a very 
powerful medication that he says he takes for sleeping. However, in large 
enough doses, it can cause hallucinations and psychotic behavior. So how about 
on your end?"

Mulder had regained control and was driving. 
	
"Well, I spoke to the mother, and she confirms that her daughter was in 
fact killed five years ago. She didn't have a TV , and she looked at me like I 
was crazy when I asked her about her daughter being at the bank." 
	
Scully smiled to herself. Mulder continued. "Then I guess we're back where 
we started, with an allegedly missing dead body, and no leads." 
	
"Seems that way Mulder." Scully brushed away a lock of hair that had come
lose in the sudden breeze. 
	
"I'll be there in five minutes, Scully." and with that Mulder shut off 
his phone. Scully did the same.

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Creston County Morgue
12:47 PM

Scully couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy to see 
Mulder. He pulled up and she got in. 
	
"Do you see an X-File yet?" Mulder couldn't resist saying that. 
	
"I still think it's just a case of mistaken identity. You aren't going to 
sitthere and tell me that you think that an actual body resurrected itself and 
is strolling around town?" 

Scully looked at him and raised her eyebrows. 
	
"But just think, Scully. If it were possible that a girl could heal quickly, 
wouldn't that mean something to you as a medical doctor? In all your years at med. 
school, you had to have seen something like this." 

Scully sighed. "Yes, I did see a case once where a man had been hit by a truck and
broken his back, then after a few hours, be able to stand up, but that doesn't
even come close to what you suggesting. For a human to be able to walk out of
a morgue with no scratches whatsoever after being shot by six bullets in physically 
impossible. No species could do that. If it could, that species would have to be 
extremely genetically advanced. That just doesn't happen." Scully went back to the 
map. 
	
"Maybe you're right, Scully" Mulder said slowly. Scully put her hand on his arm. 
	
"We still have a missing body, let's try to focus on that." Mulder nodded. 

Suddenly, he shot up. "Scully, I've got it! If you were a dead body, of if
you had a dead body, wouldn't a motel be a likely place to hide?" 
	
"What's your point, Mulder?" 
	
"My point is, that we passed a motel a few minutes ago, but it came to me just 
now." He looked at her with raised eyebrows and a smile. 
	
She shrugged. "All right, Mulder. Make the U-turn."

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Highway Motel
1:40 PM

Mulder parked the car and tuned to Scully. "This is it. I can feel it." 
They got out and walked to the front desk. A chubby man with glasses was
reading a magazine behind the counter. 
	
"You folks looking for a room?" Mulder withdrew his badge. 
	
"I'm Special Agent Mulder and this is Special Agent Scully. We're with 
the FBI. We're looking for this woman." He took out Alisha's picture, and handed 
it to the man. He looked at it for a minute then nodded. 
	
"Uh, yeah. Came in about two days ago. Had a shirt full of holes, too. Looked
like she'd been shot or something." The man laughed to himself, but stopped when 
he saw the that the two agents weren't smiling. 

Mulder quickly gave Scully the I-told-you-so look, and she gave him the 
it-doesn't-mean-anything look. 
	
"Uh, Room 163" he said as he looked through a record sheet. "Down the 
court. First door on your left." 
	
"Thank you for your cooperation," Scully said. 

They reached the apartment and knocked. 

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It took Alisha, still in the shower, a few minutes to realize there
was knocking at her door. Reluctantly, she stepped out, put on her bath
robe, and opened the door. "What the hell do you want? If you're selling
stuff, I'm not interested." 

Mulder stared at Alisha, and Scully discreetly elbowed him in the ribs. 
	
"Uh, mind getting dressed?" Scully pointed to her robe. She looked at
herself, feeling a little self conscious. 
	
"Um, yea, wanna come in?" Why are you letting them in? a voice said to 
her, they could be trouble. Because they have a car, she answered herself. 
Alisha ignored her doubts and closed the door behind them. "Just so you know, 
I don't usually let strangers in, but you're obviously not cops, so there's 
no harm." 
	
"What makes you say that?" Mulder asked. 
	
"Because no self-respecting cop would wear such a crummy tie. Where'd you 
get it? Dollar Store?" Alisha grinned and turned to the bathroom. "I'll only be 
a minute" she said as she entered the bathroom. 
	
"Mulder, this woman is very confused." 
	
"I'll say, I always thought that this tie went well with this suit." 
Muldermade a comical frown. Scully crossed her arms and shook her head. 
	
"I'm saying that if this is Alisha Starr, then we're back to square one." 

"Not necessarily" he sat down on the bed and went on. "What if Alisha 
Starr's body was never buried to begin with? She was on a plane crash-yes. The
mother has a death certificate-yes. But what if the body was never found, and 
there's really no one in Alisha's casket. Do you know what that means? It means 
that the woman in the bathroom is the real Alisha Starr and that I'm right." He 
looked up to Alisha stepping out of the bathroom. Something in the wastebasket by 
the bed caught his eye. 
	
"Uh, can I ask where you got those?" He pointed to the shells in the
wastebasket. Scully looked and counted. Shit. Six shells. 
	
"I, uh, got them from the pistol range down the highway." Where did that 
come from?

Scully seemed to read her mind. She and Mulder exchanged quick glances and he
walked casually behind her. 
	
"Ms.Starr, we're Federal Agents. We'd like you to come with us." 
	
Alisha didn't have time to think. She ran, but Mulder grabbed her ankles,
sending Alisha's body through the window. The body hung from the glass, which was
turning red. 
	
"Call 911!" Scully said as she rushed to stop Alisha's bleeding. She turned
her over, but in an instant Alisha kicked her and in a half-flip-half-roll,
hurled herself out the window. 
	
"Damn Feds!" she moaned as she ran across the parking lot, holding her
stomach.

Mulder ran after her, and a few seconds later, Scully was out of shock and
running after him. 
	
He reached her and tackled her to the ground as Scully caught up and 
shouted, "Mulder! This woman is in serious need of medical attention! What's 
wrong with you?" 
	
She arrived and saw Alisha's body writhing and struggling to release itself
from Mulder's grip. 
	
"Check her ribs, Scully!" Mulder looked at his partner. "I said check her
ribs!" He was surprised to hear that he had yelled at her, but it was taking all 
his strength to keep Alisha pinned down. As Scully began lifting up Alisha's 
sweatshirt, she gasped. 
	
"My God Mulder!" She stood in disbelief at what she saw. Alisha's ribs had 
no cuts or scratches....

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Highway Motel
2:00 PM

Alisha stood curled up on the bed against the wall, drinking water. 

Scully sat next to her, and Mulder sat opposite them both. When Alisha finally spoke,
her voice was soft and low, and it took the agents by surprise. "I guess I
have some explaining to do?" She looked at Scully. 

Scully nodded. "Well, what they say is true, I was on a plane that crashed 
five years ago, but here's the long-and-short of it: I got on that plane. Nothing new. 
About an hour into the flight, something happened and we were told to put our life
vests on. The plane started falling. People were being thrown, suitcases
opened, and then we heard it. The plane had crashed into the water, nose
first. We were okay for a few minutes, but then the windows cracked, and water
began filling the plane. We didn't even have time to pray.

She started sobbing. "Before I knew it, I was holding my breath. I remember thinking: 
this is it-I'm going to die-and I blanked out. I came to and I thought I was in
heaven, but I was still in the plane. I was swimming, but I released that I
wasn't holding my breath. It sounds crazy, but I didn't question it. I made my
way through the other bodies and swam out a window to the surface. I reached
the surface, and a boat picked me up, like it had been waiting for me. There
were 2 women there, and I felt I knew them from someplace. The told me I was a
special young woman. That I wasn't like everybody else. I asked them to
explain, and all they said was that I'd figure it out. They dropped me off on
the bank, and sailed off." 
	
She looked up to see Scully jotting down facts mechanically, but Mulder 
was leaning over, his eyes wide. 

She swallowed. "When I got to this town-I forget the name, somewhere on the coast or 
something-I rented a motel room and I was in the middle of dialing my parents when a 
bulletin flashed across the screen. It said that a flight...my flight-had gone down over 
the Atlantic and that there were no survivors. I felt like I had just been shot. I 
couldn't believe it. I bought a map and headed home. It took two days. I got there and 
found out that the entire town had gone to the cemetery, so I went. I was watching behind 
the trees. It was weird, you know? I mean I wondered what it would be like to attend my 
own funeral and all, but this was wrong. 

"I was here, behind the tree. So who was in my coffin? I felt a hand on my shoulder. I 
turned around and there were those 2 women again. I just stood there shocked and speechless 
while they told me how I could never die, and no matter how many years went by, I would stay 
the same, and not age. They told me I could never go back to my family. That I had to start 
a new life. I told them I thought they were crazy, but I also knew that they were right, I 
could never go home. I turned to my funeral, then back to them, and they were gone. I didn't 
believe them entirely until that night. 

I was shaving and I cut myself. It bled a lot, and as I looked for a bandage, I noticed that 
the wound began closing. Within a few minutes, the blood was gone, too." 
	
Scully sat there, motionless. Alisha spoke as if reading Scully's mind. "Now let's skip
ahead to the bank. I had accepted the facts over the past 5 years. I had laid low, and was
planning to leave the country. First, I needed money, and my only account was at the Creston 
First National Bank. I went in, and no one seemed to notice me. Guess they forgot me. Anyway, 
I was walking out of the bank when these 2 morons with guns pushed me back inside and demanded 
that we give them our money. The elderly woman next to me refused, pleading that it was her only
money. The tall one took out his gun to shoot her. I jumped in front of the bullets. 

"What did I care? I couldn't die, so I jumped. Thing was, I wasn't planning for 6 bullets to hit 
me. I figured hey, I get shot once or twice, and in the confusion, I walk out. Simple, right? 
Wrong. I wasn't prepared for SIX bullets. They knocked me out, and I knew I was royally screwed, 
so I just let myself go. Wasn't counting on the damn cops ID-ing me. I tried again to get up, 
when there weren't any people around, but I was still in shock, and passed out again. 

"When I came to, I was in the morgue. Naturally, I panicked when I saw my chest about to be opened, 
and I couldn't think of anything else to do but get the guy off me. Didn't mean to knock him out. 
Then I came here, took out the bullets, and well, you know the rest." 
	
Mulder looked at Scully. "So much for chemical impulses." 
	
Scully, however also had something to say. "Do you honestly expect us to believe this?" Alisha 
cocked her head to one side. 
	
"I can prove it" she said softly to Scully. She got up off the bed and grabbed the letter
opener. "O.K., this could get gory but trust me, I know what I'm doing, and if I'm wrong, at least 
you're a doctor." Alisha put the letter opener to her wrist and dug in. 
	
"You just slit your wrist! You ARE insane!" Scully went looking for a bandage. 
	
"Easy, Lady Cop." Alisha smiled. "Look." She gave her wrist to Scully. 
	
Scully held her breath. Incredible! The blood was receding back into the wound and the
wound was closing up! 
	
"My God" Scully said in a whisper. "Do you believe me now, Scully?" 

Before Scully could answer, a hail of bullets went flying through the room. Mulder
reflexively dove taking Scully with him, and Alisha with her. 
	
"What the fuck is going on?" Alisha shouted. 
	
"I don't know" Mulder shouted covering his head, "But I think we should 
get our asses out of here!" 

"How?" Scully looked at him wide-eyed. 
	
"There's a back door" Alisha commented. "If we stay low, we can reach it,
open it and run to the car." They didn't argue. They made their escape and shut the door
just as two men with suits and guns burst into the room. 
	
"Where'd they go?" The first man said to his partner. The second noticed the door.
	
"Out the back!" he shouted. They darted out and began firing on the 2 agents and the
girl as they ran to the car. 
	
"Hurry up! Keep going!" Mulder shouted to the two women behind him. They didn't need
his encouragement. They had no intention of stopping. Mulder opened the door
and started the ignition as Scully and Alisha dove into the back seat. 
	
"We're in!" she yelled, and Mulder hit the gas. When he looked in the
mirror, he didn't see them. Alisha was white. 
	
"Who were those people?" She got off Scully to allow her to climb into 
the front seat. 
	
"I don't know" Scully said, looking at Mulder. 
	
Mulder spoke. "I do. Those are the people that are always trying to ruin Scully and 
me. They're the ones who always destroy any evidence I might have to expose them."

Alisha raised her eyebrows. "Huh?" 
	
"You see, Alisha" he went on to explain. "We work for a branch of the FBI that 
investigates strange and unusual phenomena. They're called "X-Files" because
they can't be explained." 
	
"Cool" Alisha nodded to herself. "You mean like ghosts, and aliens, and stuff?" Mulder
nodded. All the while Scully looked out the side window trying to see if they
were being followed.
	
"So now what? I can't go back, they'll be waiting for me." 
	
"Maybe we should take her back with us?" Mulder looked slyly at his partner.

Scully shook her head. 
	
"Where could we hide her? How would we explain her to Skinner?" Mulder grinned.
	
"Who says Skinner has to know?" 
	
"Mulder! he's going to want a report, and then what? What do we say? 'Yes 
we found the dead body, only it's not dead' ?" Mulder thought for a minute. 
	
"Could work." 
	
"Mulder, you're getting carried away with this. Have you forgotten that 
we left behind two very trigger-happy people? Or what about the fact that we have
Creston County's missing dead body in the back of our car?" She stopped and
turned to Alisha. 
	
"It's O.K., I'm not offended." She smiled at Scully. "Can I ask you two
something?" They nodded. 
	
"How come you don't call each other by your fist names? You're obviously 
very good friends." Mulder looked at her through the rear-view mirror. 
	
"It's just how it's done, I guess. I don't know." He looked at Scully for
back up. 
	
"It's just a habit." She told Alisha. Alisha shrugged. 
	
"Oh." 
	
"Back to the point at hand." Mulder grinned at Scully. "She's right Scully,
we can't leave her here." 
	
Alisha butted in, "Besides, even an eternal life is too short to spend in
hiding." She also grinned at Scully. 
	
"Even if by some miracle we do manage to sneak her in, where do we hide
her?" Scully threw up her hands. Mulder thought for a minute. 
	
"The one place where they'll never think to look." Scully shook her head
again. 
	
"Mulder, trust me. They know where your house is." Her voice trailed off.
Mulder grinned again, even wider.
	
"Who said anything about my house?" 
	
"Oh no. No no no . No, Mulder absolutely not! Don't even go there." 
Mulder played innocent. 
	
"I just thought that given Alisha's 'exceptional' medical abilities, you'd 
love to have her over. You could play 20 Questions, and she could hide out. 
Match made in heaven." 
	
He smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile herself. Maybe he has a 
point. Then again... She tucked away her thoughts. "I trust we're not going 
to go through the proper channels?" 
	
Mulder shook his head. 
	
"You're gonna owe me for this one." 
	
"You're the best Scully."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Scully's House
8:37 PM

Scully opened the door. 
	
"Uh, Agent Scully? Where's the bathroom?" 
	
"Through the dining room. First door on the right." There was no laughter 
in her voice. 
	
"I hope we never do that again." She glanced at Mulder. 
	
"Relax, Scully. I've lied to Skinner before. He expects it of me." 
	
"Exactly. He expects it of YOU not ME. The only reason you get away with 
it is because I back you up with a non-lie. Skinner could have both our badges
for this." 
	
Mulder saw the worry in her eyes. "Trust me Scully. You know I would 
never even think if jeopardizing your career." He was sincere. 
	
"I know," she said hanging up her coat. Alisha returned from the bathroom.
Mulder tried to smile. 
	
"Well, I'll let you two get aquatinted." He turned and closed the door 
behind him. 
	
"Agent Scully?" 
	
"Dana. Call me Dana." 
	
"O.K. Dana. Where are the glasses? I'm thirsty." 
	
"Top shelf, left side." Alisha reached up and flinched. Scully went to her. 
	
"Are you O.K.?" 

Alisha bit her lip. "Uh yes and no." 
	
"What do you mean?" Scully was confused. 
	
"I think I took a bullet. In my back." She stared at the floor. 
	
"I don't see any bleeding or scarring." 
	
"Oh it's in there. Usually I take them out my self, but this sucker's in 
my back. I can't see what I'm doing." Scully knew what she'd ask next. "Dana, you're 
a doctor right?" Scully nodded. "Do you think you could maybe take it out for me?" 
	
"Alisha, I don't have the tools for such a procedure, not to mention the
blood that'll be all over my floor..." 
	
"Dana please. It's annoying the hell out of me. You could do it in the tub, and any 
old knife will do. Hell, I took out those 6 bullets with a letter opener." She
smiled at Scully. "Besides, you'll have something to send the lab, or whatever
you people do with bullets." 
	
"Alisha...O.K." Alisha went into the bathroom, and Scully went for the knife.

This is crazy! This goes against everything I learned in Med. School! I can't believe
I'm doing this! she thought as she entered the bathroom. Alisha had taken off
her shirt, shoes, and socks and sat in the tub, her jeans still on. 
	
"I'll try to be gentle, but this is very awkward for me." 
	
"It's O.K. Dana. Just do it." And with that, she bent over, grabbed her knees, 
pointed to where she thought the bullet was, and sat absolutely still. Scully 
hesitantly made the incision. To her surprise, Alisha didn't even bleed. 

Alisha sensed Scully's nervousness, and tried to start up a conversation. "So how 
long have you worked with Agent Mulder?" 
	
"About 4 years or so." She switched knives and went back in. 
	
"Do you like working with him? I mean, you seem to always disagree with each other.
Don't you ever agree on anything?" 

"Usually not, but that's what makes us such a good team. We value each other's
opinions." Scully was relaxing, and she seemed more confident with the knife. 
	
"Dana?" 
	
"Hmmm?" she said as she probed for the elusive bullet. 
	
"Do you like Agent Mulder?" 

Scully gave a little laugh. God it felt good to laugh. "I don't think this is the 
proper time or place to discuss my love life." 

"Well do you?" Alisha was turning around. 
	
"Not yet. Turn around. Well, I trust him with my life, and I have a great respect 
for him, although he does manage to come up with some pretty unorthodox theories 
sometimes." 
	
"Did you find it?" 
	
"Not yet. Hold still." 
	
"I have to scratch my back." Alisha began whining like a child and Scully couldn't 
help laughing. "Feeling more relaxed Dana?" 
	
Scully settled herself. "Yes. Thanks, I needed a good laugh. Now back to the bullet."
	
"How much longer?" 
	
"Got it." Scully answered with relief. "Oh, it seems I made quite a mess of your back."
	
"That's all right, it'll close up soon." She hadn't finished saying that when
the gashes began fusing together. Within seconds her back was smooth again. 
	
"Looks like we're done. Dana, could I use the shower? I kinda never finished my 
first one." Her voice trailed off as she remembered how her shower had been cut
short by the arrival of the agents. 
	
"Sure, I have to make some calls anyway. Just don't be long." Alisha nodded
and closed the bathroom door. 

Scully went into the kitchen to wash off the blood from the knives. She stopped short.

What if Alisha's healing abilities were somehow connected to her blood? Alisha
had proved her blood could heal any wound. Could it be possible? Should she
even be thinking this? Would it even work? Probably not, but she considered
Alisha's abilities nothing short of a miracle, and knew that the fastest way
to end a miracle was to question it. She decided to save the blood. She took a
little vial from the drawer and let the blood trickle from the 2 knives into
the vial. When it was half full, she sealed the vial, tucked it away, and
disinfected the knives. 
	
Alisha was already out of the shower, and was fixing the couch. She looked 
up at Scully.
	
"I always preferred couches." 
	
Scully nodded. "Okay. Goodnight, Alisha." Alisha settled on the couch. 
	
"Good night, Dana." 
	
Scully turned off the living room light and went to her bedroom. She took out
her phone.

A voice came on the line. "Mulder." 
	
"Mulder? It's me, Scully." 
	
"So, how'd it go?" She told him about the removal of the bullet and the
sudden healing that took place afterwards. She left out the part about her saving 
the blood, though, as she held the little vial in her hand. She described the events 
and her feelings towards them. Mulder couldn't believe his ears. Their conversation 
went on till midnight. 
	
"You're really O.K. with this, Scully?" 
	
"I guess. I mean, considering that this sort of thing doesn't happen every day." 
	
"What I wouldn't give for a tape recorder" Mulder whined. 
	
"Why?" 
	
"Because, it's the first time you actually accepted one of my ideas." He began 
laughing over the phone. 
	
"Funny, Mulder." 
	
After that, they said 'goodnight' to each other and Scully closed the phone.

As Mulder was turning off his phone, he froze. He heard a click. Maybe it was his
imagination? Maybe not? He put his clothes back on and grabbed his gun and ID. He 
made his way to the car, with one thought in his mind...Scully.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Building Down the Street From Mulder's Apartment 
Friday, 1:15 AM

	
"Sir, we have a problem." A voice from inside a black van said. A man with 
a suit and tie approached the van. 
	
"What's the problem?" 
	
"Sir, Mulder knows." 
	
"What do you mean 'he knows'?" 
	
"A malfunction, sir. Machine stopped to soon. I think it's broken. Mulder knows." 
	
"All right, people. Let's get there before he does." 
	
With that remark, 20 men with suits and guns loaded into the two vans. They sped 
off around the back, while Mulder started the car. He didn't know what he was 
doing, and that Scully would call him paranoid-not to mention God knows what
else for waking her at this hour of the night. He didn't care. All he had was
a gut feeling, but his gut had never failed him. He turned the corner to the
side of the building-the fire escape side-and nearly crashed as he slammed the
brakes. He charged up the stares like a madman. He'd pass out at any minute,
but he had to reach Scully. She had saved his life too many times, and he
always felt he owed her. He staggered to the door, steadying himself on the
knob with one hand, and banging on her door with the other. Thank god no one
decided to have him arrested. 
	
"Scully! Open the door!" 
	
Scully opened the door and he rushed in, locking it behind him. 
	
"Mulder, what the hell's going on?" 
	
"Grab your gun, Scully!" He spoke through gasps and pants. He grabbed a sleeping
Alisha by the arm and dragged her, along with Scully, into the bedroom. He
looked the door. 

Alisha, half asleep, moaned. "What the hell IS going on?" 
	
"They're back." Mulder was panting hard now. 
	
"Out the fire escape. Move!" 
	
Scully grabbed her gun and tucked it into her PJ pants, and began climbing out the
window. She knew Mulder well enough by know. Run first-Ask later. Alisha was
next. Mulder practically threw her on to the platform. He'd apologize later.
Mulder wasted no time in crawling out on to the platform. He climbed down so
fast that he had to stop to avoid stepping on Alisha.

He was halfway down when the van pulled up around the front. Of course, it was 
disguised as a pizza truck. The second one pulled up around the back. Shit. Trapped. 
Maybe if they walked casually to the car?-no, to obvious. Their PJs and his jeans 
and T-shirt would give them away. Scully and Alisha were well aware of what was
happening, and they tried to evaluate their options, as well. 
	
"What if I go first?" she blurted out in a whisper. "They shoot me, and 
when they come to carry me away, you two grab `em." 
	
They looked at each other, then at her, and she took her cue. She jogged quickly
towards the car, and sure enough, silent bullets whizzed at her and her body
shook. She counted 4. Shit. As the men went to carry her away, the two agents
grabbed them. Mulder and Scully let hell fly. Mulder delivered quick punches,
and was sure he heard a few bones crack as the man in the suit went down with
a quiet thud. Scully hadn't done bad either. She kicked and scratched the
poor man enough so that if he ever regained consciousness, she was sure that
his own mom wouldn't recognize him. They helped Alisha up and they staggered
to the car. 
	
"I didn't know you could fight like that, Scully." He looked at her as they
helped a moaning Alisha into the car. 
	
"You never woke me up at gun-point." She turned to him as he started the 
car. "Never knew you could fight like that, either Mulder." 
	
He glanced at the rear-view mirror as he sped off. "You never tried to 
kill the only person I trust." 
	
He smiled at her and kept driving, knowing that his fan club would be behind
them any minute now, as he heard distant shouts. Scully turned to Alisha and saw 
her sitting up but still bleeding. Alisha looked down at the seat and then at 
Scully. 
	
"Uh, sorry about the mess" she said with a look of embarrassment. 
	
Scully stiffened and pulled out her cell-phone. "Hello? D.C. National? This is 
Special Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. I would like to request 3 tickets on the 
next flight to Connecticut." 	

Alisha and Mulder looked at her, confused. She raised her hand to silence 
them as she spoke again. "20 minutes? Thank you." She put the phone into 
her PJ pocket. 
	
"What's going on, Scully?" Mulder looked at her with a solemn face. 
	
"I thought it best to get Alisha as far away from them as possible. They're
obviously not after us. There're after you. For what reason, I don't know." 
	
Alisha's face went pale. "How could they know about me?" 
	
Good question. "I don't know Alisha." Mulder tried to calm her, as well as
himself down. "Don't worry, Alisha. It'll be fine once we get back to 
Connecticut." 
	
Alisha shrugged. "Why there?" 
	
"Yeah, Scully," Mulder chimed in, "Why there?" 
	
Scully looked at the car's clock. "You said it yourself? Remember? You said
that you had planned to leave the country as soon as you got your money,
right?" Alisha nodded. "So, we get you to that bank. You get your money, and
we'll take you to the airport. You fly away and they can't touch you anymore.
By the way, Mulder, step on it. We' ve only got 15 minutes left."
	
She handed Alisha her cell phone. "Better have that money ready and waiting."
	
Mulder looked at her in amazement. Even in the confusion of fleeing the
apartment and the fight, she had retained a plan. Then something occurred to 
Mulder. "I don't know if you two thought of this, but I'm in jeans-you two are 
in PJs and slippers." 
	
Scully punched the seat in frustration, then it hit her. How could she and
Mulder overlook this? "Mulder, when we get to the airport, stop and open the 
trunk." 
	
Mulder was taken back. "What for?" 
	
She waved her index finger at him while she spoke. "Didn't you tell me once
that you always keep a change of clothes in your trunk for emergencies? Well, 
this is as big as emergencies get. So?" 
	
"Hang on, Scully!" Before Mulder could say anything else, he hit the brakes.

Alisha was knocked against the back of Scully's chair, and Scully almost went
through the windshield. 
	
"What the hell is wrong with you, Mulder? Why have you stopped? We ha-" She
stopped short. She and Alisha looked out ahead of them, and saw what Mulder
saw. Scully quickly ran the figures in her head: 2 vans-one black, one
white..10? No. 15 men?...Guns.....Shit. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Federal Highway, D.C.
2:30 AM

"Get down" Scully whispered to Alisha. 
	
A man with a suit come out of the black van. "Agent Mulder, Agent Scully,
please step out of the car." 
	
They got out and stood their ground as 5 men came out of the van 10 ft. 
away, in suits and ties, and aimed their guns at the two agents. 
	
"We don't want you, we want the girl." 
	
The man inched closer. Scully reached for her tucked gun. It was gone. The man 
spoke again. "We just want to help her. We can relocate her. Make sure no one 
finds out about her."He looked at Scully and smiled. 
	
Don't even try it, you bastard. I remember you, Scully thought to herself. 

"Sir, I don't know who you are, but I don't have a girl. I do however have a 
partner, as you can see." He pointed to Scully. 

All the while Alisha, crouched in the back of the car, pulled out Scully's 
phone and tried to muffle the lighted keys and key tones as she dialed. 
	
"911, what's your emergency?" 
	
"I'm out on the Federal Highway, just outside the city. My parents are being
held up in front of the car by men with guns" she whispered. 
	
"Don't panic, I'll have the police out there in 5 minutes." 
	
"Thank you." She hung up the phone. She hoped she they had five minutes.

Meanwhile, the conversation went back and forth between the agents and the
man. "You don't understand. She has a...condition. We just want to treat her." 
he said innocently. 
	
"I don't think she'd survive one of your counseling sessions" Scully said 
to the man.
	
Alisha looked at the clock display. She had to buy time. She opened the car door,
and climbed out. The men with guns tensed. "I'll come, just don't hurt them." 
	
"What are you doing, Alisha? Get back in that car!" Mulder whispered. 
	
Alisha turned to him "Trust me." She whispered back. 
	
As two men approached Alisha, sirens were heard. One man and turned to see
where it came from. The agents looked at Alisha, and she winked at them. The
sirens grew louder, and the man had no choice. 
	
"In the Van! Move!" The two men backed away from Alisha and piled in with
the others.

The man glared at them for an instant before getting in the van himself. They
were gone in 3 seconds. 
	
"Efficient, aren't they?" Scully said looking at Mulder, and he knew what
she was thinking. 
	
"I think, for once, we should do what the government does - lie" Mulder 
said to Scully as if answering her thoughts. They all agreed. Mulder and Scully 
flashed their badges and told the police that the men were escaped convicts and 
were after them because they had been the ones to put them away. 
	
"Where'd they head?" An officer asked Scully. 
	
"Into the woods." 
	
With that remark, all the cops started their cars and drove into the woods.

Mulder, Scully, and Alisha got back into their car. Mulder leaned to Scully as 
she fastened her belt. 
	
"You know they wont find them." 
	
"I know," Scully sighed. "But it'll give us the time we need to get to the
airport...Even if we miss the flight." Mulder started his car and they drove 
to the airport.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

D.C National Airport
3:08 AM

After an hour of trying to reschedule Alisha's flight, Mulder had succeeded.
He walked over to Scully and Alisha, who were sitting near the gate of Alisha's 
flight. 

"That about does it." Mulder smiled as he handed Alisha her ticket. 

"I can't thank you two enough," Alisha said shaking hand with Mulder and
Scully. "Will this incident get you two in trouble with your superiors?" 
	
"Of course. Everything we do does." Mulder grinned and Scully couldn't 
help but smile.

"Don't worry, just lay low for a while. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" 
	
Mulder raised his eyebrows at Alisha. Alisha nodded and smiled. 
	
"Attention, passengers. Flight 629 to Hawaii is now boarding at gate 9-C," 
a voice over the loud speaker said. 
	
"That's me. Thanks again." Then she turned to Scully. "I think these are yours." 
She handed a gun and cell phone to Scully."You dropped `em when Mulder hit the 
brakes." 

Scully looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "YOU called the police?" 

She nodded and handed the ticket to the lady at the gate. They waited till her 
plane was in the air before leaving. 

"I'll give you a lift to your apartment, Scully." Mulder opened the car door
for her, then got in himself. 
	
"Thanks, Mulder. Though I don't think I'll get much sleep." 
	
"Why not?" 
	
"Because I have a report to type. Remember? It's Friday. We have to be in
Skinner's office in - she looked at the clock on the car radio - in less than 5 
hours." 
	
"Oh, right." He turned the keys and started his car. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Scully's Apartment
3:45 AM

Mulder let Scully out, and they exchanged their good-byes. Scully opened the
door and stepped in. Her apartment actually wasn't that messy, to her surprise. She
quickly locked the door and began searching her house for whatever bugs, tape,
or cameras that could have been placed in her apartment. When she saw her
apartment was clean, she relaxed. 
	
Suddenly, she ran into her bedroom. There was the vial, untouched, under her
bed. She heaved a heavy sigh of relief. She took the vial out of the bedroom and 
placed it on her mouse pad as she turned on her computer. She organized her ideas 
on a piece of paper, and then began typing. She left out the part about the men
with guns, and as far as Alisha went, she stated that the body remained to be
found and the person or persons that stole the body remained at large. As for
Dr. Miller, she stated how he had been taking an overdose of sleeping pills,
which accounted for his allegedly seeing Alisha Starr's body rise. She looked
over the report again, and she felt she had stated the important facts. She
printed it out and turned the computer off. 
	
She held the vial in her hand again. She looked at the blood. Can you cure
me? Can you save me? she thought to herself. 
	
She debated of an hour, until she decided to test it. There was a sick alley
cat that had fallen asleep outside on the fire escape. Perfect. She put on a pair 
of dish gloves, seeing as how she didn't have any thing else to put on her hands, 
and picked up the cat. It had yellow eyes and a crooked nose. It didn't even
resist. She took it to the bathroom and laid it in the tub. Seeing as how she
didn't have a needle, she let some of Alisha's blood trickle on to the cat. As
if on cue, the blood seeped into the sores. She waited 10 minutes. Nothing. 
	
I knew it. Nothing can cure me. 
	
She went to the kitchen and tuned on both faucets. She emptied the vial and let 
the water wash it down the drain. She turned off the faucets, and dropped the 
vial into the garbage basket under the sink. She turned off the bathroom lights,
but left the cat in the tub. She was too tired and confused to do anything
else except go to bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Assistant Director Walter Skinner's Office
8:10 AM 

"We're going to blow it." Scully looked at her partner with tension. 
	
"Don't worry, Scully," he turned to look at her as she fussed with her hair. "We 
look totally normal. Besides, Skinner doesn't notice us anyway. He just reads the
reports and asks us questions. We'll be fine." 
	
Did he say that to convince her, or himself? Scully took out a little hand-held 
mirror. She had bags under her eyes, although with her concealer on they weren't 
that noticeable. Her hair was brushed, but it still looked frizzy. Her eyes were 
glassy. She felt nauseated. She handed the mirror to Mulder. He didn't look much
better. His hair was refusing to stay put and he had to smooth it down every few 
minutes. He also had bags under his eyes, but unlike Scully, he didn't have the 
luxury of concealer. His face was a little pale, but that was the least of his
worries. They figured they couldn't make themselves look any more normal, so at 
exactly 8:13 AM, they were outside Skinner's door. 
	
As Scully opened the door, Mulder whispered her ear. "Remember, not a word about
Alisha." She nodded and they walked in. 
	
"Come in Agent Mulder, Agent Scully. Please, sit down." His face was expressionless,
and his voice was steady. That was the thing about Skinner - he was either their
best friend or their worst enemy. Mulder didn't know which. They sat down and he 
began to speak. "I've read your report, Agent Scully. However, I'm a little 
confused." 
	
Shit. We blew it. Mulder thought to himself. 
	
"How do you mean, Sir?" Scully's voice remained steady. 
	
"I mean, what about the identification of the body?" 
	
"Well, Sir, it was a case of mistaken identity. The real Alisha Starr died five
years ago in a plane crash over the Atlantic. No survivors." Scully said. Mulder's 
palms were getting sweaty, as he nervously awaited his turn to speak. 
	
"What about the robbers? Didn't you make any attempts to find them?" 
	
"Yes, Sir, we did. We alerted the Creston Police Department, as well as the
Connecticut State Police and Highway Troopers. However, we could not locate
the robbers." 
	
Skinner looked at her through the rim of his glasses, and then turned to
Mulder. "What about you, Agent Mulder? Any comments or information you wish to 
share?" 
	
Yes. He did want to add things. He wanted to tell Skinner about how they had
been spied on. How their phones had been tapped. How they had almost been shot
and killed out on the D.C. Highway, but he just shook his head. 
	
"No, Sir, I agree with everything Agent Scully has said." 
	
He looked a them for another couple of minutes, and then he dismissed them. 
	
"That will be all, Agents Mulder and Scully. You're both dismissed." 
	
"Thank you, Sir." Mulder said as they got up walked out.
	
They walked quickly in silence down to their basement office. They locked the
door, and put the file in its proper cabinet. Mulder plopped down behind his
desk. Scully pulled up a chair around to the front. Then they broke down.
Mulder put his elbows on his desk and his face in his hands. He took slow,
deep, breaths. Scully sank into the chair, and relaxed her shoulders. She
stretched out her legs, and let her neck droop over the back of the chair, as
if she were looking at the ceiling. Within moments, the two agents were
asleep. 
	
When Mulder came to, it was ten-to-five. He got up, stretched, and walked over 
to Scully. "Rise and shine Scully!" He shook her shoulder gently. 
	
"I'll rise, but I refuse to shine." She yawned and got up to stretch. 
	
"Considering the hell that we went through, that's perfectly understandable.
However, we still have to walk out of here looking at least as normal as when
we came in." His voice trailed off as he smiled at her. She smiled back and
nodded as she straightened her jacket and blouse. They walked out and went to
their cars. They said good bye and left...

Scully opened her eyes. She felt better now that she had sorted her thoughts
and cleared her mind. She got up off the couch, hung her coat and keys, and
sat down to watch some TV. She looked at her watch-only 9:15. It had seemed
like forever. Suddenly, a cat jumped up onto her lap. 
	
"Where did you-" she gasped. The cat had yellow eyes and a crooked nose. 
She examined the cat--it was healthy and completely rid of sores. In a panic,
Scully raced to the kitchen and came back with a knife. 
	
"I won't hurt you," she told the cat. The cat must have understood, because
it sat still while Scully made a little cut on the cat's paw. The cat didn't move. 
She watched it bleed, then after a few seconds, the blood began receding into the
wound. Scully looked towards the sink and put her hands over her mouth. 
	
"Oh my GOD!" 
 
                        The End

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