Title: TOO FAR

Author: Adam Crabb

Rating: PG - R

Calssification: S

Summary: Emotions and tempers run on overdrive when the son of Mulder's ex-girlfriend is kidnapped.

Spoilers: There is a VERY slight mention of Anasazi and The Blessing Way. And Leonard Betts is pretty much ruined.

DISCALAIMER: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Walter Skinner, Cancer Man, and the Well-Groomed Man are all the property of 1013 Productions. Jennifer, Sherry, and Gary Fletcher, and the Tall Man were created by me.

This is my first (well, technically second) FanFic story, written when I got some spare time away from college, so go easy on me. Any legitimate comments or criticisms can be emailed to jrod@usa.net

Any job offers from 20th Century Fox can be sent to the same address. Hehehe! Enjoy...

NOTE: Since I know absolutely nothing about Washington, D.C. I just went through a list of former Presidents to name the school and the hospital.

ALSO: The 'F' word is used a couple of times, so if you have young kids, you may not want them to read this.

**

by Adam Crabb

Outside The Fletcher Residence,

Washington, D.C.

11:49pm, July 9th, 1995.

It's almost midnight and the rain is coming down hard. Inside this big house, a small boy awaits the return of his mother. All she had said to her sister was that she had a date with the cutest guy she'd ever met, and asked if she would watch Gary for a few hours. Sherry was glad to oblige. She always loved to spend time with Gary, not being able to have kids of her own.

A blue Ford pulls up outside the house. Gary's mother is sitting in the passenger seat. She's had a great night, but doesn't want to come on too strong. After a moment of uneasy silence, Jennifer speaks. "So..."

"So..." Mulder says back.

"So...you wanna come in for a coffee?" She said it. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be.

"Um...sure, if it's no trouble. It's late, an' all."

"Always the gentleman." she thinks to herself. "Of course it's no trouble. Don't be silly." Jennifer smiles and unfastens her seat belt.

Fox unclips his seat belt and quickly gets out of the car. While Jennifer goes through her bag to see if everything is there (great time to realize if she's left her purse at the restaurant!), Mulder runs around the front of the car and opens the passenger side door. Jennifer zips up her bag and smiles at Fox. She gets out of the car and Mulder locks it while she runs for the porch and shelter from the rain.

As soon as the front door opens, Fox and Jennifer dash inside out of the cold. Jennifer takes Fox's coat and hangs it up, then hangs hers up. A young boy runs out of the living room, shouting with glee.

"Mommy!"

Jennifer scoops the boy up in her arms. "How ya doin', brat?" Jennifer carries her son into the living room where her sister sits, watching the TV.

Sherry turns around and smiles. "So how did it go?"

Jennifer puts down her son and scoots him over to his aunt. "Fine. You want some coffee?"

"No thanks, I've got a drink." She swishes the half empty can of Pepsi in her hand.

"Okay." Jennifer goes into the kitchen, passing by Fox who is stood in the passage, a little nervous. He follows Jennifer into the kitchen.

Jennifer picks up the kettle and goes over to the sink. While she's filling it with water, Fox slips his arms around her waist and kisses her neck.

"Mmm?" Jennifer puts the lid on the kettle and turns the tap off.

"Mmm." Fox replies.

Jennifer turns around in Mulder's arms and he kisses her. She goes back into the living room and asks if Sherry will take Gary back to her place tonight.

"Hm? Why?" She realizes that Jennifer wants to be alone with her date. "Oh, sure." Sherry turns around to Gary. "Say, kiddo, you're gonna spend the night with your aunt Sherry. You gonna help me get some things?"

Gary is delighted. He loves his aunt Sherry to bits, and he always has fun when he stays with her. "Sure!" He takes Sherry's hand and runs up the stairs with her in tow.

Jennifer goes back to Fox in the kitchen and puts a spoonful of coffee in two cups. A few seconds later, Sherry shouts in from the passage, "We're off! I'll bring him back before dinner tomorrow. See ya!"

Jennifer pours the coffees and walks through to the living room with Fox behind her. She sits down first, then Fox sits beside her. They both sip their coffee, each waiting for the other to say something, then Jennifer takes the lead again.

"That chocolate sundae was the best I've ever had." she remarks of her dessert at the restaurant.

"It better have been, for what I paid for it." He smiles, then thinks to himself, "Uh-oh. Was that the wrong thing to say? Now I sound cheap."

Jennifer knows what he means, and she just laughs, so he breathes a quiet sigh of relief and laughs with her.

Jennifer puts her coffee on the table and leans over to Fox. She kisses him and takes his cup out of his hands, putting it on the table beside hers.

"You know what they say about chocolate being an aphrodisiac..." she jokes.

Fox smiles and Jennifer gets up. She walks over to the doorway leading to the passage and unfastens the top three buttons on her blouse. She giggles and runs upstairs. Fox laughs and runs up after her.

**

John F. Kennedy Primary School,

Washington, D.C.

3:15pm, May 14th, 1997.

The bell rings, signaling the end of the day. All the kids run out to meet their parents. As usual, on a Thursday, Jennifer is late, as she has to work until 3 o'clock, and is always a few minutes late. Gary stands at the gate with his friends waiting for his mother.

A tall man wearing a black suit and sunglasses approaches Gary.

"Gary? I'm here to take you home. Your mom can't be here, she was held back at work." He offers his hand and gives a suspicious smile.

"I'm not supposed to go with strangers, mister." Gary shies away.

"But Gary, I'm not a stranger. I'm a good friend of your mom's. She said I can take you to Pizza Hut before I take you home. How 'bout that, soldier?"

"Well...if my mom said it's okay...I guess." Gary takes the man's hand and waves goodbye to his friends, singing "I'm going to Pizza Hut, I'm going to Pizza Hut!"

The tall man takes Gary over to a black BMW with tinted windows. The back door is opened from the inside and Gary gets in, followed by the tall man. Inside the car Gary sees another man. He looks so old to Gary. Old, yet still unnerving in his well-groomed appearance.

**

F.B.I. Headquarters,

Washington, D.C.

8:23am, May 15th.

Mulder sits at his desk making a chain out of paperclips, examining the curious package he got in the post. A computer tape labeled "Majic" was waiting in a padded envelope when he got in this morning.

"Since when did life working on the X files get so boring I'm reduced to paperclip chains?," he thinks to himself.

There is a knock at the door and Scully walks in with a cup of coffee.

She puts down her bag and walks over to her partner's desk.

"Having fun?," she asks of Mulder and his paperclips.

Mulder looks up at Scully and gives a spontaneous laugh before saying "Morning."

"What?" Scully wants to know why he laughed. It isn't his style.

"Nothing, doesn't matter." He looks up and smirks again.

"What? Is my lipstick smudged?" Scully goes over to her bag and gets her compact out. Looking in the mirror, she can't find anything wrong. "What!?," she asks, becoming frustrated.

Mulder laughs and fesses up. "Nuthin', I just felt like makin' you a bit paranoid."

Scully knows she's been got, and just says "Some would call that childish, Fox dear." putting away her compact and pouting.

Mulder moves to make a witty retort, but is interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He goes through his blazer pockets until he finds it. He flips it open and speaks.

"Mulder."

He listens to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Jennifer?" A big smile beams over his face.

Scully gives him a curious look and mouths an inquisitive "Jennifer?"

"Jen, what is it? Is he alright!?" Mulder sits up in his seat.

The voice in the phone becomes very distraught.

"Okay, calm down. Have you checked with his friends? His father? Is he with Sherry?" Mulder knows she would have done all these things, but he needs to feel like he's helping out.

"Okay, okay. Jen, listen to me. He'll be fine. I'm comin' over now."

Mulder snaps his phone closed and heads for the door. "Tell Skinner I had to go--personal problems." he says to his partner. He pats his pockets and realizes he's forgotten something. He goes back to his desk for the tape.

"Anything I can help with?" Scully is just as concerned as Mulder, she just doesn't know who or what she's concerned for.

"Actually...yeah, this may need a woman's touch."

**

The Fletcher Residence, 8:57am.

Fox sits on the couch, cradling his hysterical ex-girlfriend in his arms. Scully comes into the living room with three cups of tea. Mulder eases Jennifer up and Scully hands her one of the cups.

"Th..th..thanks." Jennifer can barely speak through her tears.

"Is Sherry going to be here?" Fox has a drink from his tea and puts one arm around Jennifer.

Jennifer nods her head. "She'll b..be here s..s..soon."

Scully gets up and goes over to the window with her tea. A dark green car pulls up outside the house and a blonde haired woman gets out and walks up the path. Scully goes to the door and opens it.

The woman reaches the front door and speaks to Scully. "Is my sister here?"

Scully has a drink of tea and nods. She shows her into the living room. Jennifer sits with her head resting Fox's shoulder. She's been up all night waiting for her son to come home.

Sherry greets Fox, a little surprised to see him, "Fox. Hi. You been here long?"

Mulder shakes his head, "She's exhausted. She needs to sleep." He fluffs a cushion beside him and lays Jennifer down as he stands up.

**

10:43AM.

The letterbox is heard clapping. Jennifer is awoken from her fleeting slumber. Scully rushes to the door to see who it is. There is an envelope on the floor with "Mulder" scrawled on the back of it. She looks through the window to see if anyone is there, but all she can see is a couple of people jogging and some tall businessman with a pair of sunglasses on.

Scully goes back to the living room and hands her partner the letter.

"Mulder, this is for you."

"What is it?," he asks, taking the envelope and opening it.

"Dunno."

He soon sees what it is.

Mulder,

You've been told time and time again. When will you

learn? Your girlfriend's boy is a delightful

person. It would be a great shame if something happened to him.

Be in the car park under the FBI headquarters at

10pm today. Come alone, and bring the computer tape

you got this morning.

Mulder scrunches the envelope in his right hand and a cigarette butt falls out. He picks it up and looks at it. He knows damn well what brand it is, but he has to be sure. Just as he thought, there, in slightly charred, red writing is the word "Morley".

Mulder can't contain his rage. He gets up and kicks the table over, knocking four cold cups of coffee all over the floor. "BASTARD! HE'S GONE TOO FAR!," he yells, and storms out the front door.

Scully rushes out after him but is too late. He is already starting the car. "MULDER!," she yells, and dashes out after him.

By the time she's at the back of the car it speeds away. "God." she pants. "Why did that little dash tire me out like that?," she thinks, taking a deep breath and rubbing her chest. "Am I asthmatic?" No, not asthmatic. She knows all too well what's wrong with her. She just doesn't want to admit it to herself.

Scully goes back inside and closes the door.

"What's wrong with him?," Jennifer asks from the living room.

Scully sighs and answers, "I have no idea." returning to the living room.

"Dana, are you okay?," Sherry asks as she stands up with a tissue in her hand.

"Hm? Yeah, fine. Why?" Still panting, she sits down.

"Your nose is bleeding." She gives her the tissue and sits back down."You alright?"

Dana suddenly becomes very protective of herself. "I'm fine!," she snaps, wiping the trickle of blood from her top lip.

Silence fills the room.

"I'm sorry." Scully says meekly. "I just get these nosebleeds sometimes." She does well to pretend to laugh it off, wiping the last smear of blood from her nose.

**

F.B.I. Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Assistant Director Skinner's Office, 11:29am.

As Walter Skinner sits looking at the ashtray on his desk with a dozen or more smoked Morleys in it, the door bursts open.

Mulder slams the door behind him and throws the scrunched up ball of paper at Skinner. "WHERE IS HE!?," he yells.

"I beg your pardon, Agent Mulder!?" Skinner picks up the paper and reads what's on it. "What has this to do with me?"

"Don't give me that crap! Where is the son of a bitch!?" He sweeps his arm over Skinner's desk, knocking everything onto the floor. He reaches over and grabs Skinner's tie. "WHERE IS HE!?"

Skinner takes Mulder's hand and twists it around behind him as he darts out of his seat. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't do that, Agent Mulder. Now are you quite finished!?," he asks of the struggling man bent over his desk.

Mulder stops struggling and Skinner lets him up. "Now what is this, and what the hell does it have to do with me?"

"My ex-girlfriend's son was taken by that...that CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN, and now he's being used as a FUCKIN' BARGAINING CHIP!!" Mulder kicks his boss's desk and folds his arms, if only to stop himself from hitting Skinner for even knowing that man. "Call him." Mulder hisses, "Call him, and tell him to get here, NOW!"

"Agent Mulder, whatever has happened, I can't just pick up the phone and dial 1-900 Cancer Man. These guys are invisible, they don't exist."

Mulder knows Skinner is right. He just needs to take out his rage on someone. He leaves the office, slamming the door as hard as he can. Everyone does the smart thing and keeps out of his way as he thunders through the corridors. The last time he was this pissed off, he'd just laced into Skinner before he went missing in the desert a few years ago.

**

F.B.I. Headquarters,

Washington, D.C.

Car Park,

10:03pm.

Mulder stands in the shadows, waiting for the Cancer Man. A black BMW pulls up and the cigarette smoking man gets out. The BMW drives off, but Mulder hears it stop just around the corner.

"Agent Mulder. As always, a pleasure." he says with a smug half-smile as he lights a cigarette.

"You got me here for a reason, and it wasn't small-talk. Get on with it." Mulder says through his teeth.

"Very well. I'll come straight to the point. You received a computer tape through the mail."

"I dunno what the hell you're talking about." Mulder moves over to Cancer Man and squares him up.

"There is one very obvious difference between us, Agent Mulder." he says, looking Mulder in the eyes. "You THINK you can scare me, where as I KNOW I can scare you."

"Then scare me, Cancer Man." Mulder growls, clenching his fists.

"Very well," says the man with a smile and a cloud of smoke, "Gary Fletcher." That smug smile again. "See sense, Agent Mulder."

Mulder pushes Cancer Man away, yelling at him. "You lay one hand on him and I'll make sure cancer never gets it's chance with you. I'll kill you first, you son of a bitch! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM!!??"

"Don't worry. I assure you, he's quite safe...for now." He breathes another lungful of smoke on Mulder. "The tape, Agent Mulder."

"What about it?"

"Hand it over."

"Return Gary first."

"Agent Mulder, I'm not in the habit of repeating myself. Give me the tape, or Gary Fletcher will pay the price."

"FUCK YOU!," he spits. He turns his back on Cancer Man and starts to walk off to the lift.

"Don't walk away from me, Agent Mulder." says the smoking man with a threatening tone in his voice.

Mulder spins around and his right fist smashes into Cancer Man's jaw. He drops to the floor and his cigarette rolls away. Mulder walks to the lift, deeply satisfied, yet scared to death of what that little outburst might do to Gary, or anyone else he knows.

"Very well, Agent Mulder." mumbles the Cancer Man through the handkerchief he is holding against his bleeding mouth.

The black BMW reverses from where it was hiding and the back door opens.

Gary is pushed out, with a gag in his mouth and his hands tied.

"The TAPE, Agent Mulder."

Mulder runs over to Gary and takes the gag out of his mouth. "How do you know I didn't make a copy?"

"It would do you no good. It's all encrypted."

"Then why are you so worried about it?" Mulder knows he's got him here, and is going to get the truth out of this guy.

"In time, you would break the code, but a copy is no good. If you try to crack it more than once, it will erase itself."

"I don't have it with me." Mulder is trying to get out of this. He didn't copy the tape. He's had plenty of other things on his mind today.

"Then I shall take Gary until you have it." Cancer Man nods at the tall man sitting in the back of the Beamer, and he gets out.

The tall man grabs Mulder's shoulder and pulls him up, locking his arms behind him.

Mulder stops his futile struggle and gives in. He is released and slowly reaches in his breast pocket. The tall man pulls his arm away from his jacket. Mulder pulls open his jacket by the lapel and shows that he has no weapon concealed. The tall man reaches into the pocket and finds the computer tape.

"Very good," says the smoker, "let's go."

Cancer Man gets in the back of the BMW. The tall man releases Mulder.

Before he gets in the car, he pulls a gun from inside his jacket.

Gary sees the gun. "NO!!!"

The tall man fires twice as Mulder turns to see what Gary is yelling at. He feels a sudden numbing pain in his right leg and he drops to the ground. As Mulder lies on the ground bleeding, the tall man gets in the car and it speeds away.

**

F.D.R. Memorial Hospital, May 16th, 11:42am.

A hazy white light causes Mulder to squint as he opens his eyes. Shapes begin to take definition, and he hears a familiar voice to his left.

"Fox?"

It's Jennifer. "What happened?," he thinks. "Where am I?"

"Fox, It's Jen. You're in hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

Jennifer strokes his hair and waits for him to answer.

"Mmm..."

"Don't you remember? You got Gary back."

"That's right," he thinks, "Gary. Cancer Man had one of his goons shoot me and dump Gary." Mulder opens his eyes properly and speaks to Jennifer. "Does he remember anything?"

"Only getting left at the car park, when you got shot. Says he was asleep the whole time he was gone. Do you know who shot you?"

Mulder is about to say it was Cancer Man, but for some reason, he comes out with "No, never seen 'em before. They just dumped Gary and shot me. Guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Mulder can't believe it. "Why are you protecting that bastard?," he thinks.

"Well at least you're both okay. That's the main thing." Scully interrupts. "I dunno," she says, "some people. They'll do anything to get a good-looking woman worrying about them." She smiles and puts a "Get Well Soon" card on the table next to the bed.

"Scully, whatever do you mean?," Mulder asks, smiling.

"Nothing. But I bet you're not as bad as you're makin' out."

"Me? You wound me, Scully." He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"I have to get back to work. Jennifer, you wanna ride somewhere?"

Scully stands at the door waiting.

"No, thanks. I'm gonna stay here for a while. See ya later." Jennifer waves at Dana as she leaves the room. She leans forward in her chair and rests her head on the bed.

Mulder rests his hand on her head, stroking her hair. "When I can walk again...you wanna go to a movie or somethin'?"

Jennifer isn't too surprised at the question. She'd always hoped, if not expected her and Fox to get back together. She smiles and closes her eyes. "Sure.

Okay, okay. It's a soppy ending, I know. But it's just gone 2am and I really want to submit this in the morning. Maybe my next one will have a more complicated ending. And besides, there's nothing wrong with a happy ending.. :) (:

• Having Jennifer and Gary killed in a house fire.
• Having Jennifer killed in a car wreck.
• Having Mulder falling for Sherry.
• Having Mulder killed (!).
• Having Mulder beat Cancer Man to death in the car park.