Title: The S-Files: Within
Authors: Dark Blood & Spooky (the flashbacks belong to me! ::evil laugh:: )
Written: July 2002
Rating: PG Spoilers: Requiem, Chinga

Summary: Two new FBI Agents join the X-Files team on a mission to uncover the truth about alien abductions.

Notes: While I will say that season and eight and nine does suck...there is about one or two good things about it that I intend to keep the same. And you will see what I am talking about. The flashbacks belong to CC (to some extent). The rest is mine.


Within Season 8, episode 1

Oregon Woods, 12:27 AM

"It feels so good to finally be able to bring out Big Bertha again, Tyler," Amanda McDonaldson said to her husband as the two carried the large telescope out to the clearing in the woods.

"I'm just glad you're better now, hun. You had us all worried that you weren't going to pull through. It's a miracle to even have you back here after all that time in the hospital," Tyler stated as he recalled the painful memories of the past three months that his wife had been in the hospital. He had sat many long hours in her room with her parents. Amanda's uncle had even stopped in one day to see how she was doing. They all had thought she was going to die for sure when the doctors began to talk about brain disease of some sort.

The two trudged along through the woods, carrying the large telescope to the top of the hill. After five more minutes of walking, the couple finally reached the apex and set Big Bertha down in the clearing. "It's been so long since I've seen the stars, Tyler. I almost forgot what they looked like. They're so beautiful..," she said as she looked into her husband's eyes.

He smiled and looked back at her. "They can't even begin to compare to you this evening, hun," he said as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Amanda smiled and punched him playfully on the shoulder. "You're sounding like you used to when we first started dating!" she said with a chuckle.

Tyler just smiled and continued looking into her eyes. Something had changed in those amber eyes of hers, but he just couldn't pick out what was different about them. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and just enjoyed the fact that he could look into his wife's eyes once again. He slid a hand into his right pocket for the ring he had bought her for their anniversary last month, but found that his pocket was empty. "Damn," he cursed under his breath. "It must have fallen out back in the woods..."

"What fell out, love?" Amanda asked with eyebrows raised.

"Um, one of the eyepieces," Tyler quickly lied. "I guess I had better go and see if I can find it."

Amanda smiled. "Well, hurry back. Don't want to miss the best viewing time we've had in years, you know."

Tyler spun around on his heel and made his way back along the path in the woods. He shown his flashlight down on the ground in sweeping arcs, looking for the lost ring. He traveled for five minutes down the winding path until he saw the box jutting up from among some trampled leaves. He bent down and picked up the small box and placed it deeply in his pocket as he muttered that he wasn't going to lose that again.

As he walked through the dark woods, his flashlight flickered and died. "Dammit," he muttered as he hit the defiant flashlight with the palm of his hand, causing the batteries to come flying out of their plastic shell.

Tyler stumbled blindly through the path back to his wife. He saw the red light from her LED flashlight in the distance and knew he was near.

Suddenly, a bright light blinded him and knocked him back, sending him slamming against a nearby tree. He saw that the light was coming from Amanda's vicinity. He called out to her as the light began to fade. He screamed and ran quickly towards the clearing in the woods. He arrived and sank to his knees and wailed. "No! Not again!" he cried as he saw that his wife was no longer there. "Amanda!" he screamed as he sunk down on his hands and knees, his head hanging down and his body being wracked by sobs as he cried in the perfectly clear, serene night. It was then that he saw the video camera with the red light blinking.

Theme Music please...... J. Edgar Hoover Building, 8 AM

Special agent Dana Scully smoothed down the collar of her crisp, cream colored suit as she confidently strode down the impersonal hallways of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her peers pointing and staring at what they perceived to be a shell of a human being. She heard a couple whisper "Ice Princess" but she ignored them and headed toward her destination. If they only knew, she thought to herself with a smile. She reached the elevator doors and pressed the button to go down. Luckily she was the only passenger. As the doors closed, her mind took her back to the day when she and Mulder would make a decision that would affect the rest of their lives...

Special Agent Dana Scully smoothed down the collar of her cream- colored suite as she confidently strode down the lonely hallways of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her piers, pointing and staring at what they perceived to be a shell of a human being. She heard a couple whisper "Ice Princess" but she ignored them and headed towards her destination. 'If they only knew' she thought to herself with a small smile. She reached the elevator doors and pressed the button to go down. Luckily she was the only passenger. As the doors closed, her mind took her back to the day when she and Mulder would make a decision that would affect the rest of their lives...

<In her mind she saw the elevator doors open, and Mulder stepped in. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you " he told her. His eyes ran appraisingly over her body. She was wearing one of his favorite suites, the tight fitting black one with a steep but modest neck line and matching skirt which he had told her showed off her legs beautifully.

The elevators closed and Scully took a deep breathe before spilling out why she was running late. "Hi. Um, I'm sorry. I had a doctor's appointment and, um, I don't know, I guess time just got away from me," her excuse sounded weak, even to her own ears. Her eyes dart around her nervously, refusing to look Mulder in the eye.

At the mention of a doctor's appointment, Mulder was immediately on the alert. "Is anything the matter?"

"Nothing. No, I just, uh... I went for a walk." She hastily reassured him,

" Mmm. Then what's wrong?" Mulder asked again, not buying into her story, not even for a minute.

Scully sighed heavily, she should have known she wouldn't have been able to lie to Mulder. Well at least not to his face. "I'm... I'm sorry I haven't told you. I don't know why I haven't. I mean, you were always there for me during my illness but, um..." She paused again, not knowing how to say this. It should have been easy; he was after all her lover. The problem was, she wasn't sure how he would handle it.

He smiled uneasily at the mention of illness...painful memories of her cancer came unbidden but he brushed them aside and fought down a wave of panic, leaning into her space he asked, "Don't make me guess."

"I was left unable to conceive with whatever test that they did on me. And I am not ready to accept that I will never have children." Her breath lets out in a whoosh. She should have told him before they got involved. He probably wanted a woman who could provide a family for him. For a brief second Scully willed the doors to open so she could make her escape.

Her wish was granted but before she could flee Mulder blocked her exit. He looked at her sheepishly, and this time it was him who avoided her eyes. "Scully, there's, um, there's something I haven't told you either and I hope you, uh, forgive me and understand why I would have kept it from you," he told her while placing a guiding hand on her arm as he lead her into their office.

"What?" she asked him as she sat down in her chair.

"During my investigation into your illness I found out the reason why you were left barren. Your ova were taken from you and stored in a government lab." He perched himself on the corner of his desk, not willing to leave too much space between them.

"What?" at the moment that seemed to be the only word her mind could process. She stared at him in shock. "You found them?"

"I-I took them directly to a specialist who would tell me if they were okay." He told her. She had to forgive him of this. He was only trying to protect her and he would do anything to keep her from hating him over this.

"I don't believe this." Her voice registered her disbelief but she knew Mulder wouldn't lie to her, not about this.

"Scully, you were deathly ill, and I... I couldn't bear to give you another piece of bad news. " His voice shook on the last part. "It hurt me to see you in the pain that you were in, telling you that would just add to it, please Scully, don't hate me. I only meant.."

She cut him off, "Is that what it was? It was bad news?" She sounded desperate and a bit hurt. If this was another dead end, she didn't know how she would be able to go on unable to conceive.

His eyes were casted downwards as he fiddled with the edge of his coat. "The doctor said that the ova weren't viable," he finally told her after a brief pause.

"I want a second opinion." She stated firmly, hurt showing in her brilliant blue eyes. Mulder caught that look and another piece of his soul died. He watched in agony as she got up and walked briskly out of the room.>

The opening of the elevator doors woke Scully out of her dream. She walked down the hall to the basement office and unlocked the door. Surprised to find that Mulder hadn't arrived yet. 'Well if he had gotten out of bed on time...' She chuckled to herself, remembering this mornings antics. He didn't get up until about a quarter after six and that left little time for him to run to his apartment for a fresh suite. They might be together but they were still trying to maintain an only partners appearance. Just then the object of her thoughts came walking into the room. She fully expecting to see Mulder sitting at his desk, throwing pencils at the ceiling, she was surprised to see not only a standing Mulder, but Assistant Director Skinner and two very unfamiliar faces.

"Agent Scully, I know this is short notice, but I have a case for you and Mulder and I need you to fly out today," Skinner said matter-of- factly.

"What kind of case are we dealing with?" Scully asked.

"Missing person under suspicious circumstances," the unfamiliar man interjected. Scully shot him a look that could kill. "And you are...?"

The man stepped forward and took her hand. "Special Agent John Dogget, and this is my partner, Agent Reys," Dogget stated.

Mulder looked like he would be sick right then and there. "And if you don't mind my asking, what the hell are you doing in our office?" Mulder snapped.

"I've called agents Dogget and Reys to help out on this case. I believe that due to the nature of the disappearance, you and Scully could possibly be in danger and I would feel better if you had someone along to make sure nothing happened," Skinner said as he looked at Mulder who was still looking at Scully's hand in Dogget's.

Scully removed her hand quickly from Dogget's and walked over to Mulder. "What kind of circumstances are we talking about here?"

"It's very similar to when Mulder and I were out in the woods right before we got your call. Whatever it is that keeps taking these people, it's very specific. It only takes abductees and you and Mulder are both abductees."

"So you're saying this person who disappeared in..." Mulder paused waiting for Skinner to fill in the information.

"Her name is Amanda McDonaldson and she's from Oregon. Her husband has an interesting tape he sent me that seems to record something although it's a bad recording," Skinner said as he popped in the tape into a VCR in the corner of the room.

Agent Reyes flipped the light switch as the tape began to play. On the video was a bright-eyed woman who appeared to be in her thirties who began to talk into the camera. "This night is going to be so wonderful. It's the best viewing night I believe I've ever seen. As soon as Tyler gets back with the ring, um, I mean eyepiece," she said as she chuckled and held her finger to her mouth. "Shh...I'm not supposed to know that. As soon as he gets back, we'll hook up the camera to old Big Bertha and see what shots we can take tonight." The woman walked over to the telescope as the wind began to shake the camera. The woman smiled and said, "I see his flashlight. He must be close now." Not a moment after she said this, a bright light covered the screen for a full minute. When the picture came back, all that could be seen was a man running into the clearing looking around then crying out. He looked up into the camera and his eyes widened as he grabbed it and turned it off.

Mulder looked at Scully then back at Skinner. "When do we fly out?"

"In about twenty minutes," Skinner said as the agents all rushed out the door to the JFK airport

Oregon Highway, 3 PM Mulder and Scully drove down the highway towards the McDonaldson's residence in silence. There was an uneasy feeling between the two agents and neither would speak first. As they drove along the very familiar piece of road, Mulder spotted a fading X on the asphalt. How many years has it been? He thought to himself as he looked over to Scully who appeared to be deep in thought. She's been awfully quiet this trip, he thought.

"What's wrong, Scully?"

Scully continued to stare out the window at the passing rows of trees, seeming to be oblivious to Mulder's question.

"Scully? Ok, what have I done?"

Scully looked at Mulder. "You haven't done anything, Mulder. I guess I'm just lost in thought."

"What are you thinking about?"

Scully smiled. "Us, what will become of everything, why Skinner seemed to be so adamant about sending two new agents with us on this trip. Mulder," she said. "Did you tell Skinner about my situation?"

"Well that's not a nice way of saying you're pregnant, Scully."

"You know what I mean."

"Well, in that case, yes, I think it came up somewhere along in our conversation. Why do you ask?"

Scully sighed. "I don't want any special attention or treatment. I don't know, I just feel like I'll end up being replaced or something."

"By that Dog-face guy? You're kidding right?" Mulder said.

Scully shook her head. "I don't know, Mulder. I'm just worried about everything it seems. You have to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you'll be careful on this case. Let these two agents do the work in the woods. I can't bear the thought of losing you, Mulder. Not now, not ever." Mulder pulled the car over and looked at Scully. "I will be careful, I promise. But you have to make me the same promise. We're both abductees, we're both in danger here if what Skinner says is true. Do you promise to be careful too?"

"I promise, Mulder."

"Good," Mulder said as he fidgeted with his tie around his neck then looked back at Scully. "Um, you have to promise me one other thing too..." Scully raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

Mulder coughed and cleared his throat. "Um, promise me that you'll break the news easy to your brother. I know how much he loves me already..." Mulder said as he turned his tie around and made it look like a hangman's noose. The two agents laughed as they drove on to the McDonaldson's house. McDonaldson's residence, 5 PM Mulder and Scully pulled into the McDonaldson's residence and were greeted by Agents Dogget and Reyes who were already questioning Tyler McDonaldson about his wife's disappearance.

"So you're saying this isn't the first time she's disappeared like this?" Dogget asked Tyler.

"No, she disappeared once before about a year ago. She was gone for eight months and then she came back. The police found her wandering out in the woods and took her to the hospital where she went into a coma for nearly three months. The doctors said she had some sort of brain disorder, oh, I can't remember the name of it. Started with an S I think, but I'm not sure. When she came to, she kept saying things about UFO's and stuff like that. Everyone thought she was crazy except for her uncle who said he had some experience with this kind of stuff. That's why when it happened again, I sent the tape to him and I guess he passed it along to you guys. He said you knew a lot about this stuff?"

Mulder raised his hand. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He stepped forward and shook Tyler's hand. "I'm agent Fox Mulder and this is my partner Dana Scully."

"Nice to meet you both," Tyler said as he sank down into the couch. "I just can't bear to think what might have happened to her now. God, why did this happen again?"

"I don't know, but we'll do our best to find out," Scully interjected as she whispered to Mulder. "We need to send Doggett and Reyes to the scene and look for evidence of anything suspicious.

Mulder took her hand and walked to the other side of the room. "What, you don't think it's abduction?"

"I'm not saying that, Mulder, it's just that when I saw the tape, something just didn't seem right."

"Like..."

Scully shrugged. "I don't know, it's just as if he seemed guilty when he saw the tape might be running. We need someone to go out and see what might be there."

Mulder nodded and signaled for Doggett and Reyes to walk over to them. "We need you two to go an examine the scene for any evidence. Bring back some soil samples and things like that. Just check it out and let us know if you find anything at all."

Doggett and Reyes left the house and headed to the mountaintop. Oregon Hills Motel, 5AM Early the next morning, the two agents came back with several bags of a strange looking powder. Scully was in the shower when they arrived so they went over what they found with Mulder.

"There was this dust over everything. Looks like someone else has been up there too. Maybe local PD," Dogget said as he looked up and saw Scully walking out of the bathroom in a bathrobe and towel over her head.

Scully looked at the bag of gray dust and opened the bag placing her fingertip inside, removing some of the powder.

"It's strange. I can't remember ever seeing anything like this before at any other possible abduction sites," Scully said as she held her powder-dipped finger close to her face. She sat down suddenly on the bed.

"Scully, you ok?"

"I, I don't know. I just feel rather strange. Feels like, like..." she said as her eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the bed.

Agent Doggett, also concerned, moved toward the fallen agent. He reached out a hand to touch her face when Mulder got angry, "Give her room, dammit!" Mulder snapped as he pushed the other agent out of the way. If anyone was going to comfort Scully, it was going to be him. Oregon Memorial Hospital, 7AM

To everyone around her, she appeared to be sleeping but her in her dreams she was very much awake and reliving what had happened a few months back in another hospital much like this one...

<Scully was sitting in Dr. Parenti's waiting room. She was a nervous wreck. Her hands were shaking and she was thinking how she wished she had taken Mulder up on his offer to come with her. She needed him. Why did she always insist on being so strong and independent? The truth was, she was scared to death. There was a deep desire inside of her to have children and her heart would brake all over again if she was told it was impossible. Finally the door opened and the doctor came in. "Ms. Scully?" he asked. "Got a good report for you. I've looked at the ova you've given me and consulted with some of my colleagues. We all feel that with the proper approach we might be successful. Got a good chance to get you pregnant." Scully felt overwhelmed. Did he really just say that? Were her dreams really going to come true? "It's to good to be true." She told him, a bright smile covering her face. "I don't want to lay odds but it's not out of the realm of possibility if we start soon. " Dr. Parenti explained, a tone of confidence in his voice. "We can start right away? " Scully asked in amazement. " Well, you need a father, of course. I can get you genetic counseling on finding an anonymous donor if that's what you want... unless you already have someone in mind." His eyebrow raised a notch. "Yeah... I, uh... I just have to figure out how to ask him." Her face fell a little. What if Mulder wasn't ready to become a father? How would he take this? Things had been moving in a fast pace for them, relationship wise. Their newfound relationship was still new and fragile. "Thank you doctor," she said, and got up and walked from the office.>

"Scully, can you hear me?" She didn't remember Dr. Parenti sounding like Mulder. And since when did doctors use your last name?

"She looks pretty out of it," Langly stated.

In her dream state Scully really was confused. She was sure she would not have invited Langly along to talk to a doctor about trying to get pregnant.

"What have they got her on?" Beyers asked.

"Oh for crying out loud, she fainted guys. What do you think they have her on?" Frohike snapped.

"Hey, maybe we can get some," Langly said.

"SHUT UP!" Mulder yelled.

At Mulder's outburst Scully decided it was time to open her eyes. When she did she found five pairs of eyes staring back at her. Mulder, the gunmen, Doggett, Reyes, and Tyler McDonaldson surrounded her. "What on earth..." she mumbled.

"Scully?"

"What?"

"You ok?" Mulder asked. "You feeling better?"

"Better? What happened, where am I?"

"You passed out in our hotel room. Do you remember anything?"

Scully shook her head. "I don't remember anything, Mulder. Did the doctors say what happened?"

Just as she asked that question, A.D. Skinner walked through the door to answer her. "You have to remember to eat something, Scully. You're not just having to think of yourself anymore. You were just weak from the travel and lack of sleep, that's all."

Mulder let out an audible sigh of relief. Tyler shot over to Skinner and hugged him. "Walter, I'm so glad you came."

The room went silent.

"Walter?" Mulder asked.

Skinner shook his head. "I guess it was going to happen sooner or later. I put you on this case right away because it involves my family. Tyler is my nephew-in-law and Amanda is my niece. And Tyler, they think they might have found her." TO BE CONTINUED....

The S-Files: Without Written by Dark Blood (Silvara34@aol.com) Beta: Spooky (SteeleObsessed@yahoo.com) The flash backs are mine!!! Ha ha ha!! Summary in First part Rating: PG Spoilers: Everything before season eight is fair game.

Without, Season 8, episode 2

::flashback to last episode::

Scully sat on her hospital bed as thought after thought bombarded her mind. What am I going to do? Am I going to be replaced by these two new agents? What will happen to Mulder and I if I have to leave the X-files? She yawned and her eyes drifted shut.

A few hours passed and she woke up to not only Mulder, but the Gunmen and Tyler McDonaldson staring at her with concern in their eyes.

"What happened," she said as she reached to rub her throbbing head.

"You passed out," Skinner said as he walked through the door, holding a medical chart and his cell phone. "You need to be sure to eat more now that you're not the only one to think about," he said as he handed her the charts for her to peruse and sink her doctorial teeth into. Skinner turned to Tyler with dark eyes. "They think they may have found Amanda, Tyler. We need you to come and identify if it is her or not."

"Oh God, she's dead isn't she?" he said as he sank down on his knees and began to cry. Skinner grabbed his arm and pulled him back up before he could begin to wail once again.

"No time for that, Tyler. She's not dead, if it is her. She's alive, um, sort of at least."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Mulder interjected.

Skinner shook his head. "Just come with me and you'll see. Scully, you have to eat something and then have a blood test when the food has had time to digest. After that, come to room 1939 in intensive care. I want your medical opinion on what has happened to this person."

The agents left the room and headed to see the body. The Lone Gunmen bid farewell and went back to their cave.

Scully grabbed the hospital food tray in front of her as she watched the agents and Tyler walk out of the door. She lifted the tray and her nose curled up when she saw what appeared to be regurgitated cow brains. She looked at the label and read "chicken noodle soup."

"Lovely," she explained and began to eat with the least amount of enthusiasm.

After forcing the awful hospital food down her throat, Scully had some time on her hands before she had to go for blood testing. Her thoughts wondered to the little life growing inside of her. Her mind wondered back to the day she was given back the chance to conceive.

<Scully unlocked her door and hung her cream colored coat up on the coat hook. She closed the door and went into the kitchen to grab a drink. She needed some courage if she ever planned to go over to Mulder's and find out what his answer was. As if they were physically drawn to each other, Scully heard a knock on her door. She crossed over and opened it, already knowing who was on the other side. "Hi." She said.

"Hi." Mulder replied, his eyes shyly avoiding hers.

"Come on in," she pulled the door open wider to allow him to enter.

"Thanks." He heard the door click shut behind him.

"Can I take your coat? " Scully asked with her hand outstretched towards him.

"No, I can't stay. I gotta get back to the office for a while." He told her, gazing at her lovingly.

"Obviously you've had some time to think about my request," she said, her voice shaking a little.

"I am absolutely flattered, Scully."

Scully ducked her head, too embarrassed to look Mulder in the face at that moment. Mulder gently lifted her head so he could see her eyes, "No, honestly."

"Okay, if... if you're trying to politely say "no," it's okay. I, I understand." Scully rambled nervously. She didn't think she could take the rejection. She turned to go but was stopped by Mulder's strong hand holding her next to him. She was still avoiding his eyes.

"Truthfully Scully, I have often dreamed about us making a family together. And it may sound trite but I just wouldn't want this to come between us." His voice filled with emotion. "I have seen where couples try to conceive and they can't and it tears them apart."

"Yeah. I know... I, I understand. I do." Scully was a bit devastated. He was going to say no. She just knew it.

Mulder saw the look that past over her eyes and realized that she had misunderstood. He wanted to have a baby with her, but not at the cost of losing her. He reached out to touch her cheek and quickly reassured her, "the answer is yes, Scully."

A myriad of emotions crossed Scully's face all at once. They looked at each other and smiled. Mulder pulled her closer to him and they embraced. Scully pulled back and looked up at Mulder, the smile still on her face. "Um...Well, I'll call Dr. Parenti. I assume that he'll want to meet you and go through the, uh, the donor procedure."

Mulder gave one of his ' I got an innuendo for you and its coming out' look. "At that part I'm a pro. Although after not being celebrate for four weeks I may be a little rusty" He gave her a wink.

They smiled at each other again, Mulder leaned down and gave her a light peck on the lips before turning towards the door and leaving quietly.>

Scully had a smile on her face as she remembered that afternoon. Her hand went to her belly as she rubbed it slightly, envisioning the life growing within.


The nurse came to draw the blood and after having what seemed like a gallon of blood drawn, Scully met up with Skinner, Mulder, the new agents, and Tyler McDonaldson in room 1939. Scully walked through the door to only be overwhelmed by a terrible stench emanating from near the bed. She moved closer through the crowd to peer at the body of which they presumed was Amanda McDonaldson. Scully cringed at the sight when she saw the mangled and bloated body on the bed.

The body was swollen badly and it appeared that almost ever vein and artery in the entire system had been ruptured which gave the body an eerie purple-reddish color. The stench was terrible and vaguely reminded Scully of the swamps they had trekked through when searching for Big Blue. A single thought of her poor dog QueQuag being gobbled up in that adventure made her focus her thoughts on the body in front of her. Despite its grotesque appearance, it was obviously a female body. Auburn hair sat raggedly on top of the head in mangled clumps resembling patches of grass sticking out of a purple lake. Scully touched the hair which had a very slimy texture to it.

"What do you think happened to her, Scully?" Assistant director Skinner asked.

"I'm, I'm not quite sure. Whatever happened to her created enough stress to rupture nearly every blood vessel in her body. I'd hate to think what could do that," Scully mused as she glanced over to the heart monitor, which appeared to be flat-lined when suddenly a single heartbeat caused the machine to blip once. "Fascinating," Scully said.

"What is?" Mulder questioned.

"This person has suffered so much trauma and yet their heart is still managing to beat, although I'm not sure what it's pumping blood into."

"It could just be a blip in the machine. There are no brainwaves. Whoever it is, they're brain-dead. They won't be able to survive much longer if they are actually surviving at all as of this point," agent Doggett interjected.

Every person in the room scowled disapprovingly at the agent for saying that in front of Tyler McDonaldson. Earlier while Scully had been eating and being poked and prodded for her blood, the dental records of the body had been identified as belonging to Amanda McDonaldson. This was definitely her body, but God only knew what had happened to her.

Tyler's lips quivered as a tear rolled down his cheek. He knew the truth in Doggett's statement, but he was not ready to say goodbye to his beloved wife. Tyler sat down in the chair by the bed and looked at the bloated disfigured body of his wife. "Hang on, love. You were always a fighter. No sense in giving up just yet."

Everyone in the room was moved by Tyler's words. They knew the situation was practically hopeless, but Tyler held on to that little faint heartbeat like it was the last link on a chain holding him above a jagged cliff face.

"Tyler, we'll do everything we can to find out what happened to her, I promise. You can stay here with her if you wish since you are the only family she has in this area besides me. I have to get back to the office with my agents so we can gather some things to be able to start trying to figure out what has happened to your wife," Skinner said to Tyler.

"I know what happened to her," Tyler said in almost a daze.

"How could he know what happened to her?" Dogget burst out. "No one on this planet could tell what happened to her!"

"Exactly," was all Tyler said.

The room went silent and everyone stared at Tyler in confusion.

Mulder was the first to speak. "Tyler, what happened to Amanda? Was it due to her abduction?"

Tyler was about to speak when Doggett once again burst out with another comment. "Oh come on now, Mulder. You can't be serious. Little green men are going around and disfiguring people now? Oh yeah, real believable, ouch" he snorted.

Reyes shifted uncomfortably and quickly hit Doggett in the side, ending his rampage of logic. "They are gray," she whispered in his ear.

"Oh don't tell me you believe this crock of crap. I thought you had more sense than that!" he whispered sharply in her ear as everyone in the room watched them intently. This was a rather comical sight for Mulder and Scully who could remember arguing much the same way when they first met. Ah, logic versus the unknown.

They made good bedfellows after many years, each complimenting the other and creating a complex yet harmonious pair.

Tyler interrupted the rather tense moment. "Yes, it's due to her abduction, Agent Mulder. Amanda has been abducted before. The last time they did something to her brain. When she finally recovered she had this strange ability to predict things. It was very odd."

"Chance," Dogget snorted.

"Or not," Mulder said irritably. "Please go on, Tyler."

"Well, when they found her the last time, she was in bad shape. Not nearly as bad as she is now, but still near death. I don't know. It was like they were testing her body to see if she could survive something. It was very strange. I wonder what they did to her this time. She looks like she is in agony. Why do they always have to choose her?"

"They used to choose others a few years back. There was a case with Billy Miles..."

"Billy Miles?" Tyler interrupted Mulder. "Amanda used to talk about a Billy Miles. She said she saw him when she was abducted the first time. She had asked what his name was and he told her Billy Miles was his name. Could this all be related?"

"We don't know that just yet, Tyler," Scully said as she rested her hand on the poor man's shoulder. "We'll look into this and see if anything can be found. You should get some rest. You've had a very long day."

Tyler slumped down in the chair. "I think I'll stay with her for the night. Thank you all for your help. Hopefully she'll be able to fight through the night. She's never given up before."

The agents all nodded and left the room. Skinner soon followed them after saying something to Tyler.

Scully yawned. It had been a while since she slept soundly. She knew that tonight she would sleep very well. She and Mulder were safe. Nothing had happened to him and nothing had happened to her aside from her little fainting spell that night. Scully mused about the future of her, Mulder, and their child when Mulder came up to her and put his arm over her shoulder. "You ready for bed, shorty?" he said playfully.

"Shorty?"

"Just a joke."

Scully pushed him into the side of the wall and made Mulder stumble rather clumsily. "Just a joke," she grinned and shrugged. The two agents laughed on the way out into the car to ride back to the hotel. They both desperately needed sleep it seemed. As soon as they went to the room, they both fell asleep. They were too tired to even make it to their own separate rooms. They just fell asleep on the bed that Mulder had slept on that first fateful case they had ever worked on together.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital.....

Tyler yawned and stretched as he looked at his wife's body. He cried for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night. He hated to see her looking so utterly miserable. He couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up, he saw a different looking Amanda. She looked like she did on their wedding day: peaceful, serene, and beautiful. Tyler rubbed his eyes in disbelief. When he opened them again, there lay the beautiful body of his wife. There were no more ruptured veins, no more ragged hair. Just pure beauty and the woman he had fallen in love with.

He checked the vitals monitor and saw that there was a very slow, very steady heartbeat and that she had brainwaves again. It had to be a miracle!

Tyler leaned over her face, disbelief still in his eyes. "Amanda?" he whispered to her as he leaned in closer. Suddenly her eyes opened and her hand shot forward to Tyler's neck as she squeezed on his jugular vein. Tyler could not believe she was attacking him! He squirmed, trying to get away. When he looked in her eyes, he saw not the beautiful amber eyes he was used to but rather cold gray eyes staring back at him as if he was food. He stared into those eyes as the world turned dark around him and he stopped breathing.

When his life had left him, Amanda threw him across the room, sending his body through the glass doors, shattering them and causing a very scared nurse to scream out in horror. Amanda rose from her bed and ripped out the IV's and monitoring equipment. She threw the scared nurse against the wall and proceeded to make her way through the hospital to the front doors. A security guard saw the trail of gore behind her and shot three rounds at her, hitting her square in the chest. Three shots that should have killed her. Three shots that did not even phase her. She knocked the security guard through the doors of an ambulance and made her way down the quiet streets of Oregon.

The Next Day....

Mulder and Scully awoke to Doggett and Reyes crashing through their door to wake up whom they presumed would be Mulder, but found both agents curled up together in the bed. This did not look good for the discreet image they were trying to keep up.

"There's been an attack at the hospital. Tyler McDonaldson is dead as well as three nurses. There was one survivor, a security guard who seems to go in and out of consciousness all last night. They have him in stable condition now, so we might want to question him," Dogget said in a hurry.

"What about Amanda?" Scully questioned.

"That's just the thing. It was Amanda who killed all of them. She left the hospital last night."

Mulder and Scully looked at each other quickly then jumped out of bed and raced for the car with Doggett and Reyes to make their way to the hospital once again.

When they arrived, they saw a bloody trail that led from Amanda's room to the front doors. Glass had been shattered everywhere and a broken ambulance was parked outside the doors. The agents all flashed their badges at the timid clerk who led them toward the room where Amanda had been. They looked and saw Tyler on the floor, huge bruises on his neck.

"Choked to death," Scully murmured as she looked at the broken blood vessels on his neck. "At least it looks to be a quick job. He probably didn't feel a whole lot after the initial hold. Where's Skinner?"

"He had to go notify the family to be on the lookout for Amanda and to break the bad news to them. He has enough to worry about right now it seems," Reyes answered.

"Where is the security guard? I want to talk to him and see what he saw," Mulder stated as he looked around. "Room 157, right around the corner," a nurse replied to him.

Mulder and Dogget made their way to see the security guard as Scully and Reyes stayed behind to search the scene of the crime. Mulder walked through the door of room 157 and saw the bloodied security guard sipping on some sort of mashed soup.

"The chicken noodle soup here is really good," he said cheerily. "You must be the FBI agents, right?"

"Right," Mulder said as he sat down in the chair in front of the guard, leaving Doggett standing in the hallway. "What happened last night?"

"I saw a girl walking through the hallway and attacking people, so I shot at her. I swear to you, I hit her three times in the chest. I'm a good shot. Was voted best in my class at police academy. I swear to you, she took three slugs in the chest and she kept walking then threw me hard against the ambulance outside and that's all I remember."

"Do you keep security tape records in ICU?" Mulder asked.

"Yes. If you want to look at the tapes, they already got them out for you to look at. Just ask the nurse out front and she'll give them to you."

"Thank you," Mulder said as he got up and headed out the door. "Enjoy the soup."

Mulder and Doggett made their way to the front desk to get the tapes. "You think he really hit Amanda?" Mulder asked Doggett.

"There's no way. How could anyone survive three shots to the chest?"

"What if part of them wasn't human anymore?"

"What do you mean?" Doggett sputtered. "Don't tell me you think she's now part little green man now!"

"Gray," Mulder mumbled.

"What?" Doggett asked.

"I think she's part of an experiment now."

"What kind of experiment? You've got to be kidding. How the hell did you even get into the FBI?" Doggett raged.

Mulder shoved Doggett up against the wall. "Don't ever insult me like that, do you hear me?" he sputtered angrily.

"Got it," Doggett squeaked while pinned against the wall. The agents picked up the tapes then headed back to the hotel room. Mulder popped in the tape and he, Scully, Doggett, and Reyes watched as three consecutive shots went through Amanda and didn't even phase her.

The agents all shook their heads. It didn't make sense. Something strange was happening. It was obviously an X-file now, no longer simply a missing person case.

"What do we do, Mulder?" Scully asked.

"We find Amanda McDonaldson before she finds Billy Miles."

"What does Billy Miles have to do with this?" Reyes asked. "Tyler said she talked of Billy Miles. If this is what I think it is, then Billy might be just like Amanda now."

"And just what is Amanda?" Dogget snorted.

"I think she might have been turned into a human bounty hunter so to speak. She's not totally alien like the others, but she's got enough of the alien blood in her to make her almost indestructible."

"Then how do we stop her?" This came from Scully.

"I don't know that yet. All I know is that we have to find her before she kills anyone else."

That they all agreed on.

Oregon Woods

Amanda McDonaldson walked through the woods in search of the others. Part of her knew she did something absolutely horrible while the other part of her saw nothing wrong with killing humans. She wondered what she had become. All she knew was that she had to find Billy Miles. She knew he would have the answer to that. She somehow knew he would be out here. She pressed on and found something shining on the ground.

She bent down and found a three stone anniversary ring in a small black box. She picked up the box and ran her hands over the soft velvet and put the ring on. It was a perfect fit. A small memory of her husband buying this ring and then dropping it on the way to the summit of the hill came into her mind. She could remember no more than that. All her memories seemed to be gone now.

She moved quicker through the woods, but clutched onto that box and that one memory. She reached the summit and saw Billy Miles standing there, looking at her.

"I knew you would be here," she said.

"I knew you would come," he said.

"What have I become? What happened?"

"You are now far more superior to all humans," Billy said.

"Why did I kill Tyler?"

"Who is Tyler?"

"My husband. He bought me this ring," she said as she showed it to Billy.

Billy knew this was not good. She was not supposed to have memories. If she had memories, she was too human. She was not the one to use for the experiment. It had failed.

"Turn around for me," Billy said softly as Amanda complied. A small silver device found its way to his hand as he pressed it against Amanda's neck. "You were not supposed to remember," he said.

"I could never forget," she said as the silver blade can out of the device and killed her instantly. Green acid bubbled out of her as her eyes closed and Billy felt all her weight on him.

"They will not be pleased that she failed. We need someone who wants to forget his past. We need Mulder."

Billy placed the body of Amanda in the small river which would float her toward the town where someone was bound to find her. With the leaking of the acid from her neck, all the alien blood poured out of her body. There would be no trace of alien DNA in her system.

She was just a human again.

Oregon Memorial Hospital

Mulder and Scully moved through the morgue to help identify the body of Amanda McDonaldson in the absence of Skinner. The coroner removed the sheet of plastic from the body which revealed the serene face of Amanda McDonaldson.

"It's her," Scully said.

Mulder looked at the body. Something was different, but he couldn't place it. He asked if an autopsy had been done and the coroner replied with an emphatic yes. He said there was a small wound on the back of the neck, but other than that, everything else was fine. The coroner suspected that she died of cold from being in the cool river. He said there was water in the lungs, so she could have become lethargic in the river then drowned.

A small wound on the back of the neck.

Mulder and Scully both knew what that meant. As the two agents left the hospital to head to the airport to go back to Washington, the light hit the diamond band on Amanda's hand, causing a small sparkle to emanate through the room. If one was looking close enough, they would have been able to see a smile placed on Amanda's face even though her body was no longer living.

She smiled because she eternally had her memories.

Scully's Apartment

Scully returned home that night to her own apartment. After having Doggett and Reyes crashing in on them, Scully had thought it best for them to go their separate ways. As she was coming into the door her mind flashed back to the devastating night she got the bad news.

<She walked into her dark apartment and was startled to find Mulder asleep on her couch.

"Scully? I must have dozed off. I was waiting for you to get back." Mulder said, getting up from the couch and slowly approaching her. He knew things hadn't gone good. There wasn't a trace of a smile on her face and he could see the faint lines of tears staining her cheeks. "It didn't take, did it?"

She nodded her head and looked at her hands. "I guess it was too much to hope for."

Mulder opened his arms and she walked into them. He held her tightly as she sobbed. "It was my last chance!" She cried.

Mulder gave her a squeeze and then leaned back to plant a kiss on her forehead. He rested his head where he had just put his lips and softly said, "Never give up on a miracle."

Scully looked up and kissed his cheek, tracing a small path to his neck where he turned slightly and kissed her lips.>

Scully smiled at the memory of that night. Mulder was right. Never give up on a miracle. Her hand rested on her belly once again as she thought about how this wonder was conceived. Maybe true love really does heal all.

The end.

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