Scully glanced to her right again. Yes, it was her mother standing there next to her. She then glanced once more to her left. Yes, it was Skinner standing there next to her. She closed her eyes once again in concentration, willing herself to remain standing and not just fall into a heap on the fresh, new fallen snow. She then reopened her eyes and glanced back over her shoulder to Doggett. He barely nodded then closed his own eyes in sadness. She closed her eyes once again, as she began to concentrate on the words of the chaplin standing at the head of Mulder's casket saying something. She was not sure what. She could hardly breathe; much less, listen, concentrate and comprehend what he was saying. She glanced up to him. He was looking at her. His lips were moving. His hands were holding a Bible. His eyes were studying hers, so full of sadness and compassion. …Hum. Maybe he knows that I'm carrying your child inside of me, Mulder. Yes, maybe he knows. Maybe he knows, Mulder. Maybe he knows that I'm carrying a part of you inside of me. Oh Mulder, how could you do this? How could you do this to me? How could you leave me now? How could you? Now that I am carrying a child, a son, our son. Our son, Mulder! Our son! Oh God, how could you do this to me? How could you? How could this be happening?… Her eyes watered up yet again as she rubbed her abdomen, lovingly stroking her unborn son, as he kicked slightly in response to her lovingly motherly strokes. She glanced back up at the chaplin again trying so hard to concentrate on what he was saying and not allow her thoughts to wander so.

"…ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We are here to deliver the body of Fox Mulder to its resting place..."

…No, God! No! This can't be!…

"…We pray to God to deliver his soul and to resolve the deep mysteries Fox Mulder sought so tirelessly to uncover..."

…Ohhh, Dear God, no, please! Deliver me, too!… She swallowed hard as yet another tear threatened to run down her cheek.

"Let us pray now for his eternal peace."

…Yes. Yes, Lord. Let us pray. I can do that. I can pray for the father of my child. Our child. Our son. Oh Mulder, he's your son. Your son! And yet, you'll never know him. Nor him you. Ohhh, Sweet Mary, Mother of God, how can this be happening? How? Oh God, please! Deliver me, too! Deliver me now from this pain and agony. I'm not sure how much more I can take! Lord, please, hear me, hear my prayer. Give me strength! Give me courage. Please, Lord! Deliver me from this living hell. Please, Lord, please… She swallowed hard yet again as another tear threatened to roll down her cheek.

"…'I am the Resurrection and the Life'…" the chaplin continued.

…Oh God, please, help me get through this, please. Please, let this be over soon. Please. I'm not sure how much more I can take! Please, Sweet Mary, Mother of God… She glanced back up at the chaplin for a moment. …Oh Sweet Jesus… She felt faint.

"Dana, let it out. Just let it out, honey. Go ahead and cry," she suddenly heard her lover's voice echo inside her head.

"What? No. I can't, I can't, I can't," she mentally argued with her lover.

"Yes, you can. It's what you need to do, to cleanse your soul."

"No. I can't, I can't, I can't," she mentally argued again. She was afraid that if she ever did let go and cry she would never know how to quit.

"Baby?" she heard Reyes' soft soothing voice echo encouragingly yet again.

"No. Not yet. Not until I'm with you, and in your arms. Then I'll collapse," she instinctively communicated yet again in response, completely unaware of the telepathic extrasensory implications, as she glanced back up to the chaplin once more.

He was still speaking, watching her, as he began to close his Bible, "…that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die..."

The graveside service was lingering much too long; much longer than Scully - or Mulder - would have ever intended. She continued to stand there almost like a statue, perfectly still, perfectly controlled, perfectly dignified, perfectly as a lady would do - full of grace and splendor – a perfect lady, through and through.

Eventually, her mother reached over and put her arm around her, giving her some added support as needed, yet knowing that her daughter would not really want that, not while she was trying so hard to maintain her innate tight control on her emotions. She had broken down into sobs on the way over inside the hearse. Consequently, she was determined not to break down again, especially out here in the freezing cold temperature. It was 19* F at 1:43 in the afternoon. A snowstorm had come through late during the night blanketing the ground with a beautiful fresh, new fallen snow.

…Ohhh… She inhaled another deep breath, her lower lip dropping slightly in response, then licked her lips as she let go of the deep, controlled breath. …Ohhh, God, please… She closed her eyes yet again as she felt her mother's warm, loving hand on her shoulder, barely rubbing her fingers and thumb across her tightly-muscled deltoid.

The chaplin then walked up and barely whispered something to her, breaking into her reverie. She had no idea what he had just said as she opened her eyes. He took hold of her hands, saying something yet again. But, again, she had no idea what he had just said, for she could hardly breathe; much less, listen, concentrate and comprehend what he had just said. He then pulled her hands up, placed the three-corner-folded United States flag inside her hands, then kissed the back of her right hand, nodded, then let go and reached for her mother's.

…It's over?... she wondered, cocking an eyebrow, as she squeezed the three-cornered tightly-folded United States flag inside her palms. It must have been for suddenly the few that had come to pay their final respects at the gravesite had begun to mull around. She then turned towards her mother and handed her the flag, saying something. She did not even know what she had just said to her own mother, but her mother would know what to do with the traditional three-corner-folded United States flag usually given to a family member of the deceased.

Suddenly, the young blonde woman who had come by the funeral home late last night was clasping her hand and saying something about being sorry for her loss all over again. Oh, how many times had she heard that in the last eighteen hours? How many times? …Ohhh… She could almost scream! And then another, and then another, and then another, all saying the same basic polite condolences, "...so sorry for your loss, so sorry for your loss, so sorry to hear, but it's for the best, he's not suffering any longer, take comfort, he's in God's hands now, God knows best, trust in the Lord, take comfort..." over and over and over. …Oh God, please. Let me scream!... But these people meant well, and so she maintained her polite control. After all, these strangers had come to pay their final respects to him and to her, and they all sincerely meant well, as they stood in-line to say their final goodbyes.

Unfortunately, she had no idea who these people were, or how they knew Mulder. He never talked much about his childhood, his childhood friends, his childhood classmates, his college friends, or much of anything else on a personal level, although she did recognize most all of them from the visitation last night.

She nodded, shook hands, and said the proper responses, "...thank you, thank you for coming. Yes, thank you, I appreciate you coming. Oh. Yes. Thank you. Oh my, he would be so surprised. Yes! And would have been so happy to see you, too! Yes, thank you. Thank you for coming. Oh, well, I'll try. Yes. Thank you, thank you for coming..." she continued, saying all the right things even though she could hardly think coherently anymore from all the grief-stricken heartache, weariness and strain.

She continued to stand, greet, shake hands and thank the people, one-by-one, as they slowly filed past her, saying their last goodbyes, some touching the casket, others saluting the man inside, others just nodding one last reverent goodbye. Deputy Director Kersh then walked up saying something about being sorry for her loss as well, then something about the Bureau's loss. …Whatever... She really did not care about anything he might have to say. She didn't trust him. Then Mulder's three best chums walked up, each giving her a warm, tight hug – Byers, Frohike and Langley – and each promising that they would see her soon back home in DC. She choked up for a moment, tears streaming down her face, as Frohike then gave her another tight hug. They stood there for several moments, she sniffling in his arms and holding on, before he finally let go. She then rose up and gave him a quick little kiss on the cheek, then gave Byers and Langley a quick little peck as well. She loved these guys, and so did Mulder. They each said another quick goodbye then Doggett walked up. She wrapped her weary arms around him, too, giving him a tight hug as well. He followed suit, hugging her warmly back then kissed her cheek before letting go.

"Need me to get ya anythin' before we leave?" he asked.

She smiled, "No. I'm okay. Really."

"Aw right. How about I leave you and Skinner here while I take your mom back to the car?" he said as he glanced over at Margaret.

"Would you? I would appreciate it."

"Sure," he nodded then reached out his arm to escort her mother back to the car.

Margaret smiled as she took his arm. "We'll be in the car, dear. Take your time."

Scully nodded as she watched her mom and Doggett begin to walk back the long trek through the snow to his waiting car. She then looked up at Skinner. "You know, he's good. He's a really good man. I need to give him a chance."

Skinner shrugged, "Maybe. Do what you think feels right."

"That feels right," she said.

Skinner nodded then turned back towards the casket. Scully did, too. Then they both walked in closer. Scully then nodded to the kneeling funeral director as he then set the pulley to begin lowering the casket down into the ground. Then both directors left to leave them in privacy.

They stood there together, side by side, in reverent silence each trying in their own way to come to terms with what they were witnessing, Fox Mulder's coffin, slowly being lowered down into the ground, six feet under. Neither could hardly comprehend what they were watching, and what had actually happened, that Mulder had been found dead in a field, four nights ago, and was now truly gone.

After a few moments, Scully finally began to speak. "He was the last. His father and mother. His sister. All gone," she said. "I think the real tragedy, is that, for all of his pain and searching, the truth that he worked so hard to find, was never truly revealed to him," she paused as waves of emotion began to overtake her yet again. "I can't truly believe, that I'm really standing here," she began to cry.

"I know," Skinner said. "And I don't truly believe that Mulder's the last."

…Ohhh… Her heart jumped to her throat as she thought about the little man-child growing inside her womb. No. Actually, maybe he was not the last after all. But her son would not be carrying his name. Her son would carry her name. He would be a 'Scully' by name, not a 'Mulder'. …Ohhh… Her heart tightened inside her chest yet again. But, she and Mulder had discussed that before she had even tried to get pregnant with his donated sperm. …Oh Mulder. No, you are not the last. But the world will never know. I'm sorry…

…Ohhh… More tears came as she then knelt down, grasped a handful of dirt from the ground, then gently dropped it into the open grave. She then stood up and leaned into Skinner allowing him to put his arms around her as she just stood there, suddenly numb, suddenly motionless, suddenly without feeling, without movement, without thought.

Scully's cell-phone began to chime the prettiest Chopin musical chime her particular brand of cellular phone could ever possibly ring, melodiously signaling to her that it was Reyes on the other end of the line. Her mother glanced over to the sound as Doggett glanced over from the front passenger's seat. Skinner had even glanced back via the rearview mirror to see where the pretty musical chime was coming from, too. …Well, for Crissakes. It's just a phone-call… She furrowed her brow as she retrieved her pleasingly harmonious chiming phone from her coat pocket.

"Scully."

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Sorry I'm so late calling."

"No. It's okay."

"Where are you?"

"On the way to the airport."

"Um, in a loaded vehicle I would guess."

"Yes."

"Oh." …Great… Reyes could not say what she wanted to say to her with Scully sitting in a car full of family members and co-workers. And she knew that Scully would not be able to speak as freely to her either. But she had wanted to wait until she was sure the funeral was over before calling her. …Frig. Oh well… "Um, did everything go okay, as you had planned?"

"Umhum."

"Good." …Oh baby… Reyes could not only hear, but she could actually feel the pain and sorrow inside her lover's heart. "Um, well, did you get my earlier messages?"

"Yes, I did. Nice, very nice."

Reyes smiled. "You know I meant every word."

"Umhum. Me, too."

Reyes smiled again.

Skinner and Doggett both glanced over the seat at the little redhead's comments, one via the rearview mirror, and the other with just the turn of his head.

…Well, for Crissakes. A little nosy aren't we?… the redhead mused then glanced over at her mother to see if she were just as nosy, too. Mrs. Scully was watching the scenery out the window.

"Well, frig, guess we can't really talk right now, can we?" Reyes acknowledged.

"Umum."

"Maybe I should—"

"No. No Mon, Monica," the little redhead stumbled over her lover's first name. Doggett almost glanced back again but then caught himself.

"Okay, but I can't say what I want to say. Too many prying ears."

"I know, but—just—don't…" Scully suddenly burst into tears. …Oh, please don't hang up, please…

"Oh God, Dana, God," Reyes instantly responded to her lover's tears. "Oh honey, jeez, I'd give anything if I could be there with you right now."

"I—I know," Scully whimpered. Suddenly she was crying so hard she could hardly speak.

"Ohhh. Shhh. Honey, God. You want me to just listen? Stay on the line?"

"Umhum. Please?" the little redhead whimpered through her sobs.

"Okay, baby. Okay, I'm right here, listening. Listening to you cleanse your soul, okay? You know that, don't you? You know that with every single tear you cry and release into the universe you're cleansing your soul, and setting it free from all the heartache and pain so bottled up inside. And you're releasing it forever, so that it can't hurt you anymore. You know that, don't you? Hum?" she whispered softly comforting her lover through her words.

"Umhum," Scully grunted pressing the phone tightly against her ear, listening to every single word her lover continued to say, letting her healing words wash over her, allowing herself to cry over her losses, cry over Mulder, cry over her daughter, cry over her sister, cry over her father, even cry over her Pomeranian puppy, cry over so many losses from her past, too numerous to count, as she cried into Reyes' ear, sobbing in response to the empathetic brunette's continued words of love, tenderness and compassion, mending her, mending her wounded soul and ultimately helping to heal her battered soul from all the pain so bottled up inside.

"Oh, Dana, I'm right here, baby, I'm right here. Can you feel me? Feel my presence? Hum?"

"Umhum."

"Good, cause I'm hugging you so tight in my arms right now, I'm just wrapping you up and wrapping myself all around you, okay?" the empathetic brunette said, closing her eyes, as she imagined herself wrapping the sorrowful redhead up tightly in her arms. "Mmm, and I'm giving you such a big, tight squeeze right now, just holding you, okay? You need me to hold you?"

"Umhum," Scully whimpered as she closed her eyes and imagined herself being held so tightly in her lover's arms. She could almost feel her lover's strong, loving arms wrapped tightly around her, holding her, hugging her and kissing her so gently on the forehead.

Reyes continued to whisper sweet, healing words of comfort and solace to the little redhead, taking deep breaths on occasion, allowing her empathetic side to fully expand and reach out to her hurting lover, feeling the ultimate healing happening between them and deep inside her own soul, too, as she telepathically blended their two souls together, joining them together as one.

*************

After several moments of predominately one-sided conversation, Scully's sobs finally began to subside. She sounded better. She felt better. That good, long, soul-cleansing cry and dreamlike embrace had mended just another little piece of her broken heart.

Reyes inhaled another long, deep breath, quickly realizing what was happening. Her lover was healing, little-by-little, she was slowly healing from all her inner bottled-up pain. She was a long way from an ultimate cleansing, but every little step, every little tear, mattered.

"God," Scully finally whimpered. "Guess I, needed that."

"Hum, guess so," Reyes smiled.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"For crying in your ear like that these last fifteen minutes."

"Mm, it was more like ten."

Scully smirked then chuckled.

"Besides, it's not the end of the world when Special Agent Dana Scully sheds a tear or two."

"Oh," Scully chuckled again, "It's not?"

"Umum, but could you do me a favor?"

The little redhead cocked an eyebrow. "Um, yeah, I guess," she tentatively answered.

"Could you glance out the window?"

"What?"

"Would you look out the window for me?"

"I—Okay," the little redhead tentatively answered again as she looked out the window.

"Is the sun still out there?"

Scully smirked, "Yes."

"Good. Then the world's still here. And I haven't seen the sun since I left you."

…Oh God. Mon… She was speechless. …Ohhh… Suddenly, she really wished that she were in another place, in another time, and in another space. Somewhere next to Reyes, where she could say, show and prove to her just how much she truly loved her.

"I'm serious. There is no sun here. Just rain. Cold, hard rain. Surrounding me, penetrating me, finding its way deep inside of me."

…Ohhh… "God," Scully whimpered breathless. …Jesus, Moni, stop. You're gonna make me blush…

Reyes paused for a few seconds. She really had not seen the sun since she had left Washington, DC. But there was also no sun inside her heart without her lover, Dana Scully, closer by.

"Moni, um, how's it going with the case?" she decided to change the subject.

"Um, I'll tell you soon, but right now I'd rather not, okay?"

"Okay. But that tells me things are not as you would like."

"Understatement."

"Oh. Yikes."

"Yes. Is John handy?"

"Umhum. You want to speak to him?"

"Please."

"Okay," she said then pulled the phone away. "John. Reyes needs to speak with you."

His eyes widened in surprise as he took the phone from her hand. "Doggett, what's up?"

Everyone else in the car rode along quietly as Doggett conversed with the brunette. Skinner and Scully began to listen to his simple and brief yet quite-revealing answers more closely, quickly perceiving what the possible situation was. Skinner then glanced back at her via the rearview mirror. She cocked an eyebrow in concern herself. Margaret just rode along in silence, lost to her own thoughts about losing her own dear, sweet husband, Scully's dad.

After another couple of minutes of hurried conversation, Doggett then handed the phone back to her.

"Hey. It's me."

"Hey, it's you? Who's you?" Reyes teased with a playful tone in her voice.

"Hah. You know," Scully chuckled then smiled licking her lips. She could hardly hide her true feelings for this woman from all the others inside the car. Her lover had such a sweet and gentle humor about her, one of those many traits that she had fallen so helplessly in love with.

"Yeah, I know. Well, sweetheart, I'll talk to you soon. But I'm not sure when. Tonight, it might get a little..." Reyes paused.

"What?"

"Hum. Well. I hope to have an end to this, have the perps in custody by tonight, and the kids back home safe with their families."

"Really? You're that close?"

"Possibly."

"Well, wow! That's great! Just watch your back."

Reyes snickered, "Oh yeah. Always." And she had better watch her back if what she suspected were true.

"Talk to you soon then?"

"Umhum. You'll be in DC in, what? Two hours?"

"Yeah. Touchdown's at four-thirty, my time."

"Okay. I'll call as soon as I can."

"Okay."

"You gonna be okay?"

"Umhum."

"Did you give your mum a big hug for me this morning?"

"Umhum," Scully smiled.

"And did you tell her it was from me?"

Scully chuckled, "Umhum."

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon."

"Right. Be careful. And, watch your back."

Reyes chuckled again. "I will."

"Monica? I mean it. I heard, okay?"

"I know. No worrying now. Everything will be fine."

…Oh God… "Monica?"

"Yes?"

…Crap!... Scully was inside this car full of family members and co-workers and just could not say what she needed to say to her. …Damn!... "Um, thank you."

"Thank you baby, for caring."

"Well. It's more than that," Scully mumbled under her breath as she glanced over at her mother again then to Skinner.

"I know. And thank you for loving me, too, okay?"

"Mmm, ditto."

Reyes grinned, her heart fluttering inside her chest.

They both then paused, neither knowing how to actually say goodbye, yet both knowing that each was running out of time.

Reyes then broke the silence, "Well, honey, I gotta go."

"I know."

Another long pause lingered between them.

"Well, um. I think I've got an idea," the brunette broke the silence yet again.

"What's that?"

"How about on the count of three?"

Scully cocked an eyebrow. …On the count of three?... Well, that sounded good to her. "Okay. Sounds good to me."

"Okay. You ready?"

"No."

Reyes giggled with that unexpected sweet and tender little response.

Scully smiled, too, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Well, um. But, I need to—"

"I know. You need to go."

"Yeah. I um. So—"

"So—Do it."

"Okay. Wow!" the frustrated brunette responded. …Geez!... This was not going to be nearly as easy as she had first thought. "Hum. Well…" She inhaled a deep breath. "Okay. Here we go. One. Two. Thr..."

They both hung up just before the final "three" was out, both grinning from ear-to-ear. And that had worked.

Scully quickly composed herself, twisting her lips to hide her grin, then returned her cell-phone back to her coat pocket. She then leaned her head back against the seat, inhaled a long, deep, settling breath and closed her eyes, feeling much better indeed after that nice, long, benevolent and profitable phone conversation with her lover.

Doggett glanced back over the seat watching her for a moment. He cocked an eyebrow. …Umhum… He knew what was up. He could hardly believe it, but he knew what was up. His best friend and his new little redheaded partner had crossed that proverbial line between friendship and relationship. He wasn't stupid. Besides, he knew his best friend quite well. And for Reyes to have spent so much time on the phone with her just now. Well, he wasn't stupid.

He glanced over at his boss wondering what the big man thought. …Oh well. Ain't no big deal… Besides, the little redhead and the tall brunette made a darling couple. And they were very good for each other indeed. Now he just wondered how long it would take before Reyes would finally come forward and admit it to him.

He grinned glancing out the window. …Who would a thought?... When he had called Reyes in on a whim to fly up to Helena, Montana and help out on the Mulder case, who would have ever thought, that the little redhead would have managed to somehow sway the preferring-all-male, all-rock-hard-cock-and-balls, all-lover-boy-loving brunette the other way? …Crap… But things suddenly made perfect sense to him now. Scully was bisexual, if not predominately gay. …Well, I'll be damn… He smirked again. But Reyes was straight. He knew that she was straight, or at least she had always appeared to be heterosexual - always seen with hunky, gorgeous, he-man, brawny and masculine men, except for the girly-faced Brad Follmer - whatever happened there - and never showing any interest at all towards women.

…Hum. Well… He grinned again as he thought back to a time once, back in New York, when he, Reyes and an old female colleague of hers met at a bar, got drunk off their asses, and Reyes had then ended up dancing the night away with the other woman. Everyone else in the bar thought the two women were a lesbian couple the way they bumped and grinded into each other, laughing and giggling and flirting with each other the entire night. By the time it was time to leave the place he could hardly stand, much less walk out, his loins were aching so insistently. But at the time, he knew better than to think she was even interested in the other woman, much less bisexual. But now, suddenly, he was not so sure. Maybe Reyes had always had that side of herself locked away deep inside - a bisexual side - a side that could be attracted to another woman. Maybe she had just kept that side well-hidden all these years. Or maybe she had not even realized it herself that she had that side and could be attracted to another woman. …Hum… Oh well, too much thinkin' for me this early in the afternoon… He smirked again. He best just wait it out and see what Reyes had to say when the time came and she finally trusted him enough to tell him about it. He knew that she would, as soon as she figured it all out herself. …Wasn't that what she had said? She needed to 'sort it all out' and 'figure it all out, first'? Oh Mon, whatcha got yourself into this time?... He shook his head. …You and that sensitive heart of yours. You care too much. And then ya let yourself go and just fall-in-love with her?… Crap… That actually might not be a very good thing after all given the incredibly long distance between them.

He then began to wonder at what point, over the last week, they had actually crossed that legendary line. He truly did not think that it would have been in the motel room up in Helena, Montana. …Naw. Crap. You could barely walk that night. Ain't no way you two… Naw… He then began to think through the rest of the week. …Aw shit… Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. …No wonder you wouldn't answer your cell the other night. For cryin' out loud! You two were bangin'!… He chuckled then twisted in his seat to hide his amusement.

Scully suddenly cleared her throat then asked Skinner something about the airport terminal.

Doggett about jumped out of his seat feeling as if his thoughts had just been caught. He focused on the road ahead to keep from giggling in spite of himself. Nope. The man was not stupid. He may play stupid sometimes to get a suspect to talk, but the man was not stupid.

Skinner pulled off the Interstate and onto Exit 284 turning right onto Airport Blvd towards the Raleigh/Durham Airport. Soon, they would all be inside at their designated gate waiting for their plane to arrive and fly them back to Washington, DC.

Doggett glanced out the side window again, as it began to snow.

"Maybe we'll beat this before it hits DC," Skinner commented noticing the fresh new-falling snow, too.

"I dunno. We ain't that far east. Anyone hear the latest weather report this mornin'?"

No one answered. It had been a very difficult morning and early afternoon for them all.

Within minutes they had checked the rental car back in, entered the airport, secured their plane tickets and boarding passes, and were on their way to their designated gate to wait for the flight departing for Reagan International Airport. They had about forty minutes yet to wait before the final departure. All were tired from the quick trip, and all could hardly wait to get back home.

Scully's thoughts then wandered back to Reyes, hard at work, back in New Orleans. The thunderstorms and continuous rain was absolutely relentless in New Orleans, which meant that the snowstorm they had received here, in North Carolina, was probably just the beginning of what was yet to come. She hoped, too, as Skinner did, that they would all arrive back in DC in time to beat the probable blizzard that was on its way. Either way, they would all be home soon. And she could hardly wait.

"Oh!... God…" the brunette gasped again, dropping the bar of soap out of her hand, as another wave of fear and trepidation washed over her. "Oh! Geez," she instantly leaned back against the wet wall then eased down to her knees. The spraying hot water continued to rinse her soapy chest and body off as she closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing all of her thoughts, physical sensations and emotions on the fleeting images bouncing around aimlessly inside her head. …Oh, come on, relax, relax, relax, now. Just relax into it… she mentally coached herself.

She had had another quick half-hour nap – not a quick two hour nap, as Cunningham had ordered her, but another thirty minute nap - just like the thirty minute nap she had taken right before calling Scully from her office. Then she had called Scully - talking to her for about twenty, maybe thirty minutes - then left for her home to take another quick, thirty minute nap, then take a rejuvenating shower, and then finally secure two quick changes of clothes before leaving to go back to her office and meet Cunningham as ordered. She had also been able to check on her ailing little cat, too, while she was home – the very same little cat that had been kidnapped, deeply cut, scratched, bruised up, ultimately poisoned, and then left to die by this very same gang two weekends ago. The cat-sitter had done an excellent job in taking care of her ailing little kitty, but it was a relief to finally see her after so many days of being out-of-town. This last forty minutes was the first that she had been home at all since flying to Montana earlier in the week to work on the Mulder case.

"Oh! Christ," she gasped again as the erratic intermittent images floated around inside her head, then refocused her thoughts more clearly, successfully slowing the intermittent images down until she could actually make some sense of the evanescent vision. She was still tired. But the two half-hour naps, change of scenery, quick visit with her cat, and the wonderfully invigorating shower she was now taking had begun to revitalize her strength, stamina and concentration, which consequently had begun to revitalize her extrasensory abilities as well. Her earlier vision and telepathic communication with little Cody Chamberlain had done wonders for her mood, and she had now really focused her extrasensory awareness on cultivating that deep interlink even more acutely with him.

Apparently it must be working – all of her extrasensory efforts – for now, again, she was beginning to make extrasensory contact. And this was the very best thing that could ever happen to her and to the two missing children because it could help lead her to them. Moreover, she and Cody's shared telepathic abilities were priceless – simply priceless – and she hoped to maybe one day help him learn how to cope with his highly unusual, and sometimes quite bothersome sixth-sense.

She sighed heavily then opened her eyes, then leaned up on her knees and opened the shower stall door, then reached out for the little Spiderman toy action figure of Cody's lying on a towel near the shower stall, quickly grabbed it, then stood up and turned off the hot water, then eased herself back down and leaned back against the wet wall again and concentrated. "Oh Cody, I'm here, sweetie. I'm right here, and I can see you, and I can see Elisa, too," she whispered as the vision began to come into perfect focus. "Oh yes, sweetie, tell me where you are. Show me. Show me what you see, Cody. Come on, sweetheart, show me. Show me what you see," she encouraged him through her whispered words and thoughts. "Oh yes, I can see it, sweetheart, yes, I can see the door," she whispered again, encouraging him with every single word and thought. "Oh Cody, you are so brave. And your mummy and daddy love you so much. And we're gonna get you out soon, okay? I promise, baby, just give me a little more time. Can you talk to me, sweetie? Can you hear me?" she whispered again as the images began to shift to a window, a very small window located near the top center of a dark red door about a foot and a half down from the very top. It was much too tiny of a window for anyone to crawl through. She focused her telepathic gaze even more closely on the tiny window. As she studied it more carefully it appeared to be some type of monitoring porthole more than a window.

"Cody? Can you hear me? Can you hear my voice?" she switched to silent communication only.

"Scared," he whimpered suddenly.

"Oh baby, I know. I know, sweetie, but just keep talking to me, okay? Are you hurt? Tell me where you're hurt."

"M… my knee."

"You're knee? Which knee?"

"M, my knee's busted. He—Oh Mon-ca! He's coming! He's coming! He's coming!"

She heard his panicked thoughts then suddenly gasped herself in excruciating pain, grabbing at her left side. "Ohh! God! Nngh!" she grunted again in horrific pain as she not only saw the hard blows of one of the leaders hitting little Elisa in the ribcage through Cody's eyes, but literally felt the hard blows, ultimately cracking three of Elisa's small ribs.

"Nooo! Help me!" she suddenly heard a little girl's voice cry out in pain, too.

"Oh! God! Elisa!" Reyes cried out. …Oh my God!... They both had the gift she suddenly realized! They both had it! They both could communicate with her through their thoughts, their minds, their spirits. She had missed that finer little detail the first time, a little over two hours ago, but this time she had sensed it. …Oh my God! But of course!... It made so much sense now. No wonder the evil, malicious leaders had chosen these two kids. It was not by mere accident she quickly perceived. It had been premeditated to snatch these two particular kids because of their clairvoyant gifts.

"Ohh! Christ!" she cried out again in pain as she then fell to the wet tiled floor, gasping for every breath, as she leaned her head against the tiled wall. "Oh God! Hold on, Elisa! Hold on, baby, I'm coming to get you!" she panted aloud as she then refocused her thoughts, blocking the vision-induced pain from her ribs, and concentrated on the ever-changing images, seeing the shift in perspective through both children's eyes, then seeing the door open more widely as another perp entered the room.

Suddenly, she could see nothing – absolutely nothing - for undoubtedly the two children had just been blindfolded. "Oh no, no, no!" she panted - so frustrated with this latest turn of events - as her body suddenly doubled-over in pain from the physical sensations. Then her body began to shiver from some type of vision-induced cold. "Oh God! Cold! So cold, cold, cold..." she mumbled repeatedly as her body shivered uncontrollably from the freezing cold. She then fought back the physical sensations and concentrated on breaking free from the children's perspectives to create her own perspective from somewhere up above, focusing on the room, focusing on the sounds and smells, then suddenly being sucked back inside Elisa's mind, as she was suddenly feeling the sensations of being carried down some small, narrow passageway, her legs and tied-up feet dangling and swinging from side-to-side, knocking into the walls as she was roughly carried, quickly deciphering that it was some type of abandoned area of an industrial plant, a factory, a refinery or something.

…God, what is it? What is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?... her thoughts rambled, almost in a state of panic herself. …Metal, metal, metal… She could hear the clanging and banging of her feet smashing into metal pipes as she was being carried. …Oil, oil, oil… Her thoughts rambled as she began to smell a strong stench of oil – refined oil. "Oil. Metal. Oil," she muttered. "Oil, oil, oil," she mumbled again, "Oil. Oil. Exxon. Exxon Oil. ExxonMobil! My God! That's it!" she gasped. "Oh my God! I know where you are!" she gasped. …"Elisa! Cody! Hang on! I know where you are! And I'm gonna get you out soon! Very soon! Just hold on! Give me a little more time. If you can still hear me, I'm coming to get you very soon!"... she spiritually communicated to them then deliberately broke the vision-induced dreamscape, jumped up to her feet, still holding Cody's little Spiderman toy against her chest, and hurriedly pushed the shower stall door open almost knocking it into her curious little brown-black tabby cat sitting just outside the door. Her curious little cat chirped then jumped out of the way of her energized human companion. "Oh my God! That's it, girl! That's it! I know where they are!" she said to her little brown-black kitty-cat, then rushed out of the shower stall, slightly stumbling over her, then quickly began to towel herself off, then slip on some panties. She then ran to her bedroom, hit the speaker-phone button on her nightstand phone, then began to dial her partner's office.

After three rings…

"Pierce."

"Brian! I know where they are!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I know where they are! ExxonMobil! Get Cunny and tell him to have the Algiers and Bell Chasse ferries closed down in one hour! Wait one hour, until I get there! We don't want to tip them off!" she breathed excitedly.

"Well—I don't—How do you—?"

"I just know, okay? I just know! Can't you just trust me on this?"

"Aw shit, Reyes. Don't tell me—"

"I haven't. I've just told you where they are. Now are you with me on this or not?"

Pierce hesitated for a few seconds. He knew what had happened. His partner had had one of her harebrained, lunatic, goofy, fruity-as-a-loony, off-the-wall, wacky, madcap visions again. …Aw crock…

"Pierce? You're either with me on this or you're not. Now get me Cunny, either way," she stated firmly as she slipped on another pair of black pants, then hooked her bra.

"Reyes?"

"Damn it, Pierce! We don't have time for this! Elisa is hurt! Bad! Okay? Damn!" she yelled as she hurriedly pulled a black long-sleeve cotton turtleneck shirt over her head.

"Hurt? How do you—?"

"Pierce."

"All right." He was too smart to argue with her, and besides, she did tend to be right most of the time on a possible location of a perp, a crime scene, or a crime in progress. He had no idea how she did it, but he would never believe in her crazy, loony-tunes visions.

"Brian? Is Cunny in his office?"

"Nope. He's right here."

Cunningham had just walked into his subordinate's office. Pierce then handed him the phone so that his loony peculiar partner could tell him personally about her latest theory, a possible new rescue location, further instructions and recommendations before she arrived, and approximately what time she would meet them at the Saint Bernard Parrish Sheriff's Dept. That way they would be within a mile of the latest target zone.

"Reyes, I'm not sure if I can do that," her boss said. "You're talking about closing down the ferries during rush-hour. My God. If you're wrong, do you realize the kind of heat we'll catch over this?" he warned.

"I understand that, but if we don't, they've got a good chance of slipping away from us again."

He sighed. "All right. Coast Guard's in?"

"Yes. And HRT."

"Okay. You've got it."

"Great. See you in thirty."

And with that, they both hung up.

"Pierce leaned back in his chair. "You believin' that? You really think—?"

"Unless you can come up with a better plan, cut the jawing," Cunningham said.

Pierce hushed his criticism towards his raven-haired partner's spooky, loony ways of theorizing and coming up with a plan. Cunningham tended to follow her lead no matter how extreme or farfetched her methods may sound in producing a possible target zone for a rescue mission. So far, on this case, she had yet to be wrong. And he could not explain that. All he could do was follow her lead. And that was what he was going to do, follow her lead, until she proved to be wrong. Now if he could just get all of his other agents – and the locals – to work as a team, and not screw anything else up – such as moving off target and flanking to the left, allowing the perps to slip through undetected - maybe they would soon have a successful rescue.

He began to make all of the necessary phone-calls to mobilize another taskforce, another fleet of boats and utilize the US Coast Guard's boats, along with the local Sheriff Department's fleet, and then mobilize another Medical Unit to use on standby, just in case, for the two missing children's possible injuries, the Garcia child's need for life-saving insulin, and any other medical problems that may occur once the covert operation was underway.

The ExxonMobil Oil Refinery was located right on the river – right on the Northern banks of the Mississippi - in the Chalmette District of Greater New Orleans, just northeast of the two Algiers ferries. Large storage tanks, water tanks, oil tanks, buildings, storage warehouses, the oil refinery plant itself, a docking site for ships - both domestic and international - encompassed the area. It was a large area covering about a 0.5 square mile on the east side of Paris Road, and about another 1.0 square mile on the west side. A mobile home/trailer park sat just to the right of the tall storage tanks on the east side. Ships were coming through all the time to dock, unload and reload crude oil, refined oil, gasoline and many other types of fuel made by the international company.

That was the main reason why Reyes wanted the two ferries closed down temporarily, then have the river secured by the US Coast Guard and Orleans Parrish Sheriff's Department fleets. If the gang tried to run on foot, via ground transportation, they'd have them. But if the gang tried to escape by boat, via the water, then it could present a problem. The area was much too dangerous for any type of massive shootout, too. The whole place could go up in flames. Plus, Reyes had a gut feeling from her latest dreamscape that the kids were not only located in the general area of the Refinery Plant but were quite possibly being moved to somewhere inside one of the smaller, vacated buildings or even possibly one of the boats on the water. And if that were the case, then it could get to be very tedious indeed to rescue the two small children.

Cunningham glanced at his watch. They had five minutes yet before needing to leave for the Saint Bernard Parrish Sheriff's Department, which gave him just enough time to talk to SAC Reigel and fill him in on the latest.

Reyes lit another quick cigarette as she glanced at her watch. "Aowh! Shit!" she clutched at her side groaning in pain. Her left side still hurt from that earlier vision-induced physical sensation along her ribcage. Undoubtedly, little Elisa was in much pain if Reyes' aching side was any indication. "It's okay, Elisa. I'm on my way, baby. Just hang in there. I know where you are, and I'm coming to get you out," she said hoping that both Elisa and Cody could hear her words and thoughts. "Ohhh," she groaned again holding her side. …Christ!... Her ribcage hurt so bad. It was truly amazing how she could sometimes feel the physical sensations of another's pain and injuries. Her empathetic side was truly remarkable in how accurately in-sync it could be with another's situation. Whether it was emotional, physical, or both, she could sometimes actually feel the sensations, literally.

She blew out another smoke ring then glanced over to her left along the bayou. Something in her gut was telling her that she would become quite familiar with that section of the bayou tonight, too. Moreover, something else in her gut was telling her that she had better watch her back like never before, because her life was going to depend on her gut instincts more than ever tonight.

Her cell-phone suddenly began to chime a familiar ring. …Oh shit… It was Eric. She knew. And did she really want to talk to him right now? …No… Should she answer his call, or just let her voicemail retrieve it? …Voicemail… Well. That had been an easy decision. If only the rest would be so easy tonight.

…Boom! Boom!… BOOM! Boomboomboomboomboom…

The thunder roared wickedly as the lightening flashed all around her. …Geez… Would it ever quit raining? The relentless rain, thunder and lightening had made her and the taskforce's work just that much harder when it came to trying to rescue these two little children. The sky was so dark and dreary. It was only 3:20 in the afternoon and yet it looked like mere minutes before sundown. Actually, it was eerily dark and dreary. But then it was winter, and the days were always shorter during the winter months.

She glanced out to the left towards the swamplands again. …Oooh. Geez… A cold, prickly chill ran down her spine. She cocked an eyebrow then took another long drag off her cigarette. Her empathetic abilities were almost at full strength now as she downed another quick bite of another energy bar – her lunch and dinner for the day – then took another nice, long swig of another energy drink.

Today she had been living off energy bars and energy drinks not taking the time to actually sit down and eat a meal. She had just not had the time. Two innocent kids were in the clutches of one of the most wicked, evil groups the FBI had come across in years. And she had felt guilty enough catching a few hours of sleep here and there. Although, Cunningham was right, she needed some sleep, or her reflexes would be off. And that could get somebody killed.

"Oh," she sighed wearily. Her exit was just ahead. She downed the last of her energy bar then grabbed another. She knew she had better eat while she could, because it may very well turn into another long night.

Reyes' cell-phone began to chime as she sat at the conference table scanning the latest information brought over by her partner on Lt. Jerry Manning, out of the 7th Precinct, NOPD. She glanced down for a moment then hit the silencer. It was Eric again. She knew. She could tell by the chime. She waited until it quit vibrating then retrieved her phone, scanned through her redial list, then stopped on her best girlfriend in New York's phone number. She then closed the file, handed it back to Pierce and eased up from the table. "I'll just be a minute," she said to him then headed out the door and to a much more secluded area of the building. She then hit the redial button and waited through six rings expecting to hear her best girlfriend's voicemail at any moment. …Frig… She really needed to talk to her and not just to her voicemail.

"Benson," suddenly came through the earpiece loud and clear.

"Liv?"

"Yeah! Hey girl! Got your message. What's up?"

"Mmm, not good. I think we may have a rat in the pack. Do you know him? Ever heard of him?"

"Hell, yeah, bad news. Don't know him personally, but Cragen does. Been asking around."

"Really? Well, tell me what you know."

"I know that he used to be with the 114. Had a couple of cronies. They all left the Department before we could charge them with anything. But all of them were dirty. At least that's the general opinion. The ADA couldn't get anything on them before they all skipped. Can't believe he's in New Orleans. And he's a cop?! Christ! Don't they run a background check down there?"

"Yes, but if there's nothing on him, then—"

"Oh yeah, damn. Well, all I can say is, watch your back."

Reyes smirked. "Yep. I've been told that several times today already. Do you know anything about the other two?"

NYPD Police Detective Olivia Benson told her best girlfriend from college the names of Lt. Jerry Manning's other two cronies, who had almost gone down with him, but quit the Department and skipped town, too, just in time. And, to no surprise, one of the names matched one of the other commanding officers that had made those two blunders, which had ultimately allowed the kingpin, his right-hand man and three of his other gang leaders to escape earlier this morning. Unfortunately, the NYPD and the Assistant District Attorney of New York City never could get enough hard evidence on any of them to warrant an arrest, indict them, take them to trial, and hopefully incarcerate them for a very, very long time on drug charges, narcotics, teen gang manipulation, and all kinds of assorted, sadistic acts inflicted upon minors. The NYPD had no idea just how dirty the three uniforms actually were, or the NYPD Special Victim's Unit would have been hot-on-the-trails of the three evil-spirited men.

Reyes and Benson continued their hurried conversation for several minutes as Benson gave her more information on the other two men, then more information on Manning himself, before finally getting a little more personal for a few moments. Both women promised to call each other and catch up as soon as Reyes' case was over. They were the best of friends and had managed to keep their close friendship very much alive and well even with the long distance between them that had separated them now for nearly two years. But a good friendship was like that. The distance did not matter. What mattered was the love, the respect and the camaraderie between two people. They loved, respected and admired each other very much, and would be there for each other through the best and the worst of times.

"So, who is this person?" Benson teased her old college roommate again.

"I can't talk about it right now, but – soon - very soon, okay?"

"Okay. But did I hear you right?"

"Yes."

"Female?"

Reyes giggled, "Yes."

"Holy shit, Mon! When did you start batting for the other team?"

Reyes giggled again.

"Reyes?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"No. Not right now. But I will."

"Shit. I need to meet this woman."

"You will. But hands off. She's mine."

Benson then guffawed with laughter. "Aw, Monica, I would never do that to somebody, and especially you."

"I know, but—"

"But nothing. You're in love. My God, my woman's in love with another woman. Holy shit!"

"Liv? Hush!"

"But, it ruins everything!" Benson teased her again.

"And how is that? I would have thought you would have been pleased," Reyes teased back.

"As many times as I tried to—? Oh, never mind," the detective groaned playfully.

"You tried to what?"

Swing you in my direction, sweet cheeks."

"Well. I guess you just didn't know how to swing me quite right."

"Ohhh, but you never gave me the chance."

"Liv? You are just teasing me, right?"

"Yeah. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Reyes' eyebrows shot to the ceiling.

"Yeah. We were young. And I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and—"

"Whoa! Wait a minute. What are you talking about?"

"That night at—Oh God, never mind, you've got to get back in there."

"What? Wait. What night? What night, where?"

"No, we'll talk about it later. But, I really do want to meet this chick. Stabler's going to have to peel me off the floor here in a minute if we keep talking about it."

"Liv? You're serious," Reyes suddenly felt her friend's slight heartache inside her gut. …Geez! How could I have missed that? For Godsakes... She had never realized until now just how deeply Olivia Benson had cared for her. …Oh geez, Liv. Shit… "Liv, I—"

"It's okay, sweetie. You know I love you. I always have, from a distance."

"But—?"

"No. It's okay. Really. Nothing's changed. But I can hear it in your voice. You're in love, baby. I've never heard this much excitement and enthusiasm out of you."

"Well, I—I don't—Actually, it frightens me."

"Well, it should. That kind of love. It's a dangerous thing, woman."

"I know. And it scares me. I guess I need to talk about it."

"Okay. As soon as the case is over call me. And, it's okay. I'm just, I never thought that—Gosh, it's just that, you were so true-blue to the boys and… Wow!"

"I know. It's freaking me, too. Believe me."

Benson laughed. "Oh yeah. Well, once you've been with a woman… Um-hum," she teased.

"No shit! Things have opened up inside of me that I never knew existed."

Benson laughed again. "Just wait, girl, you haven’t seen anything yet."

"Oh wow. Will I survive?"

"Oh yeah. You'll be fine. More than fine if she knows what she's doing."

"Hah. Well, believe me she knows what she's doing."

Then both dark-haired beauties laughed, one a tall dark-brown-haired, the other an even taller dark-raven-haired.

"Well, thanks, Liv, for the information. I owe ya one."

"No, just watch your back. And make sure you wear your vest."

"Hey, cop, you're talking to a fed. Don't you think I know that?"

"Yeah, but you're a fed newly in love. You better keep focused."

"I will. I am."

"Love ya, girl. Call me."

"I will. Love you, too, and thanks."

"Any time. Glad I could help. Keep me informed."

"I will. Talk to you later."

"Okay. Later. Bye."

And with that, they both hung up.

Reyes then walked back down the corridor towards the Situation Room.

Pierce stepped out into the hallway just as she came up. "Find out anything?"

"Yes actually, I did." She then began to fill him in on some of the tidbits of information her best friend and police detective from New York had just told her.

It would be at least another thirty minutes before they could get another team mobilized, a small fleet of boats gassed up and in position, and then the jurisdiction approved to halt the two Algiers and one Belle Chasse ferries, just until the most critical period of their covert rescue operation was over. Plus, they needed to somehow come up with a plan on how to keep the news media out of the loop. The local and national news had been driving them all nuts with the constant scrutiny.

Reyes' cell-phone began to vibrate on her hip yet again. …Oh shit! Eric? Shit!... She fussed mentally then reached down to retrieve her phone. She knew that he was on his afternoon dinner-break and always tended to call her in and around this time. Consequently, if she didn't answer his persistent calling now he'd never quit until he finally reached her.

"Reyes," she answered rather tersely.

"Mon?" It was Scully.

…Oh shit… "Hey honey," her voice softened instantly.

"Hi. I um. Bad timing?"

"No! Oh no, I just, I thought it was someone else and, well, I had it on vibrate and, gosh, are you home?" she said glancing at her watch as she began to walk back down the hallway in search of a little more privacy once more.

"Umhum, and gosh, Moni, God! They're beautiful!"

The sneaky brunette grinned, "They are?"

"Oh yes! And they're both blooming all over!"

"They are? Fantastic."

"Yes, but, you shouldn't have."

"Oh yes, I should have. Since I can't be there, it was the least I could do."

"Yes, but—"

"Shhh, hush now. Do you like them?" Reyes said as she found an empty conference room, stepped inside and then closed the door.

"Oh wow! Yes! The scent fills the entire apartment!"

"Really? Well, I know that Gardenias can be rather strong."

"Yes! And I could hardly believe it when Mom and I walked in. We both just stood here in the living room for a few moments trying to figure out where the scent was coming from and then I saw them over on the kitchen table."

"So the landlord put them both in the kitchen?" Reyes wrinkled her brow.

"Umhum."

"Hum. He was supposed to put the Gardenias in the bedroom."

Scully chuckled, "Well, Moni, that might not have been such a good idea with Mom and all."

"Oh wow! You're right. I didn't even think about that."

Scully giggled again, "It's hard enough to explain now."

Reyes chuckled, too. "Well, as long as she doesn't read the note."

"The note?"

Reyes' heart fell to the floor. "Um, yeah. The Peace Lily should have had a note."

"I don't see a note."

"Well, how did you know they were from me then?"

"They have your touch."

"My touch?"

"Yeah. Your touch and a small envelop that has your telephone number and my name on it."

"But no note?" Reyes asked again. That was odd.

"Hang on," Scully said then walked back over to the beautiful live plant with white blooms flourishing all over it. She pulled the small tag off the plastic holder, opened the small empty envelop again then glanced down along the base of the plant. She then moved the gorgeous flourishing Gardenia, too, checking for a note on it as well. "Nope. No note."

"Well that's weird. Gosh, okay, well, two plants and no note."

"Sorry. I don't see it."

"Okay. Well, I'm just glad you like them."

"I love them! And I can't wait for you to see them! They both are just beautiful, Moni! And full of blooms! And the scent? My gosh!"

Reyes smiled hearing the enthusiasm in her lover's voice. "Yeah. Well, maybe by next weekend."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"So, where's your mom?"

"Downstairs moving her car."

"Is she going to stay with you all night?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. I'd rather you not be alone tonight."

"I'll be all right."

"Yeah, but it will help having someone else there."

"Mmm, maybe. I don't know. I like my space."

Reye chuckled, "Does that include me?"

"No. But we won't be able to talk as freely while she's here and… Gosh, you know?"

"Yeah. But I still think it's better for you to have her there."

"Um, maybe. I don't know."

Reyes smiled again. Her lover did prefer her space and solitude over entertaining someone else most of the time.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I—I can't seem to, go into, my bedroom."

Reyes furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I—I just—I can't seem to, go in there, without you."

"Oh honey, God." …Wow!... Reyes did not know what in the world to say to that. "Well, um, so, what are you going to do tonight? Where are you going to sleep?"

"On the couch. I just, I can't, seem to, go in there." …Without you…

"Oh baby."

"Too many memories."

"Well, yeah, but, they're good memories, aren't they?"

"Umhum. That's the problem," Scully sighed.

"Oh sweetheart, God."

The redhead just sighed heavily again in response.

"Oh Dana. Well, where's your touchstone? Hum?"

Scully's downtrodden expression lit up into a wide grin. "In my pocket."

"Well, what's it doing in there? Pull that baby out of there and kiss it," Reyes teased.

Scully giggled.

"Well? Did you pull it out?"

"Nope. Not yet. But just knowing it's in there helps."

Reyes chuckled.

"Oh! By the way, is it still raining down there?" Scully suddenly changed the subject.

"God, yes. And I'm sick of it."

"Well, it's snowing here."

"Really? Oh! God, I love the snow!"

Scully grinned again.

A few seconds of silence lingered.

"Moni?"

"Hum?"

"I—I miss you." …Horribly…

Reyes' eyes watered up. "Oh baby, God, and I miss you. Dreadfully."

"I um. I'll come down, as soon as the case is over and everything."

"Okay, but what about Mulder's apartment? I thought—"

"No. It can wait, I—I need to, see you." …Be with you…

…Ohhh… "Okay. I'll help on the plane ticket then."

"Oh no. Don't be ridiculous."

"Well?"

"Well, nothing, no. Gosh Moni."

"Gosh Dana," Reyes teased her then glanced up as Cunningham knocked on the door, then opened it and motioned for her to come back down to the Situation Room. "Oh frig. I gotta go, baby. They need me."

"Okay."

"Okay. I love you, forever and a day."

Scully grinned. "Gosh. Sometimes, I—I don't even know what to say."

"Just say you'll love me, for the rest of my life."

Scully chuckled. "Okay. I love you, for the rest of your life."

Reyes' eyes widened in surprise amazed that she had actually said it. "Well, wow! I um, I gotta go, and I don’t know how."

"Yes you do. One... Two…"

"No. Not yet."

"Not yet?"

"No," Reyes choked out her response suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

"Mon? What's wrong? What is it?"

"I—I don't know, I just, I got a bad feeling just then."

"About what? Me?"

"I—I don't know. It wasn't clear."

"Well, baby, you're the one in possible danger, not me."

"Yea, but, where's your mom?"

Scully's heart skipped a beat. It did seem to be taking her mother a long time to just move her car a few parking spaces closer to the building. "I um, hold on," she hurriedly moved to the window and peered out along the street. She could see her mother's car. She focused through the heavy falling snow until she could see her mother still sitting in the driver's seat inside the car. "Gosh. She's still in the car."

"Maybe you should go check on her."

"Um, yeah, I think you're right. Could be her battery. She was having problems yesterday before she left Annapolis."

"Okay, well, I feel better now."

Scully chuckled, "So now you're taking care of my mom, too?"

"Yeah. If I can."

"Okay, well, you gotta go, baby."

"I know."

"You ready?"

"No, not really, but, such is life. You gonna do it?"

"I can."

"Okay. I'm ready," the brunette said as she began to walk out of the small room.

"Okay," the little redhead started their newly-formed goodbye ritual. "One… Two… Thr…"

They both hung up just before the final "three" was out, both grinning from ear-to-ear.

Scully giggled then grabbed her coat and rushed out the door, locking her apartment door behind her.

Reyes giggled then leaned up against the hallway wall for a moment to catch her breath before entering the Situation Room.

A tall, lean, well-built, medium-blue-eyed, sandy-blonde-haired man, who had been hiding out inside Scully's empty bedroom for the last hour and a half, growled, "Reyes," in frustration as he then walked out into Scully's empty living room. …Reyes, Reyes, Reyes! Damn it! Damn woman!... The woman had somehow managed to thwart his plan yet again, and all the way from Southern Louisiana this time instead of underneath a boardwalk near the Potomac River in Georgetown, Washington, DC two days earlier. And it would have been so easy to do this time. He could have easily taken Scully out inside her bedroom, knocking her out cold for a few minutes with the syringe he held in his hand filled with an extraterrestrial short-term-memory-blocking serum and sedative, then gravely injured her unborn child so severely it would have ultimately killed him, causing her to eventually miscarriage, and no one would have been the wiser. Sooner or later, her mother would have given up on trying to start her mysteriously malfunctioning car, then come back to the apartment, and then would have found her daughter very sleepy, and somewhat groggy, but nothing so out of the ordinary that she would have been concerned about it. And then, within a week or less, Scully would have suffered a miscarriage. And then the supernatural, half-extraterrestrial, half-human, little baby-miracle-man-child growing inside of her once barren, but now miraculously fertile, womb would have been terminated for good.

"Damn!" he fussed again as he slammed his balled fist down on the kitchen table. He had not been able to follow through with his evil plan due to her unexpected phone-call to Reyes. Reyes would have heard everything and would have instantly called 911 the moment she had heard anything out of the ordinary or Scully's cell-phone mysteriously go dead. "Damn it!" he fussed again then threw the little note card down on the kitchen table next to the Peace Lily.

"Oh hush, big boy. You really piss me off sometimes, you know that?" a tall, lean, well-built, light-blue-eyed, dark raven-haired woman teased her exact opposite as she finished opening the door to Scully's empty apartment and stepped inside.

"What? How the hell?"

"I've got one, too, big boy," she teased as she wiggled her lock pick in the air.

The big man smirked.

"I swear Knowle, you're getting sloppy in your old age," she said as she reached down and folded the little note card back up and placed it just underneath the vase of the plant.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"So how'd you know?"

"How did I know what?" she teased him again.

"That I'd be here."

"Oh. Well. I know you. I know how you think. I know how you taste. I know how you smell. And I know that you are never going to be successful. You got that? Never," she said as she walked over, grabbed him by the throat, and then lifted him up into the air. He immediately started to swing a balled fist towards her gut as she caught his brawny big fist inside her other palm. "Um, um, um. Let's not make a mess inside the pretty lady's kitchen." He smirked again then grinned as she set him back down on the floor. "Come on Knowle, I'm tired, got a little woman back home waiting on me. Mom Scully's gonna be here all night. You missed your chance, big boy."

"Thanks to that damn phone call."

"I'd say thanks to these pretty flowers. She just had to call her honey and thank her."

Rohrer smirked again. "She's next on my list."

"Well, you're not doing too well with the first one on your list," McMahon laughed. "Come on. They'll be back any minute. We need to get out of here, take our little reunion elsewhere."

The big man grinned then shook his head. "I've got plenty of time yet. She's only four months."

"Four and a half, soon to be five. And at the rate you're going she'll have another set of twins with her honey living happily ever after somewhere up in the high mountains of Northern Mexico or somewhere. Or maybe even Greece. Athens. Or Thessaly. Thrace. Or the Sapphic Island of—"

"Shut up."

The tall warrior woman chuckled as she pulled him along behind her and out of Scully's apartment locking the door behind them. Just then, the elevator binged then opened. McMahon instantly hid her face against Rohrer's neck wrapping her arms around him then leaned up and began to kiss him turning his back towards Scully as she helped hide his face from the little redhead.

Scully cocked an eyebrow, as did her mother, while they both glanced at the kissing, overly-heated couple, groping at each other at the other end of the hallway. She then opened the door to her apartment. …Um, um, um. They need to find a room… she thought then grinned as she thought about the other night when she and Reyes had been down by the Potomac River, under the boardwalk, kissing, groping, bumping and grinding, thrusting their groins hard into each other. …Oh yeah… They had needed to find a room, too. And they had – her bedroom. She felt her cheeks begin to grow a little warm from the sweet, highly-erotic memory.

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END CHAPTER 5 ~ Go to CHAPTER 6