"At times I almost dream, I too have live a life the sage�s way, and tread once more familiar paths. Perchance I perished in an arrogant self-reliance an age ago, and in that act a prayer for one more chance went up so earnest, so . . . Instinct with better light let in by death that life was blotted out not so completely, but scattered wrecks enough of it to remain: dim memories . . . as now one sees, once more, the gold in sight again."
As Mulder walked in from the field, he wiped the tears from his eyes. �I�ve got to forget about her,� he told himself. �Got to focus on my work.� He put the photographs of Sullivan and Sarah in his shirt pocket.
Back at the motel, Scully had left him a note on his door:
M, don�t think so much about Melissa that you forget about me. If what she says is true, I�ve always been there for you. I�m still here. S.
As Mulder read it, his eyes filled with tears again. �I�ve managed to alienate my best friend again,� he thought. He began to sob as he undressed. He calmed himself during a shower, and emerged from the bathroom in a state of composure Scully would�ve envied.
Mulder dressed, and turned on the television. He lay on his bed and was beginning to relax when there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" he called.
"Celine Dion," was the reply.
Mulder smiled and answered the door. He was still smiling as he let Scully in.
"I didn�t know you were French Canadian and could sing Scully," he taunted her as she sat down on his bed. He sat down next to her. "So, what�s up?"
"I just wanted to see how you�re doing. Just wanted to know that you�re okay." Her eyes became unfocussed and she swayed on the bed.
Mulder grabbed her shoulders. "Scully! Are you alright?" Scully nodded, and promptly fainted. Mulder lay her on her side, and was heading to the bathroom for a washcloth when a wave of dizziness hit him. He staggered, holding the door frame to keep from falling.
�Maybe I should lie down for a while,� he thought, crawling back to his bed and lying down next to Scully. His last thought before he passed out was, �I hope Skinner doesn�t come in and see us.�
Garibaldi answered his comm-link. "What?" He was not in a good mood. Just when he was getting somewhere with the cute blonde across the table.
"Sir, we�ve found something you should take a look at," was the answer.
"I�m on my way, and this had better be worth it." Garibaldi made his apologies to the woman with him, and hurried down to the cargo hold.
The young officer saw Garibaldi, and signalled him to silence. He pointed to something off to Garibaldi�s left. The two security men hid behind crates and watched.
As they watched, a small glow, about a metre in diameter, began to enlarge. When it reached about five metres wide, out floated two sleeping humans - one male and one female.
The male was approximately six feet tall, with short brown hair. He was wearing apparel that Garibaldi did not recognise. The female with him was about five feet tall, and her hair was a flaming red colour. Her apparel was also unfamiliar to Garibaldi.
The humans were set down on the floor of the cargo bay, and the light shrunk in on itself, vanishing with a *pop* that caused the two unconscious humans to stir.
Mulder opened one eye cautiously, half expecting a massive hangover to beat inside his head. When it didn�t, he opened his other eye. The first thing he saw was Scully stirring beside him. Then he realised that he wasn�t lying on his motel bed any more. Under the guise of stretching, Mulder took a good look at his surroundings.
He appeared to be in some sort of storage area. There were crates all around, and a door in one wall. The entire building was made of metal, as far as Mulder could tell. The crates appeared to be normal though. Well, as normal as Mulder could tell by looking at their outsides.
"Mulder, where are we?" Scully said, a bit too loud. The sound of her voice echoed off the walls, giving Mulder more information about how big the room was.
"I don�t know Scully," Mulder whispered to her, "but I�m sure that there�s someone watching us. I can feel it." He shivered involuntarily.
Garibaldi and his inferior were having a quiet discussion about what to do with the "visitors". It was decided after a number of minutes that they should be apprehended and taken in for questioning. And Garibaldi instructed his young counterpart to do it. He would watch.
The Lieutenant, of course, screwed it up.
END PART 1