Life While They Live It
Part X- Theories and Wild Suppositions
by. Paul Wartenberg

COPYRIGHT: Once again, let me state for the record that I am poor.  I
am not making money off this.  Mulder, Scully, and additional characters
are owned by Chris Carter and Co., and I hope
they know that it would be very nice if they didn't sue me for this.

NOTE: I do strenuously apologize for not keeping up with this storyline.
I had become overwhelmed with another long-term project, the Senseless
'Shipper Surveys, that took most of my off-work time.  Of course, there's
some time now before Season Eight begins where I can try to do a few
more chapters of this story...hopefully.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WAITED FOR TWO AND A HALF
YEARS FOR THIS.

RATING: Romance, but nothing naughty.  There is vulgarity (and in this
story lots of it), but it's Scully saying most of it so we're cool about it,
right?...oh, and hopefully a good-sized serving of humor (at least it was
funny when I wrote it...) ;-)

SUMMARY: Post-Gethsemane.  What if Mulder DID commit suicide?
What if Scully's cancer
was incurable?  I know, I know, that doesn't jibe with Redux, Redux II,
most of season 5, the movie, and all of season 6...with the possible
exception of Triangle...and also all of Season 7, with the certain exception
of all things.  Then what could possibly explain why Scully is back in high
school?...and why Mulder is taking her to the prom?...


That was the second year of the Third World War/
The one between Us and Them...
There was all sorts of talk the first years after the Peace/
A million theories, a million wild suppositions/
A million hopeful explanations and plans...
- "Nightmare for Future Reference," Stephen Vincent Benet

April 12, 1982
Hoover Building
8:29 a.m.

     Section Chief Walter Skinner took a moment to glance up from
the copy of the Post he held in his hand, noting that the elevator had
stopped on his floor.  Pushing past the other riders, he barely made it off
before the doors closed to take the others to the higher floors.
     He didn't think as he usually did these mornings about what it
would be like to work up there, in the assistant directors' offices.  It was
no secret, indeed it was part of his reputation, that he sought such a
position in the near future.  What surprised so many who knew about it
was that instead of developing a habit of brown-nosing, Skinner had
developed a habit of hard work and excellent field service.  Most ladder-
climbers tended to be arrogant and self-serving: Skinner was efficient and
hard-working.
     This morning Skinner had his mind on other things.  The Mulder
case had been less than two weeks old and already he had run into enough
hints, clues, and stonewalling to fill a whole year's caseload.  It also
brought up a lot of troubling issues, ones he couldn't necessarily share in
either direction of the chain of command.
     The hiding and subsequent destruction of those X-Files had to
have been an inside job.  The files he had seen suggested a possible covert
operation or more within the CIA or DOD, but now the FBI was
somehow connected as well.  That administrative hack, Blevins was his
name, had received the assignment to investigate the files' destruction, but
why it was assigned to a man with little investigative experience didn't
make sense to Skinner at all.  The assistant director responsible,
O'Connor, had not answered his request to explain Blevins' appointment,
and indeed he had no reason to give Skinner an answer.
     Skinner made his way past his secretary, who was busy on the
phone confirming certain appointments, and opened the door to his office.
He needed to check on the surveillance providing security to his teenaged
charges in Maryland.  With the files gone, Mulder and that girlfriend of his
were...
     That was when he noticed the scent of smoke in the air.

Annapolis, MD
Scully residence
Same time

     From the basement, Mulder heard the noise of a family waking up
and rushing everywhere in utter chaos.
     It had actually begun two hours earlier, when Dana Scully
stumbled down the stairs hurrying to get to school.  She had dressed in
Catholic school uniform like she was supposed to but was struggling to
straighten the mess that was her hair.  She made a lot of noise until
Charlie
angrily woke up to tell her that St. Baptista's was closed for Easter break
the whole week.  At that point everybody went back to sleep.
     Now, however, the family had to stir.  Captain Scully had to head
off to his administrative duties at the Naval Research Base just across the
river from the Academy.  Breakfast, even when it was just cereal, was still
an important meal in this household.
     The door to the basement opened and Mulder listened to the feet
stomping down the stairs.  He was slightly surprised to see that it was
Troy.  "Didn't your family head back to Virginia?"
     Troy nodded, taking a seat at the base of the stairs.  "Yeah, but I
decided to stay for awhile, see if there was anything I can do."
     "Regarding the Diogenes Group."  Mulder stated that rather than
asked.  He rolled up from the bed, placing his feet onto the carpet floor.

     "Pretty much.  Your cousin Martin told me about you looking for
your sister.  About that would-be assassin who showed up in New..."
     Mulder shhed him.  "Watch it.  If her father found out there was
trouble..."
     "Oh.  Still, that's a lot of excitement for the holidays."
     Mulder nodded in agreement, glancing about the floor for a shirt
that didn't look like it had been worn two days in a row.
     "I gotta ask you," Troy continued, "just...how did you get Dana
involved in all of this?"
     "Huh?"
     "Where did you first meet her?"  Troy sounded more accusatory
than inquisitive.
     "Oh."  Mulder flashed back to the excuse Melissa concocted.  "I,
uh, was at Oxford over in England at the time, when Dana sent letters
asking about research on the Loch Ness Monster.  The Exozoology
professor had me help her on that."
     "And you decided to come back across the Pond to say hello."
     "Well, no, not just that.  I was coming back this way to ask the
FBI to renew their search for my sister Samantha, and I stopped by
because, you know, it's on the way there and..."
     "Ah.  Huh."  Troy stated that, slowly.  He wasn't buying a bit of it.
     Mulder stood there, a relatively fresh shirt in his hand, pausing.
"What?"
     "I do have to wonder," Troy replied.  "I mean, I just want to be
sure...nobody in the Diogenes Group ever told you about Dana's family?
Did anyone there point you in her direction?"
     "What?  No..."
     "Was it Smith?  Rumpole?  Any of those cigar smokers from the
Library?"
     Mulder scowled, taking a step toward Troy.  "I said no."
     Troy paused.  "I can't believe the odds involved in Dana somehow
contacting you..."
     "Why can't you believe that?"  Mulder took a moment to consider.
"Is there something you're not telling me?  What do you know about
this?"
     Troy glanced away for a second.  Should he tell him now?  With
what Mulder knows about Rennes Le Chateau...  "I just think, the odds of
you being in the Diogenes Group, looking for a missing sister, asking
Dana for help rather than the Group members over here..."
     "Uh-uh.  There's definitely something you're not telling me..."
     "Hey."  Scully's voice traveled down the stairwell just as she
stepped down into the basement.  She lowered her head to glance at
Mulder, her hair not as mussed as it might have been two hours ago.
"You ready, Mulder?"
     "Hey.  Morning."  Mulder smiled slightly at his partner.  "Uh.
Ready for what?"
     Scully grinned ear to ear.  "Prom dresses."

Skinner's Office

     "How did you get in here?" Skinner tersely tossed his briefcase
onto his chair, throwing the folded newspaper atop the desk.  He turned
to face the man still sitting in the corner chair calmly holding a lit
cigarette
between thumb and forefinger.
     The Smoking Man didn't answer immediately, instead taking a
moment to enjoy his cigarette.  He finally puffed out a cloud of smoke and
answered, "That is of little concern.  After all, nothing changes the fact
that I am here."
     "That's not what I call an answer."  Skinner stood next to his
desk, scowling.  "And besides, there's no smoking in this office."
     CancerMan smiled and stood, holding the cigarette close to his
lips.  "Do you know who I am?"
     Skinner took a moment.  "I've got a pretty good idea."
     "You should know I'm taking a great risk in making such a public
appearance this morning."  Another puff of smoke.  "I know you've
recently been taking an interest in some...mis-filed documents within the
bureau."
     Skinner's scowl lifted just slightly from the surprise.  "You're the
one who destroyed the X-Files."
     "They were of little value, actually.  Just...pieces that would not fit
into the puzzle needed to be solved.  Loose ends, really."  The Smoking
Man tried smiling again.  "Just think of all the cabinet space that was
opened up."
     "The Mulder disappearance."  Skinner clenched his jaw on this
one.  "You had a hand in that too, didn't you?"
     There was a long pause.  "No."
     "Then why are your initials all over copies of reports ordering the
search for Samantha Mulder to be ended?"
     CancerMan smiled through the smoke.  "So.  You do know who I
am."
     "You haven't answered my question."  Skinner thought about
grabbing a folder or pen, something to hold in a hand before moving
closer toward this intruder.  He wanted some kind of weapon to point at
him, just to feel comfortable about it.  "If you're not going to answer it,
then get the hell out of my office."
     The Smoking Man pressed the cigarette into an empty glass on the
nearby coffee table.  "No answer.  A proposal, actually."

Annapolis Convention Mall

     Mulder glanced over his shoulder.  "Why did he have to tag
along?"
     Scully, her arm wrapped around Mulder's, didn't look back,
keeping her eyes forward.  "It's okay.  He's not bothering anyone."
     Troy was keeping three paces back on the couple, looking as
nonchalant as possible but actually mulling over whether or not he should
fill Mulder in on all the details of the Bloodline he was legally able to
reveal as a member of the Viator family.  He'd already revealed more than
he should have the night before.
     It wasn't his place to even tell Martin, Mulder's cousin, about the
secret being carried with the Viator family.  Martin did insist, however,
recognizing a fellow Diogenes member when he saw one.  Still, given the
coincidence that Dana and Fox...  And just how did they meet?  They act
like they've known each other for years.  And why is his cousin so eager
to help Fox in his quest, someone she hardly knew?
     Melissa suddenly skipped up toward Troy.  "Hey, cuz.  You know,
we left the watchdog at home."
     Troy grimaced, keeping his eye on the others.  "Melissa, you have
to know.  You've been extremely protective of those two..."
     "Know what?"
     "Just how did Dana meet Fox?"
     "Oh.  There was a research paper on the..."
     Troy glared at his older cousin, indicating quietly he knew that was
just a cover story.
     Melissa stared back.  "Is there something you know you're not
telling me?"
     "The most I can tell you is that I know of Mulder's associations.
He's part of a society of sorts.  His interaction with your family is...an
interesting complication."
     "I see."  Melissa glanced away, back toward her little sister.  "Are
you part of that society, by any chance?"
     Troy took a moment.  "Yes.  That's all I can say to you about it."
     "Did you tell Dana?"
     "Yes.  I actually told her a little more, but I swore her to secrecy
about that."
     "Can you tell me?"
     "Not right now..."
     "Would you?"
     Troy stopped in his tracks and glanced down.  "I'm not even sure
if it was a good idea to tell Dana..."
     Melissa smiled at her cousin, albeit a little slyly.  "Then why should
I tell you anything?"
     Troy looked back up.  "Whoops.  Where'd they go?"

Santino's Bridal

     Scully originally had no idea where to look for prom dresses.  Her
older sister wasn't interested in the prom her senior year, partially
because
of the family's move from San Diego to Annapolis and mostly because her
protests that Stevie Nicks play went ignored by the organizers.  Scully had
to call Sylvia to see where she and Burwood had secured their outfits.
     "Oh," her friend noted over the phone.  "You could always try the
bridal shops."
     Scully, walking with Mulder through the mall, finally spotted this
bridal store, fancy dresses lined up in the display window.  She darted
straight for the shop, dragging along a pale-looking Mulder whose
reflexive male response to a bridal shop was hard to miss.
     "Yes!" Scully gleefully chirped, grabbing a long, blue-green outfit
that screamed mucho dinero.  "It's a good thing I've got Ahab's credit
card..."
     "Um."  Mulder had never gone shopping with Scully before.  "Are
you sure it's your color?"
     "Green?  Well, I don't know."  Smiling, she circled the round rack
of long dresses, using one hand to shuttle past one outfit after the other.
"I was hoping to save white for my wedding..."
     She watched Mulder get more uncomfortable before letting out a
huge laugh.  "Relax, Mulder."
     A petite brunette with glasses approached.  "May I help you?"
     Scully nodded to her.  "Yes.  We're looking for prom clothes.
Formal wear for him, a stunningly expensive dress for myself..."
     "You have your father's credit card, I take it..."
     "Um."  Mulder stepped forward.  "Can you make it separate bills?
I will pay for my tux..."
     The saleswoman didn't skip a beat. "To your father's credit card
too..."
     "Not really."
     "Ah."  The woman nodded.  "I'll go see if our tailor is ready to
take your measurements for the tuxedo."
     Scully waited before the saleswoman walked away.  "Mulder?
How are you going to pay for it?"
     "Oh.  Marty left some cash."
     "Ah.  It's nice to know your cousin's looking out for you."  Scully
moved a little closer to him, holding a light blue dress with large frills
along the shoulders.  "But, um, about you and your father..."
     "I haven't spoken to him."  Mulder ran a finger along one of the
frills of that dress.  "I don't think this dress is you, Scully.  The frills
look
like they'll sit higher than your hair..."
     "I mean, I think your father tried calling a couple of times.  At my
house.  Mom told me he didn't want to leave any messages or anything,
and she thought I shouldn't tell you..."
     Mulder sighed.  "They know about the argument we had..."
     "I think the whole neighborhood heard."
     He grimaced but stayed silent.  Scully took that as a signal not to
pursue this conversation any further.  She placed the dress back on the
rack and pulled out a dark purple strapless number.  "How's this one?"
     "Makes you look like a Minnesota Viking."
     Scully turned at that voice.  She glared hard at Marcus as he
strolled into the store.

FBI Headquarters

     Skinner found himself standing in the men's bathroom longer than
he wanted to.  After spending a few moments washing his hands, either
for the anger or for the revulsion he felt, he simply remained glaring at
his
reflection.
     He shook his head, hitting the faucet handle once more.  Cupping
his hands to catch the quick burst of water, he leaned over and splashed
the water into his face.  Rubbing it on the skin.  Rubbing his fingers at
the
corner of his eyes.
     When he leaned back up, he saw the black man standing there.  He
had the neatly trimmed beard and trenchcoat outfit of a professional.  Only
the small circular earring suggesting a pirate stood out.
     Mr. X, although not known by that name just yet, calmly stood
there.  "Section Chief Skinner.  I think someone's already met you this
morning."
     Skinner used the mirror to glance back, not turning around.  Not
just yet.  "What would you know about that?"
     "That you might need to hear an alternate proposal."

Santino's Bridal

     "So?"  Marcus, Scully's ex-high school love-of-her-life, did his
best to scowl at Mulder.  "This is the pansy ass taking my place?"
     "Name's Mulder, actually."  Mulder slipped quickly into his
annoy-the-local-sheriff mode.  "The pansy ass before me forgot to bring
flowers."
     Scully lowered her head a little, glancing away to avoid eye
contact with the two young men.  "Guys, Marcus, this might not be the
place..."
     "Oh, so you're Marcus." Mulder's voice went up just a notch,
signaling an oncoming insulting remark.  "You noted the dress had
Vikings color.  Football fan, I take it.  Go Redskins."
     Marcus snarled.  "Baltimore Colts forever, asshole."
     He got angrier the second both Scully and Mulder burst out
laughing.
     Scully let her laugh peter out into a giggle, then a sigh.  "Marcus,
please, I don't think..."
     "I actually don't care what you think..."
     "Then why are you here?"  Scully's smile faded as she crossed her
arms.
     Marcus leaned in, giving Mulder a dark look before focusing on
Scully.  "You're a bitch, you know that?"
     Mulder started to lean in, but Scully brushed back against him with
her shoulder.  This was her fight.  She knew Marcus was just here trying
to start something with Mulder.  Boys.  "Yes, actually, I know that.  Did
you know you're a preening non-analytic debaser with an inferior priapic
condition?"
     "Whoa."  Mulder was impressed.  Scully always knew how to
form insults using words rarely seen outside of the Oxford English
Dictionary.
     Marcus grimaced. "That doesn't even make sense!"
     A hand touched his shoulder.  Marcus turned to face Troy, who
leaned in and whispered what an inferior priapic condition meant.  His
family uses the same dictionary.
     The ex-boyfriend angrily turned red and pushed away from Troy,
almost using a fist across the chin to do so.  "Fuck off!"
     Troy smirked.  "According to my cousin, you don't have the
equipment for it."
     Marcus clenched both fists now and moved in.  The saleswoman
finally reappeared.  "Can I help anyone?  Before I call security to break
this up and call your parents, that is..."
     The outnumbered teen snarled, glancing from Troy to the
saleswoman to Mulder to Scully.  Silently, he backed off and walked
away.
     Troy smirked at his cousin.  "I knew you two couldn't stay out of
trouble..."
     "Excuse me," the saleswoman interrupted.  "Despite the fact we
would like your patronage of this store, for right now, I request that you
all leave."
     The group glanced at each other and shrugged.  Leaving the store,
they watched Melissa stand in the main thoroughfare, tapping one foot
lightly against the tile floor.  "Babysitting never had to be this hard,"
she
smirked.

Washington D.C.
K Street

     It was one of many limousines darting through the nation's capitol.
The man sitting in the back seat by himself, enjoying a half-filled glass of
whiskey and a half-finished cigarette, was a more unique sight.
     The Smoking Man knew that the proposal he offered Skinner
might not work out.  The man, even in this era, had his principals, after
all.
But principals can be manipulated just as easily as vices, and who knows?
Even Skinner had a price, once before...
     The limo's brakes suddenly kicked, the jostling knocking the glass
from his hand.  Whiskey splashed across the floor of the limo and the
lower part of CancerMan's legs.  He sighed, glancing forward, noting the
dark sedan parked at a intercept angle in front of the stopped limo.
     "Sir?"  His chauffeur queried with a normal tone.  It was broad
daylight.
     "I think we will be taking one extra passenger with us briefly," the
elder stated calmly, raising his hand to inhale just a little more tobacco
smoke.
     The back passenger door opened, and without a word a trench-
coated gentleman entered.  The man known as Deep Throat took a seat
opposite his colleague and closed the door.
     The Smoking Man nodded to his driver.  "Give the other car a
second, then continue to our destination."
     The dark sedan did indeed back up, giving the limo a chance to
resume down the street.  Traffic went back to normal as if nothing
happened.
     The two passengers stared at one another, CancerMan with a calm
gaze and Deep Throat troubled.  "I know this isn't a social call," the
Smoking Man smiled, "and I did just lose most of my whiskey just now..."
     "Dammit," Deep Throat growled.  "A flippant attitude on your
part will only get you killed quicker.  The remaining members of our circle
have called in Strughold.  He is not going to take your purging of the First
Elder and the others lightly and will more than likely have you offered up
for dissection.  A slow painful dissection!"
     "Don't you think I have anticipated Strughold's inevitable
involvement?"  CancerMan had finished his cigarette, and starting tapping
another one out of a freshly opened pack of Morleys.  "When that time
comes, what I have to offer will more than likely ensure my survival."
     He lit his cigarette, taking a deep inhale and then blowing out a
large cloud of smoke that circled about his head.  "And most likely ensure
your own survival as well.  Why else have you aligned yourself with me?"
     Deep Throat took a moment to think, wondering how he let
himself get so entangled in this one.  "I only aligned myself because of the
warning you brought of the future you knew, and because Bill's son was
going to be threatened.  But now...I am beginning to wonder if what you
told me of the future really happened..."
     "Oh?  You know me perfectly well.  I'm not the liar of this
conspiracy.  I'm the killer."
     "We're both liars and killers, old friend."  Deep Throat scowled.
"And I don't think I know you that well any more.  Whatever your future
self was, it's a far cry from the person I knew just three weeks ago."
     He tapped on the window.  "Tell your driver to let me out at the
next intersection."
     They rode in silence for a few seconds before the limo pulled over.
Deep Throat opened the door, then as he leaned out to exit the limo, he
turned back.  "Just what did happen in the future to you?"
     The Smoking Man smiled.  "I died."

Annapolis Convention Mall

     "You WHAT?!"
     Troy leaned his body so far over the table he practically laid atop
it.  Dana just kinda stared back at him, sitting calmly at the dining table
in
the middle of the food court.
     Troy had to restate it, trying his best to keep his voice low.  "You
DIED?!"
     "Well, yeah."  Scully glanced away briefly to spy her sister and
Fox waiting in line at the fish and chips restaurant.  "Mulder and I died
and we found ourselves reliving our younger years."
     Troy fell back into his chair, landing so hard on it he nearly pushed
it off from underneath himself.  He regained his balance and slid the chair
back up close to the table.  "So that's where you two knew each other."
     "Yes."
     "So it's no coincidence about him being in the...group and all..."
     She shook her head.  "No, no coincidence.  Although I'm
wondering why you're making a big deal of that.  Is there something
going on that I should know about?"
     Troy sighed.  "I've...already said more than I should have."
     "You've already told me about the Diagones..."
     "Shh!"  Troy waved frantically at his cousin.  "Not in public.  Not
here!"
     Dana arched an eyebrow at him.  "Sheesh.  Okay.  Don't blow a
synapse in your brain like that..."
     "It's just, well...my side of the family takes this sort of thing
seriously."
     Troy glanced over his shoulder at Mulder and Melissa ordering the
lunch.  "Later.  We'll talk about this later..."

     "What are they talking about?" Mulder whispered to Melissa as
they waited for the Treacher's Fish and Chips to serve up their lunch
order.
     "I think Troy's getting around to asking Dana about how you two
really met," Missy replied, not looking back.
     "Hmm.  Explains why Troy looks like his head's about to
explode."
     "Troy seems to be keeping some news himself.  He's not willing to
share."
     Mulder shrugged, thinking for a second.  "It's not too big a deal.
Not for me, anyway.  We'll just have to let you say the secret words..."
     Missy arched an eyebrow, much in the style of a Scully.  "Oh?
Celtic or Latin?"
     "English will do.  But then you'll have to perform the secret
handshake..."
     "This is getting complex..."
     The food came, and the two picked up the trays.  Mulder added,
"You'll have to solve a riddle given to you in iambic pentameter."
     "Do I have to sing the reply?"
     "Yes.  And lastly, you'll need to secure the secret map to the
ancient realms of mystic Mu."
     "Oh.  I can just order that from Triple-A."
     "Just what are you asking my sister to do, Mulder?" Dana asked as
he and Melissa arrived at the table.
     Mulder shrugged again.  "Travel plans."
     Melissa sat down, sliding next to Troy as she passed the tray over
to him.  Looking up, she scowled and lowered her head.  "Here we go
again, guys," she whispered.
     Dana turned as Troy and Mulder stared in the direction Missy was
spying.  They spotted Marcus, standing along the far wall, scowling back
at all four of them.
     The four regrouped around the table.  "I say we ignore him," Dana
stated.
     "I say we duck under the table, crawl out the other way, and go
shop at a Deadhead store I know down on Hamilton," Melissa suggested.
     "There's nothing wrong with launching a thermonuclear warhead
at the guy," Troy offered.
     Mulder indicated his own idea by simply standing back up and
walking in the direction of the nearby restrooms.
     "Mulder!" Scully called out.  She shook her head.  "Dammit, this
is going to get messy."
     Melissa placed a hand on Troy's shoulder as he stood to follow
after him.  She gave him a stern look.  "Don't add to this, Troy.  Let's
just
see if Fox and Marcus can just settle this on their own."

     Mulder waited for a few seconds in the men's bathroom, at which
point Marcus burst into the white-tiled room.  Mulder stood at the far end
of the wash basins, nodding at the older gentleman finishing his duty at a
urinal.  The two young men waited until the elder man flushed, zipped,
and walked out of the room.
     "So," Mulder pondered once they were left.  "Are you certain
beating the crap out of me is going to do you any favors?"
     Marcus scowled.  "It's certainly going to make me feel a damn lot
better."
     "Look.  Scully broke up with you.  Live with it.  Get another
girlfriend and enjoy life."  Mulder took a moment, inwardly noting how
odd it was for him to tell that to someone else after everyone else telling
it
to him.
     "I don't give a rat's ass right now."  Marcus stepped up, fists at
the ready.  "Just shut up and bleed, you..."
     He got close enough to Mulder so that the future federal agent
simply flashed his fist into the poor boy's face, just to the left of the
nose.
Marcus groaned, stepping back as both of his hands rose up to feel the
pain.  A small trace of blood appeared at the edge of the hand cupping the
nose.
     Mulder just stood there, waiting to see what happened next.
     Marcus held his nose with one hand, glaring at his opponent.
"Goddammit."
     Mulder turned, grabbing a few sheets of paper towels to hand to
him.  "Here.  Are we done?"
     The teen glared back, but didn't reply.  He placed one towel to the
nasal bleeding and watched as Mulder walked out of the bathroom.

     Scully had followed the two as far as the hallway leading to the
men's room.  She watched Marcus enter, and then the elderly gentleman
leave.  She wanted to rush in, but decided against it, thinking it could
make Marcus more confrontational.
     As she stood there, she heard footsteps down the hallway.  She
turned...
     ...and found the Choir Boy Jacob standing right next to her.
Behind him, further back, were Daniel and Vince.
     Jacob quietly rose one hand at her, pointing a finger close to her
eyes.  She noted the tight bandages around the wrist where Mulder had
used a crowbar that night a few weeks back.  Scully stood her ground.
"Yes?"
     "I just wanted to tell you," the Choir Boy hissed.  "I'm not going
to hurt you here.  I'm not going to be so damned obvious about it.  I just
wanted to let you know, when it does happen, when I make you scream to
bloody God, that you know who it was."
     Jacob turned around to walk away, but kept his head turned so he
could glare at his nemesis.  "After it happens, I'll deny it.  I'm going to
make damn sure I won't get nailed for it.  But you'll know.  Good-bye,
bitch."
     She watched him walk away, followed by his two cohorts.  She
sighed, drooping her shoulders.  Scully jumped as a hand tapped her
shoulder.
     She turned to see Mulder standing there, a quizzical look across
his face.  She scowled, lightly punching him in the stomach.
     He nodded toward the departing Choir Boys.  "What was that all
about?"
     Scully sighed.  "One more thing to be worried about."
     They walked down the hall, heading back to the food court and
their not-so-warm lunches.  "Huh," Mulder noted.  "All this trouble for a
prom dress."

TO BE CONTINUED
Part XI - 'Sincerity and Sufferings'