Title: Mulder, I Am Not a Vampire
(Sequel to: Mulder, You Are Not a Vampire)
Author: Chiara "Cat" Doyle



Hoover Building

Washington, D.C.

June 14, 1998

2:20 p.m.



There was only so much that she was going to listen to. She had been so
patient with him that it would put a nun to shame. Nun, nothing, a saint
would have ripped all of her hair out and run from the office screaming
nonsensically. But she had stayed. She had put up with him.

It wasn't really putting up with him anymore. That used to be the right
term, the term that someone uses on an unwanted relative, or a friend
that's gone off the deep end about some guy and she must tell you every
single boring detail about him, but you don't hang up, because you're
not that mean. Now, the term was stayed with, or believed in. She was as
much a part of his theories as he was, as much a part of his life as he
was of hers.

All of this was forgotten as Scully contemplated the best way to murder
Mulder without getting caught. Several came to mind. "I can't believe
that you're standing there, expecting me to believe this. You've had
some really outrageous theories before, Mulder, but this one really tops
the list."

"As I recall, you just became very open to a very 'out there' theory. Do
you remember, or do I have to refresh your memory?" Already, his
incisors were growing.

Scully reacted as quickly as she could. She ran to the door and locked
it. Then she turned back to him. "My God, Mulder, are you insane? Do you
want the entire Bureau to find out about you?"

"To be honest, Scully, I don't care. They already think that there's
something very wrong with me, so it wouldn't make much difference. Being
locked up in an asylum didn't make things any easier for me, even if all
of the charges were dropped. I have to get to the bottom of this,
Scully, and I think that it would be best if you found out, too."

"Mulder, I promise you, I am NOT a vampire. I think that I would have
noticed if I was. It's not one of those things that you don't notice,
and my dentist didn't notice any growth or changes either." Her tone
softened slightly. "I know that you don't want to be the only one, and I
also know that you want to find out what happened. But the X-Files are
closed, and for good, I'm afraid, and while I'm sure that Skinner will
grant you the vacation you want, I doubt that it's going to make it easy
on him to find out where you want to go and on what basis, and why you
took out vacation time for me, as well."

"Skinner has a problem with everything that I do. I don't think that
this will change his opinion of me one way or another. But Scully, if
you really don't want to go with me, you don't have to. I just hoped
that you would, and went ahead and made plans. I'm sorry to drag you
into this without your consent." His face reverted to its original
state, and he looked so contrite that Scully had to smile. She sighed,
and walked over to him.

"All right, if Skinner approves it, I'll go. But on one condition." She
had a mischievous look in her eyes. "You have to make sure that wherever
we're transferred to, you have to get me a desk."

"You're not going to let that drop until I do. Fine. It's a deal." He
put out his hand. "Shake on it?"

He was up to something, but her curiosity prompted her to take his hand.
"Deal."

Before she could think to react, he had her in his arms, bending over
her, saying, "You won't be sorry, my pretty, muah hah hah."

She pushed against his chest. "Cut it out, Mulder. No snacking while on
duty. Or off, either."

He still hadn't let her go when they heard a wrapping on the door.
"Agents, open the door!"

"Oh, shit," they whispered at the same time. Quickly, they disentangled
themselves from one another, and Scully ran to open the door.

"I'm sorry, sir. The door must have locked when you closed it."

Skinner gave her one of his 'Bull shit' looks, but let the matter drop.
He strode over to his desk, and sat down, glancing down at the papers in
front of him. "So, Agent Mulder, I see that you put in for vacation for
not only yourself, but for Scully as well. May I ask why?"

"Sir, after the recent destruction of our office, I thought that both
Agent Scully and I could use some vacation. I made the mistake of not
asking her opinion of my belief first, sir, which was the cause of the
earlier confusion."

"And now, Agent Scully?"

"Sir, I see the sense behind Mulder's suggestion, and I too believe that
it would be a good idea if we both took some personal time before being
reassigned to other positions, and to recover from the recent tragedy
that has befallen us."

Skinner looked from one to the other, suspicious of their motives.
"There's nothing I should be concerned about between the two of you?"

Scully looked horrified at the suggestion. "None at all, sir! I hope
that we haven't given you cause to-"

"Simply policy, Scully, nothing more. Your time will be granted to the
two of you. Use it wisely, for I know that your new assignments will
take some getting used to. As of tomorrow, you are both on a two-week
leave of absence. You are free to leave."



B*E*S*U*R*E*T*O*D*R*I*N*K*Y*O*U*R*H*E*M*O*G*L*O*B*I*N



Chaney Texas

Davey Crockett Motor Court

June 15, 1998

7:30pm CST



"You could have at least picked a better motel, you know."

"In case you don't remember, my dear Dr. Scully, there isn't another
hotel around for a good ten miles."

"I still say that we're wasting our time here, Mulder. The people are
gone. That's why we couldn't find out the truth about Ronnie. We're
never going to find anything."

"Ever the skeptic, eh, Scully? Well, just wait. I'm going to make you
eat your ten-gallon hat."

"Just stop, Mulder."

The two finally made it into the lobby, where a slightly obese and very
greasy hotel manager awaited their arrival. "Can I help you two?"

"We have reservations under the names of Mulder and Scully. Two single
beds."

"And which one of you is which, if I may ask."

"I'm Scully, and this is Mulder, F-" she caught herself just in time.
Mulder looked over at her.

"Yes, well, your rooms are all ready and waiting for y'all. Here are
your keys, and have a good stay."

They mumbled their thanks and walked to their 'illustrious' bedrooms. As
before, the beds had attached to them the 'Magic Fingers' massage
machines. They looked at one another, and, remembering the trouble it
caused the last time, tacitly agreed not to touch it. "Do you want
something to eat, Scully? Burger, bagel . . . pizza?" he said devilishly.

"Not on your life. That's what got us into this mess in the first place.
But I do wonder, Mulder, why, if the other vampires here didn't have
fangs, why you did."

"Probably for the same reason that I don't sleep in a coffin and they
did. Something must have happened when I was bitten to change the
transfer. My biggest question is, who made me this way and why?"

"That's two questions, and my question in response to yours is: how do
you expect to answer them if all of the vampires have moved away?"

"They all came back, in case you didn't notice. And our friendly
neighborhood law enforcement officer is still in town if you want to go
see him." Mulder feigned an innocent look.

"After what happened last time? Not a chance. Our dear Mr. Harwell will
just have to- Oh, God. I just thought of something, Mulder. What if
someone recognizes us. It's not like we don't stick out already, but you
won't be able to find out anything once they realize that we know about
them."

"This sounds like an episode of 'Scully, the Vampire Slayer.' They
haven't left yet, and that guy that checked us in was the same one as
before. Maybe they realize that I'm one of their own, and they think
that I have you in thrall as my own personal juice dispenser."

She ignored that comment. "Mulder, I'm tired. Let's get some food, and
go to bed. We can start our 'investigation' in the morning."

"What do you want to eat?"

"I think that in celebration of the Lone Star State, we should have
barbeque." She smiled sweetly at his shocked expression. "What's the
matter, G-man? Don't think that I can down a plate of ribs? You know
that I can."

God, that smile melted him. "All right, let's go. Don't say that I'm
agin' accomodatin' a lady," he twanged.

M*&*S*T*A*K*I*N*G*A*B*I*T*E*O*U*T*O*F*C*R*I*M*E



Sam Houston Motor Lodge

11:30pm

Mulder's Room



There's nothing in the Bureau's handbook that forbids agents letting
loose and having fun while on vacation. Unfortunately, these two took it
a little too far. After thoroughly enjoying themselves at Clint's Big
Bucket of BBQ, they decided it would be interesting if they went to the
local bar and had a few small drinks while taking in the local scenery.
Those few drinks became a couple of bottles of Jack Daniels and two
beers each, and only through the grace of God were the two spared
alcohol poisoning. As it was, it took every ounce of their willpower to
get back to the hotel, where, after trying every key on their key
chains, including the ones to their office and their car keys, they were
able to put the right key into the lock, turned it, and pushed open the
door after having a very loud debate as to how to turn it. They stumbled
into the room, and collapsed on the bed, unconscious almost instantly,
leaving the door open and not caring. They didn't see the mysterious
figure come into the room and leave a letter on the small end table.
They also didn't see it close the door, after blowing Mulder a kiss.

G*I*V*E*T*H*E*M*A*H*A*I*R*O*F*T*H*E*D*O*G*T*H*A*T*B*I*T*'E*M



Whatever the name of the motor lodge is

June 16, 1998

10:12 a.m.

Mulder's Bed



"Unh, sun, sun bad." Mulder rolled over away from the window where the
sun was streaming in, the bane of every hung over human. Unfortunately,
upon rolling, he ended up hitting Scully, and pushed her off of the bed.

"Ow! What the hell?" She groggily sat up and took in her surroundings.
"Mulder, what's going on?"

"Mmmph," came the reply from the bed.

"Mulder, wake up!" She shook her thickheaded partner. When he still
didn't arouse, Scully did what any good doctor would do. She slowly got
up, fumbled her way to the bathroom, grabbed a glass of water, and
dumped it on his head.

It worked. "Holy shit, that's cold!" He looked sourly at Scully. "Why
did you do that?"

"Because you can't hold your liquor and you wouldn't wake up."

"What's so important that you had to wake me up?"

"It seems we slept on the same bed together last night, and then you
just rolled over on me and knocked me off. I'm not going to let you stay
asleep while I have to wake up and face the day, and a headache.
Besides, I'm here because of you, Mulder. You're the one who has all of
these questions that need to be answered. Not me. I do it all for you,
Mulder." She paused, and let herself breathe. Meanwhile, she noticed
that Mulder had fallen asleep again. Rather than wake him up again, she
crawled back onto the bed, pushed him over, and went back to sleep herself.



T*H*E*R*E*S*N*O*B*L*O*O*D*Y*F*O*R*M*E*B*U*T*Y*O*U



Same bat-channel

12:21pm





"Wake up, Scully. I brought you some coffee, a bagel, and some aspirin."
Mulder smiled as this time it was his partner who was rudely awakened
from the bliss of sleep.

"And why are you so cheerful?" she grumbled.

"I swallowed half a bottle of Excedrin. But I saved the other half for you."

Scully almost laughed. "A regular martyr, aren't you? Give me the bottle
and go away."

He smiled. "That's no way to treat your concerned and doting partner.
Besides, Scully, this is my room, in case you don't remember."

"Well, I've taken over. It's mine now. Go away, slave." She buried her
face under the pillows.

"Don't you like me anymore, Scully?" A noncommittal noise from the
pillows. "Well, this just won't do. No, not at all."

She took her head out of the pillows long enough to say something trite,
but her gaze wandered to the table in front of the window. "Mulder, what
is that?" He followed her gaze to the letter sitting propped up on the
table.

"I have no idea." He put down his purchases and walked over to it.
Picking it up, he read the envelope. "It has my name on it. My first name."

"Where could it have come from, Mulder?"

"Well, after last night, Scully, I found the door unlocked. Anyone could
have walked in and . . . " his voice trailed off as he looked at the
contents. "Oh, my God."

"What is it, Mulder?" She stood up tentatively and walked over to him,
using him as a prop so that she wouldn't collapse.

"It says, well, here, read it." He handed her the letter, but she shook
her head.

"Right now there are three pieces of paper swimming in front of me, and
they are equally illegible. You had better read it to me."

"Sorry, Scully." He helped her back to his bed, and pulled a chair up to
the side of it. "It says: Fox, my love." Mulder choked out those words.
Scully looked at him, but he just shook his head, bewildered. He started
again.

'Fox, my love,

I am so happy that you have come back to Texas. I am afraid that you
don't remember me, but I remember you, oh so well. The night that we
shared was beyond compare. Before you begin to wonder just what I am
speaking of, I am sure that you have noticed by now that you are one of
us. I hope that you see this as a blessing and not a curse. It was
purely selfishness that created you. I wanted you to myself for all of
eternity. My family agreed, but certain situations arose, after you had
undergone the change, you see, that forced me to give you up. But I knew
that you would be back, even if you didn't directly come to find me.
You're curious. That's absolutely natural. If I had not been who I am
from birth, I would wonder as well.

'I am guessing that you are imperfect. During the creation of our kind,
something is either lost or changed in the process. I hope that you do
not mind too much.

'Your partner was a candidate that night, as well, but we didn't have
time to change her, and there was something about her that wouldn't
allow the transformation to work correctly. Our goals are not to cause
pain, but pleasure. The legends of the seductive nature of vampires is
very true, as true as our existence.

'If, my darling, you wish to know the whole story, please meet me
tonight at seven by the graveyard. Not due to any silly superstitious
truth, but rather because I live close by.

'I remain your one true love forever,

'Lily'



The two of them sat in stunned silence for a few minutes, broken finally
by Scully when she said, "Mulder, for once we didn't have to go looking
for answers. They came to us and left a detailed description. I would
classify it as an X-File, if I still could." She looked away from him,
not meaning to bring up such a painful subject.

She felt his sad smile as he looked at her. "Don't worry about it,
Scully. You're right. It should be an X-File." Breaking out of the
suddenly sullen mood, Mulder refolded the letter and placed it in his
pocket. "Come on, Scully. It's time to swallow those magic little pills.
We have work to do before tonight."

"Like what, Mulder?" She struggled to sit up without making the room
spin. Downing the Excedrin with the coffee that Mulder handed her, she
finally succeeded.

"Like finding out who this Lily is, and what she's doing leaving me
notes like this. I'd also like to find out the history of this town if I
can. It seems odd that an entire colony of vampires just sprang up out
of nowhere."

"That sounds like a nice rational plan, for a change, but I'd really
like to clean up and change before we do anything. The idea of walking
around a town full of vampires dirty, hung over, and jet-lagged does not
appeal to me. A shower will help to get rid of a little of all three."
She started to make her way to the bathroom. "It won't take me long,
Mulder, so put that look away."

"That's not what I'm concerned about. The thing is, that's my bathroom,
Scully."

It seemed to take a minute for her to register that comment. It finally
made sense, and she replied, "Oh. Right, sorry." She walked out of the
room, over to her own, making sure that she kept her now beet-red face
well hidden from Mulder.



V*A*M*P*I*R*E*S*K*N*O*W*W*H*E*N*Y*O*U*H*A*V*E*N*'T*B*A*T*H*E*D



The library, as it was very generously called, was situated in the first
floor of the two-story town hall. It contained little more than a few
dog-eared histories of Texas, and some pulp fiction. Fortunately, one of
the history books held some of the answers that they were looking for,
but raised more questions in their wake.

After a few hours of puzzling over the books, the two summed up what
they had found out. "According to the papers, there was no Chaney,
Texas, before 1947. What happened in 1947 that would cause a town full
of vampires to appear here?" Scully pondered.

"Well, it was two years after World War II ended, Truman was president,
the Cold War really began, and . . . of course, Scully, the Cold War!
There was a super power performing experiments on humans, making them
vampires. They escaped, and somehow got over to America, looking human
enough, setting up living quarters in the largest continental state.
What a better way to hide out? And so they've lived here ever since,
growing in number."

"I'm sure that you won't be surprised to hear this, Mulder, but I think
that you're wrong. I can't believe that I'm trying to logically deduce
why there is a town of vampires, of all things, but I am. I think that,
if any of the legends of origins hold true, the vampires migrated here
from somewhere in Europe, after having their livelihood destroyed, like
so many other people, human people, did. They emigrated, and, knowing
that Americans are more paranoid than they were as far as background was
concerned, that they went and established a home in Texas. As you said,
it's the largest continental state, and so it was easy to remain
anonymous." Scully glanced down at the book that she had in her hand and
gasped. "Mulder, look at this." She handed it to him, and, on the pages
she had opened to was a black and white photo of Lucas Harwell.

"I'm really not surprised, Scully. Vampires aren't supposed to age,
either. Did you notice just how clean shaven the men were? It was as if
they had just gotten up in the morning. According to a popular legend,
made vampires will remain exactly as they were physically when they were
changed. Hair length, height, weight, everything. It's as if they're
frozen in time. Like me, I guess," he said sadly. "Another legend says
that made vampires aren't able to have children." Mulder looked upset at
that prospect. Scully saw, reached across the table and squeezed his
hand. He looked up at her. "It's not like I was planning to have any
children right now or anything, but to have the prospect, the decision,
taken away from me is upsetting."

"I know how it feels Mulder," Scully replied, smiling sadly. "It's like
having your future taken away from me. Depressing, isn't it?"

"But something that we both have to learn to work through, Scully, and
we can. But right now we have to concentrate on what we're doing here,
and not let this get us down." He composed himself, and released her
hand gently, looking at her and silently saying thank you. "As I was
saying about our friend Lucas here, it looks like he may be one of the
made vampires, as I was. So, I'm sorry to tell you, Scully, but he's a
little bit older than you thought."

"At least fifty years. He's been here long enough to develop a strong
Southern accent, so it could be that he was a native that stumbled on
the town, one thing led to another, and he eventually stayed, whether by
force or by choice I don't know."

"Completely possible." Mulder glanced at his watch. "We only have a
couple of hours before I, or rather we, have to meet this 'Lily.' Well,
pardner, why don't we mosey on down to the local eatin' establishment
and get us some victuals?"

"Sounds good to me, Mulder." The two of them stood and started walking
out of the library. When they reached the front door, Scully paused.
"Oh, and Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"Lay off of the accent."

"I can't refuse a lady." He bowed gracefully, and they continued on
their way to the little restaurant adjacent to the motel.



Y*O*U*A*R*E*W*H*A*T*Y*O*U*D*R*I*N*K



Chaney graveyard (if they're all vampires, who's buried there?)

7:00 p.m.





"This is ridiculous, Mulder, it's not even dark out yet, and you're
supposed to be having a clandestine meeting with a woman who snuck into
your room in the middle of the night. That just doesn't add up to me."

"Just give it a little time, Scully, and we'll see who's right." At that
moment, a car drove up, and a tall, leggy brunette stepped out. "Fox, is
that really you? I can hardly believe my eyes." She got closer to him,
and he seemed to melt in front of Scully's eyes.

"Lily," he breathed. "I had almost forgotten." With that, the two
embraced, and Mulder bent down slightly to kiss her passionately. Scully
meanwhile, was about to have a heart attack. She couldn't believe that
her nice, predictable Mulder, no matter how flirtatious, was standing in
front of her kissing a woman that, he said, he didn't know from Eve. And
especially not in front of her. <It has to be some kind of mind control.
Mulder would never->. Her thoughts were interrupted by his voice.

"Scully, this is Lily, the woman who made me who I am." Definitely mind
control. Despite some of the stupid things that came out of his mouth,
this was downright sappy. A ten-cent romance novel would have better lines.

"Fox, are you ready to go? I have so much to tell you, and I want to
teach you everything that you may not know about yourself yet." Lily had
her claws in, and was digging her way straight to the center of Mulder.
What made it worse was that he seemed to be enjoying it.

"In just a second, love." Turning to Scully, he said, "I have to go,
Scully. I promise I'll meet up with you later tonight, or tomorrow." <Or
never again> she thought forlornly. She could also tell that, short of
driving a stake through his heart, she wasn't going to be able to keep
him from Lily.

She sighed. It wasn't worth the fight. Mulder seemed to be happy. "Sure,
Mulder. I'll see you later, alright? You can reach me on the cell." With
that, so that he couldn't see her cry, she turned and headed for the
car. "Goodbye, Mulder."

"Bye Scully," he said distractedly. She heard him get into the car with
Lily, with her purring something akin to "it'll all be okay now," in his
ear. They drove off the way that Lily had come. Scully got in the car,
and sat, not even bothering to turn on the ignition. Instead, she put
her head down on the steering wheel and cried. She cried for the loss of
a best friend, of a partner, of a love, of Mulder, who encompassed all
of those titles in her heart and infinitely more.

Eventually she composed herself enough to drive back to the hotel. The
rooms felt barren when she went in. <I guess that there's not much
reason to stay. Mulder's not coming back any time soon.> Scully felt
like she was giving up on him without a fight, but there wasn't much
that she could do. As usual, Mulder did what he wanted, and to hell with
everyone else. Including Scully. Though this was the first time that he
had completely disregarded her for the sake of personal pleasure.

After carefully packing both her and Mulder's things, she made one last
phone call. "I'd like a one-way ticket to Washington, D.C. Yes, just one."



Y*O*U*D*I*D*N*'T*T*H*I*N*K*I*W*A*S*G*O*I*N*G*T*O*E*N*D*T*H*E*R*E



Airport Terminal,

June 17, 1998

7:18 a.m.



"Now boarding flight 227 for Washington, D.C., flight 227 for
Washington, D.C." The monotonous voice over the intercom droned. Scully
woke from her light doze. She hadn't slept well the night before, and
this morning she still felt like death. <Or "undeath" huh, Scully?> His
voice echoed in her ears. She wasn't going to be able to forget him. She
knew that. Mulder was one of those people that, once you encounter, you
always remember vividly. And after working with him for more than five
years, he was imprinted in her memory for all time.

The jealousy she had toward Lily was like a dull ache in her chest,
which almost made her double over in pain when she thought about the two
of them together. That a woman that he had known for less than
twenty-four hours had that much control over Mulder, to make him forget
even the X-Files, was beyond Scully's comprehension. All she knew was
that it had happened, and it was all over now.

She stood and stretched, heading for the gate to her awaiting plane.
Just as she was about to step through, however, the phone rang. "Hello?"
she answered. Garbled sounds assaulted her ears. "Hello, who's there?"
She would have hung up but for the one word whispered.

"Scully."

"Mulder, is that you?" The only answer was more unintelligible sounds.
Then the phone went dead. She knew that it was him, and that he was in
trouble. That was enough.

As quickly as she could, Scully rented a car, and headed back to Chaney.
She had no idea exactly where she was going, but she knew that she had
to get there fast.



T*H*E*S*U*S*P*E*N*S*E*C*L*I*M*A*X*E*S



Chaney, Texas

9:04 a.m.

Entrance to hotel



This was where she had found him the last time, and she prayed that she
would find him there again. There was no sign of him outside, so
Scully's only chance was to search the rooms one by one. Discovering
that the manager had disappeared, Scully grabbed the keys and started
her desperate search.

Ironically, it was her room that she found him in. Without a second
thought, she ran to where he was lying on the floor. "Mulder!" She got
no response, and she quickly discovered why. There was a hole in his
chest, and by his side lay a wooden makeshift stake. She took off her
jacket, attempting to use that to stop the bleeding, but it didn't work.
But Mulder awoke while she was working on him.

"Scully," he gasped. ". . .came."

"Of course I came, Mulder. Do you think that I would let you die? I have
to keep my record for saving your ass." She smiled at him grimly at her
joke. He returned the grin.

"Can't do it, Scully. Won't work."

"What won't work, Mulder? If you think that I'll let you die, you have
another thing coming. You have to live so that I'll make you promise
never to ditch me again for another woman."

"Never," he whispered. Then his eyes went wide. At first she thought
that she was losing him right then and there, but then she saw the
shadow. Without a second thought, she grabbed the stake, stood, and
turned around. An enraged Lily was there, ready with a gun.

"You can't save him! I won't let you! He betrayed me for you, and he
deserves to die. And so do you." She smiled haughtily. "You're human.
Weakling. This gun will do the same to you as that stake will for me. I
hope that-" But Scully, knowing that the woman was about to go into a
fanatical tirade, kicked the gun out of her hand while she wasn't
focused, and stabbed her. Her scream pierced the air as she slowly sank
to the ground.

Seeing that the danger had passed, Scully returned her attention to
Mulder. He was getting worse now. She could see him reach for each
breath. "Dammit, Mulder, I won't lose you!" Tears started to stream down
her cheeks. "I won't let it happen. Not now." She futilely went back to
attempting to stop the bleeding. Scully knew that it was hopeless, but
she wouldn't give up.

Mulder was trying to say something. She put her ear over his lips, so
that she could hear. "Sorry, Scully. So sorry. Need . . . tell . . .
love . . . " His voice faded.

She was crying even harder now. "It's a fine time to tell me, Mulder. I
wish that I could give you my life, my blood . . . my blood . . . "
Scully had an idea. "Mulder, hold on just a second." Scully reached into
her pocket and drew out a little knife. She knew where to cut so that
the blood would spill neatly but not too fast. Making the incision, she
bent over Mulder, and said, "Drink." He hesitated, and she put her neck
against his lips. His instincts took over, and carefully, slowly, he
drank Scully's blood.

Scully was getting lightheaded. She knew that after blood loss, it was
common for people to faint. But she didn't feel like she was fainting.
She felt like she was flying. She knew that she was giving everything
she had to the man that she loved, and it was the most wonderful, pure,
freeing experience that she ever had. Slowly, she sank into
unconsciousness.

A*L*M*O*S*T*T*H*E*R*E*F*O*L*K*S*H*A*N*G*O*N



Floor of Scully's Hotel Room

June 17, 1998

5:30 p.m.



When she finally awoke, the shadows were much longer than they had been.
Scully glanced around at her immediate surroundings. From what she could
tell, she was lying on a hard surface, with the exception of her head,
which lay on something soft and warm. Warm. Living. Mulder. Memories of
the past few hours as she sat up quickly. A little too quickly, because
her head started to swim.

She checked Mulder's vitals, and he seemed normal. The wound in his
chest was only a scar, and the tissue was pink and healthy. Scully then
looked around the rest of the room. The spot where Lily had fallen held
only a pile of dust. There was no remorse for what she had done. Only a
faint sense of closure. She then looked back to her partner. She brushed
away a lock of his hair. He looked so peaceful lying there.

Slowly he stirred. She quickly pulled her hand away as he opened his
eyes. He smiled at her faintly. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hello yourself. You look remarkably well for someone who's been, so to
speak, drained."

"Thank God you're back, Mulder. You really had me scared there. If you
had died, you know I would have had to kick your ass."

"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less." He started to sit up, and
Scully supported him. He turned his face to look at her. "Thank you,
Scully."

"I did what had to be done, Mulder. I wasn't going to let you slip out
of my fingers like that, not if there was something that I could do. So
I did the only thing that I could think of."

"Namely staking Lily and then cutting your throat for me, and letting me
drink. I could have killed you, you know. I could have taken too much
blood, not on purpose, but because I wouldn't have been able to stop
myself."

"But you didn't Mulder. And even if you had, then at least you could
have lived." He whispered something, and she didn't catch it. "What did
you say, Mulder?"

He looked into her eyes. "Not without you." When she tried to look away,
he took her chin in his hands. "Uh, uh, Scully, you're going to hear me
out whether you like it or not. I know that you heard what I said to you
earlier. I wasn't saying it for my health." His thumb stroked her cheek
gently. "Do you want to know why I was laying there on the floor with an
oversized number two pencil in my chest? Because I told Lily that I
didn't love her, couldn't love her, and I didn't want to live here with
her in her thrall. Vampires can do that to other vampires, you know,
Scully, if one is weaker than the others. And that's what she did to me
back at the graveyard. Didn't I seem a little out of character to you?"

"Well, yes, but I thought that you would be happy, Mulder, and after so
long being miserable, why don't you deserve a little happiness?"

"Scully, I could never . . . boy there are some strange thoughts that go
on in that mind of yours. After I got in the car with her, she told me
what happened that night. After being attacked by all of those vampires,
one of them knocked me out. Lily. She liked me, and decided, for fun, to
make me one of her own. Well, she implanted the thought into my mind
that I loved her, and, when the rest of the townspeople found out and
told her that for safety's sake she had to get rid of me, she was
heartbroken. But she guessed correctly that I would be back. The reason
that you weren't changed is because Lucas knew better than to put the
town in danger by changing a federal officer. Then she started to
explain to me how wonderful and full and complete my life was going to
be from now on, but there was something that started nagging me at the
back of my mind, and I finally figured out that it was you. I had just
left you, possibly forever. I couldn't believe what I had just done, but
I kept quiet, until I was able to get away.

"Unfortunately, Lily found out and followed me, and then, when I told
her that I was leaving and that I didn't want her, she staked me. I
wasn't expecting it. And what's more, she let me call you on the cell.
She wanted you dead, too. Thank God you aren't." He dropped his hands to
his sides and stood, then helping Scully up as well. "I love you,
Scully. That's no joke, and it's not one of those spur of the moment
revelations. I have for a long time. I guess that one has to look at a
life without the other person, and then experience it, if only for a
moment, to figure out that they shouldn't waste any more time telling them."

"Mulder, I . . . I . . . love you too." Her blue eyes filled with tears.
"But I'm scared of what telling you will mean to, well, us."

"Nothing, Scully."

"What do you mean nothing? How could it change nothing?" She didn't
understand. And they called her enigmatic.

"Because saying it doesn't make it any more or less true, at least not
in our case. If we've both felt this way for so long, and we've been
doing just fine, then who's to say that it'll change anything?"

"What about all of that innuendo, and the verbal foreplay? Does that
just disappear into nothingness?"

"Of course not. We've been able to do that for so long because we have
loved and trusted each other. We've tacitly agreed not to do anything
physical in regards to our feelings, but if you think about it, we're
closer than lovers."

Scully thought for a moment. Then she smiled. "This time I have to say
that you may be correct. This is only the second time that I've ever
admitted that to you, and I hope that it will be the last. But you know,
acting on our feelings isn't bad either." She reached up and put a hand
on his cheek. "In fact, actions can seal a mental and emotional bond."
He had the pleasure of surprising her the last time; now it was her
turn. She moved her hand to the back of his neck, and pulled him down to
eye level.

"Scully, what are you-": This time she kissed him, and, after a moment
of shock, he wrapped his arms around her. When they finally broke away,
she grinned.

"See what I mean? And I don't even have to be a vampire to do that."

"I guess you're right, Scully."

"You know, Mulder, I think that we have to get back to D.C. Skinner told
us that we had to be back for a meeting on by the nineteenth. It has
something to do with that federal building in Houston that was blown up.
He said that they're blaming us for it."

"Great, even with the X-Files closed I get into trouble."

"We, Mulder, the term is we."

"Sorry Scully. Slip of the tongue. It's the two of us together. Always."

"Always. Oh, and Mulder?"

"Yes?"

"You want to come over and watch a movie when we get back?"

"Which one?"

"Interview with a Vampire."

"Oh, God . . . "



The end.



Or is it?



All right everybody, I know it got really angsty there for a while, but,
my question is, was it good? Send me mail. Chiara_16@hotmail.com
<mailto:Chiara_16@hotmail.com>

Should there be more vampire stories, was two enough, or could the first
one stand on it's own?