Rolling my eyes, I lifted Keiren easily into my arms. "Go
hold the elevator, Mulder. I'm not freezing my ass off a
minute longer, while you two banter back and forth."

Keiren chuckled, "I can walk, Walter. Please put me down."

I stood with Keiren cradled against my chest, "Shut up. I'm
in charge now. Mulder? Have you lost your hearing? I said:
Get the elevator and be goddamned quick about it!"

Mulder rushed to slap the button, still pale and looking
rather confused. I'm certain he was in shock. I had no
intentions of leaving either of them out here in the cold if
the apartment was safe. "Keiren? When we get inside, your
ass is on the sofa. Mulder? You get blankets from the
closet. I'll pour the whiskey. Once he's feeling better,
Keiren will tell us just what the hell went on in that
fucking closet. Until then, I want your mouths closed, your
asses in your seats and both of you doing exactly as you're
told. Am I making myself clear?"

Mulder nodded and mumbled, "Yes, sir." As I passed him to
stand in the back of the elevator, I caught Mulder wiping at
his eyes with his shirtsleeve. I glared down into Keiren's
face, unreasonably furious with the small man, "Are we clear
on this, Keiren Duinne?" Realizing the sudden shift in
authority, Keiren nodded. He squirmed once in my arms but
did not ask to be put down again.

When the elevator door opened onto the second floor, Mulder
darted ahead to my apartment. The front door stood open to
the hall. I couldn't really blame Keiren for not taking the
time to stop and lock it behind him as he used up his
remaining strength to stagger out to meet us, although I
really wanted to. I carried the slight Irishman into the
living room and settled him on the sofa and then went back
to close and lock the front door.

Mulder fetched the blankets and spread them over Keiren. "Do
you want a pillow too, Duinne?"

Replying in a much more subdued tone, Keiren declined, "I'm
fine. Sit down before you fall, Fox."

I went straight to the kitchen and poured Jameson's into
three glasses. Carrying them back to living room, I handed
one to Keiren and held one out to Mulder. "Drink it down,
Mulder, all of it. I know you don't like the taste but you
need it."

Mulder took the glass from my hand his fingers icy cold to
the touch. He took a deep breath and tossed the whiskey back
in one swallow. He cringed but kept it down. I was relieved
when I saw some color creeping back into his face. "Thank
you, Mulder. You'll start to feel better now." I took the
glass from him and set it on the coffee table. I still felt
restless and angry, so I wandered into the bedroom to see
for myself if there was any evidence of a struggle. The room
looked just like we'd left it. The bed slightly rumpled,
closet door standing open but absolutely no feeling of fear
or malice. It was just a bedroom again. Scratching my head,
I turned back to the living room and sat down in the chair
opposite Mulder. Both men seemed much improved. Keiren's
blue eyes had regained their intensity and Mulder's face
some of its natural animation.

I would be lying if I denied that a small but distinctly
wicked thrill coursed through me as they sat silent, waiting
for permission to speak. I tried to keep in mind the
protective feelings I'd experienced for the two young men,
especially Mulder. This only served to refuel my illogical
fury with Keiren. Turning to face the sofa, I leaned on the
arm of my chair and stared belligerently into the Irishman's
blue eyes, "So, what in Hell were you doing in the closet
all that time, Keiren? Did that thing try to hurt you or
not?"

Duinne pressed his elbows into the cushions in an effort to
sit. "Did I tell you to get up, Keiren? Lie down and answer
my goddamned questions." Whipping off my glasses, I pinched
the bridge of my nose, doing my level best to stem my anger
and frustration. "I'm sorry. I was absolutely terrified
earlier, Keiren, and then almost sick with worry over
you...and Mulder. Now that everything has settled down, I'm
furious with both of you." I took another cleansing breath
and tried to keep my voice calm and level, "Please, just
tell us what happened and I'll try to tone down the drill
sergeant routine. Deal?"

Keiren's face fell. He nodded and leaned back onto the sofa,
"I understand, Walter. I'll cut the blarney and tell you
straight."

Mulder remained silent staring at the floor but I swear to
God he was pouting. Needless to say, I felt like a complete
asshole.

Glancing at Mulder, Keiren's eyes gleamed with amusement
when he turned back to look at me. He kept his word about
sticking to the facts but his voice grew in volume and his
hands fluttered quickly as he explained, "It wasn't a thing,
Walter. It was Mary Kelly!" He paused dramatically. "She's
been trapped on this side of the veil for over a hundred
years," he added unnecessarily.

Despite his best attempts to remain cranky, Mulder was drawn
in by Keiren's story. His eyes flashed with excitement at
the revelation. "Mary Kelly? You are so full of shit your
eyes are brown, Duinne. Walter might fall for your tricks
but I know you. What was really in that closet?"

I put a stop to the shenanigans before the dynamic duo could
get started again. "Okay, I'll bite, Keiren. It was Mary
Kelly. But, why did you scream? If she wasn't trying to hurt
or kill you, what in God's name did happen?"

Keiren slid up to rest his back against the arm of the sofa,
his face aglow with the untold knowledge. "She possessed me,
Walter. Just slipped inside my body, without so much as a
how do you do. Then, Mary showed me the end of her life." He
stopped, some of the animation slipping from his face with
the memory. "I guess that's when I started to scream. It was
like I was Mary, Fox; it was all happening to me." He turned
to share a look with his friend. "I was lying on that filthy
cot sound asleep, when suddenly the closet door flew open. I
lifted my head and turned to look when he fell upon me."
Keiren began to tremble, pulling the blankets tightly around
his neck. "It was absolutely horrible." He fell silent.

Mulder and I exchanged a glance and waited while Keiren
regained his composure. "Any way...she's been looking for
her killer for all this time. She had no idea who he was or
why he attacked her. The bleeding arsehole didn't even
bother to tell Mary why she had to die."

I spoke softly, pulling Keiren away from the visions, "What
was Mary Kelly doing in my closet, for crying out loud?"

Giving himself a mighty shake, Keiren replied,
"She...Mary...or her essence was still in the lodging house
when your grand da came to investigate the murder scene,
Walter. She tried to talk to him. She couldn't understand
why he wouldn't reply or answer her questions. The alarm
clock sitting on your nightstand came from Mary's room.
Everything was collected as evidence. When the Inspector
retired, he took it with him as a reminder that he never
closed the most important case of his career. Mary attached
herself to the clock to stay near your great grandfather."

Mulder slipped forward in his seat, "You sleep in your great
grandfather's bed and even use his clock, Walter. You're a
policeman after a fashion. Mary must have thought she'd
finally found Inspector Reid again! It's perfect reasoning,
when you stop and think about it."

Keiren beamed at Mulder like a teacher would a star pupil,
"Exactly right, my friend. Mary thought Walter was Inspector
Reid. She'd open the closet door each night, at the exact
time the killer did, trying to give you a clue, Walter." He
grinned, "If you hadn't told Fox and me the whole story,
things probably would have ended quite differently. With
what you'd explained about the Ripper murders, I was able to
give Mary Kelly peace. She's accepted her death and crossed
over finally. She'll not be haunting your closet or your
sleep again, Walter Skinner."

I sat quietly for a few moments, glancing from Mulder's look
of astonishment to Keiren's self-satisfied grin. "I thank
you both for what you've done. I'm truly grateful, don't
think I'm not." My eyes hardened as I continued, "But...the
two of you were grossly irresponsible. Don't even try to
deny it, Keiren. You had absolutely no idea what you would
face in that closet. By forcing Mulder and me to agree
blindly to your terms, you nearly died tonight." Turning my
burning glare on Mulder, I let him have the full force of my
anger, "And you, Mulder. You're a trained professional. You
know better than to send anyone into an unknown situation
without backup. Instead of following procedure, you didn't
bother to question Keiren's instructions. You laughed at me
for my concern. Well, you weren't laughing so hard in the
car, were you?" I had gone too far. I regretted my last
words. They were spiteful and mean, but could not be taken
back now. I stopped shouting and continued to meet Mulder's
eyes only by sheer force of will. Mulder looked away first,
blinking rapidly.

Keiren cleared his throat. "You're right, Walter. I
apologize." Turning to Mulder, his voice literally dripping
with remorse, "Fox, I'm truly sorry. I didn't think things
through because I was excited. I won't ever put you in a
situation like this again."

Fox nodded, still studying his feet. "S'okay, Duinne. I
wasn't thinking so clearly either." Peeking quickly at me
before dropping his gaze again, Mulder mumbled, "Sorry, sir.
I guess you've had good reason to chew my ass so many times
for doing exactly the same thing." He swallowed hard,  "I
kept thinking about what I would say to your mother,
Keiren."

I couldn't resist twisting the knife just a little deeper.
"I've thought the same thing myself, Mulder. How to tell
your mother that you died in the line of duty." Mulder's
shoulders slumped even lower. Did I mention that I am a
horse's ass on occasion?  I sighed, "Okay, that's enough.
We're not accomplishing anything. Keiren, you're already
bunked in on the sofa. Mulder, you take my bed. You both
need sleep and I need to just shut the fuck up."

Mulder started to protest, "I should go home, Sir. I..."

I stopped him dead in his tracks, "You should do as your
superior officer orders, Mulder." I stood and folded my arms
across my chest. "Get up and go to bed. There are fresh
sheets in the middle drawer of the dresser."

Wisely nestling in, Keiren pulled the blankets tightly
around his chin and rolled onto his side to face the back of
the couch.  "You're on your own, Fox."

Mulder whipped around to scowl fiercely at the back of
Keiren's head and then turned back to try it out on me. I
chewed the inside of my cheek to prevent a smile and pointed
toward the hallway. "Go."

I heard a distinct snicker issue from somewhere near the
couch and had to bite down hard on my lip to keep from
laughing. "Can it, Duinne."

Mulder climbed up from the chair, grumbling and grousing as
he made his way to toward the hall. He stopped and turned to
shout back at me,  "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a
kid, Walter!"

I broke finally and began to laugh. "Yes, I know, Mulder.
Get some sleep. I'll stop picking on you."

Mulder blushed and ducked his head. "Thanks." He closed the
bedroom door softly behind him and that was the last sound I
heard from Mulder.

It took less than thirty minutes for Keiren to run me out of
the living room with his snoring. I settled at the kitchen
table with some files brought home from work. I must have
dozed off not long after I sat down. When I finally woke up
my back was stiff from sleeping in the straight chair. At
some point I'd rested my head on my folded arms and my
shoulders ached abysmally. I stood in increments, bending
and stretching to work the kinks from my no longer young or
flexible body. Wandering into the living room, I was only a
little surprised to find the couch empty and the blankets
folded neatly on the coffee table. I made my way to the
bedroom to find my bed empty as well.

My door key rested on the bedside table covering a folded
scrap of notepaper, actually the same one I'd given Mulder
yesterday. God, was it really only yesterday? Mulder thanked
me for trusting him; glad he and Keiren could help...blah
blah blah, but at the bottom, almost as an afterthought,
he'd added that he really appreciated how well I had looked
after him and would try harder to follow procedure now that
he thoroughly understood my point of view. I folded the
paper and slipped it into my shirt pocket feeling an almost
paternal sense of pride in young Agent Mulder. I really need
to stop thinking of him as young. There is less than ten
years difference in our ages but I think even as an old man,
Fox Mulder will retain a very youthful spirit.

I lifted the alarm clock and began to wind it. I didn't even
bat an eye when I realized it had stopped dead at 3:59 this
morning. Turning to the bathroom, I let a hot shower beat
the rest of the stiffness from my back and shoulders. I
returned to my bedroom for fresh clothes. I noticed the old
brass clock still wasn't ticking. I guess when Mary Kelly
left my apartment she took the spirit of the clock with her
because it never worked again.

Finis