Eyes In the Night - Part 5/6
Summary and disclaimers in Part 1

*****

Mulder was exhausted, and though he wouldn't admit it to
Scully, he was sore. The activities of last night had pretty
much done him in! Muscles he didn't know he had complained
as he walked along. He glanced down at Scully. Her cheeks
were rosy in the cold, and her breath came out in white,
frozen puffs. The humidity made it feel colder than it
actually was. And she didn't look any more comfortable than
he felt. 

He decided to start a conversation to help distract both of
them. "We need to figure out what we need to do if Cat and
Monroe didn't have any luck." Scully started laughing. He
looked at her in surprise. "What?" 

"Have you noticed that you call her Cat, and I call her
O'Neil? Or how I call Justin by his first name, and you
always call him Monroe? Don't you find that a little odd?" 

Mulder smiled. "Guess we better find a good psychologist to
have that explained." 

"Hate to break it to you, Mulder, but you are a good
psychologist." 

"Yeah, but I'm way too tired to try and figure that one
out!"

Scully was silent for a moment. Then, "She's nice." 

"Who?" 

"O'Neil. I like her. And I'm glad you found a partner who
believes in the work." 

"Only took eight months," Mulder commented wryly. 

"Does she have a boyfriend?" 

Mulder gave her an amused glance. "Do you mean 'Is she
available?'. Is that your not so subtle way of asking if I
have ever been interested in her?" 

"Are you?" Scully asked. "I mean, I've seen the way she
looks at you." 

Mulder sighed. "Ten years ago, yeah, I might have been more
than anxious to get in her pants. But I've grown up." He
looked down at her. "Last night was right where I belong."
Scully smiled. "If anyone should be jealous here, it should
be me," he continued. "Monroe follows you around like at
big, horny dog." 

Scully started laughing. Hard. She stopped walking, trying
to catch her breath. Mulder stopped as well and turned to
look at her. "What!?" 

Scully took a deep breath. "Mulder, you don't have to be
jealous of Justin. If any one should be jealous of him, it
should be me." 

Mulder's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?!" 

With a slightly embarrassed smile, she said simply, "He's
gay." 

The impact of the words hit Mulder full force. He groaned
and doubled over in feigned agony. He didn't know weather to
laugh or cry. "Monroe!?" He never would have guessed. 

Scully nodded. "And he told me just yesterday how he
understood my attraction to you!" 

"But he's so..." Mulder stood straight, brushing his hands
over his face. "He's so protective of you." 

"Yes, he's loyal and very protective. But that's just who he
is. He was also assigned to San Francisco before he came
here. He knew Bill." 

"Ugh!" He started laughing. "No wonder he hates me!" 

Scully started walking again, a smile still on her face. 
Mulder quickly caught up to her, grabbing her hand in his.
He loved to see her smile. They walked the rest of the way
back to the cabin like that. Hand in hand.

The cabin was still warm when they reached it, the last
remnants of the fire glowing in the hearth. Mulder
immediately went over to work on it, building it up again.
Neither he nor Scully were comfortable, both desperate to
get warm. Cold and wet yet again, they took off their coats
and shoes, warming up in front of the newly awakened blaze. 

"We need sleep, Scully." Mulder's teeth were chattering. 

"Okay, Mulder." Scully was agreeable. "But that means the
clothes stay on!" 

Mulder gave her a disappointed look, but then laughed.
Together, they climbed into the warm bed, clothes on. For a
while, they both lay on their backs, staring at nothing.
Then Mulder heard a loud, exaggerated sigh coming from
Scully, and he felt the bed move. He looked over to find
that she had turned to lie on her side, back facing him. 

With only a slight hesitation, Mulder reached for her,
curling up behind her, arm around her waist. She sighed
again, this time in contentment, and settled back against
him. Mulder realized this was what she had wanted him to do
in the first place. With a smile, he quietly fell into a
deep sleep.

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

Matthew Ross' Cabin 
Hayden Lake, Idaho 

The first thing Scully noticed when she woke up was that she
was hot. She opened her eyes and quickly shut them again, as
a bright light was shining right in them. Slowly, she opened
them again. Sunlight poured through the window. It was low
in the sky, but Scully smiled anyway. Sun this time of the
year was a wonderful thing. It also meant that rescue was
imminent. 

It was then she became aware of the fact that the sun wasn't
what was making her so hot. It was the 'heater' behind her
on the bed. With a soft laugh, Scully turned in Mulder's
arms to look at him. He was sleeping soundly, a rare event,
undisturbed by the sun or her movements. Laying on her back,
his arm heavy on her belly, Scully reached over and brushed
his hair off of his forehead. He didn't move, but he did
sigh in contentment. 

She lay there, feeling much better after her short nap, and
stared at the ceiling. Her mind was quickly waking up and
starting to work overtime. Ross, other pending cases, her
new relationship with Mulder. All the problems in her small
universe began crowding in on her. Then her unfocused gaze
focused. Something was atop the rafter beam right above the
bed.

Glancing at Mulder, Scully slipped out from under his arm,
then got up to stand on the bed. On her tiptoes, she could
barely reach the beam, and she almost lost her balance once.
Finally, she managed to reach the object hidden in a rather
good hiding place. But before she could look closely at the
little book in her hand, Mulder's voice, husky with sleep,
asked from beneath her on the bed, "Is this a private
ritual, or can anyone join in?" 

Scully jumped, startled. She turned and kneeled down beside
him. "I thought you were asleep." 

"It's kind of hard to sleep when someone is jumping up and
down on the bed," he remarked dryly. 

Scully didn't even bother to respond to that. She held up
the book. "Look what I found." 

Mulder sat up quickly. "Better get a pair of gloves." 

Scully nodded, laying the book down on the bed, then getting
up to retrieve two pairs of latex gloves out of her pack.
Handing one pair to Mulder, she climbed onto the bed and
leaned her back against the headboard next to him. Gloves
on, she picked up the book.

It was a woman's diary. Kim Ross' diary, to be precise.
Scully and Mulder slowly flipped through the little book.
The entries were simple, dates and names rather than
thoughts and feelings, but through it, the agents gathered
that Kim was Matthew's mother, and that this cabin had been
more than a simple get-a-way for her. It was where she did
business. Kim Ross had been a very classy, high-priced
call-girl. And according to the names listed, she had been a
favorite among the politicians and millionaires in the area.
Scully began to feel sick. No wonder she and Mulder had been
so uninhibited here; it was probably something in the air! 

"We could cause a lot of trouble for a lot of married men if
we let this little baby get out in the open," Mulder said
softly. Scully elbowed him. 

"I'm just glad I don't see anyone I have learned to like and
respect since I've been here in there." Not all politicians
were womanizers. 

"This is just a record of her deals, pretty much. She
doesn't even get into any juicy details." He sounded
disappointed. 

Scully glared at him. "And you would enjoy it so much better
if she did? Would it be better than watching all those
videos that aren't yours?" 

"Oh, come on, Scully. You can't tell me you've never read a
romance novel before. Smut is smut, no matter the medium
it's presented in." 

Scully didn't respond. She wasn't about to admit that she
occasionally did take in a Silhouette novel or two on
occasion. She especially liked the ones about law
enforcement partners who became more than friends. 

Mulder had continued to flip through the book. "The last
entry is dated January 23, 1995." He looked up, intent on a
thought. "When did the Beast start killing?" 

"The first death we attributed to him was in November of
'95. But there was an unsolved murder of a hooker in
February of that year." She paused. "Do you think that after
his mother died he may have started killing?" 

"It's possible he loved her or hated her so much that her
death was a catalyst. Serial killers often start their dirty
deeds after a traumatic event in their lives. Death of a
family member, divorce, etcetera, etcetera." 

"Do you think he killed his mother?"

"Probably not. But I am betting that her death released him
from some kind of unnatural hold she had on him. She
probably abused him, made him watch while she worked, things
like that. That would explain his hatred of whores." As
Mulder talked, he began flipping through the empty pages at
the back of the book. Suddenly, the pages were no longer
blank. 

"Scully. Look at this!" His voice had taken on a breathless
quality. 

Scully took the book from him and looked carefully at the
writing. A date, like a traditional diary, topped the page.
'February 3, 1995' it read. 'Turned out to be a whore called
Gloria Parker'. 

"That unsolved case you mentioned. The victim's name wasn't
Gloria Parker, was it?" Mulder asked. 

Scully nodded mutely, and continued reading. Twenty-three
names were listed, names the killer obviously hadn't know
when he killed them, only to add them later, after the
bodies were found and the names printed in the paper. Some
names were written in a different pen than the dates; Those
bodies hadn't been found immediately. The date 'June 16,
1999' was nameless. Scully knew it belonged to Jainey
Conrad, the woman they had found two days ago. Ross hadn't
gotten the chance to write the name in yet. 

"It's an inventory of his 'work'," Scully said softly,
disgust dripping from her voice. "Just like his mother."
Victim number 17 was Brianna Anderson, Moira's sister. She
looked at Mulder. 

He nodded his head, his eyes bright. "We got him." 

A faint roar caught their attention. They both rushed off
the bed and ran to the door, opening it to look out. The sun
was getting close to setting, but even through the long
shadows cast by the trees, they could see the snow plow
making its way up the road toward the cabin. Behind it was a
government car, most likely carrying Justin and O'Neil. 

"Well," Mulder sighed. "Looks like the vacation's over." His
voice was full of regret. 

"Yeah," Scully muttered. She was happy to go back, to have a
shot at catching the killer. She was glad to get away from
this cabin now that she knew what it had been used for. She
was overjoyed to be getting back to the real world. 

Then why was she so sad? 

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

Days Inn 
Downtown Spokane 

Matthew Ross was arrested around 7 P.M. that evening. The
evidence against him was enough, and it had been obtained
legally. Three working girls, friends of victims, positively
identified him as a regular visitor to their neck of the
woods. There wasn't much Ross could do to deny it. His
lawyers would, no doubt, argue that he was just obsessed
with the Beast and collected information on his victims from
the papers. But the date of Jainey Conrad's death (it had
been confirmed by a friend that she had indeed disappeared
on the night of June 16) without a name, a name that hadn't
yet been released to the public, was pretty convincing. How
had he known what day she died if he didn't even know her
name unless he had killed her? The case was nearing closure,
and Mulder and Cat were going back to DC in the morning. 

Mulder sat on the bed watching the local news. All the local
stations were re-running clips from the press conference the
task force had held at 9 P.M. The speaker detailed how an
anonymous witness had led to the arrest of Matthew Ross
earlier that evening on suspicion of being the Beast. The
speaker looked great on TV. 

Scully had worn her hair up in a French twist, her clothes
were clean, and her make-up fresh. She showed no signs of
having spent the previous night in a deserted cabin with an
insatiable lover. She was once again the calm, unflappable
Assistant Special Agent in Charge. But he could remember her
last night, her hair wild and unruly. He could still smell
her, musky and sweet. He could still taste her... He closed
his eyes and groaned. It was very fortunate indeed he hadn't
let his memory tease him while they had worked at the
office. But now, when he was relaxed and alone, tease him it
did. 

Now what were he and Scully to do?

Did they dare attempt a long-distance relationship as he had
asked about two nights ago? Or did they just go back to the
way things had been for the past year, just letting the
events in the cabin become a fond memory? Could they even
contemplate a change in location that might bring them
closer together? Could he seriously leave the X Files to
move out here just to be closer to her? Hell, yes, he
thought. But he knew she wouldn't allow him to do that. The
memory of how upset she was when she discovered his dying
interest in the X Files came to mind. No, she would not be
happy if he quit. And he honestly didn't think it was the
right thing to do anyway. He had things to do there,
unfinished business that he didn't think would let him alone
to be happy quite yet. He still had work to do. 

A knock sounded at the door. For a moment, his heart leapt,
thinking it might be Scully. But his mind didn't recognize
the knock as hers. Strange, he thought as he got up to walk
to the door. He never realized before that he would know
Scully just by her knock. He looked through the peephole to
see Cat standing nervously in the hall. He opened the door
to admit her. "What's up?" It was after 11 P.M. Too late for
work.

Cat stepped into the room. "Nothing. Just seeing if you were
okay." She turned to face him. "You've been really quiet
ever since we picked you up at the cabin. Not like an agent
who just caught a serial killer." 

Mulder closed the door and moved to turn off the TV. He saw
Cat glance at Scully on the screen before he flipped it off.
"Something happened between you and Scully up there, didn't
it?" There was concern in her voice, as well as a bit of
jealousy. He nodded. He had never lied to Cat, and he wasn't
about to start now. "Is she coming back to the X Files?" Now
she sounded worried. 

That was something Mulder hadn't let himself hope. He
shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt it. She's committed herself
to her job here." 

"But you would take her back in a second if she said she
wanted to come back, wouldn't you?" 

"Cat..." 

"I know, I know," Cat cut him off. "She's your best friend,
maybe far more, and you were great together." She looked at
him, her eyes pleading. "But I really love this job. I love
the X Files. I don't want to leave." 

Mulder sighed. "Cat, even if she did, for some strange
reason, want to come back, I'd make sure you could stay on
in some way or another." He shook his head sadly. "But I'm
sure we won't have to worry about that." 

Cat nodded, looking relieved. The she let out a soft laugh.
"You do realize that the X Files were the reason I joined
the FBI in the first place, don't you?" 

"I seem to recall you mentioning something like that once." 

"Scully was...is...my idol. I know that sounds corny, but
it's true. But I also know she's human, too. And I know how
much of you she took with her when she left the X Files,
because I see how you interact with her, and you're
different. Whole." She took a deep breath. "Have you even
asked her to come back?"

Mulder looked at his partner, and for the first time saw her
as a friend. He knew she probably still had an interest in
him as a man, but she also knew his heart belonged to
Scully. And that would never change. Cat belonged with the X
Files, and he was determined to see her stay, but that
didn't mean Scully couldn't come back. 

"You're right," he said finally. "I should ask her to come
back. Just as I should have asked her to stay a year ago.
The X Files can handle more than two agents now. It just
might work!" He was getting excited now. 

Cat smiled. "Good," she said softly. She had learned to care
for Mulder a great deal in the past few months, but her
respect for Scully and his obvious devotion to her had kept
Cat from making any moves on her partner. Besides, it
wouldn't be professional. So why was she encouraging him to
ask Scully back when it was obvious they were more than
friends? Hell, they'd been through enough trouble. They
could easily handle romance! 

"Good luck," she whispered as she left. But Mulder didn't
even hear her. He was too busy trying to decide what to say
to Scully to get her to come home. 

*****

End 5/6