On *Sesame Street* the big themes were always cooperation and sharing. I think that this story would make Big Bird quite proud. Everything began when Charleyne Hall wrote a story called "Dance With Me." It's a wonderful, amazing story, and if you haven't read it, go to the archives now! :) After she posted it, a very talented writer named MaryKate Robinson offerred to write a sequel, and soon, they were collaborating on a whole series. That's were the cooperation comes in. :) Then, they decided to stop the series, so to speak, and to continue it by using some episodes as guides. So, when MaryKate wasn't able to write the first continuation, Char asked little old me. And that's when the sharing arrived. :) Char and MaryKate have allowed me to vacation in this wonderful little universe they've created, and I would like to thank them for that. I had great fun writing this with Char, and we're probably going to do another one together. :D *DISCLAIMER*: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and anyone else who may appear on the X-Files are copyrighted to Fox Broadcasting, 1013 Productions, Chris Carter and the actors/actresses that portray them. Char and I have borrowed them for the duration of this tale, without the intention of serious infringement. *STORY NOTE*: The story-line of Dance With Me (and its counterparts) was developed by Charleyne Hall and MaryKate Robinson as an alternate universe where FM and DS are actually more than just partners, and met each other before they became partners. We have strayed enough from CC's ideals that we can safely call this one our own creation, so please do not use it without express permission of the author's - that would be Char and MaryKate. :) In order for you to understand this story, you should read the previous ones. The first few lines are taken from Dance With Me 10, by MaryKate. This story is a new take on the first season episode, ICE. *WARNING*: FM & DS are romantically involved, but there is a real X-File, here. *COMMENTS*: Please direct any and all comments to Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz ========================================== T h e X - F i l e s Trust of Ice By Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz ---- "Who'd have thought that we'd be apart for so long and then you'd reappear into my life?" "I did." Scully's mood turned serious. "Five years ago, Mulder. I knew then what took you so long to find out." "I'll make up for it, Scully." Taking her hand he led her to the car. After opening the passenger door, a loud buzzing noise cut through the quiet night. "That's me." Reaching into his jacket pocket, Mulder pulled out his cell phone. "Mulder." Scully only half listened as he grunted and made appropriate noises into the phone. The fact that after five years they found one another again was amazing. She remembered her vow the morning after, that she would one day find Fox Mulder and make him admit how he really felt about her. And it had happened. They were coming full circle, after many mishaps and perchances. But, the journey didn't count, only the destination did. "Scully, we have a problem." "What?" "We've been called in for an urgent matter. Just this even ing we received a message from our scientists in Alaska working on the Arctic Core. The transmission was, 'We are not who we are.' All contact is gone. We fly out tonight to meet with a group of doctors and scientists to investigate." "Tonight?" "In three hours." At her crestfallen look he smiled. "I feel the same way. But who knows, maybe Alaska may have a certain ambiance." "Maybe." Mulder sighed at the deepened regret that crossed Scully's face, but he lifted her chin so that she looked into his eyes. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers once more. He wanted so much to show her just how much he loved her, but of course there was always the call to duty. "Look, Scully, I think I'd better get you home. We're going to need to pack in a hurry in order to make our flights." he said, as he slowly climbed to his feet. "Couldn't we just miss the first flight and take the next one out?" she begged as he helped her to stand too. "Can't, Scully. There's a severe storm warning happening up there. Apparently there's only a three hour time window projected for roughly the same time as we'd arrive at the Cape." "Damn." she muttered, leaning on Mulder for a moment. She gathered strength from his strong arms that enveloped her into a tight embrace. "Damn, is right." he replied. He reluctantly released her and began to gather the blanket and picnic basket. He hurriedly shoved the remains of their dinner into the basket and closed the lid. He scooped both items up under his left arm and held his right hand out for Scully, who was adjusting her blouse--it had fallen open somewhat in the heat of the night. He grinned as she looked up at him, a little embarrassed and forgot the blouse, reaching out for his hand. "Have you been told tonight, Dana?" he asked. "Told?" she asked. "Yes. Have I told you I love you?" "Uhm, no." "I love you." he said, squeezing her hand gently as he guided them back to his sedan. He threw the blanket and basket back into the trunk of the car, while still holding onto her hand, then he turned to regard her in the dim light of the street lamps. Her full lips glistened in the light, begging for him to find them one last time before they jumped back into the professional mode that enveloped while they worked on a case. "I love you too, Mulder." Scully said. She dropped his hand and walked steadily towards him, pulling him into a quick hug. "Scully, what if someone's seen!" he said, laughing. She drew away quickly and pushed him gently away from her. "I'll deny everything." she answered blandly and he chuckled again. He leaned forward, straining to close the distance, for one more quick taste of her lips. He tore himself away and walked to the drivers side of the car. Scully climbed in the car beside him and neither spoke as he started the engine and began the journey back to her apartment. ----- Icy Cape, AK Fox Mulder wrestled his way into the barracks, only wishing for warmth. He'd traveled across the cold and dreary landscape, managing to resist becoming snow-blind with the aid of sunglasses which were specifically designed for the arctic. He glanced around, finding the place to be darkly lit and a massive mess. He also found that it was almost as cold in here as it was outside. He felt a soft nudge in the back, remembering that he was blocking the doorway so that none of the others could get into the building. Not like they'd want to, he thought. They had met up with three other doctors at an airport in Alaska, discovering that none of them had much more of a clue about the case than they themselves did. One of them, Dr. Hodge, almost seemed more wary of the government than Mulder himself was. The man demanded to see their badges so that they were who they say they were. As if it wasn't confusing enough. Mulder had carefully examined the badges- -Dr. Hodge, Dr. Da Silva and the strange little guy who listened to old football games on a walkman, Dr. Murphy. Finally they were ready to fly out, each dressed in a heavily insulated parka and warm boots, gloves and mittens. They found their pilot, who did not look as though he could fly worth beans. His name, Bear, seemed funny to Mulder because that was exactly what the man looked like. Mulder sighed as he surveyed the building now, slowly walking deeper into the depths of darkness, knowing that somewhere within there was a mystery to be discovered. "I'll try to get the generator working." said a rough voice from behind. Mulder recognized it as Bear's. He nodded, looking around the room. He felt something brush across his arm and he looked over to find Scully standing fairly close to him. He could barely make out her features in the light of the emergency lamps. "It's freezing in here." she commented and he could imagine her shivering beneath the parka that hide her body within it's thick folds. "I know it." Mulder said, quietly. He moved away from her, unwilling to allow the others to see that Scully meant a lot to him. He had discovered that with their distrusting manners, they had better watch what they allowed to happen between them. A few seconds later, they heard a huge groan and a thump. Dr. Da Silva gasped and jumped back. Hodge moved forward to console the woman. "It's just the generator." he said, gently grasping her shoulder with a mitted hand. Bear appeared around the corner just as the lights snapped on, momentarily blinding everyone. Another gasp escaped Da Silva as the depth of the tragedy was revealed to them. Mulder found that he and Scully were standing fairly close to two of the bodies. Scully instinctively moved back to take in the scene. "Don't touch anything, yet." she said quietly, moving closer to the bodies and looking over them. "I think these two shot each other." she said, looking up at Mulder with a mixed expression which he couldn't quite decipher. "We're not who we are." Mulder mumbled, losing himself in thought. He ignored the strange look that Scully gave him and moved over to one of the work benches which had been set up. Denny Murphy found himself looking at the freezer in just behind the same work bench that Fox Mulder had been looking over. He made his way over to it, pretty sure that the ice core samples that the Arctic Ice Core Project had been instructed to take were hidden within. He walked over and slowly opened the door. Sure enough, the ice samples were there melting, despite the cold of the room. "Here's the samples they were taking." he said, removing one of the long cylinders that encased the yellowish coloured ice. He grasped it with care and eased it over to a microscope that was at one of the stations, intent on getting right to work. He hoped that he would be able, with the help of his football and some work, to keep his mind off of what had happened here. He didn't want to think about the mystery that was involved. Bear shivered in his parka. He didn't like the thought of being here. He agreed to bring the goofy g-man and the doctors only because the money was good, not for any other reason. He hated being isolated in these bloody barracks and was secure in the knowledge that his plane was just outside, waiting for him to climb in a take off should the need arise. With the storm warnings in effect, he felt uneasy. "Anyone want some heat in here?" he asked, glancing around at the others. They nodded quietly. Bear looked around quietly, hoping to find the heat controls somewhere near by. He remembered passing a small room on his way to the generator and decided to try there first, at least if they had some heat he would feel a little more at ease. He walked around the corner to the door which he hoped would lead to some of the emergency breakers and the thermostat. He pushed open the door and flicked the light switch on, illuminating the room. A deep growl from somewhere within the room startled him and he gasped as he caught a quick movement in the corner of his eye. Before he knew it, Bear found himself groppling on the floor with an extremely aggressive dog. Fox Mulder was the first to hear the loud crash, then the scream. He drew his gun and ran in the direction of the sounds. Pushing open the door which was slightly ajar, he noticed Bear sitting in the corner of the room, fighting to keep the dog away from him. The arm that was held up to fend away the mutt, was bleeding. The white material of his shirt had been ripped. Bear must have removed his coat in an attempt to catch the dog, for it was tossed carelessly on the floor. Mulder put his gun away and scanned the room for some other device to use, finally he spotted a blanket and grabbed it. The others were standing in the doorway watching what was going on. Mulder lunged, managing finally to get the dog netted in the blanket but only after it had the chance to bite him. "Argh!" he cried, holding the dog still while Dr. Hodge administered an anesthetic. Everyone's nerves were frayed from the ordeal, but Mulder found himself sitting on the floor while Scully examined his hand. "Looks like a small abrasion." she said, gently caressing his hand while the others weren't looking. "It'll be fine." she said. He found himself wishing she would kiss it better, but his better judgment took over and he drew his hand away. "Thanks, Scully." he said, standing. ------ continued in Trust of Ice 2/6 Please see disclaimer and author notes in part 1. "COMMENTS*: Please direct any and all comments to Amy Schatz and Charleyne Hall T h e X - F i l e s Trust of Ice 2/6 By Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz ====================================== "Thanks, Scully." he said, standing. ------ Scully nodded, and got back up, walking over to where DaSilva and Hodge were gathered around a small table, looking down at the dog. The dog was medium-sized, and looked to Scully to at least have some border collie in it. She moved in close, and began to examine dog, running her gloved hands over its skin. "Is it rabies?" asked Da Silva, her voice trembling slightly. Hodge was also examining the dog, and he said, "I don't see any case of glottal spasm or tetanii. If it is rabies it's certainly not a strain I'm familiar with." Scully nodded, silently agreeing, as she lifted the dog's right front leg up a bit. When she did, she noticed something strange. "Look at this," she said, pointing to some unusual black marks on the dog's skin. "Black nodules - swollen lymph nodes..." Da Silva leaned in a little closer, but her fear kept her from getting too close. "Symptoms of bubonic plague," she said, her voice ominous. Mulder had been standing behind Scully during this discussion, and now she felt him take a handful of her shirt into his hand, clenching it. She knew what he was trying to tell her - this case was not what it had seemed at the beginning, but then, what case of theirs was? Hodge sighed, and told them not to get too upset. He would do a blood test first. Scully noted the authoritative tone in his voice. Scully wasn't really paying attention, she had discovered something else about the dog. She parted the hair around it's neck, and said, "This dog has got a skin irritation around it's neck." The dog did indeed have a nasty rash around it's neck, near the base of it's skull. Murphy, who had been lingering in the shadows, swallowed hard and said, "Looks like it's been scratching off it's own hair." Nothing was said, because for some reason, that statement made them all very uneasy. Scully looked back at the rash and she swore she saw something move. She yelled, causing everyone to look at where she was pointing. They all saw something move underneath the dog's skin, from the base of its neck and halfway down it's spine, before it disappeared. Murphy's eyes widened, and he felt the sweat along his hairline. "What the *hell* was that?" No one had an answer for him. ----- Bear had left the group to tend to his wound, and he had just finished putting the bandage on his arm, when a white hot blaze of pain shot through him, sending him falling into the wall. He took a deep breath and sank onto the toilet, holding his right side tenderly. After a few moments, he was able to sit up straight again, and he quickly slipped his shirt off, feeling under his right arm, wondering what had caused his distress. Standing up, he went to stand before the mirror. Bear was a man who wasn't scared by much, but what he saw in that mirror scared him to death. ----- Mulder sat before one of the work stations, watching Scully as she examined the dead bodies. As he looked at her, he wanted nothing more than to have a few moments alone with her, to hold her close and convince himself that this would all turn out all right. But she was deep into professional mode now, and he knew that the mystery of what happened here was consuming her as much as it was him. A few moments later, she stood up, flipping through her small case notebook, obviously gathering her thoughts together so that she would be able to explain her findings to him in a clear and concise manner. She walked over to him, noticing in passing that he looked nice in his V-neck blue sweater. She stood before him, once again consulting the notes she had made. "From the autopsies, it's clear these men killed each other. There are contusions about the throat areas of three men - evidence of strangulation. Richter and Campbell killed themselves. I also found tissue damage due to fever." Mulder nodded, almost imperceptibly. Bear, who had been leaning against a filing cabinet, suddenly stepped forward, and wanted to know if any of the men had the same black spots as the dog. Scully tried to tell him that they didn't, but he kept asking questions, her answers obviously not making him feel any better. Suddenly, Hodge came out of another room. "I wouldn't rule those spots out. I just re-examined the dog - the nodules are gone," he said, taking his rubber gloves off. Mulder swiveled around in his chair, and looked at Hodge. "What could that mean?" Hodge shrugged. "It could mean that the nodules are symptoms of some disease at an early stage." Bear nodded, his heart pounding, and walked back to where he had his gear placed. He knelt down, and began looking through it, checking. Scully, Mulder, and Hodge walked off, each thinking about what had made these men, men who had been close friends and colleagues, kill one another. Mulder walked over to another work station, gathered some photographs together, and moved over to Denny Murphy, who was once again listening to an old football game. After getting Murphy's attention, Mulder showed him one of the photos, and asked if he could help him in reading them. Murphy looked up at him, slightly surprised that the FBI agent was asking *him* for help. He had always thought that everyone who worked for government agencies thought they were just about the smartest people on the face of the earth, and they would never ask for help. Obviously, this agent, at least, was different. "This is the Icy Cape area," he said, pointing out the appropriate areas on the picture. "It approximates the depth of the ice sheet to be about 3000 meters thick." Mulder nodded. "I also found this data," he said, as he showed Murphy another photo, "and if I'm reading it correctly, the team actually found the ice sheet to be twice that depth." Murphy looked up at Mulder again, surprised for the second time. This man was obviously not just some government pencil-pusher. "That's very good. The numbers indicate the topography to be concave. Looks like they were drilling inside a meteor crater." Mulder was about to ask another question, when Hodge's voice cut through the room. "No, you're wrong. It's impossible." He sounded tired and unhappy. Then Scully's voice was heard. "I analyzed two samples." Mulder walked over to where the two doctors were standing, and as he looked at Scully and Hodge standing together, a strange wave of jealousy passed over him. He came to a stop for a few seconds, and shook his head, but the feeling was still there. He didn't like Scully standing so close to Hodge - it bothered him more than anything he could remember. Finally, he managed to push the jealousy down and he came up next to Scully. "What did you find?" he asked, hoping his voice sounded somewhat normal. Scully's head snapped around quickly, immediately noting the strange tone in his voice. She looked at him for a few seconds, before telling him that she had found ammonium hydroxide in Richter's blood sample. Hodge sighed in frustration. "It's not possible," he said, looking straight at Scully. "Ammonia would vaporize at human body temperature." Scully turned back to Hodge, and they returned to their staring match. Mulder forced himself to look away, knowing that watching them would cause the jealousy to resurface. DaSilva joined them, strands of her hair falling around her face, her eyes tired. "I checked all the air filtration systems. I found no evidence of any such toxins." "I have," said Murphy, as he pulled his sweater over his head. "In the ice, and that's not all there is." He turned around and walked back to his work bench, knowing that the others would follow him. "I found a high ratio of ammonia to water in the ice core. The earth's atmosphere could never produce such levels, not even a quarter of a million years ago. Look in the scope," he said, gesturing towards the microscope on the desk. Mulder stepped forward. "Unless a foreign object was introduced into that environment." He sat down before the scope and looked into it. "Tell me *that's* not a foreign object..." said Murphy, in such a tone of voice that Scully expected a foreboding organ to sound off, like in all those horrible B-movies. Mulder, however, seemed completely enraptured by what he saw in the scope, and soon he called out to his partner. "Whoa! Scully, look at this!" he said, quickly moving out of the way. Scully took his place and gazed into the microscope. After a few seconds, she said, "That same thing is in Richter's blood." And with that, she was up and walking over to the scope on the desk where she had been working Everyone followed her. She looked into the microscope, making sure that everything was properly focused, and then moved aside so that Mulder could take a look. "What if that single-celled organism is the larval stage of a larger animal?" she asked, as Mulder moved away, letting Murphy look. "That's kind of a leap, don't you think?" asked Hodge, in that imperial tone that was really starting to bother Scully. "The evidence is there," she said hotly, daring him to say more. Murphy stepped away from the microscope. "Maybe the organism in the ice core somehow got into the men..." DaSilva, who had been lurking behind Hodge stepped forward, brushing some hair away from her face. "Come on, nothing can survive in sub-zero temperatures for a quarter of a million years." Mulder looked at her for a few moments, and then turned his gaze to Scully, knowing that her opinion was the only one that really mattered to him. He also noticed that his mind was beginning to clear. The previously vicious jealousy was gone, now that Scully was next to him, looking only at him. "Unless that's how it lives..." Bear, who had been lurking even further back in the shadows than DaSilva, suddenly stepped forward, his face shiny from sweat. His eyes were slightly wild, and his hair was a jumble. "Look it, I don't see why you're squabbling over some bug," he said, looking at them. "You said it yourself, Scully, your autopsy found those men killed each other. That's it. Now I say, let's just get the hell out of here." That said, he turned from the group, hoping he had convinced them. This place made his skin crawl, and he didn't want to spend one more second there. Hodge, righteousness in full form, said, "I agree. We can have the bodies sent to a facility where they can make a definitive diagnosis." As he finished, he noticed Scully stepping closer to him, daggers in her eyes. "In the event that something was missed, Agent Scully." She wanted to tell him to climb off his high horse, or she would be glad to knock him off, but Mulder's words stopped her. "If those bodies are infected with an unknown organism, we can't take them back. We can't go back without proper quarantine procedures. We can't risk bringing back the next plague." Scully looked at him, and their eyes locked. She knew that no matter what happened, she would always be able to trust Mulder. Bear sighed in exasperation and stepped forward again, willing to make one more plea before he jumped into his plane and left all of them up there, alone. "Let's say you're right," he said, valiantly trying to control the frustration he felt, the anger, but he felt it bubbling just below the surface, and one wrong move from anyone would cause him to lose control. "They came down with something. We haven't, and I ain't waiting around until we do." This time when turned away, he was intent on getting his gear He did not look back. Hodge spoke again, saying that he thought it was safe to go back - they had taken all the necessary precautions. DaSilva nodded slightly, but said, "The dog *did* bite Bear." Bear, who had almost been out of the room, wheeled around, and pointed a long finger at Mulder. "It jumped Mulder, too!" he screamed. Scully saw that this situation was quickly escalating. "Hey!" she said, making everyone stop. "There's only one way to proceed. A doctor eliminates every possibility. We must determine if any of us is infected." Hodge and Scully stared at each other for a while, when he finally said, "All right. Parasitic diagnostic procedure requires that each of us provide a blood and a stool sample." Bear, sweating profusely now, said, "A stool sample?" "Wow, this kind of travel always makes that kinda tough...for me," said Murphy, from atop his perch on one of the desks. Mulder ventured a weak smile, even though his eyes were still on Scully and Hodge, staring nastily at one another. "Okay, anybody got the morning sport's section handy?" No one laughed. No one even smiled. Bear took hold of one of the larger specimen jars that had been sitting on the table, and told them that he wasn't about to take any sort of `tests' He then threw the jar and it crashed against a far wall, shards of glass flying everywhere. "What I'm doing is getting my gear, getting my plane, and flying the hell out of here!" Mulder wanted to strangle this man before him. He could feel his hands around Bear's neck, as he squeezed and squeezed, until he drove the last breath from Bear's body. Somehow, he fought the impulse. "You can't go. The dog bit you." Bear was not impressed with Mulder's argument. "I got hired to fly you up here and fly you back. No one said that this would be part of the deal. So the deal is over." And with that he was gone. Scully had noticed Mulder's internal struggle, but knew that this was not the time to mention it. She looked up at him, knowing she didn't have to say anything. He was thinking the same thing she was. Mulder turned to her, feeling his aggression building again. "We have to stop him. We can't risk infecting the population." DaSilva didn't move. "He gets on that plane, I'm gonna be on it with him." Scully looked at her, hating the weakness in the other woman. "We don't have time to argue about it." Mulder proposed that they should vote on the matter, and Murphy, Scully and Mulder all agreed that Bear should be examined before they left. Mulder nodded at his allies. "All right." He turned back to the hallway Bear had walked down moments before, and took his gun out of it's holster. Bear walked in a few seconds later, immediately noticing the gun leveled at him. Mulder tried to control his emotions. "Bear, we just want to check you out. If we don't find any trace of the parasite or the virus, we'll all go." Mulder didn't know how he had said that without raising his voice, but he was thankful he had. Bear walked over to the table where Scully was standing, knowing that he was close to the edge. So close... "All right. Give me the damn jar." He picked it up, and turned away, but then suddenly brought the jar down upon the back of Scully's head. She fell to the ground hard as Bear turned, attempting to make his get-away. Mulder was after him in a flash, knowing only that Bear would pay for what he had done to Scully - to Dana. Anger and revenge filled Mulder as he dove for Bear's legs, wrapping his arms around them, and pulling the pilot to the ground. By this time, Scully had recovered, and went to help Mulder, holding Bear's legs down. "Murphy, get a rope!" shouted Mulder, fighting the urge to kick Bear in the ribs, to make him pay for hurting Dana. He lifted Bear to his feet, and pushed him over to the table, viciously throwing him down onto it, as Scully tied Bear's hands together. Mulder and Scully were both busy, but DaSilva happened to look at Bear's neck, and she saw something move beneath his skin, up his spine, disappearing right at the base of his skull. "Oh my god..." she breathed, feeling bile rise in the back of her throat. Hodge had seen it, too, and he instructed her to get his medical bag, and to take out his scalpel. Scully asked him what he thought he was going to do, and Hodge informed her that he intended to cut this...thing out of Bear. Mulder pushed his way between the two doctors, wanting Scully as far away from Hodge as possible. "We don't know enough about it." Hodge was already preparing to make the first cut. "It's killing him," he said matter-of-factly, obviously not caring about what Mulder had to say. "Scully, help me." Hodge cut into the pilot's skin, sporadically telling the man that he would be all right very soon. Scully helped to pull the skin aside, and soon, they saw the worm wriggling in the blood, like some satanic swimmer. Hodge reached for a huge pair of tongs and took hold of one end of the worm, then began to pull. All of a sudden, the worm snapped in half, a black liquid spewing from it's wound. Mulder turned and got a large jar, and Hodge placed the half of the worm inside. Then Mulder ran over to radio, fear consuming him as it never had before. Fear for his life, for Scully's. And anger that they had been assigned to this case, anger that he was angry... He took a deep breath, willing the fierce emotions away, and picked up the mouthpiece of the radio, and tried to contact Doolittle Airfield. Mulder was about to try again, when the radio crackled and a female voice was heard. "DAF responding." "This is Agent Mulder. We have a serious biological hazard. Request air pick-up and quarantine procedures. Over." There was no immediate response. "Come in, Doolittle Airfield," he said, feeling his panic rising. Finally, the voice came back. "We copy, Agent Mulder. This area is under a heavy storm and no aircraft can get out for the next day. Maybe the military base in Kotzebue can set up a quarantine. Advise immediate evacuation. The arctic storm is bearing in your direction. Over." He couldn't say anything for a few seconds, feeling as though he were being consumed by total fear. Finally, he managed to tell her that they had been promised three days of clear weather. And in a moment of total surrealism, Mulder heard the woman chuckle before she said, "Welcome to the top of the world, sir." He threw the mouthpiece down, and sat for a few more seconds, willing his heart to slow down, willing his mind to slow down. When he got up, he found Scully and Hodge staring at each other again, and the jealousy returned full force. He barely stopped himself from walking up to Hodge and asking him just *what* was on his mind. Instead, he looked to Scully, hoping that the sight of her would calm him, would placate these awesome mood swings. "Is Bear in any condition to fly? If we don't get out of here in an hour, we don't get out for days." When Scully turned to look at him, the look in her eyes swept all the vicious emotions in him away in second. "He's dead." ----- continued in Trust of Ice 3/6 "COMMENTS*: Please direct any and all comments to Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz T h e X - F i l e s Trust of Ice 3/6 By Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz When Scully turned to look at him, the look in her eyes swept all the vicious emotions in him away in second. "He's dead." ----- Mulder felt his stomach sink. Now they were really trapped. He regarded Scully's face carefully as she broke the news to him, trying to determine what she was thinking. She closed her eyes briefly, then looked up at him again. Her blue eyes shone with fear, but he watched as she pushed it down and slowly turned away from him, heading towards the workbench where Hodge, Da Silva and Denny had now gathered. Hodge was inspecting the jar containing the worm. Da Silva frowned, staring at the worm that was encased in glass. From the expression on her face, she was utterly repulsed. Mulder walked behind Scully, around to the other side of the workbench so that they could see the jar and specimen more clearly as well. Standing close together, Mulder felt Scully take his hand under the bench, squeezing it. He looked down at her and frowned. The fear was rising in his stomach again and he felt powerless to stop it. To his surprise, Scully let go of his hand and started off for the room where they had stored the AICP researchers bodies. He watched her for a moment, then turned his attention back to Hodge and the others. "It's similar to a tape worm in that it has a scolex with suckers and hooks," Hodge said, pushing the jar away from himself. He wrinkled his nose and looked from one person to the next. "Then it's something familiar? Something you can deal with?" Denny asked, false hope filling his words. Hodge's gaze glazed over and his eyes hardened with regret. "No--" Da Silva turned to Hodge and glared at him. "What?" "It's... It's different than any organism I know of. I'm not even sure how it's transmitted," "Touch? Air?" Mulder suggested, hoping to give some element of usefulness, despite the fact that he felt pretty damned useless right about now. "I said I don't know, Mulder," Hodge snapped. Just as Mulder was about to snap another quick retort, Scully appeared again, carrying a similar jar to the one which they had stored the worm in. She held it up and they saw another black worm wriggling in a liquid environment. "All of the other bodies had the creature. This is the only one that survived," she reported, placing the jar carefully on the table away from the other one. "Were all of them found in the spine?" Mulder asked, suddenly ignoring Hodge and focusing solely on his partner. "No, I actually found them in the hypothalamus gland deep in the brain," Scully said, staring at the jar containing the worm. "Hypothalamus?" Denny asked, feeling as though he were missing something. "It's the gland that secretes hormones," Hodge explained. He looked at Scully for a moment, then closed his eyes, concentrating. "It releases acetycolene which produces aggressive, violent behavior. It could be a connection." Hodge opened his eyes and massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers. "So, you're saying that maybe this worm likes the a- acety.. Whatever," Denny paused, looking at the others. "It, uhm, likes that stuff and feeds on it... Causing us to act violently?" "I think so," Hodge said, but Scully was shaking her head. "The parasite shouldn't want to kill it's host," she interjected. Mulder watched the confrontation with growing unease. Scully's eyes were flashing with an undetermined emotion and Mulder felt the jealousy rising up in his stomach again. She was getting awfully close to Hodge and he wasn't liking it. He bit his tongue and swallowed roughly, his eyes darting away to rest on the worms encased in glass. It took every ounce of control to keep from jumping between Scully and Hodge, to rip them away from each other. He couldn't believe his possessive feelings toward Scully. "It doesn't kill you until it's extracted, then it releases some kind of poison. Of course, there's still no solid proof of that--" Hodge explained but was cut off by Da Silva. "Except five dead men," she muttered, pushing a hand nervously through her blond hair. "If that's the case," Mulder said, turning his attention back to the situation at hand and thankful to discover that Scully had moved away from Hodge, "then why did Richter and Campbell kill themselves?" "Maybe they did it to save us," Scully said, her tone low and frightened. She winced and shoved away from the bench and down the hallway, toward the refrigeration room. ----- Dana Scully knelt before the first body, zipping the black body bag up again. A ragged sigh escaped her lips. She'd been over these bodies three times already, discovering nothing new. Nothing that would suggest something -- anything -- other than the worms. She gasped when she heard a shuffling at the door. She turned around abruptly and smiled when she realized it was Mulder. He came into the room, holding his hand up. "I'm just double checking-- making sure I didn't miss anything," Scully explained weakly. She threw him a quirky grin, then stood up, walking slowly over to him. "Just some sleep, right?" he asked, his voice dripping with concern. Scully shrugged but the gesture was lost in the folds of her thick coat. "Sleep? I'm so tired I can't sleep." "Well, we're all wired and hypersensitive. It'll be good to get a fresh start in the morning," Mulder said but suddenly he seemed detached. "Mulder, are you okay?" Scully asked, stepping forward and laying a hand on his chest. He smiled briefly and stepped back. He nodded. "Fine, Scully." He sounded so convincing. "Good," she said, letting it drop, easily slipping back into her professional mode. "I don't really want to waste any time in trying to find out how to kill this thing." "Scully, I'm not so sure we should kill it," Mulder said and before she knew it, he'd gone off on a tangent about meteors and studying the creature so they'd know how to stop it when and if it was ever found again. Mulder was talking about the future and it was infuriating Scully to no end. "The future, Mulder? How can you talk about the future?" she nearly screamed, her Irish temper rising quickly. Even the room seemed to heat up. She stormed past him while shrugging out of her jacket. To her utter dismay, Mulder followed, pressing the issue further. "How do you know they can't be contained?" he asked, his face holding an expression of stone. "It can be! By extermination, Mulder. We should take those bodies -- worms and all -- and incinerate them!" Scully spat, throwing her jacket over some boxes as she tried to get away from Mulder. Her anger bristled, threatening to make her strike out. She stopped, took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Hodge and Da Silva were standing in the doorway. "Something going on here we should know about?" Hodge asked, his gaze shifting from Mulder to Scully cautiously. "Agent Scully, you all right?" "Yes," she snapped. "I'm fine, it's nothing." "Are you sure? You seem a little stressed out," Hodge carefully emphasized his words, aiming viscously at Scully. Scully nodded slowly. Then she suddenly understood what he was actually stabbing at. Angrily Scully stepped forward and pointed her finger. "Just what the hell are you trying to say?" she barked. She would have walked right over to Hodge, planted her fist in the middle of his smug face and shown him what a bastard she thought he was if Mulder hadn't grabbed hold of her arm. "All right, let's just settle down. It's been a long hard day. We're all tired and scared. Let's not turn on one another now," Mulder said as he restrained Scully. Hodge's eyes darkened and he didn't remove his eyes from Scully. "At least not without a good reason," he shot, sneering. "Maybe we should all get some sleep," Da Silva said, finally stepping through the doorway and coming up beside Hodge. Hodge eyed Scully for another moment before turning to Nancy Da Silva. "Are you kidding? Do you think any of us could sleep right now?" he asked, staring at her. He gestured with his arms and continued, "Let's face it, guys. We've got to check for spots. Anyone that has them should be confined." Da Silva looked at him blankly. She shrugged. "Are you going to do the examinations?" "No!" Scully interjected. She managed to startle the group with her abrasives. She paused, took a deep breath and continued calmly, "We do them in front of each other. No secrets." ----- Nancy Da Silva stood in front of Dana Scully, her arms held high above her head. Scully checked under her arms for black spots, behind her neck and anywhere else they could think of. There were no apparent spots anywhere, on either of them. Scully smiled at Da Silva and shook her head, clasping her hand tightly as a form of expressing her relief. Across the room, Fox Mulder looked at his male companions. Each of them were slowly removing their shirts and getting ready to examine each other. For some reason, Mulder felt the need to lighten the situation. "Before anyone passes judgment, may I remind you that we *are* in the Arctic," he said. No one laughed, they just looked at him uneasily. Mulder shrugged. They continued with the examinations and were delighted to discover that no one had the black nodules that they had discovered on the dog. By this time the atmosphere had calmed significantly and everyone found themselves exhausted. Finally, they made their way to the sleeping quarters of the men. Da Silva, Hodge and Denny disappeared into separate rooms, leaving Scully and Mulder alone in the hallway. Mulder opened the door to the first room he came to. He stepped in and as Scully walked slowly by, probably trying to find an empty room for herself, he caught her arm and dragged her in with him. He closed the door softly and turned toward her. Scully awarded him with a brilliant smile. Mulder grabbed her by the waist and pushed her up against the door in an almost violent gesture. Scully gasped at the viciousness of the act but smiled when Mulder buried his face in her hair. "God, I'm sorry we were arguing, Scully," he said softly, kissing her neck. "That examination was hell, don't you think?" Scully nodded, smiling. She reached up and put a hand on Mulder's chest, pushing him away from her, gently. "Mulder--" she began but furrowed her eyebrows when an angry expression crossed his face. As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. She squinted at him and chalked it up to be her imagination. "I think we need to get some sleep," she continued. "Scully, I think you're right," he sighed, moving further away from her. She caught his arm as he walked toward the bed. "I love you, Mulder, but this isn't really the time or the place to express it. . . The time will come, I promise," she whispered, offering him a weak smile. Before he could respond, she wrapped her arms around the back of his head and gently drew his face down into a passionate kiss. Minutes later, she unlocked herself from his embrace and backed away. "Goodnight, Mulder," she said, opening the door. She stepped out into the hallway. "Goodnight, Scully," he said, standing in the room and watching her walk away. She paused, then turned back to him. "At least everyone's okay," she said, a worried frown on her face, as though she didn't really believe it. "Don't forget, Scully, the spots on the dog went away," he commented and closed his door, leaving her staring at where he had been standing. ----- continued in Trust of Ice 4/6 Disclaimers in part 1. "COMMENTS*: Please direct any and all comments to Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz ==================================== T h e X - F i l e s Trust of Ice 4/6 By Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz "Don't forget, Scully, the spots on the dog went away," he commented and closed his door, leaving her staring at where he had been standing. ----- Scully was awakened by the sound of a dull thud, and a muffled scuffling sound. She sat upright on the small cot in the room, breathing deeply, trying to regain her composure. Earlier, she had barely gotten to sleep. Something about this place chilled her to the bone. She felt so isolated, and almost claustrophobic in this small complex. She didn't know how much longer she could remain rational. And Mulder *was* acting a little strangely. The way he had yanked her into his room earlier, and then pushed her up against the door, was not at all like him. She couldn't seem to reconcile the man that she knew and loved with the person he had become. Pushing those thoughts aside for a moment, she got up, opened the door, and headed out into the main room, trying to find the source of the sound. She met Da Silva and Hodge on the way there. They got to the main room, and switched the lights on. What she saw scared her to death. Mulder was on the ground, his arm under Denny Murphy's body. Murphy's throat had been slit. Blood was everywhere - on the floor, on Murphy, dripping from the freezer. When Mulder realized that he was no longer alone, he scrambled away from the body, and stood before them, hair and shirt tousled, his forehead covered in sweat, his chest heaving. "Mulder, what are you doing?" asked Scully, not wanting to believe what this scene insinuated. Mulder looked at her then, and when he did, it was like she was looking into the eyes of a stranger. "Murphy's dead." Hodge stepped forward, unable to stop himself. "You killed him." It was not a question. Mulder turned his wild gaze to Hodge, and shifted from foot to foot. When he spoke, his voice was full of contempt and distrust. "I found him like this. I heard one of the doors close. I came out to check it out." He was quiet then, as he looked at each of them in turn, as if he were studying them. He even favored Scully with the same cold gaze. "It was one of you." His statement was not a question, either. "He's lying," said Hodge, his eyes hard. Da Silva pushed a hand through her hair, and sighed. "You could have done it and not even known." Scully turned to her, her eyes on fire. "No, he said he didn't do it." She had to believe in Mulder. She had to trust him. Mulder was growing increasingly agitated, and he spread his arms wide, still holding his gun. "I don't have any of the symptoms," he said, practically sneering. Scully nodded, wishing this whole encounter to be over. She looked straight at Mulder, hoping to reassure him. "You checked him yourself, Hodge." Hodge snickered. "Yeah, six hours ago." Something inside of Mulder snapped, and he raised his gun, pointing it at the three people in front of him. "It was one of you!" he shouted. Scully stepped closer to Mulder and put her hand on his chest to stop him from moving any closer to the others. "Stop it! Stop it! Shut up!" she yelled, trying to be the voice of reason, even though she was feeling increasingly out of control. She turned back to Mulder. "Mulder, just put the gun down, and let Hodge give you a blood test," she said in a calm, soothing voice. But Mulder would have none of it. His face contorted into a grotesque expression as he spoke. "Oh, so he can doctor the results?! I'm not gonna let him stick a needle in me! He could be infected!" Hodge didn't seem to be bothered by Mulder's outburst. He simply pointed to him and said, "He has to be confined. Now!" Scully shot Hodge a warning look and then turned back to Mulder. "Okay, Mulder, if you won't let us do a blood test, just turn around and let us take a look at your neck." She hoped he would agree. It was becoming harder and harder to defend him to the others. But Mulder would not agree. He once again raised his gun. "I'm not turning my back on anyone! As far as I'm concerned, you're all infected!" And Scully knew then that it was over. Mulder was his own worst enemy. Da Silva, seeing that Scully could no longer profess, with any real certainty, Mulder's innocence, said, "Hodge is right. We oughta lock him up." During all of this, Hodge had been moving down the length of counter towards a crowbar, and now he grabbed it and held it in a defensive posture. Mulder immediately aimed his gun at Hodge's head, and Scully, after a split-second of deliberation, pulled out her gun, and pointed it at the man who was her partner - the man she loved. "Mulder, please!" she screamed, knowing that this situation could turn bad so very quickly. Mulder's gaze flicked to his partner. "Scully, get that gun off me!" he yelled, his eyes wild - like a cornered animal's. Scully's face plainly showed her inner turmoil and her fear. "Mulder, you have to understand!" Suddenly, something in Mulder's eyes changed, and he swung the gun around to point it at her. He could feel his anger and panic surging like a great wave inside of him, to overwhelm his soul. He couldn't let her have control. "PUT IT DOWN!" he screamed, in a voice that was primitive in its intensity. Scully was only slightly more restrained. "You put it down first!" Mulder blinked, and the look in his eyes changed again. This time she could see disbelief and hurt. "SCULLY!" he shouted, unable to understand why she wasn't on his side. "For god sakes, it's *me*!" It was then that Scully felt a horrible pain, deep in her chest. And she knew that it was her heart breaking. "Mulder," she said, knowing that she was hurting him, but that she had to say this, "you may not be who you are." Perhaps it was the plaintive tone in her voice, or perhaps it was the frightened look in her eyes, or maybe it was because he loved her so much, but something made Mulder lower his gun, letting it hang limply at his side. And his head hung low, totally dejected. Scully took a few seconds to make sure she was once again in complete control of herself, and then she moved to Mulder, gently taking the gun from his hand. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it softly. "It's okay, Mulder. It's going to be all right." He didn't respond to her. He seemed to be off in another world. It worried Scully that he could sway from one severe emotional state to another so quickly. "I want him contained!" shouted Hodge, and Mulder flinched. Scully looked at the doctor. "Would you shut up?" she hissed. "He's just calmed down. Don't excite him again!" Hodge seemed to finally see the wisdom in Scully's statement, and he nodded. "All right. But he *is* going to be confined." Scully nodded slightly, knowing that after this turbulent scene she would never be able to convince them to trust Mulder. "Okay." She turned back to Mulder, and took his hand. "Come on, Mulder. Let's go. You need to rest." She tugged on his arm, but he didn't move. His eyes were glassy, and his breathing shallow. "Mulder," she said, softly, "come on now." She tugged again. This time, he seemed to hear her, and he followed her out of the room, and down the hallway, still holding her hand. ------ Scully thought about putting him back in his room, but decided that he could easily break out of it if he wanted to, so she took him all the way to the other side of the compound, and put him into a storage room. One that had a strong lock. He walked in willingly, and Scully noticed that he seemed to be coming back to himself. As they had walked to this room, his grip on her hand had become a little stronger, and his eyes had cleared. Mulder reached up and turned on the single lightbulb, and it threw a harsh light on everything it touched. Scully looked up at him, and in a moment of impulsiveness, she pulled him close in a fierce embrace. "Everything will be all right, Fox," she said, bravely using his first name. "I know it will." But he was unresponsive and stiff in her arms, and she drew back quickly, a little hurt at his coldness. As she backed out, he finally spoke. "In here, I'll be safer than you." Scully didn't say anything to him. She couldn't. She closed the door and locked it tight. ----- Scully sighed and leaned against a filing cabinet, wishing the pounding in her head would go away. She had to be strong now - strong for the both of them. She had just thrown the clips from both her gun and Mulder's out into the snow, having realized that Hodge had been right. She had also attempted to recheck Da Silva, but Hodge had stopped her before she could really look. It was then that Hodge had basically said they had to stay strong for each other, because Mulder wasn't one of them anymore. "If Mulder is infected, it's not his fault!" Scully had cried. "We can't turn our backs on him now. He needs us to help him." And then something had happened that Scully had not expected. Da Silva had taken her side. "She's right. Who knows what prolonged exposure to the parasite could do to him. It could damage him to the point of permanent psychosis." Scully had stared at Da Silva in shock, but then looked to Hodge, waiting for his reaction. Thankfully, he had relented. "Okay, but if he is infected, he doesn't go back. I won't risk the possibilities." Now, as Scully listened to Hodge and Da Silva arguing, she chuckled mirthlessly at his hypocrisy. One minute he didn't care who was infected and the next he was the Surgeon General. She heard Da Silva yell something at Hodge, and walk away brusquely, Hodge following her. Scully wandered over to see what they had been doing. She bent down to look into the microscope and watched as the two worms fought to the death. And she understood. ------ Scully stood outside of the storage room, and ran a hand through her disheveled, sweat-streaked hair. "I want to talk to him first. Try and make this voluntary." Da Silva looked at her in shock. "What?" "You can't go in alone," said Hodge, back to playing Mr. Know It All. Scully took a deep breath, and willed herself to quash the hatred she felt for this man. "He's my partner, god dammit," she said in a low voice. "I trust him. If anything happens, you come inside. I can't do this to him until I'm sure." Hodge gave her a disgusted look and walked away, apparently needing some breathing room. Scully was about to open the door, when Da Silva put her hand on Scully's arm. "Look, Agent Scully, I can tell you two have a...thing, but don't think that that will stop us from giving him that worm." Scully stared at the other woman for a few seconds before wrenching her arm away, and opening the door. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her without looking back. Mulder hurriedly got to his feet, and tried to see who was coming inside. Finally he saw a flash of red. "It's just you?" he asked, knowing it was Scully. She nodded, and turned on the light. "Yes." She noticed that Mulder looked a little pale, and even a bit feverish. Mulder squinted and took a step towards her. "It's one of them," he said, conspiratorially. But Scully refused to let herself be so easily convinced. Even though she loved him, and wanted desperately to believe him, she had to be sure. She had to do this scientifically and logically. She couldn't let her heart rule her judgment. "No one's been killed since you've been in here," she said, her voice strong. Mulder shrugged, wishing, needing her to believe in him. "So?" "We found a way to kill it," she said, keeping her voice smooth and soft, knowing that any rash movement on her part could easily excite him again. "Two worms in one host will kill each other." And it was then that he understood, and he felt the panic rising again, but he also felt the anger returning. He was angry that Scully refused to believe him. His breath caught in his throat. "You give me one worm, you'll infect me, Scully." But Scully wouldn't be swayed so easily. "If that's true, then why didn't you let us inspect you?" Mulder came very close to Scully, invading her personal space, and she could feel the heat from his body, and the raw emotions. They were like a trail of gasoline on pavement, just waiting for a match. She was scared. "I would have, but you pulled a gun on me!" he said, his voice full of annoyance and anger that he knew he wouldn't be able to control for much longer. "Now I don't trust them! I *want* to trust you..." he said, needing to believe the words. He had to make Scully believe that he wasn't infected. It was all that mattered to him. Scully looked up at him, as he towered above her, and realized for the first time how defenseless she really was in this small room. If he attacked her, she might not be able to get away. she yelled at herself. She took a deep breath, and repeated that last sentence over and over. "Okay, but now they're not here," she finally said, pushing down the impulse to run from the room. She couldn't do that. Mulder needed her. Mulder nodded. "Okay, Scully, but there's something I have to do first." Her eyebrows raised. "What?" "This," he said, and he pulled her to him, crushing her against his body, and kissed her roughly. Scully was so taken back that she didn't respond for a few moments. The kiss was animalistic. It was devoid of passion. This was not Mulder expressing his love for her. This was Mulder expressing some prehistoric notion that he somehow owned her. This was Mulder acting on terribly vicious, primitive instincts, and she finally recognized that it was what he had been doing since the dog bit him. Mulder's grip was harsh and his fingers were bruising her arms. At last, Scully came back to her senses, and in a moment of desperation, brought her knee up into his groin. Mulder cried out and fell to his knees on the floor, gasping in pain. Scully looked down at him regretfully, hating that she had had to hurt him. "I'm sorry, Mulder. I'm so sorry." He didn't even hear her. He was consumed by pain, and was doubled over, his back to her, his neck exposed. And that's when Scully saw it. She saw something move under his skin, twisting it into a strange shape, before it disappeared. "Oh my God..." ------ Scully quickly stepped outside of the room while Mulder was still recovering, and made sure to lock the door behind her. As she looked around the room, she saw that Da Silva was sitting on the floor against metal shelves, in the handcuffs that Mulder had brought along. Hodge stood above her, the crow bar in his hands. He looked frightened and was breathing heavily. "What happened?" asked Scully. Hodge took a deep breath before he answered her. "It's Nancy. She tried to jump me. I had to knock her out. She's infected." Scully was sure that the world crashed and burned around her then. She couldn't speak for a few moments. "So is Mulder..." she finally managed to say, unable to believe what was happening. This couldn't be true. There was only one worm left. Hodge closed in eyes in exasperation. "I don't believe this." Scully looked at him, fear plainly evident in her wide blue eyes. "What are we going to do?" ------ continued in Trust of Ice 5/6 From: Amy Schatz Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Trust of Ice (sequel to Dance With Me series) 5/6 Date: Fri, 05 Jul 1996 19:30:28 -0700 Please see disclaimer and notes in part 1. *NOTE*: One bad word in here, but it's not too bad. :D *COMMENTS*: Please direct any and all comments to Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz ================================= T h e X - F i l e s Trust of Ice 5/6 By Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz Scully looked at him, fear plainly evident in her wide blue eyes. "What are we going to do?" ------ Hodge raked a hand through his hair and looked nervously down at Da Silva's unmoving body. "Well, we can't put them together or they'll kill each other." Scully nodded. "Oh God," she said. One worm. Two infected. She felt panic rising in her stomach. What if Hodge insisted they give the worm to Da Silva? She didn't have much time to worry, Hodge glared at her uneasily and grabbed her arm. "How do I know you're not infected?" he asked gruffly, pulling her toward him. She flinched and wriggled, trying to free herself. "Let me go, Hodge!" she cried. He clapped a hand over her mouth and bent forward, his lips close to her ear. "I don't trust you, Scully," he said. Scully eyes widened and her mind reeled. She felt utterly sick and exhausted. She'd run out of avenues. Her own trust only went so far. Hodge had just killed the last ounce of respect she might have had for him. "You've got no one else to trust," she mumbled against his hand. He grunted and pushed her away, keeping a firm grip on her arm. "Just let me go, Hodge. I haven't exhibited any of the symptoms. I'm not infected." "I can't believe you. I've got to examine you for myself," he mumbled. "Let me go." "No, not until you agree to let me examine you," he said. "Hodge, you son of a bitch! How do I know you're not infected? Huh? Tell me that? We're not going to get anywhere by examining each other again. Just let me go, please?" Scully was nearly to the point of begging. To her surprise, he released her arm and stepped away. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just feel so goddam paranoid. I can't trust anyone. Not even you," Hodge said. "But I guess I have no choice. It's just you and I and we're going to have to figure something out. It's one or the other. . ." "Mulder," Scully whispered. "And I'm voting for Da Silva. Mulder's an asshole anyway," Hodge said. Obviously he hadn't heard Scully's whispered plea. Scully's eyes darkened and she felt a sudden rush of anger surge through her body. "Mulder is not an asshole," she said. Her voice carried her anger to his ears and Hodge stiffened. Suddenly, it all became clear to him. Scully and Mulder... They were a couple! How could he have missed it? It was then that he remembered Da Silva's whispered caution to Scully: "We know you two have a thing. . ." Hodge glanced down at Da Silva. Then back to Scully. He looked at the door of the room where Mulder was caged, like an animal. "Oh God," he said. "Oh God." "Now what?" Scully asked, glaring angrily at Hodge. She was completely unprepared for what happened next. Hodge threw his entire weight against her, sending her flying back and crashing them both into a mixture of boxes and supplies. Caught off guard, Scully toppled backwards and landed with a thud on her back. "I won't let Nancy die," Hodge said and Scully understood. It was a war. Da Silva was Hodge's lover. Mulder was hers. Before she knew it, Hodge had lifted the crowbar up and over his head. The wide arch gave her enough time to roll away, but she didn't have much time after that. "Hodge, listen--" she started. Another swing cut her off. She tried to catch her breath as she rolled away. The crowbar caught her right shoulder and she screamed in pain. She surprised herself by planting a firm kick in his groin. He doubled over and dropped the crowbar. It clattered against the floor, sending chills up and down Scully's spine. She took the opportunity to scramble away from him. She dodged out of the room and ran frantically through the compound, holding her right shoulder-- which she assumed must be either dislocated or cracked. She searched through the drawers of the main room, looking for the evidence bag containing Richter's gun. It was her only hope of getting away from Hodge. She could hear him coming through the door, calling her name. Screaming her name. She reached, panicked, into the very back of the drawer. Hodge was less than five feet away from her now. Finally, as if by a miracle sent by God, her fingers closed around the plastic encased weapon. She pulled it out and dodged Hodge as he jumped for her again. She threw her weight behind the jump and crashed painfully to the floor, against her shoulder. She struggled to remove the gun from the bag. Hodge came at her again, an animalistic snarl warning her of his approach. The safety of the gun was stiff and she fumbled with it. She struggled to get into a better firing position from her spot on the floor, the safety on the gun still engaged. Her stomach coiled into a knot and she felt adrenaline bursting through her body, giving her enough strength to steady her aim. Hodge was too quick. He kicked the gun from her hands and reached forward, grabbing the collar of her shirt and dragging her up. He pushed her roughly into the refrigeration unit behind them. Pain shot through her body, the handle digging into the small of her back. His hands were at her throat in an instant, squeezing unbelievably. Scully saw black spots forming at the edge of her vision, her mind spiraling. Hodge, to her surprise, lifted Scully from the ground and threw her against a workbench. She heard a sickening crunch as her right arm broke. Glass beakers and slides shattered, cutting into her exposed flesh. Hodge's hands didn't leave her throat and Scully knew the end was very near. She felt around for something -- anything. Finally, her left hand closed around a long glass shard. It bit into her skin, cutting deeply into her hand. She didn't let go, but in a last attempt of self preservation, she brought it up and thrust it forward. The piece was longer than she thought. The glass cut into Hodge's stomach, sliding easily under the guidance of her hand. Hodge screamed, the most blood curdling scream Scully had ever heard, and his hands abandoned her neck, seeking the shard of glass which was now buried in his stomach. Scully was mad now, and wouldn't have been able to stop herself if she wanted to. She pulled the glass out of his stomach and plunged it in again, creating a whole new wound. She could feel his blood seeping out, all over her. He slumped against her, driving the glass that much further into his stomach. Sickened and slowly coming to her senses, Scully struggled to push Hodge's body off of herself. She breathed deeply, successfully managing to push him away. His body thumped to the floor, his eyes were open and glistening. His breathing was labored and barely audible. Scully slid off the workbench and stumbled to the floor. She curled into a self-protective ball, bursting uncontrollably into tears and ignoring the pain in her shoulder, arm and hand. ----- concluded in Trust of Ice 6/6 Please see disclaimer and notes in part 1. "COMMENTS*: Please direct any and all comments to Amy Schatz and Charleyne Hall ======================================= T h e X - F i l e s Trust of Ice 6/6 By Charleyne Hall and Amy Schatz Sickened and slowly coming to her senses, Scully struggled to push Hodge's body off of herself. She breathed deeply, successfully managing to push him away. His body thumped to the floor, his eyes were open and glistening. His breathing was labored and barely audible. Scully slid off the workbench and stumbled to the floor. She curled into a self-protective ball, bursting uncontrollably into tears and ignoring the pain in her shoulder, arm and hand. ----- Scully's mind wandered. Her consciousness drifted aimlessly from one vague, formless idea to another. She felt as though she were floating through a great expanse of molasses: she couldn't stop herself and she didn't know how she got started. Her mind seemed full of cobwebs, and she wasn't sure if her eyes were opened or closed. Scully knew that beyond this thickness something loomed; something was waiting for her. It felt like a faraway ache. And she knew that she couldn't avoid it forever. And along with that ache, Scully knew that there was something she should remember; something she was supposed to be doing. She just wished she knew what it was... ----- Scully didn't know how long she had been there, on the floor, curled into herself in a ball of pain, but suddenly, she just came back to herself. And with her memories, came the pain. "Oh God..." she moaned, as the pain shot through her shoulder and arm like electricity. She was sure she had never felt such pain in her life. Scully let her eyes remain closed as she tried to get a handle on the pain, and hopefully, eventually come to cope with it. Minutes passed and the agony dimmed slightly, passing into a sharp throbbing. And then his name ran into her mind like a thundercloud rolling across the plains. <...Mulder...> She had to help Mulder. Taking a deep breath, Scully forced her eyes open and was shocked at the scene before her. Glass, papers, diskettes, and wood lay all about the floor and workbenches. The refrigeration unit had a dent in it, and a smear of blood marked the crease. Eyes wide, Scully reached up with her good arm, to touch the back of her head. Her hand came back wet with her own blood. It was then that she realized the nasty cut on her hand as well - actually there were two cuts. One ran across her hand, just underneath her fingers, and the other went across the heel of her hand. Scully gasped as she remembered how she had acquired the injuries to her hand. She took another deep breath and brought herself up into a sitting position, ignoring the wave of dizziness and nausea that swept through her. She knew that she was probably in shock, and most likely, she had a concussion, but if she did as was medically prescribed, and stayed still, she would fall unconscious. And that would mean that Mulder would be left to the devices of the parasite, and it would have that much longer to affect his behavior and nature. Forcing her courage to the forefront, Scully slowly got to her feet. The minute she did, the whole room seemed to swim before her eyes, and she thought she would pass out. her inner voice shouted. Gripping the workbench closest to her, she nodded and looked around the room. She knew that Hodge had to be close by - she had wounded him badly. Her eyes scanned the room, and finally, they came to rest on the bloody body of Dr. Hodge. He was sprawled out on the floor, one hand underneath his body, the other around the piece of glass that still protruded from his abdomen. Blood had spilled down his stomach to pool onto the floor next to him, and a small trickle of blood ran out of his mouth and down his cheek. He did not appear to be breathing. Scully knew that she should go and see if he was still alive, but an instinctive fear with millions of years of experience told her to stay away. If he was still alive and she went to try and help him, he might hurt her again. She simply couldn't risk that. She turned away from him, a sharp pang of guilt and abhorrence tying her stomach into knots. She couldn't believe that she had done that to another human being - that she had acted so violently, so basic and primeval. Scully remembered what she had been thinking as she and Hodge were fighting. She was slightly surprised to recall how her once complex mind had turned so rudimentary and minimalistic. <...Stay alive...stay alive...> That was all she had been able to think. The rest of her actions were instinctive - do anything to stay alive. But now her logic and reason had returned, and she knew that she had a big decision ahead of her. What was she supposed to do? No matter how much she loved Mulder, how much he meant to her, could she simply give the worm to him, without one thought of Da Silva? After all, Scully was a doctor, and she had taken an oath to save lives, not disregard one for another. In her training, she had been taught that one life was not more important than another. Of course, while all of those wonderfully rational thoughts were going through her mind, her heart was telling her something altogether different. She nodded again, ignoring the headache that was building. Yes, Hodge would have given Da Silva the worm, and never had a second thought about Mulder. But, her mind argued, if you save Mulder and leave Da Silva to suffer, are you any better than Hodge? Can you deal with the consequences of letting Da Silva with the worm in her? This thought gave Scully pause. Yes, in the heat of the battle with Hodge, she had had every intention of saving Mulder. It was only now that she had time to let her conscience get the better of her, that she was hesitating. And this was the clincher. Scully knew that Mulder would never have had this inner struggle. He would have seen that Scully was in danger, and then done whatever it took to help her. Sighing, her decision made, Scully looked down at her hand and realized that it was still bleeding. As best she could, she ripped a strip from her flannel shirt and wrapped it around her hand, tying it securely, Then, she ripped a much longer piece off her shirt, and after a few minutes, was able to fashion it into a make-shift sling. At least this way, some of the pressure was off of her arm and shoulder and she could better concentrate on the task at hand. Grabbing the jar with the last worm in it, she searched for Richter's gun, which she had dropped earlier. Once she found it, she tucked it behind her back, into the waistband of her jeans, and then made her way back to the other side of the compound where Da Silva and Mulder waited. ----- Nancy Da Silva watched Scully approaching, saw the look on the agent's face, and she knew that it was all over. Nancy knew that all her time had run out, and that she would never be able to convince the red-haired woman to give the worm to her, and not to Scully's lover. Da Silva said nothing as Scully stopped before her, put the jar down, and looked down at her sadly. ----- Scully didn't know what to say. What could you say in such a situation? ? Somehow, Scully didn't think that would cut it. Sighing, she searched her mind for something comforting. "Where's Hodge?" asked Nancy, as she dragged her eyes up to Scully. She noticed the bad shape that Scully was in, and momentarily rethought her earlier plan. Maybe she could take Scully, and then have the worm for herself. No, she couldn't do anything in these handcuffs. But Scully did look bad. Her right arm was in a sling, and her shoulder seemed to be in a strange position. Her left hand was bandaged, and her lip was cut and bleeding. Scully looked back down the long hallway. "He's dead," she murmured, her voice faraway. This news cut Nancy to the bone. She had loved Hodge, and they had been planning to get married in a few months. Now all of that was gone, buried. She had heard them fighting, had heard him cry out, but never thought that he had been killed. "Scully, he was infected." Scully had still been looking down the hallway, but at this statement, her snapped back around to Da Silva. "What? What did you say?" "While you were in there with Mulder, he attacked me," Nancy explained. "Just out of the blue, for no reason. He came at me, and knocked me out with the crowbar. Then I guess he handcuffed me to these shelves." Scully's mind was whirling. "But...but...he said that *you* attacked *him*." Nancy shrugged. "I'm sure he did. He was probably right in the middle of a psychotic episode. He attacked you, didn't he? I wouldn't think that you got all of those injuries by tripping." Scully shook her head slowly, not wanting to believe that this was happening. What if this was a lie, a ploy? She knew she couldn't win another hand-to-hand battle - not in the shape she was in. Could she trust Da Silva? Should she? "You mean, I didn't have to decide? You never needed the worm at all?" Nancy shook her head. "No. And now that Hodge is...is dead, he doesn't need it, either." Nancy took a deep breath, trying to hold it all together. At least she could forget about trying to fight Scully to get the worm for Hodge. Scully swallowed dryly. But then she heard Mulder's voice in her head, warning her not to trust to easily. "Da Silva, I have to examine you. I have to be sure." Nancy looked Scully squarely in the eyes. "And if I am infected, will you still give the worm to Mulder?" Scully did not hesitate this time. She had made her decision, and she would stick to it. Her blue eyes were cold and icy. "Yes, I will." Nancy nodded, and hoping to show her innocence, turned her back to Scully, and pushed her hair away from her neck. From a safe distance, Scully leaned forward, wincing as the pain in her arm was reawakened, and looked at Da Silva's neck. She held her breath. There was nothing there. Scully released her breath and stepped back. She could still feel the remnants of fear in her, and she wouldn't let her guard all the way down. "There's nothing there," she said softly. Scully heard Da Silva sigh in relief, and then the woman turned around to face Scully again. "Will you let me go now?" For a moment or two, Scully wasn't going to release her, but then she thought about how she would feel if it were Mulder lying on the floor, dead. Scully knew that she would want to be with him. She nodded, but then realized that she didn't have the keys. "I would, Da Silva, but I don't have the keys. Can you wait till I go in there with Mulder? You should rest a little anyway. Okay?" Nancy didn't want to wait, but she noticed the tremble in Scully's voice, and the way she was shaking. She guessed that the agent was probably going into shock, or already was, and she probably wouldn't be able to stand up for much longer. "Okay, Agent Scully, but please hurry. You don't look like you're going to last much longer." She shook her head. "I can't believe that Hodge did that to you." "He tried to kill me," said Scully. "I'm sorry, Da Silva, but it was him or me. I tried to reason with him, but he wasn't exactly in the mood." Nancy nodded, knowing that Scully was telling the truth, but it was still hard to believe that he was dead. "I know, Agent Scully. I know you didn't want to kill him...I know..." Scully forced a small smiled, and then moved towards the door...and Mulder. "Agent Scully, will you be all right in there? You don't look like you'd do too good in another fight." Scully nodded, and patted her back, where the gun was. "I have Richter's gun. But Mulder trusts me. I'll be all right." Then, she picked the jar up and walked over to the door. Da Silva nodded and then closed her eyes as Scully unlocked the door and pulled it open. Scully took a deep breath and hoped that what she had just told Da Silva was the truth. ----- Scully stepped inside, blinking quickly, trying get her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She didn't know where Mulder was, or what frame of mind he was in, and that scared her. Would he know that she had only done what she had to? Or would he be angry, thinking she had betrayed him? "Mulder?" she called out softly, hating how shaky her voice still was. She set the jar on the floor and waited. There was no answer. She stepped forward, and reached up to turn on the light in the room. When she did, harsh light filled the room, and she looked around quickly, trying to find Mulder. Finally, she saw him leaning against one of the far walls. When their eyes met, she sighed in relief. As he looked at her, she saw his eyes widen in surprise and concern. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked. Scully could hear the anger just below the concern and she knew she had to broach this subject with him carefully. "Hodge happened. He attacked me." Mulder stepped forward, but Scully could see how tense he was. She could tell that he was fighting against the worm with all that he had - trying to stay in control. "My God, Scully. What did he do to you?" he asked, stepping closer. Scully kept her ground. "Mulder, he was infected. He just went crazy." Scully gulped in a breath. She wanted Mulder to hold her and take care of her, but she knew he couldn't. This man standing before her was not Mulder. No matter how much he looked like him, or smelled like him, it was not Fox. Her Fox was waiting for her, waiting for her to set him free, and she had to help him. "I'll kill him," said Mulder, death in his voice. She shook her head. "He's dead, Mulder. I killed him." Mulder's eyes widened in shock. "You did? How?" She waved her hand in the air, dismissing the subject. "It doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you're not well, Mulder. You're infected." His eyes darkened and he stepped away from her. "You still don't believe me." It was not a question. Scully refused to get upset. She needed to remain calm - for her sake and for Mulder's. "Fox, I saw it! I saw it move under your skin. You're the one who doesn't believe *me*." He turned away from her. "Scully, I can't believe that after all we've been through you still don't-" "Mulder," she said sternly, cutting him off, "think about it. Do you feel like yourself? Don't you see how easily you get angry? How rough you've been with me?" He whirled back around. "Rough?" "Last night you practically dragged me into your room. And you didn't have talking in mind. And earlier, in here, you kissed me like I was a thing, Fox. Not like you loved me. You hurt me, Fox. Don't you see what's happening to you?" Mulder looked away from her, and was silent for many moments. Once he thought about it, he realized he *had* been rather violent with her lately. And he remembered the terrible feelings of jealousy he had had whenever he saw Scully standing close to Hodge or talking with him. What was happening to him? Could it be true? Was he infected? Mulder wasn't sure. Scully could see him wavering, and she knew she had to use every card in the deck. "Mulder, please, I love you, and I don't want you to hurt me anymore. I want the man back that I fell in love with so long ago - the gentle, tender man with the beautiful hazel eyes. Please, Fox." He turned back to her, and saw the tears in her eyes, and he wanted to do whatever she said. But he also had the effects of the worm to deal with, and it was telling him that she was lying and that he shouldn't listen to her. He should stop her any way he could. He shook his head, trying to clear the vicious thoughts away. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?" he asked, his voice low. The implication in that question made Scully want to curl up and die. To think that he didn't trust her made her heart shatter. she told herself, "Mulder, you're going to have to trust me," she told him. "That's what our relationship is based on: trust in each other. Now, I trust you. Do you trust me?" Mulder was silent for a few moments as his true nature fought the devilish effects of the worm. Finally, through clenched teeth, he said, "Yes, you know I do. I...trust you...with my life, Scully." She knew how much strength it had taken for him to say that, and she smiled weakly. "Good. Are you ready?" she asked, picking up the jar once again. He nodded and sat down on the floor. "Yes. Help me, Scully. I don't want to be this person anymore. I want to be the man you love." Scully felt like her heart was breaking as she moved closer to him. "I will help you, Fox," she said softly. "But, I need you to fight the worm as best you can. I don't think I'd make it through another attack. Do you understand?" she asked, still a safe distance away from him. She didn't know how he was staying in control. "I understand. I won't let it hurt you, Scully," he said, and their eyes locked, silent words of love and courage passing between them. She reached out with her good arm and touched his forehead in a chaste manner. "I *know* you won't." They were silent for a little while until Mulder spoke. "Come on, Scully. Let's get this done. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay in control, and you need to get to a hospital." She nodded, and pulled the worm out of the jar. ----- Scully watched as Mulder convulsed again, and she barely stopped herself from reaching out to him. He began to moan and twist and Scully blinked back tears, asking God to make this quick. She couldn't stand to see him in such pain. Scully never bothered to think that she was probably in more pain than Mulder. She didn't even feel it. All she saw was Mulder. All she knew was Mulder. At long last he quieted, and Scully reached out to touch his cheek gently. She then saw that he had fallen into a much needed slumber, and sighing, she decided to join him. Lowering herself to the floor, she laid next to Mulder on her left side and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly. ----- The next thing Scully knew was that she was on a stretcher and was being carried somewhere. She also noticed that the pain in her arm and shoulder was greatly diminished. She sighed, relieved that the pain had gone partly away. Then it came to her mind to wonder who was carrying her and where they were taking her. It couldn't be Hodge, could it? Her pulse quickened as she attempted to raise her head to look around. As she did, someone pushed her back down and a voice floated to her ears. "Take it easy, Agent Scully," someone said to her. She calmed a bit, but was still wary. And then her pulse skyrocketed once again as the next thought came to her. "M-Mul-Mulder..." she mumbled, her mind racing away from her at a breakneck speed. "Where's Mulder?" And then his face swam into her field of vision, and she felt his warm hand close around her left one gently. "It's okay, Scully. I'm here. I'm right here with you." He touched her cheek in a tender gesture that made her feel warm inside. Scully closed her eyes and opened them again quickly. She wanted to sleep desperately, but she couldn't until she knew that Mulder was okay - that he was safe. "Mulder, are you...is it...gone?" She was rewarded with one of his brilliant, earth- shattering smiles, and it warmed her heart. "Yes, it's gone. I'm fine, Scully." But then his expression changed to one of regret. "I'm sorry I did those things to you, Scully. And I'm sorry for what Hodge did to you. He almost killed you. I don't know how you fought him off." The medics set the stretcher down before the door, and Mulder knelt next to her, while they waited for the helicopter to land. The helicopter that would take them home. Scully smiled faintly, beginning to feel the effects of the drugs that she knew she must have been given. "I had to. I had to...stay alive," she said, matter-of-factly. "I had to give you...the worm. I had to save you. Save us." Mulder was overwhelmed by her devotion to him, and leaned down to press his lips against hers. But this time the kiss was delicate and emotive, and he made sure that Scully could tell the difference from his previous treatment of her. "I love you," he said softly, not caring if anyone else heard him. Scully smiled slightly, an expression that seemed strange considering her condition, and the cut on her lip. "I know you do. Even when *you* weren't you, I knew you still loved me. That's why *I* love *you*. That's why I never gave up on you." Mulder squeezed her hand. "I'm back now, Scully, and I won't ever treat you that way again. If it hadn't been for you, Hodge would have left me here to die - with that thing inside me. You saved my life. Thank you." Scully looked up at him with wide, blue eyes. "I did what I had to do, Mulder. And I'd do it again." "I know you would. I just wish I had been able to help you - to stop Hodge from hurting you like this," he said, indicating her injuries. Scully was about to respond when Da Silva walked up to them, once again wearing her heavy parka. "The chopper's here, Agent Mulder. It's time to get Agent Scully bundled up. She doesn't need to add hypothermia to her list of injuries." Mulder nodded, almost chuckling at Da Silva's horrible bedside manner, and gently pulled the collars of Scully's coat closer to her neck. The medics had put it around her earlier, but had left if unbuttoned because it was quite warm inside the compound. "Mulder, you don't...have to...mother me," Scully mumbled, nearly asleep from the drugs. Mulder smiled. "Oh, Scully, this is nothing," she said mischievously. She forced her eyes open again, never tiring of seeing his handsome face above her. "What do you mean?" "Well, who do you think is going to take care of you when we get back to Washington?" Her eyes closed. "Mulder, I don't want you to...think you have to do this because...because of what happened here." Mulder looked at her, almost unable to believe her courage and unselfishness. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. "Scully, I'm doing it because I want to, and because I love you. You're the most important thing to me, and I don't trust anyone else to take care of you." She opened her eyes at his use of the word trust, and reached for his hand, as the medics opened the doors and the cold wind and ice blew inside. She heard the hum of the chopper outside, and felt them lift her stretcher up. Before they carried her outside, she looked to Mulder and said, "Have you been told today, Mulder?" "Told?" he asked. "Yes. Have I told you that you're the only one I trust?" "Not recently," said Mulder, remembering the conversation they had had only a few days before, but which now seemed so long ago. "You're the only one I trust." Mulder smiled and held her hand as they walked out of the compound and into the arctic night, knowing that as long as they were together and trusted each other, they could do anything. END