TITLE: Eight Years
AUTHOR: aRcaDIaNFall$
FEEDBACK: arcadianfalls@yahoo.com.au
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: Very minor ones for Syzygy, War Of The Coprohages, How The
Ghosts Stole Christmas. Seasons 7/8/9 irrelevant but it's set around
the 8 year mark.
CLASSIFICATION: S R A
SUMMARY: Investigating several disappearances, Mulder and Scully go
undercover in marriage therapy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This one has been a long time in the making and is quite
different from what I normally write, so feedback would be particularly
appreciated this time - just be kind, please. :)
--> http://www.geocities.com/arcadianfalls/


Eight Years (1/2)
by aRcaDIaNFall$


-----> MULDER

"The issue here, my friends, is trust. Marriages are breaking down left
and right, and why? Because we no longer trust each other. The world is
too full of lies. Faith in our fellow men no longer exists. We
distrust, but we distrust not only the world and its evils but also
those closest to us, those who we *need* to trust. We see
unfaithfulness all around us and because we do not truly trust those
whom we love, we begin to wonder if they share in the world's
infidelity. We no longer trust our mothers, our fathers, our brothers,
our husbands or wives, and as a result these relationships
disintegrate."

I shifted my coffee mug to one hand and stifled a yawn as
inconspicuously as possible. Beside me, Scully was listening intently,
head tilted to one side, stockinged feet drawn up under her. I reached
out to touch her, intending to put my arm around her shoulders, but she
shot me a warning glance and I pulled back. I stifled another yawn,
shrugging my stiff shoulders and cracking my fingers. I felt her
glaring at me but busied myself glancing around the room at the other
couples and finally at the group therapist. 

He was pacing as he talked, gesturing as he explained. Trust isn't easy
to achieve. You have to work for it. Trust is a two-way street. Trust
is the way to true happiness. Trust is -

I was starting to fidget. I jammed my hand into my pocket and slid my
fingers around the small rectangular recorder, feeling the faintest
vibrations in my hand as it whirred, documenting every word.

"So, Deborah, you say that trust is the biggest problem in your
marriage? Why is it that you find it so hard to trust Sam, you think?"

I tuned out again, glancing across at Scully as she stretched her legs
out ahead of her, rearranging herself in the corner of the couch. I
pulled a pitiful face and she glared at me again.

"Peggy? Jack? I'm seeing some tension between you two tonight."

I looked up to find Dr Wenham regarding Scully and I through his
spectacles. 

"There is some anger between you, yes? Peggy, you chose not to sit
close to your husband on the couch?"

Scully looked a little antsy in the limelight. She looked across at me,
her face tight. "We're fine."

Wenham shook his head, disapproving. "No, no, no. We don't like lies in
our group. You came here to heal your marriage, Peggy. We can't help
you unless you are honest with us."

"It's just that time of the month," I jumped in. I patted the couch
beside me. "Come on, honey. Sit closer."

Shooting daggers, she grudgingly slid an inch or two closer. I put my
arm around her, pulling her right against me, and for good measure I
dropped a kiss on her forehead.

Wenham and the other four couples in the circle were all still staring
at us. 
"Peggy, you don't wish to share any problems with us?" Wenham pushed. 

"No," she answered firmly, an angry edge to her voice. Don't mess with
me, buddy. "We're fine."



-----> SCULLY

"What did you think you were doing, Mulder? We're not there to draw
attention to ourselves. We lay low, play the part when necessary -"

"I got bored, okay? He was yapping on and on and I got bored."

"Right, you don't like the assignment so you're going to do a
half-assed job of it, is that it?" I ripped the wire out of my shirt
and dug around in my bag angrily for the recorder. "That's not you,
Mulder."

"This isn't an x-file, Scully. It's a waste of our time."

"It got sent down to us because somebody did think it's an x-file. And
even if it isn't, Mulder, people have disappeared. Finding them
shouldn't be considered a waste of time."

"Sc-"

I didn't give him a chance. "And what's with the PMS comment?"

"I was just trying to deflect the attention away from us. Lay low,
Scully. If you hadn't been glaring at me the whole time -"

"We were wriggling like a five year old. You were paying absolutely no
attention-"

"'We no longer trust our mothers, our fathers, our brothers, our
husbands or wives -'" he quoted. 

I was unimpressed. I tugged the barrett from my hair, pulling with it
half a dozen strands, and ran my fingers roughly through my hair until
it fell back in place. Tossing the barrett in my bag, I pulled out my
car keys, shoving the key in the lock and twisting it violently. I just
wanted to get away from him. "I'm going home, Mulder. Goodnight."



-----> MULDER

Third session. How much longer were we going to give this operation? I
couldn't stand it much longer. 
I handed Scully a mug of coffee and she held out a piece of cake on
napkin. Best part of the night - the supper provided just before the
session began. I'd get the coffee for us both, she'd get the cake or
sandwiches or whatever it happened to be. That was the best we worked
together all evening.

I was starting to think maybe we'd managed two sessions straight to shy
away from attention - at Scully's insistence; if I had a choice I could
have been having some fun with the whole thing - when Dr Wenham pounced
on us. We were side by side on the couch, my arm around her. She was
resting her coffee mug on my knee, which I found oddly erotic. I liked
being that close to her. Her protests aside, I was pretty sure she
liked it too.


-----> SCULLY 

"Peggy and Jack, you two seem to be doing better. Do you want to tell
us about anything that's happened between you during the last week?"

"We're doing well," I agreed evasively.

"Nothing you'd like to share with the group? Remember, we share because
we care."

I smiled politely at the tagline. Mulder and I hadn't really sat down
and worked out how we would deal with any questions, beyond
establishing that Peggy and Jack were 'having problems'. Mulder could
ad lib with the best, when called on.

"We took a time out," Mulder announced, deliberately using the
therapist's phraseology, 'time out'. "Tell them about it, Peg."

I pulled away from him. Whoa, me tell? Mulder, you're the b.s.-ing
genuis. You tell em.

"Peggy?" Dr Wenham waited patiently.

"Uhhhhhh..." I looked to Mulder for guidance, feeling myself flush as I
met curious, enquiring eyes around the room.

"It was great," Mulder enthused wickedly. "A big open field in the
middle of nowhere, the night sky with all those stars. Just me and Peg
and a big blanket. Sweet, sweet lovemaking, hey, baby?"

I could have killed him. I gritted my teeth, trying to hold the anger
back and forced a wan smile as I felt the blood rushing to my face. He
pulled me close against him again, kissing my forehead. 

"It's interesting that you've used the term 'lovemaking'," Dr Wenham
observed. I didn't like the way he was staring at us. The guy was
creepy. But that wasn't any proof that he was the kidnapper we were
looking for and it certainly wasn't giving us any clues where the
missing couples were. 
He looked around the group slowly, his eyes stopping on every couple as
he spoke. "In today's society many people see the act of sex as being
only physical. They lose the spirituality of it. It becomes less about
love. In fact, for many couples it becomes something akin to a chore."
His gaze returned to us. I still felt about a foot tall but at least
had regained some self-control.

"Peggy, Jack, how often would you say you make love, on average?"

I winced internally at the question. How the hell did we end up with
this case, the bureau's most single and celebate agents in marriage
therapy discussing sex? 

"Oh... Two, three times a week?" Mulder shrugged, smiling. 

"And you've been married how long?"

"Eight wonderful years." Mulder again, with that saccharine sweetness.

"No children?"

This time he hesitated. "No." That answer was quieter. He had suddenly
stopped having fun.

The therapist had picked up on that. "No desire to have children, or
problems conceiving?"

I stayed silent, feeling queasy but trusting Mulder.

"Problems conceiving."

"This is difficult to talk about, yes?" Wenham asked, watching us
closely.

I answered that one, unsteady, uncertain of why we were suddenly being
honest. "Sometimes."

"You fight? You blame?"

"No. Not each other."

"But there is stress, yes?"

I tilted my head slightly in acknowledgement. Dr Wenham nodded, then
glanced at his watch. "We'll finish there today, I think. A successful
session, everyone."



-----> MULDER POV 

She sat for a moment, steadying herself, then stood, tugging me to my
feet. I knew what she was thinking. That had gotten too close. I
shouldn't have let it get personal. This wasn't about us.


We reached my car; I'd picked her up this time to save us waiting for
everybody to leave before taking off separately. "I think we should
pull out," I said quietly. "We've got nothing on Wenham. We're not
going to get anything."

"He's our only lead," she objected. "There's no other way to find out
what happened to those people."

"We're not getting anywhere with this approach."

"We're on the inside. Mulder, one of those couples in there might very
well be his next victims. They deserve some protection."

"I think we should make an arrest. They've got enough at least to
detain him and search his house and office. Scully, I'm sick of
pretending. We -"

"Peggy! Jack!"

It was a woman from the therapy group, Gina Robson. She was a vivacious
young woman but had an acid tongue when it came to her husband, Allan.
He was quiet, tolerating it with a sort of dry indifference. Gina was
smiling brightly at us, Allan hung back, giving us a brief wave.

Scully turned to face them and I pulled her against me, folding my arms
around her snugly to reassure her I'd still play along. 

Gina beamed. "Al and I were just talking about you two. Wondering if
you'd like to come back to our place for coffee? We've got so much in
common, the four of us. Al and I really love to meet other couples and
I just *know* we'd have so much to talk about together. So, what do you
say?"

I looked at my watch, exaggerated. "It's getting late -"

"Only half-past nine," Scully dismissed, extracting herself from my
grip. She smiled at Gina. "We'd love to."


-----> SCULLY

They had a large, modern apartment. No children, no pets. It was
impeccably neat. A house, not a home. How could people live like this?
"Come on in, welcome," Gina announced, gesturing freely. "Shoes off,
feet up, whatever makes you comfortable." She tossed her husband her
jacket and smiled at Mulder. "Jack, honey, could you come help me with
the coffee?" 

I caught Mulder's eye and he hesitated for a second, then shrugged.
"Sure."

"Take a seat," Allan Robson said quietly, sitting himself in an angular
red armchair. "They'll only be a minute. Don't worry about Gina. She's
harmless enough."

"Excuse me?"

He smiled slightly, waving a hand dismissively. "So, Peggy - I'm sorry,
I don't think we even know your last name."

"Jefferson," I supplied, smiling tightly. 

"Peggy Jefferson." He gazed at me as he savoured the name. "You're very
attractive, Peggy Jefferson."

That was the last thing I expected. I dropped my gaze to my hands,
flustered. 

"You don't hear that often enough, I see," he remarked. "Your husband
doesn't tell you that you're beautiful?"

"Of course he does," I answered quickly, shrugging. "But that's...
different." 

"How often do you really make love?"

*Excuse* me? "I don't think I'm comfortable-"

"I know he lied in group about that. I'm just curious, Peggy."

"I can't see that it's any of your business, if you'll forgive me for
saying so."

"By all means. Ah, Gina, Jack. Peg and I were just talking about some
things we covered in group tonight."

Mulder handed me a mug of coffee, his eyebrow raised. The couch
cushions sank as he sat beside me and for once I wasn't annoyed at how
close he insisted on sitting. 

"So," I began quickly, before anybody could ask any more embarrassing
questions. "How long have you been in Dr Wenham's group?"

"Ten months, isn't it, Al?"

"So you would have known Dale and Erica Wingetti, then?"

"Dale and Erica? Sure. They were there... what, September to November
last year. Are they friends of yours? Things all patched up between
them, now? They left without really saying goodbye."

"Actually, we haven't heard from them for several months." Nobody had.
"They told us about Dr Wenham."

"Oh, we recommend him to all our friends too, don't we, Allan?"

Sipping his coffee, Allan grunted in acknowledgement.


Gina rose and settled herself on the couch on Mulder's other side.
"You've been married ten years, you said?"

"Eight," I corrected, leaning across Mulder. He's mine, pretend or
otherwise.

"Eight years, huh? How did you meet? Peggy?" It was Al. I reluctantly
drew back to look at him. He was standing by the stereo, spinning a CD
on his finger.

I glanced at Mulder before answering. "Through ...mutual
acquaintances."

"Yeah, her sister was like 'that' with my girlfriend at the time. Peg
came along to a party one night and we just *clicked*. It was magical,
huh, Peggy baby?"

"Yeah, magical," I echoed, trying to tamp down my annoyance. Why did he
have to be so flamboyant when it came to these things? 

"I love your shirt, Jack," Gina announced suddenly. I watched, stunned,
as she lay a hand on his chest, fingering the fabric. Whoa... 

Mulder grinned, then glanced at me, looking suddenly guilty. "Yeah,
thanks Gina." He cleared his throat. "I, uh, love the apartment. It's
very... modern." He pointed to a framed picture on the wall. "That's a
Boccioni, isn't it?"

"The City Rises, nineteen ten. Only a print, of course." Allan headed
over to the bar to refil his drink. I inched a little closer toward
Mulder, putting my hand on his arm. I wasn't sure what was going on
here. I didn't think he was, either.

"I like a man who knows his art." Gina leaned toward Mulder, smiling.
He grinned sheepishly again, that little boy smile he always used when
he wanted to charm. 

"Gina, perhaps you could give Jack a little room to breath," Allan
suggested, sounding grimly amused.

"Shut up, Al." But she backed up, smiling sweetly as she sat on the
stuffed arm of her husband's chair. "Don't mind him, darlings. He gets
all territorial. But I can't blame him for it. I'm sure you and Jack
are just the same, aren't you, Peggy?"

"Yeah." I tightened my grip on Mulder's arm, not trusting the woman an
inch, but not wanting to let on. Something was up here. "He gets a
little overprotective."

"And I'll bet Peg never lets you out of her sight. Am I right, Jack? I
know I certainly wouldn't. There's far too many women out there who'd
love to get their hands on a man like you."

"Actually, we're -"

"Has you ever cheated on Peg, Jack? It's nothing to be ashamed of. Most
of the couples in our group are there because of an extra-marital
affair."

"Not us," I told her tightly. 

"You're squirming, Jack, honey. Don't tell me Peg doesn't know."

"There's nothing -"

"Sure there is. Maybe a couple of years ago. Your sex life was a little
slow. You were miserable. You freaked out at the thought of never being
with another woman again. It happened, didn't it? And you didn't have
the balls to own up to it? Or is Peg just covering for you?"

I glanced at Mulder. Gina was right: He was squirming. His jaw was
clenched. I felt a stab of uncertainty. Had Mulder slept with somebody
during the time we'd been working together? It had been eight years. In
the beginning, especially, he'd been around other women. Why should I
even assume he'd been as celebate as I had? How come I even cared? He
was my partner, not my husband. We were close but we didn't own each
other. He was free to sleep with whoever he wanted.

"Who was she, Jack? Peg looks like she wants to know."

"Gina, maybe you should stop bullying-" Allan ventured delicately, but
Gina snapped at him quickly.

"I told you to shut up, Al. Tick tick, Jack. Won't you feel better once
it's out in the open? Who was she? Was she beautiful? Were you in love
with another woman?"

I was holding my breath, I discovered. My heart was irrationally
hammering in my chest. Mulder's arm under my hand was rigid, every
muscle tensed.

"She didn't matter to me," Mulder said shortly. His face was stony, but
his arm twitched. I pulled away from him, suddenly repulsed at the
thought of touching him, feeling a surge of something akin to hate,
anger at betrayal. The cliché line came to mind - How could he do this
to me?

"So Peggy didn't know. Were you sneaking around behind Peg's back,
Jack? Did you go away for weekends, pretend it was for work? Call Peg
and tell her you had to work late, then sneak off to a cheap hotel? How
long did it go on? How long did you cheat on Peggy? Weeks? Months?
Years?"

"It was only once!"

Braced as I was for some unwanted revelation, his answer still stunned
me. I looked at Mulder. He looked angry, ashamed. I felt not so much
angry as disappointed, disillusioned, even. Wouldn't I have known? We
kept such close tabs on each other. Wouldn't I have noticed? "When?" I
asked, quiet.

He rubbed at his eyes, looking old, tired. "Years ago. During your
abduction. You were gone and I went a little crazy. I was aching
inside, I missed you so much. I thought maybe she could help take away
the pain."

It was a strange, numbing feeling. As far as I was concerned, the world
consisted only of he and I. Tick, tick. "Who was she?"

"Her name was Kirsten."

The facts lined up in my head and I felt a surge of anger, at his
stupidity as well as his betrayal. "The vampire? Mulder, of all the
*stupid* -" I broke off, realising my error, even more infuriated. I
pushed away from him and stood. Not not only had we torn a rift between
us, but now our cover was as good as blown. There was no point in
staying. We'd already done enough damage.

Gina rose and blocked my way, touching my arm. 
"You're not going to solve your problems by walking away."

"I'm leaving," I told her.

She didn't move, just smiled sympathetically. "You don't want to do
that."

I refused to back down, an uneasy sensation edging in on me. I felt
threatened. "Let me pass."

"Not if you really love Mulder. That was your name, wasn't it, hon?
Mulder?"

"Fox Mulder," Allan spoke up. "I thought I recognised you. You were one
of the panellists at a forum I attended three or four years ago, in
Boston. I follow your work with great interest." He turned to me. "And
this must be your Doctor Scully, then?"

I stood still, returning his stare, not so sure what was going on. Were
we caught? Damn the cryptic innocence of Allan's gaze.

"I guess we're caught, Scully." Mulder sounded grim. "Sit down. I think
we'd better explain ourselves."

Explain ourselves? I pivoted slowly, looking at him as coldly as I had
at Allan, not understanding what I saw in Mulder's eyes. He beckoned me
closer and, against my better judgement, I sat back down on the couch,
albeit at the other end. He reached across to me and took my hand. I
almost flinched away, more confused than angry, but I set my lips and
let him take my hand, squeeze it gently.

"We've been working together for eight years," Mulder began quietly. I
blanched, feeling my heart skip a beat or two. Mulder's grip was warm,
firm. I wasn't sure if I hated it or needed it or both. I couldn't let
go. "We got pretty close, pretty fast," he continued. "It was intense.
We weren't physical, but we got to the point when we both realised the
truth. And, as much as we trust each other -" he squeezed my hand
again, purposefully - "we have trouble expressing ourselves." He
exhaled, concluding quietly, "That's why we're in the group."

Gina and Al were silent. Then Gina slipped from the arm of the chair
and crouched in front of Mulder and I, reaching to put her hand over
ours. "I'm so sorry, hons. I understand. It's hard to be honest about
these things. And you two working together and everything... I
understand. But I hope you feel you can talk to Al and I."

I smiled tightly, unnerved by the turn of events. Had they honestly
bought that story? If they were in any way involved with the abductions
then surely they would realise why we had integrated ourselves into the
therapy group. Did this then mean that they were innocent? Or just
playing dumb?

Gina pulled back and stood, gesturing for me to stand too. "You look
like you need some fresh air, Peg, honey." She smiled widely,
encouraging, almost amused by the situation. "Well, I suppose that's
not your real name, is it now?"

I hesitated. "No. Dana."

She gestured again and I rose cautiously, distrusting herself but not
ready to give up on this case if there was a chance. An earlier couple
to disappear had had two young daughters, five and seven. If there was
any chance of recovering their parents alive...

She unlatched the large French windows and led me out onto a large
balcony, closing the windows again behind her. "I'm sorry for coming on
so strong before, hon. It's just so vital that couples be honest with
each other, y'know? That's never easy."

I nodded, awkward, looking out at the display of city lights. "I guess
it isn't."

"It must be hard, working together, and having those feelings for each
other," Gina said softly. "He's such an attractive man, too. I heard he
was quite passionate about his work. Altogether a very passionate
creature."

"I suppose," I agreed stiffly. 

"Does he really love you, do you think?" She sounded curious in a
detatched sort of way. "I mean, I heard he was a bit of a womaniser."

I set my lips grimly, not wanting to discuss it, refusing to let myself
even consider it. I trusted Mulder implicitly. 
"He's faithful," I told her shortly. 

She nodded, and I wondered if she was offended by my sharp response.
She gave me a tight smile. "You stay out here for a while, pet. Cool
off. Come back in when you're ready, alrighty?"

I nodded, glad that she was going, but not certain if I wanted Mulder
alone with the two of them. I wasn't sure if I wanted either of us in
this place.


------> MULDER 

Gina almost danced in, going over to the liquor cabinet and pouring
herself a scotch, tossing it down expertly and then heaving a satisfied
sigh. I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, wondering if Scully was
still mad at me. As if reading my thoughts, Gina spoke up brightly, "I
think you'd better give her some time out there, Fox. She's not very
happy with you."

I nodded uneasily. There was something very wrong about this couple,
some game they were playing with us. I wished I knew what it was.

"You might want to just go check Dana's okay," Gina suggested lightly,
eyes on her husband. Nodding assent with a tolerating smile, he stood
and left through the glass doors onto the balcony.

Gina drew the coffee table right up in front of me and perched on the
edge of it. Our knees were brushing. Then, very deliberately, she
leaned in and she kissed me. Taken by surprise, I let her, blinking a
little as she pulled back. 

She smiled widely. "Well?"

"Uhhh..." I gazed at her, suspicious but also tempted by this laughing
elfin creature. She was attractive in a reckless sort of way. The sort
of woman who would not only willingly commit to a one night stand but
delight in the carefree joy of it. I was tempted. I was very tempted.
But Scully...

She saw the reluctance in my eyes. "Thanks but no thanks? You're really
a loyal little hubbie, aren't you? Of course, these things are usually
felt more on one side than the other..."

I stayed silent, refusing to take the bait. Gina saw that, too. She
smiled. 

"You're a clever boy, Fox. I imagine you like to get your own way."

I shrugged. "Who doesn't?"

"I can't see your Dana letting you get away with much."

"We manage okay."

"But you must get frustrated, surely? Feel like you're going against a
brick wall? I know I'd go crazy. Allan understands that. He lets me
live my own way. How long has it been since you felt alive, Fox? Really
alive?"

I stared at her, transfixed by the workings of this woman's mind. So
destructive, and yet she was so electrically attractive. She knew it.
She was toying with us like a cat with a mouse. But why?

"A while, I guess," I admitted, playing along.

She climbed up onto the couch beside me, took my chin in her hands, and
kissed me again. It was incredible. I was kissing her back before I
could process what was happening and protest. Her hands, her mouth...
She would have made a fantastic lover. She knew exactly what she was
doing. My senses were swimming. I barely remembered to breathe.

Suddenly she pulled back. It took a second for my mind to catch up, I
was so completely overwhelmed. I saw stricken dismay on her face and
followed her gaze to the french windows. Scully was standing there.

"Dana, hon..." Gina sprung up. Confused anger overtook the shock on
Scully's face and she pulled back, closing the doors again and quickly
moving out of sight on the balcony.

A pause. Gina shrugged dramatically, then danced back toward me. "That
was a nasty surprise for her."

I sat silently, staring at her, angry. That perfect look of dismay had
been completely calculated. She'd orchestrated the entire thing, the
kiss, Scully's catching us. But why? And was her husband in on it?

I stood. I had to talk to Scully.


------> SCULLY 

My mind was reeling. I stood against the balcony railing, looking out
over the city lights, blurred by the warm tears in my eyes. I brushed
them away, angry. What the hell was going on here? What was Mulder
doing? I hated when he hid his motives from me.

"You must have a difficult relationship," Allan remarked.

I stiffened, not wanting to talk about it. What was there to say?
Sometimes I just didn't understand Mulder at all. It infuriated me. It
hurt. I hated knowing he had secrets.

"He's a bit of a womaniser, eh? Doesn't necessarily act on it, but he
looks..."

Again, I was silent. 

"Self-absorbed too, I'd guess. Selfish." More silence. "He's coming out
here."

Betrayed anger surged up within me. I sucked in a deep breath and
turned around. "Could we have some privacy, please?" I asked coldly.


------> MULDER 

She was crying, and she was furious. I could see it right away. I
waited until Allan had gone inside, the doors closed gently after him,
but she spoke before I could.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, Mulder?!"

"She kissed me!"

"I didn't see you exactly trying to get away."

"Scully -"

"Mulder, I won't put up with this. You hear me? I won't stay with you
if you're just going to use me, if you're going to treat me like I
don't matter."

"Scully!! Listen to me! They're trying to manipulate us."

She was about to retort but stopped herself, setting her jaw. I could
see her anger wavering. "What do you mean?"

"They're playing with us. They're trying to put us against each other."

Her eyes flashed. "Why?"

"I don't know yet. But it's got something to do with those missing
couples, I'm sure of it."

"Mulder..." Her anger was gone. She shrugged. "What do we do?" she
asked quietly.

"We stay angry. We play along. See where it takes us."

Her eyes met mine, understanding although a little uncertain. She knew
that it was what we had to do, but she didn't want to do it. "If Gina
and Allan really are responsible for the missing couples..."

"We've got to be careful," I finished for her. I nodded. 



------> SCULLY

Mulder went back inside by himself. He headed straight over to Gina as
she stood by the liquor cabinet, and said something. She protested, her
hand on his arm, her expression one of devastated sympathy. He was
doing his best guilty little boy act, shoulders slumped, biting his lip
and running his hands through his hair. He gestured toward me and Gina
guided him to the couch, sitting him down. She poured a glass of scotch
and pressed it into his hand, patted him on the shoulder and then,
leaving him in Allan's charge, came out to me.

I drew a deep breath, setting my lips. I hated play acting, I'd never
been good at it, but it wasn't hard in this case to be angry,
particularly with Gina. I folded my arms stiffly.

"I'm so sorry that things have gone so badly for you two tonight, hon.
It's just terrible. Now Fox wants to leave, but I told him that neither
of you are in the state to drive and you really should try to work
things out between you, if it's at all possible. Fox looks so
contrite..."

"I'm not going to put up with him any more," I said coldly. "I've had
enough."

"Oh, hon, I know it seems impossible, but you can't give up on him that
easily.. I can understand that you're angry with him... And I'm so
terribly sorry about that kiss - he just grabbed me - but ... Oh, it
must be terrible, to be betrayed like that. I'm so sorry, honey. I feel
so guilty about it all. You must blame me, too.."

"You weren't the first," I said, with a stab of real bitterness. This
time had been orchestrated, but there had been other women... Detective
White, that entomologist, Diana... Mulder had walked into those
situations with his eyes wide open. 

"Of course, there was that Kristen woman, wasn't there? And you were
missing at the time? That's terrible. Some men are so insensitive. And
Fox, of course, is so attractive... It goes to a man's head, knowing
that he's attractive, knowing that he could have any woman he wants.
Men like that don't know a good thing when they've found it. They're
hopeless in long term relationships..."

I was silent. Memories of that strange Christmas Eve a few years ago
came back to me. Was that what they were trying to do? Had Gina and
Allan led all those missing couples through this charade, stirring up
their emotions until they were angry enough to kill each other and then
somehow provided the means? They were winding us up now, for sure. Were
they trying to get us angry enough to kill each other this very night?
It was time to get to the bottom of this. 

"Gina," I said coldly, clearly, "What did you and Allan have to do with
the Wingetti's disappearance?"

There was a momentary startled flicker in her eyes, and her manner
changed instantly. She looked distinctly amused. "Darling, how very
clever of you to put two and two together! I thought you being in group
was just coincidence, while all along you've been - what's that they
call it? Playing undercover? Waiting for somebody to say something
silly and trip themselves up, I suppose. I didn't even realise our
little operation was under FBI jurisdiction. Kind of funny, isn't it?"

"So you're admitting your involvement?"

"Well, I guess we might as well. You've practically caught us
red-handed, haven't you?"

I didn't take the time to answer the question but instead fired two
back at her. "What happened to them? Where are they?"

She shrugged impishly. "Who's to say?"

I pressed my lips together tightly, folding my arms again and turning
away in disgust.  

"You're stressing, sweetie. Don't stress. It doesn't really matter. Not
to us."

I turned back. "How can you say people's lives don't matter?"

She smiled indulgently. "Dana, you have to understand how miserable
some people are. Their lives are empty. They're hurting, repressed, not
letting their inner selves be free. To be released from a life like
that... it's a merciful escape."

"These people's lives weren't empty! They had children, jobs, homes."

"They're in a better place."

"It's not up to you to decide that!" I looked at her, not
understanding. "You can't make these decisions for other people."

"Sweetie! Oh, sweetie..." She looked at me pityingly. "We would never
have acted without permission. We poke and we prod a bit, but we don't
do anything final without being completely certain that it's what they
want."

Her words only confused me further. I shook my head, not wanting to
stick around any longer. We needed to get out of this place and sort
our heads out. "We're leaving now."

Gina barred me at the door. She smiled gently. "It looks like you're
too late for Fox."

"What?" I pushed her aside, tugging the door open. Mulder was sitting
on the couch, slouched forward with his head hung. Oh God, was he dead?
Why was he so still? "Mulder? Mulder?" I ran forward, shaking his
shoulder. He was still breathing but he was unconscious. I lifted his
head, searching for any injuries. "Mulder?" I turned on Allan. "What
did you do to him? What the hell did you do to him?"

I was met by two blank expressions. 

"He's in a trance, honey," Gina explained gently. She shot a puzzled
glance at Allan.

"What do you mean, a trance? Take him out of it! Bring him back, now!"

Another quick glance exchanged, and Allan shrugged. Leaning forward, he
whispered something into Mulder's ear. Mulder snapped awake. "Hey..."
He looked dazed. 

I crouched down, checking him over, shaking him to try and get him to
focus on me. "You okay, Mulder? Follow my finger. Mulder?"

He shook his head, looking a little lost. "I'm fine, Scully. I'm fine."

I licked my lips nervously, not knowing what was going on. Standing
slowly, I faced Gina and Allan. "I want you to tell me," I said
quietly, keeping my voice controlled, "what exactly is going on here."


It all spilled out. Allan's unorthodox use of hypnosis in his work as a
marriage counsellor. Losing his license. The strain on the couple's
marriage and the therapy group they joined, led by an old friend from
Allan's college days. The arguments they calculatingly provoked in
couples drawn into the web, arguments which revealed intimate
relationship and character flaws, illuminated unresolved issues, gauged
the true measure of the couple's bond.

"See, hon," Gina leaned forward on the couch, eager to explain the
technicalities of it. "Al uses hypnotherapy to touch the subconscious,
to draw out the person's repressed inner self and bring their desires
and dreams to the surface, so that they can resolve those deep-seated
issues. I can't describe how wonderful it is, to know that you've
helped somebody see clearly, maybe for the first time. To know that
you've liberated somebody, that it's because of you that they're
experiencing true happiness, that they know what they want and have the
courage to just go for it... It's just wonderful."

I exhaled heavily, humiliated at having been played. "So the
Wingettis..."

"Are in Hawaii now, I think. They'd never been before."

"The Parks?"

"Jack and Barb went their separate ways. She said something about
backpacking in Europe. Very brave woman. I'm not sure where Jack is
now."

"The Warrens?"

"They were the couple with the daughters, weren't they? No, I don't
know what happened with them either. They were very troubled, both of
them. Very unhappy." She paused reflectively, glancing at her husband.
"I don't know if they liked what they saw."


------> MULDER

We left their apartment in silence, walking closely. Out in the night
air the craziness felt like a surreal dream. Had that really happened?

Scully broke the silence. "Mulder, how the hell could you let him
hypnotise you? He could have been dangerous!"

"I didn't *let* him hypnotise me," I protested. "He just started
talking... The next thing I knew you were shaking me."

She set my lips and shook her head. She looked tired, and I couldn't
blame her. It had been an unbelieveable night. 

We reached the car. I unlocked it and we climbed in. 

Strapping on her seatbelt, she paused. "They were in therapy when
Wenham grilled us about not being able to have kids," she said quietly.
"Why do you think they didn't push that button?"

"Maybe they realised it was more than even they could handle."

"Maybe," she agreed, unsettled. She sighed, clicking her seatbelt in.
"We always thought it was the therapist. We just had the wrong
therapist."

"And the wrong crime. That's if hypnotising people to realise their
dreams can even be considered a crime..."

She cut me off. "Let's go home, Mulder."

I put the key in the ignition, but hesitated. Pulling back, I looked
across at her. There were still things that needed to be said. "I'm
sorry about Kristen."

"That was years ago," she said tiredly, looking out her own window. 

"I know, but I'm still sorry."

A nod, then a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"You did when it counted."

"Yeah, I guess." She didn't sound so certain. She glanced across at me,
meeting my gaze. "You think that if we were married we'd make it this
far?"

"Eight years? I think we could probably manage it." I grinned. "We got
trust, remember?"

She smiled widely. "Yeah, we do." 

I gave her hand a quick squeeze, then turned the key in the ignition.
The car rumbled to life and I pulled away from the curb. We were both
silent, but that was okay, because we knew that it was all going to
work out. We knew what we had and what we wanted, we knew that we had
what nobody else did. We didn't need some magical fix. We didn't need
Hawaii or Europe. We just needed each other, and our eight years. 

"Home," I murmured. "Let's go."


fin.

=====