NEW DEBUT: Full Circle To The Truth Pt.2 (3/10)(NC-17)
AUTHOR: Des
EMAIL ADDRESS: des826@internetconnect.net
Disclaimer in Section 1


Taking a deep breath, Skinner tried to explain to her what he was
only just beginning to understand himself.

"Agent Scully," he began, elbows on his knees, and glancing at
the floor for a moment in an effort to compose his thoughts.
Facing her again, he continued. "I've frequently felt like I have
straddled the fence with regards to you and Agent Mulder, never
jumping off and landing on one side or the other for fear of the
possible repercussions. Or maybe I never actually wanted to be
responsible for making the choice, I'm not sure."

"But one thing I am sure of...I've felt guilty," he said softly,
avoiding her eyes.

"Because, even if I don't understand the whole picture, on some
level I agree that your work is important. You and Agent Mulder
ask the questions that I'm afraid to. That takes courage. But I'd
never taken a stand."

"Sir-"

"I'm not finished Agent."

Scully remained silent.

"I know the work is relevant. It might even mean the difference
between life and death. To know it and not do something to try
to help seemed so cowardly, it kept me up many nights."

"Then something occurred to me. I DO contribute and I haven't
been straddling the fence.  How? Because unconsciously, and
almost involuntarily, I've been making it my job - no - my DUTY
to protect you and Agent Mulder."

"Sir, Agent Mulder and I have always been very grateful to you-"

"Oh, spare me the obligatory thanks Scully; I said it was my
*duty* to protect, that doesn't require thanks. I've come to
understand that I'm not straddling the fence. I am taking a
stand. If I didn't consciously know it before, I do know it now
though it took this situation for me to realize it."

"In protecting, I AM contributing."

"So I guess I owe you some gratitude for helping me to see this
clearly. You see, I understand now that's the reason for all the
personal attention, the reason for the covering up, the reason
for the taking the heat for you and the reason for plowing down
anyone who tries to get in your way. It's because I believe in
your work and know it's important."

Scully sat stunned, as tears sprung to her eyes.

< No. Ignore hers like you did Mulder's> Skinner reminded
himself. Then he moved in for the kill.

"But you'll find there are some definite drawbacks to this. You
see, if it's my job to protect you from anyone who tries to get
in your way, that means everyone - including yourselves."

"Sir, you're not responsible for my or Agent Mulder's actions."

"I never said I was responsible for your or Agent Mulder's
actions, just your protection."

"But..." Scully began, shaking her head.

"You doubted yourself, Scully," Skinner said softly. "You doubted
your position in his life."

"Doubted my position in his life? I was his partner. That was my
position."

"Do you really believe it was as simple as that?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Which proves my point, and explains why you're sitting in that
chair. But you are so wrong."

"How?"

"Agent Scully, when you were abducted," he hesitated. "Have you
and Agent Mulder ever talked about that period?"

"No, it's always been a subject that is too painful for me to
discuss. I'm not even sure of my own memories about it-"

"No Agent Scully, I'm talking about Agent Mulder."

"I'm sorry Sir, I'm not following you."

"Has he ever spoken to you about what he went through when you
were gone?"

"What he went through?" Scully repeated. < Mulder went through
something?> she thought, stunned.

Seeing her obvious surprise, Skinner decided it was time she
knew.

"Agent Scully, I have never seen a more desperate man than Mulder
>from the moment you were taken. He couldn't sleep, nor eat. He
was distracted and in despair."

"Sir please-" she pleaded, feeling more pain than she thought was
possible at his words.

"No Scully," Skinner said, ignoring the tears rolling down her
face, "you need to hear this."

"Mulder lost control when Duane Barry was in custody thinking
that he might have hurt you in some way. He regained it of course
because Barry was his only link to you. It was all he had left."

"Sir-"

"...And when Mr. Barry died while in custody, Mulder was
simply...lost. His last link was gone, Agent Scully, and I'm not
exaggerating when I say this: Mulder was a shell of a man. It was
almost as if he'd lost his center. It was a painful thing to
watch."

"He had to be subdued by armed guards the day you appeared in the
hospital in a coma. The doctors...held no hope. Mulder was
inconsolable and only wanted someone to pay. He even went so far
as going after Cancerman, a scheme I'm not proud to admit I
helped him with. I...guess that was a measure of my own grief and
need for revenge."

"My God! Was he hurt?" Scully asked.

"No. Not physically, but after the events of that meeting, he
submitted a letter of resignation."

"Mulder was going to resign from the FBI?"

"Yes."

"What stopped him?"

"Two things," Skinner said. "The first? Me. I wouldn't accept his
letter of resignation."

"So that's what he meant that day in your office," Scully said
softly.

"Yes. Though there was a chance that he would have walked
anyway."

"What else then?"

"The second thing. You. I guess he realized that all his running
around looking for revenge was simply a way of avoiding the
truth."

"Which was?"

"That he was going to lose you."

"Oh God," Scully whispered. < Just like his sister> she thought to
herself.

"He knew it was time to stop running and make his peace," Skinner
continued. "But you want to know the funny thing about this? When
he finally did come to you, you came back to him."

Scully again turned her chair away from Skinner, as tears fell
>from her eyes, remembering that hazy time when she was deciding
between life or death. She still remembered his words, she
thought, closing her eyes and hearing his voice reaching out,
touching her through the fog, guiding her. < I feel Scully, that
you believe you're not ready to go...and you've always had the
strength of your beliefs. I don't know if my being here will help
bring you back...but...I'm...here.>

Those words HAD brought her back. She'd been waiting for him, she
realized, not bothering to wipe the tears streaming from her
eyes. Waiting to see if she meant to him what he meant to her.
If he hadn't stopped running and come to her, would she have
chosen to live? That didn't matter, because he *did* come to her.
And never said a word about all that he'd suffered in between.
"Not a word," She whispered. < Oh, Mulder> she thought in despair.

"This lack of communication is a big part of the problem,"
Skinner continued, breaking into her thoughts, "and makes your
partnership vulnerable to any person that seeks to destroy it. Do
you know that when I went to see Mulder on the night that you
resigned from the X-Files, he was completely exhausted and filled
with despair? In just as bad a state as he ever was when you were
abducted. He just didn't understand how you could hurt him the
way you did."

"I didn't betray Mulder. What I did was necessary."

"I never said a word about betrayal; I said hurt. But if you are
interpreting my statement as betrayal what does that say about
you?"

"It was for the best."

"For the best?" Skinner asked, rising from his seat.

"Yes."

"The best for whom?"

As Scully searched her mind for an answer, Skinner walked toward
the door.

"Look Agent Scully, I'll give you two time to work this out on
your own, but beware, I'm not a very patient man so your time
will be short. Don't test me and never doubt my commitment here,
Agent Scully. I won't hesitate to break you down if I have to.
Your biggest worry will not be Agent Mulder or even Agent
Fowley," he said, opening the door and standing in the doorway.

"It will be me. That's a promise." Then he walked out.

Scully leaned back in her chair, wondering when this day would be
over. So much had happened to her. She didn't know how much more
she was going to be able to take. Closing her eyes, she tried to
take in everything that Skinner had revealed to her about Mulder.
Was he really that devastated when she was gone? It made her feel
guilty for what she was putting him through now, despite the fact
that this was necessary.

"Agent Scully? Dana?"

She pressed the button to turn on the speakerphone. "Yes Matt,
I'm here."

"I received a call from Agent Fowley requesting my presence at a
crime scene. They need a forensics guy," he explained.

"That's fine Matt. I'll be okay," she answered, wondering if this
was the same case that Mulder had left her to investigate not too
long ago.

"If you need anything important, I'll have my cellular turned on,
so you can reach me."

"Thank you Matt," Scully said.

"You're welcome, Agent Scully."

"Dana," she corrected.

"Yes. You're welcome, Dana," Matt repeated with a smile, and
signed off.

Not five minutes later her phone rang. Thinking it was Matt,
Scully picked up on the first ring. "I told you - I'll be fine,
stop worrying."

"Scully?"

"Mulder? I'm sorry. I thought you were Matt. Is something wrong?"

"I need your expertise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shadow Pharmaceutical Warehouse

"Fox, what are you doing? I thought you said that the blood was
toxic to humans," Diana asked, her voice muffled by a gas mask.

"I said if it was what I suspected it was, the substance flowing
>from the wounds of the body would be green and toxic to humans,"
he explained, removing his gas mask. "But the green residue is on
the floor - not the body."

Looking around him, Mulder took in all the details of the murder
scene. The yellow tape; the white chalk surrounding the body; the
frazzled security guard who had found the body, lying in a pool
of red and green, while making his rounds at a pharmaceutical
warehouse.

"And the red substance?"

"Normal human blood. We should get samples of both to send to the
lab."

Taking off her mask, Diana agreed. "I'll take care of it," and
opened her cellular phone.

Crouching down, Mulder slipped on his plastic gloves and ran his
hand over the neck of the corpse. Pulling back his collar, Mulder
noticed a scar on the back of his neck, similar to the one Scully
had on hers. Standing up, Mulder searched for a security guard.

"What is it?" Diana asked.

"Can you spot a security guard anywhere?"

"Why do you need a guard? We have plainclothes on the scene."

"I'll explain in a minute. Excuse me! Sir?" Mulder yelled at a
security guard holding back interested bystanders. "Could I
borrow your wand?"

"Yes sir," he said, walking to Mulder and handing it to him.

"Thanks," Mulder said and crouched back down. Not wanting to move
the corpse anymore than necessary, Mulder ran the wand over his
neck, hearing it beep - just as he suspected it would. On a
hunch, he also ran it past the man's stomach and heard the beep
again. There was no doubt about it. They were implants. Similar
to the ones implanted in Duane Barry and Scully too.

"What did that mean, Fox?" Diana asked. "Why did it beep?"

"Implants. Back in our second year of partnership, Scully was
abducted by a man named Duane Barry who was once an Agent for the
bureau. He claimed that he himself was repeatedly abducted and
had implants in his body. Eventually, he was taken into custody
and while there, died. I don't think this is a random occurrence.
This man has implants in some of the same areas that Barry did. I
think he's connected somehow," he said walking to the guard and
handing him back his wand. "What's the cause of death...do you
know?"

"Asphyxiation would be my guess...just like Barry."

Mulder stopped in his tracks. "How did you know that?"

Flustered, Diana backtracked. "You must have told me."

"No. I only told you that he died - not cause of death."

"Well...I must have read it in one of the files...at any rate,"
she hurried on, "I called Matt Stone to come view the body and
handle the autopsy."

"You did? I called Scully."

"Scully!" Diana said incredulous. "Why?"

"I just explained to you why, Diana. She's familiar with this
situation."

"Agent Mulder," Matt called, "look who I found!"

Mulder and Diana turned around and saw both Scully and Matt
walking toward them.

"This wasn't a good idea Fox," Diana chided.

Ignoring her remark, Mulder met them halfway shaking an
enthusiastic Matt's hand, and guiding both him and Scully to the
body.

"Thank you for coming," he said.

"You said something about implants?" Scully asked, getting right
to the point.

"Yes. He has them in his neck and stomach, but that's all I was
able to find out because I didn't want to move him anymore than I
had to."

"How are implants relevant?" Matt asked, all business now.

"Agent Mulder and I had an on-going investigation linking cancer,
the government, and implants placed in strategic locations on a
person's body, like the back of the neck, or the abdomen. Some
years ago I came to realize that one of these implants was
imbedded in the back of my neck too."

"My God! Agent Scully, I'm so sorry," Matt said sadly.

"This is exactly why I don't think it's appropriate for you to be
here," Diana said, stepping up to the circle.

"Diana-" Mulder said in warning.

"No, this is serious Fox. Agent Scully's too close to the
situation to be of any help."

"Begging your pardon Agent Fowley, but she just got here. How are
you able to assume she cannot be objective?" Matt asked, her
statement getting his dander up.

< Well what do you know. The kid's got spine.> Mulder thought to
himself.

Scully smiled at Matt in appreciation of his defense, then turned
her attention back to Fowley.

"I take it you don't want me here?"

"I wasn't aware that Fox had called you," she said.

"Just like I wasn't aware that you'd called Matt," Mulder
returned.

At this, Matt's head snapped around to Diana. She'd told him that
Mulder was the one that requested he come.

"Well since were here," Matt said, "why don't we just take a look
at the body?" Moving forward, Matt guided Scully to the body and
they both put on their plastic gloves. Then they crouched down
and examined the body.

Mulder pulled Diana aside and spoke softly but urgently to her.
"What is the matter with you Diana? You attacked as soon as you
heard she was coming. Why did you insult her like that?"

"I didn't insult her at all. I don't feel she can be objective
enough to handle this investigation. What about my opinion, Fox?
I'm your partner and you totally disregarded how I might feel
about this!"

"How so? Have I made a big deal about your calling Matt without
letting me know? I don't mind him being here; he's a big help. I
just wanted Scully here too."

"She's too close!" Diana said.

"You're making assumptions Diana. She's fine."

"Damn you Fox, I don't want her here!" she spat.

"What the hell's your problem Diana?" Mulder asked starting to
lose his temper. "If Scully's presence here bothers you so much,
then you deal directly with Matt and I'll deal with Scully,
though I don't see why that should even be necessary. You're
supposed to be a professional."

"That's exactly why I'm bringing this up, dammit!"

"EXCUSE ME!"

At Matt's loudly spoken command, both Mulder and Diana stopped
talking and turned to face him.

"Thank you," Matt said quietly. "Agent Scully asked me to tell
you two that she was leaving. She didn't want to be the cause of
a rift between partners. She said you both would be able to
understand what that meant, and once you two come to some sort of
agreement, to give her a call."

Mulder closed his eyes. She'd walked away again. Not that he
could blame her.

"Why don't I finish up here and send the body to the morgue,"
Matt said. There was something in Agent Mulder's face that had
him speaking softly, consolingly. "I'll do the autopsy, and if
there is anything relevant in the results, you can consult with
Agent Scully."

Mulder opened his eyes, thinking to himself that he was really
beginning to like this kid. "That's a perfect idea Matt. Thank
you," Mulder said gratefully.

"You're welcome," Matt replied, preening at the obvious light of
approval shining in Mulder's eyes. "Well, I'd better get
started."

After he had walked away, Diana turned to Mulder, laying a hand
on his arm. "Fox, listen-"

"Don't. I'm going to interview the guard that found the body,"
Mulder said, a slight chill in his eyes.

As Diana watched him walk away, she cursed Scully for doing just
the right thing to turn Fox against her. Something had to be
done.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He watched Scully leave. She'd walked right past him. Nothing was
going the way he planned. Every plan he made was thwarted by
circumstance. The timing was always wrong. He couldn't take the
chance on allowing himself to be seen but how long would he have
to wait? He was getting impatient.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Diana took a deep breath, and entered the dimly lit, smoke filled
office.

"You certainly took your time getting here, Agent Fowley."

"There were things I had to take care of. I got here as fast as I
could."

"Did you take all the necessary precautions? Are you sure you
weren't followed?"

"I know how to cover my tracks. What is it you wanted to talk
about?" she asked, taking a seat.

"It seems that there is a shadow player in the game."

Diana tried not to show the panic she felt at his statement.
Could he have found out? Had X made his move before the scheduled
time? "What makes you say that?" She asked cautiously.

"The presence of surveillance equipment planted in Agent Mulder's
office."

"What's so surprising about that? It's what you wanted, isn't
it?"

That's just it Agent Fowley - they weren't planted by me. When I
sent my people in to plant them, they told me that the equipment
was already in place."

"Well, maybe your men got their wires crossed, and put them in
before the time you allotted. It's a simple mistake," Diana tried
to explain, knowing that it was no mistake at all.

"My people don't make mistakes Agent Fowley," he snapped back.

Diana stared wryly.

"Not more than once," he amended.

"Alright, then who do you think is responsible?" She asked.

"I have a few possibilities running around in my head. Nothing I
want to share just yet. I simply wanted to get your opinion on
the subject."

"I just gave you my opinion."

"You disappoint me, Diana. That's all you could come up with?"

"Right at the moment, yes."

Leaning forward in his seat, CSM pinned her with a unwavering
stare. "Can you think of anyone who might have reason to monitor
Agent Mulder's actions?"

"Yes...several; can't you?" she shot back.

"Touché Agent Fowley," CSM said through a cloud of smoke.
"Craftiness becomes you."

"You might want to rephrase the question," she said, leaning back
in her seat.

"Agreed. Do you know if anyone is monitoring Agent Mulder's
actions?"

"Besides yourself?"

"Yes."

"No," she lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do you think I'm lying?"

"Not at all, Agent Fowley. You just used to show more
imagination."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not in the mood."

"Ahh, problems on the home front?" CSM said sympathetically.

"Scully is still coming between us, even though she is no longer
his partner. When we were in need of a pathologist, she was the
first person Fox called. I told him I preferred Matt, and he had
no objection, but still insisted on Scully's presence too in
spite of how I felt. I was humiliated. He was angry and wouldn't
back down. In the end, SHE decided it for all of us by walking
away."

"Perhaps you need to try a more intimate type of persuasion," CSM
suggested.

"I tried that already - with limited results. She's got an
iron-tight grip on him," she blurted in frustration. "I have got
to have them separated," she said to him urgently. "That will be
a start. Can you arrange that?"

"They already work for two different departments; how much more
separated do you want them to be?"

"I don't want her anywhere near him," she said with venom. "There
must be some way for you to make that happen!"

"Of course. All you need to know is what strings to pull to
guarantee the outcome that you want. Then of course, there is
what puppet to use to achieve your purpose," he said musingly,
thinking of the perfect candidate for the job, AD Kersch.
Scully's new boss.

"So you'll do it?" She asked anxiously.

"My dear Agent Fowley, when will you learn that I can do
anything?"

End Part 3 of 10