Title: Stockholm Syndrome Author: Nita Durham a.k.a. Nita Dee@AOL Com. Classification: PG-13. Violence and Language. Plot: "X-Files" Fox Mulder and "Ally McBeal"'s Ally McBeal are held hostage by a cult called the Lost Civilization of Star Warriors. Disclaimer Number One: The Characters of Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Melvin Frohike, et. al.and the concept of "X-Files" belongs to Chris Carter and Twentith Century Fox Broadcasting in association with FOX. Disclaimer Number Two: The Characters of Ally McBeal, Billy Thomas, Georgia Thomas, Elaine Vassel, Richard Fish, John Cage, Renee Raddick, Nelle Porter, Ling Woo, Vonda Shepard et.al. and the concept of "Ally McBeal" belongs to David E. Kelly and Twentith Century Fox Broadcasting in association with FOX. Disclaimer Number Three: The characters of John Randolph Fontaine V & VI, Chad Thaddeus, Phil Carter, Scott Bradley, the members of the LCSW, et. al. belong to Nita Durham and her imagination. This is a "shipper" piece--but not in the traditional sense. Just stick with it and enjoy. And Ally McBeal fans, don't flame me for the lack of fantasy and traditional "Ally McBeal" characteristics. This is a crossover and I'm writing it as an X-Files type story. Credits: To Jennifer, who thought Mulder and Ally would make a "cute couple" and helped write the "dance sequence". To Judy, for listening to my babble and helping me out. To RJ, for listening to my babble and helping me out. And to fans of both "X-Files" and "Ally McBeal"--FOX does know how to entertain us!! On with the show! From nitadee@aol.com Sat Feb 13 10:31:08 1999 Date: 6 Jan 1999 00:25:39 GMT From: Nita Dee Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Stockholm Syndrome 1/8 Stockholm Syndrome 1/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section. Boston, Massacussetts The Last Monday in October "I just don't understand why we were requested on this case. This is a hostage situation, Mulder. Why are we being called into it?" Dana Scully asked her partner and friend Fox Mulder as they drove their rented Ford Taurus from Logan International Airport in Boston, MA on the last Monday in October. "Because the Northeastern Director felt we might have some familiarity with the cult known as "The Lost Civilization of the Star Warriors" or LCSW. Unfortunately, the only contact I have had with the organization is having read an article on the founder, John Randolph Fontaine the Fifth, which was published in the Lone Gunman's magazine last Winter. Seems this is a man who fancies himself to be the decendant of a lost civilization of Star Warriors and has his son, John Randolph Fontaine the Sixth and a group of homeless people living in an abandoned department store which has been owned by his family for generations." Mulder said as he bit into a sunflower seed. "In actuality, Scully, this is a man who ran through his family's fortunes and burned himself out on drugs and alcohol so badly that by the time the old man, John Randolph Fontaine the Fourth died there was really nothing left to leave his son except the builidng of the original Fontaine's store. And thats a shame, Scully, because my Mother used to get mine and Samantha's school clothes at the Chilmark location of Fontaine's. Nice store. Almost as good as Wal-Mart." Mulder said as he drove. Scully stared out the window at the late Autumn colors. It was unusually cool for late October, even for Boston. "So you are saying, Mulder, that we are dealing with a crackpot." Scully said as she looked at the file in her lap. "Yes, I am. Seems that Number Five had an idea to succeed the block that the store was on from the United States and start their own country. They managed to find a law firm to take the case--Fish, Cage and Associates--and went to court to succeed from the Union. They lost the case, big surprise, and then this past Friday morning the Fifth requested that the two representing attorney's come to the store's location for their payment. When they went into the building, they were taken hostage. The Fifth wants to negotiate the two attorney's release for succession." Mulder said as he flashed his FBI badge at a security officer and drove into the parking lot of the old Fontaine's Department Store. "So basically, we have a hostage situation that has gone over 72 hours--which means there is no end in site--and no hopes of negotiation. Thats great." Sighed Scully. "What are the names of the two hostages again, Scully?" Mulder asked as he flashed his badge at yet another security guard and parked the Taurus. "Ummm...Billy Thomas and Ally McBeal." Scully said reading the file. "Ally..must be short for Alice as Billy is for William. I guess everyone has names they don't like." Mulder said. Mulder and Scully departed the car and asked one of the security guards for the FBI agent in charge of the negotiations. The guard pointed to a blushery man who looked mad at the world. "Agent Carter? I'm Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully. We are the agents who have been sent up from Washington D.C. by Asst. Director Scott Bradley to help out with the negotiations." Mulder said as he stuck his hand out to shake. "Good God Almighty!! It must be dawn and the "spooky patrol" has arrived." Carter said with a smirk. "I tried to tell that idiot Bradley that we didn't need no help from "the X-Files" on this case. Had I have had my way, it would have ended Friday afternoon with the SWAT team storming the complex. But no, we have to try to negotiate. Reason with that Spaced-out hippie and his group of lost planet airmen." Carter said. "Actually, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen put out some good music back in the 1970's--ever heard "Hot Rod Lincoln? It was their biggest hit." Mulder said, trying to ease tensions. "Son, one thing I can't stand or tolerate is a smart-ass!!!" Carter said, temper flaring. "Sir, Mulder was just trying to ease tensions. We are here now and have come to work. Can you tell me what has happened?" Scully asked Carter and shot a look at Mulder that said "shut up!". "Nothing much. Old Space Cadet comes out once in a while to speak to us about how the "mother ship" is coming to take them all home and that they only want peace and a place to call home until the "mother ship" arrives. We have not seen the hostages yet. They may not even be alive." Carter said with a grunt. "And over there.." Carter said, pointing at a group of people behind a baricade. "..is the "amen" corner. Those are friends and employees of Fish and Cage who won't leave for anything. The looker blond up front is Mrs. Thomas. I forget the others names." Scully and Mulder looked over at the group of people. They seemed to be a group of professionals from the ages of 25-40, deep concern on their faces for their friends and loved ones. "Well, since you are here, you might as well get your gear and get into the rotation. Go over to that Winnebago and see Agent Thaddeus about your rotations. And Spooky, if they come out here talking about that "mother ship" again, I'll call you. You might actually believe him." Agent Phil Carter said as the agents departed. "What a complete jerk." Scully said, shooting a look back at Carter and several other agents. "Ah, my reputation precedes me." Mulder said with a small smile. Suddenly, the unmistaken sound of a gunshot snapped through the cool Autumn air. A scream was heard from "the Amen corner" followed by muttered voices and sobbing. Mulder and Scully, along with the other law enforcement officials, went running back to the hub where Carter was stationed. "Okay, what happened in there!??!!!! Come out and talk to me. You have ten seconds or I send my boys in. You hear me, Space Man? Talk to me." Phil Carter screamed into a mega-phone. Slowly, one of the doors opened and a silverhaired man, dressed in a purple bathrobe with gold stars pasted upon the skirt walked to the front of the building. He picked up a megaphone and began to speak calmly to Agent Carter. "That is John Fontaine the Fifth." Mulder whispered to Scully. "My friends, I have sad news to pass along to you. Mr. Thomas tried to escape from our "holding area" and my son, who unfortunately is a child of this violent and evil Earth, took his pistol and shot him. It is sad that such a people of peace must arm themselves to protect their rights." The Fifth said as softly as if he were reading a bedtime story to a child. In the "Amen Corner" several people had their arms around Georgia Thomas, trying to steady her. She was quiet but her face read unmistaken grief. "Is he dead?!!! Tell me! And what about Ms. McBeal?" Carter screamed into his megaphone. "He is not dead but gravely wounded. He has lost blood. Ms. McBeal is fine. She is with him now, trying to stop the bleeding with her suit jacket." The Fifth said quietly. "We will send paramedics in there to take him to the hospital!" Carter said in the megaphone. "I will be willing to allow Mr. Thomas to go free if someone else takes his place." The Fifth said. "How about just letting both of them go? You aren't getting anywhere." Carter said. "My friend, that is not an option. I do take responsibility for Mr. Thomas condition but I cannot give up the cause for him. Send Mr. Fish or Mr. Cage in." The Fifth said quietly. Carter threw down his megaphone and walked over to the "Amen corner". Mulder and Scully followed him. "Well, boys..which will it be?" Carter asked. "I'll go." John Cage said quietly. "Yes, send John in. He hasn't got a case pending and I need to be with Nelle tomorrow working on a case with her. And my back is hurting. Send the Biscuit in." Richard Fish said. "No! John has no business being in there. His asthma has been bothering him since Friday afternoon. Richard should go." Georgia said, her face determined. The others nodded in agreement. "Georgia....I would only make Fontaine V mad. You know he doesn't like me. I went on television saying what a kook he was and how we only took the case for the money and the media attention." Richard said and then "Bygones." after the look everyone shot him. "May I make a suggesion?" Fox Mulder butted in. "Send me in." Scully gasped. Mulder was always doing that--putting himself into dangerous situations. "Now, Spooky..why would he want you? He said he wanted either Fish or Cage..not you." Carter said. "Because, I believe Mr. Fontaine is familar with my work." Mulder said. "Please, let me talk to him." "Okay, Spooky! Its your ride." Carter said, pointing at the dropped megaphone. Mulder walked over to the megaphone and picked it up. Scully followed close behind him. "Mr. Fontaine? I'm Fox Mulder. I'm with a division of the FBI known as the "X-Files". I would like to offer myself for the trade." Mulder said. "I think we have a lot in common and that it would be a mutually beneficial relationship." Fontaine V looked at him with interest. "Fox Mulder. Yes, I know who you are. I have read several articles about you in LGM magazine. You are a believer. Yes, yes...I think you would do nicely. I didn't much want that Satan's tool Richard Fish in here anyway. And John Cage is goofy." In the "Amen Corner", Richard breathed a sigh of relief and said "I told you." John Cage muttered something about "goofy is as goofy does." The others looked nervous. "But I have conditions. No weapons, no wires, leave your coat, your shoes, your belt and tie outside. It was a weapon made of a belt and a pair of shoes that led to Mr. Thomas's shooting. No sense giving you the same advantage." Fontaine V said. "You have ten minutes to have two paramedics come in to take Mr. Thomas. Agent Mulder, you may come in." Fontaine V finished as he walked back into the building. Mulder handed his trench coat, gun and cell phone to Scully. Then, sitting on the back end of a sports utility vehicle, took his belt and tie off and then finally he took his shoes off. "Mulder, its a brave and foolish thing you are doing. Please be careful." Scully said. "Scully, its to save a man's life. And who knows? I may just be able to convince him to free the other hostage. It will be okay, Scully." Mulder said, giving her a pat on the back and a half hug. So Scully watched as Fox Mulder followed two paramedics into the old store. Then, three minutes later, she saw the two paramedics bring out a handsome dark haired man on a streacher. He was still covered with a light gray jacket that belongs to a small woman. Scully watched as his wife ran over to him and jumped into the awaiting ambulance after the streacher was loaded in. The ambulance then left the parking lot, siren blaring. "Mulder..I just hope you know what you are doing." Scully whispered. End of Part one. From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 2/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section. Once inside the building, Fox Mulder was amazed to find the department store had been transformed into a vitual arsenal. While John Randolph Fontaine V may have been a man of peace, the LCSW were ready to go to war. There were guns of every kind hanging from the walls. On the floor of the department store were pallets where the people belonging to the cult slept. Mulder roughly counted fifty people before being led to Fontaine V's office. "Agent Mulder. It is good to speak with you again. My son will take to to the holding area, but I wanted to speak to you first myself. How would you like to join us? We hold many of the same interests and your talents and expertise would be appreciated by our brothers when the mothership comes." Fontaine V said. "Mr. Fontaine, let Ms. McBeal go and we will talk about it. I want to believe, sir, but I have a job to do." Mulder said. "Ahh, well that is fine. I understand and appreciate the need for duty. But I cannot let Ms. McBeal go without first securing the freedom of our land. We can no longer be citizens of a nation that cares so little about its people. We must have freedom so that the mothership will come right readily for us." Fontaine V said quietly. "But Ms. McBeal and Billy Thomas tried to secure the freedom of your land. Its not their fault the case was lost. I am sure they did their best." Mulder said with empathy. "As they did, but it didn't help matters that their boss cut us down after the case was lost. And appeals could drag on for years and I am no longer a man of Earthly wealth." Fontaine V said. "My most humble Father, are you ready to have the new prisoner transported to the holding area?" A young man of about 22 entered the room. Mulder assumed he was John Randolph Fontaine VI. "Yes, child. Take him on." Fontaine V said. "We shall speak again, Agent Mulder." Fontaine VI led Mulder down the hall to a stairway and together the two men walked down to the basement. "We are being held in the basement. I spend a lot of time in basements." Mulder said by way of conversation. "Shut up, G-Man!! I still have this gun and I do know how to use it!" Fontaine VI said with violence. "My father may be a fool, but he is right. The revolution must come soon. We can no longer wait on the mothership. We must take our land by force if we have to." "All-righty." Mulder said quietly. Fontaine VI was just as much a cracker as his father was. It was dark in the basement. None of the building had electricity, but at least the top floors had windows for lighting. Fontaine VI took a flashlight out of his pocket and walked over to an old closet type safe. Using a key, Fontaine VI unlocked the padlock. Then, he turned the wheel device once and opened the door. "Woman, don't try anything or you will get shot like your friend did. The replacement has arrived." Fontaine VI called into the darkness. The room was small but not tiny. Mulder looked as the beam from the flashlight picked out the figure of a small woman, almost girlish in figure, with light brown hair and doe-like eyes. Her face was streaked with tears and there was blood stains on her short mini-skirted dress. "Billy..will he be okay?" The woman said shaky but with quiet courage. Fontaine VI turned and left, shutting the door behind him and turning the wheel to lock it. "Hi. You must be Ally McBeal. I'm FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder. I will be your companion for the duration of this crisis." Mulder said, wishing he could see better in the dark. "I thought Richard or John were coming." Ally said to Mulder. " Mr. Fontaine V decided to let me come instead." Mulder said. "Did you see the get-up the old man has on? Its like its 4:30 on Halloween afternoon and he decided he wanted to go trick or treating after all." Ally laughed. "You should have been in court with him wearing that outfit." "I wish I had more to tell you about your friend. The paramedics took him off to the hospital but I have no new word on his condition." Mulder said by way of comfort. "I have Billy's blood on me. I didn't know until the flashlight was shined in here. God, I can feel it now..I have his blood all over me...." Ally began to sob uncontrollably. "Here...take your dress off. Put my shirt on. Maybe this will help." Mulder said, unbuttoning his shirt. Ally did as told. "Thank you." Ally said, pushing the soiled dress away with her bare foot. "They took my shoes away from me, after Billy was shot. I tried to tell Billy it was no use to try and escape, but he had to be a man and try it." "Men are bad like that." Mulder smiled. "You are close to Billy. I can tell by the way you talk about him." For the next two hours, Mulder heard every ounce of Ally's narrative. How she and Billy had been friends all their lives, how he was her "first", how they dated all though high school and college, how he went to Michigan to study law and she had gone to Harvard, how she had found out just recently that Billy had actually left her for Georgia, whom he would marry, how she went to work for Richard Fish and Billy was working there and it rekindled all her old feelings for him, how Georgia had become a friend and on and on. Then, after she was done with Billy and Georgia, she talked about her best friend Renee Raddick, John Cage and Richard Fish, her secretary, Elaine Vassel ("whom she really did like when she wasn't being annoying.."), that new lawyer, Nelle Porter ("who should be here now instead of me..I traded cases with her. Stupid me."), some singer at a night club named Vonda Shepard ("You must come and see her one night. She's great."), etc. Mulder listened at first intently, then as it drew into babble, Mulder tuned Ally out and began concentrating on what he could do to try to bring an end to the crisis. But it didn't bother him to listen to Ally--it was helping her keep her mind off the crisis. Maybe when she finished he would tell her all about Dana Scully and his "X-Files." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Dana Scully had forgotten how early darkness arrived in the autumn months after Daylight Savings Time ended. But at 5:30, the spotlights mounted on top of the three service Winnebagos came on to illuminate the old Department store. Apparently, some candles had been lit in the store. Scully could see candlelight from some of the windows. Scully allowed herself a brief moment to say a prayer for Mulder and the other hostage--Ally McBeal. Then, Scully went over to Agent Phil Carter and asked what was next on the agenda. "I am fixing to go into one of the Winnebagos to sleep. We are pretty much stuck now...playing a waiting game. Agent Chad Thaddeus is coming to pull down the night shift. Why don't you get some rest too...I'm sending you down in the morning to talk to Billy Thomas. Maybe he can shed some light on whats going on in there." Phil Carter said, tired. He looked older than his 53 years at that moment. "Will he be able to talk? I spoke with Ms. Raddick, one of Ms. McBeal's friends, a while ago. He was still in recovery." Scully said. "Oh sure..its just a stomach wound. Had one of those myself once. He will probably be in the hospital for a few days but he should be okay enough to talk to us. Let us know exactly what that Old Space Cadet is up to." Phil said as he turned the platform over to Agent Thaddeus. "Good night." "Agent Scully..I'm Chad Thaddeus." A young agent of about 30 introduced himself. Scully couldn't get over how much he looked like Brad Pitt. "That was a brave and noble thing your partner did. Mr. Thomas would have surely died had he not gotten medical attention when he did." "Yes, that's Mulder." Scully said quietly. "If you need me, I will be in the second Winnebago getting some rest." Scully turned and walked away, leaving the evening shift to the people who were chosen to man it. Scully had been lucky enough to pull a day shift when she entered her name into the rotation after Mulder went into the Department Store. But she could not leave. She looked over at the friends of Ally McBeal, getting ready to spend their fourth night in frigid temperatures. They couldn't leave either. And Scully understood why. "Agent Scully!!!" The familiar voice of Melvin Frohike broke the cold evening air. "Come over here." Scully went over to the odd little man whom she loved like a brother. "Frohike. I see you are covering the story for LGM Magazine." She said. "Yes, I flew up here when CNN reported that Mulder had traded himself to be a hostage for the man who was shot. Mulder is a good man, Miss Scully. I hope you appreciate him." Frohike said. "Oh, Frohike..I do." Scully said. "Would you like some coffee? That Winnebago has some fresh coffee and pretty fresh donuts." Frohike followed Scully into the Winnebago and soon the two were eating pizza, donuts and coffee. "I pretty much have the scoop on whats going on from my sources. Mulder and that lady lawyer sure have themselves in a mess." Frohike said as he finished his second cup of coffee. "No chance of an early resolution now thats its past 72 hours. And they are giving us nothing to negotiate with." Scully said quietly. "Oh my!!!" Frohike said, dropping his donut. "Oh my..who is that? She is so hot..so tasty." Scully looked out the window and saw a healthy looking blond woman in a parka handing out coffee and donuts to some of the others in the "amen corner". It was Ally's secretary, Elaine Vassel. "That's Ally McBeal's secretary. I believe her name is Elaine. I haven't really spoken to any of the friends over there but one--Renee Raddick, who is Ms. McBeal's best friend and roommate. But I think she's available. Renee said something about Mr. and Mrs. Thomas being the only married people in their group." Scully said. The look on Melvin Frohike's face said it all--he had to met Elaine Vassel! "Why don't you go out and introduce yourself, Frohike? She could probably use some cheering up now." Scully said and smiled as Frohike jumped at the offer. Soon, the Lone Gunman was outside, making a new friend. "Well, at least they are happy. Wish I was." Scully thought. Now more than at any time that day, she missed Fox Mulder. She needed his humor and intellect to keep a bad situation from getting worse. And in a dark safe inside an old Department Store, Fox Mulder watched as Ally McBeal slept and wished he was with Dana Scully, safe and on their way home to Washington, DC. But it would be many days, maybe weeks before he would see his partner and friend again. So Mulder tipped his head against the wall and began to "remember" some of their old cases. At least he could be with her in spirit. End of Part Two From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 3/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section. Fox Mulder and Ally McBeal awoke to the sound of the padlock being unlocked on the door of the safe that Tuesday morning. "Its time for breakfast." Ally said without emotion. The wear of the past four days was beginning to tell on her mood. The door opened and John Randolph Fontaine V walked in with a tray holding two slices of bread and two cups of water in styrofoam cups. "Thats all we get? The Geneva Convention clearly dictates that POW's should get at least one cup of coffee a day." Mulder said as he was handed his rations. "My friend, be grateful for the nutritional substances. Should the seige last very long, we will not have that to offer you." Fontaine V said as he handed Ally her rations. "When are you going to let us go?" Mulder asked. "When the United States allows this block to be succeeded from the Union and not a minute before. Or, should the mothership arrive, you will be given the option of coming with us or staying on Earth." Fontaine V said. "If you would like, I can bring you some pamplets to read about our cause." "I'd like that..thanks. Can we have a flashlight or candle, too? Its awfully dark in here when the door is closed." Mulder said. "I will see what I can do. Have a good day." Fontaine V said as he left the cell, locking the door behind him. "We are never going to leave here alive." Ally said with the same no-emotion tone she used earlier. "Yes we will! It may take a while, but I think the old Codger will eventually get tired of playing Space King and let us go. Or maybe that hot-headed FBI agent in charge of this negotiation, Phil Carter, will get his way and storm the place. We have just got to be patient." Mulder said. "I got to hear all about your life, now let me tell you about mine." Fox Mulder said to to Ally as he seated himself in next to her against the wall of the safe. So Mulder went into the stories of how his sister Samantha was stolen at age eight by unknown forces, how he became an FBI agent, how he found the X-Files, how Dana Scully joined his quest and was his lifesaver, how they fought against a conspiracy against a man only known as "Cigarette Smoking Man", some of his other adventures in the field, then back to Dana Scully and her trials with her health and wellbeing, having lost a sister, father and daughter and overcoming cancer last year. Mulder finished his stories about three hours later and saw in the shadows Ally McBeal rubbing the tears from her eyes. "That was some story. You should become a writer sometime after you retire, Fox. And poor Dana Scully! It is absolutely heartbreaking what she has gone through." Ally said. Then, quietly, Ally said "I wish they would let us know how Billy is." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- At 7:30 that Tuesday morning, Dana Scully reported to the "hub" to find out what her assignment would be that day from Agent Phil Carter. She knew that it would probably be the afternoon at the earliest before she and Agent Chad Thaddeus could go to UMB Hospital to question Billy Thomas. Maybe she could do some of the "media" work--CNN and all the major news outlets had journalists at the site, covering the story. Interviewing would be an interesting way to pass the time. Phil Carter, however, had other plans for the petite redhead. "Agent Scully, would you be a sweetheart and pass out those donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to some of those people in the "amen corner" and some of those news people? Bradley said we needed to make them comfortable. I don't know why they continue to stay. I have a feeling we are going to be here awhile." Phil said, smiling at Scully. At first, Scully was slightly offended at being made the "gofer", but deciding it was a worthwhile duty, got the rolling cart and walked over to the tired bunch from "Fish and Cage." "Any news to report?" John Cage asked her when he saw her coming with the cart. "No sir, nothing. I think Agent Carter will probably check in with the LCSW about 10:00 AM. Maybe we will have some news then." Scully said with compassion to the kindly man. "Would you look who finally decided to show up--Sub-Zero Nelle Porter." Elaine Vassel said with venom in her voice. Scully was suprised to see Frohike still standing by her side in the group. Scully looked over to see Richard Fish and a beautiful blond woman get out of a taxi. The Security guard went ahead and waved the two attorneys through the barricade. "Any word?" Richard asked when he got into sight of the group. "Not yet..the FBI are going to contact Fontaine again at 10:00 AM." John said before going into another coughing fit. "What are YOU doing here, Nelle?" Elaine asked with controlled hatred. "Richard wanted to stop by. And I was concerned, too." Nelle said, ignoring the tone of Elaine's voice. "You haven't been THAT concerned! We've all been here since Friday afternoon, but you've been too good to dirty yourself coming down here. And you know what makes me sick to my stomach? That it should be you in there, not Ally. Richard assigned the case to you and Billy, but then you talked Ally into taking it. Couldn't stand for a "loss" on your resume, no siree!" Elaine said with marked words. "Elaine, don't cause a scene!" Renee Raddick said to the other woman. "Sugar, calm down..its okay, its all going to be okay." Frohike said, putting his arm around the blond secretary. "Elaine." Nelle began calmly with complete control. "Yes, I asked Ally to take the case. And she agreed readily to do it..her load wasn't as heavy as mine has been with the Howell case. You know as well as I do she doesn't pass up many opportunities to work with Billy Thomas. As for coming down here, I didn't feel my presence was needed..the police and FBI are doing an outstanding job with the situation. And while all of you were standing out here yesterday afternoon, I was up at UMB with Georgia Thomas, waiting for Billy to come out of surgery. She appreciated my support, by the way." "There is no need to argue about this. Ally knows in her heart we are love her and are worried about her. But we are going to have to pick up and move on. There is no need in everyone standing around waiting for this thing to end--especially when we don't know when it will." Richard Fish said. Listening to the exchange took Scully back to a similar exchange she had with a fellow agent at the FBI after her sister, Melissa, had died. The agent had acted very much like Elaine Vassel had acted towards Nelle. With hatred, the fellow agent had accused her of "lack of feeling" by coming back to work a week after her sister's death. "Listen, everyone. Ms. Porter and Mr. Fish are right. We appreciate your concern, really we do. But we are going into our fourth day of this standoff and there is no end in sight." Scully said. Continuing, Scully said. "Mr. Cage, you don't look well. And all of you look so tired. If you can't leave, why don't you do what we are doing? Portion the day in shifts. That way, if something should break, someone can be here to call the others. Although it will probably be covered as a "breaking news story" on television and radio news when it finally does break." The group muttered among themselves. Finally John Cage spoke. "That may be the way to handle this thing. Lets see about having one or two of us stationed here and let some of us get some rest." John said. "Well, when you know something, call me on my phone! We've got to go to court." Richard Fish said, pleased with himself for being such a good negotiator. "Agent Scully, thanks." Nelle Porter whispered as she followed Richard Fish back to the taxi. So the little group picked lots on times to be at the site. Soon, the only ones left were Elaine Vassel and her new friend, Melvin Frohike. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------- The 10:00 AM briefing was uneventful. John Randolph Fontaine V spoke five minutes about the need for the LCSW to have control of their land and the need for the mothership to have a safe place to land when it arrived. Nothing was mentioned about the hostages. "Well, thats our usual update. I guess we will check back in at three o'clock. You know, I have never been involved in a hostage situation where the captors didn't ask for anything small to work with." Phil Carter said to his group of FBI agents at the 11:00 AM briefing. "Agent Scully and Agent Thaddeus...I need you to go over to UMB this afternoon and talk to Billy Thomas. See if he can give us any light on this thing." Phil Carter said to the two agents. "The rest of you...continue to man your positions. Same as we've done since Saturday." Phil said to the others. "I will be at the hub, working on some things." At 1:30 PM, Dana Scully and Chad Thaddeus pulled out of the parking lot of the old Fontaine's department store and headed out to UMB. Agent Thaddeus was driving his pride and joy--a fully restored 1966 Jaguar. Had Scully not been concerned about Mulder and the hostage situation, she would have enjoyed herself. "Dana, this is one fine car!! I fell in love with this kind of car back as a kid when I used to watch "The Avengers" on Saturday afternoon. Emma Peel is still my idea of a perfect woman...the Diana Rigg version, that is. Uma Thurman blew chunks in the recent remake. Never try to re-do a classic, I say." Agent Thaddeus looked more like a College kid than an FBI agent behind the wheel of the powerful sports car. "I agree." Scully said. Chad Thaddeus was the anti-Mulder, she thought. Chad had become an FBI agent because his father and grandfather had been one before him. He was carefree and was still passionate about living and about his job. The Jag pulled into the parking lot of UMB in record time. Flashing his badge and saying "Federal Agents", Agent Thaddeus was able to pull into a nice parking slot in the front of the building that said "security". Once inside the hospital, Scully and Thaddeus were escorted to the SICU by the nurse in charge of the unit. "Now, Dr. Bryant has only agreed to this because Mr. Thomas insisted. Do not wear him out asking a lot of questions." Nurse Jones-Thornton said in strict voice. "And I will be timing you--you have 15 minutes." Scully and Thaddeus walked into the small ICU room. Georgia Thomas was seated in a recliner next to the bed and looked worn out. Billy Thomas was in the bed with an IV unit attached to his left arm and a small breathing mask on his nostrils. He had also been catheterized. Still a sick man, thought Agent Scully. "Mr. Thomas, I'm Agent Dana Scully and this is Agent Chad Thaddeus with the FBI. We only have a few minutes, but we need to ask you some things about the Lost Civilization of Star Warriors and John Randolph Fontaine the V and VI." Scully said as Thaddeus pulled out a tape recorder and a legal pad. "Ally......" Billy wheezed, his heart rate going up on the monitor. Georgia jumped up, concerned. "We don't have any new word on her or Agent Mulder." Scully said with compassion. "She was scared to death in there.....I was trying to get us out of there when I was shot....." Billy said, wheezing. "Sir, I am sure she was. Anyone would be. But Ms. McBeal is in good hands if Agent Mulder is in there. I haven't had the opportunity like Agent Scully has to work with him, but I have heard a lot of good things about him. But sir, we need to discuss the LCSW." Chad Thaddeus said, compassionate but with a mind to the quickly ticking clock. Billy nodded. "What can I tell you?" "What are we dealing with in the LCSW? Do they have other weapons? Would a storming of the building be practical?" Chad ask in rapid succession. "You are dealing with madmen. Ally and I...." Billy coughed "...knew they were not all together there during the preparation and the trial. But I never thought they would resort to this." "Weapons?" Thaddeus asked. "Oh yes, many. The old man was kind of a peaceful dottering fool, but the young man is dangerous. Very violent. And the others of the group are radical, but thankfully their loyalty is with the old man." Billy said with pain in his voice. "So storming the building would not be practical. How about gas?" Thaddeus asked. "They have masks. It might work if it wasn't for the son. He'd kill Ally and the FBI agent in a second. Trust me, the man is a raging inferno of hatred." Billy said. "...you know, I almost had Ally out of there. There is an old shipping and receiving door beside the safe where we were held. When I knocked out the young man who had opened the safe to allow us our bathroom time, we were on our way out of the door..it wasn't locked. But then John Fontaine the VI saw us and shot me...then, he pulled Ally down by her hair and threatened her. But she stood up to him...Ally stood up to him....and she took her jacket off and took her hands to try to stop the bleeding. Ally..who faints at the sight of blood and has fear of violence and criminals. Oh God, get her out of there, please." Billy finished with a moan. "Billy..please...you must not strain yourself like this." Georgia said, blue eyes filling with tears. "Sir, I can assure you we are doing everything in our power to resolve this." Agent Scully said to Billy. "Times up." Nurse Jones-Thornton said, pointing at the clock. "Thank you..you've been a big help to us." Chad Thaddeus said as he escorted Dana Scully out of the room. "Now what?" Thaddeus asked Scully once outside of the room. "Agents Thaddeus and Scully! May I talk to you a second?" It was Georgia Thomas, coming after them. "Yes." Scully said, stopping Thaddeus with her hand on his arm. "This may be of some help to you. When Billy and Ally were working on the case, I sat in on some of the sessions in the trial planning phase. What if you told John Randolph Fontaine the V that you had secured secession from the union? You know..get something formal written up, maybe have an official deliver it to the group. I don't think John Randolph Fontaine V or VI would know the difference, as long as it was a legal paper. Then, once Ally and the FBI agent were freed, storm the building." Georgia suggested. Chad Thaddeus and Dana Scully nodded their heads in agreement. "That might be the ticket we are looking for. The most important thing is to get the hostages freed. Lets run that past Phil Carter and see what he says." Chad Thaddeus said to Scully. "That was some kind of thought process, Mrs. Thomas! Let me have your card. I may use you if I ever need a lawyer in the Boston area." Scully said, hope returning to her for the first time in two days. "If it gets Ally McBeal out of that building, it will be worth it. Billy and I are so worried about her." Georgia said with a smile. "Thanks, ma'am...thats the best news we've had in five days." Chad Thaddeus said, returning the smile. "And it will get Fox Mulder out of the building, too..." Scully said, smiling with Chad and Georgia. End of Part Three From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 4/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section Dana Scully and Chad Thaddeus went back to the Fontaine's Department Store excited about Georgia Thomas's plan. They immediately called a meeting with Phil Carter, who put Asst. Director Scott Bradley on the conference phone. "Here is the idea. Lets tell the LCWS that we have a plan to get their land seceeded from the United States and then give them a paper stating as much. Then, when Agent Mulder and Ms. McBeal are freed, we can storm the complex and end this situation." Agent Thaddeus told the group of law enforcement officials. "How can we be sure they will believe us? The ruling was that they did not have enough citizenship to seceed and that the courts basically felt the whole matter was a waste of time." Asst. Director Scott Bradley said over the conference phone. "And whose to say that once they get their land, they don't turn around and ask for a spaceship so they can fly back to the mother planet instead of waiting for them?" Carter said with a snarl. "And whose to say they don't just kill the hostages once we agree to their terms?" "Billy Thomas feels the group supports the non-violent ways of Mr. Fontaine the V and not the son." Dana Scully said. "I feel its worth looking into, at least." "Here is what I propose...tell that old Space Cadet in our next briefing that we may have found a loophole to get their land free but we first need to see the hostages. When they bring the hostages out in the open, we storm the complex." Phil Carter suggested. "No! That puts the hostages at too much of a risk. We want this thing to end as peacefully as possible." Ast. Director Scott Bradley said over the phone. "They have already shot one hostage and could shot the other two. No, the idea of negotiation using a bogus seceeding order sounds better to me." "But we still need to see the hostages and make certain they are alright. Agt. Mulder has been in over a day now and Ms. McBeal has been in since the start of the crisis on Friday, five days ago." Phil Carter said to the group. "Okay, then here is what we will do. Ask that Fontaine V bring the hostages out before you make your move about the seceeding order. And we will probably need to introduce it during this afternoon's session and actually deliver the paperwork tomorrow morning. That way, it will look as if we have had to go through channels to get the secession approved." Ast. Director Scott Bradley said. "Thats what we will do, then. And Scott, stay on the line. There are some other details I want to talk to you about." Phil said as he picked up the phone off the intercom as the other agents and law enforcement officials left. "That Georgia Thomas will get a medal if this works." Chad Thaddeus said to Dana Scully as they left the Winnebago. "Renee Raddick is back..I guess she's taking Elaine's place. Lets go over and tell her the good news." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- At three o'clock that afternoon, a crowd of news journalist had assembled for the bi-daily briefing. And the "amen corner" was full to capacity. Scully noticed that even Richard Fish and Nelle Porter had come from the Courthouse. "Mr. Fontaine, this is Phil Carter again. We need to talk with you." Phil Carter said over the megaphone. The door of the complex opened and the silverhaired man walked out with his son behind him. "Lovely afternoon, my friend. Do you have any good news to report?" John Randolph Fontaine V asked Phil Carter over his megaphone. "Indeed I do! The Governor has spoken with the Massacussett's Congress about your plight and they are willing to work out a deal once the hostages are freed." Carter said over the megaphone. "My, that is good news. But we will not release the hostages until we have the signed paper in our hands and all of this circus you have involved on our property has been removed. Once we see you are not pulling something on us, we will happily escort Fox Mulder and Ally McBeal to the road over there." John Fontaine V said. "Well, then, can we at least see the hostages? We need something to show us that you are of good faith, something that tells us they are okay. Once we get to see the hostages, we will call the Governor and tell him to begin the proceedings to get the land transferred to you." Phil said into the megaphone. John Fontaine V whispered something to John Fontaine VI. They seemed to disagree for a moment, and then the son went back into the building. "Very well, wait a moment. We will bring the hostages up for you to see." John Fontaine V said over the megaphone. "Good, good...." Phil Carter said with a smile. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "So you SEE things? That is..well, its different." Fox Mulder said to Ally McBeal. The two hostages had become fast friends over the past day and now Ally felt comfortable telling Mulder about her "fantasies." "I know. But John Cage also sees things, so I guess its okay." Ally said, smiling. "I guess some could say I see things too. Thats why they call me Spooky." Mulder said. "But your things ARE real..just no one else sees them. No one sees mine and they are NOT real." Ally said by way of argument. Suddenly, the lock jangled and the door opened. "Its too soon for breakfast and we have had our potty break already. Maybe they decided to give us dinner?" Mulder said. "Nope, its just one meal a day around here. Although dinner would be nice...." Ally mused. "Mulder, come with me." Fontaine VI ordered. "Are we being released?" Mulder asked. "No, but my father wants to show off his hostages." Fontaine VI said. "I'll be back for you in a minute, woman." The door shut, leaving Ally in darkness but with hope. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- The crowd outside the Department store drew a sigh when John Randolph Fontaine VI brought Fox Mulder up to the front of the store. He had put some sort of rope around Mulder's waist and was now pulling the FBI agent by the end, leading him up the way one would lead a horse. "Damnit, he's too tall. And Ally McBeal is not with him." Phil Carter said into a walkie-talkie. "It would be better to wait." "Yes, Mulder is tall..what does that have to do with anything?" Scully asked Thaddeus, who shock his head. "You see we are a people of our word. No harm has come to these people and none will as long as we are talking." John Fontaine V said over his megaphone. "Bring Ally McBeal out." Phil Carter said into his megaphone. So John Randolph Fontaine VI took Fox Mulder back into the building and a few minutes later he brought Ally McBeal out in the same fashion he had Mulder. The small woman was having to take bigger strides in order to keep up with her captor. "NOW!!!" Phil Carter screamed into the walkie-talkie. Suddenly, from one of the windows of an adjacent building, a marksman fired his rifle, hitting John Randolph Fontaine VI squarely in the middle of the forehead. The young man fell, never knowing what hit him. Ally McBeal froze, her expression reminding Dana Scully of a deer she once had in sight of her car headlights. Pure terror marked her face as her friends in the "amen corner" sobbed and screamed. "Run, damnit girl, run!!!" Phil Carter screamed at Ally through the megaphone. But Ally remained frozen, standing next to the body of John Randolph Fontaine VI, his hand still holding the rope. John Randolph Fontaine V came behind her and took the rope from his fallen son. He picked up the megaphone one more time before going back into the building. "There will be no more talking! We cannot trust the people of Earth any longer. They have murdered my son. And there is nothing left to say." With this, John Randolph Fontaine V took his captive and walked calmly back into the building, dragging the terrified Ally behind him with the rope. Another man who looked like he had at one time been a football player came and threw the body of John Randolph Fontaine VI over his shoulder. Then, the door shut behind him and all was quiet. The press people were all over the parking lot talking into cameras and explaining the current events to viewers across the country. The friends in the "amen corner" held onto each other and cried. And in a hospital bed six miles away, Billy and Georgia Thomas laid together in the hospital bed and cried for their friend. "What was that all about??!!" Dana Scully screamed to Phil Carter as the left the hub. "You just wouldn't understand." Carter said without pausing. "Damnit..she should have ran.Why didn't she run?" "Because she was scared and you had just shot someone next to her. I wouldn't have ran, either." Chad Thaddeus said, anger pulsing his temple. "This was exactly what Scott Bradley told you NOT to do." "And Bradley is sitting in a comfy office and not out here dealing with these nuts. I felt that if we shot Fontaine VI, Ally would have ran and we could then storm the building." Carter said, sour that his plan backfired. "And what of Agent Mulder?!" Scully said in anger. "I will make certain you are put on report for this." "Mulder is an FBI Agent and an acceptable loss. I was more concern about getting Ally McBeal out of this hostage situation. She is an innocent. Had Mulder been killed, it would have at least been an agent in the line of duty." Carter said. "Don't bother putting me on report, Agent Scully. I'm putting myself on report and then I am retiring. I have had enough of this." Thaddeus and Scully watched as Carter went into one of the Winnebagos. "Agent Scully." It was the voice of Renee Raddick from the "amen corner". John Cage was standing next to her. "What does this mean? What happens now?" Scully appeared beaten. "I don't know, Renee, what it means. And I don't know what will happen now. Chad, will you talk to these people? I need to be alone." Scully walked away and sat down on the back end of one of the Winnebagos. Touching her gold cross, she said another prayer for Fox Mulder and Ally McBeal. End of Part Four From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 5/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section. Fox Mulder sat in the darkness waiting for Ally McBeal to return from her trip outside. The cool sunshine had felt good to him and he had only been locked away for a day. He could imagine how it would feel to Ally, who was on her fifth day of captivity. Suddenly, the door of the safe swung violently open. A man whom Mulder had never seen before pushed Ally into the small room, knocking her small body to the floor of the safe. Then, the door was shut and locked. "Ally?" Mulder asked. Even in the darkness, he could tell that something had gone wrong, horribly wrong in front of the store. There was something in Ally's aura that brought Fox Mulder back to a night in 1995--when a man named Donnie Pfaster had taken Dana Scully hostage. Somehow, even in the darkness, Mulder could sense the fear in Ally McBeal. "Ally?" Mulder began again, kneeling next to her. She had not moved since being thrown back into the safe, still laying face down on the cold floor. "Ally--talk to me. What happened out there?" Mulder said, his hand against her back. He felt her thinness under his hand and the rush of air going up and down in her lungs. Mulder turned her body face up so that he could dimly make out her face in the shadows. Then, with gentleness, he pulled her into his lap and pressed her face to his chest. "I want to go home." Ally said in a small voice, sounding like a frightened child. Something in her voice took Mulder back to a late Summer night in 1973 when he had coaxed Samantha to ride the "Himalaya" with him at a fair and Samantha ended the ride terrified. Mulder remembered Samantha had said the same thing to him that evening in the same tone of voice. "I am tired of seeing men shot and seeing the blood gush out of their bodies. I am tired of being scared. I am tired of being dirty and cold. I am tired of being hungry." Ally said in a soft, childlike voice, sobs breaking the phrasing. "Who was shot?" Mulder said quietly, stroking Ally's dirty but soft hair with his hand. "The son...John Randolph Fontaine, VI. A police sniper shot him in the head..and there was this man screaming at me to run. But I couldn't move. I couldn't run. I saw my friends in the distance, montioning me to come...and I couldn't move. Then, John Fontaine V took me back inside. He said he would talk no more to the Earth people." Ally said with gasps for breath between sobs. "Oh shit. Carter probably had the bright idea to do that. Well, don't worry, Ally. Maybe Fontaine V will let us go now." Mulder said. "No." Ally said with a violent shake of her head. "Fontaine V had a weird look on his face and told me that we belonged to them now, as chattle for his son who was killed. I don't know what he has planned for us....." she finished with a new outburst of tears. "Shshshsh. Thats enough of that for now. So we are in the same place we were this morning. Nothing has changed." Mulder said. "But it HAS changed, Fox! Fontaine V will no longer try to negotiate for our release. We will at best be kept here as prisoners for a while and at worst, Fox, at worst he might execute us for the crimes of the people of Earth who have killed his son and won't give them their land." Ally said with passion. "Ally McBeal, you weren't lying when you said you had an overactive imagination!!! Well, lets put it to good use. Lets pretend, shall we? Its Friday night at the bar downstairs from your law office and Fonda Shepley is singing her lungs out. You and all of your friends are dancing and there is this FBI agent from Washington D.C. there who wants to get a drink and he sees this pretty attorney dancing and he dances with her." Mulder said, standing up and pulling Ally up to where she was standing too. "Its Vonda Shepard, not Fonda Shepley." Ally said. Even in the dark, Mulder could see her eyes begin to sparkle. "Whatever." Mulder said "And she sings your theme song..what is it? "Tell Him".. "I know Something About Love You've gotta take it now If that guy gets into your blood you gotta tell him Tell him that you're always gonna love him Tell him that you're always gonna need him Tell him! Tell him! Tell him right now." Mulder was delighted when Ally joined in on the chorus. Swaying back and forth, they didn't dance as much as they bonded, hanging onto one another, supporting and giving each other strength. "How do you know that song? Its an oldie." Ally asked. "I like oldies. And I have been to Graceland, the home of our only rock and roll king, Elvis Presley." Fox Mulder said with a smile. "What is your theme song?" Ally asked, holding the tall man closer to her shorter body. "I don't have one." Mulder said. "Think of one...Vonda's taking requests. If you don't give her one, she's going to be mad at you." Ally said. "Okay..here's one I like. Its an old "Byrd's" song...." Mulder began to sing.. "Hey, Mr. Spaceman! Won't you please take me along, I won't do anything wrong. Hey, Mr. Spaceman! Won't you please take me along for a ride?" "You are making that up!" Ally said with faked anger. "No I am not! Its an album cut by the Byrds. I first heard it in college...fits me to a T." Mulder laughed. "It fits Mr. Fontaine and his group." Ally said, stopping short. "No, don't think about them! We are at Vonda's..." Mulder said. "And then, when the night is through, you will walk me home to my apartment. Renee is going to ride home with her new "boyfriend". And when we get to the steps, we do this.." Ally tiptoed on bare toes and kissed Mulder passionately. "But we've just met and I am surprised by your forwardness...." Mulder said with a smile. Ally was a good kisser! In the darkness, Mulder could see Ally's smile. "You are a good man, Fox Mulder. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you are not a good man." Ally said, stepping back from her dance partner and looking at him in the shadows. "And you, Ally McBeal, are a good woman. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you are not a good woman." Fox Mulder said as he looked at Ally in the shadows. "Fox, I wonder what will happen to us now." Ally asked quietly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Darkness fell in the city of Boston that Tuesday night, a darkness Dana Scully hated to see. Never before in her life, at least in the "life" that she could remember--her kidnapping was still a mystery--had she felt this helpless and down. The bullet that killed John Randolph Fontaine VI had also killed everyone's hopes for a negotiated resolution to the hostage crisis. And now, Fox Mulder and Ally McBeal were at the hands of the "mad men" that Billy Thomas had warned about earlier in the day. The group from "Fish and Cage" had left to eat dinner and to get a few drinks. They knew that there would be no word from inside tonight and they needed the food and the alcohol to deal with the events of the day. Melvin Frohike went with them. Dana has last seen him get into the backseat of a sedan, his arm around Elaine Vassel who was crying on his shoulder. And Phil Carter had left the scene. True to his word, he placed himself on report and asked to be relieved of his duties at the hostage situation. Asst. Director Scott Bradley placed Chad Thaddeus into Agent Carter's position of negotiator and had given the job of co-negotiator to Dana Scully. The building of the old "Fontaine's" department store was dark. No one had even lit the occasional candles that Dana Scully had seen the night before. The searchlights on top of the Winnebago's bathed the store in light, but there was no light coming from the inside of the building. Chad Thaddeus called to Scully, who was still standing at the hub where the negotiations were taking place, staring at the darkened building. The other law enforcement officials mulled around the scene, directionless. "Lets look at these old building plans that Agt. Carter had. Maybe we can see something that could help us." Chad said, as he motioned Scully to sit. "According to these plans, this building was originally built in 1892 and remodeled in 1914, 1928, 1946, 1967, and one final time in 1989, about a year or so before the company went out of business after the death of John Randolph Fontaine IV." Chad Thaddeus said, looking at the various editions of the plans. "Where is the "safe"?" Scully asked. "Billy Thomas said that is where he and Ms. McBeal were held." "In the basement. At one time the money and precious jewels were kept in there. Thats why the original John Fontaine had it build bigger than most safes. Its the size of one that a bank would have, not a department store. And there seems to be holes for air circulation, so breathing shouldn't be a problem for them." Chad said, looking at the last revision of the 1989 plans. "And there is two garage doors there with a loading dock and a regular door next to the two garage doors. That must be the door that Mr. Thomas said was unlocked." "I wonder if its still unlocked." Scully mused. "Probably not, if its able to lock. Or it maybe the lock is broken." Chad said. "There are three floors to the building, but when we've seen movement and candlelight, its always been on the first floor. I don't know if anything is taking place on the other two floors, but according to Mr. Thomas, the first floor has an arsenal of weapons." "Maybe someone could sneak in and get Mulder and Ms. McBeal out of there before someone sees them." Scully suggested. "The place could be booby-trapped, Dana. And they are still armed, even if the radical member of the group is dead. Who knows, Fontaine V may even tell them to bear arms against outsiders." Chad said with a tired voice. "Phil Carter really did us a dis-service." Scully said bitterly. "But you know what the sad thing is? Had Phil been successful and Ally had run, the press and everyone would have declared him a hero. Thats the way the press works." Chad said. "So what now? Negotiation is out." Scully asked. "I don't want to upset or alarm you, but Scott Bradley is now siding with Phil Carter and saying we should storm the complex." Chad said with a sigh. "But Phil Carter is OFF this case! And we should not take that stance as long as hostages are involved." Scully said with passion. "Yes, but we have nothing to work with. As long as Mr. Fontaine V and VI were talking to us, we had a chance to negotiate. That chance has been taken from us. It might be better if we did storm the complex and hope the hostages know to take cover. Maybe Mulder could even help Ally McBeal out while the chaos is happening." Chad Thaddeus said. "Its not the way I wanted it to end, either. But it appears we have no choice." "Bradley is coming first thing in the morning, right? I have a suggestion. Lets try contacting John Fontaine V again in the morning and see if he will be willing to talk to us. Maybe there is still a chance we can negotiate an end to this thing." Scully said. "But if he doesn't talk to us then, we have no choice but to man an attack. I'm sorry, Dana, but I think we need to get the hostages out of there soon. We don't know what John Fontaine V will do now that his son is dead." Chad said with compassion. "You know, everyone has been worried about Ally McBeal and how her friends are taking things. You are just as close to Fox Mulder, but yet you've been here since he went in. I'm giving you the night off..go over to that Holiday Inn up the street and check into a room. Hell, get yourself something to drink, too. Then, when you come back in the morning, we will make our plans then." Chad said to Scully. Dana Scully nodded in agreement. So, with a heavy heart and a final glance back at the "Fontaine's" Department Store", she drove the rental Taurus to the Holiday Inn for some rest. She had earned it. End of Part Five From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 6/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section Dana Scully drove back to the Fontaine's Department store building that Wednesday morning with a new outlook on things. It was amazing what a bath in a jacuzzi tub, a glass of white wine and a nights sleep in a good bed could do for you. She felt certain that the events of the previous day would not have any implications on the events of this day. In fact, John Randolph Fontaine V would probably surrender today and she and Mulder would be on their way back to Washington, D. C. by Thursday afternoon. These thoughts made her smile as she parked the Ford Taurus at the site and made her way to one of the Winnebagos. Scully saw, in passing, that the loyal group from Fish and Cage had assembled in full force again. It surprised her that even Richard Fish and Nelle Porter were there. But the television news had said that the "Howell Case" would be suspended until there was a resolution in the hostage crisis. Scully made her way into the lead Winnebago, where several FBI agents were gathered to speak to Asst. Director Scott Bradley, who was now at the department store in person to supervise the days events. Scully was glad to see her new friend, Chad Thaddeus was in the room. "Come in, Agent Scully! We have just gotten started." Chad said, smiling at the petite redhead. "Any new word from inside the building?" Scully asked. "None. They never did have any lights inside that I could see and I was here until Midnight, when Agent Cash took over for me." Chad Thaddeus said. "We are going to attempt to speak to Mr. Fontaine again at 10:00, try to reason with him about resolving this crisis. I am sure he would like to have a funeral for his son." Scott Bradley, a tall black man in his mid-50's said to the group. "What are the plans if Fontaine does not speak to you?" Another agent named Beth Hornsby asked. "If we do not have any response from Mr. Fontaine, we will have to send some of the SWAT team up to the line and prepare to take the building by force. I don't want to storm the building, but we have got to consider the well-being and safety of the two hostages. If Fontaine doesn't talk, it tells us that he is not considering the hostages as a tactical advantage." Asst. Director Bradley said. "Then we try to talk." Scully said, face tensing. "We are looking at trying again at 10:00 AM, the usual time. If Mr. Fontaine does not respond, we will have to ask that the media and the people that have gathered remove themselves from the property. It could get messy, if the LCSW arm themselves and begin firing." Scott Bradley said. "And what about the hostages?" Scully asked. "Agent Scully, I know that you are close friends with Fox Mulder. But if Mr. Fontaine does not speak to us at ten, we will have no choice but to consider his actions hostle. We have tried for nearly a week to resolve this thing through negotiation and with the events of yesterday, we have got to bring a close to this crisis." Scott Bradley said softly and with compassion. "Agent Mulder is a trained FBI agent..he will know what to do. And give some credit to Ally McBeal, too...she is a Harvard educated lawyer. I think she will be able to take care of herself." "So, we have two hours to prepare and wait." Scully said sadly. The hope she had felt driving in had left her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mulder awoke to the sound of Ally McBeal humming and softly singing a song. The only words he could make out were "Searching My Soul Tonight...". He opened his eyes and made out her figure in the shadowy darkness. She was seated with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms around her knees, her head using the knees as a pillow. She rocked back and forth slowly. "Good morning..at least I think its morning." Mulder said to his co-captive. "I'm hungry enough for it to be morning." Ally said, lifting her head from her knees. "You managed to sleep some last night. I'm glad, because you didn't sleep much the night before. I couldn't sleep. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw John Randolph Fontaine VI laying on the sidewalk shot. And when I didn't see him, I saw Billy after he was shot. Do you think I will ever get those images out of my mind? I bet even Tracy can't help me with the damage I will be dealing with once this thing is over with." "Tracy is your therapist, right? Well, take it from me, an FBI agent. Seeing things like that doesn't get any easier, but eventually life moves the images to the back of your mind." Mulder said, moving over to where Ally was sitting. "I can still see my sister Samantha being kidnapped and that happened twenty-five years ago." Ally nodded her head. "My childhood was so sheltered and serene. I was lucky. Maybe thats why I have such trouble dealing with things when they don't work out the way I want them to." "Ally, everyone has trouble dealing with things when they don't work out the way we want them to. Its not just you." Mulder said. "We just have different methods. You gets yours out in the open, cry, maybe whine a little, and move on. Myself and my partner, Scully, are different. We store our disappointments up and don't discuss them. And I am willing to bet the farm that when you are sixty you will be happier because you were able to gets yours out and we will still be dealing with our demons. Trust me, I am dealing with demons from my life every day." "Yes, but you don't unnerve people like I do! I've had a lot of time to think while I've been shut up in here. I have always put myself and my needs first, for the most part, and have been unbraided by Billy, Georgia, and Renee because of it more times that I care to count. And, its not that I don't care for other people..I do. I cherish my friends and I love my job. I just wonder why things can't be better when I should just thank God for what I do have. I have a great life. And if I ever get out of this safe, I will be the most thankful woman you've ever seen." Ally said with passion. "No, you won't. Because the things you described are what make you "you". I bet you will continue to exasperate everyone and do what Ally wants to do because thats what makes you Ally McBeal. And don't change a thing! I've only known you for two dark days and have not even seen you in full light yet and I find you quite charming." Mulder said. "Thank you." Ally said with a smile. "And, you are right. I can't change the way I am. It's what makes me who I am." The door of the safe jangled as the key was inserted to unlock the door. Then, as the door opened, the figure of John Randolph Fontaine V entered carrying a tray with two slices of bread and two styrofoam cups of water. "My friends, I almost forgot about you. Here is your meal for the day. And I have a surprise for you! The water is mixed with Tang. For today is a birthday." Fontaine V said as he handed out the rations to his two "guests." Mulder studied the older man in the pale light. He seemed far older and paler than he had two days before. Of course, he had lost his son the day before. He had a right to look that old. "Mr. Fontaine?" Ally asked, rising to her feet in a move of respect. "I want to tell you how sorry I am that your son has passed away." Mulder rose as well. "Yes, sir..we are sorry for the loss. If there is anything we can do for you...." Mulder said with empathy. John Randolph Fontaine V had a slight smile on his face "Enjoy your breakfast." The older man said as he left the safe and locked the door behind him. "Tang is nasty." Ally said, taking a sip of the liquid. "Hey, its the drink of choice for astronauts! Remember that from the old "Apollo" moon missions?" Mulder said, making a face as he sipped his Tang. Ally was right..it was nasty! "No, I don't. I was one years old when they landed on the moon the last time in 1971." Ally said, taking another sip of the liquid to wash down her bread slice. "Sorry, I forgot you are younger than I am. Well, it beats nothing." Mulder said, finishing off his cup. "That stuff is bitter. I'd rather had water." "So we start another day..I wonder how many more we will have together?" Ally mused to Mulder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- At ten o'clock AM, Asst. Director Scott Bradley stepped up to the "hub" and picked up the megaphone to contact John Randolph Fontaine V. Meanwhile, in the background, law enforcement officers, representing the FBI, the MBI, and City of Boston Police Force got together their gear in case the call was made to attack the old Fontaine Department Store complex. Dana Scully watched pensively as the Asst. Director made his way up to the "hub". It would be the last time negotiation would be attempted in the hostage situation. It worried her knowing that Fox Mulder was in there to face whatever went down. Mulder had only became involved in the case because of his involvement with "The X-Files" and was only in the building because he cared enough to switch places with Billy Thomas after he was shot. It wasn't fair that the FBI was so ready to mark down his life as "in the line of duty." "Mr. Fontaine? I am Asst. Director Scott Bradley of the Northeastern United States District of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Please come out, sir. I need to speak with you." Asst. Director Bradley said to the doorway. There was silence to answer his plea. "Mr. Fontaine? We need to talk to you to try and resolve this situation peacefully. We do not want any more bloodshed either..there has been enough. Come out and talk to us." Asst. Director Bradley said once again to the doorway of the old Fontaine's Department Store. Still, silence. The door did not open as it had over the past five days. No silver-haired man in a purple bathroom with gold stars appeared. "Mr. Fontaine. We need to speak with you. If you do not answer us, we will be forced to take your intentions as hostle. Please, talk to us." Asst. Director Bradley said one last time. Finally, Asst. Director Bradley stepped down from the hub. "Lets get all the unnecessary people out of here! We are targeting the building for storming in one hour." Asst. Director Bradley said to the group of law officers who had gathered to hear his orders. Dana Scully watched as the group went to ready for the attack. Walking over to the group from Fish and Cage in the "amen corner", she took it upon herself to tell them that they would need to leave. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fox..there's something wrong with me. I feel sick." Ally said about a half hour after digesting her Tang and bread breakfast. "Me too. I thought it was just Tang aftertaste." Mulder said, profiling abilities working. The Tang was bitter and now his stomach felt like he had digested broken glass. "Ally..I think Fontaine has poisoned us." "That bastard." Ally said, rising. "Well, he can just let us go now." Mulder watched in amazement as Ally went to the back of the safe, turned her back and then make a quick turn and violently kicked the door of the safe. It did not budge. "OWWWWWWWW!!! Damn it! I forgot that I didn't have shoes on." Ally said, limping back to nurse her foot. "Ally, that was a stupid thing to do!! Even if you had steel-toed boots on, you couldn't have unhinged that door." Mulder said. "Yes, it was a stupid thing to do. About as bad as Billy thinking he could use his shoes and belt as a club to swing his way out of here." Ally said. "We don't have time to discuss escape methods now! You need to make yourself vomit!" Mulder ordered, handing Ally the soiled dress she had taken off two days earlier. "I can't just make myself vomit, Fox Mulder! You generally have to have something IN you in order to get something OUT of you and I've been on a bread and water diet since Friday!" Ally said snappishly. "Yes, you can! I know you can." Mulder said as he turned his head to a corner in the safe and inserted his index finger down his throat. "And what is that supposed to mean? That I'm bulnemic? I've had to listen to that crap all my life because I'm skinny. Well, it just so happens that I have a very high metabolism rate and I also work out. And I was also a preemie. I have never made myself vomit once in my life." Ally said with passion and anger. Mulder was able to get a mouthful of vomit out of his stomach. Trying again, he gagged and was able to get about a tablespoon full out. Then, he turned towards Ally. "Ally! I don't care if you have never thrown up a day in your life. But you will throw up this instant if I have to come over there and cram my fist down your throat! We don't have time to play around..this is serious. If we don't get the poison out as much as possible, we will die! Or, does Heaven's Gate or Jonestown mean anything to you?" Mulder thundered to his co-captive. Ally was taken back by Mulder's anger. He was serious. "Okay, what do I do?" Ally asked. "Take your finger and go down your throat. Think of the grossest thoughts you can. Look at that dress in your hands, Ally. Think of it. It has your friend's blood on it. Do whatever it takes to get that junk out of you." Mulder said Ally knelt in the corner with her back to Mulder, holding the soiled dress. A few minutes later Mulder was relieved to hear the sounds of gagging and vomiting. "Atta girl, Ally!!" Mulder said with pride. "I'm proud of you. And I'm sorry I got mad at you earlier." "Thats okay. When people get mad, it shows they care." Ally said. Ally attempted to get up from her kneeling position. Staggering, she fell back to the floor. "Ally?" Mulder asked as he rushed to her side. "I can't stand up, but its not my foot. I think I just bruised it. I still have that burning feeling in my stomach and the room is moving. I feel like I'm on a Merry-Go-Round but without the fun." Ally said. "My stomach still feels like I swallowed broken glass." Mulder said. Mulder reached over to his co-capitve and took her into his arms. Mulder began cradling Ally as he had the night before when she was brought in from outside after John Randolph Fontaine VI had been shot. "Do you think we are going to die?" Ally asked. Mulder paused a moment. Deciding Ally deserved the truth, he said "There's a good possibility. We don't know what we've been poisoned with or how fast it works." "I'm not ready to die, Fox. There are things I haven't done yet. I told myself after Billy and I broke up that I wanted to be the first to get married and if I wasn't the first to marry then I wanted to be the first to have a child and if I wasn't the first to have a child, then I wanted to be the first to die. I guess one out of three are pretty good odds." Ally said quietly. "Shhh..you are not going to die. Keep thinking positively." Mulder said, holding Ally closer. "But you know something? Its okay. I'm not alone. You are here. My knight in shining armor who came to me in my darkest hour. My friend and hero, Fox Mulder of the FBI, who believes that all things are possible. You are here and I am not alone..so its okay." Ally said in a drifting voice. She almost sounded happy. Suddenly, something strong and passonate rose in Fox Mulder and he kissed the lips of Ally McBeal with a passion he hadn't felt with a woman since the night he almost kissed Dana Scully in the hallway in front of his apartment before a bee stung Scully before Mulder could finish. And when Mulder pulled away, Ally McBeal had passed out. And a few minutes after she fainted, Fox Mulder lost consiousness as well, joining Ally in a dark spinning world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At 10:58 AM that Wednesday morning in late October, a group of professional law enforcement officers lined up with bullet proof vests and shields made of plexi-glass to storm the old Fontaine's Department Store building. In front of the group was Asst. Director Scott Bradley, giving last minute instructions. Not in the front line but in the group were Agents Dana Scully and Chad Thaddeus. They were to wait until the first assault broke through, then they would be allowed to go in once the signal was given. "Hey, Dana..you look sharp in that bullet proof vest. I've never seen an FBI agent wear one that well before." Chad said by way of conversation. "Thanks.." Dana Scully said absently. She had been given tenative permission to go in through the loading dock with Chad to see about the hostages once the call had been made to enter. She hoped to find both hostages alive and well. "Ready, men! Run!" The call was given by Scott Bradley to the front line group of men. The front line group moved into the building without incident. There were no shots from inside the building to delay the entry. Quickly the group assaulted the first floor of the department store. Then, there was a quiet. A deadly long silence as the second line group waited to hear something. After a few minutes, Scott Bradley radioed the lead man, Commander Don Best. "Don, come in. Whats up in there." Bradley asked with concern. Agent Dana Scully held her breath. Then, the radio crackled. "Scott..you won't believe this. It appears that everyone is dead in here." The voice of Don Best said on the radio. Dana Scully caught herself gasping. Chad Thaddeus took her hand. "Repeat yourself to confirm." Bradley said into the radio. "Sir, we have examined several bodies. They appear to have died recently, perhaps in the last hour. The whole group is on the floor, including the old man. We are hoping to find someone alive. Go ahead and send the second team in. I don't think there will be a problem." Don Best said. Permission to enter was all Dana Scully needed to hear. Running, she took off for the loading dock area, gun in hand. Chad Thaddeus was right behind her. And Scott Bradley didn't bother to stop her. "Dana..you need to prepare yourself." Chad Thaddeus said as they went up the stairs to the door. "You may find Mulder in there dead." "Chad, I take that risk every day of my life. Don't worry, I can manage." Dana Scully said. After all, she thought to herself, she'd handled all the other tragedies over the past five years. "Lets go." Chad said. The duo found the door unlocked, as Billy Thomas had said. The door lock was broken. Holding a flashlight to the dark area, Scully looked around until she found the door to the safe. Chad and Dana trotted over to the door to find it lock. Pointing her pistol at the lock, Scully fired once, then turned the wheel to open the door. Scully and Thaddeus shined a flashlight into the safe and looked in. Still seated next to the wall was Fox Mulder. He was holding Ally McBeal in his arms and lap. Both people did not appear to be alive. "Oh, no." Chad said quietly. But Dana wasn't ready to give up yet. Walking into the safe, she knelt down next to Mulder, feeling for his pulse. "Mulder has a pulse!! He's still alive. Mulder, can you hear me? Its Scully. Wake up." Dana Scully said with controlled joy in her voice. "Scully..." Mulder said in a voice thick with drowsiness. "Ally and me..have been poisoned. Help Ally, Scully." Scully reached down to Ally's wrist and felt her pulse. Her pulse was still beating too. Both hostages were still alive..poisoned and sick...but still alive. "Ms. McBeal. I'm Dana Scully with the FBI, Mulder's partner. Can you hear me? We are going to get both of you to a hospital. You are going to be okay. I repeat, can you hear me?" Scully asked the other woman. "Uh..Huh." Ally said in a thick voice. Meanwhile, Chad Thaddeus was calling for the paramedics on the radio. He had walked outside of the safe so that the signal would be clear. The parmedics arrived quickly and had both hostages in ambulances in record time. Chad and Scully watched as the ambulances sped off to UMB. "This is Scott Bradley. Good work, Agent Scully and Agent Thaddeus." Scott said over the radio that crackled to life after the ambulances left. "Sir, are there any other survivors?" Chad Thaddeus asked. "No, son. They all appear dead. Tell Dana Scully that she can go to the hospital. There is nothing else for her to do here until we get the coroner out here. But tell her to be on standby. We may need her to autopsy some of these people later." Scott Bradley said. With joy in her heart, Dana Scully jumped into her rented Taurus and drove to the hospital. The seige was finally over. End of Part Six From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 7/8 See Disclaimers in Disclaimer Section. "HOSTAGE CRISIS ENDS IN DEATH: Fontaine, 54 others dead. Hostages Mulder, McBeal poisoned, in hospital." The headlines of the BOSTON GLOBE screamed these words as Dana Scully read the morning paper the day after Fox Mulder and Ally McBeal had been rescued from the Fontaine's Department Store building. Scully read the articles as she awaited 7:00 a.m., when she could visit Fox Mulder in the MICU unit for fifteen minutes. The article basically replayed the five day seige, with a recap of the case that started the seige. Then, on page two, an article about the "heroic efforts" of the law enforcement officials to end the seige. Finally, on page four, there was a life history of John Randolph Fontaine V. Scully found this section especially interesting. John Randolph Fontaine the V had been an excellent student in school and was expected to take over the Fontaine Company when his father, John Randolph Fontaine the IV retired. In 1973, he had married the former Helen Trent and had their son, John Randolph Fontaine VI in 1976. Then, in 1977, the Fontaine family mysteriously disappeared for five days. John Randolph Fontaine V & VI were found in the woods twenty miles from their car five days later. Mrs. Helen Fontaine was never found. John Randolph Fontaine V spoke of a "space ship" taking them up and how the "aliens" were particularly interested in Helen Fontaine. According to Fontaine V, she was kept and the two Fontaine males were allowed to return to Earth. After that, John Randolph Fontaine V became a drugged out alcoholic, telling everyone that there would be a coming invasion and that it would be in everyone's best interest to become friendly towards the "aliens". John Randolph Fontaine IV would spend his family fortune and the rest of his life trying to get help for his son and sending his grandson to the finest schools in Boston. Then, after John Randolph Fontaine IV death in 1990, his son closed the company, took his son out of school and started the "Lost Civilization of Star Warriors". The article finished with the failed case to succeed from the union and the deaths of John Randolph Fontaine VI first and then the death of his father and 53 others the next day. "I'll have to save this for Mulder. He will find this interesting." Scully thought as she got up to go into the MICU. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Fox Mulder had a very fitful night's rest in the MICU room 7. He had been restless since One AM, when the drugs and antidote began to wear off. Mulder was happy when he saw Dana Scully open the glass door and enter the room. "Hey Scully! I guess you wonder how many more times you are going to have to visit me in a hospital?" Mulder said weakly. "There's been a few over the past few years." Scully said with a smile. "I spoke to your doctor, Greta Von Bomme, and she said that you will probably go to a room this afternoon." "Oh yes..the big daughter of the Rhineland who comes in here and calls me "cookie" and then jabs my arm with needles." Mulder said. "Do you know how Ally McBeal is doing?" "I spoke with Georgia Thomas a few minutes ago. Dr. Von Bomme is concerned because she weights less than you do and had less food in her to neutralize the poison so it might be Friday or Saturday before she can go to a room." Scully said. "Dr. Von Bomme did say that you saved both of your lives when you and Ally vomited up some of the poison. Had you not gotten even that small amount out of your systems, you both would have probably died or been a whole lot sicker." "And what about Mr. Fontaine? And the others?" Mulder asked. Scully held Mulder's hand. "They all died, Mulder." "Damn...well, I guess there is nothing else to do on this case." Mulder said. "No, just some autopsies and clean up. Chad Thaddeus said we should have it rapped up by Monday at the latest." Scully said. "Scully..when do you think I can see Ally?" Mulder asked. "Maybe later today...at least when you are able to get around." Scully answered. "I need to see her, to talk with her." Mulder said. "Would you take a message to her?" "If she is awake, yes." Scully said. "Scully, you tell Ally that I'm thinking about her and that I can't wait to take her dancing for real at Vonda Shepard's Club." Mulder said wistfully. "Thats an odd message, Mulder." Scully said. "She'll know what it means." Mulder said as the 15 minute bell was rang to end the visit. "I'll be back later. Get some rest." Scully said. Ally McBeal was in MICU room six, next door to Mulder's room. Cautiously, Scully poked her head in to the room. Ally was also awake but for once had no guests visiting her..the group from Fish and Cage finally went home at midnight the night before. She was absently watching the news. "Ms. McBeal...I'm Dana Scully, Fox Mulder's partner." Scully began. "Dana Scully. From the safe. I remember your voice. Fox has told me a lot about you." Ally said weakly. "Well, Mulder wanted me to tell you that he is thinking about you and that he can't wait to take you dancing." Scully said. Despite her weakness, Ally smiled. "I can't wait to go dancing with him. He's my knight in shining armor, you know." "Yes...well, you get some rest. That nurse looks like she is ready to shoo me out of here." Scully said with a smile. Ms. McBeal has a little crush on Mulder! But what even the intrepid Dana Scully couldn't know was that Fox Mulder had a crush as well--on Ally McBeal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Dana Scully spent the day doing autopsies on the members of the LCSW and making identifications along with the forensic team from the MBI in Boston. Many of the LCSW had simply been homeless people with no place else to go. But a group of nearly a dozen were friends of John Randolph Fontaine VI who had joined the cult as believers in the cause. And each of the deaths were the same. Arsenic poisoning, caused by Tang mixed water, injested two hours before the deaths occured. It was nearly six o'clock when Scully returned to the hospital. The loyal group of friends from Fish and Cage were mulling around the ICU areas, taking turns between Billy Thomas's room in the SICU and Ally McBeal's room in the MICU. Scully went into the unit, which had seemed to let go of its strict visitation rules to accommodate the crowd. Fox Mulder's bed was empty and Scully at first thought he had been moved to a room. But the sound of his laughter came from MICU room Six. Scully went into the adjoining room to find Fox Mulder seated in a chair with his bathroom on, still hooked to an IV. Ally was in her bed. She had changed from the hospital issue gown of earlier in the day to a pair of Lamby Pajamas which Scully felt were suitable for an eight year old but not a grown woman. "Hey Scully!! That Dr. Von Bomme lied like a dog to you!! She said we couldn't go to rooms yet." Mulder said with a laugh. "Like I'd want to go to a room. Everyone knows that MICU is the happening place here at UMB." "Dr. Von Bomme calls me "chopstick"." Ally said giggling. "Well, I'm "cookie"'. Mulder said. "What does she call you, Scully?" "Agent Scully." Scully answered dryly. "Mulder, there are some things about the Fontaine case I would like to talk to you about. We did the autopsies on the victims and found that all had been poisoned like the two of you had. And there is an interesting history as to why John Randolph Fontaine V behaved in the manner that he did..." "Stop! We have plenty of time to discuss this later. I'm quite sure Ally has heard enough about this whole mess to last her a lifetime." Mulder said with a serious voice. "But these are things that would interest you, Mulder! I just thought you'd like to know what I found out.." Scully said, a little miffed. "I said not now, Scully. We have plenty of time to discuss this later." Mulder said sharply. "Its okay..I don't mind hearing about it again. Or, if you'd like to go back to your room, its okay. Renee is seeing Billy now and I'm sure someone else would like to see me." Ally said. "Oh no..I'm not going back to my room. If I have to sit here and pitch a fit, I'm staying. You can't get rid of me THAT easily, Ally McBeal!" Mulder said with a wide grim. "Your friends will just have to see me, too." "Oh, Fox!!" Ally said with a smile. "You weren't kidding when you told me everything would be alright." "Then I will go. There are limits to how many can visit at a time. I will talk to you tomorrow, Mulder. Goodnight, Ms. McBeal." Scully said, rising quickly and departing the room in time to let Renee Raddick and John Cage in. Walking quickly out into the hallway, Scully breathed hard to control her anger. It wasn't the first time that Mulder had his head turned by a pretty face. Dr. Bambi, Det. White, Diana Fowley, the Melissa from another cult, Phoebe Green...the list was endless. And usually, once the case was over, so was the infactuation. It just hurt Scully more than she cared to admit to have Mulder brush aside her work, especially when usually he was interested in her findings and opinions. "Agent Scully!" a voice called from down the hall. It was Nelle Porter. "Ms. Porter. How are you this evening? I guess you are here to see Ally McBeal or Billy Thomas." Dana Scully said to the tall blond woman. "Yeah, but I'm waiting until the crowd dies down a little. Can we talk?" Nelle asked the petite redhead. Scully and Nelle Porter sat on a couch in the waiting room. "I just want to thank you again for sticking up for me the other morning." Nelle said with sincerity. "Its okay. I just didn't like the way that blond secretary was talking to you. And you were right..there was nothing you could do there. It was best that you continue working and not get in the way." Scully said. "Oh, Elaine's harmless. I find her amusing. My best friend Ling says she is surprised that there is still a need for a blond bimbo in the last year of the 20th century." Nelle said with a laugh. "They are a good bunch of people at Fish and Cage. I just wonder if they would have been so loyal had it been myself and not Ally McBeal in that department store. I'm still kind of the new kid on the block. But that doesn't bother me..its been that way my entire life. My father was Military--US Air Force. So I'm used to changing faces." "Really? I am the daughter of Military too--my father was US Navy. I know what you mean about changing faces. These past six years with the X-Files have surprisingly been my most stable period. We used to move all the time, too." Scully said, pleased to have at last found a kindred spirit among the Fish and Cage group. "Well, I guess thats why we continue on even as the rest of the world is falling apart. There is always someone who needs to fly the planes, even in the worst crisis." Nelle said. "And sail the ships, too." Scully said, not to let Air Force get the better of the Navy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Dana Scully did not want to admit it to even herself, but Fox Mulder's "infactuation" with Ally McBeal was getting more profound every day. Scully never got to see Mulder alone since his move to a private room two days into his admission. And she had heard through Dr. Von Bomme that Mulder insisted that Ally have the room next to his when she made her move from MICU the day after he did. Mulder was making a quicker recovery than Ally McBeal was. Dr. Von Bomme was concerned about her weight and was planning to hold the attorney in the hospital until she weighed 110 pounds. Ally, already a skinny woman before the hostage crisis, was distressed by this news. She knew it would take her days to gain the seven pounds and she wanted to be at the party Richard Fish and John Cage were planning for the following Friday night, to coincide with Billy Thomas's expected release date. "Fox! I have to get out of the hospital by Thursday at the latest! I want to get something to wear and get my hair done. I'm eating everything I can, but there is no way I can gain seven pounds in a week! I don't gain weight well." Ally whined to Fox, who was seated in the chair next to her bed, laptop computer on his lap to work on their portion of the FBI report. "Well, I will see what I can do. Maybe I can get Frohike to go by the sporting goods store to get some ankle weights so that you will at least be close to the weight when Dr. Von Bomme weighs you. Or, I could just break you out of here. Want to be a fugitive?" Mulder laughed. "I'd go anywhere with you Fox!" Ally laughed, sparkle in her eyes. "I'd like that, Ally." Mulder said with tenderness. Looking at the bedridden attorney, Mulder began to think. Why was he so attracted to her? Ally certainly didn't look like any of his "Playboy" Video collection girls. She wasn't even serenely beautiful like Dana Scully. She could be maddening childish and self-centered, too. But there was something honest about Ally McBeal that Fox Mulder found that he had missed out on in his relationships in the past. Something that made what he had done with his life seem small and unimportant. Suddenly, Mulder thought about a wedding. And children. And a home. And a nice regular office job in the Bureau. Not being called "Spooky" anymore. Respect. And something that didn't involve global conspiracies, monsters, aliens, and searching for truths that were never much more that fancy lies. Fox Mulder, age 37, wanted to be married at last. And he wanted to be married to Ally McBeal--the exasperating, giddy, silly, sweet, and honest attorney he hadn't even met a week before. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- The magic weights that Melvin Frohike purchased at a sporting goods store did the trick. On Wednesday, Ally McBeal weighed in at 111 pounds. Greta Von Bomme was a happy Physician, hugging the skinny attorney with the entire girth of her 230 pound body. And then Dr. Von Bomme had to hug "Cookie", better known as Fox Mulder, because he was there, too. "Goot. Goot. Vee can go home now and to a paa-tey on Friday night. But don't overdo it, or Dr. Von Bomme vill have Chopstick back here and shee vill have to stay oontil shee geets fat like her goot doctor, no?" Dr. Von Bomme said with joy. "Oh, don't worry. I plan to take good care of her." Mulder said with a smile. Ally's homecoming was a wonderful experience. Once again, the loyal Fish and Cage staff poured out of their offices and made her arrival back at the apartment she shared with Renee Raddick a warm and memorable one. Mulder, of course, was there as well. "Fox..this is my apartment! I'm glad to be home! I never thought I'd see it again." Ally said as she hugged Fox Mulder. "I like it." Mulder said with a smile. But soon, the party broke up. There was work to be done at the law office and Ally did need her rest. And even Fox Mulder left her. He had something to discuss with Scott Bradley, Asst. Director of the Northeastern Branch of the FBI. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- Dana Scully was surprised to see Fox Mulder walk into the offices of the Boston FBI. She had expected him to call her when he was released from the hospital. "Mulder, you're out! Why didn't you call me?" Scully said with concern. "I checked myself out and got a ride with some of Ally's friends. Then, I took a taxi over here. I guess now is as good a time as any to discuss the case. You've been wanting to since Thursday." Mulder said with a smile. For the rest of the day, it seemed almost like old times. Mulder and Scully worked together and discussed theories on the case and pulled together their report for the FBI. It was good to have Mulder back, Scully thought. And even his punctuation of the conversation with "Ally said this...." or "Ally does that..." didn't take away from her happiness. After all, Ally was just a part of the case and she and Mulder would be heading back to Washington DC on Saturday. Scully had wanted to go back on Friday, but Mulder insisted that both of them go to the party at Vonda's. "Its the least we can do, Scully. We were a part of the case and part of the rescue." Fox said with a smile. "And I've heard that the singer, Vonda Shepard, is good." "Then, I guess we shall party." Scully said with a smile and a sigh. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Friday afternoon, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully handed in the last parts of their report to Asst. Director Scott Bradley and finished their work on the "Fontaine" case. It had been a long two weeks for all parties involved. At 12:30, Mulder jumped up and and put on his jacket. "I'm going to take Ally to lunch. Want to come?" Mulder asked Scully. "Three's a crowd." Scully said to the other agent. "Okay then. I'll meet you back at the hotel around five. Be ready to have fun!" Mulder said as he rushed out to hail a taxi to the law offices of Fish and Cage. Ally McBeal had gone back to work that morning on orders from her therapist, Tracy. The memories of the hostage standoff made her have nightmares on Wednesday and Thursday nights and Tracy felt the best thing for her to do was to get back into a routine as soon as possible to take her mind off what had happened. "You should have gone to lunch with him." Chad Thaddeus said to Scully as she watched Mulder's taxi drive away from the FBI building. "No. He needs to spend the time with Ally. We go back to Washington tomorrow. Back to normal." Scully said. "Yeah, but he'll be back for good in January. He's applied for Phil Carter's old job, you know, and I think Asst. Director Bradley is going to hire him." Chad said to Scully. Scully looked at Chad dumbfounded. "What did you just say?" She asked Chad. "Mulder has put in for a transfer for Phil Carter's old job. I thought you knew. He told Asst. Director Bradley that he felt things were getting serious with Ally McBeal and he didn't want to waste any more time. Mulder told me he's thinking of asking her to marry him. I'm sorry..you didn't know, did you? I can tell by the look on your face." Chad said with compassion. "No. I didn't know." Scully said. "Well, it will be tough, but I'm sure you will find someone who is willing to work on the X-Files with you." Chad said. "Or maybe you could transfer up here, too. I think that Dr. Jennings is retiring in July from forensics." "No. There is nothing in Boston for me. My mother lives near Washington. And as for the X-Files, without Mulder I don't want to do the job. They'd probably assign Jeffrey Spender or Diana Fowley back to them--they have experience with the division. And I don't want to work with either one of them." Scully said with sadness. But quickly, sadness turned to Irish anger. "Chad. I will see you tonight at the club. You are coming, right?" Scully said. "Oh yes! Amy and I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Chad said. "Where are you going?" "To the law offices of Fish, Cage and Associates!" Scully said as she left the room. "Oh oh...two women. One man. Trouble." Chad said with a smile. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- "Agent Scully! What are you doing here?" The kind voice of Elaine Vassel greeted Scully as she embarked from the elevator into the law offices. "Has Agent Mulder returned from lunch yet?" Scully asked the blond secretary. "No, not yet. I'm sure he will be back shortly." Elaine said. "You know, he's really getting attached to Ally. Lucky girl. I told Mel yesterday he was something else." "And how is your relationship with Frohike going?" Scully asked by way of conversation. "Well, I like Mel a lot. But he wants me to give up my job here and come to work for him with his magazine. And I just can't do that!! They need me here. They can't run the place without me!" Elaine gushed. Scully wasn't sure if Elaine was lying or really believed she was that vital to the firm's success. The elevator doors swung open and Scully looked back at them, hoping to see Mulder return. But it was the quartet of Richard Fish, John Cage, Nelle Porter and an Asian woman Scully recognized as having been in the "amen" corner the afternoon John Randolph Fontaine VI was shot. They were returning from their lunch. "Whose the woman with the dyed hair?" The Asian asked Nelle. "Oh, thats one of the FBI agents--Dana Scully. She's Fox Mulder's partner." Nelle said. "Agent Scully, this is my best friend I was telling you about--Ling Woo." "I don't dye my hair!" Scully snapped at Ling. Ling took her hand and felt Scully's hair, lifting it up to look for "roots.". "Yes you do. Its a good professional job, but I can always tell when a woman has dyed her hair. But it is a credit to you that you've not had a nose job or a boob job. You do realize that vanity is what is going to keep women in the shadow of men well into the 21st century, don't you?" Ling said with a squint of her eyes. Scully looked at the woman with aggrivation. "And why cover that mole under your nose? Many people would kill for a beauty mark like that." Ling continued. "Oh please!! You can't tell me you've not done anything to yourself, Ling!" Scully said with a hard G at the end of the name. "My name is Ling. Not LinG. No, I haven't done anything to myself. You see, I am perfect." Ling said to Scully. "Ling. Don't you need to get back to your factory? I know you want to make certain the orders all get out. Its Friday afternoon, you know." Nelle said to Ling. She shot a look of apology to Scully. "Of course. We have to come to the club tonight to celebrate the ending of the Fontaine case." Ling said. Pecking Nelle on the cheek in respectful "old world" fashion, she said "I will see you tonight." Scully watched as Ling departed. What a vicious woman, she thought. She wondered why Nelle, who seemed so stable, would chose her as her best friend. Scully was still reeling from her visit with Ling when the elevator door open again. This time Fox Mulder and Ally McBeal emerged. "Hey Scully! What are you doing here?" Mulder asked. "Getting eat out by an Asian woman named LinG." Scully said, using the hard G. "Oh no!! Ling is a terror!" Ally laughed. "I'm glad I missed her." "Mulder..I really need to talk to you. Alone. Is there some place we can talk?" Scully asked Mulder. "Lets try their bathroom, Scully. Ally tells me they have the most interesting bathroom here--its a "unisex" model." Mulder said. He touched Ally on the shoulder and whispered "I'll be right back." Once inside the bathroom, Scully pulled a trash can across the door so that no one would interrupt them. "Look at that..six stalls and a sink with vanity mirrors. Sure saves space." Mulder said to Scully, who was looking at Mulder with crossed arms. "Mulder. Chad Thaddeus just told me that you are planning to transfer to Boston in January to take Phil Carter's old job." Scully said with controlled temperment. "Its a good position. I'll be making $10,000.00 more dollars here than with my job in Washington." Mulder said. "I was going to tell you on the flight back to Washington tomorrow. Scully, my whole life has changed since I arrived in Boston nearly two weeks ago. I've finally figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life." "I though you were doing what you wanted to with your life, Mulder. Our work with the X-Files, while frustrating, is rewarding. We have so much yet to explain, so much to prove....." Scully said with empathy. "Scully, please explain HOW our work is rewarding? We've killed ourselves in that division and nearly been killed and for what? So they could turn it over to Spender and Fowley, who were too happy to give it back to us after having it three months. And even is we proved tomorrow everything that we've worked for, who'd care? And who can stop it? If the mighty Consortium have big plans for this planet, let some other person be the hero, the martyr. I've decided to go normal, Scully. Wonderfully, delightfully normal--with a wife, maybe two kids and a big dog. Even a picket fence." Mulder said with a happy tone to his voice. "Mulder? What has gotten into you?" Scully said. "A woman named Ally McBeal. Oh Scully..I've never felt this way about anyone before. Its like that old Anne Murray song, "Danny's Song." Quoting the lyrics "This Boy's Never Gonna be the same."". Mulder said with a grin. "I prefer Jim Loggins version, myself. Mulder. Listen to me. You don't know that much about Ally McBeal. I'm sure she is a lovely woman. But you just met her last week and how can you be so sure that what you are feeling is true and undying love? I think you've just gotten a mental condition known as "Stockholm Syndrome." You do know what that is, don't you?" Scully asked with concern. "Sure do. Its when you get an old ABBA song in your head and can't get it out. There's a poor man in Cleveland, Ohio who has been hearing "Take a Chance on Me" in his head going on fifteen years." Mulder said with some of his old flippancy. "No Mulder!! Stockholm Syndrome is when two people are trapped in a violent situation such as your hostage crisis fall in love with each other. You both nearly died in that department store. And its perfectly understandable if you have it. But Mulder, you need help to understand that what you are feeling is emotions of the moment, not love." Scully said compassionately. "I thought, Scully, that YOU would be happy for me. We've been friends for so long. Please try to be happy for me as I will be for you when you find the love of your life." Mulder said, suddenly getting angry. "I would have NEVER taken you as the jealous type, Scully." "I'm not jealous, Mulder. I'm just asking you to think about what you are doing. Don't throw away your life's work on a woman you know nothing about and with the exception of having been held hostage together, have NOTHING in common with." Scully said. "How the Hell do you know we have nothing in common? You know, there are people in this world who actually talk about things other than aliens and monsters and what evil power is going to take over the world. Thank God Ally McBeal has other subject matters to discuss with people." Mulder thundered. "You could take some tips from her." "Scully, I've watched you turn into a drudge over the past few years. Now most of its because of what has happened to you--your kidnapping, the cancer, losing Melissa, your dad, Emily, not being able to bear children, and the Goddamned blessed X-Files. But Scully, you've been given a second chance on life. Enjoy something! If there is one thing that has drawn me to Ally, its her wonderful ability to enjoy things. When we were in that safe, as scared as she was and I was, we were able to dance and laugh." Mulder finished, calming a bit at the memory of his and Ally's "dance" during the hostage crisis. "Well, I'm glad to know that while the rest of us were worrying and trying to get the two of you out of that situation that you were having a grand old time." Scully said with sarcasm. "Yes Scully. I've decided that life is for the living. You need to start living, too." Mulder said. "Fine, Mulder. Go ahead and marry that silly little stick of a woman. Live up here in Boston with these off-kilter people. Enjoy your life, Mulder." Scully said with anger. "Trust me, Scully. I will." Mulder said as he stormed out of the unisex, kicking the trash can out of his way. Scully was too angry to cry, to angry to think of anything except how much she hated Fox Mulder at that moment. She saw the trash can rolling in her direction. With pent-up anger, she kicked it as well, sending the can across the room. John Cage emerged from one of the stalls. There was a look of compassion and pity on his face. "Agent Scully...." John Cage started. He was holding a little green tree frog in his hands. "This is Millie. I had to come in here to get her out of the tolet. Don't want what happened to Stefan to happen to her. Suddenly, Dana Scully had had enough of Boston and the "different" people that worked at Fish and Cage. With anger, she fled the bathroon, knocking Elaine out of her way (who'd been listening at the door), ran past the staffers with their prying eyes and whispering voices, and down the stairs. From: Nita Dee Stockholm Syndrome 8/8 See Disclaimer in Disclaimer Section Dana Scully hailed a taxi in front of the offices of "Fish and Cage" to take her back to the Holiday Inn where she had stayed the past week. She was too angry to think as she sat in the backseat, still reeling from Fox Mulder's revelation. "Starbuck, you know better than to deal with the matters of the heart, especially when they are not yours. Someday, your temper is going to get you into trouble in that respect." Dana Scully remembered the voice of her late father, Capt. Bill Scully. Suddenly, Dana Scully was taken back to the summer of 1978, when she was 14 and her sister Melissa was 16. Melissa had started dating the "bad boy" of the neighborhood, Tony Grimes. Dana saw the hurt in her mother's face when Melissa jumped on the back-end of his motorcycle and rode away without getting permission to go. When Melissa arrived home from the date at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, Dana argued with her about it. Capt. Scully, being awakened by the ruckus, first scolded Melissa for going out without permission and she went to bed in a huff. Then, Capt. Scully turned his attentions to his younger daughter. "Starbuck, you know better than to deal in the matters of the heart, especially when they are not yours. Someday, your temper is going to get you into trouble in that respect." Capt. Scully said. "It was not your place to say anything to Missy, its your mother's and mine. "But Dad!! Tony Grimes is horrible. He smokes cigarettes! I've even heard he smokes dope!" Dana said, hurt that her father had scolded her. "Melissa is a good girl. I am not really happy with her dating Tony, but he is her choice. No one has the right to question another's choice in boyfriends or girlfriends. That is something for the two hearts involved to decide." Capt. Scully said. "You will know what I mean, someday." "No, Dad. I am 34 years old, and I'm still trying to mettle in others relationships." Dana thought as her mind returned to present day. The taxi had arrived back at the Holiday Inn. Once in her room, Dana Scully took off her grey power suit and fixed herself a bath, allowing the jacuzzi jets to churn the water and soap. Slipping into her bath, Dana continued thinking. She had no right to have questioned Mulder's relationship with Ally. Even if it was just "Stockholm Syndrome", Mulder was a smart man and Ally was a smart woman. They would have figured it out before too much longer. It just hurt that Mulder had not confided in her and told her of his plans to transfer to Boston. As long as they had worked together, Mulder and Scully had no secrets from each other. For him to do so now was a betrayal in Scully's eyes. Dana Scully thought about Ally McBeal. What power did she have over people that they were so loyal to her, loyal enough to spend days in cold weather outside a department store waiting for word on her condition? Ally seemed to be genuinely sweet and a nice person. The people at Fish and Cage were fond of her. And she was probably a good attorney. Fish and Cage was a successful firm even if the cases they took were a little out there. And she was a pretty woman even if she was a little thin. Mulder could do worse for a wife. And if things worked out to Mulder's advantage, how long would it be before he became bored with his assignment to the "Kidnapping/Hostage Tactical Unit"? It wouldn't take much for Mulder to go looking for "X-Files"--they were the only cases that held his interest for long periods of time. Maybe, Dana thought, she could suggest to Mulder that Ally move to Washington with him--Washington was a lawyer friendly town. No, she couldn't do that. She had made enough comments about the relationship today. From now on, Fox Mulder's love life was his business. Dana got out of the tub and began to dry off, looking for something to wear to the party that night. She went through the closet. Several power pantsuits stared back at her. "No wonder Mulder thinks I'm a drudge. These clothes scream "boring woman"! It makes that tailored mini-skirt that Ally had on this afternoon look exciting. Even that nasty Ling's Black low-cut, tailored power pantsuit did more that these do." Scully thought, sighing. She picked up a teal green pantsuit with a black blouse. "This will do. It will have to do." Once Scully was dressed, the matter of the hair came up. "Damnit!! Ling Woo is right! You can tell if a woman has dyed her hair! I wonder if I let it go back to reddish brown, how that would look? Hell, I've got so many gray hairs from my life experiences I'd probably look like Granny Clampett. Oh well, Ally McBeal LIGHTENS hers--her eyebrows give away that she's a boring brunette when its not lightened." Dana thought as she looked in the mirror. "And maybe, tonight, the mole gets to stand out. I won't cover it. My Aunt used to say when I was a kid that I'd have a beauty mark like "Honey West". And thats an interesting thought--who the Hell was Honey West?" Scully thought as she made up her face. Then, it was the shoes turn. Dana had brought two pairs of bland pumps with sensible heels. Not much for dancing, but if she could work in them all day and occasionally run in them, they should be okay. Looking at herself in the mirror, Dana smiled. She looked good. Maybe she didn't wear mini-skirts and she did dye her hair but she was far from being the drudge Mulder called her. And tonight, she would dance, smile and have a good time. At least the case was over if the fall-out from it wasn't. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ That evening, Mulder and Scully drove over to the Club located on the first floor of the Fish, Cage and Associates building from the Holiday Inn. It was a quiet drive. Mulder was still angry with Scully about her comments earlier in the day. And Scully felt there was no need to apologize for the comments. They had been the truth, at least the truth as she saw it. If Fox Mulder wasn't man enough to accept what she had to say, then he deserved what he was getting himself into. The Club had a good crowd already for 6:30 on a Friday night. Many people who had associations with Fish and Cage had come out for the party. Mulder and Scully met up with the gang from Fish and Cage inside the building. Ally McBeal was dressed in a short tan silky dress bought especially for the evening. And Billy Thomas, newly released from the hospital that morning, was there sitting in a wheelchair, his wife Georgia glowing with the joy of having eveyone together again and safe. Vonda Shepard had began singing. She started the evening with "Tell Him"--Ally McBeal's personal "theme song". The young attorney blushed as she was lead out to the dance floor by the "dancing twins" to begin the evening's festivities. As the evening progressed, Scully's self doubt began rising in her again. Never in her life had she felt so awkward and left out. Mulder's new friends knew him though Ally and made him feel welcome. And while they were kind to Scully, it just wasn't the same friendly feeling given to Fox Mulder. Being with Ally made him one of "their crowd". Scully watched as a slow dance began to the song "Can You Feel the Love, Tonight?" Fox Mulder danced with Ally McBeal, holding her close with his chin on top of her head. Scully wondered if that was how they "danced" in the safe at "Fontaine's Department Store". Melvin Frohike was dancing with Elaine Vassel. Even Elaine was too tall for the little guy. But both had smiles on their faces. Georgia and Billy Thomas could not dance, but Georgia sat close to her husband's wheelchair and they held hands and swayed to the music. And just arriving was FBI Agent Chad Thaddeus with his sweetheart Amy, a girl all of 21 with big hair and pouty lips. In fact, to Scully at that moment, everyone seemed to be in pairs but herself. The song changed to "Its the Loving Things You Do", an up-tempo number. Scully watched as Nelle Porter danced with John Cage (who wasn't the world's best dancer, Scully noted) and wondered how much of her conversation he had overheard in the unisex bathroom. And if he did overhear all of it, would he write it off as Mulder had to jealousy? Or worse, he would tell Ally what she had said about her? Not that any of it mattered now. Mulder would be transferring to Boston in January and Scully would be moving to another area. There was no way she would stay in the "X-Files" unit if Mulder was gone. Maybe what Mulder had said that afternoon was right--"Even if we prove tomorrow everything we've worked for, who'd care? And who can stop it?" Scully was lost in thought when the kind voice of Chad Thaddeus came though her thoughts. "Dana!! Why are you just setting there? C'mon! Lets dance!" Chad said with excitement. Vonda Shepard had broke into a rendition of the old "Grease" hit "You're the One that I Want.". So Scully took Chad's hand and began dancing. While on the dance floor, she saw Mulder seated next to Billy Thomas while Ally danced with Richard Fish. "I guess its a nice thing to get permission from the former lover when you are contemplating marriage." Dana thought. The music changed again. This time Vonda performed "Neighborhood"--another slow one which was, as the singer announced, "an original song she had written." "I better go get Amy from the bar. She gets all the "slow ones"." Chad said as he escorted Scully back to her chair. Mulder began dancing with Ally McBeal again. Holding her close, he didn't ever want this night to end. "Fox. You haven't danced with your partner once this evening. You need to dance with her." Ally said as she looked over at the bored looking Dana Scully. "She'll get over it." Mulder said. "The two of you were rather loud in the unisex today. What were you fighting about?" Ally said, holding Mulder closer. "A difference of opinion. Scully can't stand it when I'm right about something." Mulder said. "You were fighting over me, weren't you." Ally said with a sad look on her face. Had she come between them? Had they been lovers before coming to Boston? "No, no, no...it was differences about the case. We have been known to argue before this." Mulder said. "I want you to dance with her." Ally said with stubbornness. "She's your friend. You said yourself she has saved your life and made you a whole person." "She is my friend. And I will dance with her. Next song." Mulder said. "Promise?" Ally said. "Promise." Mulder said with a smile. How would he ever be able to refuse Ally's honest face anything? Mulder looked over at Scully. If she was bored, that was her problem. She should ask some of the guys to dance. Any of the guys from Fish and Cage would be happy to accommodate her. Melvin Frohike was here..he'd love to dance with her. And Bobby Donnell, a fellow attorney Ally knew from another law firm (Mulder had met him in the hospital Sunday afternoon), was here. Scully could dance with him. In fact, maybe Scully could experience the joys firsthand of being with a Boston attorney and want one for herself. The next song was a fast one, the Beatle's old hit "We Can Work it Out." Mulder turned Ally over to Richard Fish and walked over to where Scully was seated and asked her to dance. Together, the partners began to dance to the oldie. "Have you noticed, Scully, the way that singer picks the mood music? Its almost psychic." Mulder said by way of conversation. "Almost qualifies as an X-File." Scully said quietly. "First thing Monday morning, I'm calling a meeting with Skinner and some of the other directors to have you place in my position as department head. I'm turning the reins of "the X-Files" over to you Scully, so you can finish the work we started." Mulder said with a smile. Maybe that would cheer Scully up. "I thought it was unimportant work and no one cared anyway." Scully said, "Oh, Scully. I was just angry this afternoon. You are going to have a great deal more success than I ever had with them. People respect you, you know." Mulder said. "No. I think I'll be going into forensics or maybe teaching again. Maybe get out of the FBI altogether and work as a Physician. I'm not getting any younger either, you know." Scully said with a sigh. "But Scully!! I was counting on you to keep our work going!! To finish the work we began!" Mulder said, startled by Scully's attitude. "You were counting on me taking over the X-Files so you could have a place to come back to when things don't work out up here." Scully said sharply and then immediately regretted the statement. She had done it again! Mulder stopped short. "Scully, what is it going to take to get you to see things?! My life has changed! Now, I am sorry that its not going in the direction you would have me go in, but I have to follow my heart." Mulder said with anger. "You're right Mulder. You are right and I am wrong. But I feel its time for me to make a move, too. Maybe find out what I want to do with the rest of my life." Scully said. "I'd like to sit down now." Mulder began to escort Scully back to the table. Halfway across the dance floor, Scully felt her left leg give out. She had broken her heel!. "Scully, are you okay?" Mulder said in concerned tones. "Yes. I just broke the heel to this shoe..." Scully said, limping over to the table. Ally McBeal and Richard Fish walked over to the table. "What happened?" Ally asked with sincerity. "Oh, I broke my heel. I knew better than to try and dance in these things." Scully said. "Lets go upstairs to my office. I keep an extra pain of shoes handy at all times. I think we wear about the same size." Ally said as she helped Dana Scully up from the table. "Yeah! She keeps an extra pair on hand so she can throw them at people." Richard Fish laughed with the rest of the group and then said "Bygones". "Throws shoes at people. And I bet they all think she's just the cutest thing in shoe leather when she does that." Scully thought. Scully did not like that look on Ally's face--it reminded her of a time when her sister Melissa had rescued a kitten from a drainage ditch after a storm, all compassionate and caring. Dana Scully was nobody's kitten! Once upstairs, Scully flopped down on a couch in Ally McBeal's office while Ally rummaged through her desk to retrieve her shoes. "Here they are! These are black so they shouldn't take away from your outfit." Ally said with a smile as she handed Scully the shoes. "Thank you." Scully said stiffly. Downstairs, Vonda Shepard had begun a new song. It was the old Reba McIntyre 1980's hit, "When Whoever's in New England's Through with You." The singer's voice drifted and actually sounded better than it had in the club. "When Whoever's in New England's Through with You. And Boston finds better things to do You know I always care And you've always got a place to come back to When Whoever's in New England's Through with you." "Can I ask you something, Agent Scully?" And can I call you Dana?" Ally asked, sitting down next to Scully on the couch. "Sure." Scully answered to both questions. "You don't like me, do you?" Ally asked with pointed honesty. Scully groaned. So John Cage had shared the information he had overheard during his frog rescue mission. "Ally, I can say with all honesty that I don't know you well enough to make that judgement. You seem like a lovely and kind woman and have a great many people who care about you. And of course Mulder cares about you." Scully sighed. "And that's the thing that bothers me. Mulder probably knows you about as well as I do but yet he's ready to give up his life's work and move here to Boston in order to marry you." Scully could have sworn she saw Ally's mouth drop to the floor. Must be the lighting, Scully reasoned. "Marry....ME???? Oh Dana, you have got to be joking...." Ally said, stammering. "Mulder told me this afternoon. I'm surprised he hasn't asked you yet." Scully said. "Oh, this is not good. Not good at all. I like Fox, truly I do. But my therapist, Tracy, told me that I shouldn't embark upon a relationship with him, at least not right now. I'm going to be dealing with a lot of things that happened to me while I was being held hostage and Fox will just be a reminder of that terrible time." Ally stammered. "I told Mulder that this afternoon. That what both of you, especially Mulder, are suffering from is a mental condition known as "Stockholm Syndrome". That's when people who are trapped in a violent situation like yours fall in love with each other." Scully said. "Then I have to break it off with him. Clean break. Right now. Before he can get any closer. Oh!! And this is supposed to be a happy night. I certainly didn't want to give him "The Dump" tonight. And you know something else? Fox is a sweetheart, but he's really starting to give me the "Ick". And Fox Mulder will always be my Knight in Shining Armour from those terrible days. The last thing I ever want is to relate him with the "Ick". Ally said, talking quickly and stammering. "I am so glad we had this conversation, Dana." "Are you sure you don't feel the same way Mulder feels about you?" Dana Scully asked. "Oh, no!!! I just thought he was being incredibly kind and sweet. I thought maybe he was allowing me to be co-dependant to help me get through the hospital stay and the aftermath of the hostage crisis in order that I could stand alone once the two of you went back to Washington." Ally said, twitching her hands through her stringy hair. "Hey!" The voice of Fox Mulder called from the elevator. "What are the two of you up to?" "We're in here." Scully called from the office. "There you are." Mulder said. "Are you ready to go back? Everyone misses you, Ally." Mulder said as he started to hug her. "Fox. There is something I need to tell you. I think you are overestimating our relationship." Ally said with quickness and no eye contact. "Damnit, Scully!!!!! What have the two of you been talking about up here all this time? Have you been telling Ally that I need to go back to Washington with you because fighting the future is more important than a silly love affair? I swear to God, if you have..we are done." Mulder thundered at Scully, who looked at him with calmness. "DON'T YOU TALK TO HER THAT WAY." Ally McBeal said in a deep authoritative voice that impressed Scully. Maybe she had underestimated Ally McBeal. "This is a woman who has stood by your side for six long hellish years to work with you on the X-Files. She has risked her life and wellbeing for the truth you have searched for your entire life. Who puts up with your ideas and works harder than any partner should. Let me tell you something, Fox. Had I been assigned to "The X-Files" I'd left after the liver eating freak! You just don't appreciate her. Don't look at me like that, all puppy eyed!! I heard your stories. You think you want to chuck it all and her in order to start some sort of fairytale life with me. Well, Buddy, you are wrong. First off...I don't know you well enough to date you, much less marry you. Second, I can't have a relationship with you now. Its been too soon after the crisis and I'm not sure what I'm feeling and I know you are not sure what you are feeling. Third, you are giving me the ick. Stop hovering over me! I'm a fairly strong woman, not some little doll you have to look after! Go back to Washington and keep that Smoking Man and all those aliens in line." Ally said with anger and authority. Scully's appreciation of Ally grew with each word. That passion and honesty must be the power that Ally holds over people, Scully thought. The world of law is lucky to have her. But, she'd make a hellava FBI agent. Mulder appeared crestfallen. "You don't love me, Ally?" "Fox, we just met each other a little under two weeks ago. Had it been at the bar or on a case or something, we'd just be getting to know each other. As it is, we've shared more in those two weeks than many people share in a lifetime. And you will always be my knight in shining armour. But please...lets just remain friends. We have completely different lives. I could never be happy living in Washington, DC and you would have not been happy living in Boston. Its just not meant to be. I'm sorry." Ally said with compassion and a drooping head. But she lifted her eyes to make certain Mulder was okay. "Okay, Ally." Fox said. Then he smiled "You don't listen to reason, anyway. You are the most impossible woman I've ever known. And perhaps the sweetest." "Well..Ah...I need to go down to the club. Coming?" Ally asked. "In a minute." Mulder said quietly. The two had forgotten all about Dana Scully, who had watched the proceedings with interest. She was right...Mulder and Ally were smart people. They could work out their own problems without her help. But nudging along never hurt anything. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- "Ally." The kind voice of John Cage called to the tired attorney as she got off the elevator at the club. "I told Fox Mulder to go back to Washington." Ally said quietly. "I was going to do it tomorrow, but I did it tonight instead." "Its for the best." John said with sad smile. "I know. But John...Fox could have been the ONE." Ally said sadly. "Nah. He's already taken. He just don't realize it yet. Oh cheer up, Ally!! The night's still young. And we haven't danced yet." John said, taking her hand. "And everyone knows Ally McBeal's rule number one..never bust up an already existing couple. Even if they don't know they are a couple yet." Ally said with a glance upward to the office. "Lets dance, John!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- "Mulder? Are you going to be okay?" Scully asked her partner, who sat with his face in his hands. "I think so, Scully. You know, it probably wouldn't have lasted. Ally McBeal is a bright butterfly and I'm a cockroach. What a pair we'd make." Mulder sighed as he looked up from his hands. "You are not a cockroach, Mulder. What happened between the two of you was...." Scully began. "Stockholm Syndrome. I know." Mulder said, rising. "Well, Mulder, I wasn't going to say this, but TODJA SO!!!" Scully said with sprirt and a bright smile. Mulder laughed. "Well, Scully, I think I'm going to ask that blond singer if she knows "Walking in Memphis." Its high time we danced to one of the slow ones." Mulder said with a wink as he took his partner's hand. Together, they walked out of the offices of Fish and Cage and went back to the bar. THE END OF STORY Feedback: Nita Dee @ AOL. Com Now, you didn't really think I'd let Fox and Ally get together now, did you?:)