~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Six
~*~*~*~*~*~

The phone woke him in the dead of night.  They slept in 
sleeping bags on the ground, the girl just a few feet away.  
He fumbled for the cell, coughing as he answered.  "What?"

A voice whispered in the darkness. "I have what you want."

"Who is this?"  He shot straight up in bed.

"You know.  You've always known."

"Angel," he said, gripping the phone.

"I've got her, and if you want her you'll do exactly what I 
say.  Do you hear me?  Exactly."

He forced himself to listen to the words.  Already he was 
adjusting, making new plans.  This was a new wrinkle but it 
was nothing he couldn't handle.  He wasn't about to be 
outplayed two days before his resurrection.

With the arrangements made, he snapped off his phone and 
shoved away the bag.  "Get up! Get up!"  He cried to the 
girl as he hurried to get into his pants.

She sat up rubbing her eyes.  "It's Christmas?" she asked 
sleepily.

"Christmas come early this year, girl.  Get your clothes 
on."

She wiggled out of her sleeping bag, shivering as her bare 
feet met the cold ground.  "Where are we going?"

"Where else, child?"  He tossed her a rag doll shaped like 
an angel.  "It's time to bring her home."

~*~*~*~*~

Mulder lurched back towards the bathroom as fast as he 
could with his crutches and his cell.  Cold sweat on his 
palms made the journey difficult.  He paused against the 
wall as the emergency operator picked up.

"Nine-one-one," said the operator.  "What is your 
emergency?"

"My partner, I found her on the bathroom floor.  She's not 
moving."

"Is she breathing?"

"I don't know.  I don't know."  Scully hadn't moved.  The 
blood dried on her face indicated she'd been lying there 
for quite some time.
 
Mulder's crutches clattered to the hard tile floor as he 
fell on his hands beside Scully.  Pain burned like liquid 
fire through his leg.  He braced his weight on one arm and 
held a shaky finger under her nose.  Her breath tickled 
over his skin.

"She's breathing."

"I've got the ambulance on the way, sir.  Has she been 
sick?"

God, the eternal question.  "She's been having headaches, 
yeah.  And a few days ago she was pretty dizzy."

He could hear the shift in the woman's voice.  "How long 
has she been having these headaches?"

"I don't know," Mulder said tersely.  He shook Scully's 
shoulder. "Scully," he said.  "Wake up.  Come on.  Wake 
up."

She roused slowly, blinking in the harsh bathroom light.  
She gave him a confused look.  "Mulder?" she said as she 
tried to sit up.  "You're s'posed to be in bed."

"She's awake," Mulder said into the phone.  He put it aside 
and tried to maneuver closer to Scully as best he could 
without pressing down on his leg.

"Mulder, what's going on?"

"Shhh, lie still.  The ambulance is on its way."

"Ambulance?" She struggled against his ministrations, 
trying to see his leg.  "Did something happen?  Are you 
okay?"

"Scully, I found you passed out here on the floor."

"What?"  She looked around sharply, as if just noticing 
their surroundings for the first time.

"Are you cold?"  He dragged down a large bath towel and put 
it over her legs.

"Mulder, stop.  I'm fine."

His fingers clenched around the towel.  "You are not fine.  
This is your *blood* here on my floor, Scully.  You are 
anything but fine."

Scully looked down at the half-dried splotches and her hand 
flew to her nose.  Mulder nodded at her, exhausted.  
Outside, the wail of the ambulance drew closer.  "Mulder," 
she said, sounding defeated.  

He patted her leg through the towel.  "I know."  Taking a 
deep breath, he shifted to try to stand.  "I should go let 
them in."

"Mulder, no.  I'll go."

He grabbed the sink and closed his eyes, steadying himself 
against the pain.  "You stay right there and don't move.  I 
don't want you passing out again and cracking your head 
open."

He retrieved the crutches, nearly losing his balance in the 
process, and started slowly toward the front door.  Dimly, 
he was aware his cell phone was ringing on the bathroom 
floor but he did not stop to think about it.  His leg wound 
throbbed with every slight movement.  Mulder kept his 
breathing even so he would not vomit on the EMTs' feet.

He heard their heavy footsteps in the hall and flung open 
the door.  "You called?" asked the first guy, a large kid 
with a baby face who looked like he should have been home 
playing Nintendo. 

"This way," Mulder said, moving so they could enter.  They 
stopped short.  Mulder turned to see what they were staring 
at and saw Scully standing in the living room.  Dried blood 
streaked down her white pajamas. Her face was still a mess.  
In her hand was his cell phone.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, deadly quiet.  But he 
saw the phone was trembling.  When he didn't answer, her 
voice rose a notch.  "Natalie's missing.  Why didn't you 
tell me?"

"I've been a bit occupied here," Mulder snapped.  
Adrenaline surged over him like a wave.  Truth told, he 
hadn't given Natalie a second thought since finding Scully 
motionless on the bathroom floor.  "Was that Grenier?"

"No, Amelia.  She's out of her mind."

"Ma'am?" said the first EMT.  "You mind if we take a look 
at you?"

They guided Scully to Mulder's couch and sat her down.  "Do 
you know how long you were unconscious for?" the EMT asked 
her.

"I don't know.  What time is it?"

Mulder saw the clock read two twenty-six but did not answer 
her question.   He leaned on one crutch and rubbed his head 
with his free hand.  "He took her right from her crib, with 
Amelia in the house.  He must have been planning that all 
along."

"I thought you said he didn't want Natalie," Scully said as 
the EMT shone a light in her eyes.

"I know what I said."

His phone rang again, and Mulder pitched forward in an 
effort to grab it, but Scully beat him to the punch.  
"Scully," she said.

The EMTs sat back on their haunches, looking frustrated.  
Mulder hobbled around them to get a better look at Scully's 
face.  

"Who is this?" she was asking.  She looked more like a 
shooting victim than he did, pale and still coated in 
blood, but her voice was steady.   Her eyes went wide as 
she stretched out her arm to hand him the phone.  
"Pittsfield," she mouthed.

Mulder snatched the phone and brought it to his ear, 
listening for a second before he said anything.  He heard 
only breathing on the other end.  "Mulder," he said. 

"Agent Mulder, how nice to be in touch again for the 
holidays, don't you think?"

Mulder had no way of knowing if it was really Pittsfield on 
the other end; the man's face was burned in his brain 
forever, but he had never heard him speak.  "As ever," 
Mulder agreed.  "I'm planning a big turkey dinner this 
year, Pittsfield.  What are you planning?

The man chuckled.  "I think by now you know what I'm 
planning."

"No, I don't feel quite in the loop.  Enlighten me."

"I am, I am.  Why do you think I called?"

"I have no idea."

Still coy, Pittsfield replied, "You do.  I know you do.  
You and Amelia.  I heard what was going on back then.  I 
did my homework.  You expect me to believe she hasn't 
called you?"

"Called me about what?"  Mulder wanted to hear him say it.

"Natalie, of course.  Such a pretty child.  Such a shame 
what's happened to her."

Mulder's heart sank.  "What's happened?"

"Nothing yet, but if you want to see that little girl 
again, you'll do exactly as I tell you."

Mulder listened as Pittsfield detailed plans to meet at a 
high school football field outside of the city.  "So I do 
this, and what -- you give me Natalie?  What's in it for 
you?"

"You'll see soon enough.  Be there in an hour, or the girl 
is gone.  Come alone."

Pittsfield hung up, so Mulder did as well.  Scully was 
watching him intently as the EMTs took her blood pressure.  
"Well?  What did he want?"

"He wants me to meet him alone in some football field, but 
he won't say why.  He claims if I don't come, we won't see 
Natalie again."

"Mulder, no.  You can't even walk, let alone drive.  
Besides, it's probably just a trap.  This man had you shot 
earlier tonight, or have you forgotten that already?"

The EMTs turned their heads to stare at Mulder.  "Listen," 
the younger one said to Scully, "I don't know what's going 
on here, but we need to get you to the hospital and get 
your head checked out."

Scully ignored them, slipping free and walking over to 
Mulder.  "You are in no shape for this," she told him in a 
lowered voice.  "I know you want to help Natalie.  But 
Pittsfield's not going to just hand her over without a 
fight.  At best, he's probably leading you *away* from 
Natalie, and at worst you'll get yourself killed."

"What do you propose to do?" Mulder replied in a harsh 
whisper. 

She drew herself up.  "I'll go.  I'll--I'll take Grenier 
with me."

"Uh-huh," Mulder said, shaking his head emphatically.  "No 
way."

"I'm fine."

"Scully."  He grabbed her arm gently and forced her to turn 
so she could see herself in the mirror.  "You need to see a 
doctor."

She searched her face in the mirror, and then shoulder 
sagged under his grip.  "So what do we do?" she whispered.

He gathered her to him, crutches and all.  "He wants me, he 
gets me.  I'll take Grenier.  Amelia too.  We'll get him."

Scully turned her face against his T-shirt and hugged him 
tight.  "I don't like this, Mulder."

"Me either, but I don't see another way."

"Agent Scully?" the EMT said.  "We should really get going 
now."

Mulder felt her arms close around him tighter, and he 
kissed the top of her head.  "You go take of yourself.  
I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Call me," she said.  "The minute you know something, you 
call me.  Okay?"

The EMTs insisted on putting Scully on a stretcher.  Mulder 
wobbled out behind them, already on the phone to Grenier.  
He paused to squeeze Scully's hand before they loaded her 
into the ambulance.

"Be careful," she said, her eyes full of worry.

"Hey, as long as he doesn't bring the six year-old this 
time, I should be okay."  He smiled.  "Talk to you soon."

Distracted by Scully and his phone call, Mulder lingered in 
front of his building with his head down against the cold 
wind.  Grenier would be arriving any minute to pick him up.

In the shadows down the street, Pittsfield also waited, 
watching; his time was running out.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ice cracked beneath the tires of Grenier's car as he rolled 
to a stop not far from the Kennedy High School football 
field.  Mulder scanned the area with his binoculars but 
could not see much.  "It's too damn dark," he said.

"No doubt that's why he picked it," Grenier replied.  "Can 
you see Amelia?"

"No."

"Amelia, are you there?" Grenier asked the walkie-talkie.

"I'm here.  I saw your lights cut out."

"Any sign of him?"

"Not from this entrance."

Mulder checked the clock on the dash.  It glowed almost 
three-thirty a.m., the time of the appointed meeting with 
Pittsfield.  "I'd better get out there."

"Mulder, wait."

Mulder stopped with his hand on the door.  "What?"

"I just-- Doesn't this feel off to you?  Nothing he's doing 
this time is even remotely like it was seventeen years ago.  
You're going to be the Christmas goose out there, Mulder.  
He could shoot you from any one of these buildings and be 
long gone before we even knew what was happening."

They stared at each other in the dim light.  Mulder knew 
Grenier had to be thinking the same thing he was: 
Pittsfield would not grab Natalie just to hand her back a 
few hours later for nothing in return.

Mulder shrugged.  "The way I figure it, he had a whack at 
me earlier today.  If he had wanted me dead, I think he 
would have pulled the trigger himself.

"And what if that's the point of this little rendezvous?  
He shoots you, takes off with Natalie, and we never see her 
again."

"If you've got a better plan, I'm listening."

"Fuck."  Grenier covered his face with both hands.  "Go," 
he said, face still covered.  "We'll watch your back as 
best we can."

Mulder opened the door into the frigid night. 

"And Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Mulder looked down and patted the door absently.  "Yeah."  
More patting.  "Okay, let's do this."

His crutches punched holes through the ice, his breathing 
fogging in air in nervous huffs as he made his way onto the 
field.  Laboriously, he trudged on until he reached the 
spot where the fifty-yard mark would be. The empty stadium 
was covered in a thin blanket of snow, lit only by the moon 
overhead.

Mulder shivered and scanned the edges of the fenced-in 
field for any sign of movement.  Both Grenier and Amelia 
were out there, but he couldn't see them.  He wondered if 
the same were true for Pittsfield.

Minutes ticked by and Mulder moved around to keep from 
getting frostbite on his toes.  "We may have been set up," 
he murmured to his friends in the bushes.

Just then, a dark figure emerged from behind the bleachers 
at the far side of the field.  Mulder squinted but he 
couldn't get a good look.  The person was wearing a dark 
hat and a long dark coat.  "Someone's here," he muttered.

He waited, holding his breath as the figure started walking 
purposefully toward the center of the field.  "This is it," 
Mulder told Grenier and Amelia.  "No sign of the baby yet."

He forced himself to look nonchalant as the figure strode 
closer.  Something was familiar about the gait.  Mulder 
turned the cadence over in his head, attempting to match it 
with the terrible chase through the woods years before.  
Instead a different match clicked into place.

"Penelope," he breathed, just as she got close enough that 
he could see her face.  A face he could not believe he had 
managed to forget.  With the hat and the scarf on, all the 
extras faded away and Mulder saw only her eyes. 

The girl froze.  Her eyes went round with fright, then 
narrowed in fury.  She turned to run, but Mulder was no 
match for her.  He shouted for Amelia and Grenier.  "It's 
Penelope!  She's headed for the bleachers!"

Mulder started in clumsy pursuit as Grenier appeared, 
streaking down center field at top speed.   "Where?  
Where?" he demanded.

Out of breath, Mulder could only point.  Grenier took off 
with Amelia close on his heels.

By the time Mulder caught up with them under the bleachers, 
Grenier had the girl by the throat up against a pole.  
"What have you done?" he screamed at her.  "Where is my 
daughter?"

The metal pole shook as Grenier slammed her repeatedly 
against it.  Penelope coughed, shaking.  Amelia bore down 
on her too.  "Where is my daughter?  Where is Natalie?"

"Stop!" Mulder limped over to them.  "Stop it!"

"ANSWER ME!" Grenier raged.  "God damn you, Penelope--"

"That's not Penelope!" Mulder shouted.  

Grenier just shook the girl harder.  "Where is my 
daughter?"

"Adam!"  Mulder forced his way into the mix.  "Listen to 
me. That's Lily.  It's Lily!"

Grenier swallowed several gulps of air.  His fingers bit 
into the girl's chin as he forced her too look into his 
eyes.  Tears streaked her cheeks and her hat had nearly 
fallen off in the struggle.  "My God," Grenier whispered.  
He dropped his hand.

She coughed again, sagging weakly against the poll.  Her 
eyes glittered as she looked at the stunned agents one by 
one.  "You never found me," she said, her voice hoarse.  
"So I found you."

"Where is Natalie?" Amelia asked.  "Please just tell me 
where she is."

Penelope closed her eyes.  "Go to hell."

Grenier's hand was around her throat again in an instant.  
"You've been dead for seventeen years, girl.  No one's 
going to miss you now."

"Adam," Mulder said.

"Stay out of this, Mulder!"

"Adam, look!  That's her car over there.  See?"  

Mulder was already starting toward it, but Amelia passed 
him easily.  She took off at a dead run.  "Natalie?" she 
called.  "Natalie!"   She hit a patch of ice and fell hard 
to the ground.

Mulder caught up.  "You okay?"

"Go, go."  She was already scrambling to her feet.  Mulder 
reached the passenger door just as Amelia reached the 
driver's side.  In the back, in a car seat, sat Natalie.  
She wasn't moving.  "Oh my God.  Oh my God."  Amelia tried 
both doors.  "It's locked!"

Mulder tried the back and then the front.  The second one 
opened.  He dropped the crutches and levered himself 
inside.  Stretching, he squeezed the toddler's foot.  She 
squirmed and opened her eyes.

"She's okay!" Mulder called.  Natalie blinked a few times 
and her face broke into a slow smile.  She pointed at him.

"Mul-der."

"That's right," he agreed, chest tight with overwhelming 
relief.  He moved closer to make sure she really wasn't 
hurt.  "Let's get you out of here, okay?"  She reached out 
her hand for his nose, and he let her pat it twice before 
shifting back to let Amelia inside.  She popped all the 
locks and climbed in the backseat for her daughter.

"My sweetheart," she said.  "Thank God."

Grenier appeared with Lily-cum-Penelope in tow.  "She's 
okay?"

"She's a little cold, but she seems fine," Amelia said, 
fussing with her daughter's coat.
"You'd better thank your lucky stars for that," Grenier 
told Penelope.   He kept hold of her arm as he tried to get 
a better look at Natalie.  "She's really all right?"

Amelia turned away, walking off with the baby.  "It's okay, 
sweetie.  Mommy's got you now.  It's going to be all 
right."

Mulder leaned against the car and tried to ignore the 
terrible pain shooting through his leg.  Grenier's gaze was 
on his ex-wife and child.  "Where's Pittsfield?" Mulder 
asked Penelope.

"How the hell should I know?"

"He sent you here?  He put you up to this?"

Penelope shot him a contemptuous look.  "You really don't 
know anything, do you?  I couldn't believe it when he told 
me how stupid you were, but I guess the old man was right 
about one thing."

Grenier yanked her so hard she gasped in pain.  "I'd watch 
your mouth, girl.  Agent Mulder's the only friend you've 
got around here right now."

"You," she said to Grenier, breathing hard.  "You walked 
right past me in the woods that night.  You never even saw 
me."

"So you were going to give my baby away to a monster?  Is 
that it?   This is some sort of fucked up revenge?"

Penelope stared at him a long time.  "Tell yourself that," 
she said, "if it helps you sleep at night.  Tell yourself 
whatever the hell you want."

"How about the truth?" Mulder asked, leaning forward on his 
crutches.

The girl shrugged.  "You already know the truth.  You know 
it better than anyone: little girls go missing all the 
time."

~*~*~*~*~

Squad cars showed up to help sweep the area in case 
Pittsfield was watching from the bushes. Grenier loaded 
Penelope into the back of a cruiser while Mulder dug out 
his cell phone to call the hospital.

"I'd like to speak to Dana Scully please."

"I'm afraid that's not possible right now," said the 
receptionist.  "She with the doctors at the moment." 

Mulder rubbed his eyes wearily.  "Can you get a message to 
her?  Tell her Natalie is safe."  He paused.  "Tell her I'm 
safe too.  Fox Mulder.  Can you do that?"

"I'll see what I can do, Mr. Mulder."

Mulder limped over to where Grenier was talking to a police 
captain.  "No sign of Pittsfield?"

"None yet," Grenier replied.  He turned so he and Mulder 
could speak privately.  "He sent Penelope in his place, the 
little piece of shit.  Ten to one he was holed up somewhere 
safe waiting for her to make the drop."

"Doesn't make sense," Mulder argued.  "If Penelope was 
bringing Natalie to him, why involve us at all?"

"God."  Grenier's face clenched up.  "I don't know anything 
anymore."

Mulder looked around for Amelia.  "Amelia take Natalie 
home?"

"To the pediatrician, just to be sure.  God, Mulder.  I 
don't know if she's ever going to speak to me again after 
this."

"She will."

Grenier's mouth moved but no sound came out.  He shook his 
head.  "You know, I've always loved Amelia from the first 
minute I saw her.  She will be a part of me for as long as 
I have air in my lungs, and I don't know what I'd do 
without her, but it's nothing... nothing..." He choked up 
and turned his head.  "Nothing like I feel for that baby 
girl.  To think that I put in this kind of danger... It 
just makes me sick to death inside."

"You didn't know," Mulder murmured.

"No," said Grenier, his voice hard.  "But I should have." 

Mulder had no argument for that, so he said nothing and 
waited for Grenier to regain his composure.  He was pretty 
sure Adam was not going to like what came out his mouth 
next.

"Time to take her downtown," Grenier said at last, 
straightening up.

"I think you should take her to a doctor."

Grenier scoffed.  "Are you nuts? Pittsfield is still out 
there.  This girl knows where he is.  We need to sweat her 
hard and do it now."

"Humor me," Mulder said quietly.  Grenier did not look 
convinced.  "Listen," Mulder said, "I think given what went 
down here tonight, you at least want it documented that 
she's not severely injured."

"I did what any father would have done.  The little bitch 
is lucky I didn't wring her neck."

"I am not saying otherwise.  But let's get it on paper, 
okay?"

~*~*~*~*~

The irony, Mulder thought as he sat in the waiting room 
with Grenier.  He was in a hospital, and Scully was in a 
hospital; they just weren't in the same hospital.

"How is Scully doing?" Grenier asked, as if reading his 
thoughts.

"They said she was sleeping when I called the last time."

Grenier checked his watch.  "We shouldn't be here much 
longer.  You should get some sleep after this."

"So should you."

Grenier huffed and stared into his coffee cup.  "I may 
never sleep again."

The door to the exam room opened and the doctor emerged 
with a manila folder in hand.  Mulder forced himself to his 
feet once more; if he was right, this was a piece of news 
that merited a standing ovation.  "Well?" he asked the 
doctor.

She nodded.  "You were right."

"Right about what?" Grenier wanted to know.

Mulder pushed in the door and found Penelope in a dressing 
gown, handcuffed to the examining table while a female 
guard looked on.  The guard left as Grenier entered the 
tiny room.  Penelope shivered.

Mulder tossed a free lab coat at her, but she threw it 
back.  "I don't have anything he hasn't seen before," she 
sneered.  Grenier's jaw tightened but he said nothing.

"You know how we found you tonight, Lily?" Mulder asked.  
She looked past him at the wall.  "Come on, you must know.  
There's only one person who could have told."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"He sold you out, didn't he?  He took you once but this 
time he just gave you away."

"Shut up," Penelope said.  "Just shut up!"

"Mulder," Grenier said.  "What the hell is going on here?"

"She was expecting Pittsfield tonight, but he sent us 
instead."

Grenier was impatient.  "Yeah, right, I know -- she went 
there to hand over the baby to him."

"She went there for a trade."  Mulder looked at the girl, 
who refused to make eye contact with him.  "Natalie for the 
little girl on the webcam.  Isn't that right?"  He took a 
step closer, but Penelope still wouldn't look at him.  "You 
went there to get your daughter back."
 
Grenier swallowed a curse.  Penelope's eyes shone with 
tears.

"I have never stopped looking for her," she said.  "I never 
will."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully never slept well in hospitals.  The hallways were 
noisy, and doctors and nurses had a habit of appearing in 
her room like Bogeymen come out of the closet.  She lay in 
the dark, half drifting, able to relax a bit now that she 
knew Natalie and Mulder were both safe.  In the back of her 
brain, she worried over the one part of Mulder's message 
that had been notably absent: no mention of Pittsfield's 
capture.

She had half-dreams of falling slowly, as if though cotton 
candy.  Once she thought Mulder was in the room with her 
talking about baseball.

Suddenly, her skin tingled and she went wide awake.  In the 
inky shadows, she saw a face peering down at her.  
Pittsfield.

There was no time to scream.  She felt the stab of the 
needle in her arm and then the world just faded away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

End chapter six.  Continued in chapter seven.

Out of the frying pan and into the fryer. ;)

Thanks to Amanda for proofing.  Any mistakes remaining are 
mine alone.

Evil feedback always welcome at syn_tax6@yahoo.com