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UNIVERSAL INVARIANTS	

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by syntax6

Chapter Four: Rock Meets Hard Place


The dream was always the same.  He could taste the sea in 
his mouth.  It was summer, the sand hot beneath his knees 
as he and Samantha built huge castle together.  The beach 
was crowded with other families, and soon half a dozen kids 
joined them in their effort.  Mulder knew his parents 
watched nearby, tucked under their umbrella with a basket 
of cold chicken and soda.

He and Sam were having a contest to see whose turrets could 
reach highest.  Mulder piled packed sand up so tall he lost 
sight of his sister on the other side.  Only her giggles 
and hurled insults gave her away.

Mulder stuck out his tongue in concentration, working 
harder, faster -- anything to beat her.  Sweat broke out 
across his back.

He looked up as the sun disappeared.  The beach turned 
dark.

"Samantha?" he called, but there was no answer.  He ran 
around the castle to find her abandoned pail and shovel, 
which he scooped up.  "Samantha!"

Only then did he realize she had left with the others.  The 
beach was empty.  

Mulder looked to the ocean and then he knew why they had 
run.  A huge wave was rolling in, high enough to drown them 
all.

Mulder could not move.  He watched it grow taller, closer, 
but his feet felt stuck in the sand.

"There goes the castle," he thought.

And woke up.

Mulder blinked at his ceiling.  His TV chattered but he did 
not turn his head to look at it.

"...missing since yesterday afternoon.  Patty Waeleski, age 
13, was walking home from a friend's house when she 
disappeared.  Her parents immediately phoned the police 
when Patty failed to show up for dinner.  Patty is a 
competitive gymnast whose family moved from Dayton, Ohio so 
their daughter could study with famed gymnastic coach David 
Matlock.  Matlock has trained six US Olympic gold 
medallists, and had recently stated that Patty could be an 
early favorite to win the all-around competition in Atlanta 
in 1996.

Although no one has confirmed an abduction, police say the 
FBI has been called in to consult on this case."

Mulder blinked again, lying still as a dead man.  A moment 
later, his phone began to ring.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully stopped by her cubicle to check email before 
trekking down the basement.  Her phone rang as she logged 
in, and it was Chief Blevins on the other end.

"Agent Scully, could I see you in my office now, please?"

"Certainly," Scully replied, though inwardly she was 
cringing.  The frequent trips to front office had seemed 
exciting at first, a fast track to the top; now she wished 
nothing more than to start at the ground floor.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Scully asked as she entered.

Blevins motioned her into the room.  Scully looked around 
for the man with the cigarettes.  He was not present, but 
he nose told her he had called recently.

Scully took her customary seat in front of Blevins.  He was 
signing some papers and had yet to give her his full 
attention.  Scully folded her hands and waited.

"Agent Mulder won't be with you today," he said at last.  
He looked up.  "Possibly not for the full week."

"Excuse me?"

"He's off the X-Files for the moment.  Just a temporary 
reassignment."

"What--what am I supposed to do?"

He peered over the rims of his glasses at her.  "It's my 
understanding you and Agent Mulder enjoyed a recent sojourn 
to Scottsbluff, Nebraska."

Scully felt her cheeks turn pink.  "Sir, about that--"

"I'll look forward to reading all about it in your report."  
He returned to his work, dismissing her.

Scully pushed up from her chair.  "Sir?"

He looked at her again.  "Yes?"

"The girl that disappeared yesterday.  That's the case 
Mulder's been reassigned to, isn't it?"

"Yes."  He put aside his pen.  "Yes, it is."

Scully nodded.  "His choice?"

"Does it matter?"  Blevins leaned back in his seat and 
regarded her.  "Agent Mulder requested that the X-Files be 
reopened and assigned to him, and we granted that request.  
In return, he agreed to help us from time-to-time on cases 
of a more terrestrial nature."

"I see." She turned to leave.

"The children, Agent Scully.  He always comes for the 
children."

"Of course he does."  Their eyes met, and Blevins gave her 
a tight smile.

"I'll expect your report shortly, then."

Only when she had returned to her desk did it occur to 
Scully to wonder how exactly Blevins knew about their trip 
to Scottsbluff.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The press corps was camped three deep around the Waeleski 
household when Mulder arrived.  He flashed his ID at the 
uniformed officer on guard, who then led him inside to the 
detective in charge of the case.

"Ava Prescott," she said by way of introduction.  She had a 
slight gap between her front teeth and wore her dark hair 
in a knot at the back of her head.  "Thanks for coming."

"Anything so far?" Mulder asked.

"Nothing.  Her friend Sandra Alder says Patty left shortly 
after lunch, headed for home.  She was taking the cross-
town bus, but we've talked to the driver and he says she 
never got on.  No one has seen or heard from Patty since."

"Any chance she ran away?"

"Parents say no.  Barbara and Tom.  They're in the living 
room tearing their hair out.  Friend Sandra backs them up.  
She said Patty was in a good mood when she left, and she 
never mentioned running away from home.  She did, however, 
borrow ten dollars."

"Did she say what it was for?"

"No. Promised to pay her back Thursday, so that's another 
point against the runaway theory." 

Mulder nodded.  "Okay, I'd like to talk to the parents."  
Detective Prescott led him to the living room, where 
Barbara Waeleski sat with a second detective while her 
husband Tom paced the blue carpet.

"Mr. and Mrs. Waeleski?" Prescott said.  "I'd like to 
introduce Special Agent Fox Mulder from the FBI.  He needs 
to ask you some questions about Patty."

Barbara's hand shook as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.  
"I know you," she said to Mulder.  "You found that man that 
killed the little Plecker boy last year."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Is that why he's here?" Tom demanded of Detective 
Prescott.  "You think Patty is dead?"

"Not at all, sir," Mulder said.  "I've worked a lot of 
missing children cases in the past, and I'm just here to 
add another perspective."

"You find them alive?" Barbara asked.

"I start every case expecting to find them alive," Mulder 
told her.  Hoping was more like it, but he wasn't about to 
admit this to two grief-crazed parents.  "Detective 
Prescott tells me you last talked to Patty on Sunday 
morning?"

"At church," Barbara confirmed.  "She asked if she could go 
home with Sandra for lunch.  We said it was okay as long as 
she was back in time to get her homework done."

"Was Patty often late?"

"Not usually," her mother replied.

"Patty is a bit of dreamer," Tom said.  "Sometimes she gets 
her head stuck in the clouds and loses track of time.  But 
she's a good kid."

"Has she been having any problems at school lately?"

"Not that I know of," said Barbara.  "Her grades are okay.  
Her algebra teacher has complained a few times about the 
amount of time that Patty spends training, but she just 
doesn't understand how it is.  This isn't some after-school 
sports program Patty's in -- she's training for the 
Olympics."

"Problems with friends?"

"Patty doesn't have a lot of close friends," Barbara said, 
sounding regretful.  "She doesn't have time for it.  That's 
why we said she could go to Sandra's house for a few 
hours."

"What about any problems here at home?"

Tom narrowed his eyes at Mulder.  "What's that supposed to 
mean?"

"I just mean, did Patty give you any trouble?"

"The hell that's what you mean.  I know how this goes.  I 
watch TV.  A kid goes missing, and the parents are 
automatically responsible, right?"

"Mr. Waeleski, please," said Detective Prescott.

"Are you?" Mulder asked mildly at the same time.

"Am I what?" growled Tom.

"Are you responsible for Patty's disappearance?"

Tom made an inhuman noise and charged at Mulder.  A 
uniformed cop held him back.  "How dare you?  How dare you 
come into my house with my little girl missing and say I 
had something to do with it!"

Barbara looked like she was going to be sick.  "We would 
never hurt Patty," she whispered. "God, we never even 
spanked her."

"I know the questions are ugly," Mulder said, "but we have 
to ask them."

"Go to hell," Tom answered.

"Let me be honest with you," said Mulder.  "I am not here 
to paint you both as monsters.  But it's preferable that 
Patty ran away.  It makes it more likely she's safe right 
now and that we can find her quickly.  So all I am trying 
to do is determine if there was *anything* that might make 
Patty take off on her own."

"I--I'm trying to think."  Barbara looked panicked.  Tom 
still looked angry.  "Patty didn't argue with us much.  She 
was very rarely in any trouble."

"When was the last time?" Mulder asked.

"The last time she was in trouble?"  Barbara sat up, trying 
to focus.  "Three months ago, I guess.  She was horsing 
around with her brother in the backyard, climbing trees.  
She knows she's not supposed to climb the trees.  She 
slipped and sprained her wrist.  It set her training back 
weeks."

"Did you punish her?"

"We thought about it, but after the tongue-lashing she got 
from Coach Matlock, we didn't think we needed to say 
anything else."

Mulder nodded.  "Okay.  I'd like to take a look at Patty's 
room now, if that's all right."

"Why?" Tom demanded.  "You think we're hiding something up 
there?"

"Just to look around.  I'm trying to get a sense of who 
Patty is.  It will help us figure out what happened to 
her."

"Tom, be still," Barbara said.  "Of course you can look.  
It's right upstairs at the end of the hall."

Mulder walked silently up the carpeted stairs and down the 
hall.  Patty's door was closed.  She'd hung a replica of a 
stop sign on the front with a special message underneath: 
"This means you, Tommy."

Mulder opened the door, startling a little boy who was 
lying on the bed.  The boy looked to be about six years 
old; he had a Snoopy doll in a headlock.  "You must be 
Tommy," Mulder said.

The kid nodded.  "Are you the police?"

"FBI," Mulder said, handing over his ID.  Tommy studied it 
and handed it back.  "I'm helping the police look for 
Patty."

Mulder looked around at the pink and white bedroom.  An 
entire wall was devoted to gymnastic trophies and medals.  
On the desk sat two battered notebooks, each covered in 
stickers.  One read "History" on the front; the other was 
labeled "English."

Mulder picked up a framed photo of Patty and a black 
terrier.  Patty's blond hair was windblown and she was 
laughing as the dog licked her face.

"That's Mr. Pickles," Tommy explained.  "He died last 
year."

Tommy watched Mulder check out the room some more.  "She's 
not in here," he offered eventually.  "You should look 
someplace else."

"I'm not looking for Patty here," Mulder answered.  "I'm 
looking to see what she was doing before she disappeared."

"She was at church."

"Were you at church too?"  Tommy nodded.  "Did Patty tell 
you what she was going to do after church?"

"She was going to Sandra's."

"And after that?"  Tommy shrugged.  Mulder examined Patty's 
extensive CD collection.  "Your sister likes to listen to 
music, huh?"

"All the time.  Mom and Dad yell at her when she plays it 
too loud."

"Do they yell at her a lot?"

"Mmm, not all the time.  Mostly they yell at me."

"Yeah, my parents yelled at me too.  My sister would pick a 
fight, but I'd be the one to get into trouble.  Does that 
ever happen to you?"

"Oh, yeah.  Nothing's ever Patty's fault.  One time she 
took Mom's perfume and spilled it all over, but I got 
punished.  She said I'd knocked it over with my ball."

"What about the time you were climbing trees in the 
backyard?"

"Huh?"

"When Patty hurt her arm?"

Tommy's small face paled and he tugged Snoopy onto his lap.  
"Oh, yeah.  That was bad."

Mulder set aside Patty's possessions and knelt in front of 
the boy.  "Can you tell me about that day?"

"I don't know."

"Patty was climbing a tree with you?"

"I guess." He lowered his gaze and started swinging one 
foot back and forth.

"Where was your mom when it happened?"

"Mom was out.  Stephanie was watching me."  

"Stephanie is your babysitter?" Mulder guessed.

"Uh huh.  She was talking on the phone with her boyfriend 
when Patty came home from school."

"And that's when you decided to climb trees together?"

Tommy sucked on his bottom lip.

Mulder hesitated and then shifted closer.  "You know, my 
sister and I used to have secrets together.  I would tell 
her things that I didn't want our parents to know."

"Did she tattletale?"

"No," Mulder said solemnly.

"Being a tattletale is the worst."

"Yes, it is," Mulder agreed.  "But you know it's only 
tattling if you tell your parents.  If you tell someone 
else, it's okay."

Tommy considered this new loophole.  "I don't think so."

Mulder tried a new tack.  "What if I guess the secret?" he 
said.  "And you tell me if I'm right."

"Well... okay."

"I guess maybe Patty pushed you, and you pushed back and 
she fell.  That's how she hurt her arm."

"Wrong!"

Mulder pretended to think.  "I guess you were never 
climbing trees.  Is that right?"  

"Sort of.  I was climbing the tree."

"But Patty wasn't?"  Tommy shook his head.  Mulder's pulse 
picked up.  "Patty was already hurt when she came home from 
school?"

Tommy nodded.  "She was crying."

"Did she tell you what happened?"

"She said she fell at school.  She said Mom and Dad would 
kill her."

"And that's when you made up the tree story?"

"Yeah."

Mulder touched the kid's knee.  "Thank you for sharing the 
secret with me."

"Are you going to find Patty now?"

"I'm sure going to try."

Detective Prescott poked her head in the room.  "There you 
are," she said to Tommy.  "Your parents are looking for 
you.  I think lunch is ready downstairs."

Tommy scampered off with Snoopy while Prescott joined 
Mulder in the middle of the room.  "You find anything?"

"She lied about the injury," Mulder replied.  He relayed 
what Tommy had told him.

"So what do you think happened?" Prescott said.

"Damned if I know.  But I'll lay odds it wasn't a fall."  
He picked up one of her notebooks and flipped to the back 
page.  Patty had written, "Mrs. Tricia Yearling" in curvy 
script over and over again.  Mulder showed Prescott.

"Yeah, we saw that. Evan Yearling is a boy in her class.  
Sandra said all the girls had crushes on him.  We checked, 
but he was playing in a youth soccer league game at the 
time Patty went missing."

Mulder looked down at the loopy lettering. "She writes her 
name as Tricia, not Patty."

"Trying on a new identity, maybe?  When I was thirteen I 
wanted my friends to call me Jezebel."

Mulder did a double take.  Prescott shrugged.

"I'd see these older girls go by with their makeup and 
tight dresses, and my mother would say, 'She's such a 
Jezebel.'  Sounded good to me!"

Mulder smiled and continued flipping through the notebook.  
"Well, at the very least, it suggests that Patty wasn't 
entirely comfortable with the box she was in.  That's 
something."

The pages were filled with notes on American history.  In 
the margins, Patty doodled hearts and flowers.  She also 
liked to take names and change the letters around to spell 
something else. 

BENEDICT ARNOLD became DARN NOBLE EDICT.

"Wait, look at this," Mulder said.  In the midst of the 
American Revolution, Patty had paused from her notes to 
write, "I hate her. I hate her.  I hate her."  The tiny 
print scrolled across the top of one page.

"That's odd," Prescott remarked.

"It's around the time Patty hurt her wrist.  I wonder who 
she's talking about."

"I can check again with Sandra.  She might know."

"You do that."  Mulder snapped the notebook shut.

"What, you're not coming?"

"No, I'm going shopping.  I want to see what ten dollars 
buys you at the bus stop."

Mulder exited the house, taking care not to make eye 
contact with the press as he strode across the lawn to his 
car.  "Mulder," called one voice.  The only one to address 
him by name.

Mulder made the mistake of looking over his shoulder. 
Scully's boyfriend was dogging him with a camerawoman in 
tow.  "Hey, Alan."

"Ethan," the guy corrected.  "I know we haven't been 
formally introduced.  You're working this case?"

"That's right, so I better get to it."  Mulder had not 
slowed down.

"I thought you didn't do this sort of work anymore.  Or is 
there a paranormal angle here I don't know about?"

"I don't know what you've heard, but this is the sort of 
work I do every single day.  I solve crimes for the FBI."

"Is that what this is?  A crime?"

Shit, Mulder thought, berating himself for even getting 
into this conversation.  "No comment."  He opened his car 
door.

"Come on, Agent Mulder.  We're on the same side here.  
We're just trying to help find the girl."

"You want to help?  You point that thing at her picture and 
make sure everyone in the country knows what Patty looks 
like."

"We've already done that."

"Do it again."  Mulder got in and slammed the door behind 
him.

~*~*~*~*~

Mulder started his search at the bus stop where Patty would 
have picked up the bus on Sunday afternoon.  It was a trip 
she had often made before, Prescott said, so Patty would 
know the area.

He looked up and down the busy street.  There was a food 
market on one corner and a clothing store on the other.  He 
set off in the direction of the clothing store.

The mannequins in the window wore tight dresses in bright 
summer colors.  Mulder remembered what Prescott had told 
him about Jezebel and ducked inside.

He showed Patty's picture around but no one remembered 
seeing her on Sunday.  

"Nothing you can buy in here for ten dollars," the clerk 
said, full of disdain. 

Mulder continued down the street.  He tried a candy store 
and comic book shop but no one admitted to seeing Patty.  
At a crossroads, Mulder considered his options.  One way 
ran down to the park.  It was possible Patty went tree 
climbing on her own.

In the other direction, Mulder saw a large used CD store.  
He remembered Patty's collection.  "Pay dirt," he said to 
himself as he broke into a jog.

Inside the store, grunge music blared from the speakers.  
Bins of CDs packed the place, with choice items featured in 
displays around the walls.  Customers were sparse.  Mulder 
spied a few college-aged kids checking out the 80s music 
section.

"Can I help you?" A balding, heavyset man wearing a faded 
Metallica shirt called to him from behind the counter.

"Are you the owner?" Mulder asked.

"Stanley Manning," the man said.  "Who wants to know?"

Mulder showed his ID.  "Were you working yesterday 
afternoon?"

"I work every Sunday afternoon."

"Did you see this girl come in here?  Maybe around two?"  
Mulder slid Patty's photo across the glass counter.

"You know how many kids I get in here on the weekends?" 
Manning answered.  "It's a friggin' zoo."  He looked at the 
picture.  "She's a real cutie.  This is that girl who went 
missing, right?"

"Her name is Patty Waeleski.  She was wearing jeans and a 
striped blue T-shirt."

Manning shook his head.  "Don't remember her.  Sorry."

"Think hard."  Mulder was almost sure the girl had been 
there.  "She liked the Beatles.  Also Nirvana."

"Sorry," Manning said, spreading his hands.  "I can show 
her picture to Brian.  He was here Sunday.  Maybe he 
remembers something."

"Do that."  Mulder walked around the shop while Manning 
went in search of Brian.  He found the Beatles bin and 
flipped through the CDs.

You were here, he thought.  I can feel it.

Ten dollars certainly would have covered a used CD 
purchase.  Mulder looked around and spotted a security 
camera in the corner.

"Brian don't remember her either," Manning said as he 
returned.  "Like I told you, it's crazy around this place 
on the weekends."

"I see you have security cameras. Any chance I could see 
the tape?"

"The tape?  Sure.  Only that one is working right now.  I 
keep meaning to have the other one fixed, but I haven't 
gotten around to it."

Mulder's heart thudded.  The working camera was the one 
aimed at the Beatles section.  "Please, I'd like to see 
what you have on tape for yesterday around two."

"I'll cue it up.  Come on back."

Manning sent Brian out to watch the store as he dusted off 
an old VCR.  He rewound the tape, keeping an eye on the 
counter.  "Should be about here," he said, hitting play.

As if by magic, Patty Waeleski appeared on the screen.  
Mulder felt the air sucked out of him.  

"Well, I'll be damned," Manning said. "That's her, ain't 
it?"

Both men watched as Patty combed through the bin.  She made 
a selection and tucked it under her arm as she kept 
searching.  The time on the tape read two seventeen.

Just before two twenty, Patty turned to look behind her. 
"Did someone call her?" Manning asked.

"I don't know."

Patty walked off screen in the direction of whatever had 
grabbed her attention.  She never came back.

"Holy shit," Manning said.

"Did she check out with that CD?" Mulder asked.

"Let me check.  Brian," he hollered.  "Find out if we sold 
any Beatles albums after two twenty yesterday!"

"Just a second," Brian called back.

"Now!"

"I'm going to need to take this tape," Mulder said.

"Of course, of course."  Sweat beaded Manning's lip.  "You 
think whoever took her grabbed her from my store?"

"I think it's a possibility."

Brian stuck his head in the room.  "No Beatles sold 
yesterday at all," he told them.

Manning crossed himself.  "Sweet Jesus."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully was slicing a tomato when she heard the door open.  
"In here," she called.  With Mulder gone, she beat Ethan 
home with time to spare.  She had already changed into 
shorts and a tank top and pulled her hair off her neck.

"Hey," Ethan greeted her.  He sank into a chair by the 
table.

"You look tired," she said.  "Long day?"

"You could say that." He rubbed his face with both hands.  
"You're home awfully early."

"Mulder has been temporarily reassigned, so I spent the day 
doing paperwork."

"Nice to have you home for dinner for a change."

"Ethan..."  She turned.  "Please don't start."

"Who's starting?"  He stood up and joined her at the 
counter.  "Looks good."

"It's so hot out, I figured we could eat light tonight.  
Leftover chicken and a salad."

"Mmmm, sounds perfect." He looped his arms around her from 
behind and kissed her cheek.  "Have I ever told you how 
much I love this outfit?"

Scully laughed and reached behind to ruffle his hair.  "I 
just bought it."

"So it's a newfound love."  His hands slipped under her 
shirt.

"Now you're definitely starting something," Scully said.

His nimble fingers opened the snap on her jean shorts. 
Scully's nipples tightened under her tank.  "Dana," he 
said, "it's been ages."

"A week," she said, her head lolling back.  She ran her 
hand down his thigh as he started a slow grind against her.

"Ages," he breathed near her ear.  His hands found her 
breasts, and dinner was forgotten.

Later, naked in bed, he traced figure eight patterns on her 
tummy.  "Feeling better?" she asked him sleepily.

"Mmm, much."  He kissed her forehead.  "And you? Is it back 
to mutants tomorrow?"

"I don't know.  Depends on Mulder.  He's working on 
Waeleski case."

"Tough case," Ethan said, continuing his caresses.

"The worst."

Ethan snuggled her close.  "You're lucky, you know. We have 
each other to keep things normal.  Who does Mulder have?"

"Mulder does okay," she replied.  "He has friends."

"Really, who?"

Scully had no answer.  "He plays basketball on the 
weekends," she said.  "I think he unwinds that way."

"He any good?"

Scully turned her head on the pillow to look at him.  "I 
haven't seen him play.  Why?"

"Just curious."

Scully rolled away.  "I'm going to take a shower.  You 
finish dinner."

"Aw..."

"Hey, I was all set to make it.  You're the one who had 
other ideas."

"Me?  What about you?"  He shifted into a breathless 
falsetto and clutched his chest. "Oh, Ethan.  Yes!  Yes!"

Scully poked her head around the door.  "What I didn't tell 
you is that I was fantasizing about the chicken the whole 
time."

Ethan threw a pillow at her.  "That's cold, woman.  Cold!"  
But he went to finish the salad.

They were just finishing dinner when the phone rang.  Ethan 
picked it up.  "Did you see the JLA report?" Melinda asked.

"No, what'd they get?"

"Exclusive with the parents.  No one's using the word 
kidnapped yet but all the signs are there.  I talked to 
Kimmy from the precinct. She says there may have been some 
break in the case, but she doesn't know what it is.  Need-
to-know basis and all that shit."

"Damn it."

"Yeah, well, Kruetzer wants to know what our angle is.  
What should I tell him?"

"Tell him I'm on it."

"I was thinking we could rent a movie," Scully said when he 
reappeared in the kitchen.

"Love to, but I can't.  That was Melinda.  We've got to 
edit some tape tonight."

Scully was stuck holding the dishes. "You've got to go 
right now?"

"Yep."  He kissed her cheek.  "Don't wait up."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Despite the dark, the city smoldered.  Heat radiated from 
the buildings and off the basketball court.  Mulder, his 
Knicks shirt soaked through with sweat, took free throws 
from the line.  Everyone else had the sense to be inside 
with the air-conditioning.

Well, almost everyone.  Mulder froze in mid-shot as he 
spotted a figure lingering near the fence.  Spotted, the 
man walked forward into the light.  Mulder turned his 
attention back to the basket and swished the ball through 
the net.

"You following me?" he asked.

"I'm following the story," Ethan answered.  He retrieved 
Mulder's ball and bounced it back to him.

"I'm not the story."  Mulder took another shot.

"I think you are."  Again, Ethan returned the ball.  
"You're the superstar, right?  The Michael Jordan of 
profilers?  They must have brought you in for a reason."

"A little girl is missing. That's reason enough."

"Lot of theories going around about what happened to her."

Mulder made another basket.  "Yeah?"

"You have a favorite?"

"If I did, I certainly wouldn't tell you."

"Come on, Mulder.  We can work together on this."

"I work alone."

"You work with Dana," Ethan said.

Mulder paused with the ball in hand.  "Leave her out of 
it."  He missed the next shot.  Ethan caught the ball and 
held it.  Mulder tilted his head.  "What I want to know is, 
just what you think you can do to help me."

Ethan tossed him the ball.  "I've done some homework. The 
Gramercy case three years ago, you used the press to 
communicate with the killer."

"You're assuming we have a killer this time."

"Aren't you assuming it?"

"I never assume."  Mulder resumed his free-throws. 

"People say things to the press," Ethan persisted.  "Things 
they don't tell guys with a badge."

That got Mulder's attention.  "You know something?"

"Maybe.  Do we have a deal?"

"I don't make deals.  If you know something that could help 
bring that little girl home and you're withholding it, I'll 
haul your ass to jail."

"Whoa, easy.  I don't know anything.  I swear."  Mulder 
gave him a hard look.  "But I might find something out.  If 
I did, I would share it with you."

"In exchange for what?"

"Nothing.  Maybe a little consideration is all."  Mulder 
ignored him, so Ethan snagged the ball again.  "Here, 
consider this a freebie.  I'm not saying this has anything 
to do with the case, okay? But I did a story on Coach 
Matlock for the last Olympics.  He drives those kids hard.  
I mean really hard.  Word has it he doesn't hesitate to pit 
them against one another if he thinks it will make them 
more competitive."

"Interesting."  Mulder kept his voice neutral.  He walked 
off the court and grabbed a bottle of water.  Ethan 
followed.
"I also heard there's been some sort of break in the case," 
Ethan said.  Mulder did not reply.  "Look, you know I'm 
going to find out eventually."

"So go find out."

Ethan shook his head.  "Fine.  Just trying to keep the 
lines of communication open, you know?"

"And I appreciate that," Mulder said, raising his water 
bottle in mock salute.  Ethan started walking away.  "Hey!" 
Mulder called, and Ethan turned again.  "Why are you so hot 
on this case, anyway?"

"Maybe it's got national attention.  Maybe because this 
could be my big break."  Ethan stooped to pick up a rock.  
"Maybe I have a little sister too."

He tossed the rock into the park and left without saying 
goodbye.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Curiosity drove Scully to the basement the next morning.  
She was not expecting to find Mulder, but the door was open 
and there he was.  He had the TV on and his feet up on the 
desk.

"Hi," she said.  "I wasn't sure you'd be here."

"Just fishing for your boyfriend?"

"Excuse me?"

"Ethan paid me a little visit last night on the basketball 
court.  He tried to strike up a deal.  I catch the bad guy, 
and he gets the story."

"Ethan talked to you?"  She still could not believe it. "He 
never said anything to me."

"I'm sure," Mulder agreed.  "He just magically knew how to 
find me."

Scully flushed at the rebuke.  "I'll talk to him."

Mulder waved a dismissive hand.  "Don't bother.  I can 
handle it."
Scully opened her mouth and shut it again. If that was how 
he wanted to play it, fine.  "What are you watching?" she 
asked.

Mulder tapped the VCR remote against his thigh but did not 
answer.

"Mulder?"

"I'm trying to decide how much I can tell you."

"Fine.  Forget I asked."  She turned on her heels to leave.

"It's a security camera shot of Patty Waeleski taken the 
day she disappeared," Mulder said, stopping her.  Scully 
walked back so she could see the TV.  Mulder hit "play."

Together they watched Patty make her Beatles selection and 
walk of the camera.

"See?  It's like someone called her name," Mulder said.

"Not a friend, though."

"What makes you say that?"

"She doesn't look happy to see them."

"Huh."  Mulder sat up.  "Good point."  His phone rang, and 
he groped for it with one hand.  "Mulder.  Yeah.  Okay.  
Say what?  All right, I'll be down as soon as I can."

Scully raised her eyebrows in inquiry as Mulder hung up the 
phone.  "The manager of the CD store has a history of 
sexual assault on a teenage girl," he explained.  "They're 
bringing him in for questioning."

"He grabbed her from his own store?"

Mulder shrugged.  "I've got to run.  See you."

Scully was left staring at the frozen image of Patty 
Waeleski as she prepared to step off the screen into 
oblivion.

"Yeah," Scully said to the empty room.  "See you."

~*~*~*~*~*~

She tracked Ethan down in the production studio.  "I need 
to talk to you," she said.  Melinda eyed her warily.

"Dana, honey, I can't talk right now.  We're crashing this 
piece for tonight.  Let's talk at home, okay?"

Scully looked up and saw Mulder on the tiny screen.  "We 
talk now, or I won't be at home when you get there."

Melinda winced.  Ethan gave her his full attention.  "Wow, 
okay.  Let's go in back, all right?"

He led her to a small kitchenette with a table and two 
chairs.  "You want to sit?"

"No, I don't want to sit.  God, you are such a bastard."

"What?  What did I do?"

"Oh, spare me the wounded puppy look, Ethan. You know damn 
well what you did.  All those innocent questions about 
Mulder last night.  You *used* me."

"Not--not intentionally."

"Bullshit."

"No, I swear."  He blocked her from leaving.  "Dana, I'm 
sorry.  I didn't mean to put you in the middle."

"Oh, the hell you didn't. You took me to bed and you 
wheedled the information out of me that you needed."

"It's not like that.  Really.  I didn't mean to... I wasn't 
trying to..."  He took a deep breath.  "I'm sorry."

"I'm not some source you can use up and throw away, Ethan."

"I know that."

"This is my job we're talking about."

"You want me to tell Mulder you had nothing to do with it?  
Because I will."

Scully gave a humorless laugh.  "No, I don't want you to 
talk to Mulder.  He wouldn't believe you anyway."

"What can I do?  What can I do to make this up to you?"

He looked genuinely contrite.  Scully shook her head.  "You 
can never, never do this again.  Ever."

"I won't."  He grabbed her and kissed her head.  "I'm 
sorry."

Scully leaned a cheek on his chest.  "Don't make me chose 
between you and Mulder, Ethan."

"I know.  Your job is important.  I hear you."

Scully pulled away.  "I'm saying you won't like my answer."  
She cupped his face briefly before leaving him alone with 
her ultimatum.

~*~*~*~*~*~

That night, Scully could not help herself.  She watched the 
evening news.  Ethan's piece aired after the update from 
the afternoon press conference, in which the public learned 
there was a suspect in the case.

Ethan started with a smiling picture of Patty.  "When a 
child goes missing," he said gravely in voice over, 
"everyone in law enforcement takes the case seriously.  
It's all hands on deck."

The shot shifted to Ethan standing in front of the Waeleski 
home.  "Each unit assigns its best and brightest to the 
case.  For the FBI, this means sending Fox Mulder."

He showed pictures of Mulder walking across the lawn.  
"Mulder established his dominance in the world of FBI 
profiling early, tracking serial killers with such ease 
that he earned the nickname, 'Spooky.'"

Ethan used file footage of Mulder on old cases.  "If you 
follow high profile cases, you may have seen his name 
before.  But what you may not know is the deeply personal 
reason that Mulder hunts these killers with such ferocity. 
Fox Mulder was only twelve years old -- a full year younger 
than Patty Waeleski -- when his eight year-old sister 
vanished from the family home.  Despite a lengthy search, 
Samantha Mulder's whereabouts were never determined and she 
remains a missing person to this day."

"No comment," Mulder said to the camera.

The shot returned to Ethan.  "Some have speculated that 
Agent Mulder's presence on this case means the FBI is 
tacitly acknowledging what many fear -- that young Patty 
Waeleski has met with foul play.  But one thing is for 
certain, the Waeleskis could not find a person more 
dedicated to bringing Patty home."

"We're doing everything we can to find her," Mulder said on 
camera.

"For this agent," Ethan said, "Patty is not just a little 
girl lost.  She is one more chance to get it right.  One 
more chance at salvation."

Ethan faded away just as Scully's phone rang.  "Hello," she 
said, rubbing her aching head.

"I'd be worried if I were you, Scully," Mulder said.  "I 
think your boyfriend may have a crush on me."

"Mulder."  She took a deep breath.  "I'm so sorry."

"Forget it. My dirty laundry's been out in public before, 
and it will be again."

"Did you talk to the owner of the CD store?"

"Manning?  Yeah.  He definitely has a record.  The cops 
like him for her abduction, but I'm not convinced."  He 
told her about Patty's mysterious injury.

"What are you going to do?" Scully asked when he had 
finished the tale.

"Keep digging, I guess.  I can't stop now.  This case is my 
one shot at salvation."

Scully closed her eyes, but Mulder chuckled.

"Tell Ethan I want to go steady, will you?"

Scully shook her head and smiled.  "Good night, Mulder."

~*~*~*~*~

End chapter four.  Continued in chapter five.

Many thanks to Amanda for proofing!

Questions?  Comments?  Want to go steady with Mulder? Let 
me hook you up: syn_tax6@yahoo.com