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UNIVERSAL INVARIANTS

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Chapter Eight: Any Way You Slice It

By syntax6

Valerie Perez's class picture showed a lithe young woman 
with kinky black hair and a lopsided smile.  Scully tried 
to hand the copy back to Agent Benjamin Beltran, but he 
waved her off.  "Keep it.  We got plenty."

Scully glanced down at the picture again.  "Physically she 
doesn't resemble Patty Waeleski.  Valerie is older, darker 
and taller."

"Two young female athletes go missing within months of one 
another, you've got to check into a connection."  Beltran 
removed a toothpick from his mouth.  "What's he doing, 
anyway?"

Scully shielded her eyes from the wind as she looked up the 
street toward Mulder.  His black coat flared behind him; 
Mulder paced the sidewalk in front of the line of stores.

"Uh, he's working," Scully said as she turned back to 
Beltran.  The truth was she had no idea what Mulder was 
doing.

Beltran raised his eyebrows. He was green, like her. It was 
why he had drawn the short straw and ended up showing her 
and Mulder the probable scene of Valerie's abduction.  The 
big boys had long moved on to greener pastures.

"You know we've been over this place with the dogs, with 
the lab boys, with a freakin' fine tooth comb," Beltran 
said.  "There isn't anything to find.  The girl stopped in 
there," he nodded at the nearby convenience store, "bought 
a Coke, and that's the last anyone saw of her"

Mulder had stopped pacing.  He was watching the passing 
street traffic.

"No disrespect to Mulder and all," Beltran said, "but I 
just don't know what he expects to get from this little 
expedition.

Scully patted his arm.  "Then take notes," she suggested.  
"Here's your chance to learn."

She jogged up the road to Mulder.  "Anything?" she asked as 
she came to a stop beside him.

"Ballsy place to make a grab, don't you think?"

Scully looked around at the well-populated street.  "Middle 
of the day, lots of people around -- just like Patty."

"Yeah, that's what bugs me."

"What do you mean?"

"We're going on the assumption that Patty knew her 
abductor, and that's how he managed to lure her away in 
broad daylight without anyone seeing anything.  She would 
have gone willingly."

"So?"

"So this has the same earmarks.  If Valerie was abducted 
here, it was probably by someone she knew, at least 
casually."

"Different schools, different sports," Scully mused.  "I 
doubt they would have had many common acquaintances."

Beltran strolled up, toothpick waving from between his 
teeth.  "You sniffing the wind, Mulder?"

"Better than pissing into it."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't think Patty and Valerie are connected."

"You got that just from walking up and down here for ten 
minutes?  I go back to my SAC, he's going to want more than 
that."

"Okay, tell him it was twenty minutes."  Mulder touched 
Scully's back.  "Let's go.  I want to talk to Valerie's 
family."

~*~*~*~*~

Valerie Perez had lived alone with her mother in a postage-
stamp sized brick house.  Mulder and Scully entered right 
into the living room, where Donna Perez crowded with them 
in her makeshift foyer. 

"Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from the FBI," Mulder told her.

Scully eyed the crucifix hanging on the wall over Donna's 
shoulder.  The woman sniffed and nodded.  "Come in.  Do you 
know Sergeant Tartikoff?"

A large man in uniform sat in the high-backed chair by the 
fireplace.  He awkwardly raised a delicate china tea cup in 
greeting.

"No," Mulder answered.  "We haven't met."

"DC Police," Tartikoff said.  "I've been here since the 
beginning."

"Can I get you some tea?" Donna asked Mulder and Scully.

"No, thank you," Scully answered.

"We'd like to ask some questions about Valerie," Mulder 
said gently.

"Of course.  Please, come sit down."  Donna took a well-
worn corner of the sofa, a box of tissues at her right.  
She tugged a cordless phone and a string of rosary beads 
onto her lap.  

Mulder took the other single chair, leaving Scully no place 
but the other end of the small but overstuffed sofa.  She 
sat carefully so as not to jostle Donna.

With four adults, the room felt crammed, choked off with 
grief.  Scully imagined Valerie easily dodging the coffee 
table with her long, graceful limbs.

"Three days," Donna said.  "This is as long as we've ever 
been apart her whole life."

"What about Valerie's father?" Mulder asked.

"Persona non grata.  I haven't spoken to him in fourteen 
years now.  Neither has Valerie.  I don't even know where 
he's living anymore."

"No chance he could have tracked her down?"

"Eddie?" She looked up from her Kleenex.  "No way."

"What about a boyfriend?" Scully asked.

Donna squeezed her eyes shut.  "There was this kid, Jimmy.  
He was in her English class. Valerie talks about him all 
the time, about how cute he is.  But I didn't get the 
feeling he knew she was alive."  Her eyes flew open at her 
choice of words.  "I mean, she said they didn't really 
talk.  It was puppy love, you know?  A crush."

Scully smiled.  "I know."

"He was out looking for her yesterday.  They all were.  
Everyone's been so nice."

"What about trouble at school?" Mulder asked.  Donna shook 
her head.  "On the track team?"

"No.  Val loves that team.  The girls all come over 
sometimes, eat my refrigerator from top to bottom."  She 
gave them a tremulous smile.  "Coach Joe said Valerie's 
going to be a star.  He said she has a gift.  You should 
see her run.  It's like the wind, like dancing.  I knew the 
first time I saw her compete.  It was like watching a bird 
fly out of the nest for the first time.  Val was born to 
run.  That's why..."  She broke off, her eyes welling.  
"That's why I don't understand how he could catch her.  I 
don't understand how this happened."

Sergeant Tartikoff's beeper went off.  He stretched over 
his stomach to set his teacup on the end table. "Excuse me, 
please."

"Ms. Perez," Mulder said, leaning forward.  "Is there 
anyone you can think of who might have wanted to hurt 
Valerie?"

She glared at him, as though he had not been paying 
attention.  "Valerie is kind to everyone.  Who would want 
to hurt her?"

"Agent Mulder?" Tartikoff stuck his head in the room and 
motioned for Mulder to join him in the kitchen.  Mulder 
excused himself.

Scully sat with Donna while the wall clock ticked off slow 
seconds.  Everywhere pictures of Valerie seemed to be 
staring at down at them.  Scully tried not to look back.

"How did Valerie seem to you the last time you spoke?" she 
asked Donna.

"The last time," Donna repeated hollowly.  She turned 
haunted eyes to Scully.  "I see your cross."

Scully's hand went automatically to her necklace. 

"Are you Catholic?" Donna asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"You are, I can see."  Donna fingered the beads in her lap.  
"Every night since she before she was born, I prayed for my 
daughter's health and safety.  She's never been sick for 
more than a day in her life.  Last night, I asked God to 
send me a sign.  Tell me my baby is all right."

Donna stared at Scully's throat.  Scully wondered if the
other woman could see her heart hammering there.  

"Please," Donna said, raising her gaze to Scully's, "find 
my baby."  She reached over and grabbed Scully's hands in a 
tight grip.

"I--"

"Scully?" Mulder beckoned her from the doorway.

Scully pulled away from the mother's grasp, feeling the 
reluctant slide of Donna's fingers.  She walked across the 
carpet to Mulder, who leaned down to whisper right in her 
ear.

"They've found a body."

~*~*~*~*~

Scully did not know why she was surprised to see Ethan's 
van parked outside the crime scene.

"Seems like we're the last to know," Mulder remarked as he 
cut the engine.  "Maybe we should grab a camera and ride 
with them for a change."

Scully slammed the car door.  Ethan and Melinda were 
filming from behind the yellow tape as members from three 
different law enforcement divisions milled around the 
overgrown field.

"Dana!" Ethan waved as he caught sight of her.  Scully 
ignored him, turning to follow Mulder towards the crime 
scene.  Ethan jogged across to them.

"Coming?" Mulder asked, holding up the tape for her.

"Dana, hey."  Ethan, breathless, caught up to them.

Scully folded her arms.  "You go on," she told Mulder.  
"I'll be there in a minute."

"I didn't realize you and Mulder were working this case 
too," Ethan said.

"I could say the same thing."

"What does that mean?"

She shrugged.  "Seems like every time I turn around now, 
you've got a camera at one of my crime scenes."

"It's not personal.  You know that.  I'm just following the 
story."

Wind whipped Scully's hair into her eyes, and she clawed it 
away.  "There's a dead little girl over there," she said, 
"and all you can think of is a story?"

"Hey, I'm just doing my job, same as you. I hoped against 
everything that you guys would find her safe and sound.  I 
get absolutely no pleasure from this."

"No, you just show up to take the pictures."  She jerked up 
the tape and ducked under it, stalking away.

"Dana, wait!  Dana!"  His voice faded in the wind, and 
Scully threaded around uniformed officers to reach the spot 
where the girl's body lay.  Mulder, wearing latex gloves, 
was bent low near her head.

"Is it her?" Scully asked, hanging back.  The girl's neck 
was bent at an inhuman angle.  She lay covered in branches, 
bare, dirty feet sticking out on one end.

"It's Valerie," Mulder said as he stood up.  He snapped off 
the gloves.  "And I'm sure now that he knew her.  Look at 
the way he covered her up -- almost like a blanket."

Scully hugged herself around the middle.  "I'd have to do a 
full exam to be certain, but it looks like he broke her 
neck."

"She's been dead awhile," Mulder murmured.  "All those 
people looking for her, this was all they were ever going 
to find."

Scully scanned the large field, where men with dogs stepped 
carefully through the tall grass.  "Looking for tracks?"

Mulder squinted at them.  He shook his head, a short jerk.  
"Looking for others."

~*~*~*~*~

The body arrived on Scully's doorstep like a macabre 
Christmas present, wrapped in grim black nylon.  Scully, 
gowned and masked, supervised the unveiling and soon 
Valerie Perez lay naked on the table.

Scully swallowed as she stepped under the white-hot lights. 
A sizable gold cross glittered on a thin chain about the 
girl's neck.  Bruises ringed an uglier necklace across 
Valerie's throat.

Scully tried to get the necklace off, but her gloved 
fingers fumbled with the delicate catch.  She stripped them 
off and removed the cross with shaking fingers.  It swung 
like a pendulum as she held it up to the light.

*I prayed every night*

Scully took the cross to the bench and laid it gently down.  
Then she got out her fingerprint powder.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Mulder slumped on his couch, glass of iced tea in his hand 
and the TV blaring classic Warner Brothers cartoons.  Tom 
chased Jerry around the house with a frying pan, but 
somehow the mouse managed to dodge every blow.

Mulder knew he should identify with the mouse.  Lord knew 
fate always seemed to be chasing him with a frying pan.  
But just once, he wanted to see Tom brain Jerry a good one.

The noise of the TV drowned out the static in his head.  
Four hours ago, he'd had to tell Donna Perez her only child 
was never coming home.

So intent he was on zoning out it took him a good few 
minutes to realize someone was banging on the door outside.  
Mulder rubbed a hand over his stubble and slowly got to his 
feet.

He opened the door to find Melinda standing there with a 
pizza.  "Hi," she said.  "I thought you might be hungry."

Mulder looked behind her for the camera.  "How did you know 
where I live?"

"I'm an investigative journalist, remember?"  She balanced 
the pizza box on one curved hip.  The spicy tomato scent 
made Mulder's stomach growl.  "So can I come in?"

Mulder glanced behind him at the wreck that was his living 
room.  "Uh, sure."

"Cartoons," she said when she saw his TV.  She shrugged out 
of her leather jacket.  "My mom never used to let me watch 
when I was little."

"Yeah?"  Mulder turned down the volume.  "Why is that?"

"Too violent."  Her smile faded.  "I guess that sounds 
pretty stupid on a day like today.  I mean, who cares if 
two dimensional animals beat each other up?"

Jerry tripped Tom with a broom, sending him sprawling into 
the wall with a mashed face.  "Your mom's right," Mulder 
said, switching it off.  

They stared at each other. "So, do you have plates?" 
Melinda finally asked.

Mulder fetched a couple from the kitchen.  "I've got water, 
orange juice or iced tea," he called out.

"Tea sounds great, thanks."

He brought out the materials and spread them on the coffee 
table.  Melinda sat close, her thigh warm against his leg.  
She raised her glass of iced tea.

"What shall we toast to?"

Mulder didn't feel much like toasting.  "You choose."

Melinda peered into her glass.  "To heaven," she decided.  
"May we all get there one day."

Mulder narrowed his eyes at her for a second but clinked 
his glass with hers.  "So," he said as he lifted the lid on 
the box, "are you just moonlighting now as a pizza delivery 
person?"

"I'm not here to pump you for information about the case, 
if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh, you would never," Mulder agreed with mock seriousness.

She slapped him teasingly on the knee.  "I mean it. I just 
thought... I don't know.  I thought maybe you could use a 
little company."

"And a lot of pepperoni," Mulder agreed with a smile.  

"You didn't strike me as the leafy green type."

"Are you suggesting I'm not fresh and crispy?"

Melinda's lips curled upwards and she gave him a sideways 
look.  "I don't know about crispy.  As for fresh, I guess 
we'll just have to see."

They talked about New England.  She had cousins in 
Manchester, New Hampshire, and had often spent summers 
there as a girl.  "I can still smell it," she said.  "You 
know when you walk outside in the evening and the air is 
warm.  You can smell all the trees and the grass.  The 
night used to light up with fireflies."

"I used to catch them in a jar and find them dead the next 
morning."

She laughed.  "Didn't anyone ever tell you had to punch 
holes in the lid?"

They talked about baseball.  She was a Phillies fan, and 
Mulder shuddered at her confession.  "National league 
baseball is no fun.  Who wants to see a pitcher hit?"

"I'm a purist," she said.  "Nine guys on the roster.  Nine 
guys ought to hit."

"I hit four hundred my second year in little league." 
Dinner over, they both reclined with their feet on the 
table.

"Oh, yeah?"  She pointed at herself. "Four-twenty."

"You're kidding."

"Hey, feel that."  She flexed her arm for him.  "I still 
play softball every year."

He rubbed her bicep.  "Pretty impressive."

"My dad used to call me his little dirt dog."  She raised 
her chin.  "See that scar?  I got it breaking up a double 
play the first game I ever played."

The light was low.  Mulder could not see anything.  
"Where?" he asked, leaning in.  He breath tickled his 
cheek.

"Here," she said as she took his hand.  She rubbed his 
fingers across the faint ridge above her collarbone.  
Mulder could not seem to stop stroking.

I am not going to do this, he thought as he looked at her 
lips.

The next thing he knew, he was kissing her.

Melinda gave a breathy sigh and wound her arms around him.  
Mulder half lay on top of her, hands roaming freely now.  

Way better than Tom and Jerry, he thought.

She tasted sweet, like the tea, and he couldn't drink 
enough of her.  Dimly, he realized his phone was ringing.

"The machine will get it," he said, pulling away briefly.  
He returned his lips to hers.

"This is Fox Mulder.  You know what you can do with the 
beep."

"Muller?"  Scully's voice bouncing off his hard walls made 
Mulder freeze.  She sounded... odd.  "Muller, are you 
there?"

Nah, it couldn't be, he thought.  Scully, drunk?

He eased off of Melinda.  "I'd better get that."  He 
grabbed the phone and walked it to the kitchen.  "Scully?" 
he asked in a low voice.

"Muller," she said again, sounding relieved.  "It's you."

"It's me.  What's going on?"

"I did the autopsy, and I stopped for a drink."  He heard 
rock music in the background.

"Scully, where are you?"

"Umm, I'm in a bar."

"I gathered.  Which bar?"

"I don't know.  I haven't never been here before.  There 
was an electric eggplant outside."

"I know it."

"It's really loud here, Muller.  I can't think anymore."

"Stay put, okay?  I'll come get you."

"Muller."

He stopped in the process of hanging up.  "Yeah?"

"I've never cut up a little girl before."

"Hang in there, Scully.  I'm coming."  Mulder was already 
fishing out his car keys.  He snapped off the phone and 
went back to the living room.  "Listen, I am very sorry 
about this, but I have to run out for awhile."

"Sure." Melinda straightened her clothes and rose from the 
couch.  "Is Scully okay?"

"She's fine."

Melinda nodded, and he walked her to the door.  She ran her 
fingers over his jaw.  "Call me," she said.

"I will."



Mulder found Scully at a Georgetown bar called Eggplant 
Eddie's.  She sat in a back booth, nursing a glass of 
seltzer water.  Her white shirt was unbuttoned almost to 
her middle and her sloppy ponytail tilted off the back of 
her head.  

Mulder had no doubt they had carded her before serving her 
any alcohol. Agent Dana Scully, twenty-nine and looking 
more like the fifteen year-old girl she had carved open 
just hours before.

"Hi," he said, sliding in across from her.

She sat up. "Hi."  She rubbed her tired eyes.  "Sorry for 
making you come all the way down here."

"It's no problem."  He ducked his head to try to meet her 
gaze.  "You okay?"

"Yeah.  I just meant to have one but I didn't pay attention 
and kind of lost count."

"Happens to all of us."

She searched his face.  "You seem okay."

"I didn't have to do the autopsy."

"You knew she was dead before we even found her, didn't 
you?"

He shrugged.  "I suspected, yeah.  Fifteen year-olds like 
Valerie go missing, and the outcome is typically not 
happy."

Scully slouched again and fingered her glass. "Then can I 
ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Your sister.  Samantha.  She's been missing for a long 
time.  A lot longer than three days."

He dropped his chin, acknowledging the truth of her 
statement.

"What do you think the outcome is going to be there?"

"I..."  He shifted, trying to find the words.  "I think 
probably it's not a good one," he said quietly.  Scully's 
eyes were wide and full of sympathy.  "But I still have to 
find out."

Scully reached out and grabbed one of his hands with both 
of hers.  It was a messy, earnest gesture.  Mulder felt his 
ears go warm as she rubbed her thumbs over his wrist.

He squeezed her and broke contact.  "Let's get out of here, 
okay?"

She nodded.  "I don't remember where my car is."

"I think that's probably a good thing," he said, helping 
her up.

She stumbled into him, breasts pressing against his chest.  
Mulder held fast so she wouldn't fall down. "Easy now," he 
murmured.

Scully looked up at him with liquid eyes.  "You're so 
tall."

"No," he replied, amused, "you're so short.  Come on, let's 
go."

Scully was more steady as he led her to the door.  As he 
helped her into the passenger seat of his car, she said, "I 
found a fingerprint on her cross."  She indicated the gold 
necklace around her own neck.  "But no match.  Whoever he 
is, he's not in the system."

"We'll find him."

He drove her home and parked outside her apartment 
building.  "I'm fine from here," she said.

"I'll walk you in."  He left no room for argument.

They paused on front stoop under the light as she searched 
for her keys.  "Thank you for coming to get me," she said 
when she had found them.

"Anytime."

"Mulder..."  She reached out and touched his cheek, close 
to his mouth.  "You have lipstick on your face."  
Realization dawned.  "Oh, God.  You were with Melinda, 
weren't you?  I'm so, so sorry."

She covered her face with both hands, keys peeking out 
between.  He gently pried them down again.  "It's okay, 
Scully.  Really.  Let's go in, hmm?"

She made it through the front door without incident but 
dropped her keys opening the front door.  From behind her, 
Mulder reached down the same time that she did.  Ethan 
opened the door then to catch them in the rather suggestive 
position.  Scully strained to look up.  "Hi," she said.

Mulder stood.  Ethan looked Scully over from head to toe.  
"Where have you been?  I've been worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"  Mulder asked, touching her 
arm.

"Okay.  Thanks again." 

Mulder hurried down the hall, but not fast enough to hear 
Ethan ask, "Have you been drinking?"

When Mulder arrived home, he turned on his TV.  Tom and 
Jerry were running around the kitchen again, as if nothing 
had ever changed.

~*~*~*~*~

The next morning Scully walked into the basement and 
gingerly put her briefcase down on the floor.  Mulder 
looked up from his desk.

"Rough night?"

"The night was okay. It's the morning that's the problem."  
She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes for a 
moment.  "I want to apologize again--"

"Forget it.  You've bailed me out of a lot worse, remember?  
What are partners for?"

"Thanks."

"But I have some bad news."  She regarded him, waiting.  
"There is an informal memorial service for Valerie Perez at 
her school today.  I think we should go.  If, as we 
suspect, her killer was someone she knew, there is a good 
chance he'll be there."

Scully sighed.  "I suppose it's too much to hope he'll be 
wearing a sign around his neck that says, 'Killer.'"  

"I'll keep my eyes out."

She leaned down and extracted a folder from her briefcase.  
"Here's my full report from the autopsy.  In addition to 
the fingerprint, I found a few shards of glass ground into 
her backside. We might want to be looking for someone who's 
doing a lot of squinting."

Mulder raised his eyebrows.  "Oh?"

"I had the glass sent to the lab, and they called me a few 
minutes ago with the results.  It's prescription glass from 
eyeglasses.  Our killer wears bifocals."

"Huh.  That might make him older than I thought."

"I also found tissue under her nails.  Valerie got a couple 
of good scratches in before she died." Scully tossed the 
report onto his desk.  "So a fingerprint, glasses 
prescription and DNA.  If we can just figure out who this 
bastard is, we can nail him easily."

Mulder stood up and grabbed his suit jacket.  "Well, let's 
get going then, and watch the crowd for a squinty older man 
with scratch marks on his arms."

~*~

Valerie's memorial service drew a large enough crowd that 
the cops turned out to supervise.  A big portion of the 
mourners were her schoolmates.  They hugged each other and 
cried as Donna Perez thanked them for being such good 
friends to her daughter.

Mulder and Scully split up and worked the crowd.  No one 
immediately stood out as suspicious.  They met up near the 
back as the group paused to sing, "Amazing Grace."

"Anything?" Mulder asked.

Scully shook her head.  "I heard her coach is going to 
speak next, followed by her best friend Mandy."

"I wish it weren't the middle of November," Mulder groused.  
"Makes it hard to spot any scratches."

"Hey, do we know what the coach looks like?"

"His name is Joe Offerman.  That's all I know."

"That must be him over there."  Scully indicated a forty-
something man with a letter jacket on.  He held a piece of 
paper in his hand and appeared to be sweating despite the 
cool temperatures.  "He's wearing glasses," Scully pointed 
out.

"Thick ones, by the looks of it."

"Maybe we got our sign after all," Scully said.

"Let's get closer.  See if he's got any scratches."

They worked their way through the crowd, but the song was 
ending and coach Joe went to take the podium.

"What's the friend's name?" Mulder asked in Scully's ear.

"Mandy."  Scully turned.  "I think that must be her over 
there."

A skinny blonde girl with tears streaking her face waited 
near the podium.  She also wore a letter jacket.

"I have an idea," said Mulder.  Scully followed him through 
the crowd until they reached Mandy. The girl practically 
jumped out of her skin when Mulder touched her shoulder.  
"Agent Mulder, FBI," he said, showing his ID. "Are you 
Valerie's best friend?"

The girl nodded.  "I've known her since first grade."

"Could you come with me for a moment?"

"But I have to speak next."

"I know, and you'll get that chance.  I just need you to 
come back here for a few minutes."

Hesitant and frowning, Mandy allowed Mulder to lead her to 
the back of the crowd.  "Your coach," he asked, "is he a 
good guy?"

"Yeah, he's okay."

"Just okay?"

She shrugged.  "He's not bad, but some people don't like 
the way he plays favorites."

"And was Valerie his favorite?"

Mandy looked on him with scorn.  "Of course.  She was only 
the best runner on the team!"

Joe was wrapping up his remarks.  "I'd like to invite Mandy 
Jenkins up here now to say a few words," he said.  

Mandy started forward, but Mulder held her by the 
shoulders.  "Not just yet."

"Mandy?"  Joe leaned forward and searched the crowd.  
"Mandy, where are you?"

"Wave at him," Mulder asked.

Mandy waved her arms.

"I seem to have lost Mandy," Joe said ruefully.  He 
adjusted his glasses.

"Okay, you can go ahead," Mulder told the girl, who rushed 
through the crowd.

"He couldn't see her," Scully said.

"Probably because his glasses broke and he's wearing an old 
pair."

"I'd still like to get a look at him and see if he's got 
scratches.  That would be enough for a warrant to collect 
samples."

"Go," Mulder answered.  "But be careful."

Scully worked her way through the tightly-packed bodies 
until she reached the front.  Joe stood off to the side, 
wiping his glasses.  She did not see any scratch marks on 
his hands.

Scully sidled up next to him.  "That was really moving, 
what you said about Valerie."

He smiled.  "She was really something special.  I can't 
believe she's gone."

The collar of his coat mostly obscured his neck.  "You must 
have spent a lot of time with Valerie," Scully said.

"Five days a week.  The girl had amazing raw talent.  Did 
you ever see her compete?"

"I'm sorry to say that I didn't.  She must have had a lot 
of admirers, though, from the number of people who have 
turned out today."  Her pulse picked up.  "I just hope it 
doesn't rain."  Scully looked to the sky to see if he would 
follow suit.

He took the bait.  Her heart froze at the sight of a long, 
jagged red mark on his neck.

"I think we'll be okay," he answered.  "So tell me, how is 
it you knew Valerie?"

Scully pulled out her ID.  "Actually, I didn't.  I'm 
investigating her murder."

Joe paled.  "Oh?  I hope you catch the guy."

"Where did you get that scratch mark on your neck?"

"What scratch mark?" he asked even as his hands flew to 
touch it.

"That scratch right there."

"Uh, I don't know.  Can't say I even noticed it.  You get 
banged up pretty good in the gym."

"Or during a murder."

Joe reacted in a flash, shoving Scully hard to the ground.  
People around her stumbled, she took a heel to the face.  
"Mulder!" she yelled from the mix.  There was no way he 
heard her.

Scully fought her way free from the tangle of limbs in time 
to see Mulder and one of the cops tackling coach Joe.  The 
crowd immediately went into a roar.  Scully pushed and 
shoved until she was clear of the group.

The uniformed officer had cuffed Joe.  Mulder was brushing 
off his coat.  "He's your guy," Scully said when she caught 
up to him.  "He's got the scratches."

Mulder touched her cheek.  "What happened?  Are you okay?"

The heel had landed on the corner of her eye and her 
cheekbone.  Scully winced away from Mulder.  "I'll live."

"You should get that checked out."

"I said I'm fine."

But late afternoon found Joe Offerman cooling his heels in 
jail as Scully cooled her cheek with a pack of ice in the 
basement.

"Is it any better?" she asked Mulder.  She feared she knew 
the answer.  Her left eye had swollen shut already.

"What about a steak?" he said.  "Isn't that supposed to 
help?"

Scully sighed.  "It will be okay when the swelling goes 
down."

Mulder came around the desk to stand over her.  He cupped 
the uninjured cheek and raised her face to him.  "You look 
like you went three rounds in the ring."

"But I won," Scully said with a satisfied smile.  

Mulder grinned back and tapped her on the lips with his 
thumb.  "That you did."  He pulled away.  "Come on, I'll 
drive you home."

"I can drive."

"Uh-huh.  As long as you don't need to make any left turns, 
you're fine.  Let's go."

So, for the second time in as many nights, Mulder walked 
Scully to her door.  "Thanks," she said.  "Again."

Ethan opened the door before Mulder could reply.  "Jesus," 
he said when he saw Scully's face.  "What happened to you?"

"It looks worse than it is."

Ethan glared at Mulder.  "You bring her home plastered one 
night and beat up the next.  What's tomorrow, a body bag?"

"Ethan, stop it!"

"I should go," Mulder said.  

"Yes, you should," Ethan agreed.

"Night, Scully."  He hurried away before she much of a 
chance to say anything.

Scully slammed the door behind her.  Ethan was pacing the 
living room.  "I saw the news," he said.  "There was 
nothing on it about you getting hurt."

"Not everything important gets reported on the news, 
Ethan."

He stopped and looked at her.  "Are you okay?  Did you see 
a doctor?"

"I'm fine.  What the hell gives you the right to speak to 
Mulder that way?"

"I'm sorry."  He took a step toward her.  She looked away.  
"I'm really sorry.  I saw your face and I panicked.  Call 
it shooting the messenger."

"I want you to apologize."

"Dana," he said, stroking her arm.  "I'm very sorry."

"Not to me.  To Mulder!"

"I will."  He took her in his arms.  "I will, I promise."  
He rocked her back and forth until she relaxed.  Scully put 
her arms around him and let him sway her gently.  "This 
job," he murmured.  "It's killing you."

Not dead, she thought.  Just dented.

~*~*~*~*~*~

End chapter eight.  Continued in chapter nine.

Many thanks to Amanda for the proofing! One day
Mulder may get all the way naked. ;-)

Please feed the animals: syn_tax6@yahoo.com