***Prologue***
May 14, 1998
Barryville High School
Barryville, Ohio
I had been Fox Mulder's partner for five years. I had seen
him asleep on motel room floors, in cramped airline seats
and beside me in parked cars. I had seen him unconscious
because of injuries, fever or shock, and I had seen him
drugged in hospital beds and his own couch, and sometimes by
my own hand. Even then, even when he was so deep he
couldn't react to pain, I could see his questing, restless
spirit move in him, and make it impossible for him to be
completely quiet, completely at rest.
He was completely still on that cot in the makeshift ward.
Only the slow beeps of the EEG told us he was alive. I
stole glances at him as I worked my way down the rows of
silent, unmoving patients. Every so often, I could see
Skinner, Walter, steal time from his own tireless labors to
go to Mulder and just hold his hand for a moment, or stroke
his forehead, or kiss his cheek with a tenderness that would
have made me cry if I had any tears left.
Then, he would get up and bathe more patients, check more
IV's, comfort more survivors, and make more phone calls.
Meanwhile, I administered yet another experimental drug and
prayed for all of us, and wondered at the people who let all
this loose on the world, or at least on this small town.
***Chapter One***
May 7, 1998
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, DC
Mulder's hair was wet when he entered the office that
morning, and his eyes were bright. I knew he'd spent the
night by himself because he'd called me three times - once
to talk about Voyager, once to make certain I was watching
Babylon 5 and once just because he was lonely.
"Did you two have a good workout?"
"Yeah." He grinned. "People are used to us being in the
gym at the same time. And I get to watch Walter pump up
without anyone noticing."
"Other people use the gym."
"We don't do anything out of line. It's not like we're
necking in the parking garage."
"Ah, yes. Steamed up windows on a Thursday morning in the
JEH garage. No one will suspect a thing. I could see *you*
doing this, Mulder, but I'm glad you couldn't talk Walter
into it."
He got out his coffee cup - the new one Walter had given
him. "Me talk him into it? There have been times
I've
been the voice of reason."
"You, Mulder? I'm surprised you don't jump him in the
gym."
He looked at me in shock. "Scully! That would attract
attention."
"At least you're keeping your heads." One day, my partner
and my boss might be caught, and that would be the end of
their careers. It wasn't just that they were both men.
We
all know that's time-honored here in the FBI. It was also
that Walter was our supervisor, and that isn't permitted.
Frankly, I was worried, but better this than watching them
pine for one another.
"Good. Now I can tell you about our plans for the weekend."
I rolled my eyes. "Do I need to know what you and Walter
are doing this weekend?"
"Actually, Scully, I was talking about you and me. Take a
look at this file." He handed me a folder.
In it were photographs of what looked like dead bodies -
twelve adults and children of both sexes. There was an
autopsy report attached. I began to read it.
"Mulder - these people aren't dead."
"No. A few days ago, all of these people were healthy and
active. Then, out of the blue, they became like this. No
one knows why, and at least one was almost dissected before
they realized that they were alive. Their metabolism is
down to almost nothing, but their brains are functioning.
No one knows why."
"Do you have any theories?"
"I think something has forced their spirits to travel the
astral plane." He said it with all seriousness. Mulder
may
have had his doubts about aliens, but never about the
supernatural - unless the supernatural was God. My partner
was the king of contradictions.
"I have feeling it's something a lot more mundane, like
sleeping sickness."
"Not that many tsetse flies around Barryville, Ohio,
Scully."
"Is that where we're going?"
"Yep."
"Why isn't the CDC handling this?"
"I don't know. I got this from other sources. We're
flying to Columbus this afternoon. Pack your doctor
stuff."
"Does Walter know?"
He fidgeted with a pencil. "He signed off on the 302, so I
guess he does. I'll have to find some reason to see him
before we go. We've been apart before."
"It doesn't get easier, does it?" I reached for his hand.
"No. The day it does is the day I'll start to worry. I'm
beginning to think that maybe...I'll call him."
I shook my head as he went to the phone. He still wasn't
certain of his feelings. He could believe in vampires, but
that he could be in love or that someone could love him?
That was impossible.
"Hi, Kim? It's Agent Mulder. Is AD Skinner available? A
meeting? Okay. No, it's not an emergency. No
need to
page him. Tell him that Agent Scully and I will be heading
for Ohio in a few hours. Great. Thanks."
Mulder had no idea that Kim knew their secret. I thought
that Skinner suspected that she did, but he wasn't about to
find out for certain. Skinner's secretary was the best ally
I had in the effort to preserve their jobs.
We spent the rest of the morning cleaning up paperwork, and
then went home to pack. He picked me up at one thirty,
looking a little forlorn.
"You okay, Mulder?" I tossed my suitcase and my laptop into
the backseat of his car.
"I'm fine. I just didn't get a chance to say good-bye to
Walter."
"He never returned your phone call?"
"We played phone tag. I'll call him from the motel
tonight."
The flight was pretty uneventful. Mulder even napped on
the plane while I reviewed the notes. There was some delays
at the Columbus airport, but we were in a rental car for the
two hour trip to Barryville soon enough.
We got into Barryville about 8PM, and checked into the local
motel - an actual Howard Johnson's for a change. He got on
the phone before he unpacked, while I unpacked and hung up
my things.. After five years of this, I had it down to a
science. I was finished when he finally reached Skinner.
"Walter? It's me. I'm in Ohio, at the Barryville HoJo's."
Did everyone start a phone conversation with Mulder by
asking where he was? "It was an easy trip. I tried to
reach you all day. I know, meetings. Yeah. I know.
Weekend's probably gone. I'm going to miss you, Walter.
I
wish I could have, too."
"Mulder, you're not alone in here."
"Scully sends her love. What? If you want. Scully,
he
wants to talk to you."
I put down the file and took the phone. "Walter? Hi."
"What are you doing?"
"Not much."
"Playing mommy?"
I grinned. "I guess so. He needs one."
Walter's voice was serious. "I know, Dana. That's because
he never really had one. Take care of him for me."
"I will, sir. But he should be fine here. No evidence of
a
killer - at least not a human one."
"Good. Maybe I can sleep tonight. Put him on?"
"Take care, Walter. Mulder, it's your turn again."
He put down the tv remote. "Hi, Walter. Yeah.
I'll be
okay. I'll call you tomorrow. Miss you. Bye."
He looked sad for a moment, but the mood passed.
"Hey, Scully, there's a diner across the way. Want to get
some grease for dinner?"
"Sure. Just let me get my purse."
***Chapter Two***
May 8th
Methodist Hospital
Barryville
The ward held thirteen beds, and there was room for two or
three more. A nurse pulled a sheet over the head of one of
the patients as a couple standing by the bed cried. A blond man
in blue scrubs and a lab coat had his hand on the man's
shoulder.
I glanced at Mulder. "There was no mention of deaths in
your file."
He frowned. "This is something new." He spoke up.
"Excuse
me? I'm sorry to intrude."
The man in the scrubs gave the other man a reassuring
squeeze and came to us. His eyes were red and there were
dark circles underneath.
"Can I help you?"
"We're from the FBI." We held out our badges. "I'm Agent
Mulder and this is Agent Scully. *Doctor* Scully."
"Doctor? MD? You mean the government sent someone useful?"
He looked hopeful. I hated crushing those hopes.
"I'm a pathologist, not an epidemiologist. I wish I could
say otherwise. And you are?"
"That's still one more doctor than we have. I'm Dr. Peter
Miller. I'm chief internist here. And I don't mind telling
you I'm in over my head. You can see this is a small
hospital - not much more than a clinic. Normally we deliver
babies and set broken legs here. Anything bigger goes to
Columbus."
"I understand, Doctor." I looked at the grieving couple.
"Is there some place private where we could talk?"
"Of course, of course. My office is just down the way.
Janice!" A woman in colorful scrubs looked up from the
chart she was annotating and walked towards us.
"Yes, Peter?"
"I'm taking Agent Mulder and Dr. Scully to my office. I'll
be there if anything changes or needs my attention."
"I'll take care of things." Janice nodded at us and went
back to her charting.
Miller's office was indeed just down the hall. He ushered
us into a room not all that much bigger than the basement
office, but much, much neater.
"Sit, sit. I'll get some coffee started." As he clattered
around the coffee maker, we sat down in the chairs facing
his desk and Mulder retrieved the file folder.
Instead of sitting on his chair, Miller perched on his desk.
"Now, what do you want to know?"
"When did people start dying, Dr. Miller?" Mulder
apparently didn't want to waste any time.
"Mr. Gray was the first one we've lost here, Agent Mulder."
"How did he die?" I took out a pad.
"We don't know. It's as if he decided he didn't want to
come back. Mr. Gray was one of our oldest citizens. That
couple you saw was his grandson and his wife. He'd been
living with them for the past few years. It's hard on
Larry, the grandson. They thought he was dead three days
ago when they couldn't wake him from a nap. It's been a
roller coaster since then."
"Three days ago. Then he'd be one of the first."
"Yes, Dr. Scully. And it's growing. That ward you saw was
one of two, and there are more coming all the time. We're
going to run out of facilities soon." He rubbed the hair
out of his eyes. "I don't know just why you're here, or
what you can do to help, but whatever it is, we need it. We
already have one doctor in those wards. Coffee's ready."
He got up from the desk. "How do you take it?" Miller
fixed three mugs and brought them back.
"Thank you." I sipped my coffee. "Were they all found like
Mr. Gray?"
"Some were - those with families. Kids wouldn't get up for
school, wives would wake up next to comatose husbands. My
baby girl just stopped crying this morning."
"I'm sorry, Doctor." I touched his hand. "We'll do our
best."
"My wife is with her now. I think she blames me a little."
Mulder put down his mug. "How do you mean?"
Miller shrugged. "If it's infectious, I could have brought
it home. But then why is she ill and not me? Or Amy?"
"Dr. Miller...earlier, you said that Mr. Gray was the first
to die *here.* Have others died elsewhere?"
"Again, Agent Mulder, we don't know for certain. We don't
know anything for certain. However, we have found a couple
of bodies that were absolutely dead. Both lived alone,
although neither were particularly antisocial. The young
man was in good health like many of the other patients."
"And the other?"
"She was an middle-aged woman, fairly overweight and out of
shape. It could have been a heart attack, except I saw no
signs of it."
"You think that living alone was a factor?" Mulder was
beginning to look intense.
"Yes. Perhaps if they'd had someone living with them, they
might have been helped in time. Or not, since there is very
little we can do."
"I noticed IV lines."
"It's a gesture." He got off the desk again. "Output is
about equal to input. It just makes us feel better to run
glucose through their bodies. They don't seem to be metabolizing
much of anything."
"Have there been toxicology studies?" I finally spoke up.
"We don't really have the facilities here, but I've sent
samples out to the state university. We haven't gotten the
reports back yet."
"What about autopsies on the suspected deaths and on Mr.
Gray? Would that be possible?"
"I'll set you up as soon as possible with that, Dr. Scully."
"Dr. Miller?"
"Yes, Agent Mulder? Has anyone reported odd dreams?" I
gave him a look. He ignored it.
"Dreams, Agent Mulder?"
"Have people, family members, mentioned any of the patients
coming to them in a dream?"
Miller looked at me. I shrugged.
"He has his own theories, Dr. Miller. Sometimes they work
out." He looked at me again.
"I'll get you those autopsies, Dr. Scully. Why don't you
have a look at the living patients in the meantime."
We stood up and shook hands. As Miller picked up the phone,
we left the office and found our way back to the ward.
Janice gave us a smile.
"Which one of you is Dr. Scully? Peter wasn't exactly
clear."
"I'm Dana Scully. I'm not practicing, though. I'm not used
to the title anymore."
"Yeah, but you love it, Scully. I'm Fox Mulder." He smiled
and shook her hand. Mulder was at his most charming. I
could see Janice eyeing him up and down. I just kept my
grins to myself. Mulder flirted with anyone and anything.
It was a game, nothing more.
"I'm Janice Barry."
"Barry? As in Barryville?" Janice sighed.
"My great-great-great grandfather founded the place. How
can help you?"
"I'd like to see the other ward and examine some of the
patients, if I may."
"Of course, Doctor." Mulder grinned at me behind her back
as she led us away. I ignored him.
The other ward was just as strange - beds filled with
unmoving people, surrounded by distraught family. There
were also cribs here, with silent children surrounded by
stuffed animals.
"The kids are the hardest ones to look at. Do you see that
crib over there?" She pointed to one with a tall brunette
woman next to it. The baby looked Asian. "That's my cousin
Amy, who's married to Peter. They just adopted the little
girl. They only brought Colby home a couple of months ago."
"So not everyone in this ward was born here?" Mulder
stopped being charming and started collecting data.
"No. Others came from out of town. We don't get a lot of
newcomers, though."
"If it's not too much trouble, can you get me a list of
newcomers?"
"I can find out something, Agent Mulder." I sighed and went
to the first of the beds. Mulder and the nurse tagged along
behind me.
This patient was a young black woman. There was a little
girl, about five, standing next to her, clutching a rag doll
and crying.
Mulder immediately crouched down.
"Hi. My name is Fox."
She looked at him. "That's a silly name."
Mulder put on a hurt face. "I guess it is. What's your
name?"
"Keesha." She was suddenly shy.
He nodded solemnly. "That's a much nicer name. Can I have
it?"
She actually laughed. "You can't be Keesha! You're a boy!"
"Oh. I guess I am. What's your friend's name?"
"Mr. Raggs. Mommy made him for me." She looked like she
was going to cry again.
"Is that your mommy, Keesha?"
She nodded. "Mommy's asleep. She went to sleep before
dinner last night and she won't wake up. I'm scared."
"Scared of what, Keesha?"
"That Mommy won't wake up."
"Do you see that pretty lady over there? The one next to
Nurse Janice?"
"Yeah."
"She's a doctor. She's the best doctor in the world.
She'll find a way to make your mommy better."
"Mulder!" It's hard to shout and whisper at the same time.
"Don't listen to her. I know her. She's the best."
The
frightening part was that he truly believed it. I could
hear it in his voice.
"Keesha, sweetie? Where's daddy?" Janice looked worried.
"He went to the bathroom. A long time ago."
Mulder smiled at the little girl. "Keesha, I want you to
something for me. First, do you know your daddy's name?"
She nodded.
"What is it, Keesha?"
"Daneel."
"That's wonderful. I want you to stay here with Nurse
Janice and Dr. Dana while I go look for your daddy. Can you
do that?" She nodded.
"Good girl. I'll be back soon." He looked at Barry, who
pointed the way to the men's room. He stood up and ran out.
She turned to me.
"You are very lucky, Dr. Scully."
"You're not his partner. Janice, I have to warn you. He's
taken."
"I didn't see any wedding ring on his finger. Or yours, for
that matter."
I tried to imagine Fox Mulder with a wedding ring. It would
be easier to believe in shape-shifting aliens.
"He's not mine, Ms. Barry. And it's very new."
Her eyes grew wide. And then she smiled at me. "Who ever
it is, is very lucky."
I returned her smile. "Depends."
Just then, we heard some shouting down the hall. It was
Mulder.
"We need some help here!" Two orderlies ran down to the
men's room. Someone else fetched a gurney. Mulder came
out
of the men's room half-carrying a limp black man. They
transferred him to the gurney, and within minutes, he was
lying next to his wife, while Janice and I hooked him up to
various monitors and tubes and Mulder sat on the floor and
held the little girl, who in turn was holding her doll. She
wasn't crying. She was just staring at all the things we
were doing to her daddy.