::  All Saints Day  ::

Chapter One

Dana burrowed deeper under the bedding as the far off rumbling of noise slowly roused her from her sleep. She lay curled in a tight ball quickly remembering all that had transpired the night before. It was just last night wasn’t it? The smell of coffee and the deep rumbling finally enticed her to slowly peek her head out from beneath the quilt. She saw Skinner standing just outside the door talking quietly on the phone.

"Yes, Mrs…Maggie, she did get some rest last night. No she didn’t want to go home. I brought her here straight from the hospital. She uh, well, yes well, uhm, yes, she was exhausted…"

Dana watched in amusement as her otherwise succinct boss hemmed and hawed. Good God would you look at the blush, it goes all the way to the top of his head.

"Yes, I glanced in on Agent Mulder. No, no change; I called the hospital a minute ago. Wait a second, Maggie I'll check and see if she's awake." Walter looked over and saw Dana staring at him and his heart rate doubled. God, she’s beautiful. Cute as hell even with morning hair. "You want to talk to your mom?" he whispered as he walked towards the bed. "Your phone rang and I grabbed it so it wouldn't wake you up. Sorry, I didn't think it might be your mom," he explained as he handed Dana her phone.

She took it from him and never taking her eyes off Skinner put the phone to her ear and began speaking quickly, "Hi Mom. What? Oh yeah, yes Mom I’m fine. Really? What? No I didn’t know. Mom, I was just too tired last night. I went right to sleep. Didn’t even shower. Sorry Mom, but you asked," Dana sighed. Skinner was beginning to enjoy the fact that his discomfort was being shared. "Well thanks, Mom but I really want to go shower. What? Yes, it was very kind of Walter to stop by. He did? Oh okay, here he is." She handed the phone back to a startled Skinner and slowly began to disentangle herself from the sheets and heavy down comforter, all the while aching to hear Skinner’s half of the story.

"Yes Maggie?" Skinner asked in a tremulous voice. "Oh, Tom and Anne found your house okay. Great. I don’t know how I will ever be able to thank you. Well yes I know, but I couldn’t have done what I did if you hadn’t taken the kids. Yes put him on; and, thanks again." Skinner placed his hand over the phone, "it’s my brother Tom, I called him first thing this morning and asked him to pick up the kids…Yes Tom. Yeah I know. What did Maggie tell you? No, I don’t know how bad it is. I spoke with the Director early this morning and he said we would discuss it later, after he heard from the State Police. Yeah I know, but jurisdiction matters are always tricky. Hey listen, I know you must be mad about last….Yeah Maggie is a lovely woman. Yeah Bill and Tara’s kids seem really nice. Well I still feel…okay bro. Yeah I’ll talk to you later. The whole she-bang, I promise. Give my love to Anne. Bye." Skinner shut the small cell phone and placed it on the dresser.

"Is your brother mad?" Scully asked.

"Not really, but that has more to do with your Mom, I’m sure than with the circumstances."

"Yeah mom is good at defusing tense situations." Dana gave Skinner one of her rueful smiles. "She’s had lot’s of experience with me and Bill. She told me that he called her first thing this morning."

"Yeah, " Skinner grimaced. "Maggie said that he was really upset after reading in the papers about the arrests in your mom’s town." Skinner's smile was equally rueful. He had only met Bill Scully once and hadn’t liked him much; but to be fair he found it hard to blame the man considering how much time the Scully kids probably spent with their grandmother in that very town."

"It made the papers!!!"

"Oh yeah. You should see the headlines; great picture of me scowling as I walked out of the station. I knew I should have decked that little weasel."

"I heard you say that you had talked to the director," she said warily as she began fussing with the sheets.

At the mention of Jeff Richards’ name, Skinner paused and stared hard at Dana. A warm flush crept up her face and she dropped her head, unable to meet his powerful gaze. She heard him release a deep sigh, and then after a moment felt the bed sag under his weight as he sat down next to her. He slipped his arm around her and, kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Later," he pleaded.

"You know, your mom is one hell of a lady Dana," Skinner continued softly. He put his finger to her chin to lift her downcast eyes back to his. "When I stopped by last night to tell her you were all right she insisted that I tell her the whole story. When she heard that Mulder had been hurt, she just looked at me, sighed and said, ‘I better get you a change of clothes for Dana, because I know she won’t leave Mulder until he's all right.’ That’s when I asked her if she minded keeping Tommy and Becca."

Dana nodded, "She enjoyed having the kids."

"Well, like I said, your Mom is great, but not too happy with me I’m sure."

"Nonsense. She was very grateful that you stopped by. By the way, how long have you been up?"

"Not long. I started the coffee and ran out to the car to get your bag. Now, let’s get you cleaned up."

Dana stared at him suddenly very afraid. "All right, but you're going to have to tell me what the Director said to you."

Skinner had trouble meeting her gaze. He didn’t know what he wanted right now, but he knew he didn’t want to tell her about his conversation with the director just yet. He sighed deeply, "Dana, please. I put your bag in the guest room. I'll go get it and a toothbrush I found for you. You can use the shower here. It's is bigger and more comfortable."

Dana was getting more and more nervous. Unsure of what was happening, she said more sharply than she intended. "No. That's okay. The guest room will be fine."

"Dana, you don’t…" Skinner found himself staring at her back as she made her way down the hall. Great just great, how in the hell did I manage to piss her off? He ran his hand over his face, removing his wirerims as he did so. He stomped into the bathroom and turned on the shower full force. Shit

In the guest bedroom, Scully stared at herself in the mirror and wondered what was wrong with her. She had never felt so comfortable or so safe as she had last night. Why did she suddenly feel so scared? But, she knew what was wrong. What had he said to the Director and why won’t he tell me about it. Damn it, here we go again. Only this time she knew it wasn’t her butt or Mulder’s butt on the line but Skinner’s too. What had the Director figured out? Did he know she slept here last night? What would the ramifications be?

As she gazed into the mirror one image crept into her mind. Walter Skinner. Not just the man who once again had rescued her and Mulder, but the man who held her through what was left of last night and into this morning. She remembered the feel of his arms around her and started to blush as she remembered waking briefly in the early morning hours to find his hand cupped around her breast. The man who right now as standing under a hot steamy shower, water cascading over the body that had spooned with hers so recently.

She walked down the hall and into the now empty bedroom. She could hear the shower running and the water splashing against him. The images were building up, and her breath was getting shorter. Slowly she opened the door to the master bath and saw the large shower stall with the clear glass doors. Her breathing stopped as she took in the sight before her. She shook herself, grinned slyly and proceeded to shed his T-shirt and her panties. She walked to the shower door and gently pushed it back.

The cold air alerted Skinner to her presence. He froze as she stepped into the shower with him and then he felt her arms slide around him. As her breasts pressed into his back, he let his breath out with a shudder. Gently, he took her hands in his and turned around. He drew her to him and lowered his lips to hers. She met him, with her mouth open and he captured her mouth in a kiss that shattered them both. As they came up for air, he looked at her in awe.

She returned his look and simply said, "Yes."

He took her firmly by the shoulders and faced her into the flow of water. As the shower cascaded over her face and body, he reached around her and grabbed a small bottle of liquid soap. He squirted some onto the top of her hair and set to working it into a lather.

Never in her life had any man washed Dana’s hair. She would never have thought that such an act could be so sensual. But this man, with his huge hands, gracefully working the lather into her hair was a huge turn on. Skinner brought his fingers around to slowly trace soap along her cheeks and then back along her jaw. When they reached her ears, Dana thought her knees would buckle. He bent her head into the stream of water and while soap ran down her body, he brought his hands to her shoulders and neck and slowly began to knead. Dana lolled her head back and made contact with his firm chest. She sighed as the hands came forward and down her arms, caressing her oh so gently. When they reached a point level with her breasts, two long fingers extended and traced the line of each perfect globe.

Dana groaned, "Walter, oh God that feels so good."

Walter leaned into her ear and whispered hoarsely "You feel so good. I could touch you like this forever."

"Yes" she barely got out before his large hands met in the center of her stomach and slowly moved north again towards her breasts. This time he brought his hands under each and then over, squeezing tenderly. Dana thought she would come right then. His fingers pinched each nipple till it was firm and extended. Dana arched her back and let out a tiny mew of pleasure. "Oh God, oh oh oh oh." She brought her head back and gazed into his passion filled eyes and he captured her mouth in a searing kiss, his tongue probing her mouth. As the kiss broke, his hands left her breasts and continued downward toward her curls. Slowly, barely touching, he stroked her. It was more than she could bear. She straightened and turned suddenly in his arms. His erection was caught between them as she reached for his neck and pulled him to her. Her tongue parted his lips, repeating his earlier plundering. She then nibbled down his jaw and neck until she finally reached his nipples. She nibbled and teased them till they were as hard as hers. As she licked him, her hands never stopped rubbing his torso, his arms, his back. She knew the effect it had on him by the way his breathing was coming in small gasps. Finally just before he made a move to grab her she dropped to her knees and took his huge erection into her mouth. She smiled at his gasp and slowly started to move her mouth up and down as much of his shaft she could take. As she suckled and kissed, her hands moved up and down his ass gently teasing his crack. She pulled her moist mouth all the way back to his head and began teasing the small slit with her tongue; Walter suddenly grabbed her under the arms and picked her all the way up until her feet were barely touching the floor.

Never breaking eye contact, he pushed her against the wall of the shower. Instinctively she brought her legs up and wrapped them around his torso. Slowly, he maneuvered his cock to her opening and seeing assent in her eyes, plunged into her in one steady thrust. Dana’s eyes widened as his cock stretched her. He completely filled her and she felt him hit her G-spot. No man had ever done that to her before. She stared at him and he at her as he slowly started rocking, barely pulling out and surging back in. Each time she came closer to losing control, until finally with her last coherent thought, she said, "Now."

That was all Walter needed. Changing his rhythm, he began a steady fast pumping. He knew he would not last long and prayed that she would come with him. Balancing her ass on one arm he brought his right hand around and found her clit, rolling it between his fingers and increasing his speed. He knew she was so close. Suddenly, she went completely stiff, arching her back as she let out a scream that echoed around the shower enclosure. With two last deep thrusts, he emptied himself into her.

They stood there, Dana’s legs still wrapped around him; Walter’s cock still buried deep in her. Their foreheads touching still gazing at each other. As their breathing finally came back under control, Walter straightened and slowly lowered her to the shower floor. She groaned as he pulled from her, pressing her body close for one last embrace.

Skinner stood her up and reached around her for the hand-held showerhead. "Stand still," he commanded and he ran the gentle pulse over her to clean her up. As he held the head so that he could clean her pubic area, she jumped and shivered. "Oooo, that has possibilities."

"Well", he replied in all seriousness. "It has 7 action settings." With that they looked at each other and burst into laughter. Quickly they finished showering and left the stall. Walter reached under the sink and pulled two large bath sheets out and handed one to Dana. She began drying her hair and looked at him. "You know, I wish we had more time, maybe actually use the bed."

Skinner stopped rubbing his chest, bent over and kissed her longingly. "You have no idea. But… we can’t."

"I know. Are you going to tell me what the Director said now?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Finish drying off and come downstairs. I’ll explain everything while I make toast to go with the coffee." He grabbed his towel and opened the door into the bedroom.

"That’s fine," she began to work the towel down her body, but stopped and said gently. "Walter, whatever it is, we will work it out. Won’t we?"

Skinner turned suddenly and grabbed her to him. "Nothing. Not policy, not the Director, AND not Mulder will keep me from you." With that he gave her one last soul-rendering kiss, turned her to the mirror and closed the door.

::  Chapter 2  ::

Dana came downstairs and found Skinner dressed in his official AD uniform. While her heart skipped a beat at the starched white shirt, red striped tie and long trench coat, she missed the casual jeans, cotton turtleneck and bomber jacket of last night. She could see the change in demeanor the change of clothes had brought too.

"What did he say?" she asked, eager to get right down to business.

Skinner strolled up to her, handed her a travel mug of steaming coffee and a paper towel with two pieces of buttered toast, kissed her on the top of her head and said, "In the car. I promise. But we have to get going."

She thought to put her foot down and demand an explanation, but something in his manner stopped her and she merely shrugged and walked towards the door. Skinner held her mug and toast for her as she slipped on her coat and then grabbed his brief case and opened the door. "Hey! What about you?" she asked as she waved her coffee mug at him.

"Already ate. Come on." He hustled her out the door and down to the elevator. They strode quickly through the underground parking lot in silence. Once in the car, she placed her mug in the cup holder and fastened her seat belt.

"After she was settled in, she turned to him and said "Now, Walter. What did he say?"

As he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, Walter Skinner stole a glance at her and sighed. "Okay, the whole works. The phone rang this morning at 7:00 AM"

"7:00 AM! That means you only got.." the look he gave her shut her up. "Sorry, continue."

"It was the Director. He wanted to know why my face was plastered all over the front pages of two DC papers and the Baltimore daily and probably the goddamn New York Times as far as he knew. AND why hadn’t I bothered to call him last night to warn him."

"Did you tell him what time we got in?"

"Yes, I told him," Skinner sighed. He knew he would be doing a lot of sighing today. "Anyway, I explained that I hadn’t realized the guy would be able to get the photo on press that quick and that I had planned on seeing him first thing in the morning but I felt I had a duty to my injured agent." Skinner paused and stole another glance at her. He continued softly, "Director Richards did ask about Mulder by the way. He sounded concerned about his injuries and then he asked about you and I let it slip that you were resting comfortably even as we spoke."

"Oh Walter, you didn’t." Dana had always known that the new Director was nobody’s fool and he could put two and two together with the best of them, especially when he was given the equation. "Go on."

"That’s just it." Walter continued. "He got real quiet and then he told me he wanted me in his office by Noon at the latest. I told him no problem and that I was going to drop you off at the hospital to be with Mulder and then I would be in." Walter didn’t tell Dana that the sigh on the other end of the line matched his own for duration and frustration level.

"Walter," Dana looked at him with tears in her eyes. They had just pulled up to a stoplight and Walter stretched across and kissed her gently.

"Don’t worry. I told you this morning. Nothing will keep me from you. Whatever it takes we will work it out together."

"Together, Walter. Promise me." Dana straightened and gave him her patented "Don’t Piss Me Off" look.

"I promise. No more secrets, no more evasions; we will work this out together." Walter said, simply

"OK then. What's first on the agenda?"

"First I get you to the hospital. I’ll call you as soon as I hear something."

Scully walked into the ICU room where Mulder lay under more bandages than Dana had ever seen on him. Oh partner, you’ve really done it this time. She walked up to him and leaned down to kiss him lightly on the forehead. As she pulled back, she looked into his eyes, which had fluttered opened.

"Hi" she whispered, leaning down. "I see they’ve taken your breathing tube out. That’s a good sign."

Mulder’s lips twitched slightly in an effort to smile, but the end result was a grimace instead.

"Are you in pain?" Scully asked as she reached for the button but Mulder was able to just shake his head. He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them. He licked his lips and Dana immediately grabbed a nearby cup and gently fed him a few ice chips. "Don’t try to talk. Let me guess. You want to know what happened? How bad a shape you are in? And the name of the cute nurse that was leaving the room as I turned down the hall? Right?"

"Zoey", he whispered and managed a weak grin.

"Yeah, I figured you would know the important stuff," she grinned back at him. The smile left her face as his eyes suddenly turned serious.

"Tell me," he managed to get out, but Scully could tell that the effort was too much for him and that he would be back asleep very soon. She decided to give him an abbreviated version and kept her tone lighter than she felt,

"Well you managed to stumble on a cult ceremony, as only you can. You ended the night naked and tied to a slab and, oh yeah Skinner saved your ass." As she finished the last, Mulder’s one eye brow did a rather good imitation of her own "you’re shitting me" look and then his eyes slowly closed as he went back to sleep.

As soon as she knew he would be asleep for a while, she went in search of the doctor to get a full run down on his condition and prognoses.

Dana had been discussing various therapies that would be needed and the expected rate of recovery with Dr. Benton for over an hour when her cell phone rang. Opening the cover and excusing herself at the same time, she walked down the hall to an empty room "Scully," she said.

"Dana, it's me. How is he doing?"

"Hi. The knife punctured his left lung and knicked his heart. They were able to repair most of the damage last night. Actually, the thing that is most worrisome is his leg wounds. Several muscles and tendons were cut and he might need more surgery."

Skinner heard her voice crack at this last statement and ached to be at her side holding her. "Whatever it takes Dana. We will get him better. Remember, I have to kick his butt for last night."

Dana found herself beginning to tear up at his attempt to ease her worry. Knowing that he had his own concerns she asked, "How did your meeting with the Director go?"

Skinner paused for a long time. Long enough for Dana to become even more agitated than she had been before. She heard him take a deep breath before he continued. "I've been put in charge of the whole investigation. He wants me down there now to lead the combined task force of FBI, State of Virginia Police and the few local police that are still there this morning."

"What do you mean are still there?" Dana suddenly forgot about their own problems they might have with the bureaucracy that was the FBI. She focused instead, on the turn of events that had stated as a lark in a pumpkin patch under the full Harvest Moon.

"It turns out that there is more to this little cult than twelve good old boys from Virginia. After you left with Mulder in the chopper Sergeant Benson of the State Police and I went over some of the names that we had taken from their ID’s. We had thought that Senator Wilson’s brother was the biggest fish we would have to deal with, but it turns out that the Senator’s brother is more rat than fish. He started naming names." Skinner ran out of breath and then continued in a hushed voice that Scully could barely make out, "God Dana, if they don’t kill him first, this is going to be a huge scandal."

Scully finally asked, "Why is the Director giving you this case? What are his motives? Do you think-"

"Honey, I just don’t know," Skinner answered, cutting her off in the process. " I have to assume that he thinks that I was the best man to do the job. I WAS the first officer on the scene, after you and your out-of-control partner that is."

"Hey now wait just a minute," Scully flared but her heart wasn’t really in it. She knew Mulder had almost gotten them both killed last night and if it hadn’t been for Skinner he would have succeeded. After her temper subsided, she realized that he had called her ‘Honey’ and it sent a little thrill down her spine.

"I know, I know." Skinner said wearily. "Look I have to get out there. We have to start looking for witnesses to previous cult activity. Wilson swears that there are bodies buried out there but he says he doesn’t know where."

"When are you leaving?" Dana asked in a small voice.

Skinner caught the hitch in her voice. "I’m in the car now, I’ll be there within the hour if traffic allows."

"What can I do?"

"Watch out for your partner. Director Richards and I are concerned that Mulder might be in danger. I want you to make sure there is a guard outside his door at all times. Keep me apprised on his condition and call the Director himself if you need anything or anyone gives you grief." Walter hoped that the explanation would suffice but was not surprised when he heard her retort.

"Walter Sergi Skinner, you know as well as I that Mulder didn’t see anything. Hell I didn’t see anything. When you made those men take off their hoods, I wasn’t paying attention to anything other than Mulder’s wounds. What aren’t you telling me?"

Skinner hadn’t wanted to go into this with her on the phone now but he remembered his promise of no evasions earlier in the day. He took a deep breath and plunged in. "He figured it out Dana. He asked me point blank if I was ‘involved with a subordinate.’ I wasn’t going to lie Dana; not about us. I explained that it had just started but didn’t elaborate. He asked me how long I had been shielding you and your partner?"

The blood drained from Dana’s face and she sank into the chair in the empty room. "Dear God. What did you say?"

"Well I’m afraid I kinda lost my temper." Walter paused when he heard her groan on the other end. "I told him that he could read every damn one of the X-files that I have supervised over the last six years. Let him find one single case where I acted in an inappropriate manner in my supervision of either of you. Let him find one instance where I showed you or Mulder more favor than any other agent under my command. If he did, then he could damn well have my badge and gun right now."

Dana thought for a moment and for the first time in a long while she actually giggled. "Jeez Skinner, when you try and throw away a career, you certainly pull out all the stops."

Walter was relieved that she had tried to lighten the mood, but he wasn't really surprised when she turned serious again. "What about us, Walter?"

"He said he needs time to think about it. But for the time being he didn’t want us working directly together. He was the one that suggested that you be put in charge of your partners’ security, and Dana, as much as it sounds ridiculous, these guys we are dealing with may seems like fruitcakes, but they are powerful fruitcakes. Watch your back and watch your partner’s back."

Dana paused to consider everything that Skinner had told her and decided that it was really better than she should have expected. "All right Walter, I’ll handle things on this end, but please, call me when you get a moment. You know I'm going to worry."

"I know. I will keep you in the loop as much as I can. I’ll call you after my meeting."

::  Chapter 3  ::

Skinner made such good time to Martin’s Corners that he decided a quick stop at Maggie Scully’s was in order. As he drew up to the neat house he sighed in relief as he noticed the car with the California plates pulling away from the curb. Although he was sorry that he had missed his own brother and his family, Skinner was pleased beyond measure not to have to confront Bill Scully. As he walked up the porch, the front door opened and Maggie greeted him. "Come in Walter." Her long, steady gaze almost made him regret his decision to stop.

Skinner held his ground on the porch. It was a nice day out and he knew once inside he would be unable to leave until she had more of the story than he was prepared to go into. "Sorry Maggie, I only have a minute." Skinner saw where Dana had picked up her trick with her eyebrow, as Maggie’s calm countenance took on a more formidable look. "Really, I just wanted to give you a quick update on Mulder’s condition and to let you know I would be in town until this investigation concludes."

Maggie’s face softened. She let the door close behind her as she walked up to him. "Walter, I just got off the phone with Dana, not ten minutes ago. She's already filled me in, but I think I'll drive over to the hospital anyway. Maggie grimaced as she recollected the number of times she had spent in hospitals over the years. "But tell me," she continued in a more brisk tone, "how long do you think the investigation will last?"

He ran his hand over his mouth. "God, Maggie I have no idea. I'm just on my way to the station house."

"Well, I must have seen 10 State Cop cars go by here. I'm sure it's going to take awhile." She turned and headed back towards the door. As she opened it she spoke over her shoulder, "Don’t move I’ll be right back."

Skinner shuffled his feet back and forth, wondering what was going on. In less that two minutes, she returned, her coat on and her purse in one hand. She extended the other and as he instinctively reached out to her, she dropped a key into his hand. He stared first at it and then at her questioningly. The look on her face again reminded him of her daughter and she said very quickly, "I don’t want to argue about this Walter. This is the key to the house. I'm going into town to check on Fox and Dana; I will come back either tonight or tomorrow sometime. I don’t think you will be able to find a room in town with all these other investigators and all the press here. It doesn't make sense for you to be driving back and forth. You know that you'll just exhaust yourself." She took a deep breath and continued before Walter could interrupt with any objections. "The bedrooms are all upstairs. Mine is the master bedroom at the end of the hall. Dana’s is the one closest to the head of the stairs on the right. The other two bedrooms have been remade since the kids left and you are welcome to your choice. The bath is … well I think you can find it and the linen closet is right outside the bathroom door." She moved past Walter, who by this time had the look of a deer caught in headlights, and started down the steps and toward the light grey Buick parked in the driveway. "Are you going to move your car dear or stand there all day with your mouth hanging open."

Skinner shook his head in amazement and walked up to her. He looked down at the tiny woman. "Maggie, thank you but I can’t impose on you like that. In investigations like this, you can never tell at what time of the day or night you can grab a moment or two to rest. I will be able to crash at the police station when I need to."

Maggie’s eyes softened. "I won’t hear it, Mr. Skinner. You have done so much for Dana over the years. She has spoken so highly of you. Really I must insist." She turned, opened the door to the car and got in. She started the car and lowered the window, giving him a look that brooked no further discussion "Move it Mister," and raised the window.

Skinner looked at Mrs. Scully in pleased surprise. Knowing when he was licked, he grinned ruefully before turning to his own car. When he was seated he pulled out his key ring, slipped the house key on next to his own and started the car. He waited until she pulled away and then proceeded in the opposite direction toward town and utter chaos.

Skinner made it past the reporters and got to the Martin’s Crossing Police Station. He marched through the reception area and towards the conference room. The three FBI Agents that were manning the front office, grinned knowingly at each other as Skinner paused at the door listening to the shouting going on behind it. He had known that there would be infighting between the G-Men, the State boys and the local cops. He sighed deeply, turned and gave a glare at the three men, and opened the door. He nodded to Greg Benson and went to the head of the conference table the group had been gathered around and quietly stood there. One by one the men stopped talking and turned to stare at the man now so obviously in charge. "Gentlemen, my name is Walter Skinner and I have been appointed to head this task force by the Director of the FBI, who in turn was asked by the Governor of Virginia to assume responsibility for this investigation. Are there any questions regarding that fact?" He left plenty of time for anyone to express any disagreement. When no one did, he continued by quietly asking each man to introduce himself and give his area of expertise.

When the men had all introduced themselves, Skinner outlined what he wanted done. He put the state and federal pathologists in charge – together – of picking and outfitting the site where the evidence would be brought. He brought home the point of why they were there. "Gentlemen, from what I have been told, preliminary questioning of Mr. Wilson indicates that the evidence is out there and once we find it, these gentlemen" he gestured toward the two doctors, " will be responsible for bringing the cult members to justice."

He dismissed the two men so they could begin immediately. He then turned back to the table. "Tell me about the crime scene." Greg Benson cleared his throat and advised that after Skinner had left to check on the suspects as well as his two agents, he had taken it upon himself to secure the field, using State troopers. Skinner quickly took the measure of the young African- American in front of him and nodded his approval. He asked for Benson’s security recommendations. Skinner listened carefully, made two more suggestions of his own and dispatched the man to continue at the site.

Skinner looked around at the remaining agents. He would need someone he could give orders to and not worry about whether or not the job would get done. Immediately the vision of Dana Scully flashed before his eyes; not the naked woman in his shower, but the woman who he had come to depend upon in many just such investigations over the years. He looked at the profiler that Violent Crimes had sent. While he knew Tom Flowers was one of the best that the Bureau had to offer, Skinner found himself wishing that Mulder was there instead.

He then looked intently at the young man sitting at the other end of the table. Skinner had noticed Ron Inoki earlier because he looked like he had really listened to each person when they were talking. Skinner liked that and felt that Inoki would make sure that Skinner’s orders were carried out. He said, "Agent Inoki, please pick five State Troopers from outside, I want each of them partnered with one of these gentlemen," he motioned to the five local cops. "I want the five teams to go door to door starting at the houses closest to the farm and work their way out. I want standard logs kept, I want each team to report in after every fifth house. Whenever anyone mentions seeing anything that looks promising, I want two agents called in to continue the questioning in-depth. This first outing will be to weed out people that obviously don’t know anything."

He then turned his gaze upon the five local cops. "Gentlemen, I know how hard this is for you. The fact that you are still here attests to either your innocence in the activities or your incredible stupidity. I am praying it is the former because we need you desperately in this case. You know these people. You should be best at knowing who is lying; who is trying to evade questions; or who is trying to protect their neighbor because they don’t know how serious the crime really is. Understand this people," here he included the entire table in his gaze, "we will find out how wide spread this is and we will bring the people who did this to justice."

As Inoki and the local cops filed out of the meeting, Skinner looked at the one man left sitting at the table. "What do you think Tom," He sat down and listened to what had been garnered from the interrogations of Norman Wilson and the other men. He nodded with approval when he heard that they had been taken to the Hoover Building for further questioning.

Four hours later, almost twenty-four hours to the minute, Walter Skinner again found himself in the pumpkin patch. He watched as Sergeant Benson directed forensic specialists from Virginia and the FBI securing the field. Right now ten of the men were helping lighting technicians erect special klieg lights that would allow them to continue the investigation through the coming nights. Other technicians would be arriving soon with tarps and other specialty equipment should the weather turn bad.

He heard a movement behind him. As he turned, he heard Agent Inoki say, "Sir, the first teams have reported in on the preliminary investigations and (sighhhhhh), nothing has turned up yet."

"Nothing?" Skinner was incredulous. "Nothing in as they know nothing, see nothing, are saying nothing? Or nothing worth reporting." He angrily reminded Inoki, "Agent, if we cannot find the bodies of the previous victims, if we cannot find evidence of past activities, those men, and all the other men involved but not there last night, will walk. Are we clear on this point."

Inoki responded quickly, "Nothing of a helpful nature. From what we have been able to make out, people were used to the comings and goings at this time of year. Some put it to neighborhood kids, others to rowdy parties. There never seemed to be anything that would make anyone go investigate."

Skinner couldn’t believe what was being said to him. He looked at Inoki incredulously and said, "Agent, I was there, I heard Agent Mulder’s screams. Are you telling me that no one, not even the people that live a little under a mile away from the field heard it." By the time he was done he was almost in a frenzy.

As Skinner’s voice rose, Sergeant Benson hurried over to see what the problem was. Agent Inoki kept his cool and told them both. "The people who own the house next to the patch have a house in Florida that they live in from October 1 through mid April every year. They are hardly ever up here during the winter months and never around Halloween. Should the men continue sir? It’s getting pretty late to be questioning people."

Walter Skinner rubbed his eyes and knew what Inoki was saying was true. Skinner was tired and he knew his people were too. "Benson, when did you sleep last."

Benson met his eye and managed, "I grabbed a few hours this morning once I knew there were enough men to watch the scene." Skinner grunted and looked to Inoki.

"I’m fine, sir. They got me up here at 8:00 this morning so I can stay here and finish the set-up." Inoki volunteered.

Skinner looked at them, "You both have places to bed down?"

Benson was the first to reply, "I can sleep at the station. Since they took the suspects into DC, there are cots available there."

Inoki then offered "Uh…actually when we pulled into town, we stopped and got the last two rooms the hotel had. Reporters had already booked the rest. But there are four beds total, you are welcome to one Mr. Skinner."

Skinner shook his head, "No agent, delegate someone tomorrow to see how many rooms are available closer than D.C. But don’t worry about me, I have friends in town and will stay with them. You have my cell phone number?"

"Yes Sir."

"Call me if you need me. Call me if ANYTHING turns up." He walked back wearily to his car not wanting to calculate the number of hours he had actually slept in the last 48. He was suddenly very glad as he fingered the house key in his pocket.

::  Chapter 4  ::

Dana stood at the window of the ICU once again staring in at her partner. His breathing was regular and the doctors were cautiously more optimistic this evening than they had been this morning. She felt the familiar presence of her mother before she even spoke.

"Dana, honey." She touched her daughter’s arm gently drawing her attention away from the window.

"Hi Mom," Dana replied softly. "Thanks for coming."

Maggie was somewhat surprised by this comment because in the past Dana had always seemed so strong and unwilling to share the bad times with her. "Honey, it’s nothing. How is Fox doing."

Dana gave her a quick rundown on his condition and his prognoses. Maggie’s eyes teared at the thought of Fox having to go through more operations to repair the damage to his legs. She gently led her daughter away from the window and sat her down. "When was the last time you got any real sleep."

Dana peered at her mother wondering exactly where this line of questioning was going. She said softly, "Mom, Walter took me home at 4:00 AM this morning. I went right to sleep and didn’t wake up until you called."

"Will you go home now and try to rest? I’m sure the nice young man here," Maggie pointed the agent sitting next to the open door of the ICU cubicle, "will be more than happy to let you know if any change occurs after you leave." The young agent merely nodded to Dana in the affirmative. He had tried to engage her in conversation earlier when he first came on duty but her one-word answers had finally rebuffed him.

"Not yet Mom, in a little while. I want to see his 10:00 PM readings then I’ll decide if I can go home or not."

"Dana, what are you doing here? What can you do?"

"Mom, I’m his doctor of record. I’m doing what I always do, waiting to see if he’s going to be all right. Just like he does when the positions are reversed."

"And what about Walter Skinner?" Maggie suddenly found herself propelled by her daughter down the hall away from the suddenly interested Agent at the door.

"Mom!!!! For God’s Sake!" Dana hissed

"What? What did I say?"

Dana sighed in frustration. "Mom, one, he’s my boss and I don’t want to talk about it, particularly in front of another agent; two, we haven’t been together that long and I don’t want to talk about it now, it’s just too new; and three, Mom I just don’t want to talk about it. Okay?"

Maggie stared at her daughter and then whispered. "Dana, why can’t one thing in your life be simple my dearest daughter?" She turned and walked away momentarily. Then she turned back and grabbed her daughter to her in a loving hug. "Oh darling, it will work out." She gently pushed her daughter back to see the tears in her eyes. "You know he stopped by this afternoon?"

Dana wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and replied softly, "No I didn’t know. What did he say?"

On firmer ground now, Maggie pulled Dana down to one of the chairs and whispered conspiratorially, "Well first off, thank God he just missed running into your brother." Here Dana stifled a combination groan and giggle. It would be grand to see Walter take on her sometime officious, always overbearing brother. Maggie gave her a knowing look and continued. "He said he had just stopped by to give a quick update on Fox, but I think I scare him a little."

"He said he was going to be in town until they figured out exactly how long this has been going on; so I made him take a house key and promise to stay in one of the spare bedrooms while he was in town."

Dana stared at her mother in horror. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She pulled her mother closer and angrily whispered, "Mom! You didn’t! You couldn’t have!"

Maggie Scully looked at her daughter indignantly, "Of course I did. There won’t be a hotel room between Martin’s Corner and the Beltway until this is over. Where do you want him to sleep, at the police station in one of the cells in back?" Maggie was beginning to get very angry with her daughter.

Dana decided to try another track. "I’m sure that he didn’t take it did he?" She kept her groan to herself when she saw the look on her mother’s face; a look that Mulder had often seen on her own face, when he was espousing one of his more outlandish theories. No she knew without being told that her boss, her lover, was right now in possession of the key to her mother’s house. Suddenly exhausted, she simply gave up. What the hell, what else could she do. Oh Walter, we need to talk, I need to just hear your voice.

Dana rose and took her mother’s hand. "You want to go in and see your adopted son in there?" Maggie, glad that the animosity had evaporated, merely nodded and turned and walked back with her daughter toward the room.

"Agent Thompson, this is my mother, Margaret Scully. Mom is going into visit with Agent Mulder for a bit. I’m going to go down the hall and wash my face. Mom I’ll be back in just a few minutes."

"Sure honey." And unable to resist a little bit of mothering at this late date, "Oh and sweetheart fix your hair."

Dana sighed deeply and escaped down the hall to the empty room she had been using for a little privacy off and on throughout the afternoon. She slipped into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. "I look like shit." She muttered to herself. Grabbing a wash cloth and soaking it in cool water for a moment she squeezed it out and then sunk her face into the coolness. Holding the cloth there until she felt some of the heat leave her face, she looked again. "Nope, still look like shit." She grabbed a comb from her purse and ruthlessly rearranged her hair so that she could at least pass muster with her mother. She once again looked in the mirror and muttered "To hell with it," and turned to go. Just as she reached the door to the room her phone shrilled. Nearly dropping her purse in her hurry to answer, she managed to flip open the cover. "Scully."

At first all she heard was weary breathing, "Hi." Her knees went so weak at the sound of his voice and she sat heavily down on the bed.

"Hi yourself."

"How’s he doing?"

"No real change from this morning. How are you doing?" She asked gently.

"God I’m tired."

"You going back to the house?"

Skinner paused for a long time before he answered her. "I wasn’t going to but I’ve got 10 agents down here and only four beds at the hotel; they are either going to have to drive all the back to D.C. or sleep in shifts. I was going to crash at the police station but state troopers are filling all those cots. Actually the local cops, the ones that stayed on have put a couple up in their private homes. I’ve got Inoki looking for more beds close by." He sounded as if he was dead on his feet.

Desperate to keep him talking a bit longer, Dana asked, "Inoki? Ron Inoki from the Baltimore office?"

"Yeah, why you know him?" Skinner suddenly sounded a little more alert, what did she know about this guy?

"He was in one of the classes I taught two, no three years ago at the academy, he seemed like a real bright kid. I’ve talked to him a couple of times on some of the tamer cases we’ve worked on since then. Mutual friends seem to think he has a future." Dana could hear surprise in his voice.

"Mutual friends?"

"Yeah Skinner, despite the reputation, I have a little bit of a life outside the X-files," Dana retorted with some asperity. Lowering her voice a few notches she asked, "Where are you?"

"Right now, I’m standing in the doorway of your bedroom looking at your bed." Skinner’s husky voice sent chills down her spine.

A slow red blush crept up her face. Images unbidden sprang into her mind. She gulped, "What are you thinking about?"

The pause was so long that she thought she might have lost the connection, then she heard, "You know what I’m thinking about. God I miss you already. I want you so much. I need...oh hell, I need to get to sleep, and I want you with me again like it was last night."

Dana nearly cried in frustration, but she didn’t want him to have to deal with her desperation on top of his own. "Walter go sleep in the room next to mine, the blue one. The bed closest to the window is the best and it gets the early morning light. Mom told you where everything was right?"

"Yeah, I’m beginning to see where her daughter got her grace, her charm and her complete disregard for authority," Skinner finished with a snort. On a suddenly more serious note, "Dana, I have to go now, I still have to call the Director and give him a report."

"I know, but call me tomorrow when you get some time. I’d call you but you could be involved with people. I should know something by 10:00 tomorrow about Mulder."

"I promise. You know I need you here don’t you? Not just for me, not just in my bed. I need you on this case, hell I need Mulder on this case."

In that moment, all doubt left Dana’s mind. After so many years of mistrust, lies and imagined betrayals, she knew. "I love you Walter Skinner. Now go get some sleep." She heard the audible gasp at the other end of the line just as she closed the cover to the phone.

::  Chapter 5  ::

Walter Skinner stood by the window looking out over the back yard of the Scully home. He could see the full moon in the sky and could just make out the glow from the klieg lights at the crime scene in the southeast. He took in a deep breath, filled his chest to capacity and slowly exhaled. As he did he caught a movement to his right, as he looked he saw a small patch of mist rising from the field that dissipated as it reached the height of the fence. Skinner shivered and he didn’t know why. Get a grip Walt old boy or the next thing you will be seeing is ghosts. He grinned ruefully, because that thought made him think of Mulder. Damn that boy has really dug up the maggots with this case. He lowered the shade almost to the sill, but left enough of a gap so that the sunrise would wake him. He turned toward the bed and ghosts of another sort assailed him. The room had two double beds in it and was nicely furnished. He gingerly sat on the one Dana had assured him was the most comfortable. He stretched out and put his hands behind his head and thought over his conversation with the Director.

After the call to Dana, he had reached Richards at a small fund-raiser somewhere in the city. Richards had listened to Skinner’s preliminary report. "Well try and get some sleep tonight because I want some real results tomorrow. Did you find a place to stay?"

Skinner had been prepared for this question and fended it with a simple reply, "Yes sir, but I am afraid we are going to have a problem when we start with the gathering of evidence. I figure we have at least thirty men here between the state boys and us. I don't want anymore brought in because frankly I don’t know where we are going to put up the ones we have."

Richards thought quietly for a moment. "I hate to do it but if we have to, I will get trailers sent down."

"Let’s let Agent Inoki see what he can do first, Sir."

Richards cleared his throat and asked the question that had been hanging in the air between them, "Have you had an update on Agent Mulder’s condition?"

Skinner also prepared for this, responded. "Yes, I spoke with Agent Scully on the phone around 9:00 o’clock. She said she was going to wait for the 10:00 readings, but that from what she had seen and heard, the surgeon was being cautiously more optimistic than he had been this morning."

Richards waited a heartbeat then asked, "And Agent Scully, AD Skinner, how is she holding up?"

Skinner hadn’t been prepared for that direct of a question, but fell back on Scully’s own time- honored reply, "She’s fine, Sir."

Richards became quiet and Skinner was afraid he was going to start again, when the Director surprised him, "All right then Walter, I will speak to you tomorrow; I hope we can get some kind of handle on the case from the interrogators here at headquarters. Good Night."

Skinner had thought that he would spend a long time obsessing about Dana, but slowly, the lack of sleep won out and he drifted into an uneasy slumber.

He sat bolt straight up in bed. He had heard a door open somewhere in the house and his heart felt like it would beat its way out of his chest. Footsteps paced up the stairs and stopped outside his door. Slowly the doorknob turned and as he stared in horror at it he heard a small whisper, "Walter, are you awake?"

It was this calm voice that finally brought him to full wakefulness. Taking a breath he answered Maggie Scully in a fairly normal voice. "Yes, Maggie, come in." He reached for his glasses but felt his T-shirt and boxer clad form was best left under the covers in front of Dana’s mother, and waited for her to enter the room.

He heard more than saw her blush, "Oh no, that’s all right. I just wanted to make sure that everything was…"

"Seriously, Maggie come in for a moment. How was Mulder?"

Carefully she entered the room, she couldn’t remember now what possessed her to intrude on his sleep, and she could tell that he had been asleep. "Dana says that his 10:00 o’clock reading was normal but they doctors won’t rule out another surgery just yet."

He had finally managed to get his heart rate under control again when he asked softly, "How is she doing?"

With that Maggie fully entered the room and stood there appraising the man that had quite obviously claimed her daughter’s heart. What she saw pleased and calmed her. He showed her no shyness really and no false bravado. She felt completely comfortable with him and could see the strength that she knew her daughter would prize. "She’s tired Walter and she needs her sleep and I suspect that she needs you."

Skinner tried but could not hold her gaze. "I know Maggie. Do you think she will go home soon or should I call her again?"

"No, don’t. I left at 10:30 and she said she would be right behind me. She had wanted me to go back to her place and stay there, but it was only another half hour drive at this time of night and I wanted to be home." She cocked her head at him and said, "Did you find everything okay?"

"What? Oh, the room and bath and… Yes I found everything just fine. I…I can’t thank you enough for the offer, Maggie. You were right, things in town are very tight."

"Well, I am glad I could help. You know," she paused and gave him a crooked grin, "there is an extra room. Why not let some of your agents use it." She suddenly looked the way she had on the porch and Walter rushed to head her thoughts off that track immediately. It was bad enough to have the Director breathing down his neck; he didn't need one of the men he was working with to get into a conversation with Dana’s mother, while she fed him in the morning. Groan, damn, shit!!! And he KNEW that she would insist upon feeding anyone under her roof.

Taking a track he hoped would work. "You know Maggie that’s not a bad idea. Let me have Agent Inoki contact you tomorrow. I put him in charge of finding sleeping quarters for everyone." The last person to ever hear Maggie Scully’s name from him would be Agent Inoki.

Maggie cocked her head and gave him a long look. Walter suddenly knew exactly how Charlie and Bill Scully had felt at sixteen after she had caught them doing whatever it was that they shouldn’t have been doing. And he had the courtesy to blush. "All right Walter, have this Agent Inoki get in touch with me." With that she turned and headed for the door. As she slipped through she smiled back at him and said gently, "Good night Walter, I'll see you in the morning."

He countered quickly with, "Good night Maggie and please, tomorrow morning, don’t put yourself out for breakfast or anything." He groaned again as he heard the gentle snort as she closed the door. He flopped back in his bed and suddenly grinned. He liked Maggie Scully. With that thought, he drifted back off to sleep.

All Saints Day Part 2

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