Title: Sanguine (1/?)

By: Cermel

Classification: X sorta.. MSR

Rating: NC-17 (eventually)

Distribution: Post anywhere as long as you tell me and leave my name

and email address on it.

Disclaimer: If I owned Mulder and Scully, do you think I'd be spending

my day writing fanfic? No, I'm not getting anything for this...

Summary: Someone from Scully's past turns out not to be who or what

she thought.

Feedback: ...except this. Please tell me what you think. Is it enough for

you to want another chapter? cermel@hotmail.com

Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic so please tell me how it is, bash

if you feel like it. I don't mind.

I dedicate this to my best friend Bob...

SANGUINE (1/?)

Bile.

The taste unbearing.

The message clear.

But she ignored it, not letting herself break like that. Not here. Not in

front of everyone. They all watched her. The only woman on the case.

They waited for her to break. It wasn't going to happen. She wouldn't

let it.

She studied the photograph as pictures of other horrific cases flashed

through her head. The man deprived of the fat he needed. Another of the

bile. Or of Donnie Pfaster, the fetishist that killed woman for there hair

and nails... the one that almost got her. This one though was worse, if

such a thing was possible.

She handed the picture back to the detective as the office door opened.

"Sorry, I'm late." Mulder stepped in and stood next to her.

"Agent Mulder, Detective Clark." He shook Mulder's hand. "We were

just briefing Agent Scully on the case." He handed the picture to Mulder.

"This is from the most recent murder." Scully looked up at Mulder. His

face was like stone. No reaction... to everyone else. But his eyes told

all to her. Pain. Shock. "21 year old Madison Woodman. We found her

last night on the shore of the bay."

"This is the third murder?" Mulder continued to study the picture. The

detective nodded. Another officer handed the file to Mulder. "We can't

find anything. He's a smart one. Didn't leave anything that would even

start us in the right direction. We know this isn't an X-File but we're happy

you can help us." Surprisingly the officer made no mockery of their work.

The detective sighed. "It's late, why don't we all get a good night sleep

and meet back here in the morning."

* * * * *

Mulder started up the rental car, but didn't move. She looked at him

questioningly.

"Scully?" The sound of his voice told it all. He knew.

"I'd like to think I'm better then that at hiding it." She looked down

at her hands folded in her lap.

"You are, to everyone else. I know you to well. I can see it in

your eyes." He sighed. "Why don't you just go back to DC? There

is plenty you can do there."

"No Mulder, I have to do this." She said forcefully.

"Why? Don't put yourself through this. If it's too hard... "

"Since I started Med school I've been the girl on the boys football

team. No one wants me there and they certainly don't want me

playing. But I've always been their starting quarter back. Top of

my class. Anytime someone got close I practiced harder, I worked

my ass off through school so they'd have no reason to not let me

play. Now I get to a case like this and it's like

playing the rival team. You don't give up, you try harder."

"I just think that after Donnie Pfaster..."

"That I can't handle it? If Donnie Pfaster did anything to me he made

me stronger."

Mulder was silent. He wasn't about to fight with her when he knew

there was no way he could win.

"Did the team get jealous when you slept with the coach?" He asked

jokingly.

"Some, did but they didn't have a chance."

"You slept with your teacher, Scully?" He asked shocked.

"That's not really any of your business is it?" She smiled at him.

"Technically... no... but..."

"But what Mulder?" She teased him, knowing he was curious.

"Come on, Scully. You can't leave me hanging like this."

"Drive Mulder. I need a shower and sleep before tomorrow."

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" His voice carried a sudden concern.

"I will be, I have to be."

* * * * *

She stepped out of the shower and heard a knock on her door.

Wrapping herself in her robe she walked towards it. "Who is it?"

"Pizza." Mulder sent the pizza guy to her door... talk about being

a gentleman.

"Hold on." She searched for money and found some sitting on the

table with a note. 'I knew you'd be out of the shower by the

time the pizza gets here.' She opened the door. "Sorry."

"$12.75" The guy looked her over.

She tightened her robe around herself and paid. "Thanks" She shivered

as she shut the door. The shower turned off in the next room. Thin

motel walls tell all. "Pizza's here." She set it on his bed and went

to get dressed.

* * * * *

She walked in ten minutes later to a familiar scene. Mulder sitting on

his bed wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans. A slice of pizza in one hand,

a case file in the other. His hair spiked in every direction. He looked

up at her, "Sorry, about that."

"It's okay, warn me next time. I'd like to be dressed for the occasion."

"Will do. Sleazy guy?"

"Nothing worse then some we've seen," she said sardonically.

They sat in silence reading various things about the case. Witness

reports. Crime scenes reports... the more she read the colder she got.

She took Mulder's sweatshirt off the back of the chair next to her and

pulled it on. Immediately the scent alone comforted her.

"Cold?"

"Yeah."

"You can turn up the heat if you want."

"I'm okay.. unless you mind?" She pointed at the shirt.

"Be my guest." He shrugged.

The more she read the more she burrowed into the sweatshirt.

"Something else bothering you?" He knew what it was, but

after their silent agreement earlier to not discuss it, he was stuck.

"No, I'm fine." She said hesitantly. "Mulder?"

He looked up. "Yes?"

"What would make someone do this?" When she finally met his

gaze she was shocked at what she found.

She looked at his stricken face, not expecting her question to have

such an effect. "Mulder?"

"Scully, what did your father call you as a child?" He looked back

at the paper in his hands.

"Starbuck, why?" she said slowly, uncertain about what he was

getting at. She got no answer. "Mulder, why?" He passed her the

paper. An evidence report describing a note found at the last crime

scene.

Starbuck - I'm watching you, I always have. I knew you'd come.

You're not an easy person to keep up with. Running around this

country like it's your own property. You don't own this land. You

don't own me either. No matter how much you like to think you do.

Maybe you used to, but today I'm a free man. You owe me for all

those years I was loyal to you, and you ignored me, brushed me aside

like lint on your sleeve. You owe me. I'll make sure you pay. Just

watch out, you don't know when I'm coming. You'll pay I promise.

"Well, if this is actually for me, and if it's from who I think it's from,

this killer isn't all that smart." He looked at her questioningly. "Peter

Lincus, he... ahh... had a little crush on me in school, when I was a

senior, he was a freshman."

"I'd say it was more then a little crush." Mulder said sarcastically. "Did

you break this guys heart or something?"

"Yeah.. but that doesn't make any sense. Peter couldn't do something

like this, he wouldn't. He was one of those gentle, quiet types."

"Then what makes you think it's him?"

"He lived down the street from us. When he heard my father call me

Starbuck one day he started. I hated it. It was my fathers name for me,

no one else's, he didn't understand that. He'd always tell me I owned him.

It was one of those freaky things that makes you want to stay away from

the guy. But that was the extent of it. I can't believe he'd do something

like this."

"That's if the notes actually to you, and if it's actually from him." Scully

nodded, staring at the paper. "But either way, you better watch your back."

"If it is Peter, he'll stop killing now that he knows I'm here. I mean, if

his whole goal was to get me here then he's suceeded. He'd stop."

"Maybe, unless he feels he needs to keep your attention."

"Why this though? These poor girls didn't do anything. I can't find any

pattern he's following, no age or location similarities. No family

connections, no work connections....," she stopped hearing the

panic rise in her voice and sighed. "Let's just keep looking."

His worried expression burned into her. She know he was staring

at her but she didn't want to talk about what was truely bothering

her. He would understand, or try at least, but she wasn't ready. She

continued to read about each of the girls until her eyes stung with

sleep.

End (1/?)

Sorry this is so short. I try.