The Cost Of Being Unfaithful by K. Phillips Disclaimer Info: Thanks to CC for letting me borrow his characters for a little while. I promise not to hurt them. Spoilers: None really and refers to Arcadia a bit in passing. Keywords: Supernatural story involving Mulder and Scully with perhaps a bit of romance thrown in for good measure Archive: I'll take care of gossamer and ephemeral. Anywhere else is fine, just let me know. Rating: R for adult situations Feedback: would love it. Email me at xfstories@yahoo.com Summary: Mulder and Scully once again go undercover as man and wife when a series of murders occur in one particular neighborhood under circumstances that make even Fox Mulder squirm a bit. XXX Assistant Director Skinner looked a bit uncomfortable as he ushered his two wayward agents into his office and motioned for them to sit down. "Good evening Agents" he started "Thank you for staying late to meet with me." Mulder nodded his acknowledgement already suspicious of the courteous manner with which Skinner was addressing them. "You two have been hand picked to work on an unusual case out in Minnesota." Skinner paused a second and then continued. "There have been a series of incidents all within a particular neighborhood and you two are going to go undercover to check it out." Scully frowned thinking this case sounded a bit like the one in Arcadia they had worked on months before. Skinner saw her frowning and continued his description of the case. "Apparently there a lot of career couples living there. You know the types, lots of money, no children, always looking for some excitement." The two agents said nothing just looking at him. "Well, these couples seem to find their excitement by,hum,by,swapping,hum,partners." Skinner finally blurted out. Mulder's mouth fell open and Scully's eyes got huge. She regained her composure enough to ask Skinner a question. "No offense Sir, but besides being quite distasteful, what type of crime is being committed." Skinner thought a moment before answering. "As I said before, several incidents have occurred in the neighborhood. Several of the participants have been found dead." At this Mulder chimed in "Jealous spouses?" "We think not" Scully was looking more annoyed by the minute. "Excuse me Sir, but why give this case to us. It sounds like a case for Violent Crimes." "Under normal circumstances it would be, but for one thing." "And that is?" Scully asked "That the victims were all found to have no external injuries, but upon closer examination, it was discovered that their hearts had been removed." "Must have been very jealous spouses" Mulder muttered under his breath. Skinner gave him a dirty look but continued. "Your mission is to go undercover as a married couple moving into the neighborhood. You are to try to work your way into the confidence of the members of the partner swapping group and see if you can find the murderer." Mulder raised his eyebrows at the prospects of this particular undercover case. Scully still frowned. "I know this case sounds somewhat like an X-file Sir, but wouldn't it make more sense to send in partners who are already married." Skinner nodded. "We thought about that but rejected all those agents." "Why?" Mulder asked curious as to why they were picked. Skinner looked a bit sheepish when replying "Basically because we thought you two would have a better chance of being propositioned." "I see" Scully said with her voice sounding a bit like steel. "If you'll excuse me Sir, I have some paperwork to finish up before Mulder and I leave." "Very well Agent Scully, I look forward to reading your field reports." Mulder waited until she had shut the door before commenting "I bet you are Sir. How often can you get paid to read smut?" Skinner shot him a dirty look and then smiled. "Agent Mulder, can I tell you something off the record?" "Of course Sir." "I actually requested this assignment for you and Agent Scully so you two could finally have a chance to be together in a public setting." "Excuse me Sir, I am not getting your meaning. Are you saying that you think that Scully and I have a physical relationship going?" Skinner squirmed a bit in his chair looking thoroughly embarrassed as Mulder went to great lengths to ensure him that his relationship with Scully was plutonic. "You mean to tell me that you have been working with her for all these years and not once have you made a move on her?" Skinner looked at him closely "Are you gay Mulder?" "No" Mulder said trying not to sound too offended. "It is not as if I haven't thought about it, who wouldn't, but I really don't think Scully is all that interested." Skinner just smiled at him not believing that Mulder could be so blind. "Is that so Mulder? Well then you had better watch yourself on this case Agent Mulder or Agent Scully is going to chew you up and spit you out." Skinner shook his head and chuckled to himself after Mulder left his office still not quite believing what Mulder had just told him. "Well" he said to himself "we'll see how plutonic you two are after this case." XXX Scully sat down in their office staring blankly at the computer screen in front of her. She still couldn't believe that she was being sent off on yet another case where she had to pretend to be Mulder's wife. Doing it for the case in Arcadia had been a bit trying and this case seemed like it was going to be even more difficult. Her thoughts were interrupted when Mulder came into the room. He shut the door behind it and started laughing. "What's so funny" Scully said looking up at him puzzled. "It's Skinner. Would you believe that he actually thought that you and I were doing 'it'?" "It?" "You know, the dance of love. He actually assigned us to this case so we could do it guilt free. Isn't that hysterical?" Scully didn't join in the laughter but turned her attention back to her computer screen. Sensing that he had done something to offend her, yet again, he walked over to her desk and leaned against it. "What's wrong Scully?" he said softly. Scully started to tell him that she was fine but decided against it. "It is rather hurtful that you find the thought of doing 'it' with me so funny." "Scully, I didn't mean it that way" She cut him off "Of course this is the perfect case for you. You can drag me along to some party and then proceed to pick up some long legged blonde and screw her all while getting paid by the US government." Mulder eyebrows drew together as he tried to figure out exactly where that comment had come from. "Scully? What is going on here? If I didn't know better, I would say you were jealous." She really glared at him then. "In your dreams Mulder" and with that comment she rose from her desk, picked up her bag and left the room with Mulder standing there with his mouth open. XXX Mulder sat on the small bench outside Skinner's office waiting for Scully to arrive. He had thought about calling her several times since she had stormed out of their office, but had decided against it. He knew his partner and when she was this annoyed, the best thing was to let her be. Scully arrived just in time to be led into Skinner's office. She barely glanced at Mulder as she strode past him and took a seat at the conference table. Skinner was already situated there and to his right sat a drop dead gorgeous blonde. She was the last thing Scully needed to see. But Scully secured her professional posture on and sat down several seats away from Mulder. Skinner noticed the subtle tension between the two partners and regretted for a moment he decision to assign them to this case. He was particularly fond of the two of them and hoped that he hadn't jeopardized their partnership. "Good morning Agents, I would like you to meet Lydia Bennett. She is the one who brought the murders to our attention. She used to live in the Berkley neighborhood." Both agents nodded their acknowledgements to Lydia and began questioning her. Scully asked direct questions concerning where she lived in Berkley, how long she had lived there and what had made her come to the FBI. "Well Agent Scully, I lived in Berkley pretty much since getting out of grad school. Steve and I moved there as soon as we got married." Scully nodded for her to continue. "We both had great jobs and made a good amount of money. We looked all around Minneapolis for the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood and thought we found it in Berkley." "It was perfect until we started hanging out with some of the other professional couples in the neighborhood." "Go on" Mulder said when it looked like Lydia was going to hesitate. "In the beginning we were thrilled to be making so many new friends. There seemed to be a party at someone's house practically everyday. Nothing too fancy a cocktail party here, a wine and cheese party there. We all worked really hard at our jobs and looked forward to getting together to unwind." "After a couple of weeks, we noticed that the themes became a little bit more outrageous. People started arriving wearing more provocative clothing and then one night, everything changed." Lydia looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. "It was like something was in the water everyone just got really, really,hmmm,horny. They started making out with whoever was around at the time. Husbands and wives stuck together or picked out new partners. Women started going down on other woman with the men cheering them on." Skinner and Mulder exchanged a subtle glance at this and shifted a bit uncomfortably in their seats. Both were very happy to be wearing their suits jackets that would hide any embarrassing signs that they were enjoying Lydia's story a bit too much. There was no sign of Scully being affected by Lydia's story and she encouraged her to continue. "Did you participate in all of this" she asked softly with no sound of judgment in her voice. Lydia blushed a bit and nodded. "I have no idea why I did, but I just jumped into the fray along with everyone else. I don't even remember who I ended up with that time." "That time? How often did this occur?" Scully said her eyes widening a bit. "Oh, I don't know. Two or three times a week. Maybe more maybe less." Mulder finally blocked enough mental images from his mind to ask a question "So why did you stop going to these parties?" "About three months ago, Roger, the head of the neighborhood association, decided to throw a massive party at his house. He always threw the best parties. But anyway, I was having wicked PMS and terrible cramps so I sent Steve off without me. I guess I missed a heck of a party because Steve told me the next day that the police had been called to the house by one of the elderly neighbors down the street." "I assume this neighbor had not been invited?" Mulder said smiling. "You assume right Agent Mulder." Lydia said smiling back. "Only the young and the beautiful are invited. You two will fit in nicely." Scully ignored the compliment "what happened then Ms. Bennett?" "Oh yes, well the police came and broke up the party and everyone went home. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Tim (who lived down the street from us) was found dead." "Any idea what Tim was doing at the party?" Lydia blushed a bit. "From what I heard, he was trying to take on four women at one time." Skinner and Mulder shifted again trying to block out yet another exciting mental image. "Did that stop you from going to any more parties?" "For a while everyone kept a low profile but a couple of weeks later things started hopping again. This time it was Steve who seemed to been the most active. One of the guys had bet him that he couldn't get laid more than 5 times throughout the evening. I think he made it to 6 but was dead before morning." "No wonder" Mulder thought to himself figuring that no man could withstand that much activity. He stifled the thought and asked "What killed your husband Ms. Bennett?" "No one seems to know. I found him in a crumpled heap in the hall near the front door. He looked perfectly fine except he wasn't breathing. I called 911 and they came almost immediately but couldn't get a pulse on him. It was until the x-rayed him at the hospital did they discover that his heart was missing." "I know this is difficult for you, but do you know what his autopsy revealed?" Scully asked quietly. "Autopsy? They didn't do one on him, it was his wish to be cremated and that was done within a day or two of his death." "I moved away shortly after I buried him but came to you only after two more men had died. It just seemed to be too much of a coincidence" "I know this may seem like a rather stupid question" Scully said hiding her disappointment about the lack of autopsy results "but why did these parties continue even after people seemed to be getting murdered?" Lydia smiled sadly. "It was like we were addicted to them. We craved the excitement, the attention, the love. What we got seemed to justify the risk." "I see" Scully said not seeing at all. Skinner, who managed to finally get his lower body back into order, asked Lydia to describe in detail how Mulder and Scully should look and act to get themselves included in these parties. Lydia looked both partners over carefully and smiled. "They will have no trouble. They haven't had a red head around in quite some time and the women are always looking for new blood." Lydia then talked about what type of behavior would be expected from them and how they should dress. Both agents didn't say a word during this part of the conversation but seemed to both be very interested in their legal pads. Skinner thanked Lydia for her time and sent his agents from his office with orders to be in Minnesota within the next couple of days. A house in the neighborhood had been rented for them and they were to proceed there as soon as they had their cover stories in place. Scully still seemed to be unusually quiet as they left Skinner's office but agreed to meet up at Mulder's apartment that evening to work on their cover story. Scully headed off to review the victims' medical records and try to dig up any autopsy reports there might be and Mulder planned to return to the basement to finish up some paperwork. Before Scully could leave, Mulder reached out and stopped her. "Scully?" he said with a look of concern on his face. The frown on Scully's face softened a bit. "I am fine Mulder. I will see you at seven." XXX Scully tried to concentrate on the reports in front of her, but was having quite a bit of difficulty. She had been on a wide array of cases with her partner, but this one was probably going to be the most challenging. How was she supposed to look like she was in love with Mulder, try to pick up other men without succeeding, she hoped, investigate a murder undercover while have to watch Mulder seduce every woman in the room. She knew she had deep feelings for Mulder, so that part would be easy. The only difficult part there would be to stuff those feelings away again after the case was over. But she would worry about that later. The rest of her assignment she dreaded, some parts more than others. She was relatively confident that she could attract the members of the opposite sex, even if her feminine charm didn't work on Mulder, but she thought she might just tear the head off of any woman who went near Mulder. XXX Mulder too spent some time thinking about the assignment. Part of it seemed like the answer to every male's fantasy. How many guys would turn down the opportunity to be with a variety of women with no strings attached? "Frohike is going to kill me when he hears about this case" Mulder smiled to himself and he put away the last of the files sitting on his desk. Mulder also knew that this case would be harder on him than he liked to admit. He would have to act interested in a lot of different women, when the only woman he wanted tried to pick up men in front of his very eyes. Mulder was also worried about Scully's current state of mind. He was used to her being mad at him, they had their little squabbles all the time, but this seemed different and he wasn't sure why. He would have to try to get her to open up tonight. Looking at his watch, he noticed it was nearly 5:30. He would have barely enough time to pick up Scully's favorite takeout and a bottle of wine before she arrived at his apartment. XXX Scully arrived at Mulder's promptly at seven and Mulder quickly realized that her mood had not improved much. She no longer appeared to be angry with him but seemed to be constantly lost in her own thoughts. They ate the Indian food Mulder had bought in relative silence. Mulder didn't even bring up the case until they were done eating and Scully was on her second glass of wine. "Scully, I stopped by Skinner's office on the way out today and Kim gave me our documents for our cover story. She told me that you had picked out our names, just as we agreed after Arcadia." Scully smiled slightly "I hope you don't mind being called Richard." "Not at all. Why did you pick that name?" Scully looked a bit sheepish. "Well, you always reminded me a bit of Richard Gere." "And the name Jodi for yourself? Is that because I teased you about being like Jodi Foster after we rented Silence of the Lambs that time?" Scully nodded smiling a bit more. "So what do what do Mr. and Mrs. Buckland do for a living?" Mulder opened the folder and took a peak. "Jodi Buckland is a research scientist working on synthetic polymers." He looked up at Scully "Very impressive" He looked back at the folder "Richard is a novelist specializing in Sci-Fi stories involving outer space." Scully laughed at this. "Who came up with these?" "I think Skinner did. I never knew he had sense of humor." Mulder paused a minute and then continued. "The Bucklands have been married four no make that five years now. They are both so devoted to their work that their personal relationship has suffered." Scully nodded adding "They have no lives outside of their work and are looking for a little fun." Mulder then began to fumble around in his pocket. He took out a box and opened it. Inside sat two wedding rings and a large engagement ring. Scully paled a bit at the sight of the rings but nodded when Mulder said "May I?" He slipped the rings on Scully's fingers not letting go of her hand immediately. "I don't know Scully, if I were Richard and had a wife like Jodi, I don't think I would ever look elsewhere for fun." Scully blushed a little at this and Mulder quickly realized that things were getting way too serious. "At least Richard has good taste in jewelry. That is quite a rock you have on your finger." Scully smiled and said quietly. "We should probably set up some ground rules now." "Rules?" "Yes, rules. What is acceptable behavior on both of our parts." Mulder just looked at her. She felt a bit nervous but continued "You know we are supposed to be married. I want it to be as authentic as possible but I don't want it to make things strange between us. Does that make any sense to you?" Mulder smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry Scully, we will go by whatever rules you want." Scully nodded and stood up. "I really should get going. We have an early flight tomorrow morning." "Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay here and consummate our marriage?" Mulder said looking suggestively at his bedroom door. Scully gave him a half-hearted glare. "It's tempting Mulder, but unless I get home and pack, Jodi will have nothing to wear." Mulder smiled and opened the door for Scully to leave. As she was walking down the hall towards the elevator he yelled behind her "Tell Jodi to pack her black sleeveless shirt. The one that makes all the men at work drool." Scully pushed the elevator button and smiled back at Mulder. "Good night Mulder." XXX Richard and Jodi Buckland arrived at their new house shortly after one o'clock the following afternoon. Pulling into the driveway Mulder was relieved to find no neighbors waiting for their arrival. He turned off the key and turned to Scully "At least we don't have to worry about our neighbors helping us move in this time." "Thank goodness" Scully said stepping out the car. The house that had been rented for them was a cute little blue Cape with a well manicured lawn and a large perennial garden. "Looks pretty nice" Mulder said walking up to the door holding his suitcase. "Shall I carry you over the threshold?" Scully shot him a dirty look and brushed past him through the door. The inside of the house was pleasantly furnished. A quick look around by Scully found two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, family room and large eat-in kitchen. It was the perfect house for a professional couple. While Scully was exploring the house, Mulder brought in several large trunks. They were in actually filled with very little, but Mulder and Scully wanted to give the impression that they were staying for more than just a week or so. Scully joined up with Mulder in the kitchen. He was standing in front of the open refrigerator holding a carton of orange juice in his hand. He looked at Scully a bit guiltily. "Great, they supplied us with food too." Scully said peering into the fridge. "Mulder, don't drink out of the carton" Mulder looked at the open carton in his hand and at Scully and promptly began looking for a glass. He poured some juice into the glass and drank it down in one long swallow. He gave Scully a small smile. "My name is Richard, remember?" he said teasingly. Scully was about to come back with a proper retort when there was a knock on the front door. Scully and Mulder looked at each and went out to the main hallway to see how it was. Standing on their front stoop stood a very attractive man well over six feet tall with sandy brown hair and huge brown bedroom eyes. Scully took one look at him and started to see what the appeal of the sex parties could be. The man thrust out his hand to Mulder who was standing in the doorway with his arm draped casually over Scully. "Roger Metcalf" the man said pumping Mulder's hand. "President of the neighborhood association. I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood." "Thank you" Mulder said "I am Richard Buckland and this is my wife Jodi." Roger shook Scully's hand and she could feel the electricity flow from him. "This guy is a chick magnet" she thought to herself after she was released from his grip. "Tuesday night is when we usually meet up by my pool. We throw some stuff on the grill, have a couple of frozen drinks and take a dip in the pool. Do you think you could swing by and join us or are you too tired from your trip here?" Mulder and Scully exchanged a quick glance and then Mulder said "Sure we would love to. What can we bring?" "Not a thing. We would never think of asking you to bring something on your first day here." Roger left shortly after that and Scully and Mulder went back into the house. "They don't waste much time" Mulder said after the door was shut. "No they don't" Scully agreed. "I had better go unpack my clothes and dig out my bathing suit." "Me too" Mulder said following Scully upstairs into the bedroom. They worked in silence as they both put away their own clothes. The house had two bedrooms but they decided to use only one just in case one of the neighbors stopped by and started snooping around. Sleeping arrangements had yet to be discussed, but both assumed that Scully would take the bed and Mulder would bunk out on the couch the way he did at home. They assumed people would think he had fallen asleep in front of the television set if they spotted him through the living room window. "So Scully, or should I say Jodi, any thoughts about the little party tonight." "Not much besides the fact that I am dead tired and that I would rather curl up with a good book than make small talk with the beautiful people of Berkley Minnesota, but I guess it can't be helped." "You and me both" Mulder said even though he had to admit that he was looking forward to seeing Scully in her bathing suit. "I don't think we will get a whole lot of sleep on this case. From what Lydia Bennett said, these little gatherings happen two or three nights a week." XXX Roger's house was just down the block from Scully and Mulder's so they opted to stroll down the street. Scully said nothing when Mulder casually draped his arm over her shoulders as they strolled. Roger and another neighbor Brian were chatting on Roger's front lawn and spotted Mulder and Scully as they walked down the sidewalk. "So what do you make of the new kids on the block?" Brian said taking a sip of his beer. "They seem nice enough but I think we should hang low until we get to know them a bit better." "Okay. I will go tell the others that there will be no special activities tonight." Brian turned to walk around to the back of the house just as Mulder and Scully approached the house. Roger walked up to greet them shaking Mulder's hand and giving Scully a peck on the cheek. "I am so glad you made it. I can only imagine how tired you both are. But hopefully a nice juicy steak and a dip in the pool with help you get your energy back." "Sounds good to me" Mulder said still keeping his arm around Scully. "Come on in the house and I will show you where you can change." XXX Mulder finished changing first and waiting patiently outside the bathroom for Scully to emerge. When she did, it took everything he had not to gasp out loud at the sight of her. Scully was dressed in a simple black one piece bathing suit that featured a low cut front and an even lower cut back. He walked over to join her and bent over to whisper in her ear "Wow!" Scully smiled at him and then took his hand and headed towards the pool saying "It's show time Richard." Roger was waiting for them by the pool and gave them each a tall cool drink and then escorted them around the pool introducing them to everyone. There were probably another 10 couples lounging around or splashing in the pool. All of them were either in their late twenties or thirties and all of them looked like they stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. Scully and Mulder smiled and made small talk. Luckily for them, they spent so much time in each other's company that they were very comfortable and natural with each other. The only difference in their behavior from that they exhibited every day was that they were touching each other a bit more often. Mulder decided that he liked touching Scully and was pleased when he felt no sense of disapproval at doing so from his partner. Finally after about four hours the party began to break up. Scully and Mulder said their goodbyes promising to meet up at Brian's house Thursday night to sample some new wine he had brought back with him from California. Scully and Mulder strolled back to their house with their arms around each other. As soon as they entered their house, they split apart both feeling a bit uncomfortable. "That wasn't so bad" Mulder said heading into the kitchen to grab a drink. "I think I will take a couple of minutes to write down all the names I can remember. That way we can start running checks on everyone in the morning." "Well, I am going directly to bed" Scully said barely stifling a yawn. "Want some company?" Mulder teased from the kitchen wondering for a split second what he would do if she actually said 'yes'. "Very tempting, but I think I will pass. Good night Richard." "Good night Jodi" XXX The following day Mulder and Scully busied themselves at the house. Mulder spent a good portion of the day on his laptop running checks on the people who had attended the party the night before. Scully organized their belongings and when she was done, actually opted for reading a book out in the backyard. The sun was warm and inviting and Scully happily sunk into her chair looking forward to reading a mindless novel. She felt a bit guilty about doing it, but Mulder had reassured her that she would be working well into the night on their field report so she should take advantage of the nice weather. She had just turned to the first page when someone called out to her. "Good morning young lady" a female voice called. Scully lifted her eyes from her book and saw an elderly woman of at least 70 standing next to the hedge dividing their property. Scully gave the woman a quick wave and got up from her chair and walked over to her. "Good morning" Scully said smiling down at the smaller woman. "Good morning dear." The woman said holding out her hand. "My name is Agnes Murphy and I live right next door." The woman gestured to the small white Cape behind her. "Very nice to meeting you Mrs. Murphy. My name is Jodi Buckland. My husband, Richard, and I just moved in yesterday." "Please call me Agnes dear. I saw you when you arrived but wanted to give you a chance to settle in before coming over and saying 'hello'." The two women made small talk for about five minutes and then Agnes invited Scully and Mulder over for tea. "I know it won't be as exciting as the parties Roger throws, but perhaps I can tempt you with my homemade cookies." "We would love to come visit" Scully replied and it was decided that she and Mulder would head over around four that afternoon. The women parted company and Scully went in to tell Mulder about their engagement that afternoon. "Homemade cookies and gossip. I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon." XXX Scully and Mulder arrived at Agnes's house promptly at four. She greeted them with a warm smile and led them into her living room. It was obvious that Agnes had lived in this house for a long, long time. The furniture was a bit dated as were the rugs on the floor, but the house, itself, was spotless. Mulder milled about the living room while Scully helped Agnes in the kitchen with the tea and cookies. The mantle was covered with pictures and Mulder looked at each one. They were pictures of Agnes over the years with a man who Mulder assumed was her husband. Agnes and Scully entered the room just when Mulder was finishing up his inspection of the pictures. "Agnes, is that you?" Mulder pointed at a picture at the other end of the mantle. "Goodness yes." Agnes replied a bit embarrassed. "They are all of me and my husband Jake." Agnes set the tea on the coffee table and motioned for Scully to put down the plate of cookies and take a seat. Mulder automatically sat next to her trying not to look too eagerly at the cookies. Agnes sighed. "Jake and I were married close to 40 years. He passed away about 10 years ago." "I'm sorry" Scully said softly accepting the cup of tea Agnes held out to her. "Don't be" Agnes said her eyes taking on a look of cold steel. "He had a heart attack, in bed in the arms of his lover." "Oh" Scully said feeling a bit embarrassed. Mulder took his cup of tea, added several large scoops of sugar to it and decided it was time to change the subject. "Agnes, have you lived here long?" "Oh yes, this house was one of the first ones built. The rest of the neighborhood just sprang up around us." "So you must have noticed lots of changes throughout the years." Scully said nibbling on a cookie. "This neighborhood used to be filled with families. Children everywhere. It was wonderful since Jake and I weren't blessed with any of our own. But about five years ago, things slowly started to change." "The people who had raised their children here sold their houses and moved to where the weather is warmer. The houses were bought up by married folks who were more concerned about their careers and having a good time then starting a family." "Really" Mulder said hoping what he was about to say wouldn't upset Scully "Jodi and I are hoping to have kids one day and had hoped that there would be lots of children around here to play with." "I wouldn't hold my breath Richard" Agnes said before lowering her voice to almost a whisper. "The way folks around here behave, I doubt that any of them will be starting families anytime soon." "What you mean?" Scully asked. "I may be old and a bit old fashioned but, as I see it, when people stay up partying to the wee hours of the morning, during the week, they don't seem to be too keen on having children around to wreck all their fun." "But enough about all, how are the cookies dear?" Agnes asked Mulder as he popped his third one into his mouth. "Wonderful" he said with his mouth still full. "Good, I will pack some up to send home with you." Mulder and Scully spent the next hour chatting with Agnes but didn't get much more information out of her. When they arrived back at their house, it was decided that Scully would try to befriend Agnes as she would probably be a good source of information. "I don't know if I like the idea too much Mulder. I feel like I am taking advantage of a lonely old lady." Mulder walked over to where Scully stood looking out the window and stood behind her. "I know Scully, but think of it this way, the information you gather may help save a life or two." Scully turned around and looked up at Mulder. Their eyes locked for a minute before Scully nodded in agreement. "You're right Mulder." She pushed past him heading over to the dining room table which housed her laptop. "Don't forget, you're responsible for dinner tonight since I am doing the field report." Mulder smiled and headed into the kitchen to look for the phone book hoping that at least one restaurant in the area delivered. XXX Agnes watched Mulder and Scully return to their house walking side by side barely touching. "They are definitely in love" Agnes thought as she headed back into the living room to pick up the dirty dishes. "But there is something else there." She picked up their two teacups and carried them kitchen being careful not to disturb the patterns of leaves on the bottom of each cup. Agnes put the cups down on the counter and turned on the bright overhead light before picking up each cup and examining it closely. Both cups pointed to the same thing. "They are lying" she said to herself. "I wonder what about?" She put the dishes in the sink and glancing at the kitchen clock noticed it was time for the evening news. She went into the den, switched on the TV and put Jodi and Richard Buckland out of her mind. For now. XXX Scully was just downloading the last of the autopsy reports on the previous victims when there was a faint knock on the front door. She was tempted to ignore the knock, she had so much work to do before heading to the wine and cheese party down the street that night, but she rose slowly and headed towards the door. Scully peaked through the peephole and saw Agnes standing on her front stoop holding a large plate of muffins. Realizing that her work would be put off at least an hour, Scully sighed and opened the door plastering a smile on her face. "Good morning Agnes" she said stepping aside so the older woman could step inside. "Good morning dear." Agnes said cheerily walking into the house looking around with obvious curiosity. "I had a craving for blueberry muffins this morning so a whipped up a batch. Too many for me to eat so I thought perhaps you and that good looking husband of yours would like a few." As if on cue, Mulder came down the stairs his smile growing when he spotted the plate of muffins. "Agnes you are an angel" he said planting a kiss on her cheek which made her blush "you must have heard my stomach growling from your house." Agnes blushed again as Scully motioned her into the living room. Agnes took a seat placing the muffins down on the coffee table in front of her. "Coffee?" Scully offered "No thank you dear. More than one cup a day and I am all jittery." Agnes replied. Scully sat down a bit apprehensive. Whereas she could interview a potential suspect for hours, when it came to basic small talk she was often tongue tied. She hoped that Mulder would put off his errands and help her out by saw the keys in his hand and knew she was going to be on her own. Mulder leaned over and grabbed two muffins smiling broadly at Agnes. "I wish I could stay and chat with you Agnes, but errands await." He walked behind Scully and planted a kiss on her head. "Bye Honey" he said just a little too sweetly "I'll be home in plenty of time for Brian's little party." And with that, he was gone leaving Scully to entertain her elderly neighbor. "Brian" Agnes said as soon as Mulder had left the room "Are you sure you want to be associating with the likes of him?" "I really don't know" Scully said speaking the truth "I just met the man but he was kind enough to invite us over to sample some wine he brought back from California recently." "He will probably be wanting you to sample more than that" Agnes said a bit coldly. "Why do you say that?" "Let's just say that he and some of his friends have a bit of a roving eye. They have caused a few broken hearts in their day but I am sure will pay the price for their unfaithfulness." Agnes began crossly. She seemed to catch herself for she took a deep breath and managed to continue in a more normal tone of voice. "But dear, judging by the way your husband looks at you, and you at him, I don't think you will have anything to worry about." Agnes then promptly changed the subject and try as she may, Scully was not able to change it back. She learned about the best place to buy meat in town, where to get the prettiest flowers and the freshest bread but nothing more about her neighbors. Agnes returned home about an hour later and Scully promptly returned to her computer and her autopsy reports. As she looked at her computer screen she found herself thinking about what Agnes had said more than the autopsy report displayed in front of her. Two things had caught her attention, only one of which she thought she would mention to Mulder. The part about Brian and his friends having a roving eye and paying the price seemed like a good tidbit of information to share with her partner. The part about how she and Mulder looked at each other she decided she would just keep to herself. XXX As promised Mulder returned in plenty of time to not only go over the autopsy reports with Scully but to talk about her visit with Agnes. "So your little friend seems to have quite a disliking for Brian, Roger and the rest of their merry little band. Very interesting." Mulder said pausing in front of the closet door trying to decide what to wear to the party that night. "Are you trying to imply that she has anything to do with the murders?" Scully said. "That seems a bit of a stretch Mulder, even for you." She walked over to where Mulder was peering in the closet and pointed to a dark blue polo shirt. "That and your khaki pants will be perfect." Mulder smiled and took the clothes from the closet. "Now I see why men get married, so their wives can make all their decisions for them." Scully gave him a casual swat across the back and she headed to the bathroom with her stack of clothes for the evening. By unspoken agreement, Scully always changed in the bathroom giving her access to her cosmetics and the mirror while Mulder changed in the bedroom giving him access to the sports scores on ESPN. "Seriously Mulder" Scully continued through the partially open bathroom door. "You can't be surprised that a woman of Agnes's age would be offended by the behavior of these people. I find it offensive and I am less than half her age." Scully was about to continue her argument when she noticed her small silver compact was no longer sitting on the bathroom sink. "Mulder?" she called out to him "Have you seen my compact?" "Not since this morning when I saw it on the sink." Mulder's voice was a bit muffled since he was pulling his shirt over his head. He thought to himself that now he and Scully really were starting to sound like an old married couple. "Are you sure?" "Of course I am sure" he said. "Exactly where? I need it to check the back of my hair." Hearing the frustration in her voice, Mulder walked over to the bathroom door "I will show you if you are decent." "Decent enough" Scully said opening up the door for him. She was just buttoning up her shirt and gestured with one hand to the sink. Mulder tried to get his concentration from his partner's barely covered chest to the bathroom sink that was littered with objects, both his and Scully's. "It was right here next to the stainless steel razor my mother gave me for Christmas." "The one you always bring with you but never use." Scully said teasingly. Mulder didn't answer, he was too busy poking his finger through the objects on the sink. Not finding what he was looking for, he looked in the garbage can and on the bathroom floor. "They are both gone" he said stating the obvious. "Was anyone else in here today?" Scully saw the seriousness of his expression and took a minute to think before answering. "No of course not, who would be here? Oh, wait a minute. Agnes asked for a tour of the house. She said she was dying of curiosity to see what it looked like now since it had been at least ten years since she had last been inside. She asked to use the bathroom while I was showing her the bedroom." Mulder took Scully by the shoulders and turned her towards him. "Scully, did you happen to eat any of those muffins that Agnes brought over today?" "No, why?" "Just a hunch." Mulder said. "I think I will have one tested." Scully looked at him puzzled. "Tested, you have got to be kidding. What could possibly be in those muffins? They must be all right, you ate two of them yourself. Mulder smiled down at her. "I just took them to be polite. Blueberries make me sick." Scully rolled her eyes at him but decided she wouldn't convince him that sometimes muffins were actually just muffins and she let the subject drop. "Ready?" she said to Mulder as she finished putting on her makeup. She was wearing a bit more than normal tonight and hoped that it looked alright. "Almost" Mulder said "I just want to make sure that nothing else is missing." They did a quick search of the house which revealed that a small snapshot of the two of them was also missing. Mulder's head was brewing with theories, but he thought they could all wait until after the party. He opened the door for Scully and after passing through it himself offered him his arm. "You are looking very pretty tonight Mrs. Buckland" he said as she took his arm and they began their walk down the street. "I just hope I don't have you share you with anyone tonight." "That makes two of us" Scully replied. XXX The light of the struck match cut through the darkness of the attic as Agnes lit several tall white candlesticks. After her eyes had adjusted to the candlelight, she took out a small ceramic bowl and began to throw a variety of dried herbs into it. Next to it she placed Scully's compact, Mulder's razor and their picture. Taking one of the candles, she lit the dried herbs and they erupted into one large flame with a loud 'whoosh'. Although the smoke of the herbs made her eyes water, Agnes stared down at the flame sometimes blue, sometimes green until it slowing died out. She then watched as the last plume of smoke slowly lifted up through the air making small circles in its trek towards the ceiling. When the last of the smoke had disappeared, Agnes blew out the candles and returned to her sitting room her plan of action clear. She did not like was she had seen in the flames, but she had no choice in the matter. Another man must die and soon. Agnes just hoped that it wouldn't be her handsome new neighbor. XXX Scully and Mulder reached the end of Brian's driveway at the same time as several of the other neighbors. Nodding greetings to each other they all made their way to the door. Scully recognized them all from the pool party and wished that she had Mulder's memory for she wasn't sure of all of their names. Sensing this, Mulder called out his greetings Hi there, Stan. It is nice to see you and Brenda again." Stan and Brenda both looked like runway models with glaring white teeth, blonde hair and absolutely perfect tans. "Good evening Richard" Stan said returning his greeting. "It looks like we and the Petersons have perfect timing." The Petersons, Scully remembered, were the other couple. John was short and athletic in build and Cindy was even shorter than Scully and looked as frail as a rose petal. Brian opened the door and welcomed them all into the house. The living room, dining room and family room were already brimming with people. Brian led the group to a small table that housed several different bottles of wine. "Red or white?" Brian said pointing to the bottles. "We have quite a variety here so take your time and try them all. Just make sure to take a bit of cheese or one of these biscuits Wendy made to cleanse your taste buds before switching types." Scully and Mulder approached the table and Mulder raised his eyebrow at Scully. "I think I will start with the white and work myself over to the red" she replied to his gesture. Mulder, himself, started immediately with the red. Glasses in hand, they slowly worked their way around the room making sure to have said hello and be seen by everyone in the room. Only then did they take a seat on a loveseat in the living room where they could easily observe what was going on around them. Brian's living room was quite large and hosted a huge fireplace. The furniture had been rearranged so it all lined the outside walls of the room leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room directly in front of the fireplace. Mulder assumed it was a dance floor and wondered to himself how this sedate group of adults quietly sipping wine and nibbling on cheese while chatting with each other would be induced to dance. His thoughts were broken when the hostess of the evening, Wendy, slowly made the rounds around the living room offering her wine biscuits and a sample of a 'very light red' that Brian had picked out specially with her in mind. Mulder and Scully accepted both the biscuits and the wine. They both nibbled on the biscuits which did their job perfectly. They were bland enough to totally remove all taste from the previous glass of wine and dry enough to make the person who had eaten it want to take a sip of wine immediately. They both sipped the new wine and agreed that it was indeed a nice little red wine. Seeing as they both enjoyed it, they put up no resistance when Wendy came around to top off their glasses. "I told you it was good" Wendy said smiling as she filled up their glasses "I think it really grows on you." Wendy started off with her wine bottle poised in the air and Mulder caught himself looking at her. Not just looking at her but looking in a way that made him advert his eyes. He had suddenly seemed to be fixated on the way she looked in her tight pants as she walked around the room. Slightly embarrassed he turned his attention back to his wine and sipped at it again. Scully sipped her wine savoring its taste in her mouth. For some reason, she seemed to be able to pick out the different tastes within the wine more while drinking the second glass than she did while drinking the first. Her sense of taste didn't seem to be the only one of her senses that seemed to be getting more sensitive as time passed. She could swear that she could smell the soft scent of Mulder's aftershave more now then she could when they first sat down. Not only that, but she became keenly aware of Mulder's arm as it lay casually across the back of the loveseat. He had placed it there when they had first sat down, but she didn't seem to notice until now when Mulder had started to draw circles with his finger on her arm. Slow, sensual circles that made Scully start to feel sensations she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She looked up at Mulder as if to ask him what exactly he thought he was doing when she caught him looking down at his own leg. There, her hand was doing the same thing, making slow sensual circles. Mulder looked briefly down at his partner and saw her puzzled expression. He was a bit puzzled himself but was more concerned about his partner's attentions causing him to be in an embarrassing situation than figuring out exactly what was happening to them. He placed the hand not occupied with Scully's arm firmly on hers and managed to stop the circular motions. He sighed a bit then feeling that he had adverted the disaster, at least for now. Mulder was just about to whisper a theory about what was happening to them into Scully's ear when the music began to play. Brian had an impressive stereo system and within seconds all thoughts of conversation were drowned out by the sensual beats of Brian's music. Mulder had doubted the necessity of a dance floor only moments before saw the dance floor immediately fill with people as the formerly sedate couples began to bump and grind and spin their way across the room. Scully watched the couples dancing and was surprised to find herself longing to join them. Usually Scully shied away from any such activities not thinking herself capable of such public displays. But tonight was different. She couldn't think of anything else she would rather do. Apparently Mulder had the same thought as he removed his arm from her shoulders and rose to face her. Smiling down at her he offered her his hand. Scully smiled back and let Mulder lead her out to the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and they slowly made their way around the room. Neither one exactly sure how they had gotten to that point, but both very happy to have gotten there together. Scully and Mulder fit together perfectly and the swaying movements of their bodies only added to their aroused state. Mulder was sure that Scully would have little doubt about his feelings for her as he pulled her just a little bit closer. Scully felt Mulder's presence and fought, for only a moment, the urge to look up at him. She knew that when she did that her simple gesture would result in their first true kiss. She paused a minute trying to think through what she was doing. She tried to call upon logic but the desires of her body won out. Scully looked up at Mulder with her blue eyes wide and full of desire. Mulder looked down at her with a similar look in his eyes. His intent was perfectly clear. He was going to kiss her. Right now. Mulder bent down closer, closer, closer until their lips just touched. "Sorry folks" a loud voice boomed making Mulder and Scully spring apart and look at each other with a mix of excitement and horror at what had almost happened. Mulder blinked once, then twice noticing for the first time that the music had disappeared and that the lights had all been turned on again. "One of the neighbors thought things were getting a bit loud here" Brian said. The group gathered in front of him groaned collectively. "So the police have come and asked us to shut things down for the night." Everyone groaned louder. "I know you were all just starting to have fun, but with a bit of luck, you will all be able to take up where you left off when you get home." With that, everyone started to pick up their things and head out the door. If not for the police sitting out on the street, Mulder thought that a lot of the couples would have thrown themselves into the bushes and finished off what they had started in Brian's living room. He shamefully admitted to having the same thoughts about Scully as he escorted her back to their house practically dragging her back he was so impatient to get inside. Scully followed Mulder's lead without comment. She was too confused by her own actions to question any of his. She knew what had almost happened while they were dancing and assumed that it would happen again once they got behind closed doors. She wasn't exactly sure what she thought of the idea. Mulder leaned against the door after shutting it. "Thank God we made it out of there" he said "it must have been something in the wine or those biscuits". Mulder started pulling off clothes and Scully began to think she was right about starting up where they had left off even though she thought Mulder was perhaps rushing things just a bit. "Forgive me Scully, but I don't get myself upstairs and into a very cold shower very fast and get some relief, I think I will have no choice but to ravish you right where you stand and we both know what a mistake that would be." And with that comment, Mulder sped upstairs leaving Scully standing by the front door with her mouth open unable to think let alone speak.