I don't own The X Files or its characters. The X Files is the property of Chris Carter, and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

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Chapter 1 by AnarchyX-Phile

Dana Scully sat bent over looking into the lens of a microscope with her brows furrowed in concentration. "It's not a match," she sighed as she leaned back in the chair and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you sure?" The man asked as he walked up behind her and tried to crane his head around her so he could look through the lenses. She gave him an odd look and slid off the chair, letting him sit down and look at the blood samples. She could leave him there for hours and he'd still be clueless on what he was looking at.

She pulled her glasses off her face and sat them down on the stainless steel table, unbuttoning her lab coat and hanging it on the peg next to the door of her office. Her scrubs were black, with the FBI insignia printed on her left shoulder. She walked to the sink and began washing her hands. "What you're looking at Agent…"

"Mulder." The man mumbled as he fiddled with the settings on the microscope.

She nodded her head. "Well, what you're looking at Agent Mulder is a blood sample taken from a stain in the 1985 murder of Cassy Holden. I pulled the sample from her shirt and found that the sample did not match Holden's blood."

"That's what I'm looking at? The first victim's blood?"

"No. What you're looking at is the old, unmatched blood sample compared to the blood sample I lifted off our… Off your newest victim. I thought that since neither sample matched the victims, they could be a match for the killer. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case."

"So… We're nowhere?"

Scully pulled her head back slightly as she glared at him. "Not exactly." She bit out, slightly irritated. "The samples are a familial DNA match - both males. Could be father and son or brothers. There's definitely a connection, but I can't tell you anything more with what little you've given me. If you'd let me look at the bodies…" She said as she looked down at her white tennis shoes.

"Sorry, Doctor. I can't risk it." He said as he shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but Mulder had been tracking this man—possibly men, now—down for the last four months. On every connected case, the killer always escaped moments before the police arrived. He was convinced there was an inside man but he had no idea who it may be. Until he found out who the leak was, Mulder wasn't going to share any of his information with anyone.

Dana sighed and brushed her hands down her scrub pants. "Well, it's after 5:00 and I've got somewhere to be." She said as she looked towards the doorway. She would have just left him but he had barged his way into her personal lab and she didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone in a room he didn't have clearance for. Luckily he got the hint.

"Sorry." He said as he slid his suit jacket back on and buttoned up the front buttons. He watched all the other lab doctors and assistants filing out of the office level and when he opened the door leading out of her personal office, he heard the noise level raise to a loud buzz.

"See you at Otto's!" A blonde man yelled out above the quitting time chaos. He turned and saw Dana locking up her door with a man standing nervously next to her. "Dana, you coming tonight?"

Dana looked quickly at Agent Mulder who was staring down at his shoes. She licked her lips and nodded, "I'll meet everyone there."

The blonde man nodded his head and started ushering everyone out of the door so security could lock up the floor. Mulder looked back up at her and held his arm out, motioning for her to walk in front of him. "Is that Otto's Pub down on 32nd Street?" He asked.

She took in a deep breath and smiled back at him. "Yeah, there's always a large group of people from Forensics there after work."

"And you're heading over there?"

"Yeah, probably… After I change. Despite the number of years we've been going, the management still frowns on us showing up with blood on our clothes." She laughed as she punched the elevator button and then pointed to a blood smear on the sleeve of her shirt.

Mulder smiled and rocked back and forth on his feet. When the elevator door opened, he followed her inside and hit the button for the parking garage. The ride was slightly uncomfortable, neither really knowing what to say to each other. When they reached the level where's Scully's car was parked, she stepped outside and turned back to face him.

"I'll uh, let you know if I make any more connections with those blood samples. But like I said, you've kind of tied my hands at this point."

Mulder's mouth lifted into a half grin as he chuckled softly. "Let me think about it," he said. 'Let me think about you,' he thought.

She nodded her head and walked to her car, unlocking it and driving out of the garage. She was tired and she honestly didn't think she'd find a man half as attractive as Special Agent Fox Mulder at the pub. Oh yes, she had remembered his name — she had just wanted to hear him say it.

She'd just go home tonight, do laundry, and actually cook a meal for once.

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Mulder stood at the bar, working on his third beer. He'd seen a lot of familiar faces in the pub. It seemed like everyone from the medical department came here after work. Every few minutes, he would feel a hand on his shoulder as someone he knew walked up behind him and patted him roughly on the back. "Well if it isn't Fox Mulder. Slumming tonight?" He turned and shook hands with Dr. Lyle, a technician he had worked with a few cases ago.

"I was actually just waiting for someone." Mulder said, as he motioned for the man to sit down beside him.

"Who and I'll help you keep watch?"

"Uh..." Mulder hummed as he debated whether he should say. "I was actually hoping to run into a doctor I was working with earlier today - Dana Scully. You know her?"

"Yeah, but I haven't seen her here tonight. She usually doesn't show up after 7:00 so I'd say you've been stood up." Dr. Lyle said as he glanced around the room.

Mulder nodded his head and threw some cash down on the counter top. "It was a bit of a long shot anyway." He smiled as he patted the doctor on the shoulder and said goodbye.