OUT OF THE WOODS 

[Great Northern Hotel, Twin Peaks]
	Sheriff Harry S. Truman limped stiffly down the hotel 
steps, his utter exhaustion blocking out most of the pain 
from his wounds.  The dull ache from his leg was nothing 
compared to the ache within.
	He walked past the patrol cars and their flashing 
lights, past the knot of people scurrying to organize 
themselves before the last of the daylight disappeared, 
until he found that he could walk no further.   He found 
himself standing in front of the forest wall, the pack of 
trees forming a black, living barrier.  The last cold rays 
of sunshine struggled in vain to filter its way through the 
dense foliage as Truman felt his hair stir with a pine-
scented breeze.  The sight of the swaying branches made his 
stomach churn and he sucked in a long cold breath to try and 
steady his insides, but without success.  
	Truman, head bent and fists clenched, unclenched the 
fists around his heart and let his emotion wash through him, 
great sobs shaking his large frame as he cried silently, 
without tears.  He felt powerless and small compared to 
those trees.  Each passing breeze seemed to carry bits of 
him away, dissolving all his strength until he felt cold and 
empty and leeched.  
	No matter where he turned, he could not escape from the 
forest.  No matter how tired he was, or how far he walked, 
he could not dismiss the wail of grief that still echoed in 
his ears and echoed, in his heart.
	His hands reached for his head as Truman felt another 
wave of nausea.  "Oh God," he murmured, and his thoughts 
turned inexorably towards the young woman he had left just 
minutes earlier...

	Annie Blackburn had regained consciousness just seconds 
after the state troopers had driven him away.  Truman had 
rushed to her side in time to hear her first words since 
they brought her out of the Grove.
	"Dale!  Where's Dale?  What's happened?"  Her voice  
had sounded tremulous and weak, but instilled with a steely 
urgency.
	Truman had looked down upon her gentle face- the face 
that had worn a crown of jewels just hours before, now 
crowned with a halo of dried blood- and his throat had 
tightened.  Her normally large and luminous eyes were red 
and tired and locked onto his.
	She then spoke with terrible calm, "He's been taken 
away?"
	"Yes," Truman had answered, "but he's not himself.  The 
best people are in on this, Annie, Cooper's going to be just 
fine..."
	"No," Annie interrupted sharply, shaking her head, 
"Sheriff, it's not our Dale, is it?  He's gone, isn't he?"
	Truman couldn't bring himself to answer her;  he wasn't 
sure if he knew the answer himself.  He had placed a hand on 
her shoulder and had watched, speechless, as her eyes 
widened and her body tensed in despair- and fear.
	"No!  That wasn't Dale!  He's not gone!  The good Dale 
is trapped in the Red Room!  He's not gone!"  Annie then 
began to struggle against his touch and her arms had flailed 
wildly.  Truman had had no choice when he nodded to Dr. 
Hayward to prepare a sedative.  Tears had begun to flow 
uncontrollably down her face as she chanted, "He's here... 
Dale's been trapped, that wasn't him."  Her eyes refocused 
for an instant and she had gripped Truman's hand, "Sheriff, 
you've got to find Dale, he isn't that man you took away.  
It looked like Dale but it wasn't him."  
	Doc Hayward pressed the needle into the young woman's 
arm and Truman had slowly released his grip to brush some 
hair from her eyes.
	"Annie," he had managed to say at last, "everything's 
going to be okay.  You'll see.  Cooper will come back to us.  
He's got to.  I- I don't know how to find him myself.  It's 
up to him now."
	Annie's sobs had become quieter, but she had turned her 
head away from him at his words.  A moment of silence had 
passed and then the room was filled with a wail that must 
have come from the depths of her soul.  Truman's heart was 
chilled at the sound.
	"Oh God,"  she had moaned, shuddering violently as 
Truman watched helplessly, "Oh dear God!  GOD!"
	When the last of her cries had faded into drug-induced 
murmurs, Truman had allowed himself to leave her side and 
stumble out of the hotel, blindly searching for a place 
where he could think clearly, alone.

	...So he found himself in front of the forest, alone, 
and it wasn't a comfort.  He could not forget the sound of 
her voice-  the sounds of her heart breaking.  Somehow she 
knew, as Truman did, that the Dale Cooper they loved was not 
the man they  rescued at Glastonbury Grove.  Their Cooper 
was gone, dead to the world as they knew it, perhaps never 
to return.  Truman ground his teeth in frustration;  the 
only person who could get Coop back was Cooper.  Truman knew 
he would have a hard time accepting these facts- but he also 
knew someone who would be having an even harder time than 
he.
	Harry Truman eyed the woods warily, armed with a new 
knowledge and a new purpose, and turned to walk back towards 
the Great Northern;  back to Annie Blackburn. 

[FBI Headquarters, Washington D.C. - five 
years later]
	Dana Scully finished putting together her report, 
tucking her copy into the filing cabinet and giving it a 
satisfied thump.  She and Mulder had been working intensely 
upon the Carter case and, as in any kidnapping, there was no 
greater satisfaction for an agent than the return of the 
victim alive and well with the incarceration of the perp.
	Mulder ambled into the room and Scully flashed him a 
smile.
	"Ready for more excitement, Scully?"  Mulder asked with 
a grin.  Scully sat in her chair with a plop and leaned back 
with a small groan.
	"Hardly, Mulder.  I think I won't mind for once just 
catching up on paperwork for the next week, taking it easy."
	Mulder raised an eyebrow in frank disbelief and began 
rummaging through the piles of paperwork on his own desk.  
Taking on officious tones, Mulder addressed Scully with 
feigned seriousness, "Special Agent Scully, I'm taking you 
to that Italian place you like so much, where you don't have 
to wear heels and I don't have to wear a tie..."  He 
couldn't keep a straight face, so he continued amiably,  
"...my treat, for a job well done.  What-say you fellow 
agent?"
	Scully let her astonishment and pleasure at this 
offering show on her face;  she had never seen Mulder so 
relaxed before and it suited him.  Suddenly, she had a flash 
of suspicion and shot him a glare, "Only if you promise not 
to do that scene from "Alien" over the spaghetti!"  
 	"Can I sing 'That's Amoré?'",  Mulder drawled with a 
wicked look of his own.  Scully smiled slyly at him and 
approached his desk slowly, stopping in front of him to 
thrust a sheet of paper under his nose. 
	"Fax came for you while you were away..."  she eyed him 
teasingly as she turned away, "...and I can't wait to hear 
you sing."  Mulder mouthed some silent ha ha's sarcastically 
at Scully as she returned to her desk, then turned his 
attention to the fax she had handed him.
	Scully, noting the sudden silence, looked up to see 
Mulder's face lose any of its previous joviality and a deep 
frown form upon his brow.  "What is it?"  she asked, a 
sudden knot of dread driving any feeling of relaxation from 
her body.  "Mulder, "  she nodded fractionally at the fax 
now dangling from Mulder's hand, "who's Bob?"
	Mulder's fist clenched the fax and he looked up at 
Scully with his hazel eyes burning a hatred she almost 
flinched away from.  "You don't want to know," he replied 
darkly.

	Scully hurried after Mulder down the hallway.  "So much 
for our relaxing week of paperwork, " she quipped, trying to 
get some reaction from Mulder.  Mulder remained silent as he 
turned into the office of Ronald Trent, Regional ASAC, 
Violent Crimes Division.  Mulder brushed by the secretary 
and walked into the inner office, Scully giving the startled 
woman a helpless shrug as she followed him in.
	"Mulder!"  Ronald Trent was startled, but not angry;  
Scully wondered how the two men knew each other, as Mulder 
had never mentioned him before.  Trent was a large man with 
peppered hair and round spectacles.  Grisly photos adorned 
the walls of his office and were scattered amongst piles of 
evidence bags atop his broad desk.  
	"Take a look at this, " Mulder shoved the fax in front 
of Trent without preamble. Trent read it, the smile fading 
from his lips, his face growing visibly paler.  He looked up 
at Mulder, his attitude decidedly grim.  He tried again to 
smile, "Mulder, this is what it takes to prompt you to come 
and visit me?  I thought we were better friends than that."
	Mulder shrugged and put his hands on Trent's desk.  "I 
don't recall you ever making a trip downstairs to see me, 
Trent.  But we don't have time to reminisce.  Where's Gordon 
Cole?"
	"He can't help you."  Trent replied, "he's an attaché 
in Europe."
	"Gordon Cole?"  Both men turned and finally 
acknowledged Scully's presence.  She put her hands on her 
hips.  "Mulder, what's this all about?"
	Mulder looked a bit sheepish, "Dana Scully, my esteemed 
colleague," Mulder grabbed her elbow and drew her forward.  
"Ronald Trent, an old supervisor of mine from my days at the 
BS Unit."	
	Trent reached out to shake Scully's hand.  "An old 
friend as well. I've heard a lot about you, Agent.  They say 
you're very good...."  Scully opened her mouth to thank him,  
"...unless you're around Mulder," he finished with a grin.  
Scully let her mouth close and simply glared at the two.  
"What is going on here?"  She snagged the fax off the desk.  
"Who is this Bob character?"  Ignoring her questions, Mulder 
turned again to Trent.
	"Ronald, I've got to go see him."
	Trent licked his lips and asked nervously, "Cooper?" as 
though he already knew the answer.
	Mulder nodded his head fractionally.  "He's the key." 
	Trent sighed and took the crumpled fax from Dana's 
hand.  His voice became authoritative,  "Check it out, 
Mulder.  Take a Bubird.  I'll see what I can find out here.  
Nice meeting you, Agent Scully."  Mulder nodded and turned 
to leave, scooping up a still-confused Scully by the elbow. 
"...and Mulder,"  Mulder paused to look back at Trent.  He 
looked at them both with weary eyes.  "...good to see you 
again.  Be careful you two, and good luck."
	Mulder smiled with genuine affection at the older man, 
"Thanks.  See you later, Trent."

	Scully watched Mulder digging out files and photos from 
his desk, her arms folded in annoyance.  Mulder had never 
left her out of the loop for this long before.  She hadn't 
seen him this upset over a simple note since that case with 
John Barnett.  Then again, that case had not been simple at 
all.  Frowning, she thought for the hundredth time what she 
had read on the fax, but still couldn't place any 
significance upon it.  It had read:
Agent Mulder,
	The owl has flown the Coop.  Are you ready to play with 
fire, little man?
					BOB
	While strange, Scully hadn't attached much significance 
to it.  Because it had come over Mulder's departmental line, 
Scully had chalked it up as being some sort of practical 
joke;  she had seen plenty aimed in Mulder's direction in 
the past, more than Mulder would ever know.  Their attempt 
to trace this fax, however, revealed that it had not been 
sent from within the department;  in fact, there was no 
record of a fax being sent to Mulder at all.  Mulder 
startled Scully out of her thoughts by handing her a stack 
of files.
	"Read these."
	Scully nearly dropped the slippery pile.  "Mulder, 
where are we going?"
	Mulder began loading his briefcase.  "To visit another 
old friend of mine.  At Raven Hill."
	Scully swallowed her surprise.  "Raven Hill?  The 
maximum security federal correctional facility?  You have 
nice friends, Mulder."  
	Mulder didn't reply, but shut his briefcase with a 
snap.  His face was hooded as he moved to place a steadying 
hand on top of the files Scully was holding.  "You'll 
understand more if you read these files.  I've got to make 
some phone calls then we'll get ready to go."
	Scully sighed heavily, watching Mulder hurry out of the 
office.  Time again for a leap of faith...she bit her lip.  
One of these days, Mulder... she let her thought diminish as 
she grabbed her coat and turned out the lights to follow.

[At 30,000 feet]
	Scully closed the last of the files, her mind reeling.  
Mass psychosis or possession by a demon named "Bob"?  Scully 
shook her head-  they shouldn't have been running around in 
the woods;  they should've been checking the lead content of 
the local drinking water!  Whatever really happened in Twin 
Peaks, it wasn't pretty.  She wondered briefly why she had 
never heard of the case of Laura Palmer, or of Special Agent 
Dale Cooper.  Judging by what she knew of him now, she 
realized that the Bureau must've buried him like they wished 
they could bury Mulder.
	Mulder leaned over and nudged Dana's shoulder with his, 
murmuring,  "You don't believe it."  It wasn't a question.  
Scully shifted uncomfortably in the narrow airplane seat.  
	"I...I believe that crimes were committed," she 
conceded,  "but Agent Cooper's methods, his theories..."
	"He was always a bit unconventional," Mulder offered.
	"Unconventional?"  Scully threw up her hands,  "Mulder, 
this guy makes YOU look like a saint when it comes to 
bending the rules."
	Mulder replied calmly, "Look Scully, this case is too 
extraordinary for even me to think up."
	Dana hunkered down in her seat, folding her arms, a 
little indignant.  "Then why isn't it an X-file?"
	"The case was closed.  Laura Palmer and Madeline 
Furgeson's killer was found to be Leland Palmer.  Annie 
Blackburn was returned unharmed and Windom Earle was found 
dead at the place of her recovery."
	"I read the official report, Mulder.  But what about 
the rest of this...?"
	"Those other files are transcripts of Agent Cooper's 
tapes and reports about the case.  Something happened to 
Cooper in those woods, Scully, and the Bureau did nothing."  
Mulder's eyes hardened.  "Just locked him away- pumped him 
full of drugs."
	Scully took a deep breath and tried to think less like 
an agent and more like a friend. "How did you know him?" she 
asked gently, leaning closer to Mulder.
	Mulder's jaw unclenched and his eyes grew misty with 
memory.  "We were at the Academy together.  He was two years 
ahead of me and already quite a character."
	Scully glanced back through some of Cooper's 
transcripts, "I'm sure."  she said wryly.
	Mulder shook his head.  "But no one bothered to peg 
him.  He was too brilliant;  too "out there".  He was full 
of it, but he was a nice guy about it.  People loved him."
	Scully knew all about quirky appeal.  "I bet you two 
hit it off."
	Mulder grinned, "Actually no.  I hated his guts.  
People would laugh at his ideas, laugh at him.  And he was 
still the sweetest guy you ever saw."
	Scully murmured in understanding, "Ahh, I see.  You 
hated Cooper because he was big enough to take the put-downs 
when a certain wet-behind-the-ears trainee wasn't?"
	Mulder shrugged.  "I was full of it back then."  Scully 
shot him a look, which he acknowledged with a lopsided grin, 
"I *wanted* to stir up trouble, be abrasive.  But no, that's 
not why I hated him."
	"Then I don't understand."
	Mulder's tone grew somber, "Scully, people laughed at 
Cooper and his whacked-out theories.  But they listened to 
him too.  They trusted his instincts."
	Scully sighed and couldn't look Mulder in the eye,  "In 
other words, they believed- him, and not you."
	"And I never understood why until I met him."
	"I imagine you couldn't stay away from someone with his 
particular interests."
	Mulder shook his head, "Cooper sought me out.  He came 
to talk to me about a particular theory I had proposed in 
class that had made people laugh for weeks."
	"What did he say to you?"  Scully prodded when Mulder 
fell silent.
	Mulder looked away from Scully's searching eyes and 
replied quietly,  "He didn't laugh.  We've known each other 
ever since."  Mulder's voice grew heavy with emotion.  "He 
was the only person at the academy, the only person from the 
Bureau, who never called me 'Spooky.' "  He suddenly turned 
to look at Scully once again,  a spark in his eyes.  "That 
is, until you came along."
	Scully gave Mulder a small smile, feeling her face 
flush at his words.  She suddenly realized their closeness;  
they were shoulder to shoulder, heads bent close, speaking 
in hushed tones in a virtually empty Bureau airplane.  Not 
wanting to look into his eyes, she found herself staring 
fixedly at Mulder's lips when they began to twist into a 
smile and he said half-teasingly, "I know you've thunk it, 
but you never said it.  Thanks."
	Scully leaned away from Mulder quickly, taking a deep 
breath;  the long flight and the altitude must be getting to 
my senses, she thought.  She reached out and patted Mulder 
on the arm, turning to look at him at last, only to find him 
staring out of the window.  "Fasten your seatbelt, Scully," 
he said, letting his voice twang with mock enthusiasm,  
"we're landing in Watmok, Arizona, home to Raven Hill, the 
best little federal correctional facility this side of the 
Rockies."
	"Mulder..."  Scully began.  Mulder turned to look at 
her, a twinkle in his eyes.  She sat up straight and somehow 
remained composed.  "You are, by far, the strangest man I 
have ever known."
	Mulder wasn't fazed a bit.  "Just you wait Agent 
Scully, because you're about to meet Dale Cooper."  His 
voice lowered conspiratorially,  "He's a living, breathing, 
walking X-file."


[Arizona highway 34.  3:45 PM]
Scully watched with wry amusement as Mulder's head 
bumped against the jeep door, rudely jolting him awake.  He 
blinked hard and ran a hand through his dark tousled hair.
	"Are we there yet?" he asked groggily.
	Scully, wide awake and a little carsick, answered 
shakily through the jostling of the vehicle.
	"No.  Not yet.  We've got about 30 miles to go Mulder, 
which at this rate means another hour."  The jeep jumped 
again roughly, causing Dana to wince.  She gripped the door 
handle as Mulder scrunched down on his side of the car to 
try and fall asleep again.  She made a rapid decision that 
if she couldn't rest, neither could he.
	"Mulder..."
	"Hmm?"
	"Mulder, what do you hope to find?"
	Mulder sat up best he could in the small jeep and 
pursed his lips.
	"I hope to find Cooper exactly like I saw him last," he 
replied curtly.
	"Which was like?"
	"Mad as a hatter and possessed by an evil spirit named 
Bob."
	Scully's brain began turning over the facts.  "You 
don't really think...never mind, let me rephrase that."  
Scully held Mulder's challenging gaze with her won.  "You 
think an evil spirit named Bob has taken over the body of 
Dale Cooper?"
	"No, I think that Bob used to inhabit the body of Dale 
Cooper- and is now on the loose in someone else's body.  To 
be sure, I have to see Cooper."
	"What have they done to him?"
	Mulder sighed.  "At first they tried to study his 
behavior.  ‘Specialists' were called in, quietly.  I hadn't 
seen Coop in about two years, though we had kept tabs on 
each other after he graduated from the Academy.  When they 
brought him back from Twin Peaks, Trent found out about it 
and sent me to find out what had happened. They had already 
worked on him best they could- when I saw him, they had him 
pumped full of drugs and he was nearly comatose."
	Scully had read the files and believed it possible that 
Agent Cooper could have been so identified with the killer 
to *become* the killer...just as she didn't believe that 
Jack was ever ‘possessed' by the spirit of Dupre.  But what 
else fit the facts?  She studied Mulder's face.  "What did 
you do?"
	Mulder continued to hold her gaze intently.  "What do 
you think I did?"
	Scully replied cautiously, "I...don't know.  Hypno-
regression therapy?  I take it nothing worked."
	Mulder was unflinching.  "From all accounts and 
evidence, a spirit of hostile nature inhabited the mind and 
body of special Agent Dale Cooper..."
	The truth dawned upon Scully.  "Mulder!  You didn't..."
	"I did," Mulder replied, with defiance.
	Scully felt her jaw sink lower, "You performed an 
exorcism."
	Mulder shrugged.  "Tried to.  Cooper's head wasn't 
spinning ‘round so it was -difficult- convincing the brass 
that it would be a potentially therapeutic procedure."
	"Wha happened?"  She hated to admit this to herself, 
but this was getting more and more interesting- and more 
bizarre- by the second.
	"It was the first of many delightful conversations with 
Bob."
	"conversations with Bob."  Scully couldn't help but be 
skeptical, primly lacing her fingers together.  "You mean 
you spoke to Cooper who thought he was a serial killer named 
‘Bob'."
	"What have I been telling you?  I wasn't speaking to 
Cooper.  I was speaking to Killer Bob.  We had quite a few 
sessions together until he stopped talking to me.  I think I 
made him angry."
	"How?"
	"Cooper's profile on Bob suggested strongly that Bob 
fed on negative emanations: fear, hatred, death..."
	"So you didn't give him the pleasure?" 
	Mulder dead-panned, "Scully, I can be a cold fish when 
I wanna be."  
	Dana lost her opportunity to retort to that remark as 
the jeep hit another pothole.  She straightened her now 
unruly hair with her hand.  "So the fax you received was 
from Cooper/Bob..."
	Mulder flashed a small smile, "Hey, I like that:  
CooperBob!"
	"...why would he let you know that he had, assuming 
that he is a,"  Scully rolled the words around in her mouth 
as if she were trying to get used to the taste, "a non-
living entity, that he had left Cooper's body?  Why give 
himself away like that?"
	"Consider Bob you typical serial killer, Scully."
	"Sure, if I ever considered host-hopping evil spirits 
that come out of the forest part of a typical profile!" she 
blurted.
	"Bob isn't from the forest," Mulder explained 
patiently.  "He came from the Black Lodge.  Not a good place 
to grow up in, from what I've heard."
	"So you're saying that Bob is the result of a 
dysfunctional family?"  Scully remarked sarcastically.
	"No, I'M the result of a dysfunctional family, Scully.  
BOB is an essence of evil that does not belong on this 
earth.  And according to my profile, Bob like to target 
those people who antagonize him;  people who are familiar 
with his host.  That way, he maximizes the terror he gets 
when he makes them his victims."
	"You aggravated Bob, so now that he's ‘out', he wants 
to get you?"
	"Yeah."
	The conversation and the jolting car were giving Scully 
a monster headache.  She rubber her temples and mumbled, 
"How does Bob do this body switching thing anyway?"
	"It seems that the host victim must die before 
transference occurs.  Weak spirits are vulnerable to him as 
well, I believe.  So if we run into him...don't worry, be 
happy."
	"Cooper isn't dead, Mulder.  How could Bob have sent 
you that fax?"
	Mulder shook his head slowly, "Something must have 
happened.  We'll just have to see."
	The jeep was slowing to pass through a gate checkpoint 
that led to a small pillbox of a building, seemingly the 
only erect structure for miles around.  Scully squinted 
through the swirling desert dust, glad that the car ride was 
over, at least.  "I can hardly wait," she replied.

	Raven Hill was not your typical federal prison.  
Located out in the harsh Arizona desert, the facility was 
contained within Raven Hill, literally.  A completely 
underground compound, Raven Hill was considered the most 
secure detention option in the States.  Touted as being 
futuristic in their policies and methods, Raven Hill was 
basically designed to scare the shit out of potential 
criminal offenders.  Mulder believed the place was an 
abomination.
	"'Invasion of the Mole Men'," Mulder murmured to Scully 
as heavy double doors blossomed open from the ground, like 
the hatch to a missile silo, revealing two heavily armed and 
clothed guards standing on the elevator platform, wearing 
goggles to protect their eyes from the blowing sand.  The 
place had a definite military feel to it.  Led by Warden 
Eggart, a stout and weather-beaten individual whose face was 
covered by enormous mirrored aviator sunglasses, the agents 
stepped onto the platform with their escorts.  The lift 
began its descent with a hum, the hatch closing overhead, 
the last of the natural light giving way to fluorescence.  
The lift rapidly picked up speed.  Scully breathed in the 
cool, not unpleasant filtered air and addressed the silent 
warden in a friendly attempt at conversation.	
	"So this is the only entrance to the facility?"
	"Yes, Ma'am.  Even supplies come through this 
checkpoint."
	Scully thought she detected a glimmer of emotion on 
Eggart's face and tried again, "How far down are we going?"
	"About five stories down," he replied, still staring 
straight ahead.
	The lift halted smoothly, revealing a huge metal gate 
and a control room behind glass beyond.  A figure moved in 
the booth and an intercom crackled overhead.  The warden 
ID'd himself and the agents, and the gate rose slowly.  The 
escorts took up posts next to the narrow exit of the lift.  
A man in a lab coat approached them;  Scully noticed with 
surprise that the man carried a weapon.
	"Good afternoon Agent Mulder, Agent Scully.  I'm Dr. 
Leighton.  Cooper will be brought to the holding room at 
once.  If you will follow me?"
	They were led down a stark hallway to an observation 
room that contained only a small table and three chairs. The 
large two-way mirror looked into a chamber with padded walls 
and a gruesome-looking chair which sported thick nylon 
straps and a head brace.
	Scully sat down, but Mulder asked Dr. Leighton, "May I 
go with them?  I'd like to see Cooper before you move him."
	Dr. Leighton nodded, motioning to Warden Eggart and the 
guards.  Mulder touched Scully's shoulder briefly as he 
passed out of the room.  Dr. Leighton remained behind and 
took a seat, noticing Scully eyeing his weapon.
	"The prisoners here are extremely dangerous, Agent 
Scully."  He smiled thinly.  "We can't be too careful."
	"I see."  Scully began to wonder what kind of place 
Raven Hill really was.  "How has Cooper been behaving this 
past week?"
	"Remarkably well, considering the uh, incident.  He's 
become quite talkative actually."
	"What does he talk about?"
	"The usual;  insisting that he's Agent Cooper, that 
he's sane.  No apparent mood swings, however, which is not 
typical."
	"Any explanation for this change?  Have your doctors 
examined him?"
	Dr. Leighton sighed.  "Agent Scully, you don't seem to 
realize.  All our inmates here claim, at one time or 
another, to be "cured".  These prisoners are sent here when 
all rehabilitation efforts have failed;  they are the 
INcurables."
	His reasoning offended Scully's ethics, but she 
continued her line of questioning.  "You mentioned an 
incident...?"
	"Yes.  Cooper was being more stable than usual this 
past month.  One of our psychiatrists, Dr. Stephen Drew, 
wished to speak with him.  Cooper was calm, composed.  Next 
thing we knew, Cooper had attacked Dr. Drew."
	Scully frowned, "Wasn't Cooper wearing restraints?"
	"He was in a straight-jacket and leg restraints, Agent 
Scully."  Dr. Leighton's voice grew grim.  "We heard screams 
and found Cooper pummeling Dr. Drew- with his bare head."
	Scully swallowed hard.  "Did Dr.Drew survive?"
	Dr. Leighton looked away for a moment.  "He's in a coma 
at Mercy Hospital."
	Before Scully could ask Leighton another question, the 
door to the inner chamber opened and Scully got her first 
look at former Special Agent Dale Cooper.
	He had the pale, translucent look of a body that had 
been embalmed;  it was a stark contrast to the bright orange 
prison uniform and his jet black hair, trimmed neat.  Ice 
blue eyes weren't hard and calculating, as Scully expected- 
in fact, they seemed rather fearful as Cooper was lead to 
the chair.  He shuffled forward, his legs in irons, his arms 
contained in his outfit's built-in straight-jacket. One 
guard watched warily as the other strapped Cooper's body and 
head to the chair.
	Mulder entered the observation room, quietly shutting 
the door behind him.  Scully did not like the look on his 
face.  He took a chair and said ominously, "Scully, this 
doesn't look good."
	She gave Cooper a sideways glance.  "He looks calm 
enough."
	"That's just it- I think Cooper's back."
	Dr. Leighton harumphed and said patronizingly, "I don't 
think so, Agent Mulder.  Cooper has exhibited this sort of 
behavior before.  Believe me, he is as deranged as ever and 
is  clever enough to put on this charade.  Don't let him 
fool you.  We've already had one incident here in the past 
week and that's one more than this institution can 
tolerate."
	Mulder looked at Cooper for a long moment, then turned 
to face Dr. Leighton.  "Doctor, let me perform an 
examination on Cooper."
	The doctor threw up his hands.  "Go ahead, you won't 
find any change."  He glanced at his watch and said archly, 
"Cooper hasn't had his latest dosage, so he should be fairly 
lucid this time of day."

	Mulder and Scully entered the padded room, Mulder 
motioning to Scully to stand back.  Cooper, unable to turn 
his head, followed Mulder's movements with his slightly 
glazed eyes, but said nothing.  Scully watched both men 
carefully, tensed for action.  Mulder stood directly in 
front of Cooper and paused, the sounds of their breathing 
becoming audible in the silence that hung thickly in the 
small room.  Putting his hands in his pockets, Mulder 
shattered the stillness and spoke.
	"You look like you could use a good cuppa joe."  
	Cooper's eyes came into focus and fixed on Mulder.  In 
a raspy but firm voice, Cooper replied.  "Special Agent Fox 
Mulder.  I knew you would come."
	Mulder permitted himself a small smile, "How are you 
feeling?"
	"Mulder, what's been happening to me?  How long have I 
been in this place?"
	Scully ignored Mulder's gestures to stay back and 
stepped into Cooper's field of vision. "You mean you don't 
remember?"
	Cooper looked questioningly from Scully to Mulder.
	"She's with me, " Mulder said, and Scully smiled 
slightly to reassure Cooper. "Special Agent Dana Scully."
	"Agent Scully, a pleasure."  Cooper's formality belied 
his awkward situation. "I'm glad you're both here.  Mulder, 
Bob is no longer within me.  He is on the loose and I've got 
to stop him."
	"Do you know where he is?"  Mulder asked.	
	Cooper nodded a negative as best he could within the 
head brace.  "No.  The people here...they tell me I attacked 
a doctor last week.  I have no memory of this incident, 
therefore I conclude that Bob was the reason behind my 
behavior."
	Scully narrowed her eyes at his words.  "I'm afraid I 
don't believe you.  You aren't the first criminal mind to 
claim that they were "possessed by evil spirits" when they 
committed their crime.  In court, it usually means they're 
insane."
	Cooper cocked an eyebrow at Mulder.  "She's your 
*partner*, Mulder?"	
	Mulder shot Scully a glare.  "Cooper, Scully is just 
doing her job. And I've got to do mine.  Cooper, we need 
conformation that you are who you say you are."
	Cooper attempted to nod curtly. "By all means. Let's 
get this over with Mulder, I've got a killer to apprehend."

	Scully pulled Mulder outside the chamber, shutting the 
door firmly.  Mulder knew that look in her eye.  He braced 
himself, "Okay Scully, let me have it."
	"Mulder, he was remarkably willing to undergo the 
hypnosis."
	"You find that suspicious?"
	"Don't you?  I read the reports, Mulder.  The "Killer 
Bob" could be construed as a schizophrenic projection of 
Cooper's personality;  a construction to provide a solution 
to a case he desperately wanted to solve."
	"What about that fax?" Scully shrugged and turned away, 
exasperated.  Mulder watched her pace.  "Scully, he wants to 
clear himself.  I think he should be given the chance."
	Scully backed Mulder up against the wall.  "Even if it 
means finding out you have to lock up your friend in this 
prison again?"
	Mulder leaned back against the wall with a thump and 
clenched his jaw.  "Let me tell you something Bob told me 
once.  He told me how Cooper stayed in the Black Lodge to 
save Annie Blackburn's life.  How Cooper felt he could 
control Bob once in his body.  He was wrong.  Once 
possessed, Cooper injured nine people, two severely, before 
being captured.  I believe having one man in a straight-
jacket stashed five stories underground is preferable to 
having a demented serial killer on the loose, don't you?  
Cooper thought so."
	Scully bit her lip and said slowly,  "Okay, what do you 
want me to do?"
	Mulder put a hand on her shoulder, "Go into the 
observation room.  If Bob is still in Cooper but has found a 
way out, I don't want him meeting you, "  Mulder saw Scully 
about to protest. "No buts, Scully.  If I get into trouble 
in there, I'm counting on you to come charging to my 
rescue."  He gave her shoulder a squeeze.  "Agreed?"
	"I'm not the cavalry, Mulder,"  Scully sighed as she 
yanked open the door to the observation room,  "be careful."
	Mulder winked and turned to the other door.  Perhaps 
today was the day he would find out the truth about what 
happened to Cooper in those woods...
	
[Raven Hill Federal Prison.  Interrogation chamber 5A]
	"Tell me where you are, "  Mulder asked quietly.  He 
knew that behind the two-way mirror, Scully was watching 
them closely and listening to his voice, muffled through the 
intercom.  Cooper's head lolled sideways, his eyes closed in 
the trance.  At Mulder's question, it raised slowly.  Cooper 
spoke with clarity.
	"I'm in a room with red curtains."
	"Is anything happening?"  Mulder kept his tone even and 
free from emotion.  Cooper frowned and seemed agitated.
	"There's...someone...chasing..."
	Mulder's cheek twitched. "Is someone chasing you?"
	Cooper's body relaxed suddenly.  "No...I was being 
chased but now...I chase him."
	Mulder wiped his palms on his knees.  "Who are you?"
	"Dale Cooper."
	"Who are you chasing, Dale?"
	"It's...me."  Cooper's body tensed and became alert.  
"Where's Annie?"   Mulder felt his shoulders slump in defeat 
at Cooper's outburst.  He rubbed his lip, reluctant to try 
the next step, but knowing he had no other choice.
	"Cooper, let me speak with Bob."
	"Can't...find him."
	"Why not?"
	"Chased... but lost him in the Light."
	"Light?"  Mulder leaned in closer.  "Cooper, this is 
very important.  Did you go into the light?"
	Cooper sucked in a long breath.  "Yeeeess,"  Cooper 
exhaled, a smile forming on his lips.  Mulder let out the 
breath he found himself holding and shot a look over his 
shoulder  into the mirror.
	"Dale, where are you now?"
	"I'm not in the Red Room anymore."
	"Are you alone?"
	"I am now,"  Cooper replied, and Mulder let himself be 
satisfied with that answer, even though the hardest test was 
yet to come.
	"Now listen carefully, Dale, Dale..."  Cooper's head 
had begun to fall to one side and Mulder took it in his 
hands.  Mulder, with a slightly maniacal glint to his eyes 
said huskily,  "Dale.  The owls are not what they seem.  
Fire, walk with me."
	Cooper frowned at Mulder's words- Mulder had a feeling 
that Scully was probably frowning also, somewhere behind 
that glass- and did not respond.
	Mulder brought Cooper out of his trance,  both men 
sweating and spent from the ordeal.  Mulder gave Coop a 
reassuring nod and sought out Scully.
	Mulder burst into the observation room to find Scully 
seated and calm.  He could barely contain his optimism. "Did 
you see?  Bob wasn't there..."
	Scully crossed her arms and promptly interjected,  "I'm 
not quite sure what I saw.  What was that last mumbo-jumbo 
about?"
	"Bob could *never* resist emerging once those phrases 
were said aloud.  He's gone, Scully."  Mulder could see 
Scully teetering on the precipice of doubt and acceptance, 
the familiar mixture of excitement and hesitation playing 
across her features.  He had a feeling she wouldn't let the 
journey end now, when they had gone this far.  With more 
than a little hope, Mulder watched Scully weigh the facts in 
her mind, thoughts flickering rapidly behind those deep 
green-gray eyes.  When she finally looked up at him, he saw 
her take the leap.
	"Where do we go from here?"
	Mulder felt the next move was obvious and threw up his 
hands in a broad gesture, "We get him out of here."
	Scully nodded curtly and unfolded her arms, "Good idea.  
He'll need to be certified, a whole psychiatric workup, 
arrangements will have to be made for escorts, 
accommodations.  I suggest that he gets a thorough medical 
examination as well to assess his condition before he goes 
traipsing after bogeymen.  It looks like he's lost a lot of 
weight..."
	Mulder was already moving when Scully grabbed him.  
"Hey, wait a minute!  Where do you think you're going?"
	Mulder gently pried her fingers off of his arm.  "When 
I said I was getting Cooper out of here Scully, I meant I 
was getting him out right now."  He continued walking, ready 
for the burst of protest that was to surely follow.  Mulder 
stopped walking when he glanced to his side to find Scully 
pacing him.  He looked at her with impatience, "What?  No 
quoting of FBI regulations?  No angry stomping of little 
feet?"
	Scully, scintillating with a remarkable show of 
restraint, slowly  arched a brow, firmly placing an index 
finger on his chest, and replied low and seething, "You are 
completely out of line here, Mulder.  I'll have you know 
that right now.  But I also know you when you're like this 
and no matter what I say, you'd try to get him out of here 
anyway so I'm saving my breath."
	Mulder took a step closer to Scully, who didn't give a 
millimeter,  pushed back on her chest with his own finger, 
and said with utter conviction,  "I believe him."
	Her eyes crackled with a mixture of concern and 
defiance as they met his.  "Fine.  I'm going along to see if 
anybody else will." 
	 They stood there with arms crossed for a long minute, 
locked in opposition, neither wanting to yield before the 
other.  Mulder watched Scully's upper lip twitch and could 
feel her heart pounding under his finger, along with the 
rise and fall of her breaths.   Mulder felt his lips twist 
with amusement as he looked pointedly at where his finger 
was positioned and Dana caved in immediately with a small 
smile, swinging her head close to Mulder's chest, almost 
pausing to rest her forehead there.  Their hands dropped  
simultaneously and the tension dissipated.  "I'll also try 
and help,"  Dana finished.
	Mulder knew how much trust Scully was investing in him 
and he felt it- allowed it- to warm his soul, opening doors 
within that he had thought sealed shut long ago.  He bowed 
slightly and gestured with his hand, "After you."   Scully 
turned, but not before Mulder caught the flicker of a smile 
that passed across her face as he fell into step beside her. 

	"Trent, you've got to tell Warden Eggart.  Here,"  
Mulder gratefully handed over the phone to Eggart and let 
the two men hash out the details of Cooper's release.   The 
whole procedure was highly irregular, and Mulder was going 
over a couple of heads by contacting Trent, but it meant 
having Cooper out of Raven Hill that day  instead of  
months.  By the way Eggart was nodding at the phone, it 
looked like they would be successful.  Mulder turned to 
Scully, who was seated and frowning with disbelief at the 
accelerated activity.  She murmured, "I don't know how you 
get away with these things, Mulder, and I'm almost afraid to 
ask."  
	"Trent has a good reputation down here;  half these 
inmates are probably in here because of him, directly or 
indirectly.  That's why I went to him from the beginning.  
We'll have Cooper released into our custody and have the 
paperwork drawn up right now.  Why don't you go tell him the 
good news?"
	"Sure,"  she said neutrally, pushing herself up by the 
armrests of her chair.   She got up reluctantly, 
straightened her posture, and headed back to Cooper's 
chamber, leaving Mulder to fend for himself.

	"Who's there?" he asked when the door was opened, the 
strength of his voice causing Dana's eyebrows to rise.  She 
stepped to his side, arms folded.
	"Agent Scully.  You're being released into our custody;  
Mulder believes that you are free from Bob."  Scully saw 
some color come into Cooper's wan countenance and he even 
began to smile.
	"Fox Mulder is one of the best."
	Scully's face screwed into something unreadable.  "He 
has his moments," she admitted.
	Cooper looked at Dana with the wide-eyed openness and 
wonder of a child.  "He has special gifts, Dana."
	Up to this point, Dana hadn't noticed anything 
outstandingly unusual about Dale Cooper.  But now, here she 
found herself speaking to a bound and chained suspected mass 
murderer, who acted as if he was in his living room instead 
of a federal prison, admiring Mulder's eccentricities and 
now, calling her by her first name.  It was just too much.
	"Scully,"  she told him, causing Cooper to raise his 
brow. Scully laughed a little self-consciously, "I...I even 
make Mulder call me Scully."
	"Scully, Mulder is one of the few people I've known who 
is not afraid to question the infinite possibilities of the 
universe.  He is Touched;  unique.  You should trust him 
more."  Cooper paused then said steadily, "Mulder will be 
here in one minute."
	Scully opened and shut her mouth, speechless, when 
right on cue, a guard entered with jangling keys, Mulder 
close on his heels.
	"Yeah, he's touched all right."  Scully mumbled to no 
one in particular, but looking from Cooper to Mulder,   
"Right in the head."
	Mulder crouched down close to Cooper, a smile on his 
face, as the guards began unbinding him.  Scully couldn't 
help but be a little nervous as Cooper's arms and legs were 
freed from their restraints.  Cooper stood, slowly, 
stretching his back and arms.  He lost his balance and arms 
pin wheeling, fell into Mulder's steady hands.  
	"Whoa there, sport. Scully and I are taking you to the 
nearest hospital to have you checked out.  So take it easy."
	Cooper, although obviously weak, maintained the firm 
no-nonsense tone in his voice as he tried to straighten up.  
"Very well.  I put myself in your hands.  You two can fill 
me in on what has occurred in my...absence."
	Mulder shook his head, bemused at Cooper's show of 
tenacity and took one of his arms as Scully took his other 
and between the two of them, helped Cooper out the door.

	Desert nights were cold, and Scully shuddered in the 
darkness, wrapping her coat tighter around her shoulders.  
It certainly was unnerving to have gone underground in 
daylight only to emerge in darkness.  The crowded jeep 
rumbled towards Watmok Mercy Hospital- in the back seat 
Mulder was bringing Cooper up to speed while Scully sat in 
front and mulled over their current situation.  She had a 
hunch of her own that she wanted to follow up once they 
reached the hospital.  The two men were discussing the 
possible origins of the fax and the possibility that Bob had 
not found another host but was ranging freely, perhaps in 
electronic circuitry.  Scully felt there was a more obvious 
solution, one that she didn't want to discuss with Mulder 
while Cooper was present.  Until she could confer with 
Mulder, she would keep a close eye on Dale Cooper.

	Mulder and Cooper threw ideas back and forth just like 
old times.  Mulder thought Cooper looked a bit weak, tired, 
but otherwise it was the same old Cooper.  He glanced 
towards the front of the car;  Scully's been very quiet, 
Mulder thought.  She hadn't quite taken a shine to Cooper 
yet, but Mulder knew she'd come around.  Cooper only needed 
a chance to work his charms.  For a heartbeat, that thought 
stabbed at Mulder, but he pushed it aside and concentrated 
on the work at hand;  finding Bob.

[Watmok Mercy Hospital, 9:22 PM]
	Watmok was a bustling mining town, large enough to have 
a decent-sized hospital with all the amenities.   	
	Cooper was resting comfortably in room 117.  Mulder was 
just returning from his quest to find three cups of good 
strong black coffee when Scully intercepted him just outside 
the door.
	"Hey!  Watch it, Scully, this stuff is liable to eat 
right through the floor."
	"Mulder, I need to talk to you."
	Mulder saw the familiar wrinkles of worry on Dana's 
forehead.  "What's going on?"  
	"I've been wanting to check up on something, Mulder. 
There's a Dr. Drew being treated here.  He worked at Raven 
Hill and was attacked by Cooper just a few days ago."
	"Attacked?  A few days ago?  How come I didn't..."
	Scully twined her fingers, "Cooper had mentioned it, 
Mulder.  And so did Dr. Leighton.  I didn't want you to have 
a biased assessment of Cooper by drawing your attention to 
the incident."  
	Mulder knew very well that what Scully didn't say was 
that Mulder was perhaps too close to the subject, too 
distracted, to have noticed.  That bothered him.  "So you're 
thinking that Bob transferred to this doctor during the 
attack?"
	"Ye-es.  It's a possibility.  Providing your theories 
about Bob are correct."
	"I'm glad you're going along with me on this one, 
Scully.  I can feel it;  whatever he is, he's close."
	A night nurse passed by them and entered the room, 
prompting the two agents to follow.  Cooper had fallen 
asleep.  Mulder placed Cooper's cup of coffee on his tray 
and asked Scully, "What's Drew's condition?"
	"Dr. Leighton told me that Dr. Drew was in a coma.  
I've asked the staff for his files.  Mulder, if Bob was in a 
comatose body, could he still somehow control his actions?"
	"I'm not sure.  Maybe.  It would be lucky to have Bob 
trapped in a comatose body, now wouldn't it?  Check up on 
it.  I'm going to make some phone calls. " Scully looked at 
Mulder inquiringly.  "I'm going to call Albert Rosenfield," 
he answered.
	"You're calling Albert Rosenfield?"
	Mulder smiled.  "Do I detect a hint of professional 
jealousy, Dr. Scully?"
	She glared back at him.  "Hardly Mulder, I know he 
worked on the Palmer case.  I'm just wondering how you're 
going to pull off these minor miracles with the Bureau."
	"Trent has clout.  And Albert is an old friend."  
Mulder bobbed his head slightly.  "Actually Scully, Albert 
is just gonna love you."
	"Great.  I've never met him Mulder, but I know his 
reputation.  Examining live bodies will be something new for 
him, that's for sure."
	"Yes, I want him to check out Cooper and Dr. Drew.  I'm 
also calling Raven Hill to make sure they send us their 
personnel files."	
	"And find us a motel for them to send them to.  I'll 
check up on the status of Dr. Drew."
	"Gotcha."
	Mulder left the room and Scully picked up the medical 
report the nurse left at the foot of Cooper's bed and 
flipped through it.  Dehydration, low blood sugar, nothing 
too serious.  
	Scully hesitated before leaving to look down upon 
Cooper's moonlit face in repose.  The gentle, child-like 
quality she had noted earlier was even more pronounced when 
he was asleep, marred only by a small scar on his forehead 
near the scalp.  He looked almost...angelic.  As she 
watched, mesmerized by his moonlit figure, his long lashes 
fluttered and he murmured, "Ahhh, is that coffee I smell?"
	Scully took a step back from his bed, startled, and 
said unnecessarily, "Yes. Mulder brought it to you while you 
were asleep."
	Cooper scooted himself into a sitting position, boyish 
delight on his face as he commanded the hospital bed to 
incline along with him with the push of a button.  
	"Agent Scully," he announced, looking at her with a 
grin,  "I've already had one treat today, and that was being 
released from Raven Hill by you and Mulder.  This," he 
picked up the steaming cup," is a gift from the Gods."  He 
sipped with reverence and smacked his lips.  "Damn fine cup 
of coffee- for a hospital."
	Scully watched askance at his little display, sipping 
at her own cup. "Mulder has gone to call in Albert 
Rosenfield to examine you.  You'll be staying here overnight 
for observation."
	Cooper was pleased.  "Albert?  He is a brilliant and 
talented man, Scully.  But don't let him intimidate you."
	Scully thought about her own medical credentials and 
replied assuredly, "I won't."
	They stayed in silence for a minute until Cooper spoke.  
"Agent Scully, you don't like me very much, do you?"
	His manner was so disarming;  Scully suddenly found 
herself looking into Cooper's eyes.  "Cooper, I hardly know 
you."
	"You know Mulder."
	Scully's defenses snapped up.  "What does my 
relationship with Mulder have to do with you?"
	Cooper did not seem to notice her discomfiture.  
"Mulder and I are kindred spirits, Scully, although we 
follow different paths.  Mulder seeks out his own truths.  I 
investigate the truths of others.  That's my job.  I  think 
that makes you uncomfortable.  Secrets, to others or to 
yourself, Scully, are dangerous things."
	"I believe you," she replied, slightly confused.  "Get 
some rest, Cooper.  We'll see you in the morning."  
	Scully left Cooper's room puzzled by his words;  she 
found herself powerfully drawn to the man, yet at the same 
time, wary of him.  Pushing these thoughts aside, she 
shivered involuntarily and headed for the nurses' desk.  
	
	The door clicked shut, signaling Agent Scully's 
departure, and Cooper found himself alone in his room.    To 
any ordinary person, the feeling of solitude that settled 
upon him would have been unwelcome, maybe even frightening;   
Cooper savored it and welcomed it for what it meant.  
Drawing the starchy sheets close to his chin, Cooper lay 
back in the darkness and closed his eyes to enjoy a deep 
dreamless sleep, the first in a long, long time.
	
	Mulder found Scully at the nurses' desk a few minutes 
later, a distressed look on her face.
	"What is it?"  he asked.
	Scully heaved a sigh, "Dr. Drew died last night of an 
embolism in the brain."
	Mulder hung his head and scowled.  "Well, I guess 
Albert won't be disappointed after all."  He sensed that 
Scully didn't like this piece of news at all, but he didn't 
press her for details now.   She looked tired.  "Come on, " 
he said gently, placing his hand at the small of her back, 
"I've got some rooms for us across the street.  Let's get 
some rest."
	Scully nodded and the two of them headed for the exit, 
but not without both of them stealing one last backward 
glance towards room 117.

[Oasis Motel, 5:14 AM]
	Scully, in her blue pajamas, twisted in her sheets and 
began to dream...  
	She was hanging by a rope tied to her wrists above a 
gaping abyss.  Concentrate, she told herself with half-
awake, dreamer's rationale, concentrate on your toes.  
Suddenly her wrists were free and she was falling down...
	Dana landed without incident into a large worn black 
leather armchair.  Other similar chairs stood in the room 
whose walls were softly swaying red curtains.  The floor had 
a psychedelic red and white zig-zag pattern across it.  
Scully couldn't move from the chair;  it was as if her arms 
were glued to the armrests.  It's still a dream.  she 
realized on a certain level of her subconscious.  Yet she 
felt alert and awake.   The hairs on the back of her neck 
began to tingle as a hand appeared at her left elbow, rough 
fingers making dents in the soft leather as it gripped the 
arm of the chair.  Scully tried to turn her head, her heart 
quickening.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw stringy, 
dirty gray hair and smelled the putrid but odorless breath 
of someone hissing near her cheek.
	"Who's there?" she called, frightened.
	The shape of a head creeped into her field of vision, 
millimeters away until a dark eye glittered straight into 
her own, a beak of a nose curling as an unseen mouth 
murmured, "Bob is here..."  Every muscle in Dana's body 
tensed.   The head drew away, revealing the snarling, 
haggard face of Bob as he eased over Scully as she sat in 
the chair, trapped.  His burning, beady eyes never left 
Scully's as he finished climbing over her body to crouch at 
her feet.  He tilted his head back and forth slowly, 
studying her like a curious animal- an animal stalking prey.  
The room was plunged into sudden darkness and Dana stifled 
the reflex to scream as flashing strobe lights began to 
flicker, revealing and obscuring the movements of the 
terrible figure before her, rendering his movements into a 
choppy, staggering motion.  Bob began to speak, his words 
stilted, not quite in sync with his lips, yet perfectly 
comprehensible. 
	"You- do not- believe," he seethed as he backed up 
slowly, his arms outstretched, beckoning.  Nowhere and 
everywhere at once she heard his cackle echo across the room 
and in her mind.  "FIRE, WALK WITH ME."
	Scully was rooted to the chair, feeling as if her soul 
and her body were trying to separate themselves.  She fought 
it.
	The lights stopped flashing and suddenly she was 
standing, the chairs gone.  Across the room stood a tall 
figure in a dark suit.  She squinted and instantly 
recognized the lanky build of Mulder.
	"Mulder?" she called, as the figure found a slit in the 
red curtains and began to step through it to leave her all 
alone.  "Mulder, wait!"
	"Mulder!"  Scully bolted up from her bed, chest 
heaving.  She glanced at the clock and she ran a hand 
through her hair, deciding that she had had enough sleep for 
one night.  Memory of her dream was fading fast but she 
didn't feel particularly comfortable hanging on to the 
remnants.  That face, however...she scrambled over her bed 
to the still-open file she had been reviewing before going 
to sleep.  There, on the top sheet was the man she had seen 
in her dream- but the artists' sketch did not quite capture 
the ingrained evil that Scully's imagination had given 
Killer Bob.

[Mercy Hospital, 9:00 AM]
	Mulder and Scully escaped the already rising heat of 
morning as they stepped into the hospital.  Mulder was 
worried about Scully;  he had sat down to breakfast that 
morning with his cowlick starting straight up from his head 
on purpose to amuse her and she hadn't even noticed.  
Something was wrong and she didn't want to tell him.
	"Scully, did you sleep okay last night?"  Mulder asked 
as casually as he could muster, grabbing a donut from the 
waiting room tray.  Scully stalled by pouring herself a 
large cup of coffee.
	"Fine, Mulder.  I...dreamed, but- why, do I look like 
hell or something?"
	"No," he sputtered, "no, it's just, well, I..."
	"At least you got your hair back in place somehow," she 
smiled as she sat on one of the soft couches.
	Mulder only bit into his donut, perplexed.  Whenever he 
thought he had this woman figured out, she promptly found 
ways to surprise him, the corners of her mouth tweaking 
upwards ever so slightly as she relieved him of his 
premature assumptions.  He was saved from further 
embarrassment by the arrival of a familiar clipped voice 
reverberating along the hallway.
	"Fox!  I'm here, so let's get this show on the road."
	Albert Rosenfield stormed down the hall, a black 
billowing trench coat matching his black suit and dark 
sunglasses.  Close-cropped hair completed his G-man persona.  
Mulder approached him, a smile on his face, and hesitated;  
he really wanted to embarrass the stolid Rosenfield with a 
show of affection, but decided to spare him and offered a 
firm handshake instead.  "Albert, it's just Mulder."
	"Fox, if I have to call you Mulder you have to call me 
Agent Rosenfield."
	"Deal,"  in an aside to Scully, who had risen from her 
seat to watch the men with amusement,  Mulder added, "we go 
through this every time we run into each other.  Our little 
ritual."
	Rosenfield's face contorted into something resembling a 
smile as Mulder made introductions.  "Agent Rosenfield, 
Agent Dana Scully."  
	They shook hands. "I hear you're very good." Dana said.
	"You heard right."  He whipped off his sunglasses and 
began tugging at his black leather gloves, placing the black 
medical bag he carried with him carefully at his feet.  
"Where's Cooper?" he demanded.  "I want to get started and 
get away from you characters as quickly as possible, 
comprende?"
	Scully looked at Mulder with an expression of quiet 
disbelief at the man's attitude, but Mulder just grinned and 
gestured with an outstretched arm. 
	
	They entered Cooper's room quietly to find a nurse just 
drawing the heavy blinds.  Cooper turned his head from the 
brilliant sunshine to rest his eyes upon his visitors.  He 
sprung from his bed with sudden abandon to envelop 
Rosenfield in a back-thumping hug, nearly startling the 
other man into dropping his medical bag.
	"Albert!"  Cooper exclaimed with obvious joy.    
	Rosenfield busily brushed himself off and regained his 
composure.  "Dale Cooper," he said brusquely,  "I don't see 
anything wrong with you.  Why the hell do you keep calling 
me to these washed out burgs where the natives are as 
annoying as the climate and the coffee even worse?"     
	Cooper ignored the man's ranting and rubbed his hands 
together.  "Albert, I'm eager for news.  How is everyone in 
Twin Peaks?"
	Even Rosenfield fidgeted under Cooper's undying 
enthusiasm, Mulder noted.   "Err, fine Cooper.  I spoke to 
Truman and he sends his best."
	"Good old Harry.  Deputy Hawk and Andy?"
	"Both of them are well."
	"I must return to Twin Peaks."  He looked at Mulder and 
Scully who hung back, not wanting to intrude in their 
exchange, and smiled broadly,  "The trees there are just 
amazing."  An awkward moment of silent agreement passed 
until Cooper asked Rosenfield boldly,  "Albert, did you 
speak to Annie Blackburn?"
	Rosenfield looked down at his shoes.  "Yes, Cooper."
	Cooper's face was filled with struggling emotion, "How 
is she?"
	"Well," Rosenfield said carefully, still avoiding 
Cooper's gaze, "It's Annie...Truman now."  Albert looked up 
with surprising compassion in his usually hard eyes and said 
quietly, "They both send you their best."
	Cooper's face registered no change.  He blinked for an 
instant then said sincerely,  "That's wonderful, Albert.   I 
hope they are very happy.  Harry took Josie's death pretty 
hard.  I'll have to congratulate them."  
	Albert only nodded, not voicing what they all knew;  
that Annie Blackburn had taken Dale's "death" very badly, 
with much guilt, and was extremely fortunate to have found 
warmth and understanding in Sheriff Harry Truman.
	Cooper set his jaw, his face unreadable, and returned 
to business.   "You've met Agent Scully?"
	Albert was visibly relieved at the change of topic.  
"Yes Cooper, now where's the other guy I'm supposed to 
examine?"
	"In the morgue," Mulder said.
	Albert's eyebrows shot upwards, "Everyone's always 
dying to meet me.  What happened?"
	"That's what you're supposed to tell us," Scully 
replied.
	"I'll get right on it."  
	 Mulder nodded to Scully and she motioned to Rosenfield 
to follow her.  They exited the room and Cooper looked 
questioningly at Mulder.
	"Mulder, whose body is Albert about to examine?"
	Mulder looked at Cooper with concern and decided that 
if Cooper wanted to talk about other things, he would.  "Dr. 
Stephen Drew died two nights ago."
	"I see."  Cooper frowned and asked Mulder, "Have you 
gone over the personnel files from Raven Hill yet?"
	"No, they were supposed to send them here.  I was just 
going to get them while you,"  Mulder pushed Cooper gently 
back onto the bed, "get some more rest.  When Scully gets 
back we'll go over them together."  
	Cooper nodded and placed his hand on Mulder's forearm.  
"Thanks Mulder."

	Scully looked at the body of Dr. Stephen Drew.  With 
her trained professional eye, Scully didn't see anything 
unusual about the body, at least on the surface.  In death, 
the body was essentially a pile of biochemical elements;  
Scully found it difficult to imagine that the decaying body 
before her could contain an evil manifestation, spirit, what 
have you.  Rosenfield had declined her offer of assistance, 
at least for the preliminary dissection, but would be happy 
to go over the detailed analysis with her.  As this would be 
much later, the sounds of Rosenfield sharpening his tools 
was the signal for Scully to depart.  She had no desire to 
linger.  
	Scully returned to Cooper's room to join the men in 
reviewing the personnel files of Raven Hill, which included 
the two hundred or so inmates.   The three of them sat down 
to their long, but necessary task, making sure that their 
large carafe of coffee and  tray of donuts were always 
filled.

[12:30 PM]	
	Woozy from coffee, a sugar rush, and from staring at 
pages and pages of data, Dana stood to stretch.  Albert had 
stopped by a few minutes ago to tell them he had dropped off 
tissue samples to the lab and it would be a while before 
those results would come in.  In the meantime, he and Mulder 
had gone off in search of something for lunch.  Cooper was 
pushing his hospital food around its tray, still 
concentrating on a file propped open upon his knees.  Dana 
watched him for a minute, curious about what exactly had 
happened those last days in Twin Peaks;  the events he 
didn't put into his reports.  Despite his outward perpetual 
cheeriness, Cooper was obviously a man who had experienced 
hurt, pain, and the darker sides of life.  She wanted to 
reach out to him, comfort him, if she could, but she didn't 
feel it was her place to even try.  Secrets... she mused, 
secrets are dangerous things-  didn't you tell me that, 
Agent Cooper?
	Dana excused herself hastily, grabbed the file on Dr. 
Drew that Agent Rosenfield had left behind, and moved to the 
visitors area, sinking gratefully into one of the soft 
couches.  So far their research had turned up nothing 
significant, and Scully was beginning to feel as if this 
investigation was a huge mistake.  Yet she now had a certain 
respect for those involved- Cooper, Rosenfield, Trent- they 
were not people to be taken lightly on any level.  And then 
there was Mulder...
	She tucked her hair behind her ear and began reading 
the stats and Albert's preliminary autopsy report on Drew.  
Noting the fact that Drew had lost a lot of weight while in 
his coma, Scully found nothing else significant about his 
condition and eventual death.  Broken ribs, a skull 
fracture...the potential for a blood clot traveling to his 
brain was evident.  He had been fairly elderly, with no 
family or other ties to speak of.  She sighed heavily, 
frustration building...and then she saw something that drove 
any fuzziness from her brain.  Drew had returned to 
consciousness for six hours the day he died!  Scully sat up 
right away.  There was a chance that Drew could have sent 
Mulder the fax...she needed to consult the nurse on duty 
that day.  
	She returned to the room, Cooper looking up at her with 
his large blue eyes.  "Cooper, I'm going to go upstairs to 
speak with the nurse who treated Dr. Drew."
	Cooper regarded her admiringly.  "You have a hunch?"
	Scully fidgeted under his scrutiny, "Yes, I do.  Can 
you tell Mulder and Rosenfield if they get back before I 
do?"
	"Certainly, Scully."  He hesitated.  "Would you like me 
to accompany you?"
	Scully smiled and headed for the door.  "Thank you 
Cooper, but I don't think you'd be a very effective agent 
wearing only your hospital gown.  I won't be long."
	
	Cooper was left alone again, blinking and humbled.  He 
was beginning to see why Mulder had Dana Scully as a partner 
after all. 

[Fifth floor, Mercy Hospital]
	Scully thanked the orderly and let him return to his 
duties.   On the night in question, Dr. Drew had been found 
wandering the halls late at night, seemingly revived from 
his comatose state. Before he was discovered, an emergency 
had left the nurses' station empty for a few minutes, giving 
Drew the perfect opportunity to use the fax and obliterate 
traces of his work.  Scully wondered briefly if he had also 
instigated the emergency as part of his plan.  	
	How did this relate to the idea of Killer Bob?  Scully 
felt that with a little more investigation, a case against 
Dr. Stephen Drew could probably be constructed;  perhaps he 
was trying some convoluted scheme of vengeance against 
Cooper for the injuries he had received?  That explanation 
was certainly wanting-  it didn't explain Cooper's sudden 
recovery from insanity, for starters.  Scully pursed her 
lips and frowned.  She'd have to talk to Mulder about her 
discoveries before...looking up, Scully found herself 
standing in front of room 513- Dr. Drew's hospital room.  
Intrigued, she decided to have a look inside.

[1:32 PM]
	"Cooper, where's Scully?"  Mulder asked as he and 
Rosenfield returned with sandwiches and drinks.  Mulder 
tossed Cooper a bundle of clothes.  "My last clean shirt."
	"Thank you.  Scully wanted to check on Dr. Drew's 
activities the night of his death."
	"Smart thinking,"  Rosenfield observed.
	Mulder smiled inwardly and said aloud, "Scully has a 
head on her shoulders."
	"And a body to go with it, eh Mulder?"  Rosenfield 
cracked.
	"Since when were you ever interested in warm bodies, 
Rosenfield?"  Mulder drawled dangerously.  Before Albert 
could retaliate, Cooper held up a hand.  "I think we can all 
agree that Dana is a beautiful and intelligent woman.  Quite 
an agent."
	Cooper's been paying attention, Mulder thought 
irritably.  So where was she? 

[Mercy Hospital, Room 513]
	Scully opened the door slowly and stepped inside.  The 
blinds were half closed, filling the darkened room with 
zebra stripes of light.  The bed was made and empty, as  
were the trays and tables.  Scully squinted at the 
alternating light and darkness hitting her eyes as she 
approached the bed, reaching out to touch the metal side 
rail for guidance.  The metal felt cool to the touch until a 
tingle began creeping it's way from Scully's fingers to the 
back of her neck.  Blinking hard, Scully looked down at the 
railing, seeing her own distorted reflection in the polished 
metal.  She began to feel disoriented, the light from the 
blinds beginning to flash before her eyes.  Like my dream... 
she thought, as she again felt as if her soul was trying to 
leave her body.  Her eyes drifted shut and Dana sank to the 
floor.  Unseen to Scully, her reflection remained within the 
rail, writhing in silent turmoil.  In the darkness, a 
familiar figure began crawling his way over the abandoned 
hospital bed, gurgling with glee.

[1:53 PM]
	Mulder closed the file he was reading and ran a hand 
over his bottom lip.  His growing uneasiness was impossible 
to ignore.  Quickly making a decision, he pushed his chair 
back and stood.  "I'm going to go find Dana," he said, and 
left the room without waiting for the others to reply.

[2:08 PM]
	Scully closed the door behind her and stopped to take a 
deep breath.  She decided that all that caffeine and sugar 
early in the morning was making her feel so lightheaded.  
She turned and made her way down the hallway.  Her eyes 
blurred and then refocused, and what she saw made her gasp. 
	There at the end of the hall approached the man she had 
seen in her dreams.   Stringy hair, snarling mouth, tattered 
jean jacket-  it was Bob.  She glanced around sharply;  the 
people in the hallway seemed unaware of his presence.  Not 
wanting to draw her weapon in the hospital hallway, Scully 
moved to intercept him.  As she quickened her pace so did 
Bob, until a doctor walked in front of her view.  She shoved 
him roughly out of her way only to see Mulder at the end of 
the hall, just getting off of the elevator.
	"Where did he go?"  she asked urgently.
	"Where did who go?"  Mulder asked, taking a hold of 
Scully's elbows as she craned her neck to look beyond him.  
He  steered her towards the waiting area.  "Dana, slow down.  
Who did you see?"
	Dana pushed Mulder away and put her hands quickly 
through her hair.  "Mulder, I thought I saw..." she 
swallowed and drank in the waves of concern coming from 
Mulder's presence.  "Mulder, I saw Bob."
	"What? Here?" Mulder spun around, but saw no one 
unusual.  "You aren't kidding me, are you?" he asked, 
looking at her closely and knowing the answer.
	Scully wrapped her arms around herself and looked 
uneasy. "Mulder, I saw him coming towards me down the 
hallway and you say you feel he's near.  What does it all 
mean?"
	Mulder moved near and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"Let's ask Cooper."

[2:30 PM]
	"Is there anything else you can tell me?"  Cooper 
asked, now dressed in a suit and tie, courtesy of Mulder.  
Cooper and Scully were seated facing each other, knee to 
knee, the harsh afternoon light giving everything in the 
room a luminescent glow.
	  Scully considered briefly;  she had told Cooper 
everything- everything except for the deja vu she 
experienced in Drew's room, which she was rather embarrassed 
to disclose.  	
	Cooper continued,  leaning forward with sparkling eyes, 
"Dana, I had a dream last night as well.  I didn't see Bob;  
I spoke with a little man from another place.  He told me 
that Bob wanted to find me.  The vision you had confirms 
that Bob is looking for me.  He's somewhere in this 
hospital."	
	"Then we should prepare for him, if we can."  Scully 
replied, glancing over at Mulder to gauge his reaction to 
the situation.	
	Mulder stood leaning against the wall, his arms crossed 
in visible annoyance.  He had sensed that something was 
bothering Scully that morning and she knew that he was upset 
that she hadn't confided in him immediately.   She herself 
didn't know why she had held back that morning and glared 
back at him.
	Cooper smacked his knee with his hand.  "Agreed.  
Mulder, could you go get Albert?  I believe he's downstairs 
working on Dr. Drew's lab results."
	"Sure,"  Mulder replied coolly , obviously glad for an 
excuse to leave the two of them for a  while.  The look he 
gave her before leaving was one of hurt, disbelief, and 
anger;  it frightened her.
	Cooper, slightly puzzled at Mulder's tone, watched 
Mulder leave.   Glancing over at Scully, he touched her hand 
supportively.  "It won't be long now.  Bob is near, but 
we'll be ready for him." he said.
	Dana looked at Cooper and smiled strangely.

	Mulder walked quickly down the hallway, quietly 
smoldering over the jumble of emotions this case was 
generating within him.  Cooper, Dana, people he cared 
about...  He stared idly ahead of him, making his mind 
blank, thinking only of reaching the elevator to go find 
Rosenfield... Mulder stopped in his tracks, his jaw 
clenching. The elevator!  
	The doors to the elevator were closing directly in 
front of him but he made no effort to stop them.   Mulder 
was busy looking into his own reflection in the polished 
metal doors as his mind raced to understand the significance 
of this discovery. 
	There were elevators like this one on every floor at 
the end of every hallway;  Scully had been looking at her 
own reflection when she had the vision of Bob in the hallway 
upstairs.  Cooper, upon waking from his ordeal in 
Glastonbury Grove, had gone into his bathroom and smashed 
the mirror within, revealing his possession by Bob...  
Turning on his heel, Mulder sprinted back down the hallway, 
praying that his leap in logic would be just that.

	Mulder burst into Cooper's room to see Scully, with her 
back to him, hunched over Cooper's prone body lying 
motionless on the floor.  He said forcefully, "Dana!"
	While it was Scully's body crouched on the floor, the 
head that turned at Mulder's voice was that of Killer Bob.  
Mulder gasped and braced himself for the attack as he was 
slammed against the far wall with a viciousness that took 
his breath away.  He put his fists together and double-
clubbed the body wrapped around his waist.  Mercifully 
released, Mulder struggled not to double over but face his 
adversary, gasping for breath.  His eyes blurred and, 
suddenly, he was in a room with red curtains and a 
zigzagging floor.  Bob was there also, gnarled and seething 
a few meters from Mulder, his mouth twisted into a sinister 
smile. 
	"Where's Dana?!"  Mulder demanded, instantly accepting 
his situation as real. 
	Bob's face rippled with pure menace.  "Where's Dana?" 
he mimicked, wagging his head back and forth.  "Where's 
Dana?"
 	Suddenly, Dana was there, in front of Mulder, and Bob 
was gone.  Her red hair looked like dancing flames as the 
lights began to flicker, her pale complexion white in the 
harsh glare.  Mulder squinted in confusion.  "Dana?"  he 
asked, wanting to touch her but not daring to.
	Like a broken tape recorder, Dana replied jerkily, 
"Foxxx.  It's- me."  Her hand crept towards Mulder's face.  
At her words Mulder slapped it away in alarm and the replica 
froze.  Eyes glazed white, the doppleganger opened her mouth 
to emit a long animal screech.  Watching in horror, Mulder 
saw this image of Dana split in two, becoming an image of 
Scully superimposed upon that of Killer Bob.   The ethereal 
vision of Dana twisted as if struggling, then crumpled to 
the floor at Bob's feet and began to dissolve away.
	"Dana!"  Mulder cried, reaching down towards the fading 
image.   Bob, having lost Dana's image, and now standing in 
front of Mulder, stopped Mulder's downward movement by 
plunging a knife into his midsection.   Stunned, Mulder 
could only open his mouth in surprise and watch as Bob 
gurgled with pleasure, his confusion growing as Bob switched 
his image from his own to Dana's with each flicker of the 
lights.  Mulder felt hot pain overtake his senses and 
thought desperately, Dana....
	"Bob," a voice intoned from across the room, and the 
lights stopped flashing.  Bob withdrew the knife from Mulder 
and growled low in his throat at the interruption.  Mulder 
groggily looked up from the spreading red stain on his 
shirtfront to see Dale Cooper step through the far wall of 
red curtains and face Killer Bob.  "Run,"  Cooper ordered 
Mulder.  	Mulder ran without looking back.

	Cooper watched Mulder stumble through the curtains and 
his shadow make it's way through the corridors beyond.  He 
knew that Mulder's first priority would be to find Dana 
Scully, even if it meant losing his own life in the effort.  
What Mulder didn't know was that by finding Dana, he would 
probably save them all.
	"You-should-not be-here."  Bob was keeping his distance 
and Cooper felt a smile creep to his lips, but said nothing.
	"Doppleganger," Bob said.  "DOPPLEGANGER," he repeated 
to Cooper as a challenge, a call, a question.  Dale knew now 
that there would be no more tricks, no more Death;  this 
time, he was not alone.
	"Perhaps,"  Cooper answered, taking a careful step 
forward.  His heels clicked on the slick linoleum surface as 
he approached Bob, his smile widening into a grin.  "But 
watch out for my cousin."

	Mulder's rapid footsteps echoed on the smooth floor as 
he parted red curtains to reveal yet another identical red 
room.  Identical, except for a still figure sprawled across 
the center of the floor.
	Mulder slid on his knees to Scully's side and held her 
up gently, cradling her in his arms.  "Dana," he rasped, 
pushing aside the hair from her face, "Dana, can you hear 
me?"
	Scully grimaced, then her eyes focused on the red stain 
on Mulder's chest and her eyes opened wide.  "Mulder... " 
she gulped and began to sob.  Mulder felt nothing at that 
instant but an overwhelming feeling of joy that made him 
want to weep.  He squeezed his eyes tightly closed and 
placed his lips gently against her hair.  I found her.  I 
found her. he thought over and over again.  The room spun, 
and Mulder and Scully were back in the hospital room,  Dana 
crying silently into Mulder's lap, her arms wrapped tightly 
around his waist.  
	Mulder sat, unmoving, as he stared vacantly into the 
empty space on the floor where Dale Cooper's body should 
have been.   

	Cooper was advancing on Bob when the lights within the 
Red Room suddenly dimmed.  Bob began to cower and cover his 
ears with his hands as shafts of light broke through the 
darkness, streaming down from up above.  Cooper knew at that 
moment that Mulder and Scully were safe, that they were 
together.  He also knew exactly what he had to do next.
	Cooper stepped closer to Bob and a wall of fire sprang 
up to block his path.  As Cooper prepared himself to plunge 
into the flames, he could have sworn he could hear a sound 
in the distance-  the sound of... angels.

[Washington, D.C., eight days later]
	This must have been the shortest missing persons case 
in history, thought Scully as she reluctantly began placing 
papers into a yellow folder.  After only seven days the 
Bureau preferred to ignore the fact (or the embarrassment) 
that one of their own was missing and possibly quite 
dangerous;  instead, they sent the case downstairs and, they 
hoped, into obscurity.  "Not if Mulder can help it, "  
Scully vowed quietly, "or I."
	Fox Mulder entered their office and walked purposefully 
up to Scully's desk with his hands in his pockets.   He 
swayed on his heels for a moment, then said simply, "They 
found him."
	Scully dropped her pen, her glasses making her widening 
eyes look even wider. "Where?" she asked, holding her 
breath.
	Mulder opened his mouth, as if unsure whether or not to 
tell her, then rapidly making a choice.  "In Twin Peaks, " 
he replied, his eyes hardening.  "I've got a plane waiting."
	Scully stood immediately, picking up the file on her 
desk labeled "COOPER, DALE- CASE #X-001198" and headed for 
the door, Mulder right behind her.

[At 30,000 feet]
	Scully allowed her gaze to linger over the small photo 
of Dale Cooper that was included in the file-  even with his 
slicked-back hair and conservative dress, Cooper exuded an 
inner purity of spirit.  There was a wisdom in the depths of 
those dark liquid eyes, a wisdom that was matched  only by 
one other.  She closed the file, shaking her head.  There 
were too many questions and not enough answers...reasonable 
answers.
	Mulder leaned over and took the file from her hands.  
"Cooper's all right, Scully-don't worry.  Albert 's with him 
and has checked him out."
	Dana could hear the concern in Mulder's voice for her 
state of mind and suddenly realized how relived and nervous 
Mulder must be, as well.  She gave him a small smile and 
tilted her head a fraction.  "I'm glad Albert's there.  But 
what happened, Mulder? What is his condition?"
	"Cooper has a slight concussion and some scrapes and 
bruises.  Otherwise, he's still  in one piece.  I spoke with 
Sheriff Truman and he told me," Mulder shrugged his 
shoulders as if he didn't quite believe it himself, "he told 
me that Cooper just walked out of the woods and into the 
station." Mulder cracked a small smile, "Truman knew it 
really was Cooper because the first thing he asked for was a 
cup of coffee."
	"And what do you think?" Scully asked, scanning his 
face.
	Mulder looked down at Scully and said with assurance, 
"I believe that Cooper, somehow, has made it back."
	Scully took in a large breath.  "Back from where?  
Mulder, how did Cooper get to Twin Peaks from Watmok, 
Arizona?"
	"Scully..." Mulder began, then stopped, and looked out 
the window.  He didn't turn back towards her and began 
quietly, "Scully, you need to talk, no we need to talk, 
about what happened in Arizona.  I know what I experienced,"  
he turned to look at her face again, "but you haven't told 
me everything."
	Lowering her eyes, Scully began twining her hands and 
replied evasively, "You read my report, Mulder."
	Anger crept into Mulder's voice.  "Damn it Dana, you 
know I read it.  And you know what I did after I read it?  I 
went straight to Personnel and personally shredded your 
reprimand."  Dana looked up at Mulder, anger now in her 
eyes.  His voice rising, Mulder continued anyway.  "No Dana, 
you won't be getting a reprimand in your record, because I 
know that you did not have a mental breakdown that day in 
Arizona, due to fatigue or stress or whatever you had 
written down, because *I know you*.  Tell me," he demanded, 
then balled his fists and with head bent said almost 
pleadingly, "tell me what happened to you, Dana."  Mulder 
paused, and then said almost as an afterthought, "If....if 
you can't tell me, at least talk to Cooper when we see him.  
You can't just let this go."
	Dana sat, trembling with emotion, trying to stay 
composed.  Even her dreams were a distant memory now, and 
remembrances of that day in Arizona were really just 
fragmented images and feelings;  feelings she wanted to keep 
secret.  There was only one image that she clearly recalled, 
and that was what frightened Scully the most.  She felt hot 
tears welling up in her eyes and reached a hand out 
tentatively towards Mulder's bent head.  "I-" she stammered, 
trying to overcome  the catches in her throat.  Mulder 
looked up slowly at the sound of her voice and Scully gently 
put her hand on his cheek.  The tears began to flow in 
earnest, and she said brokenly, "I tried to kill you 
Mulder... and that's all I remember."
	 Mulder quelled whatever emotions he was feeling at the 
sight of Scully's anguish.  He unselfishly pulled her close 
to him, murmuring, "It's okay Scully, I know it wasn't you;  
it wasn't you, Dana." He took her by the shoulders as she 
wiped away tears and said with conviction, "Dana, that 
wasn't you.  You fought him and you won, you hear me?  You 
fought Bob and you won."
	Scully nodded slightly, clearly embarrassed by her show 
of emotion.  But now that she had confronted it, she began 
to speak, softly at first, then growing louder and more 
animated as the need to express herself grew.  Mulder sighed 
and listened to every word she said, giving small smiles of 
encouragement, nods of understanding, occasionally 
interjecting with a tangent of his own perspective.  
Eventually, they reached the events that they both felt 
uneasy talking about.  Scully really had no memory of the 
events in the Red Room, except for the feelings- her inner 
turmoil as she saw some part of herself, some image of 
herself, attack Mulder.  
	
	Mulder accepted Scully's explanation of how much she 
saw and believed happened.  He watched her emotions, usually 
so guarded, bubble right behind her eyes as she told him how 
she had experienced fear as she had never known before.  He 
wondered how difficult it was for her to admit these 
feelings to him, reminding himself just how difficult-and 
revealing- it was to look at his own emotions during their 
situation, especially when he had thought Dana...
	Scully looked sideways at Mulder, then said scoldingly, 
"Mulder, you aren't even listening to me anymore."
	Mulder let his gaze fall, then he looked up again into 
her glinting grey eyes.   He said softly, "It's not the 
words that matter, Scully.  It's the truth behind them."
	Scully pondered this for a moment, then flashed Mulder 
a grateful smile.  They sat in silence, listening to the 
droning of the airplane until Scully said suddenly,  "I 
could never hurt you, Mulder."
	Mulder's hands drifted absently towards his middle.  "I 
know," he replied simply.
 	"I never meant to hurt you,"  Scully said, her hands 
finding his.
	Mulder sighed and squeezed her hands. Again, the tumble 
of emotions this case created within him threatened to 
expose themselves for analysis.  He didn't want to examine 
them.  Nevertheless, Scully was waiting for some sort of 
response.  "Everyone loves Cooper,"  he said finally.
	"You said that before," Scully replied instantly, 
making sure that Mulder was looking into her eyes as she 
spoke.  She blinked for a minute, then said deliberately, 
"but I don't love Cooper."  Mulder dropped her hands and 
turned his head towards the window.  Scully continued 
earnestly. "Mulder, you know that."
	Mulder brought his hand to his mouth and bobbed his 
head, then turned to Scully with a smile in his hazel eyes 
and replied, "I know." 
                                                                                                                                                                                              
	Scully closed her eyes and leaned back against her 
seat, drained.  She turned away from Mulder, her cheek 
pressing against the rough fabric of the plane seat, 
silently cursing herself, the Bureau, the X-files-  it 
seemed they had brought Mulder nothing but grief ever since 
she had known him.  "Yet," a familiar voice from her memory 
told her, "at least you respect the journey."  Scully smiled 
to herself and strained to hear the breathing of the man 
sitting next to her.  No, she thought to herself in sudden 
revelation, I don't love Dale Cooper;  there's someone else 
I care about and he's....
	"Scully," said Mulder.
	Startled and half-expecting Mulder to complete her 
thought, Scully turned to Mulder, only to find him pointing 
out the window.
	"Welcome to Twin Peaks."

	Mulder studied Dana's profile as she leaned over him to 
get a better look at the town below.  He had a feeling he 
understood what she had been trying to tell him earlier and 
he marveled, not for the first time, at the powers that be 
that had brought them together.

	Dusk was fast approaching as Mulder and Scully piled 
into the four-by-four.
	"Are they expecting us?"  Scully asked sarcastically as 
she  threw her gear into the flatbed and scanned the empty 
parking lot.
	"They'd probably seriously handicap  their law 
enforcement staff by asking someone to meet us,"  Mulder 
quipped.  "This is a small town, Scully.  I bet this car 
constitutes half of their fleet."
	Scully climbed into her side of the car and sighed, 
"Well, I guess we get the scenic tour.  You know Mulder, I 
dated a park ranger once."
	"Oh yeah?"  Mulder said mischievously as he climbed 
into his seat.  "Was his name Smmokey?"
	Scully gave Mulder a glare and continued to speak;  not 
about cases or other Bureau business, but about anything 
other than work.  Scully told Mulder about the time she beat 
both of her brothers in a canoe race while Mulder told 
outrageously tall tales about his camping days as a Boy 
Scout, the two of them sharing memories and learning about 
each other from a whole different perspective.
 	Her sides hurting from laughter, Scully felt like she 
had no secrets from Mulder;  in so many words, she had told 
him all about her fears and feelings- and their bulwark of 
mutual trust was once again in place.  She never felt closer 
to Mulder than she did now.  She was reminded of what Cooper 
had told her- he had said that secrets were dangerous 
things, and Scully believed that now more than ever. "You 
were right, Cooper," she murmured to herself.
	"What?  What was Cooper right about this time,"  Mulder 
asked easily.
	"He...was right about the trees here. They're 
beautiful,"  Scully replied, smiling.  Well, some of the 
mystery had to be kept in their relationship...

	Nightfall deepened the shadows in the surrounding 
forest as Scully and Mulder pulled up to the Twin Peaks 
sheriff's headquarters.  "Ghostwood Forest, "  Mulder had 
informed her earlier, a wry smile twisting his lips, 
"Spooksville, U.S.A."  Scully squinted and tried to 
penetrate the woodland gloom and decided with a shudder that 
she had developed quite a healthy dislike for trees.  
	A very tall slim man with thinning hair in a deputy's 
uniform saw them approach and entered the station calling 
excitedly, "Sheriff Truman! Sheriff Truman?  They're here!"
	Mulder and Scully walked up the steps and were greeted 
by a rugged-looking man with a mop of dark brown curly hair 
and deep brown eyes.  His voice was gruff but kindly.
 	"I'm Sheriff Truman.  Welcome to Twin Peaks,"  he 
gestured to the tall deputy who was hurrying away, "that was 
Deputy Andy."
	Mulder shook Truman's hand, "I'm Special Agent Fox 
Mulder, we spoke on the phone, and this is my partner, 
Special Agent Dana Scully."
	"Ma'am.  Cooper's been waiting for you two to arrive."
	"Has he told you what happened to him, sheriff?" asked 
Scully.
	"No ma'am, not a peep.  I was hoping you two could clue 
me in.  He wanted to wait for you to be here.  Right now 
he's..."
	"Right here, Harry."  Cooper stepped out through the 
glass doors and joined them on the steps.  He and Mulder 
clasped hands.  "I was meditating just now until I sensed 
your arrival," he informed them, then held up a hand.  "It's 
okay;  I had enough time to complete my mantra and feel 
completely refreshed.  I'm sure you all have a lot of 
questions and I am now ready to answer them.  As soon as 
Albert gets back with the coffee and pie I sent out for,"  
he finished with a grin.  "You'll never taste better 
anywhere else."
	Truman chuckled, placed a hand on Cooper's shoulder, 
and said solemnly, "Coop, this town hasn't been the same 
since you left."
	Scully looked at Cooper fondly and asked, "Cooper, how 
are you feeling?"
	He turned to her and said assuredly, "Agent Scully, I 
feel great.  The door to the Black Lodge has been closed and 
Bob is trapped inside."  He tilted his head slightly and 
then said, "Albert will be arriving shortly."
	A car careened into the parking lot and Rosenfield 
emerged from inside, carrying a large thermos of coffee.  
"Fox!" he barked at the sight of them, struggling to get his 
keys free from his black trench coat, "Don't just stand 
there like the damned Secret Service, give me a hand with 
this swill."
	Mulder shook his head with a smile and moved down the 
steps to help Rosenfield as darkness rapidly approached.  
Truman gestured for everyone to go inside when they all 
froze at the sound of an owl hooting somewhere near, from 
within the woods.
	Scully looked into the blackness of the densely packed 
trees and shivered.  "Cooper," she asked, folding her arms 
and squinting at him through the deepening night, "how can 
you be so sure that Bob won't return?  Where have  you been 
these past eight days?"
	Rosenfield stepped up to stand next to Truman and 
Mulder moved close to Dana's side.  They all looked at 
Cooper intently as he placed his hand on Dana's shoulder.  
	"That," he replied, with a look of anticipation in his 
eyes and slight weariness in his voice, "is a whole other 
story."   
	Dale Cooper turned silently towards the doors of the 
sheriff's station followed by Dana and the others, leading 
them away from the foreboding darkness of the night and into 
the light...
				
	The End
		


Out of the Woods
By Peggy Li