Old Growth Forest
Andrea


ardywyn@hotmail.com



Author: Andrea

Title: Old Growth Forest; Chapter 1

Category: AU, MSR, Scully POV

Disclaimer: I wish...then there would be no ninth season,
never mind a semi-Mulderless eighth.

Archiving: I'd be honoured, but I'd also like to know.

Notes: I won't be posting this to ATXC until it's done.
As I finish each chapter, I'll put it on my site. A big thanks
goes out to Jemirah for her patient beta reading

Spoilers: Detour, Humbug

Feedback: Yes Please! ardywyn@hotmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"God, my head hurts," I groaned as I began to surface from a 
strange, dark place where there were no dreams. It wasn't just
my head that hurt. My whole body hurt and something sharp was 
pushing into my back. The first thing I saw when I dragged my
eyes open was trees; lots and lots of trees.

"What the...?" I muttered as I tried to sit up. The effort
doubled the pain in my head, however, so I stayed put. But I 
needed to find Mulder--he might be hurt. I took several deep
cleansing breaths trying to ease the pain in my head. 

"Scully?" I was very relieved to hear Mulder's voice calling me.

"Over here," I answered him. Some crunching of leaves and 
snapping of twigs began and then got louder as he approached me.

"You look as bad as I feel," he observed; his voice much closer
now.

Opening one eye, I squinted at him. "Thanks, Mulder."

"Are you okay?" he asked, squatting down beside me.

"My head is pounding and my whole body aches. I feel like I was
on the losing side of an argument with a bottle," I winced.

"I know what you mean." Mulder rubbed his temple.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked, still looking over at him with
one eye open.

"In the forest," Mulder deduced with his usual brilliance.

"Thanks," I sighed.

"Best I can do," he shrugged. "What's the last thing you 
remember?"

"Being at the professor's house *and* having a cup coffee. We 
should have known better." I shook my head slightly. The motion
made me feel queasy.

"He looked so harmless," Mulder grimaced. "But it looks like we
were on the right track."

"Yeah, he must have been responsible for those disappearances, 
but why?" My head hurt too much to think about it.

"I dunno, but at least we know the how." He reached out and
brushed a strand of hair off of my face. 

"What? Drugging them and depositing them in woods? That doesn't
make any sense. If that's all that Dr. Mettler did with them,
someone would have turned up by now," I argued.

"Maybe they died of exposure," Mulder countered.

"In the summer?"

"If they were out here for too long," he suggested.

"Exactly how far do you think we are from Madison?" I asked.

"No idea," he shook his head.

"Well, what time is it?"

"My watch is gone and so is my wallet and all of my I.D. I have
my Swiss Army knife. At least he left me that."

I felt for my watch and I.D.--nothing. "Great," I sighed.

"I'm starting to feel a bit better now, Scully. How about you?"
he asked softly.

"Not yet," I groaned.

"Why do I feel better and not you?" he sounded concerned.

"Your size--your body processed the drug faster," I explained.

"Right," he nodded. "Do you mind if I look around? Maybe I can 
figure out where we are."

"Go ahead. Talking is making my head hurt, anyway." I closed my
eye again. "See if you can find some water too." My mouth was
incredibly dry.

"Good idea," he agreed. "I won't be long."

The sound of leaves and twigs signaled his leaving. Soon I
couldn't hear him any more. Keeping very still to keep the
pain at a minimum, I tried to focus on my breathing. Anything 
would be better than this throbbing in my head.

I must have fallen asleep or lost consciousness because the next
thing I knew, cold water was being splashed on my face.  Opening
my eyes revealed a very relieved-looking Mulder.

"I couldn't wake you," his voice seemed a bit shaky.

"Just the effects of whatever he gave us, Mulder, don't worry.
It'll wear off soon," I tried to reassure him.

"Can you sit up so that you can have a drink?"

Glancing around, I was surprised to find myself lying next to a
stream.

"I found some water," he grinned at me.

"How far did you carry me?" I asked in surprise.

"Not far, a few hundred yards, maybe," he shrugged.

"Thank you, Mulder," I smiled up at him.

"It was easier than bringing the mountain to Muhammad," he 
pointed out with a smile.

Mulder helped me to sit up and then, using his hands, brought me
some water. It was cool and refreshing; I felt better almost
immediately. Most of my symptoms could have simply been 
dehydration. When I'd had enough to drink Mulder took off his
jacket and balled it up so that I could use it for a pillow.

"Did you find anything?" I asked after he'd eased me onto my back
again.

"Nope."

"Nothing?" I asked in surprise.

He shook his head. "I even climbed the biggest tree I could find.
I still couldn't see anything but trees."

"I didn't know that Wisconsin was this heavily forested." I was
puzzled.

"There is something else bothering me too, Scully," Mulder said,
his voice low and even.

"What?" I didn't like the sound of his voice--it scared me.

"There were no tire tracks anywhere near where we woke up and
no marks indicating that we were dragged there," he informed me
quietly.

"You must have missed them," I said, my tone hopeful. I knew that
Mulder never missed things like that.

He shook his head and began to chew on his lip.

"Then how did we get here?" I was beginning to get scared. We 
had come to Wisconsin to investigate the disappearance of some 
homeless people and now we were lost.

"I don't have a clue," he admitted. "When I climbed that tree, I
couldn't see anything that resembled a road or a telephone pole.
All I saw was a wisp of smoke, maybe five miles from here."

"So he dropped us in some remote part of Wisconsin, but there
are no roads..." I let my voice trail off.

"I dunno, Scully, but I think we should set up camp here for the 
night. In the morning, if you're up to it, we should walk towards
that smoke I saw," he suggested.

Since I didn't have a better plan, or any plan for that matter, I
nodded in agreement.

After Mulder brought me some more water, I felt well enough to
stand up. I was a bit shaky at first, but after I walked around
for a few minutes, I began to feel more like myself.

"It's going to take forever for you to get anywhere with those 
on," Mulder nodded towards my shoes.

"I wasn't planning on hiking when I put these on," I informed him
haughtily. They were one of my favorite pairs--so what if the
heels were four inches high?

"You want to have a go at starting a fire while I get some 
branches for a lean-to?" he asked, ignoring my comment.

"Can I borrow your knife for a minute before you go?"

Taking it out of his pocket, he tossed it at me. As groggy as I
was, I still managed to catch it one-handed. Then I found some
dry twigs and branches and Mulder watched intently as I carved a 
notch into one of them. When I was done I clicked the 
knife shut and tossed it back to him. He made a point of catching
it with one hand. I ignored him and began to work on my fire.

"I'll be looking forward to a nice fire when I get back," he
smirked.

"Okay," I answered brightly. I'd show him.

When he disappeared into the trees I gathered some dead grass and 
leaves. I put some of the grass into the notch that I'd made.
Since the wood was so dry, it didn't take long to create enough 
heat to ignite the grass--maybe ten minutes. Once it was going,
I slowly fed bigger and bigger fuel into it. By the time Mulder 
appeared, dragging several tree branches behind him, I had a nice
little fire going.

"Easy when the wood's dry, huh?" he nodded towards my fire.

"Why is it that when I manage to do something, it must be easy ?"
I snapped at him.

"I meant compared to that time in Florida, when everything was so
wet," he explained, looking hurt by my attack.

"I'm sorry, Mulder. I don't know why I got so defensive." Tears
began to well up in my eyes.

Dropping his branches, Mulder knelt down beside me. "We've been
through quite a lot, Scully. You're a bit tense, no big deal."

His gentleness made me feel even worse. I felt a tear spill onto
my cheek. "We'll get through this, Scully. We always do," he
misinterpreted my tears.

I nodded. "I know and I'll try to help instead of bitching."

"Help? You've helped. It would've taken me a lot longer to start 
a fire and I was an Indian Guide," he grinned.

I knew he was trying to appease me, but it still made me feel
better. "Well, let's get that lean-to built before it gets dark,"
I changed the subject.

"Do you think this might be some elaborate scheme set up by the
Bureau to get us some team building skills?" Mulder grinned as
he helped me up.

"Yeah, that must be it," I laughed.

Working together, it took no time to construct our crude shelter.
As we stood back and took in our work, Mulder took a deep breath.

"Well, Scully, I'm starving. Why don't you build up the fire some
more and I'll see if I can catch some fish."

"With what?" I looked at him in surprise.

"I'll carve myself a spear," he informed me.

"A spear?" I laughed, deciding not to make the obvious "Survivor" 
joke.

"Do you doubt me?" he feigned shock.

"Not at all," I tried to suppress a smile.

After the great white hunter left camp, I tended the fire and
then made a bed of sorts in the lean-to. I was just beginning to
think that Mulder might have gotten lost when I heard him
approaching through the woods. While I'd been waiting for him, 
I'd built a spit of sorts over the fire in the hope that he would
actually catch some fish. I was starving, so when he strode into
view carrying three fish, I was overjoyed.

He'd already cleaned them and was pleased with my spit set-up.
While he went down to the stream to wash up, I skewered one of 
the fish and began to rotate it slowly over the fire. When he 
returned, Mulder said nothing; he just watched intently as I 
cooked the fish. It took no time at all and when I was done, I
gave the fish to him. Judging by the way he'd watched so raptly,
I figured he must have been ravenous too.

"I'll wait until the next one is done, Mulder. They cook so 
fast," I waved him off when he offered me some of his trout.

Then, while I ate mine, he cooked the third. Again, when it was
done, he offered some to me. I lied and told him that I'd had 
enough. I decided that he needed it more than I did, even if I 
was still a bit hungry.

By the time we were finished, the light was beginning to fade. At
the creek we drank our fill and then washed our hands and faces.
The cool water on my skin was refreshing. I realized as we walked 
toward the lean-to that I was feeling much better. The effect of
the drug that we'd been given had dissipated.

Before we retired to the lean-to, I carefully banked the fire. I
didn't want to start a forest fire, but I didn't want to start a
new fire in the morning, either. 

As soon as the sun went down, the temperature dropped
significantly. Maybe Mulder was right; maybe the victims had died
of exposure. But that still didn't explain Dr. Mettler's motives.
Why would he deposit people in the wilderness alive, only to have
them die later? It made no sense to me.

"Here we are, cold and lost in the forest again, Scully and 
still no sleeping bag," Mulder chuckled once we'd closed the 
make-shift door on our shelter.

"I'm thankful that neither one of us is injured, Mulder," I 
pointed out.

"I am too, Scully. I was really worried about you earlier," he
confessed.

"I'm fine now, Mulder. Completely over it, I think. Just--" I put
my hand to my mouth to stifle a yawn. "Just bone tired."

"I'm wiped too," he yawned as well.

In the growing darkness, I could barely make out his form, but I
saw him sit down on our pine-bough bed.

"More comfortable than a futon," he laughed. "See for yourself."

"Let me get my shoes and nylons off first." After toeing off my
shoes, I quickly shimmied out of my nylons. "What should I do 
with these?"

"Your shoes?" he asked.

"No, the nylons. I'm not planning to put them back on," I 
clarified.

"Keep them," he said quickly. "You never know what we might be 
able to use them for."

"Right," I agreed, joining him on the boughs. We had no idea how
long it might be until we found civilization again.

"Just like my tie," he added as I slipped my jacket off. "I'm not
planning on wearing it, but it might come in useful."

As I settled onto my side, I was surprised to feel Mulder cover
me with his jacket.

"Mulder, I'll be okay. Won't you need your jacket?" I protested.

"I'm hot-blooded, I'll be fine," he assured me. "Besides, I was
planning to cozy up to you."

"Let's spread my jacket out over the pine needles. It won't be as
good as a pillow, but at least we won't lose an eye," I 
suggested.

Mulder chuckled as he helped me smooth out my jacket. Soon we 
were settled into the pine bed again.

"Smells like you," Mulder noted.

"What?!"

"Your jacket smells like you. It's nice," he explained.

"Oh--thanks." I had no idea that Mulder knew what I smelled like.

As we lay there, I realized that was he right. He was 
hot-blooded. Even though we weren't touching, I could feel the 
heat radiating off of his body.

"You *are* warm," I mumbled sleepily.

He stirred and moved closer to me; spooning up against me and
draping his arm over my waist.

"Is that better?" he asked.

"Much," I sighed before I knew what I was saying.

"Mmm," was all he said, his breathing already beginning to slow.

He must have thought I was referring to his body heat and not the
feeling of his well-muscled frame pressed against me. Any other 
time it would have kept me up all night, but I was so exhausted
that I fell asleep almost instantly.

When I woke in the morning, Mulder was gone. I could hear the
fire crackling outside. It reminded me of camping, which 
immediately made me think of what I disliked about it--peeing
outside. But my bladder had no concern for my squeamishness. I
could only hope that we wouldn't be camping for too long.

I was back tending the fire when Mulder reappeared--with fish;
five fish.

"Five?" I chuckled.

"I was still hungry when all of the fish was gone last night and
I think that you were too," he explained as he prepared one of 
the fish.

"I was fine," I brushed off his comment.

"Scully, I know that you let me have all of that fish even though
you were still hungry. Don't deny it," he challenged me.

"I'm not denying it. I said I was fine. I didn't say I was full, 
but I knew that I wasn't going to starve, either. You need more
calories than I do. That's all there is to it," I shrugged.

"Most people would only think of themselves, Scully," he pointed
out.

"I was thinking about myself," I grinned. "If I didn't give you 
enough to eat, you wouldn't have had the strength to catch these
fish."

This time when all of the fish was gone, I felt full and Mulder
insisted that he was too. Although I'd been very hungry, I hoped 
that we would be able to expand our diet soon. Fish three times
a day was not something that I looked forward to. I prayed that I
would have a choice.

Before we began our journey, we made sure that the fire was out,
dousing it with sand and what little water we could carry in our
hands. It took a while, but we couldn't risk leaving live embers.

When we were finally satisfied that it was out, we started our
hike towards the smoke that Mulder had seen. The ground was 
fairly even and firm, so it was easier going in my heels than I
had anticipated. Mulder still got ahead of me, but he kept 
stopping and waiting for me.

Once when I'd lost him, I was surprised to hear his voice 
overhead.

"Hey, Scully!"

"See anything?" I asked when I spied him in a tree.

"Just that smoke--and we're getting closer. It looks like
whoever it is might be camping next to this stream, too."

While I waited for him to climb down, I took the opportunity to
get a drink of water.

"How close are we?" I asked when he'd reached the ground again.

"Halfway, maybe," he said apologetically.

"It's not your fault, Mulder. It's mine; damn shoes."

"Neither of us knew what we were getting into," he countered.

"I guess," I sighed. "I don't know why I wear these ridiculous
shoes anyway." Well, I did know, but I wouldn't admit why to
Mulder. I'm sure he would have found it quite amusing that I was
trying to appear leggier.

"I like them," Mulder said, looking at my feet. "But I like those
ones with the strap across the heel better."

"Yeah?" I chuckled.

He cleared his throat and fidgeted nervously.

"I think they would've been even less practical," I pointed out,
grinning at him.

"Probably," he agreed, not meeting my eyes. "Ready to go?"

Not long after we were on our way again, Mulder disappeared
ahead of me. I couldn't help wondering why Mulder noticed my 
shoes. I had no idea that he paid any attention to anything that
I wore. 

Soon the trees began to thin out somewhat and the stream widened
into a pool. As I looked at the shimmering water, I didn't notice
some bushes that were growing quite close to my chosen path
until one of them scraped against my leg.

"Damn," I muttered as I bent to examine the scratches. It was
then that I realized just what I'd brushed up against, and 
squealed with delight.

"Mulder!" I yelled as loud as I could, but he didn't respond. I
ran as best I could on my heels and called him again. Then I
heard him running back towards me.

"I'm okay," I called. "I found something."

He appeared from around a bend in the creek about 20 yards  in
front of me.

"What?" he panted. "What did you find?"

"Raspberries," I grinned and then took his hand to lead him back
to the patch I'd found.

"I walked right by here and never noticed them," Mulder shook his
head when I showed him the bushes.

"Scratched my leg." I pointed to my calf.

"Now aren't you glad that you're wearing a skirt," he grinned,
his mouth already full of raspberries.

Although we had no idea what time it was, we decided to call our
berry feast lunch and we took a breather. I made no mention of 
the fact that my feet were throbbing. Looking back, I realized 
that I should have put my nylons back on this morning because my
shoes were rubbing my feet raw. I would've liked nothing better 
than to soak my aching feet in the cool water of the stream, but 
I knew I would never be able to get my shoes back on if I took 
them off now.

When we were under way again, I was waiting for Mulder to get 
ahead of me, because all of this water that I was drinking
was going right through me. For some reason, though, he never got
very far in front of me. If I slowed down, he would keep pace 
with me.

"What are you doing, Mulder?" I finally had to ask.

"What do you mean?" He was the picture of innocence.

"All morning you were way ahead of me and now, all of a sudden,
you are stuck to me like glue."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" He looked puzzled.

"As a matter of fact, I am," I told him honestly.

I had to chuckle at the look of hurt and confusion on his face,
which only added to his dismay.

"I was hoping for a bit of privacy," I tried to explain 
delicately.

He looked confused for a minute, but then his eyes widened in 
realization. "Sorry," he mumbled and I noticed that his ears had
turned a little pink before he strode off.

It took me no time to catch up to him. Apparently he'd only 
walked 100 yards ahead and then stopped to wait.

"Why did you wait for me?" I asked once we were walking again.

"I realized when you called me earlier that it was probably a 
bad idea to get separated," he explained.

"Did I scare you," I asked in surprise.

"A bit, but that's okay. We should stay together from now on,"
he suggested.

"Stupid shoes," I muttered, making Mulder chuckle.

It seemed like forever until Mulder said that we should be 
getting close. Right about that time, I began to hear an 
occasional noise in the woods, like someone was following me. 
When I stopped to listen, I heard nothing. Mulder shrugged it 
off as an echo, but that didn't satisfy me. If it was an echo, 
why hadn't I heard it all along?


Before long, we could actually smell the smoke and some meat 
cooking. We also heard muted voices, but we couldn't make out 
what they were saying. As we rounded another bend in the stream,
the trees thinned out revealing the most incredible thing I'd
ever seen. It was the most realistic looking recreation of a 
Native American village that I'd ever seen. Mulder and I stood
stock still and stared.

There were several large wigwams supported by sturdy poles and 
covered in birch bark. Several fires were actually burning; 
Mulder must have seen the large one that seemed to be the center 
of the encampment. There were several women tending the various
fires, all dressed in deer-skins. Some older women were sitting 
on the ground occupied with needlework while simultaneously
watching the children who were running about the camp. One of 
these women spotted us and spoke a few sharp words that I didn't
understand. All of the activity stopped, save the children 
dashing towards their mothers.

I was about to suggest to Mulder that we introduce ourselves and
tell them that we were lost when I felt something brushing 
against my hair. Gasping, I turned to see what it was. I was 
shocked to see a young Native American man pulling his hand away.

It was hard to judge his age, but I would have guessed that he
was in his early twenties. He wore nothing but a breech-cloth,
not even shoes. Nothing adorned his head and he wore no jewelry.
His red-brown skin highlighted his lean, muscled body. His hair
and eyes gleamed black.

"Fox Mulder." Mulder held out his hand.

The young man ignored him and reached towards my hair again. I 
let him touch it. At first he rubbed it between his fingers, but
then he suddenly gave it a sharp tug.

"Ow," I complained.

He stepped back, looking shocked until Mulder began to laugh. The
young man relaxed.

"I take it he's never seen red hair before, Scully," Mulder 
chuckled.

"Never?" I couldn't believe it.

"I don't think he speaks English," Mulder said in a low voice.
"Fox Mulder," he repeated, tapping his chest. "Dana Scully," he
said pointing to me.

"Day-na," the young man repeated.

"Fox," Mulder said, indicating himself again.

"Day-na," he repeated, ignoring Mulder. He took me by the hand 
and led me towards the center of the village. All I could do was 
shrug at Mulder over my shoulder. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Old Growth Forest, WIP, chapter 2

Rating: This chapter is PG, but the story will be NC-17
eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The small crowd that had assembled was whispering and staring at 
Mulder and me, but they fell silent and gave way as we approached
the central fire. The young native motioned for me to sit down
at the fire. When Mulder began to sit down beside me, he was 
waved off and directed to sit behind me. So I stuck out my bottom
lip and patted the ground beside me. 

My gesture made the women murmur and then smile knowingly. It 
seemed that my gesture had given them the impression that we were
a couple. They wouldn't be the first to make that assumption. 
Dropping his shoulders in resignation, the sole male we had seen 
motioned for Mulder to join me.

"It looks like your hair makes you intriguing," Mulder noted in 
a low voice once he was beside me.

"What's going on here, Mulder?" I whispered. "Who are these
people?"

At first I thought that we'd stumbled upon a group of Native
Americans who had gone back to the old ways, but I now I doubted
that. It was rapidly becoming apparent that there had been little
or no contact between these people and the outside world. How was
that possible in this day and age?

The young man startled me by suddenly speaking very sharply. His
words made the women begin to scurry around. In no time, Mulder
and I had each been given a bowl of some sort of stew and another
of what tasted like herbal tea. We were both eating hungrily when
one of the women handed both of us a piece of flatbread that I
assumed was bannock. Everything was delicious and when all of my
food was gone, I licked my fingers. Glancing up, I caught Mulder
doing the same thing.

The women all smiled proudly, obviously happy that we'd enjoyed 
the fare. Then one of the younger women indicated that she wanted
me to come with her. But when I attempted to get up, I winced in
pain. 

"What's the matter?" Mulder asked. His face, along with the faces
of those gathered around, showed concern.

"It's my feet," I grimaced.

"What's wrong with them?" He furrowed his brow.

"I should've put my nylons back on. It feels like I have some
pretty bad blisters," I told him as I reached to remove a shoe.

Mulder drew in a sharp breath when I eased my left shoe off.

"Jesus, Scully!"

Everyone clustered around to peer at my foot. The back of my heel
was completely raw and bloody. On the side of my foot, on my 
first metatarsal joint, was another large open sore. In fact, my 
whole foot was badly swollen. Removing the other shoe, I 
discovered that my right foot was just as bad or maybe even 
slightly worse than my left foot.

Before I could stop him, the young man had grabbed my shoes and
pitched them into the fire. When I looked at him in shock, he 
pointed to my feet and shook his head, frowning. He must have 
thought that my shoes were ridiculous too.

The women were all talking at once and the man bent over me like 
he was going to pick me up.

"Hey! I'll do that!" Mulder protested before I'd a chance to
speak.

When he jumped up, the young man backed off, seeming to 
understand that Mulder thought that carrying me was *his* duty. 
Before I could explain that I could have walked easily with bare 
feet, Mulder had picked me up and was carrying me across the 
encampment. He was following the young man and most of the women 
were trailing after us.

Motioning for us to wait, the young man went into a large wigwam.
We could hear him talking and a deeper voice answering him. He 
popped his head out of the door and beckoned us inside. Before my
eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the deeper voice began to
speak. Again I had no idea what he what he was saying, but I 
heard my name. 

"I'm Dana," I said to the hazy form.

"Day-na," he repeated and gestured for Mulder to put me down.
Then he pointed to himself and said "Omiga,".

"Omiga," I repeated pointing towards him. "Dana," I said 
indicating myself and then did same with Mulder.

Soon, at least we knew each other's names. Then I was able 
to learn that the young man's name was Nawkaw. Even though I 
couldn't understand anything that was being said, knowing
some names made me feel better for some reason. 

Omiga began to speak to me in an earnest tone of voice. Then, 
with his large bony hands, he picked up each foot in turn. Having
adjusted to the half light, I could see the look of consternation
on his face.

Nawkaw was still standing just inside the door. Turning to face
him, Omiga seemed to give him some instructions. 

"Mulder, Day-na," Omiga nodded towards the door.

Mulder got to his feet quickly and stooped to pick me up. I waved
him off. 

"I can walk, Mulder," I assured him and began to stand up.

"Day-na!" Omiga barked my name, making me freeze. "Mulder," he
said, nodding towards me.

"Fine," I sighed in resignation. 

Mulder chuckled as he picked me up. "Is that all I have to do to
get my way--speak firmly to you?"

"Why don't you try it and find out?" I asked dryly.

"I think I'll pass. I'm rather fond of all of my parts," he 
laughed as he carried me outside.

While Mulder and I were talking, Nawkaw seemed to be calling out
instructions. Almost immediately, one of the younger women was
leading Mulder back towards the stream. Once we were there, she
gestured for Mulder to set me down on a large flat rock. Then,
kneeling down, she began to wash my feet in the cool water.

"I can do that," I told her, reaching out to help.

Smiling, she shook her head at me and swatted my hand away. From
his perch on a rock beside me, Mulder laughed. I stuck my tongue 
out at him, defiantly, eliciting giggles from the young woman.

Although the cool water felt good on my feet, when it initially 
came into contact with each open wound, it burned and stung. My
cringing was upsetting the young woman, so to distract myself I 
tried to learn her name.

"Wanik," she told me when she finally understood what I was 
asking.

It seemed to me that the stinging had just begun to wane when 
Wanik gestured to Mulder to pick me up again.  When we got 
back to the fire, the good smells of the cooking had been 
replaced by a far more acrid smell. Omiga was crouched by the 
fire, stirring something in a cast-iron pot. That pot was the 
first vestige of civilization that I'd seen here.

From the deepness of his voice and the power that he seemed to
hold, I'd expected Omiga to be a bigger man. In his youth, he
must have been strong and lean, but now he was small and wizened.
His face was a mass of wrinkles and his long hair was mostly 
grey.

As we approached the fire, Omiga indicated that he wanted Mulder
to set me down by the fire. There were two large pieces of deer
skin there that Omiga had me to put my feet on. Mulder plunked
himself down beside me to watch. While Omiga continued to stir
his foul-smelling concoction, I was drawn to the activity in the
camp. Aside from the children, Omiga and Nawkaw seemed to be the
only men here. Judging from the number of children and the two
obviously pregnant women I saw, I assumed that there must be more
men somewhere--hunting presumably.

Whatever was happening here, I was being sucked right into it. I
was beginning to believe that I was in a real Native American
village, not just a convincing recreation. But I knew that wasn't 
possible. There was no way that a culture like this could have 
survived unaltered while the world around them moved on; at 
least, not in Wisconsin. It's not big enough to allow for the 
kind of isolation that would have been needed to create this 
society.

When I glanced at Mulder, I caught him looking around with the 
same sense of wonder that I was feeling. It was a small comfort 
to think that he was as perplexed as I was. My thoughts were 
interrupted by a sudden buzz in the village. As I was turning to
ask Mulder if he could see what was going on, a group of about 20
men began to stream into the village. Two of the younger men were
carrying a deer and most of the women hurried to help them.

Initially there seemed to be a lot of excitement about the deer,
until  Mulder and I were spotted. Then there was a great deal 
of talking at once. The man who seemed to be in charge approached
the fire. Speaking rapidly to Omiga, he nodded towards us.  But 
Omiga didn't get excited; he spoke slowly and softly to the large 
man. Interspersed with words that I didn't understand, I heard 
our names a couple of times. 

Leaning over to look at my feet, the man nodded, said a few words
and then left. From his stance and apparent authority, I assumed
him to be chief. All attention had left us and was now
focussed on the deer that was being taken to the woods on the 
opposite side of the encampment from the stream. Mulder took 
advantage of the lull in activity to find out who the man had
been.

"Namid," Omiga smiled at us and nodded.

"I take it Namid is the chief," Mulder said quietly.

"And he didn't look thrilled to see us," I added.

"I think Omiga put in a good word for us," he nodded towards the
old man.

"I think you're right," I let out a long breath. "I had no idea 
what he was saying, but his tone and demeanor scared me."

"Me too," Mulder confessed, surprising me.

I was about to ask him if he thought that everything had been
smoothed over, when Omiga began to say something. As he spoke, he
lifted a bag made from very thin skin out of the pot. I could 
tell that he was trying to explain to me what he was doing. So I
shook my head and shrugged to show him that I didn't understand.

He was silent for a minute, then he smiled and pointed at the
bag and then at my foot. I nodded to show him that I understood
now. Then he touched the bag and drew his hand away quickly to 
show me that it was hot--I nodded again. When he untied the bag
I could see that it was full of what looked like leaves and bark.

I drew a sharp breath when he set my heel into the steaming
mixture, but I nodded for him to continue when he quickly looked 
up at me. He then ensured that some of the leaves were covering 
my other blister. When he was satisfied, he wrapped my foot in 
the deer skin that it had been resting on. Then he repeated the
process on my right foot. When he was finished, I was surprised 
to find that I was clutching Mulder's hand.

"Are you okay?" He sounded worried.

"It stings, but that's okay," I assured him. "I assume this stuff
has some kind of antiseptic quality."

"I'm surprised that you'd trust folk medicine, Scully."

"How can I argue with the people who discovered acetylsalicylic
acid?" I grinned.

"What?" he laughed.

"Aspirin, Mulder...from willow bark," I clarified. "Besides, most
medicines come from plants. Through trial and error these people
have discovered what works."

"You can't not make it scientific, can you?" He rolled his eyes.

I was about to continue the debate when Wanik appeared with two 
bowls. Although it hadn't been that long since our last meal, I
was happy to see more food. As we ate, dusk settled over the camp
and quickly deepened.

Nawkaw appeared and spoke briefly to Omiga. The old healer stood 
up and followed him. While he was gone, a smiling Wanik came to
retrieve our empty bowls. Smiling, I rubbed my stomach to let her
know that I'd enjoyed it. She giggled shyly and then left.

"Now what?" Mulder wondered aloud. "Do you think that we're 
supposed to sleep here?"

"I dunno, maybe," I shrugged. "It would be better than most of 
the flea-bag motels that you pick."

"They're mostly clean," he defended himself.

"Mmm," I replied, noncommittally. I had begun to think that Omiga
wasn't coming back when his wrinkled face appeared in the circle
of firelight. He motioned for us to follow him, so Mulder 
scrambled to his feet and picked me up. We were led to a small 
wigwam and ushered inside. After Mulder set me down on the bed of
skins and furs, Omiga knelt down beside me and then leaned in to 
press his lips against my forehead. Without another word, he got
up and left us alone.

"Don't I get a good-night kiss?" Mulder pouted.

"He was checking to see if I was running a fever, Mulder," I 
chuckled.

"Likely story!"

"I'll kiss you good-night if you like," I offered.

In the darkness of our shelter I couldn't see Mulder's face, but
I could make out his kneeling form, not moving.

"I'll take that as a no," I said quietly, hoping to mask my
disappointment.

But then Mulder moved quickly, pressing his lips against mine
in a rather long, albeit chaste kiss. As soon as he pulled back
I missed the softness of his lips against mine.

"Happy now?" I asked as I lay down on my side.

"No, I'm one of those straight guys who hates kissing beautiful
women," he chuckled.

"Thank you, Mulder," I whispered.

"For what?" he asked as he settled in behind me.

"For saying that I am beautiful."

"Surely you didn't need me to tell you that you are a beautiful
woman, Scully." Mulder pulled a fur over me as he spoke.

"I guess it's been a long time since anyone told me that," I
confessed.

"I'm sorry," he gently apologized.

"It's hardly your fault, Mulder," I laughed. I was expecting him
to say something else, but he remained quiet.

"Isn't there something you want to talk about?" I asked after a
few minutes of silence.

"Like what?" He sounded surprised.

"Oh, I dunno. Like where are we? How have these people stayed so
isolated? Little things like that."

"I don't think that you want to know what I believe, Scully."

"Why not?"

"Because I think that we are only about five miles away from the
place that we had coffee yesterday," he informed me evenly.

"How is that possible?" I couldn't figure out what Mulder was 
thinking.

"Think about this, Scully. If you were doing research and you 
wanted to use human subjects, but you knew that you would never 
be given permission, what would you do?"

"You think that Dr. Mettler used homeless people because no one 
would miss them?" I clarified.

"And no one did for a long time. It wasn't until a social worker
noticed, that a police report was even filed," he added.

"And they didn't believe her until she pointed out that it was
ten people, not just one or two. Their disappearances *all* 
couldn't be blamed on the erratic behavior of street people," 
I recalled from the report.

"Even then the police didn't do much," Mulder noted.

"I never did ask, Mulder. How did we get this case?"

"I asked for it. It came up when I did one of my routine searches
for 'unexplained disappearances'," he explained.

"What kind of research do you think that Dr. Mettler is doing?"

"What do you think?" he asked. "What would a physics professor
want with human subjects?"

"I haven't the foggiest, Mulder," I had to admit.

"I think it's something very near and dear to your heart, 
Scully."

"What?" I said, now totally confused. "Why won't you just tell 
me what you're thinking?"  

"Because you won't believe me unless you figure it out for 
yourself," he replied.

"And you think that I will eventually?"

"You just have to believe in what you know is theoretically
possible, Scully."

I was too tired to grasp what Mulder was trying to say. Sleep 
overtook me quickly. It had been a long, exciting but exhausting 
day. As the veil of sleep clouded my mind, I thought I heard 
Mulder's voice saying, "There is so much that I want you to 
believe, Scully."

The following morning, Wanik's sweet smile greeted me when I 
opened my eyes. She had brought our breakfast to us. I was 
surprised that we were still being treated like royalty. I'd 
thought that Namid would have put an end to that; I'd 
underestimated him. 

Setting the bowls down, Wanik backed out of the wigwam. Mulder 
was still snoring softly in my ear, his arm hung loosely over 
my waist again.

"Mulder," I said softly, but he didn't stir. "Mulder," I 
repeated, a little louder. 

"Mmm," he mumbled and snuggled a little closer to me. His nose
was buried in my hair and his arm now hugged me tightly.

At that instant I didn't care where we were or how we got there. 
I would have happily stayed like that forever. But I knew 
that Mulder was only drawn to the warm body beside him. He didn't
think about me in sexual terms. To him, we were partners and
friends, nothing more. I'd decided long ago if that was all 
Mulder could give me, I would have to be satisfied with it. But 
this situation was making me realize what I was missing. I 
figured that it was best not to torture myself.

"Mulder!" I said a third time, loudly. 

"What?" He seemed to be wide awake instantly. "Oh, sorry," he 
said, sitting up quickly.

"Sorry?" I was confused. "I was just trying to tell you that our
breakfast is here."

After our meal, I was in a quandary. I had to pee very badly, but
Omiga had wrapped my feet in such a way that it was almost 
impossible to walk. Without telling him why, I sent Mulder to
fetch Wanik. When he brought her back, I sent him away again, 
looking very bewildered.

After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally got Wanik to
grasp my problem. She ran and got another young woman that she
introduced as Migisi. Together they helped me to hobble into the 
woods. When we got back, Mulder scooped me up immediately.

"What are you doing on your feet? Don't let Omiga catch you," he
warned. "He's been looking for you, by the way."

"I had to pee," I whispered, which was silly, because no one 
could understand me anyway.

"I could've helped you, Scully" he sighed.

"I would've felt funny asking you," I admitted shyly.

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable telling me anything. I 
thought we were beyond that, Scully." The emotion I saw in his
hazel eyes shocked me; I didn't know what to say. But it didn't 
matter, because Mulder was setting me down in front of the fire.

"Will you be okay on your own?" he asked. "I was going to head 
down to the stream."

"Of course," I waved him off. I was actually relieved to have 
some time to myself, so to speak. Mulder and I had been in such 
close proximity over the last couple of days, that all of the 
feelings I'd been trying to suppress had come closer to the 
surface than they'd been in a very long time. Why did I make so 
much of little things? Things like what I thought I had just seen
in Mulder's eyes. It couldn't mean anything; I must have been 
reading too much into it.

My thoughts were interrupted by Omiga saying my name. He had 
unwrapped my foot and wanted me to see how much better it looked.
In no time, he had changed the poultice and rewrapped my bandage.
When he was finished with both feet, he took his pot and ambled 
out of sight.

Women were beginning to gather around the fire as they had the
previous day. Some of them still eyed me cautiously, but most had
relaxed and seemed to go about their business unconcerned. It 
filled me with a sense of peacefulness to sit and watch the 
children play while their mothers and grandmothers were busy with
their tasks. Wanik was busily sewing on a pair of moccasins. 
Every now and again she'd hold them up for me to see. When I 
smiled my approval, she would bend happily to her work again.

It seemed that the men weren't leaving camp. Instead they were 
repairing tools, mending traps and sharpening their knives.
When I saw those knives, I realized that they were another modern
implement, like Omiga's pot. They *must* have had some contact 
with the outside world in order to obtain them.

I was still caught up in watching all of the activity when two
young teen-aged girls ran into camp giggling. They smiled at me
and then looked away shyly. Then one of the girls said something 
to the group of women around the fire. Some of them chuckled, but
they all smiled at me. I had no idea what they were finding so
amusing.

About five minutes later, Mulder walked back into camp. When the 
women saw him, they began to murmur and smile at me again.

"I take it everyone knows," he said dejectedly, sitting down
beside me.

"Everyone but me. What happened?"

"They caught me taking a bath in the stream," he groaned; his 
ears had flushed pink.

"Is that all?" I laughed. "Don't worry about it, Mulder. They all
seem to think that I am a lucky woman."

"What?" He looked at me in obvious confusion.

"You know that they assume we're a couple, right?" I began.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Well after they saw you naked, they think that I'm a lucky 
woman."

"Oh." He seemed to shrink in place; his ears flushing even 
redder.

After the midday meal, I told Mulder that I would like to have a 
bath too. Together we explained it to Wanik; and he left with her
to get water. When they got back, I had Mulder carry me to the 
wigwam and then shooed him away. With Wanik's help, I managed to
have a fairly decent sponge bath. She didn't seem to think that 
it was at all out of the ordinary that I'd asked for her help
instead of Mulder's. Even though I had to get back into the same 
clothes that I'd been wearing for three days, my cool bath made 
me feel invigorated.

The rest of the day passed without incident. Mulder and I *did* 
discuss the fact that, once my feet had healed, we would have to 
hike in the other direction to see what we could find. Mulder 
hoped that our new found native friends might be able to lead us
to some English speaking people.

"I hope so," I sighed. "I'm getting awfully tired of charades."

After Omiga had changed the dressings on my feet again, Mulder and
I retired to our wigwam.

"Do you have any further thoughts about the case?" Mulder asked 
once we had settled into the bed.

"Not really," I told him. "The only kind of research where you 
might want to use human subjects that I can think of is medical. 
But Dr. Mettler is a physicist."

"I think we became part of his experiment, Scully."

"Something to do with the drugs?" I tried to see if I understood 
what he was thinking.

"I think that the drugs only made us easier to work with." He 
persisted in being cryptic.

"Look, Mulder, I already told you that I don't know what you're 
getting at, and I'm tired of playing guessing games," I said 
angrily. "Unless you decide to share what you're thinking, I
don't want to discuss this anymore."

Just as he was drawing a breath to respond, a noise from outside 
startled both of us.

"What was that?" I whispered.

"Shh," Mulder quieted me. We heard the sound again--like someone
calling out in pain.

"I'm going to see what that was," Mulder announced, scrambling
over me.

Within seconds I heard some murmuring voices and then Mulder
skulked back into the wigwam.

"Whatever is happening, the women won't let me see," he said as
he clambered back over me.

"Maybe they'll let me," I suggested.

"But you can't walk," Mulder protested.

"I can sort of hobble. I'll be fine," I assured him as I crawled
outside. 

The night was almost jet black; illuminated only by the cold 
light of the stars above me.  As I got to my feet, I noticed 
that the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees and the 
wind was whispering through the trees, making the leaves rustle 
eerily. A small crowd of women had gathered around one of the 
wigwams about 30 feet from me. If I hadn't heard someone cry 
out in pain, I wouldn't have been at all concerned. But after 
everything they had done for me, I needed to see if I could 
help.

As I began to make may way towards the women, a ghastly wail 
rose up from the wigwam, sending icy fingers up and down my 
spine. A hush fell over the women and they all silently moved 
away; not one of them acknowledged my presence as they passed 
me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Old Growth Forest, WIP, chapter 3

Rating: This chapter is hard R.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without even realizing that I had begun to move, I found myself
stumbling toward the large wigwam. As I crouched to go inside,
I heard a woman sobbing. A faint light was shining from the
small fire that was burning in the center of the large shelter.
The first thing I saw when my eyes adjusted to the light was the
woman who was sobbing, her face in her hands. Then I saw an older
woman cradling a newborn in her arms. I realized quickly what was 
wrong. The infant was not moving or making the slightest noise.

"What happened?" I asked, forgetting that they couldn't 
understand me.

The older women must have understood from my tone what I was
asking. Using her hand, she showed me that the umbilical cord had
been wrapped around the baby's neck. I moved to her side,
knowing that if I acted quickly the infant might still have a
chance.

When I took the tiny boy's lifeless body into my hands, I was
relieved to feel that he was still warm. Although his lips, hands
and feet were dark, the rest of his body was still fairly pink,
so he hadn't been deprived of oxygen for too long. I began by
rubbing the soles of his feet, but I got no response. Running
my knuckles over his sternum, I waited briefly but saw no 
reaction.

When I placed his head in the palm of my hand, his little bottom
didn't even reach the crook of my arm. Lifting him up, I gave him
one small puff, using only the air from my cheeks. I didn't want
to risk overfilling his lungs. Then, using only two fingers, I
began compression at the rate of five per breath. After 20 cycles
I stopped to reassess him. Checking his upper arm, my own heart
skipped a beat when I felt a pulse.  After drawing a shaky
breath, the baby began to squall.

Both women looked up in shock; eyes wide, mouths open. Handing
the boy to his mother, I encouraged her to nurse him. As soon as
he latched on, he began to eat voraciously. His mother kept
looking down at him and then back up at me, her face full of
wonder.

As the infant boy continued to nurse, the midwife cut and tied
his cord. Next I indicated to the mother that I wanted to touch
her abdomen. She nodded her consent. Knowing that the baby's
suckling would induce uterine contractions, I began to massage
her belly to help her along. I wanted to make sure that the 
placenta was delivered whole, since I had no means of fighting 
infection.

Soon she delivered a whole, healthy-looking afterbirth. Once I'd
inspected it, the midwife took it and wrapped it in a piece of
deerskin and left the shelter. Her actions didn't surprise me. I
knew it was common practice for Native Americans to bury the
placenta.

She had no sooner left when Wanik, Migisi and three other women,
whose names I didn't know, began to file into the wigwam. When
Wanik spoke to the nursing mother she answered in a soft voice,
occasionally nodding towards me. All of the women turned to stare
at me. It hadn't occurred to me how fantastic my actions might
seem to them. I had reacted instinctively. Now I was wondering if
I may have scared them.

The women were still whispering, staring first at the baby and
then at me, when the midwife reappeared. She shooed us out of the
wigwam. Assuming that she wanted mother and child to rest, I left
quickly. As I was standing up outside, I was surprised to feel
a hand on my arm. I turned to find the midwife smiling at me.
She picked up my hands and pressed her lips to my fingers.
After gently placing my hands by my sides, she turned and went
back inside.

I was slowly hobbling back to the wigwam when Mulder appeared
out of the darkness and scooped me up.

"What happened?" he asked breathlessly.

As he carried me back and set me on the bed, I told him the whole
story.

"I don't think they'll be afraid of you," he assured me when I
told him my concerns. "But I bet you garnered even more respect
than you already had. Now they probably think that you're some
kind of goddess."

"I don't know about that," I snorted. "Just as long as they
aren't scared of me," I added through a huge yawn.

"Hey, don't fall asleep before I get my good-night kiss, Scully.
I've never been kissed by a goddess."

"I kissed you last night," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that you were a goddess then, so it
doesn't count," he argued.

"I see," I chuckled. "So where are your lips? It's too dark to
see in here."

"Right here." His low voice was very close to me and in the next
instant his lips were on mine.

This kiss was longer than the one we'd shared the previous night.
Instead of just pressing his lips against mine, he seemed to be
caressing my lips with his. My pulse quickened and I felt a rush
of heat between my legs. Catching my tongue just before it darted
out to taste more of him, I had to press it against the roof of
my mouth to keep it under control. It seemed like a heavenly
eternity before he finally pulled back.

"I'm very proud of what you did tonight," he whispered.

Proud? He was proud of me? If that was the way he kissed when he
was proud, he'd turn me into a quivering mass of goo if he ever
kissed me because he was in love with me. Even though I was
exhausted, the relentless throbbing that Mulder had created
between my thighs kept me awake for what seemed like hours.

When I woke the following morning, I was surprised to find myself
draped over a soundly sleeping Mulder, so I gently eased myself
off of him and sat up. Breakfast had again been brought to our
wigwam. Picking up one of the bowls, I discovered that it was
cold. Mulder and I must have been dead to the world--we were
both usually light sleepers.

I was so hungry that I ate the gruel anyway. Even cold it had
a rich, nutty flavor. I was almost half done when Mulder opened
his eyes.

"Morning," I smiled.

As he stretched and yawned he smiled back at me. "I don't know
what it is, but I can't remember the last time I slept so well."

"It's the fresh air," I told him, handing him his breakfast.

"Must be," he agreed with a grin.

When we'd finished, I crawled outside and prepared to hobble into
the woods. Before I'd gone two steps Mulder swept me into his
arms.

"Oh no you don't," he laughed.

"I can't wait until my feet have healed," I sighed.

Mulder just chuckled and headed into the forest. When I was done
I had him take me to the stream. On the way he pointed out a
blood stain on my already dingy white blouse.

"Maybe Wanik could help me rinse my things out in the stream," I
wondered aloud.

"I could do it," Mulder offered.

"You'd want to rinse out my underwear?" I asked in disbelief.
"Don't answer that!" I stopped him when I spotted the devilish
gleam in his eyes. "Just get Wanik, please."

"You're no fun," he muttered as he set me down by the stream.

He was back with Wanik in no time. When he disappeared again I
showed her what I wanted to do. She cheerfully helped me rinse
out everything but my skirt, which I was afraid would shrink.

While the rest of my things were drying on a rock, she helped me
have a quasi-sponge bath. It was difficult with my feet swaddled
the way they were, but we did the best we could.

As I was testing my panties to see if they were dry yet, Wanik's
eyes suddenly lit up. After saying something, she dashed off,
leaving me sitting on a rock--naked. I was petrified that someone
was going to come along and find me, but she was back quickly,
carrying a deerskin dress over her arm. I couldn't believe how
incredibly soft it was. I looked up at her, needing to be sure 
that she really wanted me to have it. She must have read the
question on my face because she nodded vigorously.

So I slipped the dress over my head and, since I was sitting 
down, Wanik helped me pull it over my hips. She then disappeared 
again after saying something else, and Mulder appeared a short 
time later. He grinned broadly when he saw me.

"I always knew that you'd look good in leather," he chuckled.

"Shut up, Mulder," I tried to hide my smile.

"Omiga's been looking for you again," he informed me after we'd
gathered up my clothes and were heading back to camp.

Nodding, I wondered how much longer the old healer wanted to keep
my feet wrapped like this. I thought it was about time that they
got some fresh air.

After Mulder set me down, he took my clothes back to the wigwam.
Omiga quickly unwrapped my feet, but instead of wrapping them
back up again it seemed like he wanted to talk about something
else. Smiling as he spoke, he made a cradling motion with his
arms, making it clear to me that he wanted to talk about the
baby. As he continued to speak, I heard him say the chief's name.
In the midst of our discussion Mulder returned and sat down
beside me.

"It was Namid's baby?" I asked, making the same cradling motion.

Omiga shook his head quickly and then pursed his lips. Suddenly
he grabbed a twig and began to draw in the hard-packed earth that
surrounded the fire. First he scratched out a stick figure, then
pointing at it said "Namid,". I nodded in understanding. Next to
the picture of Namid he drew another, slightly smaller, stick
figure and called it Apram. Pointing at Apram he cradled his arms
and then pointed at Namid.

"Oh," I said quickly. "Apram is Namid's baby." I used the
cradling motion again. "But he is a grown man," I said raising
my hand. Mulder was nodding as I spoke.

Omiga gave me a semi-toothless grin, drew a tiny figure and then
pointed at Apram's picture.

"It was Apram's baby," I finally understood.

Omiga smiled at his success.

"Wow, Scully, you saved the chief's grandson."

"I had no idea--not that it mattered," I added quickly.

When I turned back to Omiga, he had a quizzical look on his face.
He looked from me to Mulder and then back again. He made the
cradling motion again and then looked at us questioningly.

Shaking my head quickly, I looked at the ground. How could I
explain to him that even if Mulder and I were a couple, all of my
ova had been stolen and I was barren? I was surprised to feel a
finger under my chin, lifting it up. Omiga was smiling at me
sympathetically as I fought to blink back my tears. He looked
pensive for a minute, then pointed at my belly and said
something. Glancing quickly at Mulder, I found that his eyes were
shining as well. It broke my heart that Mulder felt responsible
for what has happened.

No matter how many times I tried to convince him that he was not
culpable for anything that had happened to me while we'd been
partnered, I could never manage to change his mind. Trying to put
on a brave face, I gave his hand a squeeze.

"God, Scully," he breathed, his voice cracking as he spoke. Then
in one rapid movement he pulled me onto his lap and buried his
head in my shoulder.

"Shh," I tried to soothe him. "It's okay. I'm all right, really."

"It's not okay, Scully, and you aren't all right. I can never
forget that." His voice was clouded with emotion.

"I'll never forget either, Mulder. But I have to move on. I can't
wallow in self-pity," I told him, stroking his hair as I spoke.

"I know, I know, but when it comes up fresh like this it makes me
so angry," he sighed. "And so sad," he added quietly.

Biting my lip to keep from blurting out how much I loved him, I
held him tightly. As I took long, shaky breaths, I quietly
reveled in how securely Mulder was holding me.

When I opened my eyes I was surprised to find that Omiga had
gone. Scanning the village, I spied him halfway across the
encampment.

"Omiga," I called to him. "What about my feet?" I asked, pointing
at them.

Shaking his head, he made a wavy, fluttering motion with his hands.

"What the hell does that mean?" Mulder laughed.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think he wants my feet to get some air,"
I told him with a smile.

Since the men had left before Mulder and I were even awake, the
village was fairly quiet. After the second meal of the day Wanik
indicated that she wanted me to come with her. Once I'd made sure
that Mulder knew where I was going, I headed off with her and
three other women.

In my bare feet I walked with them through the woods to the exact
berry patch that I'd stumbled upon two days earlier. It took a
few good hours of picking, but we managed to fill all of the
baskets we'd brought.

When we got back to camp, Mulder was nowhere to be seen. Asking
around, Wanik found out that he'd gone somewhere with Omiga. Dusk
was beginning to settle when they finally got back. But I hadn't
been worried--I knew that if he was with Omiga, he was safe.

"Where'd you go?" I asked when he trudged over to me.

"We must have done a good ten miles tramping out there. He had
me picking berries, digging up roots, scraping bark. He even had
me scale a tree, because apparently the leaves near the ground
weren't good enough," he explained, shaking his head. "I must
reek, Scully. I'm going to take a quick dip."

"See you in a few then," I laughed and settled myself by the
fire to wait.

Mulder had no sooner disappeared from view when Wanik showed up
with two bowls. Stopping short, she looked around like she'd lost
something. I had to chuckle at the look on her face.

"He went to take a bath," I nodded towards the stream, making a
washing motion on my arm.

Sighing, she set the bowls down beside me.

"He won't be long," I told her, hoping she would glean something
from my tone.

As I was looking up at her, some idea seemed to strike her and 
she hurried away. A few minutes later she reappeared, grinning
from ear to ear.

"What?" I tried to ask the question with my face too.

She took both of her hands and held them just above her thighs
and gasped.

"What!?" I repeated.

"Mulder," she laughed and shook her head.

She must have gone to the stream to get Mulder for supper and was
obviously very amused by modesty. I was prepared to ask him when
he got back, but when he strode back into camp, any questions
that had been in my mind simply vanished.

My breath caught in my throat and I had to remind myself to
inhale. He was wearing a pair of deerskin breeches. Since he was
a couple of inches taller than anyone here, they were a bit
short, but I hardly noticed. I couldn't stop looking at where
they ended on his belly--right below his navel. The effect only
accentuated his abdominal muscles. I think my mouth might have
been hanging open.

"What should I do with this stuff?" He held out a ball of damp
clothes. "I rinsed them out in the stream."

"Spread them out in the wigwam--they might dry by morning," I
suggested and then turned and watched as he walked away. My eyes
were drawn to the way the leather highlighted every muscle in his
ass.

"Nice pants," I smiled when he got back.

"Wanik gave them to me," he explained, joining me on the ground.

"I know. She thinks it's pretty funny that you're so modest," I
laughed.

Mulder just grumped and began to eat his supper. Wanik appeared
out of nowhere as soon as we'd finished and beckoned us to follow
her. She led us to the largest wigwam in the village and motioned
for us to go inside.

A fire was burning inside and circled around it were many of the
older men of the tribe. I was disappointed that Omiga wasn't
among them. Most of the men seemed to be dressed up, wearing
ornate necklaces and clothes which were more heavily decorated
than the plain attire they wore hunting. The most shocking sight
was Namid, who had the pelt of a fox, head and all, draped over
*his* head. The chief motioned for Mulder and me to sit down in
the open space opposite him.

"I hope that's not symbolic," Mulder nodded towards the chief's
headdress.

Namid looked at us in surprise when I chuckled.

"It's the fox," I said quickly, pointing at the fur, hoping I 
hadn't offended him.

"Mesquakie," he rumbled.

"Fox Mulder," Mulder pointed to himself. "Mesquakie--Fox," he
said, pointing at the chief's head and at himself.

A buzz started around the circle.

"Mesquakie," the chief repeated, motioning to everyone present.

"These are the Fox Indians," Mulder almost whispered.

"You've heard of them before?" I was surprised.

"I learned about them in school, along with the Sauk. They all 
but disappeared in the French and Indian Wars. As a kid, I 
thought it was cool to have the same name as an Indian tribe."

"The French and Indian Wars?" I said in shock. "That was the
early 1800's, Mulder."

"I know," he said solemnly.

When we finished whispering, Namid began to speak as if he was
telling a story, but I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't stop
thinking about what Mulder had said. At least now I knew what he
thought had happened. He thought that Dr. Mettler had been
working on a time machine. I knew it was theoretically possible,
but surely there had to be a more plausible explanation.

I was drawn back to Namid's story when I heard my name and
Apram's. I began to realize that he was recounting the events of
the previous night. After he had spoken for a long time, he made
a circling motion with his arms and said the name of the tribe.
Several of the men straightened up in shock and one even spoke
up. Namid answered him calmly. Then another man spoke and
another, and soon the room was buzzing again. Finally Namid
slapped his hand on his thigh and bellowed. The questioning men
shrank back and fell silent. I stole a worried look at Mulder.

"I think he just said, 'That was my grandson, God damn it, and
what I say goes.'," Mulder leaned over to whisper.

"But what is he saying?" I whispered back.

"I'm not sure, but I think that we have been adopted by the
tribe," he told me, and then chuckled at what must have been a
shocked look on my face.

While we'd been speaking with low voices, a bowl had started to
make its way around the circle, each person taking a sip before
they passed it on. When it was Mulder's turn and he took a sip,
his eyes grew wide.

"Smooth," he choked when he was done.

All of the men looked at me expectantly as Mulder passed the bowl
to me. Lifting the bowl slowly to my lips, I prepared myself for
something horrible. At first the warm liquid seemed to have no
taste, but as it slid down my throat it began to burn. I breathed
in deeply through my nose to keep from sputtering. My eyes had
begun to tear up, but I said nothing as I passed the bowl on.

Mulder was looking at me sideways, grinning. I wanted to tell him
to shut up, but I was afraid that I would start coughing if I
opened my mouth. When the bowl reached Namid, he drank what was
left and then began to speak again. It seemed like a long time
before he finished and the men began to leave the wigwam.

"Thank you, Namid," I smiled at him as I got up to leave.

He nodded his head once, solemnly. Once we were outside and
heading back to our wigwam, Mulder leaned over to whisper in my
ear again. "He reminded me a lot of Skinner, but with hair."

"Me too." I couldn't help giggling.

"Day-na!" I stopped short when I heard my name.

Omiga was hurrying towards us with a small bowl in his hands. He
held it out for me and when I took it, he pushed it up towards my
mouth. I was dreading that it was going to be more of that
burning liquid from the ceremony, but when it got close to my
nose I could tell that it was different--worse, in fact. I pulled
back, wrinkling my nose.

"Day-na!" Omiga chuckled, and pushed the bowl back towards me.

The old man had done so much for Mulder and me that I couldn't
say no to him. So, taking a deep breath, I swallowed the liquid
in the bowl. It was dreadfully bitter, but I managed to get it
down without gagging. Omiga took his bowl back, looking pleased
with himself.

"Mulder," he said pointing to himself. "Day-na," he said,
pointing towards the wigwam.

"I think I've been excused," I shrugged.

"Guess so," Mulder seemed equally perplexed.

As I walked towards the wigwam, I could hear Omiga begin to
speak to Mulder, but as soon as I went inside, I could hear them
no longer. I decided that my dress would be too warm to sleep in,
so I swiftly slipped it off and put my bra and panties back on.
I hurried to get under the covers so that Mulder wouldn't catch
me, but I had no reason to worry. By the time he joined me I was
almost asleep.

"Sorry it took so long," he apologized immediately. "It took me
a while to figure out what Omiga was trying to say."

"And...?" I asked drowsily.

"If you don't mind, there's something else that I'd like to talk
about first," he asked quietly.

"That's okay," I told him, assuming that he wanted to talk about
his time travel theory.

"Could I have my good-night kiss first?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Why?" I asked in confusion.

"Just in case you don't want to kiss me when I'm done," he
explained.

"Why wouldn't I want to kiss you?" I was bewildered.

"Please, Scully," he almost begged.

"Okay, but I still don't understand," I consented.

The kiss he gave me was almost identical to our kiss the night
before, except that I felt his hand slide into my hair. Again I
had to consciously keep my tongue pressed against the roof of my
mouth. When he finally pulled back, I was surprised to find my
hands in his hair. After I'd pulled them back, Mulder
slipped under the covers with me. He was lying so close to me
that I could feel the heat radiating off of his body.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked quietly.

"Well, it's something that I've tried to talk to you about
before, unsuccessfully," he explained.

"Go on," I prompted, having no clue about what he was getting at.

I was startled to see a shadow pass across my face, and shocked
to feel his hand stroking my hair. This action had caused him to
lean a little closer to me and I was sure that I could feel his
erect cock grazing my thigh.

"The problem is that you never seem to believe me when I tell
you things, Scully," he began. "Since you always want proof,
would it be okay if I showed you?"

"Okay," I agreed hesitantly, still not sure what he was talking
about.

"May I kiss you again?" His voice was unsure.

"Yes," I whispered.

This time, as his lips were caressing mine, I felt his tongue run
softly along my upper lip. Groaning at the sensation, I opened my
mouth to him. Heat flooded through me, my arms and legs feeling
like they were alight. At the first sign of my approval, he
deepened the kiss, crushing my mouth with his. My tongue was
in his mouth, dancing over his tongue, sliding along his teeth.

I groaned again when his hand closed over my breast. We parted,
panting, meeting again after we'd gasped for breath. My hands
were skimming over his back. My mind swirled as my hands came
to rest on the soft leather covering his ass. I chuckled into
his mouth as I squeezed and caressed his muscles and was thrilled
to feel his arousal grow even harder.

When I felt Mulder's hand easing under my back, I arched up to
give him more room. With one flick, he'd unfastened the two hooks
holding my bra closed. When he slipped it off, I delighted at the
skin to skin contact.

When his hot hand covered my breast, and my nipple hardened in
response, Mulder groaned. Parting my legs, I tugged at him to let
him know that I wanted him to move. He was between my thighs in
an instant; his hardness pressing against where I wanted it most.
As our hands roamed, we continued to kiss deeply, our tongues 
exploring as our hands were.

Mulder gently rotated his hips against me and I lifted my hips to
meet him.

"God, Scully, I love you," Mulder whispered, finally breaking our
kiss.

"And I love you, Mulder. I'm sorry I didn't believe you before,"
I breathed, pulling him back into a kiss.

"Scully," Mulder said breathlessly, pulling out of our kiss
again. "We need to talk about what Omiga said."

"Now?" I whimpered.

"Sorry," he said softly, "But I think we should."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Old Growth Forest, WIP, chapter 4

Rating: This chapter is NC-17.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't begin to fathom what Mulder might think was
important enough to interrupt our love-making at this
point. He never ceased to amaze me. Just when I thought I
had him pegged, he would do something like this, making me
stop and re-evaluate everything that I thought made him who
he was.

"Well, what is it? What did he want?" I asked breathlessly.

"Before I tell you I want to be sure that you understand
that what he said in no way influenced what is happening
between us, Scully."

"What on earth did you two talk about?" He had piqued my
curiosity.

"Well, it might have given me some extra courage," he
continued.

"Mulder!" I protested impatiently.

"It took me a long time to figure it out, Scully, but it
seems like that drink that he gave you can cure
infertility."

"Mulder," I said gently. "Nothing can cure my kind of
infertility. I can't spontaneously generate new ova. Maybe
if it had been some other kind of problem..."

"I know, Scully," he answered softly. "But I had to tell
you. Omiga gave me strict instructions to come in here and
boink your brains out."

"I would've liked to have seen that," I giggled. The
mental image of *that* game of charades already forming in
my mind.

"It was a little embarrassing when I finally figured out
what he was saying," Mulder chuckled as he began to nuzzle
my neck, his few days' growth of beard tickling me.

"Bless his heart," I sighed. "With everything that he's
done for us, he still wanted to give us more."

"I just thought you should know in case he starts asking
questions tomorrow," Mulder said, lifting his lips from my
neck.

"You could've told me later," I pointed out.

"I was worried that I might get distracted and forget," he
admitted.

"So you're free to be distracted now?" I began to squeeze
his ass again.

"Oh yeah," he breathed before his mouth covered mine again.

As his soft lips caressed mine, my hands found their way
to the leather laces on the sides of his breeches. While I
worked away at them, Mulder was busily working at removing
my panties. Soon, but not soon enough, there were no more
barriers between us.

Mulder's penis was pressed against my opening, but he
wasn't moving. Through the darkness I could hear his
labored breathing.

"Is something wrong?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"Wrong? God, no! Everything is so right." His voice was
low and gravelly. "I'm trying to remember every nuance, Scully."

"I know -- I've wanted this for so long, Mulder. Now I
want to know what it feels like to have you inside of me,
instead of only dreaming about it," I confessed.

Groaning in response, Mulder finally began to ease into
me. The sensation was exquisite; being slowly stretched and
filled by him.

"Oh, Mulder," I sighed.

"Okay?" The concern in his voice touched me.

"Yes," I breathed. "Better than okay -- fantastic."

"Mmmnn." The sound came from deep within his throat. 

Once he was completely inside of me taking slow, gentle strokes,
his lips found their way back to mine. We kissed each other 
greedily, as if we might be able to make up for lost time. My 
hands were in his hair, keeping him close to me; trying to get 
him closer. My legs were wrapped around his thighs, but we were
moving independently, yet meeting with every stroke.

My thoughts were swirling. I, too, was having trouble
believing that this was truly happening, but it was. This
was Mulder making love to me. I loved the feel of him, the
smell of him, and the taste of him. Every time that I
realized anew that it was really him, another jolt of
pleasure would surge through me.

"Promise me something, Mulder," I asked breathlessly,
after freeing my lips.

"Anything, Scully," he panted.

"Promise me that we can do this in the morning. I want to
be able to see you love me."

"God, Scully," he breathed and began to thrust harder.

"Does that mean you promise?" The sultry sound of my voice
surprised me.

"Yes, I promise." His voice had taken on an earthy quality
of its own.

Without breaking his rhythm, Mulder adjusted our position
by moving forward slightly. It had an effect
instantaneously. Now every time our bodies met, my clitoris
grazed against him. Gasping at the sensation, I lifted my
hips and moved against him, prolonging the contact. Mulder
must have realized what I was doing, because he slowed his
pace slightly and exaggerated the rotation of his hips on
every stroke.

With each revolution, I could feel myself getting closer
to my peak. My hands moved from his hair to his shoulders,
and I clawed at him in my desperation for release. Our lips
had parted, our need for oxygen too great, but his face was
only inches from mine; his breath mingling with mine.

It seemed like Mulder had slowed his pace further,
creating even more friction between our bodies. I was torn;
wanting him to go faster, anticipating my climax, but also
wanting to enjoy the sweet agony of the journey for as long
I could.

Above me, I could feel Mulder's body begin to shake.
Knowing that he must be close too, I clenched my muscles
around him. As he called my name, our bodies met again, but
this time I held him close to me longer. The increased
contact was enough to send me over the edge. My body quaked
and throbbed against him and he pulsed inside of me.

Every time I thought that it had finally subsided, my body
would shudder again -- it seemed endless, beautifully
endless. Once he had stopped shaking, Mulder began to kiss
me softly -- my lips, my nose, my chin, chuckling each time
my body shook beneath him.

"You like that?" My voice was still smoky.

"Mmm." He pressed his lips against the tender skin below
my ear. "I'm particularly fond of how it feels inside of
you."

It hadn't occurred to me that, with every aftershock, my
muscles must be rippling around him. The thought of our
bodies still being joined began to arouse me again, but the
narcotic effect of my orgasm was more powerful and I felt
myself sinking towards sleep.

"Sleepy," I mumbled to Mulder, running my finger along his
bottom lip.

"Me too," he told me, rolling to his back and taking me
with him.

"I thought you'd want to spoon," I said through a yawn as
I snuggled up against him.

"Well, I liked the way it felt this morning when I woke up
and you were sleeping on top of me. But I couldn't really
enjoy it the way I wanted to." I could hear the grin in his
voice.

"I thought you were sleeping." My face was flushing even
though I had no reason to be embarrassed now.

"It felt so right, so perfect to wake up that way, that I
drifted back to sleep," he explained, giving my ass a
gentle squeeze.

"It does feel right," I agreed drowsily, snuggling up to
him again, as if the action could get me any closer than I
already was.

Mulder's contented sigh was the last thing I remember
hearing before sleep overtook me.

Late the following morning, I woke spooned up to him. As I
let myself enjoy the way he was holding me, I recalled how,
at the first light of dawn, I had woken him to make love again.
As much as I enjoyed how he felt and tasted and smelled, seeing 
the desire in his eyes and the ecstasy on his face as we moved
together gave me more pleasure than everything else combined.

My eyes had drifted shut as I let a mental image of Mulder
at my breast float through my mind, when a rustling noise
near by startled me. Opening my eyes, I caught Wanik trying
to leave quietly after bringing our breakfast.

"Wanik," I said softly, making her look up in surprise.

Her expression turned apologetic at once.

"It's okay." I used reassuring tones. "Thank you," I smiled.

Smiling shyly, she murmured something before backing out
of the wigwam. Turning in Mulder's arms, I lay my head on
his shoulder. While he continued to sleep, I began to
tickle his chest.

"Breakfast is here," I smiled when he eventually opened
his eyes. "Why don't we eat it while it's warm?"

We were delighted to find that the raspberries that I'd
helped to pick yesterday had been added to the porridge.
After all of our recent activity, we were both hungry. When
we'd finished, Mulder lay back down and pulled me with him.
At first I thought that he wanted to make love again, but
he seemed to be content just holding me. I, too, was
perfectly happy to simply lie in his arms.

"So?" I said finally.

"Mmm?" He began to caress my hair.

"You think we're in the past?" It might not be the best
time to have this discussion, but I didn't think there
would ever be a good time.

"Yup." He was running his fingers slowly down my neck.

"Maybe it's just some kind of holographic projection," I
suggested.

"Holograms can't touch you, Scully," he pointed out.

He was right and I didn't believe what I was saying
anyway. I was just trying to play the devil's advocate.

"Well, there *is* still plenty of wilderness in Canada.
Maybe Dr. Mettler drove us there." I tried another angle.

"I thought of that, too, but there weren't any tire
tracks, Scully. How would he have gotten us there? And how
would he have made it past the border check?" he countered.
"I also considered a biosphere experiment, thinking that it
might not be as big as it looked -- the vast distances
being a holographic illusion. But then we stumbled into
this village and that theory got blown out of the water."

"I still need something more to go on, Mulder. I can see
why you believe that, but I need proof."

"You can't just believe me, Scully," he sighed.

"What? You thought that all of a sudden I would be a
completely different person; believing everything you say,
no questions asked?" As I spoke, his hand slipped down my
back, and he began to gently caress my ass.

"Yeah, I thought you'd say something like 'How could I
doubt a gorgeous hunk of man like you?'," he chuckled,
giving my ass a firmer squeeze.

"Well, I guess you didn't successfully boink my brains out
then, Mulder," I laughed. "Because I still have enough to
form opinions of my own."

"Maybe I'm not done yet." His rich, dark voice sent chills
through me. Then he startled me by quickly pulling me on
top of him.

"Maybe you'll never be able to," I murmured as I began to
place feathery kisses on his chest.

"Then I'll die trying," he breathed, sliding me up his
body. "I'll gladly die trying," he whispered again before
our lips met.

As my tongue delved into his mouth, I felt his cock grow
hard beneath me. I was about to raise my hips, so that I
could lower myself onto him when the sound of someone
clearing their throat made me freeze. Mulder and I both
turned in the direction of the sound to find Omiga crouched
outside of the entrance to our wigwam, staring at the
ground. Slipping off of Mulder toward the back of the
shelter, I quickly covered myself.

Muttering apologetically, Omiga held a bowl out to Mulder.

"Day-na," he nodded towards me.

"Not more," I whined, vividly recalling the bitterness of
last night's concoction.

"Day-na," Omiga chastised, apparently recognizing the tone
of my voice.

"Fine," I sighed, taking the bowl from Mulder. I was
pleasantly surprised, though, when I brought the bowl to my
lips. This mixture had a fragrant, almost flowery smell and
a faintly sweet taste. Licking my lips when I was finished,
I had Mulder pass the bowl back to Omiga.

"Do you think that was supposed to be another fertility
potion?" I asked Mulder once the healer had shuffled away.

"Could be, or maybe a maternity vitamin," he smiled softly
at me.

"Please don't do this to yourself, Mulder," I implored
him. "If Native Americans had found a way to regrow ova,
don't you think it would be all over the news?" I pulled
him into a hug.

"I just want this so much for you, Scully -- for us."

"I want it too, Mulder. And there are ways for us to have
a baby that don't involve magic potions," I assured him.

"Like what?" he mumbled into my hair.

"Adoption?" I suggested. "Or an ova donor, they do exist.
We could use your sperm and I can still carry a child."

"You'd be willing to do that?" he asked softly.

"As long as we are both happy with the idea, I would.
That's as close as I'll ever come to having our child,
Mulder."

Knowing now that Mulder loved me, I looked back at his
reaction to my infertility in a new light. I'd thought that
he'd grieved with me as a friend, not as the father of the
children I could no longer have. Knowing that he wanted our
child as much as I did, made the ache in my heart even more
keen. It was a long time before Mulder relaxed his hold on
me.

As much as Mulder and I wanted to, we decided that we
wouldn't be given enough privacy to stay inside and make
love all day. So we reluctantly dressed and emerged to face
the day.

Bathing in the stream together, we discussed what we
should do now that my feet were better. For once we agreed
on something; we needed to find some English-speaking
people. Our reasons differed, but Mulder and I had often
proved that when we worked together towards a common goal
we were practically unstoppable.

"How are we going to explain that we have to go?" We were
dressing beside the stream.

"I think using pictures, we should be able to get our
point across. I'm more worried about how this is all going
to go over," he admitted.

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand his concern.

"They've taken us in, fed us, clothed us, healed us and
I'm fairly certain adopted us and now we are going to ask
them to take us somewhere else. What if they think we
weren't happy here?"

"We'll have to show them that we are happy here," I said
simply. "Then try to explain that we need to leave, but we
don't want to."

"That is a subtle difference to express playing pictionary
and charades, Scully," Mulder said, taking my hand as we
headed back to camp.

For the rest of the day, my heart was heavy as I thought
about what Mulder had said. How were we going to explain
the difference between want and need? All afternoon I
helped the women in any capacity they would allow. Mulder
fetched and carried for them, played with the kids and
flirted with the grandmothers. We did everything that we
could think of to show everyone how happy we were;
complimenting the food, oohing and awing over the arts and
crafts and admiring the skins that were being tanned.

Before long I could tell that almost everybody was
slightly bemused by our behavior. Every chance we got,
Mulder and I tried to think of some way to explain
ourselves, but anything we thought of seemed far too
complicated. My mind was racing trying to come up with an
easy way to explain the difference between want and need,
when the answer finally became clear.

"I'll teach them English."

"What?" Mulder looked up from playing cat's cradle with a
young boy.

"And I'll start with two words, want and need," I heaved a
sigh of relief.

"You think you can?" Mulder sounded doubtful.

"We have to try something," I shrugged, intent on figuring
something out to explain our actions.

In the late afternoon before it was time for the evening
meal, I gathered as many adults and teenagers as were
willing. They all watched me expectantly as I picked up a
twig and began to draw in the packed earth. Mulder sat off
to the side playing cat's cradle by himself and watched.

To my right I wrote the word 'WANT' in large block letters
and circled it. Then a few feet away to my left, I did the
same with 'NEED'. Everyone peered curiously at the marks
that I'd made.

"Need." I pointed to the word, and then I repeated it.
Looking at Wanik, I pointed to the word again. Her brow
furrowed immediately.

"Need," I said again. When I looked to Wanik a second time
and pointed to the circle on the left, she repeated the
word slowly.

Smiling, I nodded vigorously and repeated the word again.
Going around the circle, I got everyone to say it. They all
seemed pleased that they could please me so easily. When I
moved on to 'want' they understood immediately and repeated
the word right away.

"Now you just have to explain what they mean," Mulder said
from the sidelines.

"Oh, ye of little faith," I chided him.

Seeing a pot of venison and wild rice simmering on the
fire, I took a bowl, filled it, and placed it in the need
circle.

"Need," I said firmly.

Walking over to Mulder, I snatched his string away, making
several of the women guffaw.

"Want," I told them as I placed it in the appropriate
circle. Turning to Mulder again, I asked him to run and get
a deerskin from our wigwam. When he handed it to me, I
placed it in the need circle. Removing my gold cross, I
placed it with Mulder's string.

I had one more idea I was going to try before I tested
them to see if they were grasping what I was saying.
Dancing around, I began to squirm like a child who had to
pee. Mulder began to laugh and everyone joined him.

"Need," I said loudly to get their attention.

Crooking my finger at Mulder, I got him to stand beside
me. Then standing on my tiptoes, I surprised him with a
passionate kiss. When I pulled away, Mulder looked a little
dazed, making the women giggle.

"Want," I smiled at them.

With everyone watching, I ran to the stream and filled
another bowl with water, held it between the circles and
then looked at them questioningly.

"Need," they all said enthusiastically. I smiled smugly at
Mulder.

Spotting an elaborate design on Migisi's moccasin, I
motioned for her to give it to me and then asked everyone
where it should go.

"Need," some of them said decisively, dashing my hopes.  I
couldn't bring myself to turn and see the 'I told you so
look' on Mulder's face. As I was wracking my brain to come
up with something else, I was surprised to hear Wanik's
voice.

Shaking her head, she took Migisi's moccasin and put it in
the want circle. Then she took her own plain moccasin and
put it with the needs.

A confused murmur ran through the on-lookers. So she
picked up Migisi's moccasin and pointed to the design.
"Want," she said clearly. In her own tongue she said
something as she pointed to her plain one. "Need," she said
proudly, grinning at me.

"Yes," I clapped my hands as everyone began to nod in
understanding.

"Good work, Scully," Mulder smiled, sliding his arm around
my waist. "Now comes the hard part."

Walking over to the stream, we sat down and I dangled my
feet in the cool water. My head was pounding -- it had been
a long time since I taught anything, and I'd never found
any class at Quantico that challenging. I stretched my neck
from side to side trying to ease out the kinks.

"It will make things easier, I'm sure," Mulder reassured
me as he scooted behind me and began to rub my shoulders.

"But I don't think any of us will be any happier about
it," I sighed, leaning back against his hands. "At least
now they'll understand that we don't want to go."

Mulder was silent for a minute as he continued to work on
my tense muscles. "I was wondering, Scully," he said
finally. "What will it take to convince you?"

"I'm not sure, Mulder. How far in the past do you think we
are?" I avoided answering his question.

"After the French and Indian Wars there weren't supposed
to be any Fox Indians left in Wisconsin, so that would put
us around the 1750s or '60's. If that's the case, we'll
have a hard time finding any English-speaking people. There
weren't any white settlers here until the 1830's, if memory
serves. If we're pressed I might be able to speak passable
French."

"Then what? What if there aren't any settlers around
here?" If Mulder was right, and we were in the past, this
could be the 1600s. French missionaries had been in this
area that early. Their influence could explain the presence
of European tools in the village.

"So you believe that we're in the past?" Mulder whispered
in my ear.

"I don't know what to believe," I groaned. "My head hurts
too much to think about it."

"Well, we'll find out shortly." He began to massage my
temples.

After we'd eaten dinner, Mulder gathered everyone around
again. The sun was setting and dusk was filling the camp,
so we stood beside the fire for the added light. He began
by drawing a little village by a stream. Pointing at the
encampment first, he then pointed to his picture. Everyone
nodded in understanding. Then he lengthened his stream and
pointed to the end away from the village. One of the men
took the stick from Mulder and using his foot erased part
of the stream. Then he showed the little stream flowing
into a much bigger one that he'd represented with two
lines. Mulder then lengthened those lines and tapped his
stick at the end again. Taking the stick back, the same man
then drew two circles -- lakes.

"That's Madison, Scully," Mulder nodded towards the
picture. Taking the stick again, he crouched down and drew
some buildings between the two lakes and then looked up at
the man questioningly. He nodded immediately.

Mulder stood up and put his arm around me. "Dana, Mulder,
need," he said emphatically, pointing towards his
representation of Madison.

There was some quiet murmuring and then my heart sank as
silence fell over the suddenly somber people around us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Old Growth Forest, WIP, chapter 5

Rating: This chapter is PG.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the first wave of consciousness that disrupted my sleep, I 
thought for an instant that I was at home in my bed. But then I 
felt Mulder's arm wrapped possessively around my waist and smelled
the leathery scent of the robe that was covering us. It would have
been an extremely pleasant way to wake up, if it hadn't been for 
the memory of telling our new friends that we had to leave.

A small part of me wished that we didn't have to go; the setting 
was idyllic, the people so generous and kind. But how could I, in 
good conscience, stay when I wasn't positive what had happened to
us? Mulder, of course, believed that we'd gone back in time, but
it was only a hunch. I needed substantially more than Mulder's 
best guess to go on.

So we were going to hike to what we hoped was Madison. Even 
though I knew it was the right thing to do, I was still a little
depressed that we would have to leave this village and all of the
wonderful people we'd met.

"I'm not happy about it either," Mulder echoed my thoughts.

"How'd you...?" I began.

"You sighed." His voice was slightly muffled because he had 
burrowed his nose into my hair.

"But you still think we have to go?" I turned in his arms as I 
spoke.

"What if I'm wrong? It *has* happened before, once or twice." A
smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.

"Uh huh." I couldn't keep the 'whatever' tone out of my voice.

"What would happen if we aren't in the past? Suppose someone
eventually tracked us down, happily living in our woodland
paradise? How do you think 'we thought we were in the past' would
go over?"

I had to chuckle at the thought of that testimony in front of a
review board. "So we're going for different reasons? You're
trying to prove that you're right and I'm trying to prove that 
you're not?" I clarified.

"They *do* say that opposites attract, Scully." The richness of 
Mulder's tone created a delicious tingling in my belly. Before I
could respond, his lips were on mine, his tongue gently seeking
entrance to my mouth. We kissed languidly, slowly savoring each
other; no longer feeling any urgency, but simply relishing the 
fact that we could now enjoy each other this way.

"Don't think this'll change my mind." I pulled out of the kiss
to warn him breathlessly.

"Maybe I'll just distract you for a little while," he chuckled 
before capturing my lips again.

His hand was drifting from my waist up toward my breast when a
sound behind us startled me. It wasn't that I was surprised that
someone would come into our wigwam unannounced, I was getting 
used to that. After our announcement last night, I wasn't 
expecting to be treated like company anymore.

"Good morning, Wanik," I smiled as I turned to face her.

As she handed me our breakfast she gave me a sad smile. Then after
picking up my dress that had been folded at the foot of the bed, 
handed it to me and nodded toward the door.

"Okay," I nodded as I hurriedly began to eat my breakfast. 

Smiling again, she backed out of the wigwam..

"I think you were just told to hustle your ass," Mulder grinned
at me.

"Just as long as it's not the bum's rush." I couldn't figure out 
why she was in such a hurry.

"I'm sure she just wants your help with something," Mulder tried 
to reassure me. "Or maybe she wants an encore of the pee-pee
dance."

By the time I went looking for Wanik, the encampment was buzzing 
with activity. The men were nowhere in sight, but the women were 
all busier than I'd ever seen them. I found Wanik crouched by a 
small fire. In a rough wooden bowl, she was mixing some kind of
dough. Her face lit up when she saw me and she patted the ground 
beside her.

Once I was settled, she took a cast iron skillet and set it on 
some stones that held it above the fire. Then she picked up a 
small leather pouch and she scooped out some grease and put it 
in the pan. Every so often she would glance up at me to make sure
I was watching. Using her hand, she took some of the dough and 
formed it into a ball. Then she began to flatten it by patting it
back and forth between her hands. When the grease in the pan had 
melted, she quickly set the dough in the pan and flattened it
further by pressing on it with her palm, spreading it out to fill
the pan.

After waiting for a minute or two, she began to gently spin the 
cooking dough around in the skillet. When it reached some secret 
stage, she quickly flipped it over, using just her fingers. The
top side of what I now recognized as bannock was golden brown.
Even though I'd just finished breakfast, the smell was making my 
mouth water. A couple of minutes later, Wanik took the pan off of
the fire and slid the finished bannock onto a deerskin.

Once she'd replaced the skillet on the fire, she handed the pouch
of grease to me. It was then that I finally realized that I was
getting a cooking lesson. So I began to mimic the steps that Wanik
had shown me. My first attempt turned out a little on the crispy
side and Mulder, who had joined the few women who were watching 
the spectacle, laughed at my blackened bread.

"You want to try?" I motioned for him to take my place.

"Nope, you're doing just fine," he backpedaled rapidly, his
hands up in surrender.

"I thought as much," I huffed as I continued with my second 
attempt, which I ended up under-cooking.

It took all of the dough that Wanik had mixed before I finally
managed to cook one properly. When I looked for Mulder to gloat, 
I couldn't see him anywhere. As it turned out, it didn't matter;
Wanik wasn't through with me yet.

Taking the bowl that the dough had been in, she filled it halfway
again from a nearby sack. It looked like whole-wheat flour, but I
knew there had to be more to it than that. Using warm water from 
another fire, she showed me how to mix and knead the dough. When 
we were done, I'd become fairly proficient at bannock making.

Before I had a chance to look for Mulder, Wanik started to show me 
how to make the venison and wild rice stew that was a staple here.
Mulder was right; we weren't being shown the door, we were being
given the tools to survive on our journey.

I took Wanik into my arms to try to show her my appreciation, and
she was puzzled by my action. Then I backed up and tried to smile
and say thank you, but my mouth wobbled and tears clouded my eyes. 
I was worried that she didn't understand how grateful I was, but 
she pulled me back into an embrace, patted by back and murmured 
softly. When we parted, the tears shining in her eyes made me
well up all over again. But I didn't have time to wallow in my 
sorrow; Wanik still wasn't done with me. 

After we ate a quick lunch, she began to pack foodstuffs into a
haversack. With the exception of the meat, she packed everything 
that I would need to make what we had practiced earlier. In the 
middle of the packing, Mulder showed up looking for food. With a
roll of her eyes, Wanik handed him a bowl and a wooden spoon and
sent him off in the direction of a pot of stew that had been 
simmering all morning. Wanik, it seemed to me, thought men were 
all the same. 

I watched carefully as Wanik packed. She showed me everything 
that went in. The sight of salt, oatmeal, and whole-wheat flour
surprised me. They weren't commodities that I associated with
Native Americans; at least not traditionally. With the cookware
that we'd used and this food, I came to the conclusion that if
Mulder was right and we were in the past, we weren't as far back
as he thought. Once Wanik had finished packing, she had me wait
for a minute while she dashed off toward her wigwam.

Now that we'd spent a few days here, I was starting to figure out
some of the family connections. Wanik still lived in a wigwam 
with her parents. Originally, I'd thought that she was in her 
early twenties, but now I had a feeling that she was younger 
than that. There was nothing specific I could point to, it was
just a feeling. I'd seen some of the younger men trying to get 
her attention, but she didn't seem to notice. Most of the other
girls her age were already attached, and a few of them were 
pregnant. Wanik was a very pretty girl and it made me wonder why
she didn't pay any attention to any of the young men who 
obviously liked her. I did assume that in this society, she 
wouldn't have much choice in who she was partnered with. I 
wondered if she'd already been promised to someone--maybe in 
another tribe. Then I shook my head slightly as I realized that I
was starting to think as if Mulder was right about where we were.

If we'd only been able to communicate more easily, so many 
questions could have been answered. My thoughts were interrupted
by Wanik reappearing, her arms full of cooking implements--two
little tin pots, a small skillet, three bowls and various 
utensils. Hoping that she would recognize my words of gratitude,
I thanked her again.

It was suppertime before Mulder and I had a chance to talk 
again, sitting in front of a small fire near our wigwam. But he
wouldn't tell me what he'd been up to all day, saying that he'd
been sworn to secrecy.

"I'm a man of my word, Scully," he responded dryly when I tried
to coax it out of him. "You'll find out soon enough."

I went back to my food, trying not to care that he was keeping
something from me, but the suspense was killing me. 

"How'd your cooking lesson go?" Mulder tried to restart our
conversation.

"Fine," I replied snappishly, instantly regretting my tone.

"Scully," Mulder leaned over to whisper, "I would tell you but I
promised. You wouldn't want me to break my word and ruin the 
surprise would you?"

"I guess not," I admitted, but I still didn't feel any better 
about it.

"Your feet seem to be completely healed." Mulder changed the 
subject.

"Pretty much," I agreed. "It's a good thing, too. I've got a long
walk ahead of me in bare feet."

"You should be fine in the woods. It looks like your soles have 
started to toughen up already." He nodded at my feet. He had 
taken to walking around barefoot too. His dress shoes just 
didn't suit his breeches.

"I used to go barefoot in the summer all of time. The soles of my
feet would be like leather, come September." I thought back to 
all of the time spent on different, yet almost identical bases.
All of the kids ran wild in the summer--almost controlling the 
place. Even the MPs gave way to us on the streets. I was still
thinking about Kool-Aid and homemade popsicles when Mulder asked
me if I was done with my bowl. I looked up to see Wanik standing 
there, patiently waiting for me to finish.

"Why do you think it's Wanik that's always looking after us?"
Mulder wondered aloud when she'd gone.

"I'm guessing that it's because she has no one else to look 
after. It was easier than burdening someone who had a family," I
suggested with a shrug.

"I wonder why she doesn't have anyone to look after? Seems to me
that she'd be a good catch." Mulder mirrored my earlier thoughts.

"I wondered the same thing, but I doubt we'll ever know, Mulder."

"Mmm," he replied vaguely, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

Twilight had settled over us and the warmth of the day vanished
almost immediately.

"Maybe we should call it a day." I rubbed my bare arms, trying to
warm them up. "If we're leaving tomorrow, we should get some 
sleep."

"It's a bit early yet, Scully," Mulder chuckled. "C'mere, I'll
warm you up if you're cold. Or were you hoping that I'd warm you
up in the wigwam?" He waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Do you ever think about anything besides sex?" I shook my head.

"Let me see." Mulder spoke slowly and rubbed his chin 
thoughtfully before his armed whipped out and snagged me around
the waist. He dragged me, giggling, onto his lap. "Not really,"
he whispered into my ear before his lips began to tug on my 
earlobe. "Occasionally I think about global conspiracies." His
hand was slowly sliding up the inside of my thigh. "Cases 
sometimes distract me from thinking about sex, but more often
than not, dreaming about having sex with you would distract me 
from a case."

"Oh yeah?" I murmured huskily.

"And there is that obscenely overdue triple X bill," he reminded
me, barely lifting his lips from my neck.

"I think that still counts as sex," I argued half-heartedly. The
truth was, I was enjoying being warmed up too much to care. I 
turned my face to his, seeking his mouth. His hand wandered 
perilously close to the juncture of my thighs as we kissed. A 
soft shuffling sound made me open my eyes.

"Mulder," I broke our kiss.

"Hmm?" His lips settled on my neck again.

"We have company."

Our small fire was surrounded by almost every member of the 
village. Namid sat down opposite us, and everyone joined him, 
circling the fire. There wasn't enough room left for me to slide 
off of Mulder's lap, but he slowly eased his hand out from under
my dress. I don't think we fooled anyone, but I don't think they 
cared either.

Namid began to make a speech, and despite his gesturing and the 
fact that I recognized some names, I couldn't follow what he was
saying. Suddenly Wanik stood up, and taking her hands from behind
her back, she held out a pair of moccasins to me. Scrambling out
of Mulder's lap, I stood up to accept them. I recognized them 
instantly as the pair I'd seen her working on by the fire. Each
top had been decorated with a sun of yellow and orange beads; the
rays reaching the outer seams.

"Wanik, they are beautiful," I sighed. "But you went to so much
work." She smiled joyfully at me as I ran my fingers over the 
beadwork. "I can't thank you enough." Lowering her eyes shyly,
she returned to her seat.

"Did you know about this," I accused Mulder once I'd settled into
his lap again. 

"Nope." He shook his head. "Honestly," he swore when I turned to
look at him sharply. "I had an idea, but I wasn't sure."

I was busily admiring my new shoes when Abequa, one of the 
grandmothers that Mulder liked to flirt with, stood up. She, too,
held out a pair of moccasins, but these were larger, intended for
Mulder. When I started to get up, Abequa motioned for me to stay
put and handed the shoes to Mulder.

"You knew about these?" I leaned back to ask. "That's why you 
suspected that I'd be getting a pair?"

"Mine were made today," he confirmed. "Abequa measured me for
them this morning."

Namid started to speak again, so Mulder and I listened politely. 
As he spoke, he stood up and everyone but Mulder and I gasped. 
Shrugging out of the vest he was wearing, he presented it to
Mulder. This time I got out of Mulder's lap and when he stood up, 
the chief helped him into the vest. The front was adorned with 
suns similar to the ones on my moccasins, but the back featured
a large picture of a fox. Mulder was speechless; not a condition
I'd seen him afflicted with often.

"Say something, Mulder." I jabbed him in the ribs. "Smile, 
anything."

"Thank you, Namid." Mulder's voice was laden with awe. 

Then everyone stood up and began to talk at once. It appeared 
that Namid giving up his vest was a major event. Standing behind
Mulder as he was congratulated by the men, I studied the design
on his back. Red, black and white beads combined to create a 
fox, standing on its hind legs, looking up and to the left. In a
semi-circle above the fox's head, floated 7 blue stars. Although
it was merely a coincidence, the hairs on the back of my neck
stood on end.

I was still looking at Mulder's vest in amazement when I heard 
Omiga's voice. Everybody stopped milling around and sat down 
again. Omiga made a speech of his own and then motioned for
Mulder and me to stand up. Then he turned to retrieve two bowls
that were on the ground behind the circle. I cringed inwardly,
but tried to keep the smile on my face. As long as it wasn't 
like that first drink he gave me, I'd be fine. It turned out
to be like neither the first or the second; it was very 
sweet--almost syrupy. 

When we handed the bowls back to Omiga and thanked him, Namid 
clapped his hands together twice. There was some scurrying about
and then I saw several of the men formed into a small circle.
The beating of a drum began, followed by the rise and fall of 
their voices. Around them, all of the young, unattached men of
the village began to dance. The clothes and make-up they wore
weren't as elaborate as I'd seen in pictures, but far grander
than anything I'd seen here.

The women bowed their heads together and murmured as they 
watched. One of the little boys got up and began to mimic his
elders, making everyone smile. When the dancing stopped, the
drumming continued. Once the drumming faded away, one of the
grandmothers stood and spoke. Everyone listened in rapt attention
as she talked. At the end of her story, there was more 
murmuring, and the crowd began to disperse.

With all of the reveling, it ended up being quite late before
we finally got to bed. I had been worried that we had offended
these people by saying we had to go, but they seemed to 
understand completely. We couldn't ask for better friends. When
we needed help, they gave it to us--fed, clothed, and sheltered
us just as Mulder had said. And now that we were leaving, they 
were giving us everything we could need for the trip, and they'd
given us a going-away party to boot. As I lay in Mulder's arms
drifting off to sleep, I thought about everything that had 
happened and what was yet to come. But even the thought of our
upcoming journey couldn't keep me awake.

The sun hadn't yet begun to burn off the early morning mist when
Wanik woke us. After a quick breakfast, Nawkaw helped Mulder and
me sling our haversacks. Pots hung from my pack, and the skillet
from Mulder's. Then we were each given a waterskin to carry 
over our shoulders. With all of the commotion, I didn't notice
that someone else was being loaded up as well; it was Apram.
It had never occurred to me that we'd be given a guide. And if it
had, I never would have expected it to be the chief's son.

In the little time we were given to say goodbye, I gave Omiga 
and Wanik each a quick hug. Mulder shook Namid's hand, but before
I had a chance to thank the chief myself, Apram was hurrying us
out of the village. I tried to wave to everyone, repeating all
of the names I could remember. Mulder was more stoic, but 
judging from the way his jaw was clenched, I could tell that he
was going to miss these people as much as I was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author: Andrea

Title: Old Growth Forest, WIP, chapter 6

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our journey was familiar at first; we followed the path back 
toward the raspberry patch. My moccasins felt heavenly and we
were making good time, despite the weight of the packs we were
carrying. It was also easier to cover more distance when I wasn't
wearing those ridiculous shoes. By the time the sun was overhead,
we had passed the spot where Mulder and I had built the lean-to.
My stomach was just beginning to complain when Apram reached into
a pouch that he had tied around his waist. He produced some
bannock and strips of dried meat and doled them out. I didn't
know if I was going to like the meat, but I tried it anyway.

Apram didn't stop; we ate as we continued to walk. Sweat trickled
down my back and my legs were starting to quiver. I'd thought I
was in better shape. Apram sighed impatiently when I had to stop
to relieve myself. He and Mulder seemed fine; their bladders were
obviously bigger than mine. When we were underway again, Apram
increased his pace. I almost had to trot to keep up. When I saw
that the sun was low in the western sky, I assumed that we'd be
stopping soon, but Apram pushed on. I was beginning to fear that
he was going to walk all night when I heard an unfamiliar sound.
At first it was barely a whisper, but it gradually became louder.
The big river, I realized finally. 

"Maybe he wanted to make it to the river before we stopped," 
Mulder ventured, as if he'd read my thoughts.

"God, I hope so," I muttered. "I can't keep up this pace, Mulder.
I practically had to run to keep up with you two."

"Why didn't you say something?" He turned to look at me.

"I didn't want to slow us down. Apram is doing us a really big 
favor and I don't want to appear ungrateful," I explained.

"I'll see if I can get him to slow down," Mulder offered,
turning and quickening his pace.

"No, Mulder," I called after him, but he waved me off. 

He had no sooner caught up to Apram than the trees thinned out 
and a large river spread out before us. Our guide stopped
and lowered his pack to the ground. As soon as I caught up to 
them, I did the same and then sank to the ground. Mulder took one
of the pots and fetched some water from the stream. I drank it
quickly. Apram had disappeared back into the woods.

"I'll get him to take it easier tomorrow, Scully." Mulder 
crouched down beside me and pushed some sweaty clumps of hair off
of my face. "My legs were done in by noon," he confessed.

"There is no way I can take another day like this, Mulder."

As we spoke, Apram reappeared carrying some firewood. In no time 
he had built a little fire. When it was burning brightly, he 
turned to me and nodded towards the fire. It took a minute, but I 
slowly realized that I was expected to cook. All of my muscles
were quivering and my back ached and he wanted me to prepare the 
food. But with everything that he had done for Mulder and me, I 
could hardly say no. So I nodded at him.

"I'll help," Mulder offered quickly when he realized what Apram
had asked.

It took some time to get a few stones from the riverbank arranged
so that I could use the skillet, but Wanik had taught me well, 
and bannock making was almost second nature. When the bread was
done, Apram gave me more of the jerky. It took another game of
charades for me to understand that he wanted me to stew it with
some wild rice.

We ate most of the bannock while the stew cooked. The wild rice 
began to split just as the jerky grew soft. The smokiness of
the meat was wonderful with the nutty flavor of the rice. Neither
Apram or Mulder complained about the food; they barely stopped to
take a breath as they ate. Then they divided what was left in the
pot between them, after Mulder first offered some to me. Apram 
even wiped the pot out with the last of his bannock.

I smiled appreciatively at Mulder when he gathered up the dishes
and took them to the stream. Apram took out his knife and began 
to whittle a piece of wood; I wondered sleepily what he was 
making. The fire cracked and popped, drawing my attention. The
dancing flames had a mesmerizing effect. 

I heard Mulder's voice and realized that I must have drifted off.
When I dragged my eyes open, sunlight assaulted them. I was
under a blanket, and Mulder was spooned up to me, grumbling. I 
turned to find Apram shaking Mulder's shoulder. He was grinning
broadly and shaking his head.  After I'd shaken the cobwebs out
of my head, I discovered that it was fairly late, much later than
we'd left the day before. But I could've easily slept for another 
couple of hours.

Apram had the fire burning steadily for me. I knew without being
asked that I was expected to make breakfast. When I started to
rummage through my pack, Mulder graciously offered to help again,
but I assured him that I could manage breakfast by myself. 

It took no time until the porridge was bubbling away. Apram 
surprised me by handing me the other pot, which he had filled 
with blueberries. The berries turned the bland gruel into a 
treat. When we'd finished breakfast, Apram confused me by 
pointing to the skillet. Then he showed me his waist pouch, 
conspicuously empty of bannock. So before I packed up, I quickly 
fried some up. After I'd made one batch, he asked me to make 
another. I agreed, assuming that he'd thought we were a bit short
yesterday.

As soon as we were on our way again, Apram set his torturous 
pace. It took some convincing, but we got him to slow down. He
wasn't impressed, but he consented. I hated to make demands, but 
I couldn't repeat yesterday's pace. We weren't strolling now, but
at least I had time to look at the scenery.

The forest was impressive; I'd never seen oak trees that big. To 
our left, the river flowed rapidly, sparkling in the sunlight.
The constant rush of water filled my ears. The air was cooler
and smelled fresher here. Wildlife was abundant; we startled
several deer as we walked.  At one point Apram stopped and 
pointed across the river. Ambling through the undergrowth, on his
way to the water, was the largest black bear I'd ever seen. I was
thankful that the river separated us.

Although my legs were sore, I wasn't having any trouble keeping
up today. Mulder even took my hand as we walked behind Apram.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" Mulder nodded toward the trees.

"It is, and so peaceful," I sighed.

"Those oaks are enormous. I don't think I've ever seen one that
big." From his tone I could tell that he wanted me to take his
comment further.

"So, from that you think, what? That we aren't in Wisconsin after
all?" I tried to figure out what he was thinking.

"No, my point was, I don't think there are any deciduous forests
left like this in North America. The lumber barons stripped the
land clean of trees like these. There might be an occasional
giant oak left, but miles upon miles of them...?" He let his
voice trail off.

I couldn't argue this point; he was right. We'd seen giant 
redwoods on the west coast, but I'd never seen a forest like this
east of the Rockies.  We walked on in silence, Mulder apparently
content to let me mull over these new considerations.

A short time later, Apram meted out the bannock and dried meat. 
As we ate, I continued to look around. I thought about all of the 
ground that we had covered without seeing another soul.

"Maybe we're in a National Forest?" I offered suddenly.

"Maybe," Mulder shrugged, but I knew he wasn't convinced. I 
hadn't even convinced myself, but I still couldn't accept his 
time travel theory. I knew it was a remote possibility, but it
was so far-fetched. Dr. Mettler would had to have been so far
ahead of his time *and* working in isolation; no partner to help
him when he got bogged down, to see things from a different 
perspective. Maybe he *had* figured out how to create a stable
wormhole, but the energy he would've needed was phenomenal. His
electricity provider would have noticed immediately.

I was still chasing it round and round in my head when the noise 
from the river increased dramatically, interrupting my thoughts.
The river had become wider and shallower; the sound I heard, a 
set of rapids. When we were beside them, they were too loud to be 
heard over. Apram pointed across the river and then took off his 
moccasins. Stepping from stone to stone, he picked his way to the 
opposite bank. I went next, moccasins in hand, making sure that 
the stones I chose were dry. The water was shallow, but the 
current was swift enough to carry a person away.  

When I landed on dry ground and turned around, I was shocked to
find Mulder right behind me--I hadn't heard a thing. My heart was
still pounding when Apram picked up a stick and began draw in the
dirt. Shortly he'd recreated the map that Mulder had drawn back 
at the village. His version showed the village, the stream, the 
river, and the ford that we had just crossed. Beyond that he 
extended the river to where it emptied into a lake. Then he drew
a line around the east end of the lake and pointed to the area 
that Mulder thought was Madison. Mulder nodded to let Apram know
that he understood.

After tossing his stick back onto the ground, Apram opened his
waist pack and took out most of the jerky and handed it to me.
When I looked at him in confusion, he pointed to himself and then
back across the river. Without another word or gesture, he turned 
and stepped from stone to stone again until he'd reached the 
western bank. I watched in stunned silence as he stooped to put 
his moccasins back on and then start to walk back the way we'd 
come. When I turned to look at Mulder, his eyes were wide with 
shock too.

"I guess we're on our own now." He raised his voice to be heard
over the rapids.

My head bobbed slightly in response; I was still too overwhelmed
to speak. Mulder took the meat that I was still clutching and
put it in my pack. Then he took my hand and we started to walk 
downstream. Once the roar of the whitewater was behind us, it was
easier to converse.

"I think he brought us this far to show us where to cross the 
river. It's fairly straightforward from here on." Mulder gave my
hand a reassuring squeeze. 

"I know we'll be fine, Mulder. I just thought he'd stay with us
all the way."

"I think we should find a nice place to stop and camp for the 
night." He changed the subject.

"After yesterday, I'll be happy to take it a little easier 
today," I laughed.

"We can set an easier pace; no sense in wearing ourselves out. 
It's mid-afternoon anyway." He nodded toward the sun.

"I'd really like to take a bath." I wrinkled my nose. "And I 
don't even want to know what my hair looks like." I hadn't been 
able to wash my hair in over a week. I'd rinsed in the stream and
combed it with my fingers; but after getting so sweaty yesterday,
it didn't bear thinking about.

"It's not that bad," Mulder assured me. "A little bit wild, but
I like wild." He grinned mischievously at me. 

As we spoke we approached a bend in the river. There, the banks
became less steep and a few willows graced a grassy plateau; the
huge oaks having given way.

"I'd say this is the place." Mulder looked to me for concurrence.

"It's one beautiful vista after another here, isn't it?" I could
envision picnickers or campers choosing this spot. It was 
perfect; grass, shade and a crystal clear river.

"Do you want to sleep out in the open again tonight?" Mulder 
scanned the area. 

"As long as we have a fire, I think we'll be fine. We have a 
couple of blankets; the ground is dry." I took stock.

"Al fresco, it is," Mulder said decisively, then helped me off 
with my pack. "I'll go hunt for some firewood," he told me after
he'd slid his own pack off.

"You don't mind if I go for a bath now, do you?" I was anxious
to be rid of the layer of sweat and dirt that was covering me.

"Go right ahead, I'll be in to join you as soon as I can." He
smiled and then traipsed off into the trees. 

After I'd stripped off my dress, I gave it a wary sniff, but it
didn't smell bad at all, just the rich scent of the leather. So
I laid it on the grass and set my moccasins beside it. Then I 
walked carefully down the gentle slope that led to the river.

This water was cooler than the stream near the village, but I got 
used to it quickly. The bottom was rocky and the current fast, so
I knew I wouldn't have to worry about leeches. Once I was in the
water, the only way I could wash was by rubbing my skin with my
hands, but it would have to do. 

The hardest part was getting my hair wet. The water seemed so
much colder to my head, but I had to clean it somehow. I decided
that the best way to wash it would be to stand in water that was 
about mid-thigh deep, facing downstream, and then bend over to 
immerse my head. While underwater, I scrubbed my scalp with my
fingers. When I straightened up, I flipped my hair back and 
squeezed some of the water out of it. After I'd caught my breath,
I dunked my head again. This time I rubbed my hair between my 
palms. Once I'd repeated that a few times, I waded back into the
river until the water was shoulder deep. After turning around, I
laid my head back in the water and let the water flow through it.
Using my fingers, I managed to get most of the tangles out. 

Feeling rejuvenated, I'd started back toward shore, squeezing 
water out of my hair as I went, when something caught my eye. I
looked up to find Mulder standing in the grass, just watching me. 
The look on his face was almost predatory and even with the 
distance that separated us, I could see the prominent bulge in
his pants. The sight of him watching me made my stomach 
flip-flop.

Trying to remain nonchalant, I continued to walk slowly towards
the shore. Mulder's eyes never left me and he didn't move a
muscle. When I reached the bank, I could hear his labored
breathing.

"I thought you were going to join me." I kept my tone casual.

"I changed my mind." The smokiness in his voice stoked the fire
that was already burning in my belly. I was only a few feet away 
from him now; he still hadn't moved.

"The water was nice--very refreshing." I informed him coolly.

"Mmm." His eyes traveled up and down the length of my body. I
felt glorious. I loved the way he was looking at me, his desire
for me so blatant.

I felt positively hedonistic standing naked in front of him. 
Although the river had cooled my skin, I could feel it beginning
to heat up under his gaze.

"Why did you change your mind?" I reached up and squeezed some
more water out of my hair. A small smile twitched at the corners
of his mouth.  

"I *was* on my way to join you," he told me softly, running a 
finger across my cheek. "But when I got here, I had to stop and
watch."

"Why?" I looked up into his hazy hazel eyes.

"To watch you, in the water," he admitted.

"You were watching me? For how long?" I wondered if he noticed 
that my voice had become husky.

"You were washing your hair and when you straightened up, the
water just slid off of you--cascading over your breasts." His
hand left my cheek and followed the path that he'd described. 
When his fingertips brushed my already taut nipples, I drew in
a quick breath. His touch had made my breasts begin to ache with
pleasure. At my reaction, Mulder's eyes darkened further and his
breathing became more ragged.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?" he breathed as
he leaned in to kiss me. My tongue had barely touched his, when
he was gone again. His lips had found my neck, and he was gently
nipping at my skin. My mouth wanted him back desperately, but 
what he was doing felt too good; I didn't want to stop him. He
quickly moved on to my shoulders and then my chest. Managing to 
open my eyes, I found him kneeling upright in front of me; his
face level with my breasts. Why had I ever complained about being
short?

His hands were resting firmly on my ass, and as he began to place
feathery kisses in the valley between my breasts, he gently
caressed each cheek. My hips rolled forward, pressing my sex
against his diaphragm. When his hot mouth latched onto my nipple,
my knees buckled and I leaned even more heavily against him. He
hummed against me, creating wonderful vibrations that I felt
between my legs.

Mulder no longer seemed rushed; he licked, sucked and nibbled on
my left breast until I was squirming against him. He must have 
felt how wet he was making me. I had to cling to his shoulders 
to stay upright and my eyes had drifted closed again.

An exquisite eternity passed before he decided to give my right 
breast the same attention. A low moan escaped my throat when his
mouth closed around my areola and his tongue flicked my nipple.
I'd discovered a long time ago that my right breast was more
sensitive than my left, so Mulder's ministrations were making me
dizzy with delight.

In the fog of my lust, I heard his voice asking me to lie down.
Without opening my eyes, I complied immediately. I could feel his
hands carefully guiding me. 

The grass felt cool on my heated flesh. Dragging my eyes open, I
discovered that Mulder was still kneeling beside me. His lips 
seemed slightly swollen, and his eyes were darker than I'd ever 
seen them. Reaching over, I began to loosen the laces on the left
side of his breeches. He began to work on the right; his eyes 
never leaving mine. 

When we'd lowered his pants to mid-thigh, my eyes were drawn to
his erection. Almost of its own volition, my hand closed around 
his shaft and began to stroke him slowly. When I lifted my eyes
to look at him, I found that his eyes were closed and his lips
were slightly parted. I continued to watch his face as I caressed 
him. His head lolled backwards and his eyelids fluttered. When
his eyes flew open, I stopped stroking hi