All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions and Chris Carter. No
infringement intended on any part... go ahead, take me to court...
I'm using the insanity defence... heh, heh, heh...

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org 

Summary: A visit to the store results in a dangerous situation for Scully and
St. George.

Warning here for rough language... yah, it might be common enough, but I
still can't get used to it...
and major kleenex alert...
you've been warned...


Dragons of A Cry (1/2)
by Sheryl Martin


"So what would you do if you ever lost it?"

"Lost what?"

"Your Gift... your Curse... whatever you're calling it now..."

"Don't push it, Mulder." Pause. "I'd be probably the happiest person on the
face of the earth."

"Why?"

"Because I wouldn't be responsible when things went wrong. Things that I
could have done; people I could have saved. No more nightmares."

"But we all deal with that. Everyone in law enforcement; the medical field;
the military... we all have that monkey on our shoulder."

"Yes. We all do. Even you and Scully, right?"

"..."

"My point exactly."

****************

The small variety store was quiet - more due to the late hour than the lack
of customers. Standing at the rack of magazines were two teenage girls; each
taking their time searching through every new issue and giggling anxiously at
the pictures of their latest heartthrob. An elderly gentleman; the worn grey
fedora on his head signalling better days, made his way along the small fruit
bins; carefully checking each orange before putting it in his small basket,
hanging precariously from the same hand that wielded a thick wooden cane. 

The young black boy ran into the store; breathless from exertion. Skidding up
to the counter, he smiled at the young clerk before asking where the aspirin
was kept - his mother needed some right away for a headache.

Cracking his gum, the bored teenager motioned towards the back of the store
and went back to reading his comic book. Heading for the medical supplies,
the youngster barely missed slamming into two women, just entering the store.
One stared at the other in disbelief, continuing the conversation that they
had started outside on the street.

"So you were bluffing?"

"I never bluff."

"Oh, and Mulder actually models for Saks Fifth Avenue, right?" The first
woman snorted. "It's still a sin to lie, Dana..."

"And you never lie?"

"That wasn't the question..."

As the pair stopped at the pop display, the young boy disappeared behind a
large pyramid of cans near the back. A new round of hysterical tittering came
from the magazine rack; causing a deep snort of disapproval from the old man
as he continued his search for the perfect orange.

Suddenly the door swung open; two young men dashing into the store. Raising a
sawed-off pump shotgun, the first fired a round at the small video camera
mounted at the far wall; a second shot towards the back of the store -
shattering the small pyramid of tins.

The second man, brandishing an automatic pistol in each hand, pointed them
both at the terrified clerk and screamed.

"Freeze, everyone! Or we'll blow your fucking heads off!" A trail of sweat
ran down the gunman's face as he stared at the clerk. "The money, man... give
me all your fucking money!" 

The clerk nodded, dropping the comic to the ground as he moved towards the
cash register. He reached under the counter.

The leather-jacketed hood flinched, pulling tight on both triggers. The
bullets slammed into the kid's body; pushing him back against the cigarette
display behind him. With sightless eyes rolling up towards the ceiling, he
slid to the floor in a bloody pool.

"Jesus, Eric... he was going to give us the money!" The second man yelled;
swinging his shotgun back and forth around the store. 

"Fuck it. He was gonna set off the alarm, right?" Turning to face the
customers, he jauntily put one of the barrels of the still-warm pistols to
his mouth and blew off imagined smoke. "Man, I love this hardware... beats
the crap out of the old revolvers and .45's, ya know?"

"Shut the fuck up! What do we do now..." The thug bellowed. "Alright...
everyone up here... get the hell up to the front of the store! Right now!"

Dana Scully looked over at Jackie St. George, seeing the anger and
desperation echoed in her own face. In theory they would have taken these
guys out by now... if they were armed.

A soft cry went up from the back of the store; bringing Scully to turn and
walk towards the sound. The shotgun man pointed his weapon at her.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" He snarled. Behind him, the
terrified teenagers huddled against the wall; the elderly gentleman
sauntering up to stand beside them.

"That sound means that someone is hurt. And if you don't want to have someone
else die, I better go take a look." She drew in a deep breath. "I'm a
doctor."

Eric shrugged. "Go take a look with her, man... if she pulls anything we can
blow them all away, right?"

Shotgun wavered for a second, then jerked the barrel of the weapon away from
her. "Okay... but don't pull anything or I'll do it." He paused. "Come here."

Dana stood silently as the man quickly ran his hands over her coat, pulling
out the cell phone. "Don't leave home without it, hmm?" He waved it over his
head for Eric to see. "We got something good here, man..."

"You can still walk out, you know." Dana said softly. "Just turn yourself in
to the police and we'll work something out..."

"Just go see what's up before I shoot you." Shotgun said. "Don't push it,
bitch." He watched carefully as Scully walked down the aisle, the shotgun
held level with her back. As the pair disappeared from sight, Eric turned to
face the other woman standing in front of him.

Jackie smiled. "Mind if I grab a coke? Looks like it's going to be a long
night..."

He stared at her in disbelief. "What the hell are you?"

"Canadian."

"Labatt's Ice?"

"The best." She paused. "Well, when there's no Guiness available..."

"Shut the fuck up." He watched as she picked up a cherry cola from the
display and opened it. Popping the can open, she walked over to where the
other hostages sat down; their backs to the wall.

The small boy lay there, his eyes open and focused on Dana as she knelt down
beside him. Embedded in the left side of his head sat a piece of metal; a
fragment of the tins that the gunmen had so casually blown away in their
display of power. There wasn't a lot of blood, but that wasn't what she was
worried about.

"Shit." Shotgun exhaled, staring at the injured kid. "Shitshitshit..." He
motioned at Dana. "Get him to the front of the store with the others."

Dana looked up at him, her face scarlet with rage. "This boy needs immediate
medical attention. And we can't move him." She lowered her voice to an angry
tone. "That head injury is too serious to bounce him around like a rag doll."

"I don't care." The steel barrel rested on her shoulder, pointed at the boy.
"Either you move him to the front with the other people, or he dies here.
Your choice."

Biting back a curse, Dana took off her trench coat and spread it on the
ground. The soft eyes of the wounded child followed her every move as she
gently pulled the coat under his body and worked it up under his back and
head.

"I'll need you to help." She growled. "Pick up that end and don't bounce him
too much."

For a moment, Shotgun hesitated, then put the weapon down beside the boy in
the makeshift stretcher before picking up the end nearest his feet. Dana
gathered the folds of her coat up by the boy's head; and they made their way
towards the front of the store.

*************

"You're kidding me."

"Dark forest green. Swear."

"Scully's got a set - light olive, I believe."

Marty frowned at Fox. "But I thought you and Dana weren't..." He made a
motion with his hands. "So how would you know?"

Mulder smiled. "Hey, I'm an investigator." He cracked the last of the
sunflower seeds with his teeth. "Love to see Jackie's face if I told her..."

"Mulder, she'd kill me."

"Could be interesting."

"I'd tell Dana."

"So? She'd laugh."

"And then kill you."

"Point." Fox picked up the last of the chips and stared at the empty bowl.
"What are those two doing? They've been gone long enough to buy half the
store..." Picking up the phone, he dialled the cell number. "Hey, Scully -
you two drooling over the latest Rolling Stone or something? We're starving
here..."

Marty frowned as he looked at the blank face. "What's up?"

"She hung up. Or someone did; I didn't hear a word." Reaching for his coat he
stopped and stared down. Marty followed his gaze to the .38 still snug inside
the shoulder holster sitting on the table. "Neither one of them took their
weapons." The voice echoed in the now-empty apartment as the door swung shut
behind the two men.

**********

"Who the fuck was that?" Eric swung his pistols around to cover Scully, who
was crouching by the injured boy. "Who was that, your husband?" Suddenly the
sound of sirens interrupted his questioning. "Oh, man... the cops!"

Jackie chuckled. He turned back to scowl at her. "Don't fuck with me, bitch!"
The barrels wavered dangerously at St. George. "Don't laugh at me!" A thin
line of sweat made its way down one side of his face as he screamed.

Shotgun got to his feet, leaving Dana. "Hey, man... just cool it. We'll call
the cops and get some deal out of here - no problem." He pointed at the
cringing hostages with his weapon. "Lots of bargaining power, ya know..."

*********

Mulder felt an icy fist close around his chest as he stared at the blockade
of police cars and yellow barricades closing off the block. Flicking his ID
at the officer, he strode straight for the lead man, Nantus close behind.

"... but we're going to go by the book." The older officer stopped to let the
words sink in to the waiting men. "By the book. Anyone takes their own
initiative, they won't have to worry about any hearing - I'll take care of
them first. Now go." He turned to Mulder. "And who are you?"

"FBI Agent Fox Mulder. My partner's inside there; along with a Canadian
Security Service agent as well." He paused. "Anything we can do?"

"Carmichael." He shook hands with Mulder; running a hand through his thinning
red hair. "The press is going to be going nuts for gossip - keep this out of
it. We've got reports of one dead; one injured."

"How?" Marty butted in. "Who's hurt? What do you know?"

"Your partner's cell phone. They took the first step and called 911 right
after hearing the patrol car pull up to the silent alarm. But they're scared;
and we think on drugs." He paused. "We don't know anything. And they're not
keen on letting anyone in to offer medical help."

"Scully's a doctor." Mulder offered.

"We don't know if she's one of the injured or dead." Carmichael sighed.
"Look, I'm sure your partner's a smart lady and won't do anything to provoke
them. Along with your pal. We've got a negotiator on the phone right now,
trying to get them out. Just give us time." He tried to smile. "Get some
coffee, if you can stand it. I'll keep you informed." Walking away from the
two men, he headed for a cluster of uniforms.

"So now what?" Marty grumbled.

Mulder pulled out his own cell phone and stared at the keypad. "I have to
make a phone call." He swallowed.

*********

The younger of the two teenagers crouched against the wall; her dirty blonde
hair a sharp contrast to the green and purple windbreaker she wore. Her
friend, dressed in a dark green M1 jacket; pulled a long strand of dark red
hair down from behind her ear to chew on it as they sat quietly. Off to one
side, sitting cross-legged with the cane across his lap, the elderly
gentleman smiled at the pair and adjusted his glasses.

"Reminds me of being stuck underground in the Tube during the Blitz." He said
nonchalantly to no one in particular. "We used to sit there for hours, all
cramped together while the bombers flew overhead."

The blonde responded. "You mean World War Two? We read, like, something about
that last semester..."

"That's the one." He broadly smiled. "Geoffrey Hansen, at your service." He
swept his hat off in a grand gesture; prompting a set of giggles from the
pair. 

"Uh... I'm Rachel Holland and this is Carol...Carol Henley. We're best
friends." The blonde smiled nervously.

"Wonderful! I remember a woman I knew called Rachel once.." His voice trailed
off as the soft English accent lulled the two terrified girls.

Jackie smiled as she slid back over to the other side of the small display
they had dragged in between the wounded boy and the rest of the hostages.
Dana looked up at her and frowned; her eyes following Shotgun as he paced a
few feet away from them.

"It's bad. I'm trying to see if they'll trade him out for something... maybe
some drugs for the crackhead there..." She gestured at Eric. "But it's not
going..." Their eyes locked. "Don't even think of it..."

"I have to try, Dana... I can't just..."

The redhead cut her off angrily, her voice a low rumble. "You have a duty to
stay alive and help these people stay alive." Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"You know you can't stop a shotgun blast; and I know you can't handle two
automatics... no offence, but I've seen you try. And you would have died.
Should have died."

"But..." Her determined tone sank away as the truth of Scully's words sank
in. "But this kid..."

"I want to save him. But I can't do it if you're tempting Eric to blast you
away; and you can't take him out." She sighed. "Just hope the negotiator is
doing his job."

The boy stirred, bringing them both to his side. The eyes slowly opened, dark
chocolate and sad. "Mom?"

"My name's Dana..." Scully smiled softly, taking his hand. "This is Jackie...
do you remember where you are?"

"I was going to get some aspirin for Mom... she's got a bad headache on
account of working late..." He frowned, then winced. "My head hurts..."

Scully's eyes flew up to the jagged piece of metal embedded in his skull; the
makeshift dressing wrapped around it as carefully as she dared.

"You had an accident. Some men came in to rob the store and you got hit by a
piece of a can." She licked her lips. "What's your name?"

"Danny." He smiled. "But I'm trying to make everyone call me Daniel."

"Why?"

"'Cause my dad got transferred out West a few months ago. We're going to fly
out at the end of the year, when I finish school... and while he's gone I'm
the man of the house, and I have to have a proper name. So I'm trying to make
my mom and everyone call me Daniel."

Dana nodded. "Then that's what I'll call you."

His eyes flickered. "I'm ... I'm not going to die, am I?"

"Not if I can help it." Dana said softly. Her eyes went to Jackie, who
nodded. 

***********

A slow drizzle had begun to come down on the crowd, sending most of the
gawking spectators home; sensing that this situation wasn't going to be over
soon. Amid the television trailers and antennas set up for the constant
surveillance and the remains of the crowd wandered a single woman.

She walked with a purpose, her hands tightly clenched in front of her as she
approached the nearest policeman and asked softly for admittance to the site.
Her long dark hair wet and sticking to her face; she nodded as the cop
politely pointed her towards the two small mobile homes holding the relatives
and family of the hostages.

Mulder saw her first, his breath catching in his throat as he walked towards
her. His eyes caught the glimmer of a rosary held in one hand as she smiled
at his approach.

"Mrs. Scully..."

She didn't speak, just wrapped her arms around him and stood silently in the
rain for a long minute. Mulder buried his face in the soggy raincoat, afraid
to move or say anything. Once again he'd been responsible for danger to her
remaining daughter.

Margaret released him; standing back. "The boys are on their way - had to
make some arrangements for the kids." She pulled a wet strand away from her
mouth. "It's not your fault this time, Fox."

"I shouldn't have let her go out unarmed."

"You can't protect her all the time." The older woman smiled. "She's got too
much independence to put up with that for too long, you know that. Besides,
she'd be the first to smack you silly for suggesting that she can't handle
herself." Her eyes went to the man standing a few feet away; his hands
dejectedly stuck in the pockets of his track jacket. "And with Jackie around,
who needs weapons?" She took a few paces past the agent to pull Marty into a
deep hug. "They'll both be fine, you watch... and then they'll yell at us all
for worrying so much..."

***********

Jackie slid over to the Englishman, nodding at him as the two girls rested;
their heads precariously balanced against each other as they napped. 

"Good work." She gestured at the pair. "Last thing we need are two screaming
kids. Already got one problem."

Geoffrey smiled. "Just think how much they'd be excited if they knew I'd
never been in the Blitz." He chuckled at her expression. "I spent all my time
in the country, evacuated early on. But it did sound like a great time,
didn't it?"

"You weave a great story." Jackie smiled. "I believed it."

"Thank you." He paused. "St. George... I don't believe I've met a lot of
them; which is odd... not a large family?"

Jackie grinned. "Pretty large... but the direct lineage is pretty easy to
trace, from what I've been told."

Dana looked away from the low conversation back down at her patient, who was
drifting in and out of consciousness. Shotgun appeared at her side as if he
knew what she was thinking.

"Not a chance." He waved the shotgun at the walls. "They're not budging yet,
but they will."

"When this boy is dead?" A sharp tone crept into her voice. "If he dies, then
you'll be responsible for two deaths, not just one."

The man knelt down, his voice harsh. "Look, Eric wasted the kid, okay? It
wasn't me, and it was an accident."

"Well, Eric seems pretty fast on the trigger." Dana looked over at the topic
of their conversation; pacing back and forth as he cradled the phone under
his chin as he growled at the negotiator.

"Hey, he's a crackhead, but he's my pal. We'll let you go as soon as we know
the cops aren't going to blow us away, okay?" Shotgun got to his feet.
"Besides, what the hell do you know about this crap anyway?"

Daniel stirred beside her as Dana bit back her response. His eyes opened
again.

"My head is so sore..." He whispered. "And I'm thirsty..."

She gently put the wet sponge to his lips, moistening them. "Sorry I can't
let you drink... but when you get out of the hospital, I'll take you out for
a large ice-cream float. Promise."

He smiled; his eyes flicking upwards before he lost consciousness again. Dana
looked over at Jackie, who grimaced in response.

**************

Margaret Scully stood silently in the warm rain that still fell; oblivious to
the new crush of bystanders that had arrived with the sunrise. Fox went to
her side, quietly touching her arm.

"They've got a breakfast table set up... coffee, tea..." He looked at the
small row of beads still tightly held in her hand, her mouth moving as she
absorbed his words and finished the prayer. She turned to face him.

"How are the others?"

He blinked. "Ah... the parents of the kids want to sue everyone and
everything if a hair gets split on either one; the one granddaughter left of
the older man is mugging for the cameras..." His voice stopped, then started
again. "The mother of the younger kid is over there..." He gestured towards
the end of the small canvas set up by the rows of coffee urns and open
doughnut boxes. "The father's flying in as soon as he can..." Mulder watched
quietly as the elder Scully crossed the asphalt to the woman.

Pulling the jacket tight around her, the black woman took a sip of the cold
coffee, shivering in the damp air. Margaret touched her shoulder gently;
seeing her turn suddenly.

"My... my daughter's in there with your son." She smiled. "Guess we have
something in common."

The mother tried to smile, staring into her cup. "Danny was just going to get
me something fast... I didn't even think that it was so dangerous to send him
down the block for something like that." Bleary eyes rose to meet Scully's.
"I didn't think... and he might die because of that."

"My husband was in the Navy during the Cold War." Margaret said quietly. "I
remember every time he went out on his ship I'd think about if I'd forgotten
to say anything to him; if I'd said that I loved him enough in case  he
didn't come home..." Putting her hand on the cold cup, she pried it loose
from the woman's hands. "Let's go get something a bit more nutritional for
both of us."

"Yes... that's an idea...." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry - I'm Janice
Hopper. My husband's flying in from the Coast..."

"Margaret Scully. And don't apologise. I know exactly how you feel." She
sighed. "And I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to get used to this."

************

Eric ripped the phone out from under his chin and threw it across the room
with a yell. "The bastards want me to prove that you're all alive!" He
snarled at the two young girls, who awoke crying and with muffled tears.
"They don't believe me that you're all here!"

"Well, you did kill the clerk." Jackie said quietly. "Therefore, they're
probably wondering how truthful you are before they deal."

Eric looked at her for a long minute, his face expressionless. Then he
smiled. "Yah... you're right. As soon as I show them one of you broads,
they'll deal."

"Or, you know..." Jackie thoughtfully added. "Letting someone go would most
certainly sell them. Like the kid." She motioned with her hand towards the
barricade and Dana kneeling just in eyesight. "Hell, he isn't doing you any
good here, right?"

Eric pursed his lips tightly together; pondering this thought. Shaking his
head, he strode the length of the store, waving the pistols around. "Man, I
can't believe they don't trust me!"

Shotgun stepped in front of him. "Let's just show them one of the girls and
call it from there, okay?"

The angry man nodded. "Yah... right..." His gaze swept across the cringing
girls and the sedate old man. "Fuck... can't show them just anyone..."
Grabbing Jackie's elbow, he put one of the barrels to her head. "You even
breath funny bitch, and you'll be eating this."

She forced a smile onto her face. "Wouldn't be anything new..." Gritting her
teeth as the gunman forced one arm behind her, she walked towards the front
door.

************

Posters and advertising displays covered the windows, giving the police and
their special teams no chance to see what was going on. So when the front
glass door opened, a collective gasp went up from everyone. Uniformed
officers pushed the crowd back from the barricades while Carmichael stood
behind one of the squad cars with a bullhorn in one hand; the phone just out
of sight on the seat.

Further back Mulder stood, clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared
at the front. He knew that Marty and Margaret would be behind him, but he
needed these few moments to gather his thoughts and prepare possibly for the
worst.

A figure appeared at the doorway, her dark red hair pulled back behind her
head in a loose ponytail. The dark green combat jacket was stretched tight
across her as her captor tugged painfully on her left arm; jerking the pistol
up under her chin.

"Okay... you've seen one of them... now you bastards deal with us or we'll
kill them all!" The gunman screamed loudly, wrenching her arm up higher
behind her.

Jackie searched through the crowd quickly, scanning for a familiar face.
Spying Fox, the Canadian managed to smile and nod before she was rudely
yanked back into the store and the door slammed shut again.

"They're both fine." Mulder exhaled. "They're both fine."

**************

end of part one...


===========================================================================

From: Sheryl_Martin@tvo.org (Sheryl Martin)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: Dragons of A Cry (2/2)
Date: 31 Mar 1996 16:50:22 GMT


Dragons of a Cry (2/2)
by Sheryl Martin

Jackie knelt down by Dana, rubbing her shoulder. "Bastard about dislocated
it." She grumbled. "But I saw Mulder in the crowd. He knows we're alright."

She nodded, not listening. Jackie looked down at Daniel, seeing the pain and
weakness on his face.

"Bad?"

"Bad... not too much longer." Dana looked over at Shotgun. "Wish they'd just
give him up and then I'd be happy to stay here for a few more days."

"Be really sick of cupcakes and chips by then." Jackie joked. "But I don't
think they're dealing." Her voice dropped. "The special teams are all here -
I saw one sniper on the roof already. Bet they're just waiting to come in -
these guys aren't going to bargain their way out.

"Bet his life on it?" Dana sighed. "I wish..."

"If wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets." Jackie nodded. "Go get yourself
a pop. I'll watch Daniel."

Wearily Dana got to her feet, under the watchful eye of Shotgun; and headed
for the freezers holding all the juices and pop. The older man looked down at
the boy and shrugged; moving off further down the front of the store to talk
to Eric.

"Jackie..." The low whisper startled her. She smiled.

"Service with a smile..."

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" The dark brown eyes looked straight into hers,
and her heart sank.

"Well, you're doing fine so far..."

"I'm going to die..." Daniel said firmly. "And I wanted to go out West so
badly, you know."

"Why?"

"Because I'd like to really play in the wilderness." He took a sharp breath.
"Not like those silly camps; go out to where there's no city at all - where
there's no one at all." A slow sigh escaped. "You've been there?"

"A lot." She smiled. "But I'm a city kid at heart. Feel right at home in the
concrete world too."

"Yah." The voice grew faint. "Just wish I had gotten out there..." His eyes
slid shut.

"Dana!" Jackie shouted. "Get over here!"

Skidding to her knees, the doctor crouched over the boy. "He's fine - just
passed out again." Getting to her feet, Dana Scully stomped over to Eric,
looking up at him with her hands firmly placed on her hips. "This boy's death
will be on your hands if you don't release him right now to the paramedics."

He stared at her. "What did you say?"

"I said that this kid is about to die and if you don't want another murder
charge against you..."

The slap sent her reeling across the room; past St. George who jumped to her
feet with a snarl. Slamming into the wall, Dana slid to the ground slowly,
her eyes glassy for the few seconds it took to register what had happened.

"Fuck you!" Eric pointed the pistols at Jackie, who was still poised on the
balls of her feet; uncertain of what to do. "You wanna go for it, then go...
I don't care if I kill you or not."

Slowly she relaxed, turning her back on the gunman and going to Dana's side.
Shaking her head, Scully crawled back to Daniel's bed; wiping the blood from
her lower lip where her teeth had sliced into the delicate flesh.

*************

Margaret stood silently in the warm drizzle that still fell; sheltered by a
plastic tarp set up so that they could watch the front of the store and still
not be in the way. 

"We know that they're fine." Fox's voice was soft as he appeared at her side.
"Jackie got that much across."

"But one of the people inside is still hurt, right?"

"That's what the guy on the phone is saying."

"Dana's a good doctor; she'll be able to handle it." She smiled. "Even though
she went into pathology, she's still the best in the field. Well, I think
so."

"She's patched me up enough times." Fox grinned. "Have no one else touch me."

Her chuckle brought a red tinge to his face as he realised what he had said.
Fumbling for a handkerchief, he faked blowing his nose to hide for a few
seconds.

"Where's Marty?"

"About to punch out a reporter. Over by the car."

She put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "She'll be fine, Fox. They both
will." Letting go, she headed for the distraught man leaning on the dark blue
car.

Mulder put the fabric back into his pocket, unsure if she was saying it to
console him or convince herself.

***********

Daniel opened his eyes again, focusing in on the two women. His voice came
out in a soft, weak whisper.

"I'm sorry..." He swallowed. "Tell my mother that I'm sorry..." 

Jackie looked at Dana, then down at the young face. With a deep swallow she
put her right palm to the pained forehead, taking his right hand in her left
and entwining their fingers.

"I name you Dragon friend..." She said in a low voice, so low that Dana
strained to hear her. "I give you the green meadows; the forest deep to run
in... play with the deer and the otter; the fox and the rabbit and the
creatures of the wild... friends to them all and forever peaceful..." She
paused for a minute, then continued. "Bright sunrises in a deep blue sky;
brilliant orange sunsets... soft grass under your feet wherever you walk and
sweet water always in the rivers and brooks you cross." Her voice broke for a
second, then she recovered. "And... and when you see Jonathan; when he greets
you... tell him I'm doing fine. Just fine. And I miss him."

Daniel's breathing grew shallow as she pulled her hands away. His eyes
flickered once, then opened.

"Dana..." He whispered. "Can... can you pray for me? With me?"

Taking both hands in hers, she squeezed them tightly. "Yes. I will." The
redhead paused for a second before continuing. "When do you want to start?
And what do you want to say?"

"I only know one prayer." The breath whistled out of his mouth. "Our
Father..."

Jackie got to her feet and turned; taking a few steps away from the pair. Her
wet eyes scanned the two gunmen, glittering with hatred. Eric giggled as he
stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth from a ripped bag lying on the
counter. Shotgun just watched his partner in silence, his weapon balanced
precariously over his shoulder. Suddenly she heard Dana's voice, alone but
clear slicing across her thoughts.

"Love is patent, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered., it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres." She stared into the sad eyes, seeing the light begin to fade.

"Love never fails."

Gently pulling her hands away, she drew her fingers tenderly over his eyes to
close them. Suddenly she realised that she had been holding her breath, and
slowly let it out; closing her own eyes as the tears began to flow.

**************

"We're going to send the team in as soon as we fix their locations."
Carmichael rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'm only telling you this off the record
because you know two of the hostages and you're a Fed - I know you won't go
screaming to the press."

Mulder frowned. "No more talking?"

"We've tried everything." The weary man sighed. "Problem is, they keep
changing with the wind. One minute they're ready to let them go; next they're
threatening to kill them all. And with those dammed posters and crap on the
windows; we can't even see if they're kidding about having the guns they say
they have."

"How about gassing them?"

"Great idea - too bad we can't do it." He gestured towards the trailer. "One
of the girls has asthma... very mild, and not life-threatening - doesn't even
use an inhaler on a regular basis, but we can't risk setting her off by
accident; even if we rush her out and into oxygen. Too much risk." He sighed.
"The sniper will be given the green light in a few minutes to take any shot
he can."

"But I thought you said you couldn't see inside the store; so he can't take
the chance..."

"I said that. But we all answer to someone else. And the decision's been made
to leave it up to him. We know what one of them looks like; we'll just have
to hope that if and when we take him out, your friends can deal with the
other one." He paused. "Sorry, Mulder. Best we can do."

Mulder nodded. "Best we all can do." Head down, he took a deep breath and
headed for the trailer to tell Marty and Margaret. And not for the first time
in his nonreligious life, he prayed.

*********

Jackie sat quietly beside the body, Dana's trench coat wrapped up and over
the tiny face. Her eyes tracked every step the gunmen made as they paced back
and forth in front of the hostages.

"Man, I just don't know what they want..." Eric moaned. "I mean, they say
yes, then they say no, then they say they want to see someone, then they say
that's not enough..."

"Maybe we should have let them have the kid." Shotgun said quietly. His
partner snapped his head up angrily.

"Give them an inch and they'll be on us for another one, and another until
there's no one in here but you and me... and I ain't going to prison for
nothing!" The pistols jerked around the room as he yelled. "Why don't we just
kill them all and go straight to hell, no waiting!" He levelled one gun at
the pair of teenagers, who sat quietly in shock, sniffling and crying. Dana
tensed, licking her swollen lip anxiously.

"Come on, Eric... it's not going to work if we do that." Shotgun grumbled.
"As soon as they hear the shots they'll come in full blast and we won't have
a chance."

The weapons lowered to the floor as the man pondered his options. Then he
swung the barrels around to point at Jackie. "Get up, you!"

Climbing to her feet slowly, St. George smiled. "Time to dance again?"

Eric nodded. "Gonna show them that I'm serious; that you must be worth
something to someone." His eyes narrowed. "But they gotta take me seriously
that I could hurt you all..."

Drawing his hand back quickly, he snapped it across her face before she could
react; not enough to send her flying as it did Dana, but strong enough to
shock the room into silence.

Lifting a shaking hand to her face, Jackie pulled her fingers away to see the
scarlet stains along the bottom of her lip. And her headache, which had been
kept at bay with worry and a few well-concealed Tylenols, exploded into
shattering waves of pain.

She knew that to let it go; to let the Gift do what it wanted would most
certainly not only result in her own death; but the other hostages and Dana
as well. And while her death wasn't that important, the others did matter.

All of Mulder's exercises flew out of her head as she grabbed at anything to
stop from losing control. In desperation and frustration St. George threw her
head back to scream.

And Roared instead.

*********

Sgt. Adams blinked quickly as he kept his eye on the scope; focusing in on
the shadowy images behind the posters and advertising billboards. He had the
go for any shot he could justify; and he had the experience to know when to
wait and when to take the shot.

Suddenly a scream of static shot through his headphones, making him rip them
off in surprise and pain. At the same time the windows of the storefront
exploded outward into the street; showering the waiting crowd and police with
glass and debris.

But then in the midst of the confusion the sniper saw one of the gunmen
through the now totally exposed and open store; the one clearly identified at
the front door, his hands crossed over his face to shield it from the noise
and glass. Sighting in quickly on his head, Adams stroked the trigger.

**********

The hair on the back of Dana's neck stood up on end as she instinctively
shielded Daniel's body from the flying glass. Amid the screams she could make
out the image of Eric falling to his knees and then to the ground; his head
and face a bloody mess as the pistols skidded across the floor out of his
lifeless hands.

Shotgun raised his weapon towards Jackie, one hand over his face to protect
his eyes as he sighted in on the immobile woman, her eyes still tightly
closed.

Jumping to her feet, Dana slammed into the man in a full-body tackle worthy
of the best hockey enforcer. The shotgun blast went high; tearing a hole in
the ceiling and raining plaster down on the hostages. Wrestling the gun away
from the stunned man; she twirled around and smashed the butt into his
stomach; dropping him to the ground in intense pain as the first policeman
appeared on the scene.

*************

Mulder pushed his way to the front of the crowd; clearing a way for the two
people behind him as the first group of police came out of the building.

A pair of young girls came out first; rushed into the police lines and beyond
into the safety of the make-shift shelter set up by the medical staff. Next
came an elderly man, swinging his cane proudly and doffing his hat at the
crowd as he sauntered past. Mulder's throat went dry as a gap formed in the
line; then to the two stretchers being rushed into the store. Behind him he
heard Margaret's soft sigh as she watched; matched by a low grumble from
Marty.

The first stretcher appeared, a figure lying on it. Suddenly it stopped as
the woman rolled off it; staggering to her feet and pushing the helpers away.
Her steps becoming stronger with every second; Jackie forced her way towards
the line. Behind her, close enough to catch her friend if she needed to; Dana
strode, her face stern and taut.

Fox started to take a step forward, then stopped and instead took a pace
back, behind Marty and Margaret. It would be his time later.

Dana saw Jackie disappear to the left in front of her; into the waiting arms
of her fiance as her own eyes focused in on Mulder and her mother. Biting her
sore lip to keep back the tears that demanded to flow, she tried to smile.

"Can't even get a decent cup of coffee at this hour, I bet..." That was all
that got out before she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and began
to cry.

Margaret held her tightly, burying her face in the red hair and letting her
own tears flow as she rocked her daughter back and forth; murmuring softly.

Mulder watched silently with a mixture of envy and sadness; seeing a scene
that must have been played out countless times before in the Scully family.
Turning to the side, he smiled as he saw that Jackie was buried in Marty's
chest, his arms wrapped securely around her as she leaned against him; her
legs barely holding her up.

A group of paramedics appeared at the front of the store; grim faced and
nodding to the police. Silently the coroner made his way past the barricades
and into the small room.

Turning her head to the side, Margaret could see Janice's face; pale and
twisted with agony. Releasing Dana reluctantly, she smiled down at her
daughter and sighed.

"I've got something I have to do... but thank God you're safe." She looked
over at Jackie and Marty for a second. "You're both safe." Her eyes met Fox's
and he nodded as she stepped away from Dana, dragging her hands free.

Scully turned towards Mulder, who appeared with a smile. "I forgot your ice
cream." She sniffled, wiping her nose in embarrassment.

"Oh, that's okay." He pulled his hands out of his pockets; letting them hang
down by his side. "I changed my mind anyway..." His lower lip began to
tremble as Dana watched him, and she took a step closer.

Putting her hands on his waist, she buried her face in his trench coat,
shivering violently from the cold and from shock. Enclosing her in his arms,
Fox put his face down into her hair and wept softly as she trembled in
exhaustion and relief.

Margaret put a hand on the woman's shoulder as the small body bag came out on
a stretcher; carefully carried by the attendants. The small rosary dangled
from her hand as she held the shocked mother.

"No! No! My baby! No!" The scream turned to loud sobbing as the small parade
made its way through the hushed crowd to the dark station wagon. Janice
turned to her, the tears running down her face. "They killed my baby... my
boy... no!" Covering her face with her hands, the distraught woman fell to
her knees on the cold asphalt. Margaret went down as well, holding her
tightly as the solemn faces of the police surrounded them. 

*************

"Dana?" The voice on the phone was raspy and low. "What's up?"

Scully looked around the apartment with a smile. "Well, just got rid of Mom
about six hours ago.... but Mulder's proving to be more stubborn. Give him
another day or so." She chuckled at the frowning man seated on the sofa. "You
planning to go to the funeral?"

"No." Jackie rumbled. "Too much of a media circus."

"How's the throat?"

"Hurts like hell. Doctor says it should be fine in a week or so and to not do
a lot of talking."

"Marty must be happy." She heard a male laugh in the background.

"Oh, he's thrilled. By the way, you might want to ask Mulder about a set of
olive-coloured panties you seem to own."

"Excuse me? Olive-coloured panties?" Dana turned to stare at Fox, who raised
his eyebrows in response.

"Seems that the topics of conversation weren't limited to the number of cards
on the table, Dana..."

"And how did you find this out?" Mulder was now casually reaching for his
coat as she walked around the table.

"Ah... let's just say that I have some interrogation techniques that put your
guys to shame." Jackie laughed. "Gotta go gargle."

"Right." Dana grabbed the coat out of Fox's hands and tossed it across the
room. 

"Dana... we did try, didn't we?"

She stopped still. "Yes, we did everything we could."

"And he still died."

"Yes."

"This job really sucks sometimes, you know?"

"Don't I know it." Scully sighed, standing in front of the door. "Take care,
okay?"

"Same to you. And don't be too hard on Mulder." She laughed. "Be very hard on
Mulder. Bye."

Dana tossed the phone on the couch, crossing her hands in front of her as he
stood helplessly in the hallway. "Well?"

"It was his idea..."

"Mulder..."

"Really... how can you suspect me of..." He paused. "Okay, well... I mean..."

"You know, I think you owe me a large Chinese dinner tonight. All the
extras."

"Scully... it's a week until payday..."

"And a few movies from the rental store..."

"Scully... I really, really missed you..."

"And maybe a shopping trip for a new trench coat..."

"Scully, have you called your mother lately?"

"Mulder..."

"Yah?"

"Shut up and give me your wallet."

***************
How could we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning
of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into
princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are only waiting to see us
once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being
something helpless that wants help from us...
Ranier Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet
************************************