SEASON 1

SEASON 2

SEASON 3

SEASON 4

SEASON 5

FIGHT THE FUTURE

SEASON 6

SEASON 7

SEASON 8

SEASON 9

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Skinner and Scully are unimpressed and starting to get that condescending 'oh dear, Mulder's nuts again' look in their eyes. Perhaps Mulder is too used to it to notice right away, though, because he doesn't back off. Instead he proceeds to try to clarify – she was waving it under their noses, and he should have realized because Modell warned him not to play the game. Skinner: “Modell told you?” Bad move, Mulder. But Mulder doggedly keeps on, wondering why the woman doesn't want to know how her husband was killed, and why she doesn't seem all that scared even though a serial killer is supposedly stalking her.

Skinner just says she's in shock and isn't herself. “And I might add, neither are you.” Mulder just moves on to Scully - “You heard it in there, Scully.” Surely she'll believe him, and remember that Mulder Is (pretty much) Always Right. But nope. As she says, Mulder himself warned the others not to listen to Modell or trust him, but it seems he himself has done both. Mulder asks, “But what if she can do what Modell does?” Apparently that idea is the last straw to his credibility. Skinner tells Mulder to go home.

Mulder is typically wounded and self-righteous (justifiably so, in this case), and gets even moreso when Skinner clarifies that Mulder is “suspended until such time I'm confident your judgement is sound”, and asks for Mulder's weapon. Mulder asks quietly who Skinner thinks he's going to point it at, but now Scully, very distressed, says she thinks Mulder should do it. Looking rather like a kicked puppy, Mulder does so. It pains me when they don't trust each other!

Linda Bowman comes out at that moment and asks for some water. Skinner says of course, and Mrs. Bowman gives a little triumphant stare at Mulder. Mulder turns around and stalks off, declaring that he'll prove it. Skinner tries to stop him, but Mulder just yells back disgustedly, “Go fetch her some water!” You know, “water” is one of those words DD never says without the New York accent being very apparent.

Mulder is talking to the physical therapist again. She's denying that she knew Modell very well, but Mulder wants to know anything at all unusual that he ever said, about anyone. Finally the woman remembers something someone said “aboat” him that seemed unusual – one of the nuns from the LSC once called him “a conquered warrior”, which she thought was kind of weird.

Mulder wants to know if this is the same woman who visited him before he escaped, and she says it was always the same one and she'd come three or four times. Intrigued, Mulder takes out a picture of Linda Bowman to ask whether she's the woman. The phone rings. The therapist apologizes and goes to answer it and find her glasses, because she needs them to see the picture. While talking on the phone, she keeps trying to find them but can't. Mulder walks away a few paces to wait until the call is over, but quickly turns around when he hears her say, “Oh yeah, he's here.” The doctor casually opens the fuse box, and though Mulder shouts, horrified, “No!”, she stretches out her hand and touches the leads. Sparks fly, and Mulder frantically looks for some way to get her off. He grabs a mop with a nearby handle and pries her off, feeling for a pulse. Then he calls out for help before starting CPR on her.

At the gate to the safe house, a marshal standing guard lets a Falls Church police car in. The car is carrying Pusher in the back seat. The window rolls down, and the marshal asks, “You got him?” The driver doesn't reply, but rolls down the back window, leaving Pusher free to tell the marshal to go home. Which I assume he does, since his face gets all confused and unfocused.

Pusher enters the room where Linda Bowman is. He doesn't look very good – he's pale and sweaty. Mrs. Bowman stands and looks perhaps surprised to see him, but it's hard to tell. He locks the door and faces her.

In the meantime, Scully is getting out of a truck, and her phone rings. It's Mulder, and he tells her he's at the prison. She attempts to tell him he was supposed to lay off, but he says it's too late for that and explains how he just witnessed the therapist's death. Scully: “It was Modell.” Mulder: “It was Linda Bowman.” Scully starts to object, and Mulder cuts in that she would have identified Bowman and verified that she visited him in prison. Scully says he can't know that was going to happen. Mulder just wants Scully to trace the call and cut off Mrs. Bowman's access to phones.

When Scully says she's not at the safe house, but investigating a suicide at a nearby mall, Mulder wants to know why no one's answering at the safe house switchboard. Scully hangs up the phone and tells everyone to get back in the trucks. I'm glad she's capable of admitting Mulder has a point, even when she doesn't believe his theory.

Meanwhile, Skinner is walking through the halls of the safe house, reading a file, when he hears the phone ring. Noticing how empty the place is, he pulls out his gun and walks toward Linda Bowman's room. Finding it locked, he kicks it down. Aww, yeah. Skinner is so awesome.

Modell is there, of course, with a hand raised toward Linda Bowman. Skinner yells for Modell to get on the floor, and he calmly responds, “Hey, it's Mel Cooley.” Very nice continuity there, since that is in fact what he called Skinner all those years ago, back before making Holly beat him up. Good times. Or not. Anyway, Skinner continues to yell for him to get on the floor, and Modell gives a look of something like sadness at Linda before stating, “I have a gun.” Then he whirls around and is suddenly aiming it at Skinner.

Skinner fires and Modell goes down. Mrs. Bowman gasps and takes a few steps toward Modell, looking shocked but also succeeding in not looking too sad. Skinner gets closer, and sees that Modell is bleeding from a shoulder wound but the only gun he has is one made of his fingers. Fade to black on Skinner's astonished face.

Later, Scully watches the paramedics and a few marshals take Modell away. Mulder runs up to them as Scully asks what Modell said to Skinner. “He said we got our man,” Skinner says glumly. Mulder has reached them and demands to know what happened. Skinner tries to remind Mulder he's not supposed to be here, but Mulder persists. Some might call Mulder stubborn, you know? Skinner explains that Modell had a gun, that he saw it clearly and it was a revolver.

Mulder is disbelieving, and Scully adds that no one's found a gun yet. Mulder clarifies: “He said to you that he had a gun.” Skinner gets defensive and coldly replies, “Yes. And he did.” But seeing no real belief on either of their faces, he excuses himself and leaves. I think this is the first and only time any of our favorite agents other than Mulder are pushed.