Title: Iunctio ut Redimio – Book 2
Author: Kay Feedback: kay101342@gmail.com
Time Span: Post IWTB; April 2008 – November 2008
Disclaimer: Characters that are not mine do not belong to me.

Thursday, April 3, 2008 6:20 p.m.

Fox Mulder started to hit a pop fly to his left fielder, who was staring off into the distance. "Claire, heads up. You're going to get hit."

William yelled from center field, "I got it."

Mulder watched as the ball changed direction in mid air and flew right into his son's glove. "William, that's a nice trick, but you can't cheat. And you can't keep snagging balls meant for Claire."

Claire waved her hand at him. "S'okay. I don't mind." A car turned into the driveway. "Mom's home!"

"You promised I could bat before dinner, Dad," William ran to where Mulder was standing. "Now Mom's home and she's gonna make us wash up."

Scully reached the house and got out of the car. "Hey, Scully, wanna play?" Mulder looked down at William. "Your mom played baseball with me once. I taught her to bat."

William smiled. "Really? Hi, Mom. Watch me hit the ball."

Scully stood there and waited for William to get a hit. "That's great, William. Hi, Claire. How was your day?"

Claire ran in to greet her. "Fine. Today, I studied about the sodium potassium pump. How was your day?"

Scully smiled at the girl, who was already almost as tall as she was. The idea that she was her daughter still hadn't completely sunk in. "Long. Very, very long. I am certainly glad to be home with you guys, though."

Claire gave her a shy smile. "Well, at least you're home a little early tonight. Dad made dinner already. It's on the stove and just needs to be heated up."

William threw his arms around her waist about that time. "Did you see me, Mom? I hit it all the way to the fence almost!" Laying his head against Scully's stomach, he smiled. "The baby likes it when you get home, Mom." He rubbed his hand around on his mom's belly.

Scully shuddered. She still had not fully accepted William's powers. She was getting to the point where his ability to control the movement of objects did not scare her as much. The way he could "hear" the unborn baby freaked her out the most. She also suspected that he and Claire could communicate silently, and William claimed that Claire could talk to the baby as well. Claire, however, refused to talk about it.

Twenty minutes later, they were all sitting down to dinner when the intercom buzzed. "That's probably Kate." Scully had asked Kate to handle her pregnancy since she wanted to keep it as much a secret as possible. The only people who knew besides Mulder and the kids were Scully's mom, Kate, Skinner, Reyes, and Doggett. Kate had finally agreed to be her doctor and make all appointments as house calls, though somewhat reluctantly. She hadn't seen Kate in a couple of weeks, so she was coming by tonight to check Scully's progress before heading back to D.C.

Mulder buzzed her through the gate and opened the front door. Kate had an armload of stuff, but she dropped most of it in the living room before coming in to sit at the table with them. The kids were happy to see her. Kate usually came by at least once a week, but she'd been out of pocket a lot lately. She had brought a new DVD for each of them. They all listened as William and Claire told lively stories from the past few weeks. Mulder noticed that Kate was a lot quieter than usual. "What's wrong with you, Carter? You've not even insulted me tonight AND you aren't eating my cooking," he lamented from the other end of the table.

Kate shook her head and yawned. "Just tired. I have a lot going on this week." She looked over at Scully. "Dana, listen, next week is my last week in Richmond. I'm turning over my last few patients to another doctor. I can't keep driving back and forth two or three days a week. I'm too exhausted to keep it up. I put my house there on the market a couple of weeks ago."

Scully widened her eyes. "Wow. You've been driving back and forth for, what? Over eight years?"

"I know. I can't even imagine what it'll be like not to spend that many hours driving each week. Anyway, I wanted you to know since it won't be like I can just stop by as easily as I do now." Normally, she came over to see the kids or check on Scully any time she was working in Richmond or heading back from Richmond.

Claire wrinkled her eyebrows. "So we'll see you even less?" "Claire, I'll still come to visit you guys. And I promise I'll do better than I have the last couple of weeks. I'll try to get here at least once a week, and if not, definitely every other weekend." Kate wasn't sure why the girl had bonded to her so quickly when they first met. "Besides, it won't be long and your mom will be staying home full time until after the baby is born. That will be fun, right?"

The little girl nodded. "Well, yeah."

After dinner, the kids went to play upstairs in Claire's room and Scully and Kate did dishes while Mulder worked in his office. Scrubbing a pan, Kate asked, "So, what did you guys decide about the house? Are you going to add on to this one, or find something closer to D.C.?"

"Well, we probably should be closer to D.C. now that Mulder is consulting for the Bureau. I guess once I stop working in Richmond, it won't matter where we live. I really like this house, but I know we can't fit another kid in it for very long."

Kate laughed. It was pretty close quarters already. "Anything new with Claire?"

Scully nodded. "Actually, Mulder told me earlier that Skinner has some information he wants to discuss. He's coming out later."

"Oh? What time?"

Scully shrugged. "I don't know. Probably around eight. Are you still avoiding him?"

Kate glared. "Dana, we've already been through this. I need time to sort through things."

"It's been two months already. Mulder said he asks about you almost every time they speak; you could just say hi when he gets here. Besides, how long can you 'sort'?"

"I have ten years of issues to 'sort', Dana. It's going to take a little while. I did sit down with Nic a couple of weeks ago, though."

Scully made her famous wow face. "You're kidding. How'd that go?"

Kate lifted a shoulder. "Not bad, actually. I feel okay about him. I can say I am definitely over Nic Cruz. I don't have hard feelings towards him, but I don't want to be close friends, either. We want two very different things in life. Anyway, I think I can see him now in passing, though, and not get upset. That's a start."

"Indeed it is."

"Dana, listen, I've been thinking. You're about to quit working and stay home for at least five or six months, right? Well, I'm really trying to simplify my life right now. I have several research projects in the works – some with pretty big grant money attached to them. But I'm also in the middle of trying to open a free clinic in D.C. The timing is bad for me personally, but the money and facility situation are perfect...it's something I've always wanted to do...and I have a few other doctors on board. I can't really pass it up. So...what I was thinking was this. You're not going to be happy sitting and doing nothing for several months. I have to hire another doctor to do one of two things: some of my work at the practice right now or someone to help with research...but some of my research I don't trust just anyone with. I could pay you what I would pay another doctor or researcher and we could bring the equipment you need here. You could work completely from home. I know it wouldn't be as exciting as what you've been doing, but it would keep you occupied and paid for a while – at least until you're ready to start practicing again."

Scully was nodding. "Kate, that would be...phenomenal. I've been worried about being home with no...medical work...or work period...to do. Also, I know we need a bigger place, so it would be great to keep making money. But I don't want you doing this just because you think we need the money or because you feel sorry for me sitting out here in the middle of nowhere going slowly mad."

Kate rolled her eyes. "I desperately need someone I can trust to work with me. I can't oversee the running of my father's company, my private practice, my research, and the new clinic by myself. I'm basically begging YOU to help ME. But, Dana, if I realized you were worried about money, I would just make you take the money." She saw the look on Scully's face. "Look, I have no family and have made very few real friends through the years. You're the closest thing I have to family. I've never had to worry about money, and I don't want you to have to either. You have enough to worry about without that. You decide what you want to do about the house situation, and let me worry about the upfront money. It will help both of us because when my house in Richmond sells, I'll need to reinvest it, and you won't have to worry about interest on a loan. This way, you can be sure the house will be big enough to get all three of the kids all raised up without stepping all over each other. Plus, you really need a guest room for when your mom stays. I'm serious. I'll hire someone else if you won't be reasonable about it and accept the offer."

Scully hesitated. She knew Kate was serious. Either she took the monetary offer or Kate wouldn't let her work with her at all. "Okay....but do you really think that I can handle the research you're talking about?"

Kate scoffed. "You're kidding, right? You have no idea what the medical community is saying about you these days, do you? You're like, Wonder Scully. Anyway, you saw your share of weird viruses and genetic mutants through the years. I think you're more than qualified. If you like the work, you can stay as long as you want. Then, you'll still have a flexible job when you have three kids to take care of."

Scully lowered her voice. "Kate, you know how we talked about studying William's genetics in more detail? About how maybe his genetic makeup was important to unraveling some of the mysteries? Well, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me. If he does possess immunity, then the answer has to be inside him. But I don't want anyone else studying him....who better than us? No one – not even Mulder – even needs to know about it right now. Do you think I can work on that from here, too? I also was thinking that when the baby comes, we can study her as well – maybe her stem cells will hold new information. I've actually been thinking about this a lot, Kate, and I just wasn't sure how to approach the situation since I knew I couldn't afford the equipment to do it. I'd feel okay about it as long as I could control the shots."

Kate nodded, surprised Scully had come around so quickly. She had hoped her friend would see how necessary it was to study William – and the other kids – in greater detail. "Dana, wouldn't it be amazing if we could beat the impending colonization quietly with science? If that day four years from now could just pass by without everyone else having so much as a hint about what almost happened?"

Scully raised an eyebrow. "You have no idea how much I would like to believe that's possible."

Kate pursed her lips. "I do know. Mulder's going to search for a solution in his own way. If the day came where he had to go out there and play superhero extraordinaire, I have no doubt he would be up to the task. However, if there is even a chance that we can avoid the infection of the mass population with that virus, we have to try, right? You told me yourself that at one point there was a vaccine. What if we could find it?"

Scully closed her eyes. "Kate, slow down. I'm in this one hundred percent, I promise. But I don't want to get my hopes up too high. I mean, even if we could find it, how would we figure out a way to vaccinate the entire population in less than four years? And even then, that may only slow them down, not stop them."

"I've thought about it a lot, Dana. Think about this: how are the scariest viruses spread?"

Scully rubbed her forehead. "They're airborne."

"Exactly...what if we could not only find the vaccine but figure out a way to administer it through the air? If viruses can spread through the air...why couldn't we engineer a vaccine to do it?"

"Whoa, Kate, that's a big, big what if. I'm not even sure a vaccine CAN work that way." But Scully was quickly warming to the idea. Kate could see it in her eyes – there was a new spark there, an excitement that a scientist got when they truly believed in the cause they were fighting for.

"I know how it sounds, Dana. It's just an idea. But if you can suspend your disbelief momentarily...it COULD be possible, right? Hell, the government's probably already doing it in some form or fashion."

Scully bit her lip. They both knew that advances in science occurred in leaps – one day an idea was absurd, and the next, everyone was wondering why they didn't think of it. "Well, it could be possible." Scully also knew that while she was meticulous enough to conduct any research, Kate had the imagination and foresight necessary to push beyond the current scientific frontier. Together, they may just be able to succeed. And if they didn't, at least she would know she had done all she could. "Okay, we'll start working. But we don't tell Mulder yet. We'll let him think – just for now – that I'm only helping you with your research. He doesn't tell me everything about his cases, anyway, and I don't want him getting his hopes up too high."

Kate nodded, relieved and excited. She knew that Scully would be more comfortable if she could keep it a secret and control the research herself. "I'm going to let you deal with Mulder. You talk to him. We'll figure out where to put your makeshift lab as soon as you're ready." Kate looked at the clock. "Okay, ready for me to do your checkup?"

Scully nodded. "Bedroom?"

"Yeah. Hey, I brought a portable sonogram machine. I'm going to just leave it here so I don't have to lug it back and forth. I figured now would be a good time to do one. Do you want to let the kids see?"

"Sure. I'll get Mulder if you'll call the kids down."

As they all gathered around the bed, Claire was clearly beside herself. Kate let her try to find the baby's heartbeat as she measured Scully's stomach. "Dana, you aren't going to make it much longer without people realizing you're pregnant. I don't know if you'll make it two more weeks."

Finally, they hooked up the sonogram equipment. Kate told Claire she could move the lens around to find the baby. William pouted, so they let him put the gel on his mom's stomach. He laughed when she sucked in because it was cold. The machine was a new one, so it was pretty high definition. Mulder looked amazed. "I can see tiny feet."

Scully smiled at the look of wonder on his face. "Claire, can you find the baby's head and face?" The little girl stuck her tongue between her lips as she moved the lens around.

"Oh, there's a hand. There! I see the baby's head!"

Mulder crowded in to look. "I didn't think they were this realistic looking. I thought they were just blurs."

Kate shook her head. "Well, these things have come a long way in the eight years since Dana was pregnant with William. Want to know the sex?"

William looked at her like she was crazy. "I already TOLD you it's a girl. You are so silly, Kate."

Scully looked at Kate. "Is he right?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure."

Claire was in heaven. She had recently decided she wanted to be a doctor like her mom and Kate, and she studied all the time. Scully, however, was getting restless just lying there. "All right. Let's wrap this up."

Kate wiped the goo off of her friend's stomach, then shooed the kids out and upstairs. "Come on, guys. Let's visit for a little while before I have to head out."

Mulder leaned over and rubbed Scully's stomach before she pulled her shirt down. He looked so full of wonder that Scully couldn't help feeling closer to him than she had in a while. "You're really excited about this aren't you, Mulder?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Aren't you?" Sitting down beside her on the bed, he put a palm on her belly. It amazed him that his hand could still wrap around the entire swell of her abdomen. "It's not tight like William was when I first felt him."

"Mulder, when I'm eight months like I was then, believe me, it will feel like a basketball."

He was suddenly serious. "So, are you all right, Scully? Really? I worry about you a lot."

She shrugged. "I guess I'm just...nervous...all the time. Even if this were a normal pregnancy, forty-four is a scary age for having a baby."

He nodded. "Anything I can do to make it easier, just tell me, Scully."

She put her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. "You already do more than your share around here now. Cooking, cleaning, kids..."

He kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Her lips curved upwards. "Happy as a clam, huh?"

"You know it."

"Any idea what Skinner's going to say?" She was still worried about Claire's situation, even though she had finally settled down about William – who was legally theirs again, thank God.

He heard the intercom buzz. "Guess we're about to find out."

Mulder opened the door to let Skinner in. "Come on in to my office."

Skinner looked around. "Where are the kids?"

Mulder rolled his eyes, certain that Skinner had recognized the car out front. "Upstairs playing with Kate, I think."

Scully joined them in the office. "So, what did you find out?" She noticed that he was carrying a file folder.

He sighed. "All right. Here's what has happened: someone has basically come forward claiming that Claire ran away from a residential home for orphans." He saw the look Scully was giving him. "I know. It's crap but just hear me out. Basically, you're being offered a deal...and given the circumstances, I think you should jump at it."

Mulder cut in. "What deal?"

Skinner worked his jaw. "They're willing to let you 'adopt' Claire if we stop looking into the facility where she was raised as well as how she really came to be."

Scully scoffed. "That's absurd. She's our biological daughter. We have a right to know how and why she was created. They can't take her from us if we don't play by their rules."

Skinner shook his head. "They can, and they will, Scully. Think hard about this. Right now, you don't have any rights at all to that child. I'm not sure what will happen if we don't agree to their rules. I know you won't be allowed to keep her, you would probably never see her again, and in all likelihood, they would kill her. You're being given more of a chance than I ever thought you would. I don't see how you could do anything but take it."

Mulder looked at his former boss for a long moment. "So we'll never know what went on in that facility – exactly what they were hiding. They're only willing to let us keep her on their terms – and probably only because they don't believe she has any special powers." He was so sick of dead ends and cover-ups and almosts.

Skinner nodded. "Yes. It's a very thinly disguised threat. You get out of line, they'll kill her. You do things their way, and maybe they'll let you keep her."

Scully narrowed her eyes. "How can we agree to that?"

Mulder shot her an incredulous look. "How can we not? She's our daughter. We have as much responsibility to keep her safe as we do William."

"I have the 'adoption papers' with me," Skinner told him, noticing that Scully still seemed to be holding out.

Mulder gave a flick of his chin. "Can we discuss it for a minute?"

Skinner nodded. "Yeah, sure." He went out into the living room and stood at the end of the stairs, listening to the sound of a television upstairs and William giggling every few minutes. He heard Claire shush the boy a time or two. Quietly, he crept up the stairs and peered into the room where the sound was. All three were on the bed watching a movie on the desktop computer. Claire was stretched out on her stomach, propped up on her elbows; Kate was curled up on her side; William was leaning back against her, using her as a pillow. William's little dog, Togy, made a snuffing noise at Skinner.

Claire looked over at him in the doorway and put her fingers to her lips. "Sshh. Kate's sleeping," she whispered.

Skinner looked at Kate's back for several seconds, smiled at Claire, and whispered, "Okay. Sorry."

William looked back at him and waved. "We're watching a movie she brought us, but we don't mind if she sleeps cause she already saw it," he said in a stage whisper.

Skinner walked over to the bed and looked down at Kate's hair spread out on the pillow, her fist tucked against her cheek. He reached down and touched her hair gently. William grinned and copied him by patting Kate's hair. The little boy then dropped a kiss on his godmother's cheek. She stretched and wrapped one arm around his midsection, rubbing his tummy lightly. He giggled and turned his attention back to the movie. Afraid Kate would open her eyes and see him there, Skinner backed away quickly. Downstairs, the door to Mulder's office was open again, so Skinner walked to the doorway. Mulder looked at him. "Okay. We'll sign. We want her to legally be ours any way we can get her."

"How safe do you think she'll be?" Scully asked quietly.

Skinner shrugged. "Well, I can't say for certain, but I feel like she'll be all right as long as we don't pursue the search for the other kids who were at that facility."

Claire claimed that Scully was not listed as egg donor for any of the other kids who had been at the facility through the years, and Scully desperately hoped that was true. She hated to think there could be other children out there she'd never know about. Shaking off an eerie feeling, she turned to Skinner. "So, what's going on upstairs?" Her too casual voice let him know that she knew why he went up there.

He looked a little embarrassed. "Well, the kids are watching a DVD, but Kate's asleep."

Mulder laughed. "Yeah, our house seems to knock her out every time she comes here. She likes to snuggle down with William."

Scully nodded and yawned. "Who doesn't? I think I'm going to take a shower and steal him away from her. See you later, Walter."

Mulder walked the other man out. "Listen, thanks for all you've done to help us with Claire. I owe you."

Skinner shook his head. "No, you don't. I'm just glad it worked out as well as it did." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, does Kate seem okay to you, Mulder?"

"Well, you know, the excellent judge of women that I am...she just seems a little run down. Scully's the one you should ask, you know. Kate and I aren't exactly BFF's." Skinner glared at him and got into his SUV. Mulder couldn't get used to this personal side of Skinner, no matter how hard he tried. He shook his head as he watched his former boss head back down the driveway.

Thursday, June 12 5:35 p.m.

"I was in the building, and I thought I'd stop in to see if you were still here."

Skinner looked up from a file he was reading when he recognized the voice. Kate was leaning against the doorway of his office. Other than that one brief moment at Scully's when she was asleep, he hadn't seen her in four months. Even though she was wearing long flowing pants, she somehow looked thinner to him than she had back in the winter. Her dark hair was longer than the last time he had seen her, and he noticed that the reddish highlights the summer sun always made in it were already present. Today she was wearing it wavy and a little wild, which would probably surprise most people to know was his favorite. Sunglasses sat on top of her head. "Hi," he said softly.

Kate had her arms crossed over her chest. For some reason, she was nervous at seeing him. She noted that he looked tired and a little pale for this time of year and then she smiled at him, not sure what to say. "Hi." The silence lasted so long that it was starting to get awkward. She took a deep breath. This was a lot harder than she thought it would be. For some reason, though she hardly ever cried, she felt tears fill her eyes. Mortified, not wanting him to see that she was upset, she backed up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come." Turning quickly, she started back towards the hall.

"Kate. Wait, come back." Skinner stood up and caught her at the outer office door. She wouldn't give him her eyes, and he knew then that something was very wrong. Kate always made eye contact; that was one of the qualities that made her personality seem so electric. "It's okay. I'm glad you came." He squeezed her elbow gently. "Kate, look at me." Finally, she looked up at him. A single tear had escaped one eye. He gently wiped it away. "What's wrong?"

She blinked and several more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Oh, damn it," she muttered, covering both eyes with her hand. She took several deep breaths, finally getting herself under control. "It's okay. I'm all right." Embarrassed, she wiped the tears away. "I am so sorry."

He let go of her arm, and they stood in silence again for a long time. "Are you on your way out or in?" he finally asked.

"Out. I've been down in Monica's office."

He nodded. "Then I'll walk you to your car."

She gave him a small smile. "That would be nice." Once outside, her head cleared a little bit. "Would you like to walk a little? I know you're not really dressed for it, but..."

"Sure." For about fifteen minutes, they walked, neither saying anything. They headed towards the Mall since he knew Kate liked walking down there. Finally, he broke the silence. "So, what's been going on with you?"

"Well, I sold my house in Richmond."

He was surprised. "Really? You always liked that house. Did you get an apartment for the nights you're there?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm not practicing there at all anymore. Now, I just have my office here. I don't know if you've heard or not, but I've also been working to get a free clinic open. We just opened the doors a couple of weeks ago. There are three other doctors who also volunteer. So, I guess I've been pretty busy."

He had no doubt she had been keeping busy. It was like she wasn't happy unless she was occupied all the time. "You look kind of thin. Are you making time to eat in between all of this science and humanitarianism?"

She laughed it off. "Believe it or not, I have a lot more free time now that I'm not running back and forth between Richmond and D.C. all the time. How about you? What have you been up to?"

He shrugged. "Just the usual. Nothing new or different."

She looked at him with a critical eye now that they were out in the sunlight. "You look good, Walter, but you look really tired. I can tell you're not sleeping well. Maybe you should see someone." She knew he wouldn't, though, no matter how many times she suggested it.

"All a doctor will do is give me drugs for it."

Kate touched his arm. "I didn't mean that kind of doctor. I meant maybe you should talk to someone. You always slept fine with me, so it's not a physical issue."

A little angry at her for suggesting he see a shrink, he muttered, "Just leave it alone, Kate."

"Fine. Whatever." Near the Washington Monument, she kicked off her shoes to feel the grass on her feet. "So, I heard down in the bullpen that you've been dating someone."

He cut his eyes over to her. "Yeah. Just in the past few weeks."

"Well, that's good. Anyone I'd know?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. She's a CPA. Her name is Elena."

"Ah. Is it serious?"

"Kate, I've only known her three weeks." He sucked in a breath. "What about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

Kate stopped abruptly and looked at him strangely. "Walter, I told you back in February that I was going to take some time to be alone and to figure out what I needed. That's what I've been doing. Being alone."

He looked into her green eyes, surprised to see the tears back. "Kate, what is it?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just not having a very good day. I have to go, okay?" She slipped her shoes back on and started heading back. When they reached the Hoover building, she turned to him awkwardly. "Thanks for walking with me. I needed the fresh air."

Skinner stopped her by putting a hand on her side. "Aren't you going to tell me what your four months of soul searching turned up? Have you figured out what you need in life?"

Kate looked at his familiar brown eyes and felt like throwing herself into his arms. She doubted he would appreciate that, though. "I can tell you one thing."

He kneaded her side gently, not wanting to let her go for fear he may not see her for another four months. "What's that, Kate?"

She stepped a little closer to him, and crossed her arm over her midsection so that her hand rested on top of his. "For almost ten years, you were in my life – in some form or another – on an almost daily basis. Rarely a day went by when I didn't at least talk to you, or send you a message. I know you've moved on, and I do respect that, but Walter, I...I need us to be friends again. I don't want to spend the rest of my life without talking to you. I know we can't be as close of friends as before, because that wouldn't be fair to the woman in your life...but...I..."

He cut her off. "Kate, I just don't know if I can be your friend."

She was at a loss for words. "Oh. Well...I'm -"

"Walter," a voice interrupted.

Kate looked up to see someone coming towards them on the sidewalk. The woman had sleek blonde hair, just above the shoulders. She was tall, had a nice, curvy figure, and was wearing a perfectly tailored pantsuit.

"Walter, hi!"

Kate wrinkled her nose in distaste, watching the other woman's approach. She would rather walk barefoot through snow than wear a suit. "Is that Elena?"

Skinner looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. We're supposed be going to dinner. She's a little early."

Kate nodded. "She looks like your type. I'm glad you're happy, Walter. Have a good evening."

He took her by the arm. "Kate, wait."

She pulled away. "I have to go. Please. I really don't want to meet her – not today, okay?" She hurried back towards where her Prius was parked. From behind her, she heard a woman's voice say, "Who was that, Walter?" And she could have sworn she heard him reply, "No one."

7:45 p.m.

Skinner smiled as Elena recounted her day. Truthfully, he was having trouble paying attention tonight. Seeing Kate had put him off center, but there was something else. Something was nagging in the back of his mind, and he just couldn't place it. He felt his phone vibrate and checked it discreetly. When Dana Scully's name showed up on the caller ID, he panicked a little. He looked up at Elena. "I'm sorry. I need to take this." Walking briskly towards the door, he answered, "Skinner."

"Walter, hi, it's Dana. Listen, I just wanted to make sure Kate was with you. I've been trying to reach her for the past couple of hours, but she's not answering."

Confused, Skinner replied, "Well, she showed up at my office a couple of hours ago, wanting to take a walk. She's not with me now, though. I'm in the middle of dinner, Scully. Can I call you back?"

There was silence on the other end. "Um, no. That's okay. I tried to get her to come out here, but she said she had always spent this evening with you ..."

Finally, realization dawned on him. All day something had felt like he was forgetting something. Now he knew what. "Oh, my God. I forgot what day it was." He shook his head. "I'm sure it really threw her off that I didn't remember. She was really upset for the hour I was with her. I thought it...never mind. Listen, I have to finish up here, and then I'll find her." He looked up as Elena stuck her head outside.

"Walter, is everything okay?"

Scully was taken aback on the other end. "Are you on a date? Tonight, of all nights? Jesus, Walter. Just forget it."

"Scully, just let me call you back in a half hour, please. I'm sure everything is fine."

She cut him off. "No. Seriously. Leave it alone. Just leave her alone." She hung up on him.

Skinner looked down at the phone that had gone dead. He looked back at Elena. "No. Something has come up. I have to take care of it." He saw the look on her face. Too many times in only three weeks, he had brushed her off for something else – usually work. This dating business was not easy. "I'm so sorry. Let's finish our dinner first, though, okay?" Back inside, he tried to focus and give her his attention, but his mind kept wandering to Kate. How could he have forgotten? That explained the tears. Well, it really didn't. She usually didn't cry, even on this day...well, at least not in front of him. But that did explain the silences. June 12th. Her daughter's birthday. Emma would have been thirteen today. Ever since Emma had disappeared, Skinner had spent the evening of the twelfth with Kate. No matter how far apart they were living, he had always made sure his calendar was free and that he was with her, wherever she was. He couldn't believe he had forgotten. Emma Carter Cruz had disappeared from her paternal grandparents' house during the night ten years earlier. It had been her third birthday, and the first one she hadn't spent with her mother. He had been asked to head up the search because Emma's father was a fellow agent. The case had never been solved, the little girl had never been found, and Skinner had always somewhat blamed himself. He looked up to see Elena giving him a very impatient look.

"Walter, you haven't heard a word I've said." The perfectly manicured woman tucked her bobbed hair behind one ear.

"Elena, I'm sorry. The phone call rattled me." He patted her hand gently. His heart just wasn't in this right now.

"Talk to me, Walter. You never talk to me about work. You're always being called away, and I never know what's going on." He didn't like her wording – if you'd only known each other three weeks, should you really use words like always and never?

"Elena, most people at the Bureau learn to leave the work at the office or the crime scene." When he had been married, he had never talked to Sharon about work. Of course, that hadn't worked out so well. He realized, though, that he had never felt the need to protect Kate from work related topics. They had always talked about cases like colleagues instead of lovers. Maybe that had been the difference. Since she consulted for the Bureau, he never felt like he had to protect her from the gory details. She could handle the details impartially. Also, she knew how important his job was to him – that he would drop everything for a case if he had to. Likewise, he had seen her walk away in the middle of lunch if the hospital called her. They both understood that about each other's career. He supposed that most people just didn't grasp the urgency, the commitment. Of course, that didn't explain why his and Kate's relationship had never progressed beyond weekly lunches and him sleeping over at her house a couple of times a week. Maybe, though, that was all people like them were capable of. He shook his head as if to clear it.

Elena pursed her lips. "So you're saying this is how it would always be."

He sighed and signaled for the check. He was just too old to be going through these motions again, trying to be someone he wasn't to make another person happy. He couldn't mold himself to fit into someone else's life. "Yes. And you deserve something more normal than this, I know. But I don't know if I could ever give it to you. I'm just trying to be honest with you, Elena. This is how my life is much of the time." He left out the fact that this time he was leaving for personal reasons. He remembered overhearing Kate telling someone about the investment banker she had dated a couple of times after they had called off the physical part of their relationship. Kate had been bored to tears by him, and he had not understood her need to answer her phone even during dinner. He suddenly thought Elena would be perfectly suited for someone like that. He was starting to understand why divorce was rampant among law enforcement officers. Skinner didn't know what he had even been thinking in the first place. "I'll call you tomorrow, all right?"

8:15 p.m.

Scully hung up the phone. "Monica says she went by Kate's and that she's not at home."

Mulder looked up at her. "I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she needs the time alone, Scully."

She pushed her long red hair off of her shoulder. "She's already spent too much time alone the past few months."

The intercom beeped, and Mulder went to answer. When he came back, he rubbed Scully's ever expanding belly. "Kate is coming down the driveway now, so you can stop worrying."

William hopped up from where he was playing Lego's in the floor. "Kate's coming?" He danced around happily.

Scully swatted at his bottom as he twirled by her. The little boy threw his arms around his mother, hugging her impulsively. "Kate is not having a good day, man, and she probably didn't bring you anything. So don't pester her."

William ignored her, flung open the door, and ran out onto the porch. They had put a dead bolt high up where he couldn't reach it, but it hadn't really helped. It hadn't occurred to them at the time that he could flip it easier than Scully could. What a waste that had been. Kate always brought him something when she came to visit. It was a never ending source of contention between her and Scully. Kate ignored her friend's protests and continued spoiling William every chance she had. As her car came to a stop, William raced out to greet her. He jumped into her arms. Kate dropped raspberry kisses all over his little face. His giggles made her heart ache. "Oh, that is just what I needed tonight, big guy." She put him down and pulled something out of her pocket. "Check these out." She showed him the sizzler magnets she had brought him. They made noise as they bounced against each other.

"Awesome," William tried it, making a lot of noise. He laughed when Kate took them and stuck one on each side of his nose. He took them off and tried it on his hand, too. "That's cool. Thanks, Kate."

Kate looked up to see Scully on the porch. "Hey. That belly has grown in just a week. Maybe we should check again to make sure there aren't two in there after all," Kate teased. As she got to the top of the stairs, she rubbed the stomach gently. It drove Scully crazy, but she didn't complain since Kate was now her doctor. The baby was due in September. Since Monica Reyes had delivered William all by herself, they had decided she should also be present for this one, too.

Scully rolled her eyes. "Please don't joke about that, Kate." Although it was a little awkward, she put her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly.

Kate pulled away. "What was that all about?" She noticed tears in Scully's eyes.

Scully shrugged. "I worry about you, Kate."

Kate smiled wanly. "I'm going to be just fine, Day. Walter was busy, and I knew you wouldn't like it if I spent the evening alone...so here I am. Entertain me." She walked into the house and was greeted with mouthwatering smells. "Oh, I smell cookies." Mulder had a radio apart on the table, trying to put it back together. "You've got the wires crossed," Kate pointed out as she walked by. "That's why it won't work."

Mulder glared at her from over his glasses. "Know it all. Cookies are on the stove."

She smirked as he switched the wires when he thought she wasn't looking. "Maybe later. Where's Claire?"

"Where do you think? Upstairs in her room." Kate started up the stairs. She knocked on the door and pushed it open a little. Claire was lying on the bed, listening to her iPod and thumbing through a magazine.

"Hi." Kate sat on the bed beside her. Claire smiled and sat up.

"Kate! I didn't know you were coming." Kate looked at the pretty little girl, reaching out to touch the reddish brown curls.

"Well, I was out driving and my car just made its way here," she told the child. "Tell me what's new with you." Kate listened contentedly as Claire told her all about what she had been studying that week, about how her Gramma Scully was teaching her to use the sewing machine, and how Mulder was teaching her to play basketball.

Kate talked to the teenager for a half hour. Her heart ached knowing that had things gone differently ten years ago, Emma and Claire could have been sitting here together talking to her right now. Her eyes teared up without warning. Claire stopped and touched her face, as if she were the adult and Kate were the child. Kate was always amazed by Claire's empathy. "I'm sorry. Is talking to me making you too sad tonight?"

Kate shook her head. "No, sweetie. Talking to you was just what I needed. I was just thinking how great it would have been if Emma and you could have been friends like your mom and I are. Speaking of your mom, how are you guys doing these days?" Scully and Claire had gotten off to a rocky start. In fact, Mulder had developed a rapport with the little girl a whole lot quicker than Scully had. Things were working themselves out now that Scully felt fairly secure that the little girl was going to be a permanent part of her life.

Claire broke into a big smile. "Really good, Kate. I think she's really starting to like me."

Kate nodded and kissed the top of her head as she stood up. "That is wonderful, Claire. But I think she has always liked you – I think she is just now starting to relate to you. Oh yeah, I brought you something."

"You don't have to bring me something every time you come like you do William. I'm old enough to understand."

"Well, I have thirteen years of spoiling to make up for." She winked as she tossed the little girl an iTunes gift card and a new tube of lip gloss.

Downstairs, Mulder was helping William build Lego Atlantis. Scully looked at Kate. "Walk?"

Kate nodded. "Sure." They walked out towards the woods and the pond. Kate finally spoke. "Walter's seeing someone. He's with her now."

Scully nodded. "I know. I called him earlier to check on you because you weren't answering and realized I interrupted a date."

"Yeah. My phone died, and I can't find my car charger." She kicked at the ground. "We did walk and talk a little earlier, though." Scully waited. "I told him I needed us to be friends again. He said he couldn't." She took a deep breath. "Then, when we were saying goodbye, the girlfriend – or whatever – walks up." Kate's voice cracked. "And I don't think he even remembered today was Emma's birthday."

Scully rubbed her friend's back. "I'm sorry, Kate. I know how much he's always meant to you, especially on days like today. In time, you can probably be friends again."

Kate shrugged miserably. "It's my fault. I brought it all on myself."

Scully couldn't really argue with her on that point. "Well, I'm always here for you."

Kate nodded. "Yeah, I know; and I do appreciate it. Believe it or not, I also stopped by to see Nic today. He seemed really down, but I couldn't handle being with him for very long. I felt like I should invite him to do something, but I just couldn't."

"I'm sure it helped him just to see you today. It's hard for me, on Missy's birthday, to be around mom a lot...but I think it always helps her to see me for a little while." No matter how many years passed, Scully still always felt as responsible for her sister's death as Mulder did for his sister's disappearance.

They finished skirting the pond and headed back towards the house, silent for most of the walk. "Have you had dinner? We have some leftover lasagna."

Kate shook her head. "No thanks. If you don't mind, I think I want to head out." She went inside to say goodbye.

Mulder looked up from Atlantis after Kate left. "Skinner called."

Scully nodded. "What'd you tell him?"

"That Kate was here and that she was fine. He still wants you to call him, though."

Scully took the phone into the kitchen. Skinner didn't greet her at all when he answered. "Can I talk to her?"

"Walter, she left already. Just leave her alone. She's hurt that you forgot, she's bewildered that you had a date tonight, and she's devastated that after ten years she still doesn't know what happened to her daughter."

He sighed. "She's not answering her phone."

"The battery died. That's why I couldn't get her earlier. I'm asking you to leave her alone tonight. Between you and me, Kate's not doing all that great, Walter. She has finally gotten over Nic, and now she needs to get over you. She said you told her you didn't want to be her friend anymore, and while I understand your side in this, Kate didn't need that today of all days." Scully's temper was rising out of concern for her friend.

"I didn't realize what day it was. And I didn't tell her I didn't WANT to be her friend; I said I didn't know if I could be her friend." Skinner was aggravated, too. "Besides, you're only seeing things from her side."

"Walter, you of all people should realize that friends – true friends – are more important than anything else. If you're seeing someone who comes between you and your friends, that person isn't worth the effort."

"She walked out on me, Dana. Look, I'm not going to argue with you about this right now."

"I don't want to argue, either. Just leave her alone tonight. Let her see that she can get through this night without you."

His voice sounded husky. "I can't leave her alone. You have no right to ask me to. She sought me out today. That must mean she needed me tonight." He hung up, not wanting to hear anymore. He gave Kate time to get home, then called her phone again. Still no answer. After an hour and a half, he gave in and went over to her house. She lived in a three level brownstone in Georgetown. Her car was outside, but she didn't answer the door or phone. He debated for a while, giving serious thought to letting himself in, but something told him not to. Not knowing what else to do, he sat down on the steps outside her front door. After another hour, an SUV pulled up.

Kate got out of the passenger side, while Reyes hopped out of the driver's side. Skinner noted that Kate looked sleepy and wobbly. When she noticed him on the stairs, she said, "Oh, brother. Please don't tell me that your new girlfriend and I are neighbors." She unlocked her front door and went inside, leaving him standing outside with Monica.

Reyes looked at him, cutting off the lecture she knew was coming. "I swear she only had two glasses of wine. I don't think she's eaten much today, though, so it went straight to her head. Why don't you call her tomorrow? I'll make sure she gets settled tonight."

Skinner shook his head. "No. I'll take care of it." Reyes looked uncertain. "Go home, Monica."

Finally, Reyes nodded. "Okay, but I'll call to check on her in an hour."

Skinner waited until she drove away, then he went inside and closed and locked up the front door. He could hear her shower running upstairs. He looked in the fridge. Almost empty. That was weird. Kate always had food. She loved to cook. He managed to scrape together some pasta and made a quick sauce to go on it out of olive oil, garlic, and basil. When he heard her come out of the bathroom, he went up to the edge of her doorway. "I made you pasta. Come and eat." Kate looked shocked to see him there, like she didn't remember him being outside.

"I'm not hungry." She paused, "Could you close the door so I can get dressed?"

For some reason, that made him sadder than anything. Even after they had stopped sleeping together, Kate had never been shy about changing clothes around him. He knew it wasn't normal, but he had always liked that she was that comfortable with him. Gently, he pulled the door closed. He waited twenty minutes, but she never came out of the bedroom. He knocked lightly. "Kate, can I come in?" He pushed the door open and found her standing at the window wearing cotton sleep pants and a Georgetown t-shirt. "Please come and eat something."

"I'm just not hungry." She felt him come to stand behind her.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I can't believe I forgot. It's the worst thing I think I've ever done."

Kate shook her head. "She wasn't your daughter, Walter. You never even met her. It's not your place to remember."

He sighed. "But I care about her mother. That makes her important to me. It was my place to find her, and I failed. I think of her every morning when I open my eyes, Kate. I think of you every morning when I open my eyes."

Tears dropped down Kate's face. "Stop. Please stop."

"No, Kate. I need you to hear this. I look for her every chance I get. I've never told you. I follow every lead, no matter how tenuous. I still fly out there any time I think there may be some new evidence, no matter how remote the chance it could break the case." He took her by her arms. "Kate, I would give anything to bring Emma home to you. Anything. So the last thing I would ever do is cause you more pain where she is concerned. I'll never forgive myself for not remembering today."

She shook her head, hair spilling over her shoulder and into her face. "Walter, it is not your fault. More than likely, Emma is dead. Until now, I've not even been able to say it. But I can now. I will probably never know for sure what happened to my daughter. I will probably never be able to put her body to rest. It is not your job to bring her home to me – alive or dead. I appreciate that you've tried all these years, but I don't blame you." She patted his arm gently. "Let yourself off the hook."

The flatness in her voice frightened him, even though it was good to hear her finally able to talk openly about her daughter's likely fate. "Kate, don't do this to yourself. Not tonight."

She waved him off. "I have to. That's what these four months have been about. I had to quit running from and start facing up to all the things in my life I've avoided for so long. Emma is one of them. I've also come to terms with Nic." She looked up at him. "That just leaves you. And I'm getting there. Today helped me see things more clearly, believe it or not." She paused. "Thanks for coming by to check, but I'm going to be fine. If you still have your key, can you let yourself out and lock up? I'll get the key from you some other time. I don't want an awkward goodbye. I've had enough awkward today to last a lifetime."

"I was planning to stay with you, if you'd let me. I always stay...I don't want you to be alone tonight."

Kate turned back to him. "No. I'd really rather you didn't. I need to get through tonight by myself. And I'd like to start fresh this year as I intend to go on. You made it clear today that you don't think we can go back to being close friends. Let's not make exceptions for one night, okay?"

He looked very unhappy. "Well, I could stay downstairs. You wouldn't even know I'm here."

"I would know. Please don't make this any harder. Just go." When she heard the front door open, she went up to the third floor balcony, leaving the double doors open behind her. She stretched out on the chaise there, looking up at the sky. The breeze felt good, making it easier for her to breathe. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps echoing in the empty space behind her.

When she looked back, he was standing in the doorway. "What'd you forget?"

He ignored her question. "Kate, why is the third floor practically empty? You loved that space. Where is everything?"

She lifted a shoulder. "Oh. I'm having the upper floors renovated, starting with the third. That's all."

He knelt beside her. "Tell me you're not planning to leave D.C., Kate."

Sitting up, she looked at him. "Of course I'm not leaving. Didn't I tell you today that I just helped open a new clinic?"

He breathed deeply. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm positive. Why did you come back?"

He touched her face gently. "I know you said you want to be alone tonight, but could I take you to breakfast in the morning? Or lunch? I really would like a chance to talk to you."

Kate shook her head. "I can't. I'm leaving for Hilton Head early in the morning. I'll probably be gone until Monday. I'm having some work done there that I need to oversee."

Skinner sighed. "Are you going alone?" She nodded. "I don't like the idea of you there alone for three days, rattling around in that big old house."

She gave a half laugh. "Walter, I'm not a crazy spinster. I don't rattle around." His hand slid from her cheek down to her neck. Impulsively, she said, "If you really don't want me to be alone, come with me. We could finally talk about all the things we avoided..." He hesitated for a moment too long. "Never mind, Walter. Please just leave."

"Kate, it's not fair of you to ask me to drop everything for three days. Twelve hours ago I hadn't heard a word from you in four months. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Elena." He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but he had to be honest with her. "I'm sorry. Can we talk later in the week?" He ran his hand down her shoulder and arm.

She pushed his hand away. "What more is there really to talk about? Just get out of my house, Walter. I'll have Monica pick up the key from you next week. I've been meaning to get her a copy anyway for when I'm out of town." She turned away from him, pointedly ending the discussion.

Skinner kissed the top of her head as he stood up. He debated saying something else to her but changed his mind when he saw the tears slip down her cheeks. Sighing, he walked back through the empty rooms. At the bottom of the stairs, he remembered the pasta he had made. In the kitchen, he put it into a plastic container and stuck it in the fridge. As he was rinsing the spoon, he noticed a set of plans lying on the granite countertop. They were for the upstairs renovations. The third floor was on top, and he looked more closely when he realized she was planning to put up walls up there. That was odd. She had always liked the open space on the top floor. In fact, she loved that her house had very few walls and that it was at the end of a row and had windows on three sides. He couldn't figure out what the rooms were supposed to be, but the corner of one room's plan caught his eye. He squinted at it. In her handwriting, he saw written 'Walter's desk'. Unsure what to make of it, he thumbed through the rest of the plans. As realization dawned, his heart beat loudly in his chest. He stood in the kitchen, lost in thought. When he heard her coming down the stairs, he started.

Kate padded into the kitchen in her bare feet. "Christ, Walter, you scared me. What are you still doing he-" She saw the plans in his hand. "Give those to me. They're none of your business." She snatched them out of his hand. "Besides, they're not the final set."

"Why were building me an office here, Kate?"

She looked at him with pleading eyes. "I can't talk about this tonight, Walter. Besides, none of it matters now."

He looked at her clear, sea green eyes. "It matters to me."

"Walter, when I left Hilton Head, you said I could decide what I needed and what I wanted from you. I thought..." She sniffed. "I thought I had more time...I didn't think you'd replace me in four months. I thought I was close to working it all out when I heard about you and what's her name." She finally made eye contact again.

"Kate, you left me confused when you walked away that day. I've been trying to work through it these last few months, too, you know. And when we talked that day on the beach, you told me I needed to go on real dates. After a couple of months, I figured you weren't coming back. And yes, I started dating like you suggested. But you haven't been replaced. I could try for the next ten years and never replace you. You will always have a special place in my life." He rubbed his thumb against her cheek.

She closed her eyes. "Go home," she whispered softly. Leaving him standing there, she went upstairs, got into her bed, and waited to hear him go out the front door.

Friday, 5:45 p.m.

Kate was napping on her stomach underneath a beach umbrella. The workmen had left for the day, Godfrey was in Charleston, and she was content to be alone until tomorrow morning. The only sounds were the ocean lapping at the shoreline and the intermittent sound of gulls flying overhead. She needed this time. Tonight, she would begin to sort through all that had happened in the last couple of days, but for now, she just wanted to lie there and let the ocean soothe her. When she opened her eyes twenty minutes later, clouds were rolling in from offshore and she saw someone coming around the corner of the house. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes. It took her a few seconds to process what was going on. "Walter, what are you doing here?" She looked frightened. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No. Everything's fine."

She wrinkled her eyebrows. "How'd you get here?"

"I flew to Charleston and rented a car." He saw the question forming on her lips. "You invited me here once five years ago, Kate, and I turned you down. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. When you asked me last night to come here with you, I should have dropped everything and come. I'm sorry that I didn't. But I'm here now." Thunder rumbled in the distance. She made no effort to stand up, so he pulled a chair close to her and sat down. "I've thought all day about those plans I saw in your house, Kate."

She grimaced. "I never intended for you to see those. Can't you just pretend that you didn't?"

"You know I can't."

Feeling uncomfortable, she put on her swimsuit cover. "You know, yesterday made me think about some things I'd never really considered before." She noted the questioning look on his face. "I guess it just made me wonder if maybe you stayed with me all those years because of guilt you felt about not finding Emma. I don't know why it never occurred to me before now."

Skinner looked at her. She still had her sunglasses on, so he couldn't see her eyes. "Kate, we would probably never have met if I hadn't worked Emma's case, but I promise you what we were to each other all those years was not out of obligation or guilt on my part. I will admit that the way you handled Emma's disappearance made me want to get to know you better all those years ago. The way you still managed to enjoy life when other people in your position would have shut down or just gone through the motions...that's what drew me to you and that's what made me unable to walk away from you even at times when I probably should have."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Of that I'm certain. Now, tell me about the office, Kate."

She stared out at the waves. "When I left here in February, I don't think I had ever been in so dark a place as I was then. I had never dealt with my feelings for Nic, I had never dealt with my feelings about Emma, and I had never even tried to work through what you really meant to me. I don't think it ever occurred to me that maybe you were the one thing that helped me keep it all together for all those years. When suddenly you weren't there, it's like I couldn't function." She looked over and saw the look in his eyes. "No. I'm not blaming you. I know I walked away from you. And I needed these months alone, even though they almost destroyed me. Walter, for the most part, I have answered only to myself my entire life. I realize now that it was my unwillingness to consider Nic's needs that made me a terrible wife. Perhaps some of what he thought he needed was unreasonable, but I refused to consider anything other than what I wanted at the time. He wanted me on his terms, and I wanted him on mine...and the two did not overlap in any workable way. With that kind of history, I can't tell you how much it terrified me that I didn't know who I was without you after all those years. I kept thinking – this will get better tomorrow – but it never did. A teenage patient said to me, 'You look like you've lost your best friend, Dr. Carter.' And that's when I realized – I had. And it was my own fault. The problem, though, was that I missed you most at night. The year we spent as just friends was tolerable because at least I could see you during the day. When suddenly I didn't see you at all, I realized that I missed the physical as much as the friendship. One day, I woke up and thought – this is absurd...why am I doing this to myself? And I guess the office was my way of saying...I need you as my friend, and I want you as something more...and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make things work between us. It seems stupid now, I guess." Afraid to look at him, she continued, "Walter, I really can handle that you've moved on, but it's going to take me a while to be all right if we can't be friends."

He reached over and tucked her hair back so he could see her face. "Kate, I didn't mean I couldn't be your friend because I had moved on; I meant I didn't know if I could be JUST your friend because I hadn't."

Confusion clouded her face. "What?"

"You know, I didn't date at all that year we were apart. I know that after a while you did, but I couldn't even find the energy. Then, this time, I knew I had to try to date and have a normal relationship because that was the only way I would know for sure what I wanted."

She looked up at the clouds rolling across the sky. "So, how'd you like normal?" she asked distastefully.

He laughed out loud, a rare sound. "It was awful, Kate. I don't have a clue what most women want. It was like constantly fighting the same old battle Sharon and I fought over and over again. I don't open up. I'm never around. My job is more important than anything else."

She nodded. "I know. Those are the same things I heard over and over when I was dating last year."

"But you never said those things to me. Not once in ten years. Even when I flipped out when you were pregnant, you never criticized me. You always accepted me for who I was, not who you wanted me to be."

Kate looked over at him. "So did you. That's why we were such good friends." Finally, she took off her sunglasses and rested them on top of her head. "So...what now?"

He took a deep breath. "Can I still have that office, or are you turning it into a Yoga studio or Zen garden as we speak?"

She broke into a smile. "I'm putting in an exercise room, too, since there's no gym like the one at your building."

He started to smile a little himself. "How about a closet? Do I get my own closet?"

"Walter, can't you just share my closet? How many suits could you possibly have?"

He shrugged. "I guess we could try that." He reached for her hand. "Are you sure about this? You don't think I'm too old for you?"

She gave him a wide eyed look. "Well, you're not going to turn into a couch potato and stop exercising, are you?" He gave her a look of disdain. "Then I'm sure." She paused for a minute. "We can get a new house, you know. I don't want you to think it has to be my house we live in. It's just...your condo is too small."

He shook his head. "I love your house. Really."

She looked back out at the waves for several seconds. "Oh, my God."

"What?"

"I'm terrified."

He laughed nervously. "Me, too." Raindrops started to fall. "Ready to go inside?"

She shook her head. "No, I like the rain."

He gave her an impatient look. "You're wearing a swimsuit. Wet dress pants aren't all that comfortable, Kate."

She reached for his belt buckle. "So let's take them off." The rain was coming down harder now.

"Kate...we're out in the open air here."

"And the nearest house is a quarter mile down the beach, Walter. Live a little." She slipped off his shoes and chunked them towards the house.

"That chair will not hold both of us and the patio does not look all that soft." She grabbed a beach blanket from the cabana and spread it out in the sand. "Kate, please."

"The wind isn't blowing much; it'll be fine. Wait. About you and what's her name. Did you sleep with her?"

"You know her name was Elena, and no, I did not sleep with her. Don't you want to go inside?"

She shook her head. "No. I want you right here in the rain."

He sighed and looked up and down the beach as she stripped out of her swimsuit, but he did shed his shirt on his own. "You're going to kill me, Kate."

She laughed as she pulled him down on the blanket. "But you are going to love every minute of it."

7:15 p.m.

They were both dressed now, and she was heading back downstairs when she heard her cell phone ringing. "Walter, could you get that?"

When she got to the kitchen, he grimaced and covered the mouthpiece. "It's Scully. And I don't want to play twenty questions with her."

Kate laughed and took the phone out of his hand. "Hi, Dana. Everything okay?"

"Yes, Kate. Everything's fine. I was just checking on you, since I felt sorry for you there all alone..."

"Well, I'm not alone, so don't worry."

"So I gathered. What the hell even happened? Why is he there?"

Kate rolled her eyes at her friend's protectiveness. Since she'd been pregnant, Scully had played the part of mother hen obsessively. A few weeks ago, Kate watched her lick her thumb and wipe something away from Mulder's face. That had been hilarious. "He met me here so we could talk through things."

"Do you think that's wise, Kate?"

Kate waggled her eyebrows at Skinner. "Well, it seems to be working out pretty well, Dana."

There was a long sigh on the other end. "Your idea of talking through things usually lands you in bed with him, Kate. I don't want to see you set back several months."

"Dana, I promise you we haven't been anywhere near the bed. Stop fretting. I'm okay. Oh, tell William that the pool is going to be all set for the week you guys are coming down here. It's being filled up as we speak. Give both kids a kiss for me, okay?"

"I will. Oh, listen, you know those samples I was running? There was something really strange about Rebecca Cordon's. I ran it three or four times. Will you be out here before you see her again?"

"I'm not seeing her until Thursday, I think; so yeah, I'll be out before then."

"Okay, let's talk about it then. I guess tell Walter I said hi. And make him feed you a good meal."

"I will. You tell Mulder I said he has to rub your feet for fifteen minutes every night so they don't swell."

"I don't think that will help the swelling, Kate."

"He won't know that."

Scully laughed. "True. I will definitely tell him."

When she hung up, the Chinese takeout Skinner had ordered had arrived. Since the rain had stopped, they sat out on the patio. Kate ate more than she had in a long time, but still not as much as she normally did. Noting the look on Skinner's face, she defended herself. "Stay off my case, all right? I've been really stressed, and it's just going to take a little while for me to get back to normal." Sitting back, she looked at him. "Walter, I've wanted to talk about this for a while, but I also wanted to wait until I was sure how I felt before we did. Do you think we could talk about the pregnancy?" They had never spoken of the miscarriage she'd had a year and a half ago. Kate could see the dread in his eyes. She knew he didn't want to talk about it. "If it's too much, we can talk about it later."

He looked down at his lap. "It's not that it's too much. I just don't know how to talk about it. It's hard to explain."

She nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. "Well, we don't really have to talk about it. It's just...the way you reacted at the time really upset me, even though I didn't let on. And I guess I worry now what would happen if we found ourselves in that position again." She saw the look of raw panic on his face. "Christ, Walter, calm down. It's extremely unlikely. For one thing, the older I get, the harder it would be for me to get pregnant if I wanted to...much less have another accident while on birth control. For another, I've stopped taking the pill and have switched back to an IUD. That said, no birth control is one hundred percent effective. I just...I want to know we've discussed it and that we'd be okay IF it were to happen again."

Skinner felt almost nauseous. Children were not something he had ever wanted. The idea of a baby had terrified him eighteen months ago and still frightened him today. At the same time, when he watched Kate with William and Claire, or even with children elsewhere, he could see that she was made for motherhood. He fidgeted. He knew that he would probably adore any child that was hers. If watching her with Scully's kids made his heart hurt, he couldn't imagine what watching her with their baby would do to him. Sometimes, though he would never admit it out loud, he thought about what it would be like if she hadn't had a miscarriage. The baby would be almost a year old now. "Look, I'm not cut out to be a father. I didn't exactly have a great role model, you know."

He never talked about his father much, who died when he was a teenager, but she knew the story wasn't a happy one. She reached over and played with his fingers. "You would have been a great father, Walter. Just because you didn't have much of a father doesn't mean anything. I don't even remember my mother, and I think I did okay for the two and a half years I had Emma." For a minute, she sat silently with him, tracing the outline of his hand with her fingertips. "Listen, I'm pretty sure that I don't want to have another baby. I had a lot of mixed emotions when I found out I was pregnant. The fear and guilt were almost paralyzing, to be honest. It felt disloyal to Emma to even consider bringing another child into the world. That's why I was so upset with you afterwards. I needed you to be the strong one, and you bailed out on me for a month."

"I didn't know, Kate. You seemed okay to me at the time. I am sorry." When she stood up, he tugged her towards him and pulled her into his lap. "Look, if history does repeat itself – I can handle it."

She smiled at him, happier than she'd been in a long time. "That's all I need to know."

He fiddled with her hair. "I just don't want to be away from you again, okay?"

Kate pressed her lips to his neck. "Okay." Her eyes drifted closed as he traced circles on her back. When his cell phone startled her awake, he gave her an apologetic look.

"Skinner." He covered the phone. "I have to take this. I'm sorry."

She dropped a kiss on his lips. "It's fine. Really." Her lips curved upward.

As he went back to his conversation, he watched as she cleaned up the food and headed upstairs. When he went looking for her almost two hours later, he found her curled up on her side in bed. Fifteen minutes later, though it was only ten o'clock, he slid into bed behind her. She turned towards him and threw her leg over the top of his. "Night," she whispered sleepily.

"Good night." He slipped his hand under her shirt so that it rested on her ribcage. For the first time in months, he slept all the way until morning.

Saturday, 11:20 a.m.

They were exploring the shops around Hilton Head and the outlying areas. Skinner had seen a framed painting he liked and wanted to put in his new office. Kate was waiting for the shopkeeper to wrap it in plastic and paper when her cell phone rang. She was surprised to hear John Doggett's voice on the other end.

"Listen," he said after a brief conversation. "I wanted to surprise Monica and come for a visit in the next couple of weeks, but I wanted to see if she already had plans for the Fourth before I made plans. You got any idea what she's planning?"

"Actually, Mulder and Scully are bringing the kids to Hilton Head earlier that week, and Monica and I were going to come down and spend a long weekend with them for the Fourth. That's actually why I'm in town now – I had a few things to take care of here after the winter."

He paused. "Oh, well, since she's already got plans..."

"John, no. She would love it if you surprised her. Why don't you come here instead? You guys can stay in the guesthouse off to the side of the main house if you wanted more privacy. It was out of commission from a hurricane last time you were here, but it's ready again now."

He mulled it over. "All right. That would probably work. You promise to have her there?"

Kate nodded. "Sure. We're flying in on that Thursday around lunch. It would be great if you could come." They coordinated a little more before hanging up. "Just finalizing plans for the 4th of July weekend." She saw the look on Skinner's face and laughed. "You don't have to come down here every time I do, you know."

He shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to. It's just going to take some time for me to get used to this kind of thing. I'm really used to being alone."

She stuck her arm through his and grasped his upper arm. "Well, whatever you decide. You can let me know, even at the last minute. I just have already promised William and Claire I'd be here for the Fourth."

They put the picture in the rental car and then walked down the street looking for a place to have lunch. "Kate, I need to head back tomorrow. I wanted to stay until Monday, but it's just not feasible."

She nodded. "It's okay. I think I'm going to go back, too. I have some stuff I need to do before Tuesday. Everything here should be okay for me to leave a day early. You can hitch a flight back with me if you'd like. I think Godfrey is going to be ready to fly out around nine in the morning. We can return your rental car locally."

"Yeah, that sounds good." He took her hand, feeling awkward with the public display but trying to overcome it.

She laughed out loud at how strange it felt and pulled her hand away. "I don't think public hand holding is our thing."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled. "I am so glad you agree." They went back to walking side by side, her shoulder barely touching his arm. "In the shop, the man asked if my wife saw anything she liked." The look on his face was really strange.

"I didn't see anything in there I couldn't live without."

He shook his head. "That's not what I meant."

Confused, she looked at him. "Then what?"

He sighed. "What do I say when people refer to you as my wife?"

She shrugged. "Correct them; don't correct them. You know it doesn't matter to me, Walter."

"I don't feel comfortable referring to you as my 'girlfriend'."

Cringing, Kate gave him a look. "Well, I don't much care for that, either, Walter. Why can't you just refer to me as Kate and not worry about what other people think I am to you?" The whole conversation was lost on her. She just didn't feel the same need to categorize and stipulate relationships the way he did.

Sunday, 5:15 p.m.

Mulder met Kate on the porch. He had car keys in his hand and looked really aggravated. "She is all yours for a while. I'm taking the kids down to the diner."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong with her?"

Mulder shook his head. "Who the hell knows? She's holed up in that damn lab." He stuck his head back in the door. "Claire, William, move it if you're going with me." The kids came down the stairs shoving feet into shoes as they hopped. Claire looked like she'd been crying. William launched himself at Kate. She scooped him up. "Hi, man. What's wrong?"

His chin quivered. "Mommy told Dad to leave. And Dad said fine, he would, but he was takin' us with him. And I don't wanna leave Mom, but I don't want Dad to go either. And Mom threw a glass at Dad and it broke and it scared me and Togy and Feather. And they both said a lot of swears." Feather was William's myna bird. He'd named it after the bird in the Judy Blume books.

Kate met Mulder's eyes. He shook his head. "William, why don't you and Claire go with Dad to get dinner and ice cream? Let me talk to your mom. Sometimes, parents fight. That's normal. And your mom is pregnant; that makes her get upset more than usual. Everything's going to be fine, okay?" She kissed his little cheek and put him down. "Maybe Mom just needs a break." She gave Claire a long hug. "We'll talk when you get back, sweetie." Claire nodded and went to get in the car.

When both kids were in the car, Kate looked at Mulder. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't even know. She's been picking little fights all day. I don't know what's going on with her. I know she's going nuts out here, never getting away from the house or the kids. But today was really crazy. You should see the gash on my shin where the glass she threw popped up and cut me. And that damn bird is going to have to be brainwashed to make him forget all the colorful phrases he learned today."

Kate smiled. At least Mulder never lost his sense of humor. "So, you didn't do anything to set her off?"

He looked really embarrassed. "Well..."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Mulder..."

He sighed. "Okay, look. We haven't had sex in like, three and a half months. And that's okay," he said quickly. "I swear it is. She's pregnant, and I'm not going to push her. But I mean, come on, she can't expect me not to...you know, take care of business."

Kate tried to figure out where he was going with this. "Wait, she got upset because she caught you...huh."

He glared. "It's not funny."

"I didn't say it was funny, did I? I'm not laughing. I just don't know why that would upset her." She glanced at the car. "Look, take the kids out; I'll see what's going on with Dana...try to defuse the bomb. Maybe the kids could come home with me tonight, okay? I'm not working tomorrow."

He nodded, grateful. "Okay."

Kate blew kisses to the kids, then went through the house to the room where they had set up lab equipment. "Hey, Dana. Why are you working so late and on a Sunday at that? I don't think you have to be that diligent..."

Scully looked up at her. "It's my only refuge." She studied Kate's face. "They told you about the fight, didn't they?" Kate nodded. "I can't do this, Kate. I'm going crazy out here."

"Well, look. I'm going to take the kids home with me tonight, all right? Take a night drive, get out and walk in the dark. Just do what you need to do tonight, okay?"

Scully put her face in her hands. "I'm sure he didn't tell you what we fought about."

Kate shook her head, "Well, not all of it. Something about getting caught in the act of servicing himself?"

Scully widened her eyes. "Oh, my God. He TOLD you?" She looked mortified.

"Dana, it's no big deal. Men masturbate even when they're getting sex regularly. I'm sure men with pregnant wives masturbate ten times more than most men. Why did it upset you?"

Scully didn't like talking about this. "Well, he hasn't touched me in months."

Kate stared at her friend. "Whoa. I think he's under the impression you don't WANT sex right now." She puffed out her cheeks, thinking. "And some men are afraid to initiate sex when women are pregnant. I mean, I think they're afraid of doing something wrong." She paused. "Have YOU tried to initiate sex?" Scully shook her head. "Then maybe you've just got your signals crossed. After I leave, have a glass of wine and seduce him. You'll both feel better."

Scully glared at her. "Sex doesn't fix everything Kate. Except maybe for you."

"I resent that. However, sex matters a lot, Dana. Don't pretend that it doesn't in a long term relationship. Okay, so you're sexually frustrated and you're going stir crazy in the house. Tonight, take a blanket, find a deserted spot, and make out under the stars." Kate looked at her friend. "What else is bothering you?"

Scully shook her head. "You'd think it's stupid."

"Tell me anyway. We don't have to agree on things to talk about them."

"Well, I'm about to have another child by this man, and we have never talked about what we are to each other."

Kate wrinkled her forehead. "What?"

Scully shook her head. "Early this morning, the kids and I are having breakfast, right? And William asked me why Mulder and I weren't married like his other parents were."

"Ah. So...what'd you tell him?"

"What would you have told him?"

Kate shrugged. "I would have told him that you don't have to be married to love each other and that you don't need a piece of paper to tell you that you, Mulder, Claire and he are a family." She saw the look on her friend's face. "What DID you tell him?"

Scully looked at the ceiling and sighed. "I told him we weren't married because his father had never asked. And then I went into our bathroom and found Mulder..."

"Oh."

"Yeah. And I just kind of blew the whole rest of the day even further out of proportion."

"Dana, I never knew you WANTED to get married. Maybe Mulder doesn't know either."

Scully kept looking at the ceiling. "Well, it shouldn't matter, and maybe really it doesn't. I don't know. But I'm about to have another baby, and I don't know how committed he really is to ME. I wonder if he's just committed to the kids. And I'm not saying I'm dying to get married, but it's funny we never even talked about it."

"He has chosen to be with you for years. He's still here because he wants to be. Not because of the kids, Dana. Marriage wouldn't really change anything, would it?"

Tears formed in Scully's eyes. "You don't know what it's like. It's easy for you to say that it doesn't matter, but you were married when you had Emma. My family doesn't understand. We have William here again with us now, and we're about to have this one." Scully put her hands on her stomach. "And they don't understand why Mulder and I are still living like we're in hiding. I've never been married, Kate. You, Skinner, and Mulder all have."

Kate hugged her friend. "Dana, I'm really sorry you had a crappy day. Why don't you talk to Mulder about all this?"

Scully lifted a shoulder noncommittally. She knew she probably would be more likely to talk to him about the sex issues than the emotional ones. "Tell me about you and Skinner. I'm sure YOU had sex last night."

"If you're going to be bitchy, I'm not going to tell you about it."

"I'm sorry. Tell me what happened." Kate gave her a short recap of the last couple of days. Scully lifted her eyebrow. "You're moving in together? You weren't even speaking a few days ago and now you're moving in together?"

Kate scowled at her. "I was hoping for something more like, 'Hey, I'm happy for you guys'."

Scully sighed. "I'm sorry. I am happy for you. I just worry about you when you make decisions like this so suddenly."

Kate shook her head. "It wasn't really that sudden, Dana. I'd been kicking it around for a while. If it doesn't work, you can say 'I told you so' while you console me. What else are friends for?" She looked down at the samples Scully was working with. "Anyway, tell me about Rebecca Cordon and then fill me in on what you've been looking at with William's and Claire's samples."

8:11 p.m.

After Kate left with the kids, Scully walked to the doorway of Mulder's office. He was scanning the day's newspapers from around the globe, clipping articles here and there. "Mulder, I need to get away from the house. Could we go for a drive?"

He did not turn to look at her. "Why don't you go by yourself? I don't think we need to spend more time together today."

"Look, I'm sorry about the way I was earlier. Please come with me." Her voice shook a little. She waited a few minutes for him to respond. "Mulder, I need to talk to you." When he still didn't answer, she sighed and went out onto the porch.

After a couple of minutes, he joined her. "Do you want to drive or do you want me to?"

She exhaled and took the keys. They drove further into the rural area as darkness settled around them. Finally, she pulled into a clearing and looked around. "Let's sit and look for shooting stars."

He followed her reluctantly. "What if we get shot at by hunters?"

Scully gave him a look and spread a blanket out onto the ground. "It's dark and it's not hunting season. Just come and sit with me." She stretched out on the blanket, lying on her back and looking up. Finally, he came and sat beside her. "This morning upset me because when I saw you there...I realized you hadn't touched me in months, Mulder. I've thought about it a lot, you know. About how maybe you just aren't...attracted to me like this." She motioned towards her stomach. "I do understand, believe me. Who would want anyone with a belly this size? But for some reason, this morning just...sent me over the edge. And it shouldn't have."

Mulder turned on his side to look at her, propping himself up on his elbow. "Scully, I am very attracted to you like this. You're beautiful to me. You were beautiful to me back when you were pregnant with William, too."

She turned her head to look at him. "You never made an attempt to touch me then, either."

"Scully...I was just back from the edge of death. I don't think I was in full working order those first few weeks. Then, you were less than two weeks from giving birth. I sure wasn't going to make the first move. I was content to just lie there and hold you the couple of times you let me sleep at your apartment during those weeks."

Her eyebrows wrinkled. "What about this time? You quit making love to me as soon as I started showing."

"That is not true. I even read books about pregnant sex. I read that the most important thing was lots of foreplay...but every time I tried, you fell asleep before I even got going. I eventually figured you weren't interested and stopped trying. And I certainly wasn't going to push you. You're the one carrying the baby around. I figured if I had to, uh, take care of business by myself for a while, it was no big deal. I did it for a lot of years before you."

Scully looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. I was so tired those first three or four months. When you started rubbing my back or neck or feet, it just lulled me right to sleep...I am sorry. It was never rejection."

He put a hand on her stomach. "Besides, why didn't you make a move if you wanted sex?"

"Mulder, I felt fat, ugly, and undesirable. I still do. I wasn't about to risk being rejected because you were repulsed."

He sighed. "I'm not repulsed by you. This morning, I watched you get out of the shower and wanted you. That's why I was..."

"Oh. Well, sorry I interrupted. If I were better at these things, I would have joined you instead of throwing a tantrum." Still lying on her back looking at the stars, she took his hand from her stomach and placed it on her inner thigh. He watched as she unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall open. After a few minutes, she lay there naked, though he was fully clothed. Turning her head towards him, she whispered. "Maybe I could help you finish now?" She reached over to unbutton his jeans.

He gave her a look. "Scully...are you sure?" When she nodded, he stripped out of his clothes in record time. She reached for him as he started kissing his way down her body. Scully offering him her naked body in the open night air was a long time fantasy of his, pregnant or not. After a few minutes, he whispered. "I feel like an idiot, but I don't know how to...what position would be good for you?"

She laughed and rolled onto her side away from him. She urged him closer to her until he was spooning her. "This should work," she whispered as she reached between her own legs and guided him inside of her. The fullness she felt from not having had him in a while and the pressure from the baby in her womb put her over the edge quickly. "God, Mulder." She could tell he was having trouble moving enough to come, though. She managed to get up onto her hands and knees. That position suspended her belly and allowed her more freedom to move.

As he moved over her and pressed into her again, he whispered, "Are you sure this is okay? It's not hurting you?"

She threw her head back. "No. God, no." She came again as he rocked gently and soon felt him start to shudder.

"Scully. Oh. My. God." They both collapsed onto the blanket. He kissed her neck, and then looked startled as her stomach bowed up and out. "Whoa. Did that hurt? What's it doing?"

She laughed. "No. I think when I came, it...I don't know. I think it tightened the stomach muscles and made her mad."

Mulder put his hand over the belly. "I can feel her moving all around. Poor kid's probably traumatized."

Scully laughed. "I doubt that." She sighed as he pressed his body against her side. "I feel better already."

Rubbing his face into her neck, he laughed. "Well, if it will keep you from throwing glasses at me, feel free to ask for sex any time. Horny women are usually every man's dream, but pregnant horny women are apparently dangerous. Let's not let you get that way again."

She elbowed him. "I thought you liked unraveling the mysteries of the horny beast, Mulder."

"Horned, Scully. Today, you were definitely horned."

She elbowed him harder. "Don't make me go beast woman on you, Mulder." When he leaned over and kissed her, she bit his bottom lip gently. For a while, they lay in the warm night air looking for shooting stars. Mulder kept his hand on her stomach the entire time.

"Scully, about you working so much...I know you can't stand to be idle, but you're spending an awful lot of time out in that lab. It upsets the kids, especially Claire. She thought you were going to be home and could spend more time with her. Why are you hiding out there? I know Kate didn't intend for you to work that many hours a week."

Scully reached for his hand. She knew her working so much was causing friction between them. "Mulder...I'm not exactly hiding out there. I don't know if I should even tell you this yet, but I'm working on William's genetic makeup. I'm trying to use his samples to find the vaccine. And if not the vaccine, then to figure out what exactly it is that makes him different."

Mulder looked shocked. "You're not working on Kate's research?"

"Well, I'm doing that, too. Mulder, I know there have to be answers inside William. I have to try to find them."

He nuzzled her neck. "Why didn't you tell me, Scully?" Her recent behavior and state of mind made a lot more sense to him now. She had always been terrified of what she may find out about William. This was probably taking a major toll on her both physically and emotionally.

She shrugged. "What if I fail, Mulder? I didn't want you to get your hopes up and then me not be able to deliver."

He rubbed her side gently. "I don't expect you to save the world alone. Now that I know, that makes your recent work habits more understandable, Scully, but I want you to limit yourself out there. No more ten or twelve hour work days. It's as important that we spend time as a family as it is that you and I keep searching for a way around colonization."

She nodded. "Okay. Mulder?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you really think of us as a family?"

He squinted at her in the dark, moonless night. "Of course I do. We are a family, Scully." He ran his fingers through her hair. "We finally have the normal home and family you've always wanted, right?" He rubbed her stomach. "Two parents with two point six kids living the good life." He sighed. "Okay, well maybe we aren't completely normal since there are agoraphobics who get out more than we do, but we're definitely a family. How can you not know that?"

She kissed his fingers. "You're right, Mulder. I just..."

"What?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. Let's go home, Mulder."

Back at the house, she did something she almost never did. After her shower, she stayed naked and crawled into bed. It was too hot for clothes, anyway, and the kids were gone for the night. Mulder wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. He knew something was still bothering her, but with Scully, sometimes it took her a while to work up the nerve to tell him. "Good night, Scully."

Monday, 4:22 p.m.

Mulder looked at William in the rearview mirror. "So, did you have fun with Kate?"

William nodded. "Yeah! She took us to see the planes and to the zoo." He yawned and licked around his lips where there was chocolate stuck. He was asleep before they even got on the interstate.

"Claire, what was your favorite part?"

"I liked it all. I've never even been to a museum before today. Or a zoo." She looked over at her dad. "Did you know that Mr. Skinner is moving in with Kate?"

"Yeah, your mom told me that. Was he there last night?"

"No, but she's renovating the upstairs, so he can move in, I think. I overheard her talking to him on the phone about it. She let us put on socks and sprayed furniture polish on the bottom and let us slide around on the floors because the third floor is empty right now. It was really fun."

He chuckled at the mental picture, almost certain that Scully would have a fit had she seen them skating around on the hardwood floors like that. "I bet that was fun. Claire, you know that when Skinner moves in with Kate, he'll share her bedroom, not stay upstairs, right?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Of course I know that. I understand all about sex, Dad. Mom talked to me about it, plus I already knew some. I meant Kate's renovating so he'll have an office and space for his things. She said that I can still stay with her any time, though." Claire had stayed with Kate several times in the last few months, but this was the first time William had gone with her. "So, are you and Mom still fighting?"

"No. We're okay, Claire. Listen, I know yesterday scared you, and I would like to tell you that it won't happen again. But sometimes adults fight, Claire. Even adults who love each other."

The young teenager nodded. "It was scary because I thought you were going to leave and not come back."

He reached over and tousled her hair. "No matter what happens, I will always come back, Claire."

She shook her head. "At the facility, people left all the time and didn't come back. And you're not married to Mom. So you don't have to stay. You could leave any time and not come back."

"Claire, even married people can get divorced. Where is this coming from? Even if your mom and I weren't together anymore, I would still always be there for you and William and the new baby. But that's not going to happen."

"Well, why aren't you and Mom married?"

Mulder set the cruise control for 73 so he wouldn't be tempted to drive over 80. "Well...I don't guess I've ever really thought about it, Claire. Being married just means..." he struggled for the right words. "It just gives you legal rights."

"That's not true. I read online that marriage was about a lifetime commitment. Aren't you committed to mom for life?"

Mulder was feeling a little interrogated and hot under the collar. "Well, yeah. Of course. I love Scully. I can't imagine being without her." He didn't mention that he couldn't imagine being married, either...

Claire lifted an eyebrow at him. When he caught the small facial expression out of the corner of his eye, he could really see Scully in her. Sometimes, he couldn't. Usually, Claire reminded him a lot of Samantha, believe it or not. "Well, William asked Mom why you weren't married and she told him it was because you had never asked."

Mulder almost swerved off the road. "Your mother said that? When?"

Claire nodded. "Yesterday morning. I swear she did. You can ask William."

He drove in silence for a while. Was that where the family questions came from last night? His head started to hurt and his mouth felt dry. The longer he knew Dana Scully, the more of an enigma she became. God. Finally, he looked over at Claire. "Does it matter to you that your mom and I aren't married?"

"Well, not really. I don't care as long as we can all stay together."

When they finally got back home, Scully's mom's car was in the driveway. William popped up in the backseat. "Gramma's here!" He was out of the car before it even stopped all the way.

Mulder grabbed the backpack he had taken with him from the backseat and followed the kids inside. He saw Scully's face as she took in the chocolate all over William and watched him pull one toy after another out of his backpack. "Ask him what they did for entertainment at Kate's house."

William grinned at her. "Kate sprayed our socks to make them slippery and we skated around all over the place."

Claire scrunched up her face. "You guys shouldn't have told Mom about it. You know she doesn't like for us to have fun inside like that."

Scully looked offended. "That is not true. I just don't want anyone getting hurt, Claire."

Claire snorted. "Mom, how bad can you get hurt skating in SOCKS?" She turned to her grandmother. "Gramma, can you come to my room and let me show you what I've been working on with the sewing machine?"

Mulder grabbed Scully around the waist from behind and nuzzled her neck. She was too awkward to hug from the front anymore. "I missed you."

She lifted her eyebrows. "You were only gone a few hours." Secretly, she was pleased with his words, though. "They really seem to have had a great time. We have to get them out more when the baby comes."

He nodded. "Yeah. I think Kate really enjoys having them, too. Claire said she's renovating her whole house for Skinner." Scully laughed at the look on his face. "What?"

"Mulder, I just don't understand why you can't get over that they're together."

He shuddered. "Scully, they just don't go together. She's all, hey, let's skate around on the hardwood floors and go to the zoo, and he's...Skinner – all paperwork and business. And besides, Scully, Kate's...hot."

Scully narrowed her eyes. "Mulder, they are no more different really than you and I are. And I hate to tell you this, but lots of women find Skinner hot."

He made a face like he was choking. "You're joking, right? Skinner's bald. Yeesh. Wait, I bet you think Skinner's hot, don't you? Unh-huh. You always did like older men." He dodged the throw pillow that Scully chunked his way. "Aw, man, is Skinner going to have to come on vacation and to birthday parties and stuff now? I'm just getting used to Kate."

"You know you enjoy Skinner's company, Mulder. Listen, I was on the phone with Kate earlier, and she said we should ask Mom to come with us to the beach for the Fourth. Do you think that would be okay?"

Mulder nodded. "Yeah. I think that would be great." He tapped the folders he had brought in with him. "Do you mind if I work for a couple of hours?" She shook her head.

Scully looked over at William, who was playing with the planes he had gotten at the Air & Space Museum. They were orbiting around near the ceiling. "William," she hissed. "Stop that while Gramma's here. You know she doesn't like it."

He giggled and landed them gently near his mother's feet. "Okay, Mommy. I'm going to check on Feather." He ran off towards his bedroom.

Scully shook her head at the mess they had already left in the living room. She honestly wasn't sure whether her old life or this was one more complicated. Sighing, she looked down at William's little brown and white dog. "Let me guess. You need to go out, right?"

Saturday, June 28th 10:13 a.m.

Kate watched as the moving van finally pulled away from her steps. Everything had happened so fast. Walter's condo had sold much more quickly than she had ever anticipated, so they had moved up the move-in date. The man who bought the condo needed to be moved in before the first of the month. The renovations to her place had only been completed a day and a half ago. She'd felt a little sick all morning from nerves. Plus, she had worked until three a.m. at the clinic, so she'd only gotten about three hours sleep. Then, just as the moving van had pulled up this morning at seven, Skinner had been called out. Now she was standing hip deep in boxes, not realizing he had this much stuff, and not knowing what to do with any of it. At least the big furniture had been put away. The door still open behind her, she muttered, "Shit."

"Rough morning?"

Kate wheeled around to see Mulder coming up her steps. "You could say that. Walter's not here right now."

"That's okay. I came to see you."

She raised her eyebrows. "Did I forget something you guys need for the trip?" He, Scully, the kids, and Maggie were leaving tomorrow for Hilton Head.

Mulder shook his head. "No, we're set. Thanks again for arranging the vacation. Scully and the kids desperately need it." He rocked back and forth on his heels, surveying the damage to her first floor. "Why didn't the movers take all this upstairs?"

She made a face. "No more room up there, either."

"Damn."

"Yeah. I feel like I'm about to have a panic attack. He's been sleeping here consistently for several nights now, but this is...really permanent feeling." She kicked a box out of her way and headed to the kitchen. "I swear. What is IN all of these boxes anyway?" She poured coffee into a mug.

Mulder laughed. "Want me to help you put something away?"

"No. I'm not going through his stuff. I'm going to leave it for him to sort." She sat down at the bar. "So, what's going on? You look even more nervous than me. I bet if a stranger walked through that door right now, they'd think we were a couple of junkies trying to find our next fix."

He ambled between the boxes. "All right, listen. Scully's been acting all...I don't know...out of sorts, you know? And I heard her talking to her asshole brother..."

Kate interrupted. "I take it that would be Bill."

Mulder gave her a look. "Has anyone actually ever even SEEN the other one?" He scoffed. "So, anyway, it seems like she's always defending me to him. I don't know. You know what I'm saying?"

"Not really. You're not making much sense." She wrinkled her eyebrows.

He ran his fingers through his hair. "A couple of weeks back, that night you brought the kids home with you? On the way back to the house, Claire was telling me that William asked Scully why we weren't married. And that Scully said because I had never asked."

Kate spun her mug on the bar. "Ah."

"You already knew about that?" She shrugged. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Mulder, it's not my place to interfere."

He rocked on his heels some more, then continued pacing through the maze of boxes. "Do you think she really wants to get married?"

Kate sighed. "Well, I don't know. You live with her. I think she probably feels conflicted about whether she should want to get married or not. Although certainly not as conflicted as you apparently are." He gave her a dirty look. "Mulder, what would it even change if you were married?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. I was married once, you know."

Kate nodded. "So I've heard."

"I wasn't very good at it."

She gave him a look. "I guess we have that in common, then. I bet I was worse than you. I moved all the way across the country, took our daughter with me, and never thought to consult my husband. I just told him I was going."

He gave a small smile. "You're right. You sucked more. Why would she want to get married now?"

"Why can't you just ask her, Mulder?" Kate muttered under her breath, "Can you not take one look at the chaos I call my life and tell that I am probably not one from whom you should be seeking this kind of advice?" Finally, she looked at him again. He did look pretty pitiful. "Okay, I'll give you my take, but it may not be right. I do think she gets pressure from her family. I think she still has conflicting emotions about that normal life she never actually had – you know, the one she believed her father wanted her to have – the one like she thinks her parents had. And I think that while it's obvious to the rest of us that you are committed to her, it is not always obvious to her. I think you are a wonderful father, but you are not exactly the relationship guru. I think Dana trusts you in every way but one."

"What's that?"

"To stay with her if the kids weren't a factor."

"That doesn't make sense. I was with her for years without kids. And she was the only one who ever threatened to leave."

"You were a fugitive, Mulder. A hermit. I don't really think that proved anything to her. Besides, I didn't say it made sense. I said that's how I thought she felt. Does that help you any?"

He nodded. "I guess." He peeked into a box that was half open in front of him and pulled out a really ugly sweater. "So, you and Skinner planning to get married?"

Kate rubbed her neck. "Mulder, I'm barely holding it together just cohabiting. And we haven't actually started yet."

Skinner came through the front door about that time, almost tripping over boxes. "What the hell? Why are all these boxes all over the place?"

Kate looked at him as if he were nuts. "Where should they be?"

"Stacked neatly and orderly, against the walls, by room and by content."

She glared at him. "You have a box stacking system? Really? I have one, too. Anywhere there's space. Unbelievable. You should have been more specific if you had a system in mind, Walter. Christ." To Mulder she said, "In answer to that last question, HELL NO."

Mulder cracked up. "Kate. You have made my day. Seriously. See you when? Thursday?" He gave her a quick pat on the back. "So, Skinman, congratulations and good luck." Mulder slapped his shoulder. "You're gonna need it, pal. I'll let myself out."

Skinner gave Kate a look. "What's with him?"

She rolled her eyes. "Gamophobic."

"He's afraid of games?"

Kate snorted. "Just one." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm exhausted. Wanna take a nap with me?"

"I have a thousand boxes to unpack, Kate."

"Walter, they will still be here after a nap. Besides, why don't you just unpack them as you need something from them? If it's not unpacked in the next six months, throw it out."

Skinner shook his head, wondering how he ever thought this could even remotely work. Just as he was about to panic, Kate wrapped her arms around his neck. "They're just things, Walter. We'll find places for all of it later, I promise." She kissed his neck, and he finally hugged her back. She surprised him by wrapping her legs around him so that he was holding her completely. "Now, take me to bed. You know how cranky I get when I don't get my sleep."

He breathed in deeply, smelling her faint perfumed body wash, calming down a little. "Well, we can't have you cranky, now can we?"

2:10 p.m.

Kate made lunch as Skinner started unpacking. She had suggested he unpack his office first; at least then he would have a place to go in the house that was neat and organized until the rest of the boxes were unpacked. When a knock came at the door, she wove her way through the boxes to answer it. "Hey, Monica."

Reyes looked at the damage behind her. "Whoa."

"Yeah. Come in. I've hardly seen you at all these past few weeks. What gives? Everything okay with you?"

"Just swamped at work, I guess. That's why I came by. I don't know if I'm going to make it to the beach next weekend."

Kate looked at her unhappily. "How many terrorist threats could there be, Mon? You have almost a month's vacation saved up. I'm not letting you back out. You can bring paperwork and your computer with you, but you are going. End of discussion. Be ready Thursday morning at 10:00."

Monica sighed. "I just...I don't want to feel out of place."

"What?"

"Well, if Skinner is going with you...and Mulder and Scully are there..."

"Monica, Walter probably isn't coming down at all. He's certainly not coming on Thursday. Please come with me. Dana's mom is going to be there, too." Kate was cutting chicken into chunks for Caesar salads. "Want one?"

Monica snagged a crouton. "I'm actually starved, so yeah, if you don't mind." She hated cooking for one and was actually looking forward to Skinner living with Kate because that meant there would be food here a lot more frequently.

Kate grinned. "Good. Stay and eat with us. You're looking pale, thin, and tired these days instead of me. We must put meat on your bones." She yelled up the stairs. "Walter, lunch is ready." Turning back to Monica, who was clearing off the table, "So, you're coming with me Thursday, right?"

Monica nodded. "Okay. But I really will have to bring work with me."

"That's fine. You want white or red sauce with your tortellini?"

"Red."

Skinner made his way through the boxes. "Monica, I didn't know you were here." He looked a little uncomfortable.

She smiled at him. "I came by to talk to Kate about next weekend and managed to get a lunch invite. Hope you don't mind..."

He smiled. "Not at all." They ate for a while, Kate and Monica talking back and forth. Skinner butted in when they were talking about Doggett. "I talked to him last Friday. He's going to be in town towards the end of this week." He nodded towards Monica. "He asked me about you, actually."

Kate gave Skinner a pointed look. "You're confused. I think he's going to be in town the NEXT weekend, not this one coming up. This is the Fourth, remember?"

Skinner caught her look. "Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right." He cleared his throat. "Anyway...he wanted to know how you were. Don't you two keep in touch?"

Kate sighed; the man was clueless. "Walter..."

"What? I'm just making conversation."

Monica interrupted. "No, it's okay. We email sometimes. He's called a couple of times since I saw him at Hilton Head this past winter."

Skinner looked confused. "Oh, well..."

Kate changed the subject quickly. After Reyes left, she went upstairs to survey Skinner's progress. The office looked neat and orderly already. "Hey, about Doggett. He's coming to Hilton Head on Thursday to surprise Monica."

"Well, I didn't know."

"It's okay."

"Whatever happened with the two of them?"

Kate shrugged. "Well, she wanted to have a baby. He didn't. He left D.C. so she could get on with her life. I guess it's complicated."

Skinner nodded. "Well, he's transferring back from Denver, you know. That's why he's coming through here, I guess. He's taking care of some paperwork."

"Really? He didn't mention that yet. That's good. I wish they would work things out. Maybe that's why he wants to surprise her. Are you going to make it down to the beach at all?"

He looked hard at her to see what she wanted the answer to be. "Well, maybe I'll come down for a day or two."

She sat on the edge of his desk as he hung the framed print they had bought when they were on the island. "Don't come on my account. I know vacations aren't your thing."

He sighed and put the hammer down. "Kate. This is all going so fast for me. Were it just you and me there, I'd feel better. It's going to take me a while to get used to being with other people like that."

"Walter, it's fine. Really. Don't worry about it. I'm only going down to play with the kids anyway. I promised."

Skinner wanted to do better than this. He just wasn't sure he could take a vacation with four of his former agents. "You really aren't mad?"

She shook her head. "I'm really not. You'll spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with me, though, right?"

He nodded. "Of course. So, do you like the office?"

She surveyed their surroundings with a critical eye. "Well, it's very you. And I like you...so yes, I like the office. I would have added more color, but..." The look on his face made her grin. "I'm kidding. I want it to be your space. It's perfect for you." She patted the top of the desk she was sitting on. "So...how long have you had this desk?"

"It was my grandfather's, if you can believe it. I've had it since I got my first apartment."

"Really? You and Sharon ever have sex on it?"

"Uhhh...No. Can't say that we did."

"Why not? It feels pretty sturdy. You and anyone ever have sex on it?"

"No, Kate. I don't think that desk has ever seen any action."

She laughed lightly. "We should remedy that. Then, you can think of me when you're working late in here." She pulled him between her legs and untucked his shirt. She couldn't believe he was wearing a collared shirt, tucked in, on moving day. She was wearing an old Stanford t-shirt and running shorts. She guessed that opposites really did attract and shoved all of the items on the desk behind her out of the way.

"Kate, you're messing up my desk. I just put everything where I wanted it." Rolling her eyes, she unbuckled his belt and pants. "I'll put it all back when we're done. Come on, Walter, I promise to make it quick." She saw the look on his face change when she reached inside his boxers. "Isn't shacking up going to be fun?"

Exactly twelve minutes later, she put her t-shirt back on and stepped into her shorts. Hair all over the place, she rummaged for her cell phone in the pile of stuff she had thrown off the desk. "Kate Carter," she answered, a little out of breath, trying to put the stuff back the way he wanted it.

Scully's voice came from the other end. "Kate? You sound funny. What's wrong?"

Kate tried not to laugh. "Nothing, I swear. It just took me a minute to find the phone. What's up?"

"How's the move going?"

"Oh, it's coming along nicely." She smiled as she watched Walter slip on his boxers. Heading down to their bedroom, she talked to Scully for several more minutes while she made her way through the boxes everywhere.

"Thanks for the quickie," Skinner whispered into the ear not cradling the phone when he came into the bedroom. "I'm gonna shower and head back down to the office. I'm sorry, but I have to."

Kate cringed, knowing her phone had probably picked that up. "It's okay. You know I'm working down at the clinic for a few hours tonight, right?" He nodded and went into the bathroom.

"Did he just say what I think he said? Eeew, God, Kate." But Scully remembered back when she and Mulder had first set up housekeeping together. Kate would probably not eat dinner at their table if she knew the Christening it had gotten when they moved in.

Thursday, July 3rd 11:00 a.m.

When Kate and Monica finally made it to the airstrip, they both fell into their seats exhausted. Monica looked at Kate once they were in the air. "So...how's the cohabitation experiment going?"

Kate gave a small laugh at her word choice. "Better now that everything is pretty much put away. What's new with you?"

Monica shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really like my life these days."

"So, what would you change if you could?"

"I keep oscillating back and forth. I miss John, but then I think I want a child more. I don't care much for the cases I'm working, either. I know that counter-terrorism is important, but..."

"But that doesn't mean you have to be the one to deal with it." Kate looked over at the other woman. "Hey, Monica? Would John be willing to adopt a baby? I mean, rather than you guys having one?"

"Why would it matter?"

"Well, I don't know. When I think about it, the idea of raising someone else's child doesn't scare me nearly as much as having another of my own."

Monica raised her eyebrows. "Really? Why is that?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't know. But maybe he would feel the same way about it. Would it matter to you? If the baby were just yours, yours and John's, or one you had adopted?"

"Well, it's funny you ask that. If I had one myself, I would really only want it to be John's, not an anonymous donor's. But the idea of adopting a child doesn't bother me."

Kate nodded. "See, here's the way I think John may see it: he may not want to bring another child into the world, but maybe he wouldn't have any problem taking care of one that was already here. He is very good with both William and Claire."

Monica shrugged. "Well, it doesn't matter. I hardly hear from him these days."

"Hang in there, Mon. I have feeling it's all going to be okay."

At the beach house, William and Claire were happy to see them. Kate changed into her swimsuit and a pair of board shorts and played on the beach with the kids, while Monica visited with Scully and her mom on the patio.

After a couple of hours, someone came around the side of the house. "So, what? You havin' a party and didn't invite me? I'm hurt."

Monica looked up to see John Doggett standing over her. "John...what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Just thought I'd surprise you." He grinned at her expression. "So...you surprised? Do I get a hug or what?"

She stood up and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, I'm surprised."

"Good. Then the plane ticket and rental car were worth it. Kate says we get the guest house for privacy. Whadda ya think?"

She nodded. "Sounds good to me. Why don't you change and let's go for a walk?"

After everyone had visited, he and Monica headed down the beach. Kate was now in the pool with the kids rather than the ocean. Mulder was back from town and inside making dinner with Scully's mom. Finally, Kate dragged herself out of the pool and away from the kids to visit with Scully. "I can't believe how cold that water still is for July."

Scully smiled. "Well, you were in with them forever. They have had such a good time. We desperately needed this. I think Mom has really enjoyed it, too. We actually have gone out and done some things in nearby towns, but for the most part, the kids have really enjoyed the pool and the beach."

Kate smiled. "No more flying sand ships?"

Scully rolled her eyes. "Well, we had one incident where the damn dog was out in the water, and William thought he was drowning. So..."

Kate threw her head back and laughed. "Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah. He beamed the dog right out of the water and back onto the sand. Mom almost lost it." Scully patted her stomach. "And this one has been all active here, too. Oh, you'll never believe this. Mulder wants to pick out her name all by himself."

"Tell me you agreed only under the provision that you approve of the name he picks."

Scully shook her head. "I couldn't, Kate. I have to let him do this."

"Wow. You do like to live dangerously." She leaned back and closed her eyes under the umbrella. "I mean, Christ. What are you gonna do if he wants to call her Bambi...or, uh, what was Detective White's first name?"

Scully shot a nasty look her way, wishing she'd never shared those stories with her. "You seem even more exhausted than the last time I saw you. And you seem kind of...strung out."

"Well, living together isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I guess I'm just not adjusting as well as I thought I would. It seems like Walter's always aggravated over something that I see as trivial."

"Like what?"

"Like...I don't know. Like me not coming home early enough or me not calling and telling him that I'm going to be late. Or like leaving the dinner dishes until morning. Or like me not making up the bed perfectly. Or me going out for a run at midnight. Just stupid stuff. I mean, does it really matter whether you mate the socks when you do laundry? Who cares if your socks match each other perfectly? I mean, who even looks at your socks?"

Scully lifted her eyebrows. "Wow. That's a lot of aggravation for just one week living together."

Kate rubbed her eyes. "Tell me about it. Do you think I made a mistake? I mean, you can tell me if you do."

"Don't you enjoy having him there?"

"Well, yeah. When he's not bitching at me. Oh, and when he's asleep."

Scully stood up and stretched. "Time, Kate. Give it time. However, Mulder still doesn't make the bed well."

"Yeah, well, I don't care if the bed is made at all, you know."

Laughing, Scully motioned for the kids to dry off for dinner. "Maybe we have our men mixed up, then. Because I know Mulder only attempts to make the bed for me."

Kate sighed. "No, no. If we traded men, you and Skinner would be terribly efficient and have, like, perfect children and perfect Christmas cards...whereas Mulder and I would never manage to even find our keys in the morning and even our hamsters would die. I think we better keep it the way it is."

Saturday, July 5th 10:13 p.m.

Scully laid her tiles down on the Scrabble board, proud of her sixty-two points. Kate laid out the word 'tilt', not caring at all about her points. Maggie searched the board for a spot to play. Monica came through the side door from the guesthouse. "Hey, what are you guys doing? Kids in bed?"

"Scrabble. Yeah. They were exhausted. Where's John?" Scully asked.

"Oh, he went into town with Mulder for a couple of things."

Kate got up to pour more wine for herself and Scully's mom. "Want some?"

"Sure."

Scully rolled her eyes. "You're all a bunch of lushes."

"You're just jealous because you're pregnant. Besides, I'm your doctor. You can have a glass of red wine, Dana." She shook the bottle at her friend.

"Well, maybe a small glass since Mulder's out."

Kate poured her one. "So...things going well with you and John? I assume it is since we haven't seen much of you."

Reyes blushed a little but grinned. "It really is. He's transferring back to D.C."

Scully smiled. "That's great!"

Kate drained her wine glass. "Yeah. Now we can play, like, couples' Bunko or something. Maybe Bridge. God, Walter is going to be ecstatic, I tell you."

Reyes snorted. "Yeah. Okay."

Maggie took a long sip of her wine. "Ah, to be at this point in your life again. You three don't know how good you have it. Wait until you're my age."

Scully wrinkled her eyebrows, feeling sad. "Mom."

Kate looked up. "Ah, Maggie. Don't be silly. You should be dating, you know. Hey! You should meet my Godfrey! He adores redheads. Seriously. He wasn't around when you guys flew down here, but he's going to be here to fly us home tomorrow, you know."

"Kate, don't tell my mother to date. God."

"Dana, she's your mother. She's not dead."

Maggie sighed. "Yeah, but all of the older but not ancient men want women who look like you all. And the ones who want me don't have any teeth."

Scully choked on her wine. "Mother."

"Dana. I'm your mother, but I'm not dead. For instance. That former boss of yours was quite the looker. What was his name?"

Scully snorted. "Skinner, Mom? Ask Kate. She's shacked up with him."

"Hey! He is not THAT much older than me. And what about you and Daniel?"

Scully shot her an intense glare and hissed, "Kate, do not go there. My mother does not need to know that."

Reyes broke in. "All right, you two. Chill."

Maggie looked at Kate. "See what I mean? Older men want women who look like you. Not me."

Kate covered her face with her hands. "Look, Walter's only sixteen years older than I am. But Godfrey actually is only twenty-three years older than I am. He has sexy hair. Let me show you a picture, Maggie." She scrambled to find the photo she was looking for, hoping to draw attention away from her and Skinner's relationship.

Maggie looked down at the man with the long, grey ponytail. "Oh, he is alluring, Kate."

"MOM!"

"See? And he still thinks of me as twelve, with scraped knees, spitting mad because Joe McGovern wouldn't kiss me while we were surfing. He's amazing, Maggie. I'll introduce you guys tomorrow."

Monica laughed at the look on Scully's face. "Come on, Dana. It's going to be all right. Surely, you must want your mom to have a life."

"No, no I don't. I just want to think of her as a Gramma, thanks."

Kate looked up as the front door opened and Skinner came through the foyer and into the living room. "Hi! You came." She stood up and walked over to him, putting her arms around his back and hugging him close. "You didn't have to, you know."

He looked down at her. "I know. But...this is what couples do, right? Vacation together?"

She laughed and kissed his neck. "Come in. Drop your bag. We'll take it up when we go to bed, okay? Come say hello to everyone."

He ventured further into the room. "Hello, ladies."

They all waved. "Hi."

"Where are all the men?" he asked helplessly.

Kate gave him a sympathetic look. "They ran into town. Are you hungry? Want a glass of wine?"

He shook his head. "I'll help myself." He nodded at Scully's mom and took her hand in his. "How've you been?"

She blushed. "Fine, thanks, Mr. Skinner."

"Walter, please."

She smiled and nodded. "Call me Maggie."

Kate and Scully looked at each other and grimaced. "Hey, Walter? Want to come see the pool?" Kate tugged him out onto the patio. Outside, she put her arm through his. "It means a lot to me that you came. I know it's uncomfortable for you."

He rocked on his feet. "Well, I was worried you may get sick of sleeping alone while you were here and find someone else to rub your feet."

Kate stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. "I would never."

He kissed her back, though somewhat shyly. "Sorry I was so grumpy this past week. Things are still so new."

"It's okay. Really. We'll figure it all out as we go, right?" She nodded down by the beach. "Remember that last time we were here? In the rain?"

He gave her a look and shrugged. "That's so last trip, Kate. I was hoping for something new and exciting."

She laughed out loud and pulled him after her. "In that case, allow me to show you my favorite dunes."

"Kate, I was joking."

She threw a look over her shoulder. "Well, I wasn't. Come on. Grab that towel."

Seated between two sand hills, Skinner leaned back and looked at the stars. "I can't tell you how foolish I feel, Kate."

She sat up and straddled him. "Don't feel weird. Please." Dipping her head, she kissed him for a long moment. "I like having you here. But you really don't have to come here when there's a group if it makes you this uncomfortable."

He closed his eyes, then opened them to look at the dark sky. "Well, I'll survive." He pushed her hands away from his belt. "But not if you keep doing that."

"Oh, come on, Walter. You think they don't all know we have sex? I mean, really. Dana and Monica are two of my closest friends. I've already told them both about the beach in the rain. "

"Tell me you're joking."

"Of course I'm not joking. What do you think we talk about? I have a reputation, you know. My stories have to be better. I mean, Dana already seduced Mulder on a grassy knoll not long ago, and Monica has hardly come out of that guesthouse since John arrived...so you'd better deliver tonight." She reached for his belt again and this time met no resistance.

Inside, Mulder came back and finally made his way upstairs with Scully. As he stretched out beside her on the bed they had shared the last time they came here, he told her, "You seem so relaxed here."

She smiled. "The ocean is like magic for me, Mulder. It makes me feel so secure."

He brushed her hair away from her face. "Maybe we should sell our house and just move here."

Smiling, she nuzzled his chin. "I think it might lose its appeal if we were here full time."

"Well, maybe. I still love being here with you, though." Kissing his way down her neck, then lifting her night shirt to make his way down her breasts and stomach, he whispered, "I don't think you know how lucky I feel right now. I don't deserve this, you know. Fifteen years ago, I could never have imagined that I'd be allowed to touch you any time I want. Or that you'd be walking around, carrying my child inside you."

She smiled as she ran her fingernails along his back. "Oh, Mulder. You do deserve this. If you could see through my eyes, or even Claire or William's...you'd realize how much you deserve this. Sure, you run off half-cocked every now and then..."

"Hey..." He kissed the side of her belly.

"But..." She whispered softly.

"But what?" He prodded her gently, sucking at her hipbone.

"But, we always know where you most want to be at night," Scully told him as he kissed her inner thigh.

"Do you really, Scully?" He lifted his head to meet her eyes.

"I really do, Mulder." She scooted down in bed and pulled his face up to hers. Latching onto his lip, she sighed, "But you could suck up to me one more time just to make sure I have a story to best Kate's tomorrow."

He laughed, "Well, I do want you to win, you know..." As he kissed his way down her body again, he thought, 'Thank you, Skinner, for letting Kate seduce you in the sand.'

Saturday, August 2nd 9:19 a.m.

Kate taped the box she was packing and stacked it on the wall. "I don't understand why we didn't pay someone to do this when we realized Mulder and Walter were leaving town so conveniently for the weekend. I mean, you're paying someone to move everything. I would gladly have paid them to pack it all up, too."

Scully rolled her eyes. "I don't want strangers going through my drawers, Kate. That's what friends are for."

Kate glared at her. "Why are you folding all that? It's not going to stay folded in the move. This is going to take forever if you keep doing that."

"Shut up, Kate." Scully folded another t-shirt. She jumped as Feather flew through the room, William close on his tail. "William. You put that bird back in his cage right now and go finish packing your toys. Remember to leave out what you want for tonight and tomorrow morning." William never even slowed as he chased the bird back out of the room.

They were finally moving into the house they had bought. It was less than thirty minutes outside of D.C. instead of the hour and forty minutes out they were now. Scully was sad to leave the old house she had come to love, but she was tired of stepping over children and toys all the time. The new house was bigger and closer to civilization, but it was still secluded enough to make Mulder happy.

Several hours later, while Kate packed away the breakables in the kitchen, Scully went upstairs to check on William and Claire's progress. Claire's room was empty, but almost all packed away. When she stuck her head into William's room, she found William and Claire both stretched out on the bed. She was about to speak when she saw a toy fly off a shelf and into a box. Several more followed in rapid succession, and then the box closed and stacked itself against the wall. Claire giggled. "You're helping me finish my room after this or I'm telling Mom."

He smiled and started on another box. "Okay."

"William?"

"Yeah?"

"You think we'll ever get to go to school and do stuff like normal kids?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Do you want to go to real school?"

Claire shrugged. "Sort of. I mean, don't you wonder what it would be like to have friends your age?"

William's concentration broke and several books fell out of the air, narrowly missing the dog. "Oops. Sorry, Togy." The bird squawked at the noise. "Well, yeah. I'd like to have friends, but I don't want to go to school and sit in a desk all day. Home schooled kids don't have to go for as many hours, you know. That's what Dad told me." Scully listened to the kids' exchange, saddened a little to realize that THEY even realized that their life wasn't normal. William spoke again. "Besides, I'm not nearly as lonely now that you're around. In Wyoming, I almost never saw anyone other than Mama and Papa. Sometimes a kid from church would come over with his mother, but not often because Mama was afraid I'd do something to scare them." He dive bombed his sister, falling across her. "I bet you want to go to school to meet boys. I saw you looking at that magazine you got Kate to buy you."

Claire shoved him off of her. "Shut up, you little sneak. You'd better stop spying. And I was reading about what their lives are like. Most teen stars don't go to school, either, you know."

Scully cleared her throat finally. "You guys don't look like you're working all that hard."

William ran over and rubbed her tummy. "We're bored. And I'm hungry. The baby and I want cookies."

"Really?" Scully lifted a brow. "She told you that?"

He nodded. "Yep. Oreos. We both want Oreos. Come on, Mom."

Claire rolled off the bed and bounded past them. "I want Oreos, too. Beat you to the kitchen!" They skidded into the kitchen and stumbled over the boxes Kate was packing there. "Beat you, Sneak! Kate, we want Oreos."

She tossed them the package and set the milk on the counter. Scully waddled into the kitchen behind them. "We are never going to finish packing. And the movers are coming around eight in the morning."

Kate dunked an Oreo into Claire's milk. "We'll finish. Calm down. Besides, Mulder will be home tonight eventually and he can stay up and finish what we don't get done."

Several hours later, they had even the lab packed up and ready to move. Kate loaded some of the delicate stuff into her car. Before she left, she noticed a stack of transparencies. "Hey, Dana? What's this?" She pulled one off the top.

"Oh, I was gonna show you that. It's from some of the testing I've done on William's tissue samples. There's something strange going on that I've never seen, but then, I'm no expert."

Kate stared at it, recognition niggling in the back of her mind. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Scully asked her.

"I've seen something similar to this a few times before." She licked her lips. "Dana, I think this same thing appeared in Emma's white blood cells."

"What? How would you know that?"

Kate closed her eyes. "I'm about to tell you something that I have never told another soul. Not even Walter. And I want you to keep it to yourself. Dana, when Emma was little, she exhibited some of the same tendencies William did. That's why I was always interested in your cases. She could...move some objects. But not exactly like William. I only ever saw her do it with metallic objects, and then she could only move them towards her or away from her – not in a controlled manner like William can. Anyway, I started running tests on her. I did brain scans, and I did a lot of the same tests you're doing now. Anyway, that's where I've seen that...pattern. In her white blood cells. Which I always thought was a strange place to see something anomalous in a healthy child. I saw something similar a few other times through the years – in other children whose parents contacted me because of similar...powers...they witnessed in their kids."

The look on Scully's face was completely shocked. "Kate, why would you keep that to yourself?"

"Well, I only saw it happen a few times before I lost custody of her. And Nic never saw it. And I just...I don't know. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it just never occurred to me that Emma's case would have any connection to William's whatsoever. But what I saw in Emma and those other kids made me wonder if some kids were being experimented on through childhood vaccinations. By the time I left the CDC, I had plenty of suspicions, no hard evidence, and I was making enemies faster than my research warranted."

Scully shook her head. "Wait. You have to slow down. I'm confused. Although, I certainly think the government has used inoculations to disguise a whole lot of testing through the years."

"Dana, don't mention this to Mulder yet. Give me a chance to dig through the things I've collected on this. Please? I'm going to bring some stuff to you in the next couple of days that I want you to look at."

Scully couldn't figure out what had Kate so agitated; she supposed it could just be the Emma aspect of it in general. "All right. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you guys at the new house tomorrow, okay? I just need to process and dig out some files. It's nothing major, I swear."

10:45 p.m.

Skinner walked into the house expecting Kate to be home. As far as he knew, she wasn't working at the clinic, so there really was nowhere she should be this late. After getting her voicemail, he called Scully, who said she hadn't seen her since six but that she thought maybe Kate had gone to her office to work for a while. At midnight, he called her office because she still wasn't answering her cell phone but only got her answering service. She had a direct line to her desk, but she didn't answer that one either. After two a.m., he got worried and drove over to her office. Her car was there and lights were on inside. After he banged on the glass for several minutes, she finally came to the door. "God, Kate. What are you doing? It's almost three in the morning." He noticed that she looked upset.

"I'm sorry. I lost track of time. Why didn't you call?"

"I did. A dozen times."

"Oh. Sorry. Actually, I don't know where my phone is. And I was in the lab some, so maybe I didn't hear the office phone." She was still standing in the doorway.

"Are you going to let me in?"

She bit her lip. "Why don't we just head home, okay?"

Narrowing his eyes, he looked around her. "Okay. I'll wait for you to get your things." He couldn't figure out why she seemed so nervous as he followed her through to her office. It was like someone had trashed the place. There were papers and folders strewn all over the place. Every surface was pretty much covered. All of the light boards were filled with strange transparencies and images. "Kate, what the hell are you doing?"

She did not meet his eyes. "I'm looking for a connection between some patients, Walter." She picked up her keys and started turning out lights. She gathered five file folders full of stuff and shoved them into her backpack. "I'm ready."

He looked at all of the things still scattered about. "You're just going to leave it like this?"

Kate shrugged. "Sure. I can pick up where I left off tomorrow." She forgot about the lamp behind her desk, so he walked over and pulled the cord. When he looked down, a couple of brain scans caught his eye. The name on the edge scared him.

"Why are you going through Emma's medical records, Kate?"

She fidgeted. "It...I don't want to tell you yet. It's probably nothing, but I thought I came across something today that reminded me of something I'd once seen with Emma." Tears stung her eyes. He wanted to ask why she even had all of these records on Emma, but he could tell her composure was slipping. "I just...Can we talk about it tomorrow?" He nodded and started to put the images back on her desk. She held out her hand. "Actually, I need to take those." Skinner handed them to her and watched as she put them back in an envelope and into her bag.

Outside, he waited as she got into her car. Following her home, his mind wandered through the possibilities. As far as he had known, Emma had been a perfectly healthy child. When they got home, Kate went straight to the shower, not talking much to him. She was in for a long time and when he stuck his head in to ask if everything was okay, she didn't answer. Opening the door to the shower, he found her sobbing silently into her hands. "Ah, Kate. Come out of there."

She shook her head. "I can't."

He shucked his clothes and got in with her, wrapping his arms around her. The water was so hot it practically burned his skin. "Tell me."

"I just didn't have a good day, Walter. I thought about her all afternoon and all night. Something just set me off. It happens sometimes."

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. Picking up a loofah – Skinner couldn't believe he even knew what a loofah was – he lathered it and washed her gently, then himself. After drying her well, he made her get into bed with him. As he wrapped himself around her, he felt her start to relax.

Face buried in his neck, she said, "I'm glad you're home. Sorry I worried you." Truthfully, she just wasn't used to answering to anyone. There had been many nights in the past years when she had watched the sunrise from her office or from the lab.

"I worry about you out by yourself in the middle of the night, Kate."

"Walter, I've really been better about coming home at a decent hour. Time just got away from me tonight, and to be honest, I forgot you were getting back today. My days are mixed up."

He rubbed her side and back until she fell asleep. A couple of hours later when he opened his eyes, she was gone from bed. Sighing, he sat up and went into the bathroom. There was a note taped to the mirror that said, "Couldn't sleep. Gone for a run." She usually ran down by the river, so he changed and started that way as well. It wasn't that he didn't trust her to take care of himself; it was just that last night had really bothered him. Back when he only saw her a couple of times a week, he had never realized how much Emma still bothered her. He knew she would never get over it, but seeing her hurt on a regular basis was tearing him apart. As he ran, he cursed himself yet again for never finding Emma. After a half hour, he was getting tired. Running, even slowly, was not his thing anymore. He only did it for the cardio, even though it hurt his knees. Just as he was going to head home, he saw Kate running towards him. Kate loved running and had told him once that the feeling of her feet hitting the ground drove the demons from her mind.

"Hey," she said as they met up.

Skinner realized she had to slow down significantly to match pace with him. "You go ahead. I'll see you at home."

She slowed down more. "That's okay. I've already been five or six miles. Want to walk home with me?" While they walked, she started to talk to him. "I don't like to talk to you about Emma, Walter. It hurts me more because I know it hurts you."

"Kate, that's crazy. If you can't tell me, who do you talk to?"

"No one. There's nothing anyone can do to make it better."

"Just tell me. What's an average day like? How much do you think about her?"

Kate sighed. "When I open my eyes most mornings, it hits me all over again. And even though I know it's not likely, I send a silent plea to whomever or whatever may be listening that today is the day something changes. Either we find her body or the pain gets easier for me. I hate the not knowing. I think of her during the day, anytime I see a toddler or a girl the age she would be now. It never really gets better. The only time I don't think about her constantly is when I'm working and when I'm with you. Believe it or not, the nights are so much better for me now that you're there. I dread lying down at night because sometimes when I doze off, I think I hear her crying for me. There are some nights when nothing chases the demons away. The only thing that helps then is throwing myself into my work. Like last night. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth." She shrugged helplessly.

Skinner stopped and took her arm. "You should have told me, Kate. All this time, I've thought...that maybe you think of her off and on throughout the day, but I didn't realize it was like this."

"I don't want you to worry. It's been ten years. Sadly, it's almost a way of life. I still enjoy life, Walter. I'm able to compartmentalize. Please, it will make it worse if you take this personally."

He nodded somberly. "Can you tell me about the medical records?"

As they continued walking, Kate told him everything she had told Scully. Finally, she stopped talking and looked at him. "So, that's it. I've studied four children over the years similar to what I saw first in Emma and now in William."

"Kate, how could you not tell me this? What about the other children? Have any of them gone missing?"

"Walter, you're scaring me. Why would you even think that?"

"How could you not?"

"There was nothing wrong with my daughter, Walter. A couple of times, metallic objects moved in her presence. Even if she had received altered vaccinations, why would that be connected to her disappearance?"

He sighed. "It probably isn't, but we should at least look into it." This made him understand Kate in a whole different light. She was single minded and obsessive about her work and research in a way that he had only ever seen topped by one person before. And it scared him to think how right Scully had been when she compared Kate to Mulder all those months ago. He also understood now why she'd taken an interest in the x-files for all those years.

Kate hesitated. "Walter...It's not true that I haven't thought about it, especially after William was born. Most of her vaccines were manufactured by Carter Pharmaceuticals. There's very little that I'm scared of, Walter. But the idea that my father's company could be responsible for any of this...that's something I don't know if I can handle. I've checked every division of that company over the past several years, you know. I can't tell you how many projects I've shut down because of ethical violations. I know that a lot of biomedical research pushes the envelope on ethics. I just..."

Putting a hand on her back, he told her, "Let me worry about this, Kate. That's a big leap you're making. I can't believe you've been looking into this alone for this many years. Even if a vaccine was tampered with by Carter Pharmaceuticals, that doesn't mean that your father knew. He couldn't have overseen every aspect of that company himself. Right now, I just want to look into those children you were talking about."

She didn't want to tell him how strong her suspicions were. He was only looking at this right now from a standpoint of finding Emma and leaving no stone unturned. She'd been turning stones in Carter Pharmaceuticals for years and had hit a brick wall more times than she could count. There was no doubt in her mind that someone in the company was in bed with the people inside the government who knew the truth about the aliens. There was also no doubt in her mind that if they were responsible for Emma's disappearance, she would never know the truth about her daughter. And she just wasn't ready to face spending the rest of her life not knowing.

Back at the house, Kate got ready to head out to Scully's to help them move in. She looked surprised when Skinner joined her downstairs wearing jeans and a t-shirt – tucked in and wrinkle free, but still a t-shirt. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"With you. I thought I'd help Mulder set up beds and move heavy stuff. I told him on the way back last night that I'd help."

She smiled. "Well, that's nice." Finishing her glass of sweet tea, she put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think I've ever seen you quite this casual."

He gave her a dirty look. "You've seen me naked. I think that's more casual than this."

Laughing, Kate hugged him. "Ready?"

He nodded. On the steps, she put her key in to lock the dead bolt and when she turned around to go down the steps he was so close to her that she ran into him before she realized he was there. The look on his face was really strange. "What?" He was staring at her in a way she'd never really seen before.

When he kissed her, she was too startled to respond at first. Finally, she kissed him back. "Wow. I needed that," she joked as he broke the kiss.

He leaned his forehead against hers and said, "I love you, Kate. I know I've never told you, but I do. I've thought several times about telling you; I didn't want the first time I said it to be in bed." He put his hand in the back of her hair and pulled his fingers through it. Kate swallowed hard. As she opened her mouth to speak, he kissed her again and silenced her. "No, don't say anything. I don't want you to say it just because I did."

"But I..."

"I know how you feel about me, Kate. You've shown me a thousand times. I feel it in the way you touch my arm when I'm aggravated, in the way you smile when you reach for me, in the way you laugh when I say something that's not even that funny. I know from the way you spend hours making a homemade cheesecake that you barely even eat because it's my favorite. I was thinking this morning how I don't show you enough."

Kate put her arms around him, her eyes stinging. She let him drive her car, mainly because her driving made him crazy, and they were silent for the first half of the trip. "Did you know that you're only the third person in my life who has ever said that to me?"

He gave her an astonished look from the corner of his eye. "I find that hard to believe."

She shook her head. "No, it's true. Nic was the first person I remember ever telling me that, and that was after sex. Now that I think about it, that's about the only time he said it. Maybe my mother did when I was very small, but I can't say for sure. My father never told me. Not once in thirty-four years that I can remember. I never wanted Emma to feel that way, so I made sure I told her all the time and that I hugged her and kissed her and tickled her and snuggled with her. And the day she looked up at me with those big green eyes and said, "Wuv you, Mommy,' for the first time, I can't even describe how I felt." She reached for his hand. "Hearing it from you was second in my life only to that moment."

He rubbed her fingers between his, not knowing what else to say. They drove for several more minutes before he said, "My mother has been nagging me about meeting you, Kate. I told her we'd come by this week. Maybe tonight or tomorrow night?" The look on her face made him chuckle.

"Christ, Walter. You're just full of emotional first moments today, aren't you?"

1:30 p.m.

All of the major furniture was finally set up and exactly where Scully wanted it. Kate made sandwiches for them and they all ate in the floor, using boxes for tables since the real table was still covered in boxes. Mulder hooked up his stereo and turned it on while they ate. The radio landed on 'Come Together.'

Kate started singing, and Claire joined her, which surprised Scully first because her daughter was usually fairly withdrawn and second because she didn't realize that Claire knew the song. William danced through the boxes making everyone laugh. "Sing, Mommy," he called out.

"No way, kid. I only sing at bedtime."

When the song ended, Mulder asked Kate, "So...Beatles or Stones?"

"Stones," she declared. "Dana?"

"Beatles."

"Figures. Walter?"

"Neither."

Mulder snorted. "I bet you hide Elton John CD's in your car and break them out when you're alone."

Kate laughed. "Well, 'Crocodile Rock' wasn't bad. I remember when rock was young; me and Suzie had so much fun...holding hands and skimming stones...Come on, Walter, surely you know this...Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own."

Skinner scowled. "I know the song, Kate; I'm just not really into music."

She shook her head sadly. "How did we end up together? You must love my music blasting at home on Sundays." Kate liked having music on when she was cooking or cleaning or working on the computer.

"I'm getting more accustomed to it."

The commercials finally ended and another song started up. "Put on my blue suede shoes and I boarded the plane...Touched down in the land of the Delta blues in the middle of the pourin' rain."

Mulder held his hand out to Scully and waggled his eyebrows. "Our song, Scully."

Scully hesitated for only a second before taking his hand. She let him lead her, thinking back to the other time they had danced together. "Huh. I guess I always thought of 'Joy to the World' as our song, Mulder."

William was standing on top of a box. "That's mine and your song, Mom," he complained indignantly.

Mulder danced Scully over near their son, only a little awkwardly because of the belly between them. "Your mother sang it to me first, William."

"Really?" he asked his mother.

"Yes, really." She leaned over and kissed his nose as they danced by.

William rubbed his nose, offended. "Then it can be our family song. I don't like this dumb Memphis song anyway. It can be just your song. It's almost as bad as those Elvis songs."

Mulder looked down at Scully and cracked, "Are you sure he's mine, Scully? Did you hear what he just said about Elvis?" He glanced accusingly at Skinner.

She laughed as he twirled her out. "Well, you know he's not Skinner's since Kate already had that market cornered."

The look on her face mesmerized Mulder, just as it had the first time they had danced. He had seen that look of complete live-only-in-the-moment contentment on her face only a dozen or so times. Dipping his head, he kissed her as the song ended. "That was a different ending from last time, Mulder."

He smiled his crinkled eye smile. The one he used only when he was very happy. "Well, I would have tried it the last time if I hadn't been so afraid you'd deck me."

William made a gagging noise. "Eeew. I'm never kissing a girl like that."

Claire knocked him off of the box. "I like it when they kiss."

"Gross. Not me," her brother declared as he hopped back up on the box and started practicing Ninja kicks.

"Me neither," Skinner muttered under his breath.

8:15 p.m.

As Kate and Skinner pulled up at the apartment complex, Kate felt butterflies in her stomach. "Walter, maybe it's too late tonight. We could come back some other time."

He laughed at her obvious trepidation. It was strange to see Kate nervous. "She's a harmless old lady, Kate. I bet you'll even like her."

Resigning herself to the meeting, Kate followed him into the building. When he knocked on the apartment door, only a few seconds passed before the door was thrown open. "It's about time you got here," Ruth Skinner declared as she hugged her son. She turned her attention to Kate next. "So, you must be the one my son is shacking up with these days. Let me take a good look at you."

Kate lifted an eyebrow and gave Skinner a dirty look. He had led her to believe his mother was elderly and in need of assisted living. This woman obviously had full use of both her physical and mental facilities. "Mother, there is no need to be crass."

"I'm an old woman, Walter. I have earned the right to be both crass and nosey. Come on inside. You're letting the cool air out."

Inside the apartment, Skinner officially introduced them. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Skinner," Kate told her.

She waved a slender arm. "Call me Ruth. So tell me why it is you wouldn't marry my son."

Kate widened her eyes. To Skinner she muttered, "You told your MOTHER?" She turned her attention back to the spry woman. "Well, to be honest with you...I don't have a lot of faith in marriage as an institution, I'm not a terribly religious person, and I don't need a piece of paper to keep me committed to this relationship."

Ruth speared her with intelligent eyes. "Hmmph. She's cheeky, Walter." She nodded towards the sofa and looked at Kate. "Sit down, child. I didn't mean to get you all worked up. Anyway, it seems like no one thinks a thing about the way young people live these days." Skinner sat beside Kate on the sofa. "So, Walter told me that you're a doctor. General practitioner or specialist? Tell me what your work is like."

"My private practice specializes in diagnosing rare conditions and disorders in children, particularly those that are believed to be inherited. I also consult on cases throughout the country where the child has been sick for some time and local doctors are having trouble making a diagnosis."

"So, you're sort of like House?"

Kate scoffed. "Well, I like to believe that I have a much better bedside manner than House."

"And after you diagnose the children, then what happens?"

"Well, depending on the diagnosis, I refer them to specialists. There are a couple of disorders for which I am considered a specialist, so I often become those children's primary physician. On the side, I also help run a free clinic near downtown. And the rest of my work time is spent on research. That about sums it up."

"Huh. I guess that doesn't leave time for much else, does it?"

Kate maintained eye contact with the woman. "Well, I always make time for the important things."

Ruth disappeared into what Kate assumed was the kitchen.

Skinner leaned close to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't think she would be quite this bad." He rubbed her upper arm.

Kate stood up, paced a little and gave him a blistering look. "Harmless old lady?"

"Well, she is harmless – most of the time. And she is old."

"You deliberately mislead me."

"That bad?" he asked, standing up with her.

"Walter, I had medical school interviews less intense than this."

Ruth called to them. "Coffee?"

"Sure," Skinner responded. He pulled Kate close to him. "She likes you; I can tell."

"I'd hate to see her with someone she dislikes, then. Why didn't you tell me she objected to our living situation?"

He shrugged. "She's eighty, Kate. Did you think she'd approve?" He kissed her quickly. "You're doing great. The worst thing you could have done was let her intimidate you."

She kissed him back, lingering a moment. "Well, you owe me big time tonight."

"I can handle that." His phone rang. "Damn. I have to take it." He stepped out into the hallway.

When Ruth came back with coffee, she said, "Walter have a call?" Kate nodded. "So, where were we?"

"You were interrogating me."

The older woman laughed hard. "So I was. Kate, I'll be straight with you. I worry about my son. He's a loner. Always was, even when he was married to Sharon. He tells me he's living with someone after all these years and wants me to meet her. Then, he shows up with someone half his age."

"Now, I am not half his age." Kate glared indignantly at the woman.

"Don't get defensive, young lady. Let me finish. He shows up here, and you are not at all what I was expecting. You are just a little too young, a little too pretty, a little too casual, and a little too outspoken for what I consider Walter's taste."

Kate gave a half laugh. "You mean I'm not refined or sleek enough."

"Well, I can tell you that I have to wonder whether this is a late midlife crisis. He certainly seems smitten with you. I don't think I ever saw him kiss Sharon anywhere other than the cheek except at their wedding."

Kate cut her eyes over to the woman. "First, I don't think he intended for you to see that kiss. And second, I'm offended by the word smitten. You make it sound like I'm a passing fancy. I have known and loved your son for over ten years. It may have taken me this long to realize exactly how much he means to me, but I'm not going anywhere...even though we aren't married. He's my best friend, and there is no one as important to me as he is. Does that make you feel better?"

Ruth raised her eyebrows. "Ten years? And he's just now bringing you to meet me? That tells me something isn't quite right, now doesn't it?" Kate stood back up, wishing she hadn't come today. She looked around the room and rubbed her neck. "Nevertheless, yes, it makes me feel somewhat better. Since you're not going anywhere, what are your plans for Thanksgiving?"

Realizing she had just won this particular match, Kate picked up a photo album from a shelf. "I'm not sure yet, but you'll definitely be invited. May I look at this?" The woman joined her on the sofa to give her narrative on the childhood pictures of Skinner.

When he came back in the front door a few minutes later, the sight on the sofa made Skinner hide a smile. He had always thought his mother would take to Kate. Breathing deeply, he sat in the chair. Kate looked up at him, and when her sea foam eyes met his, he felt that same jolt he always did when they made eye contact.

At home later that night, he found her in the third floor room that she loved so much. She was stretched out on the sofa there reading a patient file, the stereo playing in the background. This was the only room in the house with a large fluffy rug in it, so it had a cozy feel. "Coming to bed?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not ready yet."

He walked to the end of the sofa and rubbed her feet. When a slow Phil Collins song came on, he gave Kate a look. "Not your usual music."

"I'm in a melancholy mood."

He held out his hand to her. "Dance with me?"

She gave him a surprised look but let him pull her up. "Okay." The swaying he did reminded her of awkward junior high dances, but it was still a nice gesture on his part. "So, is this our song? 'Groovy Kind of Love?' Who is ever going to believe that?"

He smiled down at her. "I like this song."

Tilting her head up, she laughed out loud. "I promise not to tell Mulder." She kissed the side of his neck.

"That's sort of your trademark, you know – the way you kiss my neck. It's one of my favorite things you do."

"You've been a real heartbreaker today, Walter," Kate said softly as the song finished. When his hands found their way under her shirt and his thumbs brushed her nipples, she sucked in a breath, realizing she wasn't going to get her files finished tonight. A few minutes later, she found herself naked and flat on her back on the rug, begging him to hurry. But his tempo matched that of the music playing, and he made love to her slowly, kissing every inch of her body.

"You're driving me crazy," she told him. When he finally lowered himself over the top of her and pushed his way gently inside her body, she clawed at his back and moved her hips against his. Still, he maintained his control, moving slowly and deliberately. When she shuddered beneath him, he stopped moving and held her.

"I want to make you happy," he whispered to her.

"You do. God, you do."

"I hope that's true." He started moving again, faster than before but still not with the usual urgency. When he came, he cried out her name. Afterwards, he rolled them both to the side and buried his face in her hair.

Monday, August 4th 8:42 a.m.

Kate picked up the ringing phone, noting that it was Scully. "Hi. How was the first night in the new house?" "It was really good. Listen, I've been going through those files you left me. You're right about the white blood cells. The same anomaly in all four of the kids plus Emma and William."

"I had to tell Walter. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. I talked to Mulder about it this morning, too." They talked shop a while longer, then Scully said, "Oh, by the way. Remember how you said I should..."

"You should what?"

"You know, how you said to spice things up these days, I should make the first move more often?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Mulder got really lucky last night."

"Good for him. Did you get anything out of it?"

"Not last night. I gave him a blow job. Well, mostly a hand job since I'm not all that flexible these days and had trouble getting my head in the right spot."

"Wow. He did get lucky. I, however, am feeling a severe case of TMI this morning."

Scully continued, knowing Kate was only joking. "Yeah, and he was most appreciative. He returned the favor this morning, though. Best orgasm I've had in a year. And he offered to play with the kids all morning so I could finish setting up the lab here."

Kate laughed. "What did I tell you? Men are so easy. I had really great sex last night, too, by the way. Strange sex, though." She told Scully about meeting Skinner's mom and then how strange he was at home after that. "It almost feels wrong to talk about it. Usually, I initiate sex. I don't know why. It's the way we've always been. Anyway, it was good, but almost heart wrenching. It's really hard to explain."

Scully nodded as if Kate could see her through the phone. "I think I know what you mean, though. You know that first night all those years ago that Mulder and I were on the run? That's how it was that night." Scully thought back to that New Mexico hotel room. That night, she had thought that she would never feel safe or happy again.

"So, any word on what Mulder wants to name the fetus?"

"Uh, don't remind me. He is keeping it all a great big secret. To be honest, I'm starting to get scared. Listen, though. I need you to do me a favor sometime this week. I have a list of things I need that I don't want Mulder to have to go out and buy. I swear I can't wait to be able to go out again, Kate. I never thought of myself as a social person, but just knowing I can't go places is driving me insane."

"Hang in there. It's almost over."

Kate hung up and surveyed her office. It was still a disaster area from Saturday night. Sighing, she started putting things back into their places. When she looked up, she was surprised to see Reyes standing in her office doorway. "Whoa. Were you broken into?"

"No. I was looking for something over the weekend."

Looking for a place to sit and not finding an empty chair, Monica responded. "Well, I hope you found it."

Kate gave her a look and cleared a chair for her. "Have a seat. Why aren't you at work?"

"Just haven't made it there yet." She looked around. "How long have you been here this morning?"

Shrugging, Kate replied, "Since six, I guess."

"If you don't mind my saying so, you don't look so good, Kate." They stared at each other for several seconds. Then, Monica said, "Anything you want to talk about?"

Kate looked down at the stack of stuff in her hands and dropped it on the desk. "Nope. I'm doing just fine. How about you? There must be some reason you came over here, out of your way, on a Monday morning before work." Monica looked a little guilty. "Can't I come by to see a friend?"

"Sure you can. But why would you do it when you're already running half an hour late for work?" Kate slammed a drawer on a file cabinet and yanked down the images from the light boards. "Well, anyway, tell me what's going on with you. Are you excited that John's moving back next month?"

"Yeah. I'm excited. And I'm nervous."

Kate nodded. "Well, that's understandable. What did you guys decide? Is he getting his own place or is he moving back home with you?"

"Back with me, I think."

"You think?"

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a problem I need advice on."

Kate stopped filing and straightened up. "I'm sorry. I really thought you came here because Walter asked you to. Dana has already called this morning, too."

Monica looked sheepish. "Well, he did. But I agreed because I needed someone to talk to and I've been putting it off."

"Do you want to talk here? Take a walk? Or go get coffee?"

"Can we walk? The clutter here is making it difficult to breathe."

Kate threw her a sour look. "Sure." As they left her office, she told Monica, "When you get to work, tell Walter that I'm fine."

"But I don't think you are fine."

"But I will be closer to fine if he leaves me alone and lets me do my own thing. Please, Monica? I need him to get off my case. I'm suffocating here. Now, tell me what's going on with you."

"I'm pregnant."

"Christ. There seems to be a lot of that going around these days, now doesn't it?" She saw the look on her friend's face. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be insensitive. When did this happen? Wait, is it John's?"

"Of course it's John's!" Monica bit her lip. "It happened that weekend at your beach house."

"Monica, that was barely a month ago. What made you even realize this early?"

She looked at Kate. "Well, when we got ready to make love, I told him I wasn't on any birth control right now because I wasn't expecting to have sex. He didn't have anything with him...and instead of going to get condoms, he said, 'Let's take the chance, Mon. If you get pregnant, we know it's meant to be.' And now I am pregnant and I'm worried he just said that because he hadn't had sex in so long and didn't want to wait another hour. And I feel like it's my fault even though he suggested it. At the time, I thought, great...he's right. What's meant to be will happen. Now I feel like throwing up every time I think about telling him."

Kate touched her shoulder. "Breathe. Okay, listen, if he didn't mean it, he shouldn't have said it, and he certainly shouldn't have had unprotected sex. He knew how much you wanted this baby. So, don't worry about that. You probably feel like throwing up partly from morning sickness, not just from thinking about telling him. Advice? I think you should fly out there, tell him, and give him the month to absorb it. That way, when it's time for him to move here, you won't have this hanging over your head. The ball will be in his court. If he's anything like Walter, it'll take him a month to calm down about it anyhow, so don't go out there expecting anything instantaneous."

"So, you think I should just go out there and tell him and get it over with? Even though it's really early?"

"Didn't I just say that? I think it will take some of the pressure off of you."

"Okay. I'll go this weekend."

"Great." Kate stopped walking and looked at the other woman. "Oh, my God! You're going to have a baby! How amazing is that?"

Monica smiled big. "I am. It is. You're right. It's so good to tell someone who is excited for me as well."

Kate grinned. "You know what we should do?"

"What?"

"Blow off work today, go sneak Dana out, and spend the day celebrating somewhere."

"Really?"

"Sure. Work will still be here tomorrow, right? Where should we go?"

"Where can we go? Dana won't go out anywhere around here. What's that all about, anyway? Are they going to hide the baby forever?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't know; I don't think so. God, I hope not. I think she just wanted to have a smooth pregnancy this time. She didn't want any surprise visitors at the delivery. Who even knows, really? I tried to talk them out of hiding from the beginning. But she's my friend, and ultimately, it's her decision."

Monica looked over at Kate. "What if the surprise visitors show up at the delivery anyway?"

"Why do you think I insisted you be there? I'm hoping Walter will be able to be there, too. And maybe John as well." She paused. "I know what we should do. We should fly to New York for the day."

"Dana would really like that. We can give her big sunglasses and a floppy hat. We can all go incognito." Monica hugged her impulsively. "Let's do it."

3:10 p.m.

The three women were sitting outside a small bistro across from Central Park that Scully had chosen. "It's hotter than hell, Dana. Why are we sitting outside?" Monica complained.

"Because I want to take in all the sights and sounds I've missed the past few months. You take it for granted."

"Don't you dare faint, Monica. It is hot, Dana. Maybe she shouldn't be out in this." Kate hiked her thumb at Reyes.

"No, no. I'm okay. I'll tell you if I get too hot."

The waiter brought their drinks, including a big cocktail for Kate. "Hey, how can you drink that in front of us?" Scully complained.

Kate shrugged. "You are both poised on the brink of life's greatest miracle. I, however, am poised on the brink of one of life's greatest drinks." She took a few sips. "So, more shopping after lunch? Dana, do you want to see if you can get your hair trimmed? It's really long."

"That would be nice." Scully looked at Kate over the top of her large sunglasses. "Are you sure you're okay? Really? Skinner's worried about you."

Monica slapped her forehead. "Oh, darn it. Skinner. I never called him back this morning."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Forget about it, Monica. I talked to him earlier. Gave him the short version of what was going down today. He thought today was a great idea for us. I am really sick of him getting in my personal business."

Scully cracked up. "You are his personal business, Kate. That's what it means to live with someone."

"Well, I don't like it. He moves in, what, five, six weeks ago? I mean, I see him almost every day now. Is that not enough? Do we have to talk on the phone during the day? Does he have to phone my friends? I bet he goes through my mail, too." She finished off her drink quickly.

"Kate, at least he cares." Scully looked at her seriously. "You are going to have to get over this compartmentalized mentality if this is going to work."

"I just need space to move. You don't understand."

"I do understand. I went through the same thing when Mulder and I first lived together. I had lived alone for so long, then suddenly, no personal space." She patted Kate's shoulder. "It's still hard sometimes."

Monica gave them both a wide eyed look. "Well, now you're depressing me. This is supposed to be a celebration."

Scully smiled. "Sorry. Long-term is tough. Well, you both know what I mean. Your relationships aren't new anymore. All of those amazing first moments have passed, sex is rarely surprising, and suddenly, keeping the spark alive is just another chore at the end of the day. And don't get me started on communication."

"Yeah," Kate muttered.

"Really," Monica said glumly.

"But at least we don't have to go through the horrible dating scene anymore," Kate reminded them. "I mean, what is worse than having to slip out the back of a restaurant halfway through dinner because the man you're with just told you he's about to graduate from anger management class?"

"Or get his first AA medallion?" Monica laughed.

"Or just tried to burn his talking tattoo off his arm?" Scully added.

They burst out laughing. "People have the wrong impression about great, passionate love affairs," Scully said when they finally grew quiet. "They rarely last. It's the ones that are built on friendship that last. Case in point: You and Nic? Never should have gone beyond the fall-into-bed-every-chance-you-get phase. No offense. You know it's true. But you and Skinner are best friends. Mulder and I were friends first. So were Monica and John. You'll be fine. Hang in there."

"Yeah, but you know it's not that easy. You were ready to throw in the towel yourself earlier this year."

"I didn't say it was easy. When the passion drops off, it's work to keep going."

They sat in silence. "What do you think makes the difference? What makes some relationships last and some break apart even after twenty years?" Kate pondered.

"I think you have to be willing to pull most of the weight when the other is down. And I think the other person has to be willing to do the same when you're down." Scully shrugged.

"And I think you have to remember that even when you're not in the mood, sex is usually enjoyable once you get going," Monica tossed in.

"And pillow talk," Kate said suddenly. "Think about it. When do you know a relationship is going to hell? When you lie down beside the other person, turn your back to them, and go to sleep without touching or talking. And I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about conversation and comfort touching."

"Now, you may be on to something there, Kate."

"Of course I am. And that brings me back to my original point. If Walter calls me during the day, what are we supposed to talk about in bed at night?"

Scully shook her head. "That is not EVEN a sound argument. You are such a nut." She turned to Monica. "So, you're going to fly to Denver and tell John this weekend, right?"

"Right."

"What are you going to do if he freaks out?"

"What can I do? Give him time to come around and if he doesn't, raise this baby by myself."

"Good. It's always good to acknowledge the worst case scenario before faced with it. But I think he's going to be okay."

Kate joined in, "And if he continues to act like a moron, I'll be happy to talk some sense into him."

Friday, August 8th Denver, Colorado 10:13 p.m.

John Doggett opened the door to his apartment, shocked to find Monica Reyes standing there.

"So, I thought I'd surprise you. I couldn't wait until Labor Day to see you again." She threw her arms around him and held on, a little disappointed that he didn't return the kiss she gave him.

"Wow. This is a surprise. The place is kind of a wreck. I've already started packing." He looked around. "Actually, I won't lie to you. I never really finished unpackin'. Come in. Want a beer?"

She shook her head. "I'd better not."

He stood there looking hard at her. "You don't want one or you can't have one?"

Closing her eyes, she debated. This wasn't how she wanted to tell him. But then, now that he had put her on the spot, she couldn't lie to him. "I can't."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

He still just stood there staring at her. "You must be tired."

"Exhausted." The past couple of weeks, she had barely been able to hold her head up past nine o'clock. "So, mind if I shower?"

"I'll get you a towel. Come on."

After she cried herself out in the shower, she was really exhausted and crawled into bed wearing one of his t-shirts. In the dark room she called Kate's number because she was worried Scully would be asleep already.

"Hi. You okay?" Kate asked as she answered.

"He guessed the minute I walked in. Did I wake you? I know it's one in the morning there."

"No. I'm just leaving the clinic. What did he say?"

"Nothing. Well, actually, he said, 'wow'."

"Give him time, Monica. I'm telling you, it is terrifying to him if he is anything like I was. I couldn't even tell Walter for several weeks." She heard Monica's breath catch. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make it any better for you right now."

"I don't know if I should have come."

"You did the right thing. If you're still uncomfortable in the morning, you can come home and just let him have time to process."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye."

Doggett stood at the doorway, wondering who she was talking to but feeling like he couldn't ask. When she turned out the bedside lamp, he sighed and went out for a walk. A half hour later, he called Kate's number, knowing she would understand what he was feeling if anyone would, but he thought about hanging up when Skinner answered her phone. "Hello," he heard again.

"Uhh, yeah, I needed to talk to Kate."

"She's in the shower, Doggett."

"Oh."

Skinner sighed. Why was Doggett calling Kate at almost two in the morning? "I can get her to call you back."

"Yeah, that would be good. Thanks."

His phone rang on the way back to his apartment. "Hey, it's Kate. Did you call?"

"Yeah." There was silence on the line.

"Let me make this easy for you. I know about Monica and the baby. I was the one who sent her out there. Here's some advice, John. Wrap your arms around her and tell her everything is going to be all right. Because it will. Believe me, it will be okay. If you can get through the weekend, you have a month to sort through everything and decide what kind of role you want to play in this."

"You make it sound like I have a choice."

"You always have a choice, John. You may not like any of the choices, but you always have them. I have to go, okay? Walter's giving me dirty looks because I didn't come home at eleven like I said I would and now I'm standing here naked talking to you instead of him."

Doggett grinned and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, he didn't sound happy when I called earlier. We're a pair of screwed up people, huh?"

"I guess we are. Just focus on treading water until you catch your breath. No shame in that."

Doggett hung up and let himself back into the apartment. He took a quick shower, practically in the dark to keep from waking Monica up. When he slid into bed, he put an arm around her. After a few minutes, she turned towards him and put her face in his chest. He realized she was crying. "Hey. What are you cryin' about? Everything's gonna be all right."

She sniffled. "I don't want you to be mad."

"Mad? It was my idea to take the chance. You don't worry. Let me do the worrying." He hugged her close to him. "Now, go to sleep. Oh, Mon?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad you're here."

She slept late the next morning, and when she woke up at ten, he was sitting on the edge of the bed looking through a photo album. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and looked over his shoulder. The photos were of Luke as a baby and toddler. "John." Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

"Look at him, Monica. The way he used to smile at me. Like he trusted me completely to never let him down."

"You didn't let him down, John. You weren't even home at the time."

"I shoulda been." She got out of bed and started putting on clothes. "Where you goin'?"

"I can't take this right now, John. I'm going home. Take your time deciding what you want to do, okay?"

"Monica, don't go." He closed the album. "Stay the weekend. Please. I need you to stay here with me this weekend."

Tears formed in her eyes, then she bolted for the bathroom. She retched, even though there was nothing in her stomach. The dry heaving made her eyes water badly. Every time she thought she was okay, it started again. Doggett came up behind her and held her hair out of the way. Finally, she straightened up. "Thanks."

He smiled his crooked smile. "No problem. Let's get you some juice, huh?" They sat at the table as she drank the juice and nibbled the toast he made for her. "Monica, listen-"

She interrupted him. "John? Let's not talk about it this weekend, okay? Let's both take some time to get used to the idea, all right?"

He nodded. "You sure? Okay. Well, let's get outside and enjoy the fresh air, then."

They spent the weekend walking and driving and holding hands, but they avoided talking about the pregnancy. When he took her to the airport Sunday at lunch time, she kissed him and said, "If you decide that you're not moving back in on Labor Day weekend, let me know at least a few days in advance."

"Monica-"

"John, just take these weeks. It's the only thing I can give you right now. Don't say anything yet. I'll call and let you know I made it home, okay?"

He put his hands on her waist and rubbed both of his thumbs over her stomach. "Okay."

Wednesday, August 30th 2:52 a.m.

Kate let herself into the Brownstone, trying to be quiet. His voice startled her as she began tiptoeing up the stairs. "You don't have to be quiet. I'm awake."

"Christ, Walter. You scared me to death. What are you doing in the dark?" On the first floor at that, she managed not to say. He rarely stayed down here unless they were eating.

"You said you'd be home by ten-thirty, eleven at the latest."

"I'm sorry. I had an emergency at the clinic." She was having trouble seeing his face in the moonlight.

"I can't live like this, Kate. If you say you're going to be home at a certain time, and then you see that you're not, you need to call. I've been calling your phone all night. I went over to the clinic. You weren't there. So, there wasn't an emergency at the clinic."

"There was an emergency at the clinic. I had to move the patient to the hospital."

"You have no idea what goes through my mind when you do this. You promised you would call from now on if you weren't going to be home on time."

"Walter, I'm sorry. I've done better recently, haven't I?"

"I imagined finding you dead somewhere, you know. Do you have any idea what that's like? To see that in your mind? Finding someone you love dead?"

She knew she had screwed up, but he wasn't letting up even after she had said she was sorry. "Actually, Walter, I do know what that's like. I said I was sorry. Are you going to leave me because I screwed up one time too many and didn't call home? Is that why you're sitting down here in the dark? To tell me you've had enough? I told you I wasn't good at this when we moved in together."

Something was off in her voice. He finally noticed it. "No. Of course I'm not going to leave you. How could I leave you when I can't stand the thought of not knowing where you are for even a few hours at night?" He stood up and walked over towards her on the stairs.

She backed away from him. "Don't touch me, okay? I need a shower." He was startled when she thrust a plastic bag at him. "Can you throw that away, please?" When she turned and headed up the stairs, he realized she was wearing hospital scrubs. Flipping on the light in the kitchen, he looked into the plastic bag; the sheer volume of blood on the clothes she'd had on that morning scared him to death.

Upstairs, he waited outside of the shower with a big towel. He could tell she was all but scalding herself in there, the steam rolling out of the top was so thick. Finally, she stepped out and walked into the towel he held out. "A little girl, four years old. Shot by her mother's boyfriend. They were fighting. The mother covered the wound – stomach wound – do you know how painful those are? And she ran with her to the clinic – three whole blocks – because she knew the ambulance would take forever. I was locking up when she ran screaming towards me. I'd given the little girl a shot for strep throat the week before. Her name was Keely. I kept her alive until we got her to the hospital, but she died on the operating table. I hate this world sometimes, Walter. And I didn't call. And I'm so sorry. I never want you to worry about me like that. I don't know why I do it. When I'm working sometimes, I can't think of anything else." Her eyes were dry, which bothered him for some reason. Her voice sounded like she was crying, but her eyes were dry.

"It's all right. I understand. I shouldn't have been so rude to you until I knew why you didn't call."

She shook her head. "No. I should have called. I'll do better. From now on, I'll call you when I'm leaving the office or the clinic. That way, you'll know. If I don't call, you'll know I haven't started home." She balled her wet hair up on top of her head, too tired to dry it tonight. After throwing on a t-shirt, she walked into his arms. "I wouldn't blame you if you left me. I told you I was selfish before you moved in here."

"Selfish? Because you were trying to save a child's life? I don't think your problem is that you're selfish, Kate. It's that you try to do too much." He rubbed her back in a circular motion. "Maybe we should hire someone. To do the cooking and cleaning. You can't keep running home and doing those things between your jobs. You shouldn't have to."

"I like cooking. It soothes me. Besides, it's not the household stuff that consumes me."

"Then you need to give up something else."

"I can't."

He sighed. "Kate."

Her chin quivered. "I don't ask you to give up what's important to you. Sometimes, you work until well after midnight. I'll try to cut back my research hours, okay? I won't reapply for the NSF grant this year. It's the most time consuming." Panic rose in her voice.

"Okay. Just come to bed."

She sniffled as he lay down beside her. "Walter? I want you to know something. I've been seeing someone."

For a moment, he didn't understand what she meant, and something tightened in his stomach. "You mean someone else?"

She nuzzled his neck. "No. I mean, I'm talking to someone. A therapist. I know I've been distant. And that I've been working more than I should. I'm working on being a better...whatever it is that I am to you. Does that count for anything? Because I really am trying, Walter. I want this to work. And I know it's my fault that we're not doing well."

He hugged her close to him. "We're doing fine, Kate. Just call me like you promised – so I don't worry about you leaving that clinic alone at night. I really don't mind if you work late. I knew how dedicated you were when I moved in. It's just strange to be with someone who works more than I do." He was quiet for a minute. "What made you see a therapist? I would never have asked you to do that, you know."

Kate sighed. "I know. Walter, the truth is...I haven't always been this bad. It's been worse lately. I think about Emma a lot more, and I work more to help me forget."

"Is it because of me? Because I make you think of losing her?"

She shook her head. "No. Walter, I think it's because of the baby. That's really when it started. Which is stupid, I know, because it wasn't even really a baby. I had the miscarriage before it was anywhere near viable. But see, I think it uncovered a hole in my life that I had covered up pretty well until then."

He tensed. "You mean you think you need to be a mother for your life to be complete?"

"Walter, calm down; I'm not asking you to have a child with me. You made it clear how you felt about that, and I accepted it when we agreed to live together. I'm just trying to work through my feelings on all of this." She closed her eyes tightly, trying to will tears from forming in them.

He kissed her gently, not wanting to say anything and upset her. This was what the biggest fights had been about with Sharon. When they married, he thought he would get over what happened in Vietnam enough to have children. Eventually, though, things got worse, not better. Then, after he started uncovering the conspiracy, he worried that any child he had wouldn't be safe. Of course, he never told Sharon those things – never opened up to her the way he should have. Eventually, the distance between them had grown to the point of no return, and the marriage had fallen apart. He hated that it had to be this way. And he hated himself for being so relieved about Kate's miscarriage when it happened. When she was pregnant, he had eventually convinced himself he would be all right with it, simply because he hadn't had a choice; he had even asked her to marry him. But when she told him she had miscarried, he had been secretly relieved. Now, seeing her like this, he felt horrible about it all over again. "I think things have a way of working themselves out for the best, Kate. I know you're having a hard time right now, but I don't think a baby would have been good for us."

She tensed in his arms, not wanting to hear what she already knew. "Well, let's not talk about this anymore, okay?"

"Will you go to the funeral?"

"Yes. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course. I'll go with you, okay?"

"Thank you. I think it'll be Saturday. Walter?"

"Hmm?" he asked sleepily.

"I do love you."

Thursday, August 28th 6:22 p.m.

Kate pulled into Scully's driveway and hopped out of the truck. Scully walked out onto the porch. "Hey, you're early."

"I know. I finished up at the office earlier than I thought, and Walter has a meeting until eight, so I decided to come out here now. Hope that's okay. Where is everyone?"

"Making dinner. Come on in. It looks so funny to see you driving his SUV."

"Yeah. I feel like a true suburban housewife driving that gas guzzler around. His next vehicle will be a hybrid whether he knows it yet or not. All of the baby furniture is in the back. Mulder's going to have a great time with it, too. It's in about a million pieces."

"Oh, God. Don't tell me that. The baby will be two before he gets it all put together."

Laughing, Kate followed her into the spacious kitchen. Mulder looked up. "You staying for dinner?"

"Nah. I'm meeting Walter later."

"Don't you eat with him all the time?"

"You'd be surprised, Mulder. I think the last nighttime meal we had together was two weeks ago."

Claire grinned at her from over the top of the potatoes she was mashing. "Hi, Kate."

William was making salad bowls. "Where've you been, Kate?"

She leaned over and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. "I've been working, big guy; I brought you guys an awesome present, though. It's in the front seat of the truck." She handed Claire the keys as she kissed the girl's temple. "Go get it, Claire. I'll finish the potatoes."

When the kids came back in, William was ecstatic. "Dad, it's a Wii. Sweet!"

Scully rolled her eyes. "I thought you were waiting until Christmas to give them that?"

"That's boring. Everyone gives gifts at Christmas. Now, they have something to do until Christmas."

Mulder looked up from the table he was setting. "Does it have bowling?"

William nodded. "Yep."

"Kate, I'm so glad you're their godmother. You give the best presents."

She laughed. "Well, you don't get to play until you set up the baby's room."

"Ugh."

She visited while they had dinner, enjoying the iced tea that Mulder always made. After dinner, she helped Scully do dishes while Mulder hooked up the Wii for the kids. "I really don't like them playing video games, Kate." Scully tucked her red hair behind her ear and pushed against the side of her belly where the baby was kicking under a rib.

"See, Dana, you claim you want a normal family, but really you don't. You want little geniuses. Which, really, they practically are. So, let them enjoy normal things some of the time, okay?"

Relenting, Scully asked, "Do you have time to come out to the lab and look at some stuff?"

Kate looked at her watch. "I want to, but I can't be late for dinner with Walter. I've been in trouble again for forgetting to call when I'm late." She swirled her finger in the dishwater.

"You've been distant on this end lately, too, Kate. The kids miss you. I miss you."

"I'm sorry." She sighed and as yet another concession told her friend about therapy.

"Kate...I had no idea."

"Well, I want to work through this. I don't want to be dysfunctional for the rest of my life. Although, I'm starting to think it's hopeless. It seems like making a relationship work is just a series of concessions."

"In some ways, that's true. You have to find a spot in the middle where you're both comfortable with the way things are."

"Well, I suck at all of it, okay? The only part I'm good at is keeping the sex going. And I can't do that unless I'm actually at home some during waking hours, which I haven't been lately...apparently."

"Kate, everything worth having is work."

"Thank you, Ann Landers. I don't know what I'd do without your advice. Listen, I gotta go." She rubbed Scully's belly. "I can't wait for this little one to be here. Call me if you notice any change, okay?"

Back at home, Kate changed quickly. Her phone rang on the way back out the door. "Kate? It's Walter. Listen, something has come up at work. I'm sorry. You'd better eat without me."

"Oh. Well, that's okay."

"Are you mad?"

"No. Why would I be mad? Work is work. You have to do it. Remember that the next time I call home unexpectedly, huh? But seriously, can you call me when you head home? I'd like to go down to my office for a while, but I promise to leave as soon as you call me, okay?" On the way to her office, she wished she had eaten with Scully and Mulder after all. As she was unlocking the door to her building, she felt something being shoved against the back of her head.

"Don't move, Dr. Carter. We need you to give that FBI husband of yours a message."

"Sorry, wrong gal. I don't even have a husband," she told the man.

"Well, you tell your live-in boyfriend that we always keep our promises and he'd better keep his."

"Why don't you tell him yourself, asshole? I don't even know what you're talking about."

When he didn't say anything else and withdrew the gun from her head, she turned around a little. The metal of the gun hitting her cheekbone caught her off guard. "Just give the Assistant Director the message. He won't find your daughter looking in this direction. But if he continues, he'll be looking for your body as well." He hit her again with the butt of the gun, or at least that's what she thought. The man was dressed in head to toe black. How original. Blood was running from the cut on under her eye and for some reason from her nose as Kate let herself into her office and called security. When she had the tape of the encounter in her hand and had managed to stop the blood flow from the cut and somewhat from her nose, she had the security officer walk her back to her car. He wanted to call the police, but something told her not to involve them. At the Hoover building, she marched straight into Skinner's office and threw open the inner door. He was alone, bent over a case file.

"What the hell happened to you?" The blood on her clothes startled him and bruises were already forming around the gash on her face.

"You tell me, Walter." She threw the videotape onto his desk. "As much as I enjoy having a gun shoved into the back of my head, I could definitely live without having one knock me upside the face. These people apparently want me to tell you that they always keep their promises and you'd better keep yours. He said that you won't find Emma looking in this direction but that if you keep it up, you'll be looking for my body, too. Now, tell me what it is you've gotten yourself into. And drive me to the hospital. I'm certain this needs stitches, and my head feels like it's going to explode."

"Kate..."

"We can talk in the car, Walter." As they were leaving his office, blood started pouring from her nose. "Oh, great," she muttered. She saw the panic in his eyes. "It's okay. It was bleeding earlier, too." She had on two shirts, so she took off the top one and used it to catch the blood from her nose.

"You should have gone straight to the hospital and called me from there."

"Sorry," she muttered from beneath the shirt. "It didn't hurt this bad until now, and I was too pissed at the time."

"Kate, it's really bleeding. Walk faster."

"I'm walking as fast as I can." She stopped suddenly at the car. "Oh, I feel really nauseous. She doubled over and threw up before getting into the car. "Okay. I'm all right now. Ugh."

At the hospital, after what seemed an eternity, a doctor came out to talk to him. "She's okay. A slight concussion and a couple of stitches on her cheek. We're a little worried about the nosebleed, though. That took forever to stop. I've never seen anyone lose that much blood because of a nosebleed. And her nose wasn't hit, so the nosebleed is a little strange, but not unheard of for the kinds of blows she took to the face. I'd like to keep her overnight, but you know Kate. No way is she staying in the hospital for something like a concussion and a nosebleed. She'll have a serious headache tomorrow, though. You can come with me."

He followed the doctor back through the double doors and found Kate tying the bottoms to a pair of scrubs. She handed him her plastic bag of bloody clothes. "If this keeps up, I'll have to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe." The look on his face made her stop and put her arms around him. "I'm fine, Walter. Starving, actually. Can we get Chinese?"

At home, they ate in silence. Finally, she asked him, "So...what exactly is it you've stumbled into?"

"You know those four kids?"

"Yeah."

"Two are dead – cause of death in each case was a car accident where one parent was driving and died along with the child. The other two are listed as runaways."

"Please tell me you're joking. Christ. Well, you have to pursue it, Walter. You can't just stop because they threatened me."

"Let me worry about it, Kate. There are unofficial channels I can use. But I'm not risking your life. Nothing will bring back those four kids or Emma."

She continued eating for a few minutes, having trouble talking and eating and breathing at the same time because her nose was stopped up. "Walter, what if they're not dead? Those other two kids? What if they have them somewhere experimenting on them like they were those kids being held with Claire?"

"Kate."

"Walter."

"If it is anything remotely resembling what went on in that facility where Claire was held, it is much more dangerous than we think. Stay out of it. I will handle this."

She was silent for a long time, picking at her food. "Do you know what my biggest fear is?"

"Never finding Emma?"

"Well, that. But do you know what's worse?"

There was something worse? "What?"

"People think the worst thing that can happen is that your child can be taken from you and killed. But that's not the worst thing. The worst thing I can think of is...what if she isn't dead? What if they have her out there somewhere? Doing horrible things to her? Treating her like a lab rat?" He didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say to that. "That's where Mulder and I are different, you know. He wants Samantha to still be alive, no matter what. I don't. I would much rather Emma be dead. Because then at least I know she's not suffering." She rubbed her forehead. "And then, I think, what kind of mother hopes her child is dead? It's a vicious cycle. A thousand times a day."

He went over to her as she started closing up the food. "I'll get it. You go upstairs and get ready for bed, okay? I'll have to wake you up every so often as it is because of the concussion."

"Then why do I have to go to bed at all? I'm not even sleepy."

"Then just come and lie down with me."

"Fine," she sighed.

When he went into their bathroom, she was bent over the sink. Her nose was pouring with blood again, this time more so than before. "I think something's wrong, Walter. Get my phone and call Ian Hartman. He was the doctor tonight. Tell him I can't get my nose to stop bleeding."

An hour later, they were back at the hospital and Kate was in what they had promised him would be minor surgery. Skinner had called Reyes, who insisted on coming up. As they waited, she put a hand on Skinner's knee to stop his nervous jiggling. "She'll be fine. Take deep, cleansing breaths."

"Don't start any of that meditation crap with me, Monica."

"I'm just trying to help."

"You should see how much blood she lost. I've never seen that much blood loss from someone who was still conscious."

After another forty-five minutes, Hartman came out. "Okay. She's fine. We had to give her blood, but everything's all right now."

"What caused the nosebleed?" Skinner demanded.

"Well, the best we can figure is that when she was hit, this," he held up a plastic vial with a metallic object in it, "was already deep in her nasal and sinus cavity. One of the blows caused it to push deeper and into a vein and that's where the blood was coming from. I think putting pressure on it caused this...object...to seal the vein off, which made us think the nosebleed had stopped. Then, some movement jarred the object loose and let the blood flow again. Either way, I removed this and repaired the vein. I have no idea how this got into her nasal cavity; but I can tell you that it had been there a very long time. We saw scar tissue indicating that her body had tried to encapsulate it to protect itself from it."

Skinner and Reyes both stared at the implant Hartman had just handed them. "Can we see her yet?"

"She'll be groggy for a while, but yeah, she's being moved to a room now. The procedure wasn't major. She can even go home tomorrow."

Skinner looked at Reyes. "I need to take care of something. Will you stay with her until I get back?"

"Sure. Walter, I don't know what's going on here, but be careful."

Outside the hospital, Skinner pulled out his phone. "I need you to meet me. It's important."

Annapolis, MD 11:21 p.m.

Skinner looked at the other man as he approached. "Wives are supposed to be off limits. So, what the hell was tonight all about?"

"That wasn't our idea. And besides, she's not your wife, as she herself so succinctly reminded the man who accosted her tonight."

"Well, tell me about this, then." Skinner held up the implant.

The other man shrugged. "Wives are off limits. Children are not. They never have been." He nodded at the implant in Skinner's hand. "That has been there for years, Mr. Skinner. Frank Carter had no qualms involving his only child. In fact, she was born into this quest. Just as Mulder was." The two men stared at each other for a long moment. "Rumor has it that Drs. Scully and Carter are close to developing a viable vaccine."

"How the hell do you know that?"

"We always know. Perhaps we could make a deal? You hand the vaccine over to me when it's fully developed, and I'll get you information on what really happened to Carter's daughter."

"No deal."

"Just because they develop the vaccine is no guarantee they can distribute it properly. I can make sure it gets distributed."

"I'll put my money on them any day. I don't even know which side you're really on."

"Have I ever pointed you down the wrong path? Are you sure you want to risk the future of this planet? How would Dr. Carter feel...knowing you turned down the one chance to find out what really happened to her daughter?"

Skinner worked his jaw. "I'll take my chances."

"That's a big risk you're taking, Mr. Skinner. If the information regarding what Scully and Carter are up to falls into the wrong hands...well, let's just say that all deals would be off. Scully's children have been off limits up until now – a courtesy extended in part because of what you've done for us these past few years. I can't guarantee you they'll stay that way if word gets out to...well, let's just say other interested parties."

"You'd better do everything in your power to keep those kids safe. And you'd better make sure that 'courtesy' extends to Scully and Kate as well. Just as you have your provisions in place for what happens if I step out of line, I have mine in place in case anything happens to any one of them." He paused for a moment. "Now, I would like to see this end well. Why don't we both do everything in our power to see that it does?"

"Last chance, Mr. Skinner. What lengths would Mulder go to in order to learn the absolute truth about his sister?"

"He wouldn't go that far."

"Are you certain? You're saying that Dana Scully is more important to him than his sister?"

"I'm saying that you thought Mulder was a wild card before? Threaten his family, and you'll find out exactly what he's capable of. Besides, he was in the position once before to choose between his sister and Scully. You saw how that panned out. The Dana Scully card backfired in every way imaginable, every time it was played. I don't think you want to play that one again anytime soon."

"I would say there's one way in which it didn't fail. That little boy they have? No one could have anticipated a better bargaining chip. Everyone wants to take credit for him: the aliens, the human scientists. Everyone is waiting with baited breath to see which way he leans in the end, you know. And to think, how many people tried all those years to create that kind of perfection? No, no. The Scully card didn't backfire, Mr. Skinner. It far exceeded its expectations in all the ways that counted."

"I don't care to hear your philosophy on that situation. You just make sure that you continue to uphold your end of the bargain."

"I don't think Dr. Carter knows when to be afraid, Mr. Skinner. Perhaps you need to talk to her about the perils of being the Assistant Director's almost wife."

Skinner worked his jaw, trying to contain his anger. "Look, she's already lost her only child to this godforsaken quest. So, you just make sure she's left alone." Skinner walked back towards his truck. He circled the block, then stopped and waited. Mulder got in on the passenger side. "Did you get all of that?"

Mulder held up a digital recording of the conversation. "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do."

Skinner sighed. "All right. I'll tell you what I can. And you will respect what I can't tell you. There will be plenty of time to pursue your sister after it's all said and done. You haven't seen her in...what? Thirty-five years? Let's keep in mind that you can't do anything about that right now, okay?"

Mulder pinched his bottom lip. "Is my sister dead or not?"

Skinner looked him in the eye. "I don't know. That's the truth. But if you want to keep Scully and the kids alive and within your reach, you'll let that go for another couple of years at least. Okay?" Mulder was silent. "Okay?"

Finally, Mulder nodded. "Okay." He didn't say anything for a minute. "Are Kate and Scully that close to the vaccine?"

Skinner shook his head. "Beats the hell out of me. If they are, I don't think they even know it." He cut his eyes at Mulder. "Now, we have to figure out how much to tell them."

"What will Kate say about the Emma situation?" Mulder pondered.

"Well, I really believe she wouldn't want the information at that cost."

"There was a time when I would have traded anything for information leading to the truth about my sister."

"No, Mulder. There was a time when there was nothing else in your life besides your search for your sister. Once there was Scully, that all changed. Kate wouldn't risk William and Claire. Not even for Emma. She's accepted that Emma is probably dead. She wouldn't be crazy enough to trade information on one dead child for the safety of two living ones."

"Yeah, but what if they tell her that Emma's alive? Would she trade it then?"

"I don't think she would, Mulder. She couldn't live with herself if anything happened to those two kids. Do you think otherwise?"

Mulder shook his head. "No, no. That's my take, too. I just want to be sure before we decide what to tell her and Scully."

"Well, for now, we're not telling them anything. Just keep it to yourself. Look, I have to get back to the hospital. Keep the recording for now, and make me a copy for safekeeping. We'll talk again soon." He dropped Mulder off at his car. Back at the hospital, he found Reyes asleep in the chair in Kate's room. "Monica? Hey? Go home and get some sleep, okay?" She stretched and stood up. He walked her to her car. "Thanks for staying with Kate. Did she ever wake up?"

Monica nodded. "Yeah. She was really groggy, but she still read her own file, though. I couldn't stop her. She wants to see that implant and wants to know where you ran off to tonight. Also, Walter...she was crying in her sleep tonight, just a little while ago. She cried out Emma's name a couple of times. But also, and I don't know how important this is, she was arguing with her father and Nic over something...or at least, that's what it seemed like." She yawned. "Anyway, call me if you need me to stay with her tomorrow at all, okay?"

"Thanks." He watched as she got into her vehicle and drove away. Back in Kate's room, he pulled the chair up close to her and flipped it back to a reclining position. An hour later, he felt a hand on his forearm and opened his eyes. She was sitting up in bed. "Hey. It's all right. Go back to sleep." He reached up and took her hand in his.

"Where have you been?"

"Filing a report about the incident at your office."

"I know that's not true," she told him. She stretched and sighed.

Awkwardly, he lowered the rail to the bed and rubbed her side, pulling his chair even closer. He kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep." When she tried to ask him about the implant, he shushed her. "Not here, Kate. We'll talk when we get home, okay? Rest for now."

The drugs Hartman had given her and the soothing sound of his voice made her more agreeable than usual. "Okay." She snuggled down and started to doze off again, tucking his hand against her stomach. "Are you going to stay here tonight?"

"Yes. I'm not going anywhere else. Now, go back to sleep."

Friday, August 29th 7:42 p.m.

Monica Reyes pushed the door open to her house, noticing immediately some sort of weird energy. She glanced all around, trying to figure out what was different. The noise from the kitchen caught her off guard and she reached for her gun until she realized that if it were a burglar, there probably wouldn't be food smells coming out of there. Lowering the gun, she walked towards the sound. She was shocked to find Doggett standing there, emptying takeout into bowls. "I was gonna to cook, but I wanted you to actually enjoy this meal," he told her self-deprecatingly.

She hadn't heard from him since the day she'd left Denver. The original plan had been for him to leave Saturday and arrive some time Monday. Looking around and not seeing any bags or boxes, her stomach tightened. "You've come a long way to bring me dinner, John. You could have just called."

He gave her a very long, uncomfortable look. "I wanted to surprise you. You hungry?"

She really was just exhausted but didn't want to be rude. "Well, I guess so. Excuse me." She wandered back to her bedroom, anxious to get her work clothes off and nervous about the conversation she knew they were about to have. When she opened the closet, the clothes there made her do a double take. All of his things were back in their place. She threw open his drawers on the dresser to find that his socks and boxers were also back in their place. Slowly, her surroundings started to sink in. She began noticing little things sitting around, out of place.

"I didn't know where to put everything, since you had moved some stuff since I left. I wouldn't go into the guest room, if I were you. That's where I put everything I wasn't sure about. And there's some stuff I put in storage until we had a chance to go through it." She looked up to see him in the doorway.

"You're home? Just like that?"

"What? Was there some aura cleansing ritual we were supposed to perform before I moved my things back in?" he cracked. "I wanted us to have the weekend together before I had to report to my new assignment, so I moved everything up a day or two. I didn't think you'd mind."

She walked slowly into his arms. "Are you sure?"

He nodded and rubbed her back. "Yeah. I'm sure." He stood there for a moment, not wanting to be the one to let go first. She was trembling a little. "Hey, you okay?"

Nodding, she let go. "Yes. I guess I didn't realize how nervous I was to find out what you'd decided."

"Mon, did you really think I'd make a different decision?"

"Well, no. But I worried it may take you a lot longer to come around."

He glanced down at her still flat stomach. "So...we doin' okay?"

She nodded and smiled a little timidly. "We're fine."

"I want you to know that I'm scared to death here. And I'm way too old to do this again. But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. And, uh, I bought this on the drive out here." He held up a baby proofing kit.

She laughed. "John, hopefully it won't pop out of the womb crawling and sticking things into electrical outlets." He gave her a hurt look. "But the gesture is nice." She put her arms around him again. "I really have missed you."

"Me, too." He hugged her back. "So...hungry?"

She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "In more ways than one."

Saturday, August 30th 9:45 p.m.

Kate made her way up the stairs, flipping on lights as she went. She stuck her head into Skinner's office. "Hi."

He looked up. "Hi. Where've you been?"

"I had that little girl's funeral this afternoon, remember? Then, I pulled a few hours at the clinic."

Skinner removed his glasses and rubbed his temples. "I was supposed to go with you."

"It's all right. I couldn't find you when I needed to leave. It's no big deal."

He had the impression that it was a big deal but that she didn't want to pursue it. "How's your headache?"

"Still vicious. I'm about to take something." She walked closer and kissed him lightly. "What are you working on?"

She noticed that he had minimized whatever it was he was looking at on his computer.

He shrugged. "Nothing major."

"Well." She picked up the implant in its plastic vial off of his desk. "Good night."

"Where are you going with that?" he asked, gesturing towards the vial.

"I'm going to analyze it tomorrow."

"I was going to have it analyzed at the Bureau."

"I don't want it analyzed at the Bureau. I want to do it myself." He started to argue. "When they dig something out of your nasal cavity, you can do what you want with it." She tapped the side of the plastic. "This one's mine." She turned back to him. "Oh, yeah. Mulder called me earlier and said he's going to be out of town until Monday night and doesn't want to leave Dana alone this late in the pregnancy. He wants me to come out there tomorrow and stay with her and the kids for the rest of the weekend. "

"Well, that's nice of you. I know the kids would love spending time with you."

She glanced at him casually, leaning against the doorway. "Any idea where Mulder's going?"

Skinner shook his head. "No."

"Really? You aren't going with him?"

Skinner didn't really answer. "He's working on a couple of cases outside my division right now."

"Huh. So, this has nothing to do with those four children you were warned away from?"

"Why would Mulder have anything to do with that?"

"So, you're going to be in town this weekend?"

He worked his jaw, knowing damn well he was busted. "Kate, can we stop with the twenty questions? What the hell is going on with you?"

She pulled a set of papers out of her bag. "Before I left for the funeral today, this fax came for you. Here at home. It's yours and Mulder's airline confirmation numbers and other travel info." She flung the papers onto his desk. "There's even information on where to pick up the ID for the men whose names you'll be traveling under. So, tell me, Mr. Davenport, is it business or pleasure taking you to Miami this Labor Day weekend?"

He sighed; she knew more than he had hoped. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you about this."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that's okay. I don't mind not necessarily being privy to certain aspects of your work. There is, however, a better way to play it than flat out lying about it. Tell me, though...should I expect to be attacked again after this little trip of yours?"

"Kate, I don't know what exactly this trip entails. I'm acting on an anonymous tip. I wouldn't go if I thought it would put you in danger." Skinner meant that sincerely. He would never intentionally jeopardize her safety.

"Well. I'm going to bed." She looked back over her shoulder as she left the room and said tiredly, "Lying is rarely the way to handle me, Walter."

The lack of reaction on her part after catching him in an obvious lie bewildered him. He had expected her to throw something, maybe yell. But not to stay calm and show only disappointment. In fact, her lack of response made him feel worse. Closing the files on his computer and saving them to a flash drive, he turned off everything in his office and made his way downstairs. He found her already curled onto her side in bed. "Did you take something for your headache?"

She nodded. "Yes, ibuprofen."

He took a quick shower and then crawled into bed, curling his body around hers. "I really am sorry. You caught me off guard; I didn't intend to lie about it. The last thirty-six hours have been a nightmare."

"Been a little hellish for me, too," she murmured. "Let's not talk about it anymore. Too much has happened these last few days. I can't process my thoughts this quickly. Plus, my head's still a little groggy."

"I feel like I shouldn't leave you right now. First, that little girl died. Then, you were hurt." He wrapped his arm around her and brushed her stomach with his fingertips.

"I need the time to myself. Just do whatever it was you were planning to do." She pushed his hand away from her and flipped onto her stomach, keeping her face pointed away from him. "You've been holding back information from me since the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but I feel like I have the right to know if it involves me or my daughter."

Knowing anything he said was only going to make her more upset, he finally responded, "I would rather you be angry at me than put you in danger by telling you things I think I shouldn't."

Kate lay there for a long time, wishing she had gone with her instinct and avoided talking about this tonight. "I hate that attitude. It's such a double standard. When I consulted on cases, you didn't hide things from me. I know how to keep my mouth shut. How would anyone even know what you told me and what you didn't?"

Finally, he grew weary of looking at the back of her head. "I'm not going to talk to you if you're not going to look at me."

"That's okay. I don't think I even want to talk to you right now." After a very long, uncomfortable silence, she gave up on sleep and got out of bed. As she pulled clothes out of the closet, she told him, "I'm going back to work."

"You are not going back to the office this time of night after what happened last time." He got out of bed and glared at her. "Kate. Don't do this just because things haven't gone your way today."

"I'm not a child throwing a tantrum, Walter. I'm just not going to lie here with someone who is telling me only partial truths on top of outright lies. Now, I have a lot to do and very little time left in the weekend to do it. I'm not going to get any sleep right now. I may as well work." After she was dressed, she put her arms around his neck, unable to help herself. "Be careful out there, Walter. I may be upset with you, but I still want you to come home safely."

"Don't leave upset like this. Just come back to bed."

She zipped up a sweatshirt. "I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I'll see you when? Monday or Tuesday night?"

"I'm not leaving until nine in the morning. I'll see you before then."

Angry and hurt, she had no intention of coming back to the house before he left. "I just need time to sort through some things, but I'll call to let you know I made it safely to the office, okay?" Outside, Kate pulled out her phone and called Godfrey. Her mind had started clicking through flashbacks and trying to sort through the gut feeling she had. "It's Kate. I need a huge favor. You know those old photo albums in my father's study? Can you get them to me? Maybe overnight them?"

"I can do better than that. Care to meet me for breakfast in the morning, darling? I'm heading up that way bright and early tomorrow."

"That would be wonderful, Godfrey."

Sunday, 8:45 a.m.

Back at her office after breakfast with Godfrey, Kate started sifting through the old photographs. She rubbed her finger across one of her mother and father. Finally, she found the photo that had been tickling the back of her mind. It was old, taken before Kate was even born. She squinted at the men in the photograph. Grabbing a magnifier, she looked more closely. "Damn it," she muttered.

Twenty minutes later, she knocked on the door of a condo. Finally, Nic Cruz opened the door wearing only boxer briefs. "Kate? What's wrong?" He rubbed a hand through his hair sleepily.

"Get dressed. I need to talk to you."

"You could have called," he muttered as he yawned and made his way back through the condo.

Following him to his bedroom, she said, "Sorry. Just throw on some clothes, Nic. I don't want to talk here." She stopped short when she saw the woman in the bed. "Oops. Really sorry." She smiled ruefully. "Hi. I'm Kate. I just need to borrow him for a few minutes, okay?" She backed out and went into the kitchen. Nic joined her less than ten minutes later. "I made coffee." She handed him a mug. "How does your friend take it?"

Still sleepy, he shrugged. "Black, I think." He peered into her mug. "You still take yours with more milk than coffee, I see."

She poured another mug and handed it to her ex-husband. "Take her a cup and tell her you'll bring her breakfast in bed in half an hour. We can walk to the bakery while we talk."

Outside, he stretched and looked over at her, noticing the stitches and bruises for the first time. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Ran into a Glock. Take a look at this photo." She shoved the picture in front of him.

He was still looking at her injuries. Pushing her hair away from her eyes to get a better look, he said, "Jesus, Kate. That looks painful."

"Nah. It's better now. The photo," she prompted him.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"This photo was taken in 1965. That's my father," she pointed. "And tell me that's not your father, Nic."

He looked into her eyes instead of down at the photo. "Kate, you need to drop this."

"You already knew about this?" She closed her eyes. "They acted like they had never even met at our wedding. Do you remember that?"

He steered her towards a bench. "They're both dead now, Kate. Let it go."

She glared at him, refusing to sit. "Nic, if I find out that you know anything about what happened to Emma that you haven't told me..."

"It isn't simple, Kate."

"Why did your parents really take my daughter from me, Nic?"

He took her hand. "They were trying to protect her. It was agreed. Between my father and yours. They thought my father could keep her safe."

She doubled over, hands on her knees. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Your father...well, Frank knew you wouldn't let her go without a fight. But he knew you couldn't keep her safe. The custody decision was rigged from the very beginning, Kate."

Standing up straight suddenly, she shook her head. "You knew. All this time."

"No. I didn't. I didn't figure it out until much later."

"Oh my God, Nic. Just tell me what else you know."

"They wanted her, Kate. For some reason, they thought she was special. That's all I know. Our fathers tried to keep her from them. But they got to her anyway."

"How do I know they didn't give her to them?"

"Why go to the trouble, Kate? Of rigging a custody trial? Come on. They were trying to protect her." He reached for her. "I'm sorry. I know this is a big shock to you. I've tried to keep you from finding out for years. I knew you'd never forgive your father if you knew."

"So, why did they want Emma, Nic? What did they do to my daughter?"

"Kate, they didn't do anything to HER."

She shook her head, realization dawning. "It was me they experimented on. Oh, God. Probably you, too." She closed her eyes. "How could they know we'd even meet and have a baby?" Remembering how she and Nic had met at a wedding...the daughter of one of her father's business associates...Kate felt like throwing up. "How much of our lives were rigged?" She dropped onto the bench. "Tell me you don't know any more about her disappearance."

Kneeling in front of her, Nic took her hands in his. "Kate, I would never have let them take her from you. It was out of my hands. And if I knew what happened to Emma, I would have died trying to get her back for you. You have to believe that."

She looked up, tears in her eyes. "I don't know what to believe. I don't know if I can trust you, Nic." Finally, she met his eyes. "Just tell me if she's dead."

"Kate, I don't know. I believe that she is. Like those other children Skinner was looking into."

She snatched her hands away. "What do you know about that?"

"I work for him, Kate."

She shook her head. "No, he wouldn't have told you." Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to make everything fall into place...but it just wouldn't.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I don't think you can fully trust him."

"Nic, don't try to turn this on him. He has searched for Emma all these years. For me."

"I've followed him, Kate. I've seen him with another man in that photo. Once was just a couple of nights ago."

She shoved him away. "You're lying." Even as she denied it, Kate remembered the trip he was on now, how he had lied about it. She thought of him leaving while she was in the hospital and not telling her where he had been. Still, she made herself reply with, "I have to go, Nic. You've lied to me for years. He hasn't."

"Kate, the only lies I've told you ...the only information I've withheld from you...it was only to keep you safe."

Growing uncertain, she backed away from him. "Every time I start to trust you, Nic, you break my heart. I didn't think you could hurt me anymore than you already had, but today proved me wrong."

"What does that tell you? The only people who have the power to hurt you are the people you love. You still love me, Kate. What are you even doing with him? He's hiding more from you than I ever have."

"My relationship with him is none of your business, Nic. He's never betrayed me the way you have."

"Maybe he's just hidden it better."

"Take your friend breakfast, Nic." She left him standing on the sidewalk and drove too quickly out to Scully's house.

She didn't realize that tears were falling down her cheeks until William threw open the door for her and yelled, "Mommy! There's something wrong with Kate."

Scully came to the front door, her stomach keeping her from getting too close to her friend. "Oh, my God. Kate? What is it? Claire, take William to your room, okay?"

Claire nodded, eyes wide. "Come on, William. Mom will take care of it."

Scully closed the front door and stood out on the porch where Kate was sobbing into her hands. "What happened?" She listened for a minute. "Kate, you have to calm down. I can't understand you."

Kate took several deep breaths before she was able to tell Scully the whole story. "Walter did leave the hospital a couple of nights ago. And he wouldn't tell me where he really went. And now, he's away on this trip I know nothing about, pretending to be someone he isn't."

"Kate, listen. Mulder left here late that night to meet Skinner. He didn't tell me what it was about. But I trust Mulder. And I don't think Skinner would betray you. And they're together now, right?"

Taking a ragged breath, she nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Look, I know you hate not knowing when you think it involves you. But don't let Nic plant doubt in your mind about Skinner. Can I see the photo?" Kate got it out of the car. "Tell me who's who."

"That's my father. That's Nic's father. And I don't know who the others are, but Nic claims one of them is who Walter met a couple of nights ago. And he didn't say anything about Mulder being there."

Scully squinted at the photo. "Kate, see this guy? I'm pretty sure he's not the one Skinner was meeting because he's dead...or at least, the bastard had better be. That's C.G.B. Spender."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah." She pointed at another man. "And if I'm not mistaken, this is Bill Mulder." She fingered the two remaining man. "That just leaves these guys unaccounted for. We can ask Mulder if he knows."

"You don't seem very surprised."

Scully shrugged. "I guess Cancerman has popped up in so many places through the years that you could show me a picture of him with Elvis and it wouldn't surprise me." She patted her friend's back. "I know you weren't expecting this, though. Come on, I'll make you some tea. You seem to be pretty shocked."

Kate sniffled. "You'd be shocked if it were a picture of him with your father."

Scully stopped and stared at her. "You're right. I would be. Kate, listen. I believe that Mulder's father was a good man who found himself in a no win situation. The same may be true of yours."

Unconvinced, Kate followed Scully inside. "You always have a choice, Dana."

"And maybe he made the only choice he thought he could."

"I feel like my whole life has been a lie. If your father had allowed William to be taken from you, would you still be able to see it that way?"

Scully shook her head. "No. Probably not. I'm sorry, Kate." Handing her a cup of tea, she remarked, "You look wiped out. Have you been up all night?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah."

"Come on. You need to get some rest."

When Mulder called late that afternoon, Kate was still sleeping. Scully told him a little about Kate's talk with Nic. "Mulder, is Skinner really trustworthy?"

"Scully, I swear to you that I believe he is. I can't tell you everything right now, but he's on our side. So, everything okay with the troops? You hanging in there?"

"I'm holding my own."

"How's the unborn?"

"You make it sound like a horror film."

"Well, if your stomach gets any tighter, I'm worried it's going to burst out like one."

She laughed. "The unborn is fine. Getting too cramped in there to do somersaults. Now she just seems to stretch every few hours. See you tomorrow night?"

"It will be late. Want me to wake you?"

"Yes."

"All right. Is Kate still going to stay there?"

"I think so. It's really not necessary, though."

"I know it's not. Skinner just wants her out there rather than home alone right now."

"Well, he needs to learn that the more he tries to pin her down, the more resistant she's going to get."

Mulder lowered his voice. "Speaking from experience, huh?"

"I figure someone else should benefit from all the years it took me to figure you out."

"You think you've got me figured out?"

"Mulder, after all these years, I can read you like a book."

"I don't know, Scully...I bet I can still surprise you."

She smirked. "Really?"

"Yep. In fact, I left a surprise for you."

"You did?" She looked around the living room. "Where?"

"Well, you have to figure it out. Go into my office. My old laptop is there. Turn it on and figure it out. If you can crack the codes before I get home, you can have your surprise before the baby is born. If you can't, you'll have to wait."

"Mulder."

"Bye, Scully. Have a fun night. Don't wait up tomorrow. I promise I'll wake you."

She looked at the phone that now said, "Call Ended." What on earth? The kids were quiet, so she slipped into his office and snagged the computer off of his desk. Settling onto the sofa, she turned it on. When she was prompted for a password, she typed 'TRUSTNO1' and was prompted to try again. Surprised, she tried several other combinations. Getting aggravated, she finally typed 'AHAB' and was rewarded with the sound of the computer finishing its boot up process. "Huh," she muttered to herself. In the center of the screen was an icon consisting of three question marks. She double-clicked and was rewarded with a screen that read, "Hey, Scully. I see you managed to find your way here. To earn your surprise, you must first take a little walk down memory lane. This is my version of the Impossible Quiz that Claire's always playing on the computer. You're the only one who can figure it out, I bet. Good luck. Click on the flying saucer to continue."

Smiling, she clicked on the flashing UFO. A multiple choice question filled the screen. "Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?" Smiling bigger, she clicked, "C. Logically, I'd have to say no." The game continued, and each time she missed a question, a picture of a pouting Mulder that Claire had taken several weeks ago popped onto the screen and she had to start over at the beginning. She didn't miss many, but the ones she did really surprised her. The first one she missed was, "Which of these cases scared me the most?" The options themselves perplexed her. They were none of the ones she would have guessed. After guessing wrong three times, she finally clicked "A. The one with Ed Jerse."

A paragraph popped up for her to read. "Scully, I have never been more terrified in my life than I was that moment you sat in front of my desk and told me, 'This is my life.' At that point, I already thought of it as 'our life.' I was stunned that you didn't. Terrified that you were about to slip away from me. I went out after that and got wasted. Slept outside your apartment door for hours, trying to work up the courage to knock and finish that sentence I started and ask to trace your new tattoo with my tongue. Your landlord woke me up and put me in a cab. True story, Scully. You drove me to drinking many times before you invited me to bed. Addendum: Obviously, your abduction and cancer scared me ten times more than Jerse did...but I don't consider those cases. Those were personal."

Tears formed in her eyes, but the next question brought a smile back to her face. "Complete the following sentence: As a child, when I grew up I wanted to be an: A. Elvis impersonator; B. Intergalactic Superhero; C. Astronaut; D. Ed Jerse lookalike." Laughing, she clicked on C but was puzzled when the pouty picture popped up with a caption that read: "Scully, Scully, Scully...That's what I told you I wanted to be. You know me better than that. Think harder." After clicking through all the previous answers again, this time she clicked B. Of course Mulder wanted to be a superhero. If he didn't, maybe he would be able to stop chasing monsters in the dark. She shook her head. But then, he just wouldn't be Mulder. The walk down memory lane continued after she fed the kids and Kate curled up with them on Claire's bed to watch a DVD. At times, she laughed. At others, she wept. Her heart ached as she looked at their past in a way she never really had before and was forced to remember things she had assumed were best left in the past. As the evening wore on, Scully found that she was able to remember their years together as partners without the bitterness she had felt so strongly up until now. More than anything, she laughed at how differently Mulder viewed the events of certain times they had spent together, and she cried at the heartfelt paragraphs that would pop up when she finally got an answer right that she had missed more than once.

The next question she came to made her raise her eyebrow in typical Scully fashion: "I fell in lust with Dana Scully:" She perused the answer choices. She knew the answer wasn't "the moment I laid eyes on her." Trying to think back that far and remember a time when she hadn't felt sexual tension from Mulder, she realized that she really couldn't. The truth was, she HAD wanted Mulder from almost the moment she'd laid eyes on him. The relationship she had been in at the time had ended over his late night phone calls and her reluctance to put an end to them. This one was tough. She didn't think Mulder had even known she was alive physically for several years into their partnership, and that had always irritated her. Scully had always been secure in her ability to make a man want her until she'd been paired up with Mulder. Huh. Finally, she chose the answer that read, "when I saw her tattoo for the first time." The pouting picture popped up with a caption that read, "Scully, you're about four years off." Wrinkling her eyebrows, she looked at her other options. One read, "when I read my crazy neighbor's manuscript about her." She was almost certain that was way after the tattoo. And she remembered the earlier paragraph about how he wanted to trace the tattoo with his tongue. Still certain it wasn't "the moment I laid eyes on her," she clicked "B. during our very first trip to Oregon." She was rewarded with a pop up that read, "When you disrobed right there in front of me, then tied it back on and threw your arms around me, I knew I was on a sinking ship. I wanted to lay you out on that bed in the candlelight and bury myself inside you. Sure, I thought you were sexy when you first walked into my basement. I always thought smart was sexy. But when you showed your vulnerability to me that first time...I spent the next couple of years trying desperately to keep distance between us."

Shaking her head at the years she'd spent in bed alone, she clicked the next section. It had no directions. They weren't questions, but what she thought were more like word associations. There was a word or words, then a list of a bunch of other words or phrases to choose from. The first read, "Clyde Bruckman." Smiling as she read the list of options, she passed up "Immortal", "Psychic", "Human Flesh Eating Monster Dog", and "Autoerotic Asphyxiation". She clicked on "Chantilly Lace" and was rewarded with the next set of words. Every question in this set made her smile. It was like she was watching their relationship build through the eyes of an outsider. From the inside, you tend to get bogged down in the pain and suffering. She had never thought about how many good and humorous moments they had shared for every bad one until now. Too tired, she vowed to continue the quiz tomorrow after putting the kids to bed. She fell asleep thinking back fondly on memories Mulder had yet to mention. Maybe she would make him his own quiz.

Monday, September 1st 2:33 p.m.

Monica laughed as she watched Doggett throwing the football and William making it change paths and fly directly into his outstretched arms. They had brought a picnic lunch out to Scully's for Labor Day. She and Scully sat on the covered porch out of the sun. "That is his favorite trick these days," Scully told her.

"It's a cute one. I love watching John with him."

"Monica, it is so good to see you happy like this. I'm glad everything is working out for you guys. Just think. Our babies will only be about seven months apart. They'll always have each other to play with."

"I know! And we can take turns babysitting for each other."

Scully smiled. "Well, I don't think this little lady will wait much longer. She can hardly move as it is."

Claire joined them on the porch and painted her toenails. "Mom? Want me to do yours?"

Scully kicked off her flip flops. "Sure."

Monica closed her eyes. "Hey. Where's Kate? I thought she was going to come back out today."

"She said she had a lot of work to catch up on at her office and then a shift to pull at the clinic."

"It seems like all she does is work these days."

"I know. I don't know what exactly is going on with her. I hope things will settle down soon."

Scully looked over at Claire, who was now painting her own fingernails, and cringed when she saw the color on her daughter's fingers and toes. "Claire, please tell me you didn't paint my toenails blue." She tried to lift her feet so that she could actually see them.

"Of course I painted them blue. That's the only color I have out here, Mother." Sighing, Scully let it go. She didn't suppose the color of her toenails mattered at this point in her life. Claire ignored her mother's looks and said, "Anyway, I think that Kate misses being a mom and she's working so much right now because she doesn't know what else to do."

Reyes gave Claire an appraising look; she was an astute kid. "That's a good point, Claire. I hadn't really thought of it that way."

Claire waved her fingers around. "Mom, my neck itches. Can you scratch it?" She moved close to Scully.

Scully looked up at her daughter as she reached up to her neck and scratched. "So, any idea what your dad wants to name the baby?"

She shook her head, hair falling over one shoulder. "No. He won't tell. I hope it's not something ridiculous like Uma."

Scully cringed. "Uggh...me, too."

Monica laughed as Claire wandered out into the yard to play with Doggett and William. "She's a wonderful child."

"Believe me, I know she is."

"It's amazing the amount of emotional maturity she has considering how she spent the first thirteen years of her life. She's like an adult. Well, actually, she's more mature than a lot of adults I know."

"Yeah, but then she does something ridiculous like painting all of her nails glittery blue."

Reyes laughed again. "There's definitely a streak of spontaneity forming in her. You think it's inherent or do you think she's picking it up from Mulder?"

Scully lifted a shoulder. "I think it's inherent. The more comfortable she gets, the more it comes out in her. She has a restless streak – like Mulder – and I also think that's why she likes being with Kate so much. William is impish, but I think he's going to be more contemplative as he grows older. He's content to sit for hours trying to figure something out." She patted her stomach. "This one could definitely be trouble, though." She smiled at Monica, who was rapidly becoming a close friend. "So, you wonder what your little one will be like?"

Monica grinned. "All the time."

Scully teased, "I bet you'll take it to, like, Mommy and Me Yoga."

"Probably."

"And I bet you've already bought it a copy of Whale Songs on CD."

"Don't be silly. I already own several of those."

"Seriously, though. How's John doing?"

"He seems okay. A little nervous about it; almost shy in some senses. I still wake up at night sometimes and find him brooding or having a panic attack."

"Well, I think that's to be expected."

"Yeah, it just brings up some mixed feelings on my part. This is supposed to be the happiest time in my life, but for him, it's one of the hardest. I don't know. I guess it'll take a while to figure it all out. He's going to tell Barbara about it in person this week," Monica told Scully, referring to Doggett's ex-wife. "He feels like it's the right thing to do." She cut her eyes over to Scully. "He also apparently feels marriage is the right thing to do. We're thinking sometime in late October."

"Wow. Is that something you want? Or are you a Kate? She claims that marriage is an antiquated arrangement that no longer serves the purpose for which it was originally designed."

Monica laughed. "No, no. I want it. I'm excited. I've never been married, and I think it's important that both of us declare our commitment to one another. I just don't want anything traditional. I want it to be unique." She noticed Scully looking at her left hand. "The ring is being sized. My mother, who has for years lamented my failure to produce grandchildren, is beside herself. She thought this day would never come."

"I'm so happy for you. You deserve this."

"Thanks. You seem pretty happy these days yourself."

"I really am, Monica. I'm still nervous about a lot of things, but for the most part, I'm just enjoying what I thought I would never have."

Both women looked up as William bounded onto the porch and kissed his mother's stomach. "She's ready to be born, you know. It won't be long." He giggled. "She's sucking her thumb and wishes you wouldn't sit like this so long because it squishes her head. You should stretch, Mom." Hugging his mom, he asked, "Can I get a popsicle?"

Scully nodded and stood up, stretching tall. The baby squirmed around. "Can you bring me a yellow one? And ask if anyone else wants one."

They visited for another hour or so before Doggett and Reyes headed out. Scully waited impatiently until the kids were tucked into bed before booting up the computer again and answering all of the questions quickly again until she reached where she had left off with the word association. She found a lot of inside jokes among the next set of associations. Laughing, she chose "First Real Kiss" as the answer to "Y2K" and was rewarded with a popup that read, "Still my favorite New Year of all time. I spent the next several months trying to figure out how far I could go without you filing a sexual harassment suit against me." She blushed when one association was a reference to the night she finally couldn't stand it anymore and invited herself to his bed...with him already in it. Eventually, she reached what she assumed was the end of Mulder's Impossible Quiz. A picture of Mulder popped up with what he considered his best GQ pose. The caption read, "Congratulations, Scully. You do know me so well. Since we already picked out wallpaper and tile together for two different houses, who needs China patterns, huh?" Somewhat put out by the final popup, she closed her eyes and rubbed the little foot standing out against her stomach. "That daddy of yours is something else, huh, babe? Never knows when to shut his mouth." Sighing, she put away the computer and drifted off to sleep. When her phone rang an hour later, she snatched it up. "Scully." Sometimes, she slipped into old habits.

"Hey. Did you make it to the end of the quiz?"

"Of course...did you have any doubt?"

He chuckled. "None at all. Listen, I forgot my key. Can you let me in?"

She struggled to get her eyes open and to launch herself from the bed. "Okay, okay. I'm on my way now." As she neared the door, she heard a strange sound – as if Mulder were throwing himself against it. She flung open the front door and found a spear sticking out of it. "What on earth?" Mulder was standing at the bottom of the steps, looking pleased with himself. "Is this my surprise, Mulder?"

He grinned at her. "Part of it. I carved it myself."

Scully dislodged the offending item from her door, trying to ignore the mess it made of the fresh paint. Studying the spear, she told him, "Well, it's nice, Mulder. Thanks. For months, I've been thinking, if only I had a spear, I could catch fish and small game for myself."

He shot her a wounded look. "I'm hurt that you don't grasp the significance, Scully." Rubbing her stomach, he continued, "Well, you have a lot on your plate right now. Let me know when you figure it out, hmm?" He pulled her into the bedroom and tucked her into bed, placing the spear on her side of the dresser. "So, did you enjoy the quiz?"

Scully smiled. "I did. Thank you. I can't tell you how much I needed that." She kissed him as he leaned down close to her face. "Everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to take a quick shower, all right?" As he dropped his jeans onto the floor, he muttered, "Can't believe you aren't more excited about the spear."

Drifting off to sleep as she listened to him humming 'Jailhouse Rock' in the shower, she made a mental note to figure out the significance of the spear.

Tuesday, September 2nd 1:53 a.m.

Skinner moved silently up the stairs, thinking she may be asleep. When he peeked into the bedroom, he was dismayed to find the bed empty. Sighing, he continued up to the third floor. As he poked his head into the 'rug room' as he liked to think of it, his mouth tilted upwards at the sight of her sleeping on the sofa. She had dropped a medical journal onto the ground in front of the sofa and one hand hung limply in the air. Bothered by the drooping hand, he tucked it close to her. Her eyes fluttered open. "Hey."

"Hey. You coming to bed?"

Kate sat up and stretched, then flopped back down. "Too tired." While he was in the shower, she worked up the energy to go downstairs and fall into bed.

When he got into bed, he pulled her close to him and rubbed her stomach. "Are you still mad at me?" She shrugged. It really wasn't that simple, and he knew it. Running his fingers up to touch where her stitches were, he whispered, "Listen, I know about the photograph. Mulder gave me a heads up. Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Not right now. I have to be at the hospital at six."

"Kate, don't shut me out like this." Silence. "Look, I know you took that photo over to show Nic. And I know you left there very upset."

She sat up. "How do you know that?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "Well, you can get whoever gave you that information to tell you what upset me. You aren't coming clean with me about a lot of things, Walter. And to be honest with you, I don't know if I can even trust you right now."

He grabbed her wrist and held tight, even when she tried to pull it away. "All right. Just listen. I've had a bodyguard tailing you since you were attacked at the office. That's how I know about you going to see Nic."

"You're having me spied on?"

"No, not spied on; protected. I haven't asked for a report on where you've been or what you've done. The only thing I asked was to be notified if anybody seemed to be following you or if anyone bothered you. The man I hired said you were so upset when you drove out to Scully's that you almost wrecked several times."

"If it's for my safety, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to alarm you."

"Well, Walter, I'm alarmed. If you thought I was in that kind of danger, you should have told me." Covering her face with her hands, she whispered, "I can't take much more of this. I don't know who to trust or what's true. I thought I could trust you, but you've lied and hidden so many things lately."

Working his jaw, he watched as she wrapped her arms around her knees protectively. Leaning very close to her, he whispered almost inaudibly, "Kate, honey, please listen to me. I may not be able to disclose certain things right now, but you have to believe that everything I'm doing is for you – never against you. Now, a lot is going on right now. I am trying to keep you safe, as well as Scully and the kids. I'm also working desperately to find Emma. If you've figured something out, you have to tell me." Finally, she met his eyes. He had never seen that doubt and fear in them when they looked at him. He'd seen it when she talked about her father, about Nic's parents, and even when she talked about Nic himself. But seeing it aimed at him hit him like a physical force.

Exhausted, she cocooned herself in the covers, deliberately putting a layer of bedding between them. "I just need some time to sort through this, okay? Please just give me some time."

Distraught, he forced himself to let it go for the night. "Do you want me to leave?"

She shook her head. "No. This is your home. I'm furious, and I'm hurt, but I won't ask you to leave your own home."

FBI Headquarters 7:21 p.m.

Skinner thought about trying her phone one more time. Finally, he did and left a voicemail. "I just need to know that you're okay. Please. Just send me a message." It had taken every ounce of restraint he had not to beat the truth out of Nic Cruz today. He wanted to give Kate time to tell him herself. A text finally came through on his phone from her that said, "Can you meet me by the W. Monument?" Thank God. He left the Hoover Building and made it down to the Mall in record time.

When she saw him, she walked slowly towards him. "Hi."

"Listen, I brought something I want you to hear. I've thought a lot about it. I didn't want you to have to hear it, but now I think you should."

Kate shook her head. "No, wait. Listen to me. I've gone over and over this in my head all day. You have never intentionally hurt me. I have always trusted you. I am not going to let my ex-husband, who I know can't be trusted, drive a wedge between us. You've done a lot this past week that seems suspicious to me, and while I do not appreciate you lying to me, I have to try to have faith that you really are doing what you believe is in my best interest." Closing the rest of the distance between them, she wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his go around her waist and lift her off the ground. "From the photo I found, it's obvious my father knew Nic's father way before I met Nic. Nic says that the custody trial was rigged from the beginning and that my father knew all about it. He claims they were doing it to try to protect Emma, but I don't know if I believe that. I don't know what to believe. For all I know, Nic could have been in on it from the beginning. Maybe they took her from me so they could experiment on her. I don't know, Walter. Then, Nic said he saw you meeting with one of the other men in the photo. And Dana said that one of the other men was the smoking man and that another was Bill Mulder. That's what terrified me. Please tell me you aren't working with the people responsible for my daughter's disappearance."

Skinner hugged her close, trying to absorb what all she had said. "My God, no, Kate. Show me the photo." She did, and he pointed to one of the men. "Yes, I met with him that night you were in the hospital. It's complicated. I know that everything he ever tells me may be a lie. I realize that. I am walking a very fine line here, Kate. I've told you that I have to answer to people outside the Bureau. I can't pretend that I don't. But I am on your side. Just as I have always been on Mulder and Scully's side. Now, if you want to walk away from me because of this, now is the time to do it. And I will never hold it against you. I swear to you, though, that if I thought you were in more danger being with me than not, I would never have allowed myself to be with you. Now, listen very carefully. That man probably does know what happened to Emma. Or at least some of it. He probably knows what happened to Samantha Mulder, too. But the cost of that information would be something none of us could live with. Do you understand?"

Kate pulled back and looked into his eyes. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. "I think so." She wrapped her arms around him again and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

He brushed her hair away from her face. "Don't be. I doubt myself almost every day. I've told you before I don't think I could get out if I tried at this point. On top of that, I would lose access to any bargaining power if I try to walk away. But I promise you that if I can find Emma without compromising anyone else's safety, I will."

"Do you think she's dead, Walter? Tell me honestly."

He breathed heavily, remembering Mulder asking him the same thing about Samantha. "If you had asked me that two weeks ago, I would have said yes. Now, honestly...I can't say. I just don't know, Kate. I'm sorry; I know you don't want to hear that."

"I just want to hear the truth, Walter. No matter how painful. And I'm not going to walk away. I won't let these people dictate my life any more than they already have."

He handed her the recording. "I'm going to let you decide whether you should hear this. It's a recording of my meeting with the man in the photo the other night. I had Mulder go with me and record it, so of course he's heard it. We didn't want to subject you and Scully to this."

She swallowed hard. "You still don't want me to hear it."

"I don't want to put either of you through it, Kate." He paused, searching for the right words. "They know about yours and Scully's search for the vaccine. They want it when you finish. And they threaten with anything they can think of."

"Like the truth about Emma and Samantha." She looked at his face for confirmation. "Did he threaten William and Claire?"

"In a round about way." Kate glanced back down at the recording. She put it back in his hand and closed his fingers around it. "There are some things a mother should never have to hear, even if she already suspects it's true. That's all you ever had to say, Walter. You didn't have to lie or hide it from me. Dana and I aren't stupid. We know the risks we're taking. But we know we can't risk not taking them. Believe me, my imagination is probably far worse than what's on that tape, you know."

"Then maybe you should listen to it."

She shook her head. "No. I trust you."

He knew she was doing it to make a point, that she really wanted nothing more than to hear what was on that tape, but he really didn't think he could handle watching her listen to it. Lacing his fingers through hers, he whispered, "Let's go home." As they walked, he continued to hold her hand, refusing to let go even when she tried to pull away. "I should have told you I was hiring a bodyguard. It was ridiculous for me not to tell you. I guess I didn't want you to know that I thought you needed one. But I want to be clear, Kate. I'm not sorry I hired him. I'm just sorry I didn't tell you up front."

"Walter, here's the thing. I'm not afraid of them. I know you think I should be, but I'm just not. I will keep pushing at this until I know the truth or until they kill me. Don't get me wrong – I don't have a death wish. But I'm not going to shy away from this."

"You don't think I realize that? That's exactly why I hired him. How many times have I begged you to let me handle things? Let me do the digging, Kate. I may not have complete control, but I can maneuver things better than you can. You and Scully worry about that vaccine. Let me and Mulder handle the rest of it. If there's something you want me to look into, just tell me. Don't keep trying to do it on your own." He could sense her resistance. "Kate, listen to me. What if Emma is alive out there somewhere? If she is, she will need her mother when we find her."

She snatched her hand away and glared at him. "That's a low blow, Walter."

"But it's true." And effective, he thought to himself.

She was silent for a while, then said, "How many people like us do you think there are out there who don't even realize what they're mixed up in? How many other fathers sold out their children in some way? "

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"You know what really worries me?"

"What?"

"The idea that our entire lives could be rigged. Who made sure I would end up with Nic? Is it an accident that you and I ended up together? Was my last pregnancy by someone's design? Were all of our lives? Don't you get the feeling someone's out there playing God?"

"Kate, they can't control us to that extent."

"Walter, you of all people should know not to underestimate these people." She paused. "Is this why you never wanted to have children? Why you freaked out when I was pregnant?"

He sighed. "It was a chance I never wanted to take. I didn't want a child that could be used to control me. I would never put a child through that if I could avoid it."

She wrinkled her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't they try to use me?" Realizing her error, she said, "Oh. Right. They did."

Friday, September 19th 1:15 p.m.

Kate pulled up to Scully's house and was met on the porch by a wide-eyed Claire and rambunctious William. "It's time, it's time, it's time!" William sang as she made her way up the steps.

Laughing, she grabbed him and swung him around. "So you say, little man. How's your mom?"

"Oh, she feels fine. But the baby's being born tonight, Kate."

Scully came to the door. "Now, if it were just William saying this, I wouldn't have called you because I'm having no contractions or anything. However, Claire is all worked up as well, so..."

Kate patted her friend's shoulder. "Well, fortunately, we have the whole weekend, huh? Kids, want to help me get all the stuff out of my car?" They made short work of setting up a birthing spot for Scully and collecting everything they would need. When they finished, she smiled at the flowers Claire had gathered and put nearby. "Claire, I love the ambiance."

Bored already, William had gone out to play the Wii. Claire looked up at Kate hopefully. "Mom says I can stay in while the baby is born if it's okay with you."

"That's perfect with me. You can catch your dad if he faints." Claire laughed, expelling some of her nervous energy. "Actually, you can help quite a bit."

"Really?"

"Sure. Right now, though...I didn't have lunch. Want to come with me to the kitchen?"

"Yeah, okay. Dad's in his office working. When will everyone else be here?"

"Well, Monica and John are coming after work unless we call them sooner. And Walter is coming out after his last meeting, I think."

Claire made a funny face. "I can't imagine Mr. Skinner coming for the baby's birth. That's funny. Oh, yeah. Gramma Scully is on her way, too."

Kate smiled as she made some pasta and a sauce. "Great."

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait."

"Aw, man. I hate waiting," William said as he walked into the conversation.

Kate tickled him. "Patience, grasshopper. Come on. We'll bake something." She peered into the cupboard. "What do you guys want to make?"

"Oh, a cake. A being born cake for the baby! With lots of chocolate frosting."

Claire rolled her eyes but started pulling ingredients out for the cake.

Scully wandered into the kitchen holding a spear. Kate lifted an eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"

"Well, a couple of weeks back, I found this sticking out of the front door when I opened it. Apparently, Mulder carved it for me. I was supposed to figure out its significance, but I never did figure it out. And he won't tell." She told Kate all about the quiz. "He's been behaving bizarrely lately, anyway. Not long after that, he and William roasted a whole pig outside and fed it to all of us, including my mother."

"Huh. Did you Google the spear thing?"

"Of course." Scully wandered through to the laundry room.

Kate turned to Claire. "Hey, Claire? Bring my laptop in here and look something up for me." When Claire had it booted up, she told her to Google 'Spear' and 'Engagement Customs'.

Claire's mouth fell open as she read what popped up. "Hey, how'd you figure that out? Mom and I have tried everything."

"The roasted pig. It's a Chinese engagement custom."

Grinning, Claire yelled, "Mom, mom. You HAVE to read this. Hurry up!"

Scully finally came out and looked at the computer. "Oh, Claire, honey, I'm certain that's not it."

"Mom! I'm sure it is. What else could it be?"

Mulder came through the house and into the kitchen. "Hey, what are you three looking at?"

Scully jumped. "Nothing."

Claire said, "Hey, Dad? Did you know that in Filipino culture, a man used to the throw a spear at the front of the woman's house that he wanted to marry?"

Mulder shoved a cold slice of pizza into his mouth. "Actually, Claire, I did know that. Scully, did you know that?"

She met his eyes slowly. "No, Mulder. I didn't know that."

"Learn something new every day." He walked out into the garage, then returned with a can of Coke Zero, which he popped open. "Did you also know that in ancient Greece, diamonds were believed to be teardrops of the gods? And that a diamond was thought to reflect the flames of love?"

Scully narrowed her eyes at him. "Didn't know that, either."

Mulder walked over near her, drinking his soda. "I mean, I'm not really a diamond kind of guy, you know? Seems like that's so mundane. But then, I'm reading this book about how engagement traditions came to be, you know? And when I read that, I thought, huh...you know, that really gives the diamond a new appeal to me." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and wiggled his pinky finger. "So...you think it's me or what?"

Scully blinked several times, looking between the ring on his pinky finger to his hazel eyes and back again. She didn't say anything, just kept staring at him. He sighed. "Well, I don't guess it's a good choice for a man's pinky ring, huh?" He slid the ring off and held it up for Claire to inspect. "What do you think, kid?"

"It's gorgeous, Dad!"

"Think your mother will wear it?" He held it up to Scully for inspection. "Scully?"

"Mulder, I..."

He gave her a nervous look. "Are you going to make me drop down on one knee? I mean, I know how much you want a normal life, but I'm just not sure I can go that damn far. Help me out here." Taking her hand, he slid the ring onto her finger. "Perfect for you." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the fingertips gently.

"Mulder," she said breathlessly. "I..."

He grinned. "Look at that. A speechless Scully. Had I only known that asking you to marry me would do that...I would have done it a whole lot sooner." Bouncing on his toes, he asked, "So...is that a Mulder, yes or a Mulder, no, but thanks anyway."

Scully opened her mouth again, but nothing came out. Tears formed in her eyes. She couldn't believe he'd done this to her, practically ten months pregnant, in front of her children and her friend. "Mulder, you don't have to do this. I really am happy as we are."

He looked hard at her. Someone must have told her that he knew about that conversation she'd had with the kids a couple of months ago. "Good. Then you'll be happy to be stuck with me for all eternity, right?" Mulder ran his fingers through her hair and put his mouth close to hers.

"Mulder..."

"Say yes, Scully," he whispered. "You're killing me here. Do you know how much planning I put into this? I realize it's maybe not that romantic, but..."

"It's perfect. Everything was perfect. I am stunned." She kissed him, a tear escaping her eye. "Yes, Mulder."

He let out a breath. "Thank God." He kissed her for a long moment, still holding her left hand. "I was worried you were never going to figure out the spear, you know."

Scully laughed. "It was Kate who figured it out."

Mulder flicked his chin at her. "Good catch. So...does the ring meet friend approval?"

Kate came around the bar and studied the ring. "Damn, Mulder. That is gorgeous. Must've set you back some serious Benjamin's."

He looked like a little boy seeking approval. "Do you think yellow gold was a good choice? I mean, I know most women wear white or platinum these days, but I thought with her necklace..."

Kate shook her head. "It's perfect for Dana. I love the triangle cut. That's not very common. You get extra bonus points. Seriously. Did you pick it out all by yourself?"

He nodded, obviously pleased. Kate hugged Scully, then Mulder. "I can't believe you're getting married. Talk about weird."

Scully lifted an eyebrow. "You weren't even this shocked when I told you I was pregnant again, Kate. I'm hurt."

Claire was beside herself. "I wish I had friends to tell! Oh, can I tell Gramma when she gets here? Please?"

William was grinning, chocolate all over his nose. "I knowed about it the whole time, Mommy."

Scully looked at him skeptically. "You did?"

Mulder nodded. "He did. That little man can keep a secret."

Claire pouted. "Why didn't I know?"

Mulder kissed the tip of her nose. "Claire Bear, you would NEVER have been able to act like nothing was going on."

She blushed. "Well, you're probably right."

Mulder started to leave the kitchen, but stopped and turned around. "Hey, Scully?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

She grinned. "Oh, brother."

That made him smile. "You're beautiful, you know." He blew out a breath. "All right. My part is over. You get to plan everything else."

"What?"

"Yeah. You tell me when, where, and what to wear. I'm there, okay?"

"Mulder, it does not work that way."

He gave her a look. "Well, that's how my first one worked."

"Not this one. I want it to mean something."

He blanched. "It does. It will. It'll mean I trust you completely." He saw her look and sighed. "Fine, fine. We'll plan it together." He made a face at Kate and mouthed, "Oh, my God, HELP ME," as he passed her.

7:10 p.m.

Scully looked around at everyone. "Guys, I hate to keep you here on a Friday night. Go home. We'll call if anything changes."

William wailed. "No! The baby is coming soon. Nobody should go home, Mom."

Maggie, Kate, and Monica shrugged. "We're content, Dana. Relax. Mulder and Doggett are watching sports in there. I think everyone's okay."

Scully paced the living room. "Hey, Skinner's here, Kate."

Kate met him at the door. "Come see Dana's engagement ring! It is gorgeous."

Skinner shook his head as he took hold of Scully's left hand to look at the ring. "Wow. Never imagined I'd see this. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Wal-" She stopped and put a hand on her stomach. "Oh, Kate. I don't feel so great. And I think my water just broke."

Kate smiled. "All right. Good call, William. Claire, honey? Come time your mom's contractions, okay?" The little girl raced to get the stopwatch.

"Okay, I'm ready. Tell me when, Mom."

Scully came out of the bedroom a couple of minutes later. Mulder looked horrified as Kate cleaned up the embryonic fluid from the floor. "Uh, Kate...I don't feel so great, either." He gestured towards Scully. "Shouldn't she lie down?"

Kate shook her head. "No. She's only four centimeters dilated, and it will help her to let gravity do some of the work. Relax, Mulder. I delivered three babies from the clinic this week already." She was a little surprised at the intensity of Scully's contractions, though.

Twenty minutes later, Kate was shocked to find her friend eight centimeters dilated. "So, Dana? You want to get up again or does it hurt too much?"

"Hurts...too...much..." Scully made a horrible face. "No, no. I have to get up."

"All right. Help me, Mulder."

"Okay." Scully looked up at Claire. "Another one." After it passed, she paced the bedroom. "You okay, Claire? Still want to stay in the room?"

"I'm okay, Mom."

"That's my girl. Where's William?"

He was standing ON the dresser. "Right here, Mom. Can I stay in, too?"

She nodded. "Sure, if you want to. I don't care."

Mulder looked up. "Now, I don't know if that's such a great idea."

Kate brushed it off. "He can stay up by her head, Mulder. It'll be fine."

"Well, then, why can't I stay up by her head?"

"Stay where you feel most comfortable."

Mulder glared at Reyes. "Do you have to keep playing that damn CD?"

"It's soothing."

Scully walked over and grabbed Mulder's arm. "Calm down."

Kate nodded to Scully. "Okay, so...you want to try this lying down or squatting or standing up? We're going to try to avoid any tearing this time, okay?"

Scully nodded. "Um, I don't really know. You tell me. You already set up the birthing bar, so we can try squatting first. I'd rather not lie down this time."

"Okay. Let's take another look. All right. Looks like we're fully dilated here. I'm going to put a little olive oil on your skin here, okay? Great. Now, listen. This is your show. Your body. When you feel like pushing, push. I'll tell you when to stop pushing if you need to for anything. I'm only going to coach you if you start to panic, okay? Remember to breathe deeply, keeping your throat open, okay?"

Scully nodded, thinking that Kate's instructions were starting to sound more like Monica. "Okay. Oh, God, Kate. I forgot what this felt like." She walked the room a couple more times. Noticing the look on Mulder's face, she squeezed his hand. "I'm okay."

"What does it feel like?"

As an intense pain hit, she screamed, "Like I'm birthing a bowling ball. Stop asking me stupid questions."

He grimaced. "Monica? Soothe her, please."

Kate laughed as Monica and Mulder started visualizing breaking waves. Scully pushed them both away. "Now, Kate. This baby wants out."

Maggie and Mulder helped position Scully on the bed holding onto the bar. Kate came over and set up the equipment she needed and made sure she was able to see properly. Finally, the baby's head was crowning. "Okay. Now listen. The last thing you want to do is push too hard or fast right now, okay? We don't want you to tear at all if we can avoid it. I'm going to work with the head to see if we can stretch your skin to accommodate, okay?"

"Okay."

"You still like the position?"

Scully nodded, though she felt kind of weird squatting in bed like this. "Yes. Better than lying down."

Kate looked at Mulder. "Hey. Do you want to catch a glimpse?"

He shook his head. "No, no. I'm good."

Claire grinned. "Dad, it's so amazing. Come see."

Mulder took a deep breath. "Really. I'm okay."

Scully glared at him and said through clenched teeth, "If I have to go through this, you should at least have to watch."

He made a face. "Okay, so here's the way I see this, Scully. To me, it would be like watching someone use the basketball court to play hopscotch."

"Mulder, what the hell are you talking about?" He was taking her mind off the pain, though.

"I mean, I love the basketball court. One of my favorite play places, right? And I don't mind hopscotch. But the basketball court is sacred...it's no place for hopscotch. I have no interest in seeing my basketball court violated by a seven pound hopscotcher...you know what I mean?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Mulder, we ALL know what you mean. If you're not going to observe the birth, then you can sit behind Dana and rub her back and support her weight."

"Good idea. I'll do that."

Finally, the baby's head was out and Kate stopped Scully. "The cord is looped. Hang on. Don't push." She worked for a second. "Okay. Let's get those shoulders out. Not too hard. Push gently. Breathe deep. Good. Okay. One shoulder free. Almost there. You're doing great, Dana. Okay, Claire? Want to catch your sister?"

"What if I miss?"

"Sweetie, she's not going to fall far. Your mom is barely six inches off of the bed there." She worked the baby's other shoulder free. "All right, Dana. Whenever you're ready."

A couple of minutes later, the baby was in the blanket in Claire's arms. Mulder helped Scully lie back and Kate helped Claire lay the baby on her mom's stomach. She also let Claire suction out the mouth and nose. When the baby cried for the first time, Claire burst into tears. Mulder tied off and cut the cord.

William made a horrible face and burst out with, "Oh my gosh, why is she white and slimy? Gross. How long will she look like that?" He got close to the baby and swiped a finger on her arm. "Yuk. Man, I gotta go tell John. He is never gonna believe this." He burst out the bedroom door and ran down to the living room.

Kate wrapped the baby and handed her to Maggie. "Hold your granddaughter where her mama can see her." She massaged Scully's abdomen.

Scully looked at her. "Are we okay?"

"I think so. We just need to deliver the placenta, okay? It's just taking a little longer than I expected. No bleeding this time, though. And no tearing. You were great."

Finally, everything was finished up. The baby weighed in at seven pounds, two ounces and was twenty inches long. Doggett and Skinner and William came in. Mulder held the baby up for everyone to admire. "I want you all to meet..." Scully held her breath. "Lily Katherine Mulder." He grinned at the other men. "Isn't she perfect?"

Everyone oohed and aahhed and William shoved his way back up to the baby. "Hey, Lily. It's me, William. Hey, she's not bald like I was." He scrunched his eyebrows together indignantly.

Scully laughed. "No. She has a nice dusting of hair."

Finally, everyone made their way out of the room, leaving Scully and Mulder alone. He sat on the other side of the bed after handing the baby to her. "Do you like the name?"

Scully rubbed his shoulder. "I love it. Was there a reason, or did you just like Lily?" She wouldn't have named her child after a flower, but...

"Well, did you know that the Lily of the Valley symbolizes the return of happiness? And Katherine means pure." He kissed Scully's forehead. "I thought it was fitting." He smirked. "It was between that and Phoebe." Scully smacked him. "Which, incidentally, means bright. Still, I thought we'd better go with Lily. Also, my mom's mother was Lillian."

"Lily. It seems like such a soft name compared to Claire and William, which I think of as strong names."

Mulder thought about it. "Well...she can afford to be our flower child. Believe me. She's going to have plenty of protectors."

Scully sighed. "Hi, Lily. You ready to try eating, sweetie?"

Mulder watched as she put the baby to her breast. "Hey, I want to try eating," he joked. Mesmerized, he watched Scully nursing the baby for a long time, but left when Maggie came in.

"Dana, she's beautiful. And I'm so glad Fox decided to use Katherine. That was your great-grandmother Scully's name, you know. Well, of course you know that. Dad would be so proud." Scully handed the baby over to her mother. Finally, Monica came in for her chance to hold the baby.

After everyone had visited, Kate came back in to check on everything one last time. "So...do I finally get to hold her?"

Scully looked horrified. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kate. You should have been first to hold her." She handed the baby over. "Thank you for making this happen the way I wanted. It meant so much to me to have her safely among family and friends."

Kate looked into the baby's eyes, which were dark blue for now. "Hello, Lily. I've been waiting for you. Yes, I have. I'm so glad you made it here safely." She lifted the baby's head up to her lips, tears spilling over.

Scully teared up. "Kate, I'm sorry. I never really considered how insensitive it was for me to ask you to do this..."

"Dana, no. I was glad to do it. Really. It's okay." She kissed the baby again and unwrapped her to look at the little toes and legs. "Oh, God, Dana. She makes my heart ache just holding her."

Scully sighed contentedly. "You really should have another baby, Kate. I'm serious. You never seem as happy as you do when you're with William or Claire or right now. I wish you'd think about it."

Kate sniffed. "I can't. But believe me, I'm going to spoil this one rotten." She looked up to see Skinner at the doorway. "Come see her, Walter. She's amazing."

He walked over and smiled at the baby. "She is." He kissed Kate's forehead and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Hello, Lily. You don't know how good you're going to have it." Leaning over, he whispered in Kate's ear. "You were great. I heard you in here, all calm and collected. I don't know how you do it." Skinner then made his way over to Scully. "You look really good to have just given birth. Congratulations." He kissed her cheek quickly. "Kate? Are you staying a while?"

"Not long. Maggie's staying tonight, so I'll just come back to check tomorrow. Can you wait for me?"

"Sure." He closed the door as he left the bedroom.

"Want to take a bath?" Kate asked Scully.

"God, yes."

"I'll snuggle Lily while you do, okay? If you'll wait a minute, I'll get Mulder to come in and help you into the tub."

She went out into the living room with the baby, who was wide eyed and taking it all in. William came running over to kiss her again. "Isn't it cool that she was born on September 19th at nine nineteen? Claire realized it when she wrote down the time."

Kate handed the baby to Claire in the armchair, who was dying to get her hands on Lily. "Make sure you support her head, okay? Her neck will be floppy for a while." She watched as Claire handled the baby expertly. "Look at that. You are a natural. Mulder? Dana wants to take a bath. Can you go help her?"

Reyes came over and hugged Kate. "Okay. That's EXACTLY the kind of birth I want. I enjoyed this one so much more because I wasn't responsible if anything went wrong."

Kate laughed. "Yeah. I can give you the name of some really good women who specialize in home births."

Frowning, Reyes said, "No. I mean, I want YOU to do it."

"Oh, Monica...this was a special case. You are much better off with someone who does this full time, especially for a first pregnancy."

She shook her head. "No. I want you and Dana to do this with me. You have to, Kate."

Kate sighed and relented. She couldn't tell Monica no. "All right. I'm your midwife. But you are my final client. Well, unless you have more babies. Then I guess I'll have to birth them, too. Hey, you know what you should try? A water birth. You can buy a kit to set up at home. Start doing your research now." She walked her and Doggett out. "Thanks for being here, John. I was nervous that something may happen like last time. And to think, Monica handled that one all by herself."

He smiled. "Yeah, Monica can handle pretty much anything. Well, I'm glad I wasn't needed. Night."

Back inside, Kate stole the baby back from Claire and took her into the nursery to put on a little gown, change her diaper, and care for the umbilical cord. When she finished, she sat in the chair and rocked the baby, holding her on her shoulder, singing softly. Skinner stood at the door, hands in his pocket. "Scully said to tell you she's out of the bath. Are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight?"

Kate shook her head. "No, I'm sure." She took the baby back into Scully's bedroom and put her in the bassinet there. "All right, Walter's fidgety, so we're going. I'll be back tomorrow after lunch. Call me if there's any problem. You seem to be doing well. How's the blood flow?"

"Very minimal."

"Good. Are you very sore?"

"Not like I was with William."

"Even better."

In the living room, Kate kissed William and told him what a good big brother he was. She gave him a t-shirt she had bought for him that said, "Big brother is watching you." Mulder got a kick out of it. For Claire, she had brought a stethoscope with her name engraved on it. "You are born to be a doctor. Thank you for helping me tonight."

Claire beamed. "You really think so?"

"Definitely."

12:11 a.m.

Skinner watched as she put moisturizer on her face. Everything she did tonight was tugging on his heartstrings. "Kate?"

"Hmm?"

"I was just thinking..." He trailed off.

She looked up at him. "What?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, it's just that...I hate to see you give up your chance to have another child so that you can be with me."

"Walter, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"Kate, hear me out. You don't realize how you looked holding that little baby. I have never seen you that peaceful at any other time. And if you were with someone else, would you not want another child?"

She let out a frustrated sigh and sat down heavily on the bed. "I made a conscious choice to live my life with you. Let's not go through this again, all right?"

He sat beside her. "What if you wake up one day two or three years from now and decide you've changed your mind? I'm almost fifty-six years old, Kate. I don't want to bring a child into the world at my age and with my job."

She stiffened. "And no one is asking you to, Walter. What do you want from me? A written contract that I won't ask you to have a child with me? I told you I'm fine the way things are. If I do wake up and decide that I must have a baby, believe me, I wouldn't need you to do it with me. I could do it on my own. Now, please, let's drop this."

"Look, I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't want to hold you back."

"Walter, no matter how much Lily tugs at my womb when I hold her, I understand your position on children. I honestly do. Right now, I like that we're able to come and go as we please right now. And that I can take trips whenever I want. Granted, this isn't the life I thought I would have after I had Emma, but if I can't have her, this is the life I choose." She kissed his lips, attempting to end the conversation once and for all. "Besides, we get to have sex any time we want. How often you think Mulder's going to get lucky these next couple of years? And just think, you're about to get lucky right now." Skinner gave in and let her push him back against the bed. "Good point. That's what I like about you most. Always able to see the good in a situation." He let her kiss her way down his chest before flipping her to where she was lying on the bed instead of him. "You've worked hard all night. Just lie there and let me relax you."

Kate sighed as he kissed her inner thigh. "Well, if you insist."

Sunday, October 19th 1:43 a.m.

Scully rubbed her eyes and tried to will her body to get out of the bed. The baby was wailing through the monitor. Mulder put a hand on her side. "Stay. I'll get her."

"She probably wants to eat."

He kissed her cheek. "Well, she can make do with a bottle, Scully. Isn't that why you pump? So I can help feed her? She's been up every hour and a half for the past week. You have to let me help more at night."

She sighed and rolled back over. "Thank you." Just as she was dozing off again, she heard Mulder's voice through the baby monitor.

"Now, now, stop all that fussing; you can't wake up the whole house just because you can't sleep." The wailing stopped as soon as he started talking. There was a rustling noise, then, "What's the problem, huh? You don't like to be alone? Is that it? You have to let your mom sleep. So settle down here on my chest, all right? You are not wet, and you don't seem to be hungry. Maybe you just wanted some company." There was a sweet little baby sigh through the monitor. "You're starting to look like your mother, Lily. Those eyes are already lightening up. And so is your hair. Don't worry. That's a compliment. Mommy is very, very pretty. It would not be good for you to look like your old man. I wouldn't make a very pretty girl." He yawned. "You ready to get back in bed, Lil? I mean, I've enjoyed this quality time, but there will plenty more after the sun rises." A few seconds elapsed and the baby started to whimper again. Mulder made a whimpering noise himself. "Lily, I'm not going to pick you up every time you cry. Now go back to sleep. I'll, uh...sing you a song, okay? Let's see...what should we sing...oh, obviously a little Three Dog Night. Okay, you ready? Now, don't go telling anyone I sang this to you at two in the morning, okay? Okay. Lily was a bullfrog...was a good friend of mine..."

Scully smiled and opened her eyes again. When Mulder slipped back into bed a few minutes later, she turned towards him and hugged him. "You're supposed to sing the chorus three times, Mulder. You only sang it twice."

"Hey, how'd you...ah, baby monitor. Right. I'll remember to turn that off next time. Well, everyone knows you do that song better than I do. I guess I'll have to adopt my own...maybe 'Mustang Sally' or something."

She kissed his shoulder. "You can't, Mulder. That's our family song, remember? William declared it so."

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The door to their room creaked open almost immediately and a little voice said, "Dad? I can't sleep."

Mulder looked at William's silhouette at the end of the bed. "Come on, big guy. Climb in."

Scully moved over to her side to let him in the middle. "Better, man?"

William put his arm around his mother and patted her. "Yep. Much better." He kissed her forehead like he saw his dad do sometimes. "Love you, Mom."

She kissed him back. "I love you, sweet William."

Mulder spoke up. "What about me?"

"I love you, Mulder."

Thursday, November 27th 1:45 p.m.

Kate stuck the casserole in and started warming up the bread. "I think everything else is ready," she told Mulder, who was trying to find a serving platter in the back of a cabinet.

Scully came through with wet hair, her shirt unbuttoned, and the baby squirming in her arms. "Kate, help. She wants to eat at the worst times. Mom is busy talking to Mrs. Skinner; can you take her?"

Kate took Lily and went to find the sling she had given Scully a few weeks ago. Situating the baby in it, she went back to setting the table and the bar. Skinner and Doggett were camped in front of the TV, and Mulder kept throwing envious looks their way. "Go watch football, Mulder," Kate pushed him out of the way.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Go. Monica and I can finish this. You already did your part. It smells wonderful." She laughed as he bolted for the television.

Claire and Maggie came into the kitchen to help with the last minute touches. Kate assigned William the job of putting the silverware out. Finally, Scully finished getting ready and came into the kitchen. "Want me to take her now?"

Kate looked down. "Nah, she's asleep. Sweet little thing. You enjoy a meal without a baby using you as a meal for once, okay? Guys? Time to eat." Taking her seat beside Skinner, she looked around. "You know, this year started out really rough, but it turned out to be one of the best for all of us, I think."

Scully reached over beneath the table and took Mulder's hand, rubbing her thumb against his. "You're right about that."

Doggett kissed Monica, now his wife, whose pregnancy was just starting to really show. "It definitely has."

Mulder ruffled Claire's hair, while William stood up on his knees in his chair and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck. "It's so good to be with people who love you no matter what you do wrong," he said firmly.

Skinner had really been trying to connect with William and Claire recently. He knew Kate loved having them at the house, and he thought the least he could do was try to converse with them. "Well said, William."

William grinned and lifted his juice in a mock toast. "Thanks, Skinman."

"Hey, watch it, kid." But Skinner raised his wine glass in return.

Laughing, Kate lifted the baby, who had started fussing, out of the sling and turned her around where she could see everyone. Lily made a face and blew spittle. As she started to cry again, the pacifier lifted up from beside Scully's plate and slowly made its way towards the baby and into her open mouth. Scully looked over at William and whispered sharply, "That's not funny."

The little boy shook his head. "It's not me, Mom. I swear. It's Lily."

"William..."

"Mom, really. You told me not to do that in front of Gramma...and I don't. Besides, I wouldn't do it with Mr. Skinner's mother here, would I?"

Scully looked down at Lily, who was happily playing with her fingers now, feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu. Kate kissed the back of the baby's head and gave her friend a reassuring look. "Tell your mommy that everything is just fine. You're just talented, aren't you, Lily?"

Ruth Skinner looked up from cutting her turkey. "What? What did I miss?"

Claire gave a deep sigh and whispered, "Mother, aren't you glad to have at least one child who's pretty much normal?"

Scully reached around Mulder and took her daughter's hand. "You have no idea, sweetie." She winked at Claire, who smiled and winked back.

William ran down to the end of the table and kissed Lily on the cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving, little sis." He ran back around and threw his arms around Claire. "Happy Thanksgiving, big sis."

Claire smiled and hugged her brother back. Mulder was glad to see them getting along for a change. Recently, they'd fought more like brother and sister than he ever thought they would. As William went back to his seat, Claire remarked, "I'm thankful that I finally have a family, even a really weird one."

Mulder lifted his glass. "I think we can all drink to that." He leaned over and kissed Scully's forehead, dropping his voice. "I'm thankful to still have you here with me. The way this year started, I wasn't sure that I would."

She lifted an eyebrow, smiled slightly, and whispered, "You're hoping to get lucky tonight, aren't you?"

He gave her his best eyebrow waggle. "Think it may happen?"

"Oh, I'd say it's a definite possibility if you and the guys do the dishes later."

"Consider it done."

The End