Title: Hold On 5/5--Rarely Pure and Never Simple
Author: Smurf
E-mail: KRUMS@worldnet.att.net, Smurf-Lill@angelfire.com 
Rating: R, Language, Violence, Semi-graphic Childbirth scene
Category:  Romance/ little angsty/ little humorous
Spoilers: Season Six up to but not including Biogenesis
Keywords:  Mulder/ Scully married
Summary:  New arrivals answer some questions and raise even more, leading Mulder and 
Scully one step closer to the truth.

Disclaimer:  IT'S ALL THEIRS!! <sob> I OWN NOTHING!!! <cry> I'm so useless!! Oh, 
well, I lied again.  Yeah, maybe FOX and 1013 *do* own Mulder, Scully, family, and 
friends; but I do have a few characters that my little imagination came up with.  Okay, 
prepare yourself, it's quite a list and I've got nothing but time to tell you each and every 
one of them: Mulder and Scully's neighbors including Brad and Abigail, Zoe's friend Anna, 
John Charles Stoffand, Lilly-Jo McKay and her baby, Dr. Callista Nolan, Dr. Bethany 
Roche, all the no-named nurses, Special Agent Jack Harley, and of course; Zoe and Reese 
William Mulder.  Dr. Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway are both owned by NBC (I think).  
I also don't own "Your Incredible Newborn", it was just a title I pulled from Barnes and 
Noble and it looked like a book that Scully would read.  Sorry if I encroached on anyone's 
territory.

Archive:  Not my problem, contact my publicist, Lill.  Her Email addy's at the end.  By the 
way, drop her a cookie or a nice compliment sometime, being as I can't pay her.  As far as 
I go, archive it anywhere, as long as my name stays on it.  Or you can email both of us at 
Smurf-Lill@angelfire.com 

IMPORTANT: For those who didn't get the notice:  I know Lill has sent these stories to 
various places, bless her.  However, I have a condition in which I can never make up my 
mind.  So, I went back to Hold On 3 and changed some stuff.  Originally, it took place in 
September of 2000.  Now, it takes place in December of 2000.  Therefore, Hold On 4 
takes place in February 2001.  This takes place in April, May, and June of 2001.  Sorry for 
the inconvenience.

Warning: Semi-graphic childbirth scenes.  If that disturbs you, I suggest you don't read 
that part.  Mmm-kay?

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
   				      --Oscar Wilde

"Perhaps our only sickness is to desire a truth which we cannot bear rather than to rest 
content with the fictions we manufacture out of each other."
                                                                             --Lawrence Durrell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Mulder Residence
April 12, 2001
Friday, 6:10 a.m.

Fox Mulder walked down his paved driveway, his mind set on the plain black mail box set 
in the center of the blossoming flowerbeds near the end.  His morning ritual made him go 
and get the paper every morning.  Well, that's what he told himself.  Really, his wife had 
him go and get it, so she could read it on the way to work.

As he reached the box, with the white plastic Washington Post box hanging beneath it, 
Mulder heard the garage door opening on the house next door.  Immediately after that, 
came the sound of someone whistling.  He looked over to his right at the mailbox next 
door.  A tall, younger man with light mouse brown hair was getting his own paper from 
the box.  When he looked up and saw Mulder, a polite grin spread across his face.

"Hey, Mulder!"  He called, raising his hand in greeting.

"Brad."  Mulder acknowledged just loud enough for the man to hear.  He also raised his 
hand quickly.  Though he didn't share his neighbor's exuberance at being so 'neighborly', 
he didn't hate them.  He just wasn't the neighborly type.  Scully made it a point to get to 
know all the neighbors, for a reason Mulder couldn't understand.

Mulder would never forget the day the 'Welcome Wagon' came. It was the day after he 
and Scully had returned from their honeymoon.  He had answered the door when the bell 
rang at eight a.m., too early for a couple of newly wed FBI agents on their last day off.  It 
was Brad's wife Abigail, complete with a fruit basket.  Mulder had greeted her as best he 
could behind a mask of sleep, but couldn't help notice the way Abby had eyed him with no 
shirt and sleep tousled hair.  He must've been a sight, being that most of the neighborhood 
adults had been up since six and most were already gone.

Though the community was slightly organized, with a Welcome Wagon, it was much more 
lenient than The Falls At Arcadia.  Every yard was individual, and the road wasn't gated.  
Mulder had taken advantage of this with the basketball hoop in the driveway.

"So, Mulder, you going to the Springfest?"  Brad asked as Mulder began back up his 
driveway.  Brad, a thirty-six-year-old corporate attorney, was considerably younger and 
more naive than Mulder's own thirty-nine.  In Mulder's mind, he fit the stereotype of 
'yuppie'.

"Don't know, Brad."  Mulder answered genuinely, passing a polite smile.

Brad chuckled.  "Gotta ask the wife, huh?"

Mulder regarded him with a look of passiveness and continued up the drive, making no 
more comments.

He opened the front door and stepped back in, this time leaving the heavy interior door 
open to the screen-and-glass door.  The morning was calm and even a bit on the cool side.  
It wouldn't rise too far above seventy being April, but soon giving way to the steamy, 
sticky DC summer.

Zoe was already up, sitting in front of the living room television watching cartoons.  She 
was already a high school sophomore, but still liked to indulge in her childhood.  Her mind 
thought at a high school level, but the common sense and pure imagination in her was still 
very adolescent.

"Hi, Daddy."  She greeted, not looking away from the TV.

"Munchkin."  He regarded blandly, not looking up from the paper.  

He walked past the landing to the stairs just as his wife started down them.  As her 
pregnancy had progressed into it's third trimester, stairs had become quite an obstacle.  
Already suffering from periodic sore ankles and back in her seventh month, Scully knew 
all too well the ninth month would be hell.  But still, she proceeded to work every day, 
declaring that she needed something to occupy her mind.  She even when into the field on 
some occasions, depending on the case and what it would involve.

This morning, she came downstairs already dressed in a navy blue pantsuit, poking gold 
stud earrings into her earlobes.  She glanced out into the living room, subsequently rolling 
her eyes.  Child watches too much TV, she thought absently, turning back for the kitchen.  
Mulder was standing behind the serving counter, a mug of coffee in one hand, the open 
paper in the other.

He raised his eyes from the gray print as she walked into the room.  He smiled warmly in 
greeting as she went to the refrigerator.  Mulder grabbed her by the waist as she went by, 
grabbing himself a hug and a kiss.  Though she looked different to him, her slender waist 
obscured by her big pregnant belly, she never did look so beautiful in his eyes.

Ignoring the way he was gazing at her, Scully opened the refrigerator in search for 
breakfast.  She pulled out the jug of one-percent milk, noticing that it had been reduced to 
a little less than half full.  She frowned at this.  

Mulder watched her take the milk out, swirling it thoughtfully around in the bottom of the 
jug.  He thought it was enough to last them at least until Sunday, when he would need to 
make a grocery run anyway.  

Rather than reach for a glass from the cabinet above her, Scully flicked the top of the jug 
off with her thumb, letting it fall unnoticed to the floor.  She raised the lip of the jug to her 
lips, drinking it directly.  In a matter of a minute, she had consumed the entire contents 
remaining in the jug.  When it was gone, she exhaled satisfactorily and licked the white 
mustache from her lips.  She looked over at Mulder as she tossed the jug into a paper bag 
reserved for recycling in one of the lower cabinets.

Mulder's jaw hung agape a little. He had never known Scully to be able to chug anything 
like that.  "Thirsty?"  He asked sarcastically.

"Not anymore."  She answered, returning to the refrigerator.

"And you get mad at me for drinking from the jug."  He mumbled, turning back to his 
coffee and the paper.

"I knew I could finish it off."  Scully stood next to him at the counter after retrieving a 
small cup of chocolate pudding from the refrigerator.

There was silence between them as Mulder finished reading the article he was on.  He 
looked over at Scully, who was staring off into space, eating the low-fat pudding from one 
of the cups meant for Zoe's lunches.  "You know, you shouldn't eat that stuff for 
breakfast.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should eat something 
healthy."  He told her, a slight note of tease in his voice.

She paused mid-spoonful and glared at him.  "I don't care."  She replied smartly, finishing 
the cup off.  "Besides, the baby likes it."  She said as she walked out into the living room.

"That's a good excuse."  Mulder mumbled, mostly to himself.  Unfortunately, Scully still 
heard him.  

"Hey, I don't want to hear it."  Scully snapped.  When he looked at her, a stunned look on 
his face, she smiled.  "It's your fault I'm like this anyway."

He almost laughed.  "My fault?!"

By this time, Zoe had turned the TV off and grabbed her backpack, indicating it was time 
to go.  Listening to her parents arguing and glancing at the watch she'd received for her 
birthday, she knew they were going to be late if they didn't get the lead out.  She let them 
argue for a few more minutes before speaking up.  "Can we go already?  We're gonna be 
late!"  She finally insisted.

Scully looked over at her daughter waiting impatiently by the door.  "Yes, Zoe, we'll go."

From Scully's response, she couldn't help but think; what would they do without me?

Ignoring anything else that her husband might say, Scully picked up her briefcase by the 
door and followed Zoe out into the morning sunshine.  Mulder took one more look 
around the house, making sure everything was off before he stepped outside, closing and 
locking the door behind him.

~

After dropping Zoe off at Somerset High School, Mulder and Scully proceeded in their 
daily commute into DC.  This time, it was Scully's turn to read the paper.  She looked first 
at the front page, where a large picture showed a giant Ferris wheel, lit up by hundreds of 
lights in the inky darkness.  The large heading above it read, "SPRING IN FULL 
MOTION".  The sub heading declared it was Somerset's annual Springfest carnival, very 
early set by most standards.  Scully was about to turn the page for more serious news 
when Mulder made a poor attempt at subtlety:

"I love carnivals."  He stated dreamily, still focused on the crowded road ahead of him.

Scully raised an eyebrow and turned her head to size up his expression.  "Really?  I didn't 
think you to be a carnival man."  She said, knowing she was avoiding what he had hinted 
at.

"Yes, I am."  His famous wry grin crossed his face.

Scully exhaled exasperatedly and turned the page of her newspaper.  "Let me guess.  You 
want to go."  She finally responded.

Mulder merely kept grinning, knowing Scully knew the answer.

"I don't know, Mulder.  Walking around some carnival doesn't seem like my kind of fun."  
She said, a hint of the whininess she only used with him in her voice.  But, no matter what 
she said, or what tone she used, it wouldn't deter Mulder from something he really 
wanted.  She had a feeling they would end up at that carnival.

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













Somerset Fair Grounds--Site of Springfest '01
April 13, 2001
Saturday, 4:45 p.m.

After a surprisingly uneventless Friday, no new cases presented, and a quiet Saturday, 
Mulder was able to convince Scully to go to the carnival.  His persuasion techniques were 
very savvy; all he really had to do was flash that infamous puppy-face, and Scully melted 
into a puddle of goo.  

So, here Scully stood, looking out into the horizon of the fair.  In truth it was more of a 
carnival than a fair, with more rides and concessions than farm animals and shows.  Still, it 
had a petting zoo, which was what Zoe wanted to see first.  While Mulder and Zoe played 
with a goat that wanted nothing more than some food, Scully stood and scanned the 
grounds.  It had all your basic carnival rides, Ferris wheel, carousel, pony ride, swings, 
scrambler; plus endless trailers of cheap games-of-chance.  Scully places her hands on her 
hips, more toward her lower back.  Her back was starting to ache already, and they hadn't 
even been there a half hour yet.  The smell of hot Italian sausage wafted into her nostrils, 
and she squinted into the setting sun, looking for the source of the scent.  Her own 
stomach grumbled; reminding her she hadn't eaten since lunch.

"Let's get something to eat."  She finally suggested, turning back to Mulder and Zoe.  

Mulder looked up at her from his kneeling position on the ground.  "Okay," He said.  
Before he stood up, he grabbed Zoe around her waist, lifting her up over his head to sit on 
his shoulders.

They proceeded, as directed by Scully, to the nearest Italian sausage stand.  As they stood 
in line, Zoe--still riding Mulder's shoulders--looked around at the other people also 
waiting.  She passed the time by reading people's minds.  Now that she had convinced 
herself it wasn't an invasion of their privacy.  She spotted a shorter, dark-haired woman 
standing by the side of the sausage stand.  She was attractive by any standards, with long 
flowing hair, and a sparkling smile.  Zoe focused all her attention on that woman, reading 
everything she could on her.  As sudden realization on the woman hit her, she gasped.  
Zoe patted lightly on Mulder's hair, gaining his attention.

"Daddydaddydaddy," She chanted insistently. 

"What?"  He asked.

"Look at that woman over there, by the corner of the stand."  She pointed out to the 
woman who was still in the same spot.

Mulder looked.  Nothing like familiarity or realization hit him.  He didn't understand.  
"What, Zoe?  What about her?"

It was a few minutes before Zoe answered him, as if she was double-checking her own 
analysis.  "It's Samantha."  She finally breathed.

Mulder lifted Zoe off his shoulders and settled her back onto the ground.  "Are you sure?"  
He asked seriously.

"Positive."

Before Scully could realize what was going on, Mulder and Zoe had both left the line.   
Her thoughts had been too focused on the long, hot-dog shaped sausage covered in red 
peppers on a bun.  As she saw them leave, she debated whether to follow her husband, or 
her hunger.  As it has a habit of doing, love won out.  She broke her place out of line and 
followed Mulder and Zoe through the crowd.

When she reached Mulder, he was standing in front of a lovely brunette woman.  She was 
smiling politely, grasping the hand of a small boy standing beside her.  Scully thought 
there was something familiar about her features, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

As she approached Mulder's side, she heard him ask, "Samantha?"  Tentatively to the 
woman.  Immediately understanding what was going on, she debated whether to stop her 
husband or not.  "What's going on here?"  She inquired neutrally.

Mulder glanced at Scully quickly, but didn't answer her question.  Instead, he looked with 
pleading and hopeful eyes to the younger woman before him.

"Yes?"  The woman asked naturally.  

"Samantha?!"  Mulder said again, his voice losing its hesitation.  "Samantha, it's me!  I-It's 
Fox!"  He stammered; waiting for an equally excited reply from whom he presumed was 
his long-lost sister.

Samantha's smile faltered a bit, but she kept it for appearances.  "I'm sorry, you must have 
me mistaken for someone else."  

But Mulder refused to give in to that.  "Samantha Mulder?  I'm your brother!"  After the 
woman's smile completely drained from her face, and her gaze turned wary, he spoke 
again.  "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?  I've never met you before in my life!"

Mulder blinked, unable to believe or accept what he had been told.  "You were taken from 
our parents' house in Martha's Vineyard when you were eight years old."  He began to 
explain.  He shook his head, trying to remember the details that haunted him in his dreams.  
"We were playing a board game called Stratego and arguing over who got to watch what 
on TV.  And then, you were . . . taken."  He debated at first whether to say abducted or 
not, and figured it might only upset the woman.

Samantha shook her head and squeezed her son's hand perhaps a bit to hard.  "I'm sorry, 
Mister.  My name is Samantha, but I've never heard the name Mulder before.  I've never 
been to Martha's Vineyard and I certainly was not kidnapped when I was eight."  She 
studied his eyes pleadingly for another moment, before tugging at the small boy's hand and 
turning to walk away.

"Wait!"  Mulder beckoned, grabbing Samantha's arm.  Scully didn't stop him; she more or 
less wanted to see how this turned out.

Samantha turned back, her hazel eyes almost looking for mercy.  Her son began to say her 
name, not wanting to be standing still anymore.

Mulder thought about what to say.  At first, he wanted to tell her she might have been 
brainwashed.  That she may have been abducted and had her memories erased.  But the 
last thing he wanted to do was frighten the poor woman.  He finally sighed and pulled an 
FBI card out of his pocket.  "If you remember anything, please give me a call."  He said, 
handing her the card.  She took it almost reluctantly and turned away again, without him 
stopping her.

Scully squeezed his arm as he let Samantha walk away.  "It wasn't her."  She said, trying 
to reassure him, even without knowing what Zoe did.

"It was."  He muttered, not looking at her.  He was positive it was Sam, even if Zoe hadn't 
known, he would have.  There was no denying the way she had looked into his eyes, 
pleading for him to let her be.  But she didn't remember.  Not like before, when the 
Smoking Man brought the woman to the cafe that claimed to be his sister.  She had 
remembered.  That wasn't Samantha.  This one was.  And he had let her walk away again.

Scully saw and recognized the pain on her husband's face.  She had no idea what to say or 
how to comfort him.  She didn't really think the woman was *his* Samantha, but she had 
no way of being certain.  "Mulder," She said softly, standing in front of him.  "Let her go."  
She told him.  

He looked down into her blue eyes, but didn't say anything.  He didn't want to let her go, 
he wanted to run after Samantha and make her remember.  He felt Scully's hand touch his 
cheek, and her voice speak in soft tones.

"Maybe Zoe was mistaken.  Maybe it wasn't her after all."  Scully waited for him to say 
something.  When he didn't, she dropped her hand down to his and held it.  He didn't meet 
her eyes with his own, staring at the ground.  It wasn't going to be carnival night after all.  
"Let's go home."  She suggested finally.   He finally looked at her face and nodded 
compliance.

From his guise and blending into the crowd in front of the sausage stand, a dark figure in a 
dark leather jacket had watched Samantha walk away from Mulder.  He then watched 
Mulder and Scully walk towards the gate and the grassy parking lot.  After seeing this he 
would have much to report.  He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket and pressed a speed 
dial button.  As soon as he heard the line pick up and a raspy voice answer, "Yes," he 
spoke:

"We may have a situation.  Our 'Friend' has come across someone and his goals may be 
renewed.  We need to meet as soon as possible."

There was a second of silence before the deep voice replied, "Yes, that'll be fine."  Then 
before he could say anything else, the line died and he ended the call.

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






























Casey's Bar
8:13 p.m.

After the rather awkward meeting with Samantha at the Springfest, Mulder had a lot on 
his mind.  Almost as soon as he had arrived home, he put on his jacket and told Scully he 
was going out.  Scully let him go without protest, knowing the only kind of condolence he 
could use would be found in solitude.  He drove aimlessly around DC for about and hour, 
before deciding to go to one of his 'thinking' spots.  These were local bars, some of which 
were closer to his previous apartment building in Arlington.  He decided on Casey's, being 
that it was on the north side of town, and he hadn't been there for a while.

The bar was dimly lit and filled with the smells of alcohol and smoke, as normal.  A dreary 
song about lost love played on the jukebox, as if that was all it played.  There were a few 
couples sitting at the tables scattered around the room, and a few lonely hearts vacating 
the bar.  He sat alone at the end of the bar, hoping no one would come strike up 
conversation with him.  The bar tender, which happened to be the owner Casey that night, 
sauntered up to him, drying a stout glass with a white towel.

"What'll it be?"  He asked, a thick Southern drawl dripping from his voice.

Not a frequent enough visitor to aptly reply, "The usual." Like in the saloons of old John 
Wayne movies, he specified for a Miller Lite.  He only told himself he wasn't going to 
drink anything stronger than a few beers, but he had a feeling it wouldn't last that way.  
Someone dropped another quarter in the jukebox and struck up the song "For What It's 
Worth".

As his beer arrived, Mulder got to thinking about Samantha.  He couldn't believe she 
couldn't remember him.  After all the years of waking minutes searching for her, the guilt 
he felt that it had been his fault, and she was back.  It appeared she had been *back* for 
quite some time.  The little boy at her side certainly proved that.  The only thing he could 
think of was that they had, indeed wiped her memories clean.  Either that, he thought with 
a shudder, or she was lying to me.  Why would she lie though? To protect herself?  To 
protect me?  Or did the *they* have some other blackmail against her?  

He wished Samantha would just come back into his life.  He wished they could just 
pretend everything was fine and good.  That she could be an aunt to Zoe and his son, and 
sister-in-law to his wife.  But a wish would come true only in a fairy tale.  When the prince 
kissed the beauty and they lived happily ever after. Never worrying about abducted sisters, 
or the sinister plots against the human race.  Mulder sighed.  Only in a fairy tale, he 
thought glumly.   

Maybe Scully was right.  Maybe Zoe was mistaken.  Yeah, and maybe monkeys will 
sprout wings and fly out of my ass, he thought sourly.  It was Samantha. She had a look in 
her eyes that was so familiar to him.  Her eyes, flecked with green and gold, which 
glittered in the sun.  It was she.  It was.  It had to be.  All he could really do was wait and 
hope she contacted him.  If she called him, maybe he would learn the truth.  Perhaps she 
could tell him why she had lied, if indeed she had.  She could tell him what happened to 
her, and why she never contacted him before.  If he could only talk to her again, convince 
her he could help her.  If only . . . If . . . If a bullfrog had wings he wouldn't bump his ass 
when he jumped.  The old phrase his father used when he was child rang in his head.  It 
was a bad time to think of his father, he frowned to himself.

Mulder was about to take another swig of his beer when he found it empty.  He looked up 
at Casey the bartender and tapped the dented wood of the bar for another beer.

His father.  The man who had taken away his sister in the first place.  The man he had 
found to be working with the very group he was fighting.  He hated his father for it.  
Hated him for making his mother choose between her children, and when she could not, 
stealing away her daughter.  Later killed for his treason against the Group, Mulder still 
hoped the old man was turning in his grave for what he had done.

Lost in his thoughts, it was a few moments before he noted the presence beside him.  He 
looked up to a make-up laden face, green eyes rimmed by black mascara and the reddest 
of lips.  The woman was blonde and very attractive.  Her clothing looked to be a few sizes 
too small, conforming to every curve of her body.  Wavy blonde hair dropped down past 
her shoulders to the top edge of the V-neck on her blouse.  Mulder's eyes wandered down 
to the very exposed cleavage before he realized what he was doing and snapped his 
attention back to her face.

"You look lonely."  She said in a lusty voice.  She crossed her long legs, brushing Mulder's 
leg with her own.  "Can I buy you a drink?"  She asked, leaning close to him from her 
stool.

Mulder looked at the full beer recently served to him.  "No, I think I'm taken care of." He 
said.

The blonde sighed, thinking he was just extremely dense.  "Then can I offer you some 
company for awhile?"

Mulder pulled his left hand off his lap, and waved the back of it at her.  The light glinted 
and played off his gold wedding band, which he loyally never took off.  That was 
something he could be relied on for, if nothing else. "Sorry."  He said once she got a good 
look at it.

She frowned and slid off her stool.  "You always so loyal to your wife?"

"Yup, especially considering she carries a gun."  He muttered as the woman began 
walking away.  He didn't watch her leave, not wanting to see her hips swaying or her ass 
shaking as she went.  She'd have to make her profit off someone else.

After a few minutes, he heard the familiar chirping of his cell phone.  Thinking it was 
Scully, wondering where he was, he answered it.  

"Hello?"  A meek voice asked.  "Fox?"

It was obviously not Scully, who mostly likely would not begin with such trivialities as a 
greeting.

"Yes."  He said.

"We need to meet."  The woman's voice told him.  After a second, he recognized the voice 
as Sam's.

He didn't know what to say at first. Say yes, dumbass, he told himself.  "Okay, when?"

"Give me an hour."  She said, more firmly than her greeting had been. "Down at Lafayette 
Park.  There's a bench in the center, it's under a willow.  Meet there."

It was obvious she had planned this out, it sounded like a good plan.  He just hoped it 
wasn't some treason to get him killed.  He really hated blind trust, but it was his only 
option.  "Fine."  He complied. "One hour."

Being that he was only about fifteen minutes from Lafayette, he would be waiting awhile.  
That would be good though.  He could guard himself against any ambush.  God, I AM 
paranoid, he thought as he laid some money on the bar for the beers and headed for the 
door.

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

















Lafayette Park
9:21 p.m.

Mulder had been sitting on the bench a good forty-five minutes before he saw a figure 
walking towards his bench under the street lamps.  He stood up as the woman 
approached, his heart pounding.  He only hoped to God this one really was her, not some 
sick joke of someone's.  That would REALLY piss him off.

"Samantha?"  He inquired, as the woman grew nearer.  She came to the bench dressed in 
jeans and a sweatshirt, the soles of her tennis shoes tapping on the bricks of the walkway.

"Fox." She greeted firmly.

"Is it you?  You remember?" He sat on the bench again and she sat beside him.

She smiled, trying to hold back tears she couldn't release earlier.  "I never forgot."

"Then you lied to me."  He said, more as a statement to himself than a question to her.

"I lied *for* you." She told him.  "Fox, they told me if I ever contacted you, they would 
either kill me, or someone very close to me.  I risked my life, my husband's life, and my 
son's life coming here.  But, I just had to see you."

Mulder looked into her eyes, watching them fill with tears.  "What happened to you?  
What do you remember?"

"From that night, all I remember is bright light.  Then nothing. Four years of my life are 
missing.  They put me in an orphanage after I . . . came back.  I was twelve when I 
actually remembered seeing people's faces again.  They told me I couldn't see you or Mom 
or . . . or Dad anymore.  That I would get a new family.  So, I went from foster home to 
foster home, until I was adopted when I was fifteen.  At first, all I wanted to do was 
uncover the missing years. I wanted to know what happened to me.  After high school, a 
man, who offered me information, about everything, approached me.  I took it.  I learned 
things I never should have heard of."  She stopped to wipe the tears trailing down her 
face.

"Sam, were you abducted by aliens?"  Mulder asked carefully.

"I was told you'd ask that. I don't know.  Maybe I was.  But after I learned what I know, I 
tried to forget it; and I've succeeded partially. I just gave up searching for you and my 
truth.  I went on with my life.  Got married, had a baby.  And then I saw you tonight, and 
it all came back."

"I'm sorry."  Mulder looked at the bench. "What did you learn?"

"I learned that they 'abducted' healthy women as part of the project.  Human suppliers of 
reproductive tissue.  They now have an extensive stock of human genes. The metal chip, a 
sort of . . . homing device was implanted into their neck, so it would be known where they 
were.  It has a side effect though, if it's removed, the subject suffers from fatal cancer.  
They were trying to make an alien-human hybrid."  She gazed fiercely into his eyes.  "And 
they succeeded.  But, and I don't know the circumstances, *she* was killed, along with 
most of the Group."

"Were you abducted for tissue?"

"I don't know.  I don't know why I was abducted.  I don't have a chip, I never did.  Maybe 
I was, maybe I wasn't."

"Why did you come here?"

Sam's face took on an almost hurt expression. "Because you're my brother, Fox.  I wanted 
to see you, to speak to you."

"Yes, but why come if we'll never see each other again?"

"But we will!  We will.  I promise.  I believe the Group is weakened because of the loss.  I 
know it happened two years ago, but I think the branch I was involved in has been 
postponed.  I don't think they care or *he* cares anymore."

Samantha stood up, ready to end the meeting.  Her expression again changed from one of 
hope and happiness to dire seriousness.  "Fox, you have found me.  But your mission is 
not over.  I know your truth was to find out what happened to me.  But I'm not important, 
what *they* are doing is.  You can't give up your fight for the truth.  That's why they'll 
leave me alone now; they think you'll stop.  You can't.  There are so many truths left to 
uncover, and you have to do it.  You have to."

Mulder stood up next, and without thinking, hugged his sister.  He thought his mission 
would be over now, but it was far from it.  So many more questions had arisen from this 
that needed answering.

Sam handed him a slip of paper.  "We'll keep in touch."  She said softly, before she turned 
and walked away.  She walked away, and he let her go.  Mulder let his sister walk away 
again, but he smiled as she went, they would meet again.

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





Mulder Residence
May 24, 2001
Sunday, 11:22 a.m. 


The hottest May in two years.  That's what it was.  The temperature around midday 
reached up to the mid-nineties.  The Washington DC area hadn't seen this kind of weather 
since the drought of '99.  Pools around the community were opened, brimming with cool, 
crystal clear water.  No one wanted to leave their air-conditioned homes, much less work 
in cramped little offices, where the air conditioner was almost always broken.

"Mulder!"  Scully called from the top of the steps to her and Mulder's home.  When there 
was no immediate response, she began her precarious decent from the stairs.  Mulder had 
once dared to make fun of her as she leaned back to balance herself.  She contradicted him 
with the fact that if he had twenty extra pounds added to his front, he would have trouble 
balancing as well.

She took a left at the bottom of the stairs into the kitchen.  He wasn't there either.  She 
was about to turn around and check the den when she heard the loud flap of someone 
leaping off the diving board outside and then the splashing finish as they hit the water.  
Scully walked around the long dining room table and opened the glass doors.  She stepped 
out onto the back deck and peered off in the direction of the pool.  There, she saw Mulder 
and Zoe fooling around in the water like nothing was going on.

She walked poignantly to the stairs leading off the deck.  "Mulder, what are you doing?"  
She called as he surfaced from a dive.

"Swimming, what's it look like I'm doing?"  He asked, trying to be as innocent as possible.

Scully crossed her arms over her chest.  "Tara is going to be here in fifteen minutes.  Now 
get out and dry off."  She commanded.

He swam over to the metal ladder at the deep end of the pool and climbed up.  Water ran 
rivulets down his muscles and glistened on his skin.  He wore his little black Speedo.  
Scully's arms dropped to her sides.  She couldn't help but lose some of her anger towards 
him. 

"Why is Tara going to be here?"  He asked, toweling off his hair.

Scully sighed and rolled her eyes.  "We're going baby shopping."

Mulder wrapped the towel over his shoulders.  "Baby shopping?  The baby's not due for 
another . . ." His brows came together as he tried to remember Scully's due date.

"Four weeks."  She finished.  She held up four fingers.  "The baby's due in four weeks and 
he's going to need stuff when he gets here."

Scully looked over his shoulder at her daughter, still sitting on the pool steps.  "Zoe, out."  
She called.  Zoe stood up and stepped out of the pool before grabbing a towel and 
wrapping it around her body.

"I can't just carry this child forever."  Scully said, continuing the previous conversation.

Mulder smirked a little.  "Why can't you?"  He cracked.

Scully stepped closer to him, making it so she had to crane her neck to glare into his eyes.  
"Because I might end up killing someone."  She said, trying to portray herself as serious as 
possible.

"You could just shoot him again, Mom."  Zoe said from her seat on the deck stairs.

Mulder turned and looked at the back of her head.  "Hey, you're supposed to on my side!"  
He said.  After no reaction from Zoe, he turned back to his wife.  "Anyway, what's this got 
to do with me?  You're going shopping, why did I have to get out of the pool?"

Scully turned and headed back inside.  "You get to watch Matthew."  She said, sliding the 
door shut behind her.

Mulder sighed and hung his towel back on the deck railing.  Then he slid the door open 
and went inside.  He went straight upstairs to put some clothes on.  As he pulled on a pair 
of boxers, he looked at himself in the full-length mirror on the closet door.  He expected 
to see an old shell of a once young, fit FBI agent.  That wasn't what he saw at all.  He 
looked, somehow, happier.  His morning jogs had kept him fit, as well as the fact that he 
was still an agent.  He still went off on cases, chasing bizarre serial murders and 
paranormal phenomenon.  But still, his life had changed in the past two years.  He was 
married now, with one child and another on the way.  Zoe wasn't really *his* child, they 
didn't have to raise her from a baby.  Marriage had scared him enough, now Scully was 
four weeks away from having their baby.  She seemed mentally prepared enough, reading 
book after book on infant care and attending her Lamaze classes.  But, Mulder had just let 
it fly over his head.

He could fake himself out at first by simple male ignorance.  He had gone with her to her 
Lamaze classes, which had been strange enough.  However, he hadn't actually been to an 
ultrasound yet.  He saw the pictures, sure, but they weren't much to look at.  He'd felt the 
baby kick from inside his wife, that was very weird. It felt like bubbles under her skin.   He 
knew nothing about babies.  Changing diapers and bottle-feeding aren't exactly two things 
learned by rookies at the FBI training camp.  

Aside from all the fears any normal father gets, Mulder had so many more.  He told Scully 
he didn't let it bother him, but he did.  He couldn't help but fear what could have happened 
in Zacatecas two years before.  All he knew, was the way he saw it, Scully couldn't have 
children before her mysterious second abduction, and now she could.  Of course, he just 
couldn't tell Scully of his worries, he didn't want to upset her too badly.

He heard voices from downstairs, and knew Tara had arrived.  Scully had told him she 
was coming before; he just chose not to hear her.  He quickly got up and put on a pair of 
shorts and a tee shirt.  He arrived downstairs in time to see Tara sitting on the sofa, and 
three-year-old Matthew tackling Zoe.

Scully was already dressed and ready to go, sitting on the couch.  Mulder came out into 
the living room and sat beside her.  

"You sure you're going to be able to watch him all right?"  Tara asked, watching her son 
and Zoe.

"He'll be fine."  Scully answered, smiling wryly at him.  "He needs the practice anyway."

Tara returned a smile confidently at Mulder.  She opened her mouth as if to say 
something, but Matthew interrupted her.

"Mama, Mama!"  He beckoned intently, jumping up and down in front of her.  "Where's 
my I-G-Joes?"

Tara laid a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him from bouncing up and down.  "They're 
in your backpack, honey."  She told him, and pointed at dark green backpack dropped by 
the door.  As he toddled over to the bag, she returned her attention to the two adults.  
"Bill's got him hooked on all the military toys.  Planes, trucks, soldiers; anything that 
maims, kills, or destroys."  She shook her head and sighed, watching Matt pull a handful 
of olive green plastic soldiers from his pack. "Be careful of them."  She said, looking back 
at Mulder. "They aren't pleasant to step on bare foot.  Trust me, Bill and I have smushed 
our fair share of America's Military at three a.m., just trying to get to the bathroom."

Mulder observed the little boy playing with a gray plastic fighter jet, making sounds that 
were supposed to be the engines.  "Why are you two in town anyway?"  He inquired 
toward Tara.  She and Bill were never just "in the neighborhood" considering they lived 
thousands of miles across the country.

"Bill has an extended on-shore time and he thought we should spend it by coming out to 
visit Mom.  It was my idea to go baby shopping."  She replied with a smile.  

"It'll give me a good chance to get some other stuff I need too."  Scully said; rising from 
her seat in signal they were getting ready to leave.  "Like a new pair of running shoes."  
She stared down at the tattered, well-worn Nikes on her feet.

"You don't need new shoes."  Mulder told her, embracing her before she left.

She looked up at him.  "Why is that?"

He kissed her lightly on the lips. "'Coz I like my woman barefoot and pregnant."  He said, 
imitating a southern drawl.

She wriggled out of his arms and grabbed her purse from the coat rack.  "Yeah, well I like 
my man well-trained and obedient, and I don't see that happening.  So, I guess neither of 
us get our wish."

"Bill we be here around eight to pick up Matt.  We'll be back sometime around then."  
Tara called as she and Scully headed for the rented maroon mini-van in the driveway.

"'Bye!"  Mulder called to them both.  He watched them pull out of the drive before 
stepping back inside to his air-conditioning.

"Look at all these neat-o toys!"  He cried, plopping onto the floor beside his nephew.  
Matt beamed at him, happy to have a playmate.  Zoe sat in the recliner by the picture 
windows and rolled her eyes from behind her book.  She'd much rather indulge herself in 
Stephen King's "It" than play with her three-year-old cousin and her father who only acted 
like he was three years old.  But, Scully was right, baby-sitting an energetic toddler would 
be good practice for Mulder.

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



















Location Unknown
12:34 p.m.

A tall man with graying hair and skin wrinkled like old, well-worn leather picked up the 
black phone on the desk beside him.  He dialed a number he pulled from his twisted 
memory, a number only found in the minds of those closest to the Project.  He waited for 
the sound of the receiving end being picked up before beginning to speak.  He didn't start 
with such formalities as a greeting or addressing who he was or whom he was calling.  He 
trusted the receiver to know these things.  

"We must have a meeting with the new Elders.  The final phase is ready to begin."  He 
said in his raspy yet frightening voice.  He waited for the receiver to comply before 
hanging up the phone.  In the dim light of the room, there was a sudden spark and a flash 
as he lit a match from the book in his jacket pocket.  He held the small orange flame to the 
end of a Morley cigarette and took a drag on it.  After couple of minutes, he opened the 
door to the office and stepped outside.

~

The Meeting Place, as it was called by those of the Group, was an elusive Old English 
style conference room, situated in plain sight in the heart of Washington DC.  Hidden so 
well, that millions of people walked by each and every day, never thinking twice about it.  
The name on the front of the building was meant to display a sense of security in the 
hearts and minds of the average citizen.  After all, Department of Defense was in the good 
of the people.

The Smoking Man made a point of showing up a few minutes late for the meeting he had 
called to order.  The old Elders were dead, and had been for two good years now.  There 
was no time to grieve for their loss; the future was closing in.  Their seconds-in-command 
were unseated and brought up to be a main part of the Group.  Too young to be 
formidably known as Elders, they were referred only as that in honor of the geniuses 
passed before them.  Only the second full meeting since the failure of Cassandra Spender, 
The Smoking Man still already knew these young men were much more competent than 
they first appeared.  There was no room for naiveness in the Consortium.

They sat around a circular wood table, trying to be bold and look important.  Most had 
gotten over their fears of having such a heavy weight on their shoulders.  A few were still 
afraid enough of the older man to piss their pants.  CSM looked around the room upon 
entry.  He recognized and remembered only a few faces from the previous meeting; he had 
more important things on his mind.  Alex Krycek was a face and name present that he 
knew all too well.  Krycek still preferred to stand in the shadows in the back of the room, 
adding his two-cents when necessary.  Although he was a very important Member, CSM 
guessed he liked to intimidate what he so fondly referred to as "Fresh Meat".

The Smoking Man chose not to sit down.  Instead, he stood behind his seat at the table, to 
loom over the new Elders.  The single overhead light directly over the table cast and eerie 
yellow glow over all the gentlemen's faces.  None dared to speak first with the knowledge 
the Smoking Man would begin.

CSM took a final drag on his cigarette and snubbed it out it the glass ashtray placed in 
front of his seat.  The other men watched as he held the smoke in for a moment, letting it 
circulate through his body.  Before he spoke, his eyes sparkled in the light, giving him an 
unholy appearance. "Colonization grows near."  He began.  "As you all know, the 
hybridization has been perfected.  A combination of two worlds.  Theirs and ours. The 
New Hybrids are a combination of both the late project involving Cassandra Spender and 
the abandoned Alpha-Human Project."  He let the room fall silent, so everyone could 
absorb the information properly.  "How do we progress so far, Mr. Miles?"  CSM looked 
at middle-aged, bespectacled man across the table.

The light-haired man didn't seem the least off-struck by CSM's question towards him.  "It 
goes well."  He reported.  "Most of the test material faired well.  Insertion will begin as 
soon as possible."

CSM nodded.  He was about to say something again when Alex Krycek stepped out of the 
shadows.  "I have word that Samantha Mulder ran into her brother recently."  He stated.

"I know of this."  CSM answered cryptically. 

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Let her be.  Killing her would be too risky."

Krycek leaned forward over the table, supporting his weight on his hands.  His face thrust 
into the light, sending shadows over his eye sockets, giving him a ghastly profile.  "She 
knows too much of the Project.  She's sure to leak to Mulder."

"Our attempts failed to kill him, and she is far to important to the Project to dispose of.  
She doesn't know much of the inner Project."  

"Mulder won't be deterred from digging where he shouldn't, just because he found his 
sister."

CSM cracked a wry smile that only made him more intimidating.  "I wouldn't doubt it.  
We'll continue to elude him as we always have, working towards the hybridization.  The 
vaccine theory has failed."  He pulled another cigarette from his pocket, and struck a 
match to light it.  He took a drag after the end was smoldering.  "Our only hope for the 
future if this planet, will be that the pure human race is no more.  The Hybrids."

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

Mulder Residence
9:54 p.m.

The rest of the day went well.  Matt seemed to enjoy his time with his uncle, and relucted 
leaving at eight when Bill came to get him.  Bill, however, seemed more than happy to get 
his son off Mulder's hands.  Scully had arrived home around nine-fifteen, exhausted and 
almost falling off her feet.  She went upstairs and to bed.  Mulder tucked Zoe in and joined 
her.

Scully kept her eyes shut as Mulder crept into the room, trying to fall asleep.  After a few 
minutes, and the sound of rustling cloth as he undressed, she felt the water shift under her 
as he laid down, and then an arm slip around her waist and the swollen mound of her belly.  
She heard him sigh and his breath tickled the back of her neck.

"You awake?"  He mumbled after a minute.

"No."  She replied and rolled over to her back with his arm still around her.  "So, was 
Matt any trouble?"

Mulder sighed again and waited a few minutes before answering.  "No, he was your 
normal, run-of-the-mill toddler.  He didn't *break* anything if that's what you mean."

Scully snickered a little.  "So, you had fun?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."  He looked over at her face.  The moon shone through 
the open curtains, bathing their faces and sheeted bodies in a slat of bluish light.  "He 
really loves that Lion King movie.  But, after watching it fifteen times in a row, they could 
take that Hakuna and shove it right up the Matata."

Scully smiled in the moonlight.  She listened to the silence for a few minutes, and thinking 
Mulder had fallen asleep, rolled back to her side to sleep herself.

"I want a dog."  Mulder finally said, obviously he wasn't asleep.  He heard Scully sigh; this 
was a conversation they'd had all too many times.

"I know you do.  And you just choose the most interesting times to bring it up."  Scully 
muttered, keeping her eyes closed.

"You don't want a dog?"  He asked.

"I don't know, Mulder.  I'm not very good with pets.  Remember what happened to the 
last one I had?"  

He couldn't help but snicker a little.  "Yeah, I remember."  Not being too fond of the little 
annoying fuzz-ball that was the late Queequeg, he could easily joke about the little dog's 
demise.  "I don't really consider dogs that are nine inches tall to be dogs."

Scully opened her mouth for a retort before she heard a voice calling for Mommy.  "Zoe."  
She finally groaned. 

"I'll see what's wrong."  Mulder said, sitting up.  He knew what was wrong.  Zoe was in 
the wonderful monsters-in-my-closet phase.  Every child went through it, why should he 
think Zoe any different?

He walked across the darkened hallway to Zoe's room.  He opened the door and flipped 
the switch that turned on the overhead light.  He saw Zoe huddled under her bed sheet, 
her eyes wide blue saucers.  "Zoe what's wrong?"  He asked as he ran a hand through his 
tousled hair.

"There's a monster in my closet!"  She whispered.

Mulder shook his head.  "Zoe, there are no monsters in your closet.  You know that."

"Yes there are!"

Mulder walk across Zoe's room to the closet at the end of her bed.  He opened the door 
all the way, showing her there were no monsters, just a pile of toys.  When she first started 
this, he liked to humor her, opening the door really slowly or yelling at that he was the 
FBI, all monsters freeze.  Now it was just getting annoying.

"See?  No monsters."  He assured, sitting on the edge of her bed.  He looked over at her 
nightstand.  There, he saw the thick paperback book depicted a very frightening looking 
clown and the word "It" in red dripping letters.  He picked the book up.  "I think I found 
your monsters."  He said.  "No more Stephen King before bed."  He replaced the book 
and looked at his daughter.

"Where's Mommy?"  She asked.

"Trying to sleep while she still can."  He leaned forward to her.  "Now, gimme a kiss."

Zoe giggled and sat up, kissing Mulder on the cheek.  He stood and went back to the 
door.

"Night, Munchkin."  He said and closed the door behind him.  When he got back into his 
own bedroom, Scully was already asleep.  He laid back down in the bed, closed his eyes 
and waited for sleep to claim him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 25, 2001
2:46 a.m.

Scully awoke to total darkness.  She had no idea what exactly woke her up; she just knew 
that when she turned over to where Mulder was, he wasn't there.  She rubbed the sleep 
from her eyes and sat up.  Then she looked around the room, seeing if maybe Mulder had 
gotten up to use the restroom.  However there was no light cracking out from underneath 
the bathroom door.  She gingerly dangled her legs over the edge of the waterbed and 
pushed herself over the edge until her bare feet could support her weight on the floor.

She moved easily through the darkened room, knowing where everything was placed.  
She'd walked through the darkened house countless times before, during her hunt for 
midnight snacks.  She walked down the hall, pausing to glance into the nearly finished 
nursery.  Even in the darkness, she could see the baby blue walls reflecting the setting 
moonlight.  The lingering smell of paint still wafted into the hallway.

As quietly as she could, she stepped down the stairs.  They creaked, as older houses' stairs 
do, under her weight.  Not seeing Mulder in the living room, or the kitchen, she headed 
for the most likely place he would be, the den.  The last room to be completed before the 
nursery was started; the den was where Mulder spent much of his solitude.  When they 
would return from a case, one that didn't turn out particularly good, he would retreat 
down to the den.  Scully thought it was because the surroundings were familiar; after all, 
that's where his beloved leather couch and fish tank was.  There was also a dry bar, big 
screen TV, and his adult video library.  Basic Mulder heaven.  Her mother even liked to 
joke that he wouldn't come out if it wasn't for the food and loving.  

She opened the door a crack and listened down the carpeted stairs.  She heard the low 
buzz of the television and the ghostly light that shone from it.  She then opened the door 
the rest of the way and slipped downstairs.

When Mulder heard the muffled thud of someone walking down the stairs, he wiped the 
tear-streaks that mysteriously formed on his cheeks.  Then he waited.  The sound of 
footsteps crossing the low carpet and he looked up.  He saw Scully's figure drifting 
through the white light, her light nightgown and pale face making her look like a ghost.  
When she came closer, her face was all worry even though her eyes still looked tired.

"Mulder?  What's wrong?  Why are you down here?"  She asked him all at once, easing 
down on the couch beside him.

"Nothing."  He lied, hoping the light was too dim for her to see the real condition he was 
in.

But she knew him better than that.  She reached up and touched his cheek to find it mildly 
damp from hidden tears.  She didn't need to say anything about it either.  "What's wrong?"  
She asked again, gazing into his open eyes and keeping her hand on his cheek.

He closed his eyes.  "Nightmare."  He simply answered.  He needn't fear that she would 
think him silly for crying over a nightmare, she knew that his dreams were frighteningly 
real, and jarring aspects of his past.

Her expression changed to concern and even the slightest hint of pity.  "Tell me about it."  
She said.

He leaned forward and supported his elbows on his knees, cradling his own chin in open 
palms.  "It was about you."  He began before summing up her expression.  "You were 
having the baby."  He closed his eyes again, pulling himself back into his own pain.  "But 
not in a hospital.  I don't know where you were. I don't know where I was either. It was 
like watching a movie, and not being able to do a thing about the events.  There were men 
everywhere.  But, they didn't look like nurses.  They were all doctors, scientists.  Anyway, 
everything went well, the baby was born.  But . . .but . . ." He didn't continue right off.  He 
sat up and brought his clasped palms to his nose and mouth, like he was going to pray.  

Scully could see a tear in the corner of his eye, and knew what he was going to say next 
was going to be painful.  She laid a hand on his upper arm and brought his hands down.  
She was almost fearful of what he might say next.

Mulder looked over at her expression, which was both curious and still worried.  It broke 
his heart to know what happened in that dream, and see her face, innocent and 
unknowing.  He didn't want to tell her for fear of hurting her.  He didn't want her to know 
of his fear.  

"What about the baby?"  She asked gently.  He needed to get this weight off his chest, 
whether she wanted to hear it or not.

The tear in his eye slipped unnoticed down his cheek.  He frowned and looked into her 
eyes. "Dana, it--it wasn't *human*."  He finally managed to get out.

She tried to hide the surprised gasp that came to her lips.  She only hoped he didn't hear it.  
She couldn't think of anything to say.  What was she supposed to say to that?  He had just 
said her son wasn't human.  It was a dream, but dreams can mean something, can't they?  
No, she scolded herself; dreams are just twisted images of something on the subconscious 
mind.  She knew that was on his subconscious.  But he had called the baby "It".  They had 
known for six months the baby was a boy, he always referred to him as he, not 'it'.  Did he 
think the baby had something wrong?

"What do you mean it wasn't human?"  She asked, trying to keep her voice firm.

Mulder wiped his hand over his mouth. "I don't know."  He shook his head.  "I don't 
know, I just *knew*."  

Scully dropped his gaze and looked at the floor.  Sometimes she wondered where his 
dreams came from.  Whether they were, in fact, insights into the future, or just a result of 
too many creepy old B-movies.  She sighed audibly and returned her gaze to his.

"Mulder, there is *nothing* wrong with our baby.  He's perfectly fine and healthy."  She 
assured.  "Remember?  I had an ultrasound five days ago, and everything was perfectly 
normal."

He tried to smile a little, hiding his true feelings.  "I guess it was just a stupid dream."  He 
said finally.  Lucky for him, it convinced Scully.  He never thought for a second it was 'just 
a stupid dream'.  They were never stupid dreams.  He had feared from day one that there 
might be something *different* about the baby.  The odd circumstances under Scully's 
pregnancy in the first place were enough to merit suspicion.  And he was still afraid, afraid 
of what they had done, and what they might do.

Scully returned the smile and put her hand over his.  "Let's go back to bed."  She offered, 
pulling herself up from the couch.

He stood and followed her, trying not to let his fears bother him.  The answers would 
come; he would just have to wait.

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























FBI Headquarters
3:12 p.m.

Mulder tried his best to not let his mind linger over the subject of his dream.  But, he 
couldn't help it; he seemed drawn to think about it.  He wanted answers to this probably 
more than anything else in the world at that point.  Of course, he didn't tell his thoughts 
and hypotheses to Scully.  It would only upset her.

He sat behind his desk, twiddling a pen between his thumb and forefingers, letting it tap 
against the wood of his desk.  He needed to find answers, but how?  He had no real leads 
towards anything.  He didn't know of anyone that would know anything . . . except 
Samantha.  And she had told him everything she knew, hadn't she?  Mulder sighed, a 
mixture of boredom and frustration.  Scully seemed busy enough, typing away behind her 
computer.  The rhythmic clicking of the computer keys was the only sound in the room 
when the phone rang.  Scully paused for a moment and peered at Mulder from behind her 
computer monitor as he sat up and grabbed the black phone off the hook.

"Mulder."  He answered in his normal, monotone voice.

"Fox, it's me, Sam."  A calm female voice answered.

"Hi, Sam."  He greeted casually.  It was still a wonder every time to see her, and speak to 
her.  His eternal goal to find his sister had been ended, and he tried his best to make up for 
lost time.

"Fox, we need to meet."  She said, trying to veil the urgency in her voice.

"Okay."  He consented.  "Why?"

"I have some information for you."  She said. "There's a small bar, it's called Jeremiah's 
Place.  Three forty-five."

And before he could argue or speak another word, she hung up.  He replaced the phone 
on the hook and furrowed his brows.  Though she tried, she didn't really hide the 
particular amount of importance in her tone.  It was odd.  She usually didn't act like that.  
After another minute of pondering, Mulder got up.  He grabbed his jacket off the chair 
beside the door and opened it.

"Where are you going?"  Scully asked.

"Samantha wants to meet with me at three forty-five."  He replied quickly.

"Why?"  

"I don't know."  He shrugged.  "I'll be back in an hour."  Then he stepped out the door and 
tugged it shut behind him, leaving a confused Scully behind her desk to ponder.

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









































Jeremiah's Place
3:45 p.m.

Jeremiah's was probably the only bar in town Mulder had never been to.  Sam hadn't given 
any directions, and it was a wonder he even found the place.  Mulder walked inside, and 
was confronted by an almost dreary darkness.  There were very few patrons there.  Two 
men sitting at the bar, probably local alcoholics, and there was a couple at one of the 
center tables.  Mulder's eyes adjusted quickly to the contrast of the bar and the bright 
sunshine outside.  The dark curtains were drawn tight against the sun.  The bartender, a 
gangly, older man leaned against the bar, eating peanuts and watching golf on the TV.  
Mulder looked quickly around the room before his attention was drawn to a single woman 
sitting at the corner booth, watching him.  She didn't acknowledge it was her, probably not 
wanting to draw attention to herself.

Mulder walked poignantly across the room, sliding casually into the bench across from 
her.  He smiled at his sister, never taking for granted that it was really she.  "So," He tried 
to begin, "What's this all about?"

Sam smiled a little too, but Mulder could tell it was strained.  "Not a man for conversation 
starters, are you Fox?"

Mulder grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

Sam took a sip of the drink before her.  "There are some things I need to tell you."  She 
said, and noting the neutrality on her older brother's face, continued, "I lied to you.  I lied 
when I said I was putting people in danger by meeting you.  There was no danger.   They 
don't care much anymore.  There are also some things I need to tell you."

Mulder didn't speak; he just watched Samantha's expression, trying not to be wary of what 
she might say.

"After I graduated college.  I was offered a position in the Group.  I took it.  Technically, 
I work for the Department of Defense, but a big part of my pay check comes from them."

"You're one of them?"  Mulder said, unable to believe what he was hearing.  His own 
sister, worked for the very force he was fighting.

Sam nodded solemnly.  "But it's not what you think.  At first, I worked along with 
everything, never thinking twice about any of it.  I began as a genetic researcher, never 
questioning where my material came from, or anything.  After I was promoted to head of 
my department, I began to put two-and-two together.  I told you they kidnapped women 
for genetic material, and that was the truth. What I didn't tell you, is what they are starting 
to *do* with this genetic material."

Mulder shook his head, finding it hard to absorb so much information at once.  "They 
make alien-human hybrids, right?"

"Yes.  Fox, if you choose not to believe anything I'm telling you, believe this:  We are not 
alone.  There *are* aliens.  Some of them have been here for millions of years, some 
haven't.  The mass colonization of this planet is inevitable."

Mulder understood and nodded.  He believed all right, he believed.  "Do you know 
anything about what happened to my wife?"  He asked.

Sam shook her head slowly and watched Mulder drop his gaze to the table.  "I'm sorry, 
Fox."  She rose to leave. "I have some things I need to do.  Good-bye, Fox."  She said and 
turned to head for the door.

"Sam," He said, regaining her attention.  "What made you work for them in the first 
place?"

She smiled a little, as if it was a warm, long-forgotten memory.  "They gave me an offer I 
couldn't refuse.  My son."

Mulder was puzzled.  He furrowed his brows and looked at the table.  When he looked 
back up to ask his sister what she meant, she was gone.  An offer she couldn't refuse, her 
son.  What had they done to her?

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




















Department of Defense Research Building, Virginia
May 26, 2001
12:19 p.m.

Mulder felt extremely nervous standing in front of the DOD building.  He felt at any 
moment, someone would apprehend him or shoot him simply because he was who he was.  
Even with his paranoid convictions, he still consented to meet Samantha there under the 
guise of a lunch meeting.  She had called early that morning, minutes after he and Scully 
arrived.  She'd said she had something to show him, so here he was.  He stood on the 
concrete stairs in front of the main entrance, trying not to look too conspicuous.  He had 
no idea how she was going to get him in there; he had no authorization pass.  He'd been in 
the DOD building before, each door had a hi-tech card entry lock system, there was no 
way she could just "smuggle" him in.

He finally saw his sister walking up the stairs towards him.  She was dressed in a light 
beige skirt-suit, her dark hair drawn tightly away from her face in a bun.  She didn't smile 
when she met up with him, merely regarding him as another coworker as she directed him 
to the door.  As they walked, she discreetly handed him a security pass.

They stepped through the glass doors, where they were blasted by cool air conditioning, a 
pleasant contrast to the dizzying May heat.  But Mulder was nowhere near comforted.  
Though it was cool, he still felt hot.  They waited in the short line of other DOD agents 
before reaching a guard booth.  After stepping through a metal detector, they reached the 
card slot.  Mulder had done this before, he was certain he could do it again.  He slipped 
the edge of his security card down the slot, waiting patiently for the little red light bulb to 
turn green.  After a few nervous seconds, it did.  A wave of instant relief washed over 
Mulder.  The guard nodded him through behind his scrutinizing gaze.  Mulder began 
walking across the floor, to appear natural as Sam caught up with him.

Sam walked quickly beside him, easily keeping up with his long strides.  She had a very 
authoritative demeanor that surprised Mulder.  She acted like she knew exactly where she 
was going and what she was doing.

"So what are we doing here?"  Mulder finally asked her in a quieted tone.

She continued walking, leading him first to a large elevator.  She didn't answer at first, 
pressing the down button and waiting for the elevator doors to slide open.  There were 
three other people in the elevator as they entered and Sam pressed the button for the first 
basement level.

Their stop came first and Sam led Mulder into an empty hallway in the upper bowels of 
the DOD building.  "I could have brought you this stuff personally, without you coming 
here.  But there are some things you have to see to believe."  She finally answered.

Mulder merely nodded, following her to yet another guard booth.  They casually slipped 
their cards through the slots and stepped through a heavy metal door.  There, Samantha 
continued the conversation in detail.  "In college, I majored in genetic engineering and 
physics.  I was first in my class, that's what made me so appealing to the group.  Normally, 
scientists don't know as much as I do. They just run the tests and report the results.  I 
know much more about the grandeur of the Project."

"How do you know?"  Mulder asked as the walked by countless red doors down a never-
ending hallway.

"Because of Dad."  She said, looking into his eyes for the first time.  "That's how."

"Dad knew you were working for them?"  Mulder asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes."  She answered simply, not wanting to go into detail.

Finally, they came to an unmarked red door that Samantha opened up and stepped inside.  
There was a brief threshold leading into a small scrub room.  Off to the left was a small 
office; Sam led him there first.  She dropped her briefcase on the desk and looked into his 
eyes again.

"I lied before about risking lives to meet with you.  I'm not lying this time."  She paused as 
he summed up the honesty in her eyes.  "If they find out I brought you here, they will kill 
me.  For treason, like they killed Dad.  What I am going to show you is something new, 
which was only recently perfected.  It will hold the answers to all your questions." 

Mulder nodded, dumbstruck by her words.  She held his gaze for another moment, and 
then broke it, turning out of the office.  She led him into the next room.  It was chilled in 
there, with simple steel walls where white de-contamination suits hung from hooks.  
"Because the lab is a clean room, we have to wear the space-suits."  She pulled one of the 
suits off a hook and handed it to Mulder.

The 'space-suits', as they were called by those who wore them, were simple hooded nylon 
over clothes.  A clear plastic mask covered the face of the suit.  The hood had a rubber 
tube where oxygen was forced in through a filter from the outside.  Because of poor 
circulation from inside to out, the suits were relatively hot and uncomfortable.  But, all in 
all necessary to prevent against the contamination of the person inside, or the substances 
outside, by foreign agents.  

After they suited up, Sam walked into the enormous room next to the suit room.  Mulder 
breathed the controlled air in his mask, tasting it metallic coolness.  He stood in awe of the 
enormous lab.  There were rows and rows of lab tables, holding beakers and flasks of 
boiling fluids galore.  Microscopes lined some of the benches.  There were only a few 
other people in de-con suits, completely oblivious to them and each other.  Behind the 
benches, at the other end of the football field-sized room, were lines of refrigeration units.  
They reminded Mulder of the freezers at super markets.  Sam directed him first to an 
unoccupied bench near the corner of the room.

"What is all this?"  Mulder asked, still stunned by his surroundings.  His voice sounded 
tinny and small even to him, muffled and disembodied by the suit and oxygen filter.

"This is where the magic happens."  Sam answered cryptically, scanning the paper on the 
table before her. She turned her head and looked up at him.  "This is where it all is, all the 
answers."

She turned to head back toward the refrigerators and motioned for him to follow.  He 
walked by one man, who was bent over a microscope, and tried to be as casual possible.  
Without speaking, she opened one of the glass doors to a freezer unit.  The glass 
immediately fogged as the warmer outside air contacted it.  An eerie fog drifted from the 
bottom of the unit, from the frozen nitrogen inside.  Mulder noticed stacks of trays inside 
the freezer, each labeled with at least three letters, the beginning letters of last names.  The 
tray Samantha pulled out said SC-SEA.  Each tray contained small glass vials that looked 
exactly like the ones Scully found at the secret lab in Dundalk, two years earlier.

"Scully?"  He questioned, eyes widening.

"Those are the answers you're looking for, right?"  She asked, pulling a single vial from 
the tray.

Mulder tried to swallowed hard, but the cool, dry oxygen had made his throat dry and it 
burned when he did so.  He nodded slowly.

Sam strained a smile to comfort him, but to no avail.  She took the vial and returned to her 
lab bench, Mulder trailing her.  There, she took a syringe out of a drawer and withdrew 
some of the milky-white fluid into it.  She then squeezed a small drop onto a glass slide, 
pushed the slide under her microscope, turned it on, and peered in through the lens.  After 
shifting the focus and magnification, then moving the slide around a bit, she stepped back.

"Take a look."  She directed, standing aside.

Mulder stepped up to the microscope and bent down over it.  He pressed the hard plastic 
mask down onto the eyepiece.  He peered down at the illuminated slide.  After a second of 
studying it, he looked back up at his sister, a puzzled look on his face.  "I don't know what 
I'm looking at."  He confessed.

She sighed and leaned against the bench.  "You're looking at a protein code.  But not any 
protein code you would find anywhere else, it's an alien protein code.  That single human 
ova contains alien DNA."  She paused, studying Mulder's blank expression.  "A human 
being has forty-six chromosomes, twenty-three from the mother, twenty-three from the 
father.  Twenty-three pairs.  This ova contains thirty-three total chromosomes."

"Alien-human hybrid."  Mulder merely mumbled, completely forgetting *whose* ovum he 
was looking at.

"This is sheer perfection."  Samantha said, not sounding proud at all.  "We've combined 
human female genes and alien genes to create an essentially human unfertilized ova."

Mulder eyebrows came together as he calculated what that all meant.  "So you're saying, 
that only the ova are hybridized?"

Sam nodded. "When it is fertilized by another human being, there are a total of fifty-six 
chromosomes in the *new* person.  It's perfect."  She paused and glanced back at the 
microscope. "Cassandra Spender was half alien, she was too much alien, easily controlled 
by their species.  The children of the AHP are too little alien; they aren't immune to the 
virus.  These *New Hybrids* are the best of both worlds.  They look and act like an 
average human.  The only way they could be proven not so is with extensive genetic 
testing."

Mulder looked at her blankly, all the information still flying over his head.

Sam took his hand in hers briefly.  "Come on," She said, "I have something else to show 
you."

He nodded and followed her back past the refrigerators to yet another door.  Once they 
stepped through, Sam pulled her white hood off.  Following her example, Mulder did the 
same.  

He overcame a mild feeling of disorientation and looked past his sister to the large glass 
window on the right side of the narrow room.  The window looked into a bright white 
room.  Everything was white, the walls, and the floors, even the ceiling.  A single doctor 
dressed in white scrubs bent over a woman laying flat on a metal table.  There was a harsh 
white light shining on her face, probably to discourage her from opening her eyes.  There 
was a small surgical tent around her lower abdomen, where the doctor was operating.  
Mulder stared in disbelief.

"This is what they do with hybridized ovum.  They either put it back in the woman it came 
from, or another infertile woman."  She said solemnly.  "The woman most likely gets 
pregnant with what she thinks of as a miracle baby, only to have birth to an alien-human 
hybrid.  They never know it, that's how we made it.  The child doesn't even know it's 
different."

"Why do they do this?"  Mulder asked in his monotone voice.

"To make a generation of immune humans.  They figured mass vaccination wasn't going to 
work; they couldn't perfect it after your little trip to Antarctica.  With the contamination of 
the system, you set them back greatly, not only in the making of the vaccine, but the 
colonization.  Unfortunately, this is their back-up plan.  Originally, they were creating the 
hybrids as immune soldiers for the colonists, just to get to work with the alien tissue for 
the vaccine.  Now they've decided to make immune alien-human hybrids as the 
continuance for our species."

"But it isn't our species."  Mulder said, still watching the doctor perform.

"I know," Sam said.  "That's why I'm part of the Resistance.  A group of insiders working 
to sabotage everything, even the colonization."

Mulder continued observing the woman being operated on.  Operated on, Mulder thought, 
it's more like *violated*.

"I've got one more thing to show you."  Sam said, leading Mulder through another door at 
the end of the room.

The next room was much like the first.  Except it wasn't quiet.  As soon as they entered, 
Mulder heard the crying.  The sound of crying babies.  Through the one-way glass 
window, Mulder saw what resembled a hospital nursery.  Rows of babies laying in clear 
plastic cribs.  There were no nametags on the cribs, only identification numbers.  Like they 
were some kind of test subjects, experiments.  

He frowned.  "Are they hybrids?"  He asked flatly.

"Yes."  Samantha answered.  "Some were from the hybridized ovum, some were 
hybridized after being born."

Mulder turned to his sister, and looked at her full in the eye.  He could no longer avoid the 
question that had plagued him for the past six months.  "Did they do this to my wife?"

Sam looked at the floor.  "Her ovum was returned.  However, I don't know if it was 
hybridized."  She looked back up at him. "It depends on who operated on her.  One of the 
surgeons is in the Resistance.  You see, there are two vials for each woman, one 
hybridized, one not.  He has been returning the pure ovum to the women.  But there is no 
way of knowing who operated on her.  You'll have to wait until your son is born and have 
genetic testing performed."

Mulder looked down at the floor.  He was beyond words, beyond any discernible feelings.  
His deepest fear had been almost confirmed.  There was a fifty percent chance his own son 
might not be completely human.  How as he going to tell Scully?

He continued his daze as he followed Sam back out of the viewing rooms and into the 
labs.  She handed him the vial of Scully's hybridized ovum.  "You need to show these to 
her."  She said.  "This is your proof, do what you can with it.  Make her believe."

With those words, they walked out of the lab and suited down.  As they walked out of the 
building, Mulder remembered something Sam had said yesterday.  They got out of the 
DOD building without a hitch, and Mulder questioned her before they parted at the 
concrete steps.

"Sam, what did you mean yesterday when you said they gave you your son?"  He asked.

She didn't smile this time; she only studied his expression for a minute.  "Fox, I was the 
first . . ." She took a deep breath, finding it hard to break it to him.  "I was the first alien-
human hybrid.  That's why they took me.  I'm immune to the virus; I have fifty-six 
chromosomes.  Cassandra was the first half-hybrid, I was the first hybrid of all."

Mulder stood shocked.  His own sister, an alien-human hybrid?  His *father* had gone 
along with it?  Can my life get any worse? He thought.

"Hybridization rendered me infertile.  For my cooperation, they gave me the ability to bear 
children.  My son."  She said.  She turned to go back in to work, but turned back just as 
quickly, after remembering something she forgot.  "Fox, you can't tell anyone about what 
you saw.  You can't trust anyone.  If you go public now, they'll either put you away or kill 
you.  You were never, ever meant to see this."

"What about the lab in Dundalk, and Zoe, and the Red Rover Building?"  He asked.  He'd 
thought he'd stumbled onto important things there, and this was so much more?

Sam dropped her hands to her sides.  "Don't you see, Fox?  You were meant to see all of 
that.  That wasn't a real lab in Dundalk.  Zoe only thought it was because it looked like the 
one she was taken to.  You were meant to go to Zacatecas.  Why else do you think it was 
so easy to get in?"

"They wanted me to come.  Why?  Just to abduct Scully?"

Sam nodded sadly.  "And to string you along further.  To make you believe the lie."

With that elusive answer, Sam turned and walked away.  Mulder watched her go back 
inside before turning and walking away himself.  "The answers are there, you just have to 
know where to look." Scully had said once.  They were, they definitely were.  Now the 
only question was, would she want them?

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





FBI Headquarters
3:24 p.m.

"Mulder, where have you been?"  Scully asked as soon as Mulder stepped through the 
office door.  Her voice sounded concerned, even though she tried to convey it as angry.

"With Samantha."  He said, not letting his eyes meet hers.  He hadn't yet figured out how 
to tell her anything, and was still trying to make sense and accept it himself.  

"You've been at lunch for three hours?"  She said, walking around to his desk where he 
had sat down.

He propped his elbows on his desktop and rested his forehead in his palms.  "We didn't go 
to lunch."  He finally muttered.

"I figured that."  She replied and clasped her hands around her belly, leaning against his 
desk.  He didn't speak for a long time, and she let the silence pass.  But after a few eternal 
minutes, her patience grew short.  "Mulder, what's wrong?"  She finally asked, her voice 
now all concern.

He lifted his head from his palms and leaned back in his chair.  For the first time since he 
had come back, he looked into her eyes.  "If I told you I had physical evidence proving the 
existence of extra-terrestrials, proving a global conspiracy against the human race, and the 
basic answers for every question we've asked over the past eight years, what would you 
say?"  He finally inquired.

She raised her eyebrows.  "I would say, so what else is new?  Let me see it."  She gestured 
out with her hand, indicating for him to fork over the evidence.

He dug into his pocket and found the vial there.  He pulled it out and handed it to her.  He 
had meticulously peeled off the tape label on his way back to the office; he wanted her to 
find out the information from him, not her ovum.

She took it in her hand and studied the contents, holding it up to the light even.  Without a 
label, she wasn't positive of what the substance was, but she had her theories.  "Is this 
some kind of ovum?"  She asked.

"Human."  Mulder stated blandly.

Scully raised an eyebrow and looked at Mulder again.  His face held the unreadable 
neutrality she hated.  She looked at him a moment longer and turned for the office door.

Knowing she was headed to the lab, Mulder got up, and followed her.

~

The lab was on the second floor of the FBI building, in the forensics department.  Scully 
went to the genetic testing lab first, where she knew she was always welcome.  This was 
the lab where all the blood and hair sample testing was done.  There were the normal 
agents in the room when Scully and Mulder got there, some working behind computers 
that crunched information into readable proportions, some behind microscopes and 
beakers.

Scully stepped up to the lab counter where a single microscope stood.  She opened the 
drawer beneath the counter top and pulled out a pair of prophylactic gloves, a syringe, and 
a glass slide.  Mulder watched her repeat the same procedure Samantha had, only with a 
more curious air.  She adjusted the focus on the fine tuning knob and studied the sample.  
She took longer to look at it than Samantha had, probably because she wasn't familiar with 
what she was looking at.  After a minute, she looked back up at Mulder, an eyebrow 
raised.

She straightened and stepped closer to him, to protect against any would-be 
eavesdroppers.  "Mulder, where did you get this?"  She asked.

"From a lab."  He replied, not yet ready to tell her of what he had seen on his field trip to 
the Department Of Defense lab.

"This ova . . . it contains a protein code I've never seen before.  It almost looks like the 
one from those bone fragments in Dallas.  But, it's different.  It's like this ova has been 
hybridized with another species."

"It has."  He said. He picked up the vial. Glancing uneasily around the room he took her 
by the arm. He led her out into the hallway, where there were fewer agents to overhear 
them.

"Mulder, what's this all about?"  She asked; overcome by curiosity and a fear of what she 
had just uncovered.

"That ova is hybridized with alien DNA."  Mulder whispered, his face inches from her 
own.  "They found a way to hybridize an unfertilized ova so that it remains unfertilized.  
That way, know one would ever suspect their own child would be an alien-human hybrid."

Scully raised an eyebrow.  She sighed, unable to really think of a reply.  "Mulder, I can't 
honestly accept your theory without more tests.  For all you know, it might be a hoax."

He shook his head a little, eyes intent on hers.  "It's not a hoax.  Samantha . . . she's the 
one that gave me that vial."  He said.  "She works for *them*.  She's a part of the 
conspiracy."

"What?"   Scully said, very surprised at Mulder's own accusations toward his sister.  "If 
she's a part of the same conspiracy you've . . . *we've* been trying to uncover, that's all 
the more reason for you not to trust her."

"She's working against them.  She's part of a resistance to sabotage and publicize the 
whole Project."

"And how do you know all of this?  Is this what she told you?"  Scully asked skeptically.

"Some of it.  Some of it I *saw*."  He said.  But her expression was obvious that she 
didn't really believe him.  He looked at the floor.  "Today, she took me to where she 
works.  The Department of Defense building.  I saw a huge lab with refrigeration units all 
containing these vials."  He held up the vial.  "Then she showed me this operating room 
where they operate on women.  Women that were abducted."

Scully nodded, not really believing what he had seen, but unable to pass it off as a 
complete and utter improbability.  

"She said that all the answers, all the proof, was in this vial.  That *this* was the truth."

She took the vial back from his hand.  "I guess you want me to run the genetic tests on the 
DNA."  She said.

Mulder nodded.  "This is our answer, the true key to the X-files."

After she turned and disappeared back into the lab, Mulder remained in the hallway for a 
moment.  He hoped she would uncover the secret that the ovum was hers, and then he 
would have to stop procrastinating from telling her.  But he still didn't want to do it.  If 
she thought her son was part alien, who knew what she might do.

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














Department of Defense Building
4:18 p.m.

The Smoking Man took a drag of his cigarette while standing just outside the tall glass 
doors to the DOD building.  He squinted across the street to the rooftops where the sun 
was now sinking into the horizon.  He didn't particularly enjoy being called off to the 
building, especially with more important things to do.  But the guard had told him his call 
was urgent, that there was something he needed to see.

He watched the mingling people along the sidewalk for another moment before snuffing 
out his cigarette in the sand of the heavy ashtray and going inside.  He used his own 
unlimited access card to easily get through all of the guard booths and metal detectors.  
He rode an empty elevator down to the first basement level and entered an unmarked 
guard booth without knocking or receiving consent.

The middle-aged, burly security officer turned in his swivel chair from behind his monitors 
to see who had entered his cramped little closet they called an office.  Employed by the 
DOD as a guard for over fifteen years, he knew the dos and don'ts of who to call when 
something came up, and who never to bother.  Though he was not an active Conspirator, 
he knew of the Project, and the secrecy of the level four classified corridors and 
laboratories.  He was not at all surprised to see the elusive Smoking Man enter his office 
after the quite important call he had made.

"I received your message."  The Smoking Man said upon entry to the guard booth.  He 
had gotten the word second-hand, not answering the phone himself, but hearing of it 
through his assistant.  "This better be important."  He said, glancing around at the five 
monitors on the desk in front of the guard.

"It is, Sir."  The guard said.  "At around noon today I came across this."  He stated, not 
hesitating to get to the point.  He began rewinding one of the tapes in the monitor to his 
left.  CSM came up closer to the desk to have a good look at what this guard was showing 
him.  He stopped rewinding just in time for two people to come on screen.  One was a 
woman, in a light suit with her dark hair drawn behind her head.  After watching the 
woman grow up, CSM knew right off it was the one-and-only Samantha Mulder.  But, she 
was not alone as normal.  There was a tall, lanky man walking with her.  As they came 
closer to the camera, the guard paused the tape so CSM could have a good look at his 
face.

CSM remained calm and collected on the outside, as his exterior always seemed to be cold 
and emotionless, but he was screaming on the inside.  He had not anticipated this much 
treason from Samantha.  Sure, he knew she would tell him things, but he never thought 
she would risk her own life just to bring Mulder here.

"They went into the genetics lab.  I don't know what happened in there.  There aren't any 
surveillance cameras in there."  The guard explained after watching CSM's face 
mysteriously never change expressions.

CSM blinked and looked at the guard.  "Why aren't there any surveillance cameras in the 
lab?"  He asked.

The guard glanced back at the paused monitor.  "I wouldn't know, Sir."  He said 
innocently.  "I guess there was no need for them with cameras every twenty feet in the 
hallways."

CSM mouth twitched a little into a frown.  "Give me the tape."  He ordered, holding out 
one gnarled old hand.  The guard ejected the tape quickly and handed it to him.  He turned 
for the door.  "Have cameras installed every ten feet in the labs."

"But, Sir . . ." The guard began to protest.  How was he supposed to do that?  He was just 
a guard that would be up to the head-honchos of the building.

"I don't care who you have to talk to, or who you have to weasel, just do it."  CSM 
snapped.  With that, he exited the office.

As he walked back down the long corridor to the elevator, he pulled a gray cellular phone 
from his jacket pocket.  He dialed a number that would never be found in any directories.  
Unlike many people, he didn't use or rely on speed-dial, for if he lost the phone, so would 
valuable secrecy be lost as well.

A younger voice answered with a quick, "Yes?" after the second ring.

"Krycek, have a meeting assembled immediately.  We have a small matter of security on 
our hands."  He ordered.  And as he has a habit of doing, without waiting for the reply, he 
hung up.

He boarded the elevator, which was again empty.  Mulder had gotten some information 
that was beyond top-secret and he could expose everything they've worked to hide.  
Someone was going to pay with his or her life.  CSM pulled a Morley out of his pocket 
and lit it with a match.  He glanced up at the accusing red sign on the wall that said, "NO 
SMOKING" and cursed under his breath.  This was all going to hell in a hand basket.

~

As the last Member had entered the meeting room and was situated in a comfortable one 
of the various old-fashioned leather bound chairs in the room, The Smoking Man didn't 
hesitate to get straight to the point.  He had his assistant bring forward a TV and VCR on 
a stand to the edge of the congregation where all the men could see the reason he had 
called this meeting to order.  

"As you were probably told over the phone, we have a small matter of a leak on our 
hands.  Samantha has taken her brother into the genetics lab here in the level four 
corridors.  There, he was most likely exposed to things he never should have seen."  CSM 
turned away from the attention of the group, and glanced at his assistant.  "Ryan, please 
turn on the tape."  He directed.

A young, bearded man stepped up to the VCR and pressed the play button, before sinking 
back into the shadows until he was called upon again.  All of the members present in the 
group watched in silence as Mulder and Samantha walked up the level four hallway, 
whispering conspiratorially together.  Another camera shot displayed Samantha open up 
one of the countless doors and lead Mulder in.  Though none of the doors were marked, 
all of the Members knew exactly which room was which, and they were stunned by what 
they had witnessed.

"He's seen the hybridized ovum?"  A balding man with a thick east European accent asked.

CSM nodded.  "Samantha knows very well what will happen to her for her treason."

"But, she is far too important to the progression of the Project to simply 'dispose of'." 
Another man sitting on a high-backed leather chair said.  The other members gave him 
their full attention, hoping he could back this up. "She is one of the best genetic engineers 
on the team.  Without her, we would never have hybridized Cassandra, not to mention the 
ovum."  The man glanced uneasily at CSM at the mention of the late Cassandra Spender.  
When he noted no change in the older man's expression, he again scanned the faces of the 
Group.

"He's right."  CSM confessed.  "We can't kill her, but we must discipline her.  She must 
know the error of her ways."  He said.  A few of the gentleman nodded in agreement.  
CSM looked across the room at Alex Krycek, leaning against the wood paneled wall.  He 
nodded too and stood straighter.  

"We gave her a gift, we can take it back."  The first balding man said.  They all nodded 
slightly again, understanding what must be done.  Krycek glanced once more at CSM and 
left the room with the knowledge that he would be the one entrusted to do the dirty work.

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








FBI Headquarters
5:58 p.m. 

Mulder looked up from wrapping up paperwork in time to see Scully re-enter the office 
for the first time in two hours.  Genetic testing was a long and tedious process that Scully 
had performed herself on more than one occasion.  It involved a lot of standing on one's 
feet, which is probably why Mulder expected her to come in looking the way she always 
does after being on her feet for too long; tired, grumpy, and ready to go home.  This time, 
however, she looked different. She didn't seem tired, she looked more . . . stunned.  
Mulder's first thought after seeing her expression was, oh my god, she knows!  She 
walked into the room and toward his desk, mostly looking at the floor.  It was like she 
was fighting a mental battle to figure out what the hell was going on.

She placed the file on his desktop containing the report to all the tests and then remained 
by his desk, staring blankly at the manila colored folder.  

He watched her expression for a moment.  "Well?  What did you find?" He finally asked, 
trying not to sound too ignorant by it.

"I uh . . . I found conclusive evidence of hybridization with another organism.  An 
organism I've never seen before, I doubt anyone could tell you they have."  She said, 
crossing her arms and finally meeting his eyes with her own.  

He picked up the file she had given him and opened it, seeing reports and test papers filled 
out completely in her elegant handwriting.  He didn't really understand what he was 
looking at, nor did he take the time now to read what she wrote. "Do you think it's alien?" 
He finally asked.

She shook her head slowly.  "I don't know.  There are some things, that you could find 
anywhere, certain genetic codes.  But then, there are other small things that make it so 
different . . ."

"These ovum are hybridized with alien DNA.  Is that what you're saying?"

She dropped her hands to her sides and paced back toward the door and then to his desk.  
"I . . . I don't know what I'm saying."

Mulder looked into her eyes.  It seemed as though she hadn't found out after all.  Oh God, 
how am I going to tell her?, he thought with an exasperated sigh.

"Mulder, what are they doing with these ovum?"  She waited but he didn't reply 
immediately, rising from his seat to file the reports.  "If these are being fertilized, who 
knows what kind of . . . monstrosities could be the results.  There could be horrible 
deformities or genetic conditions because of the hybridization."  She watched her husband 
turn away from the filing cabinets, reading into his expression.  He was hiding something.
"Mulder, what do they do with these ovum?"  She asked again, holding up the vial.

He broke their gaze briefly, glancing at the floor.  He scratched the back of his head but 
still didn't speak.

Scully cocked her head and looked at him warily.  "Mulder, what are you protecting me 
from?  What are you not telling me?"  She questioned, not liking his silent treatment one 
bit.

Mulder breathed out and met her eyes again.  He loved her so much; he couldn't bear to 
hurt her.  He didn't want to tell her, to just keep her in the dark about it.  But he couldn't 
bear to do that either.  Now, he was starting to resent the fact that he had ever stumbled 
over this information in the first place.

He dropped his hands to his sides as well, but took her right hand up in his left, still 
holding it at their side.  He glanced at the floor and then into her eyes.  "Those ovum . . ." 
He began. "They're yours."  He watched her lips form the word "No" but never say 
anything.  "The vial had a label on it, but I took it off.  I . . . I didn't want you to know 
right away."  His voice softened when he noticed the tears welling into her eyes.  "There is 
a chance . . . that the baby is an alien-human hybrid."  He whispered.

She frowned.  How could he be saying this?  "No," She finally whispered as a stray tear 
rolled down her cheek.  "They didn't do this to him.  Please, no."  She closed her eyes as 
more tears poured down her face.  They had abducted her twice, performed horrible tests, 
given her cancer and made her infertile, and hybridized poor little Zoe.  But, please, why 
couldn't they leave her son alone?

There was nothing Mulder could say.  Nothing he could do to comfort her.  He hung his 
head, terribly guilty that he had brought her this pain.  He watched her wipe the tears from 
her watery blue eyes and bite her lip, trying to hold back sobs that hadn't come yet.  
Married for nearly a year and she still tried to hide her emotions.  He touched her shoulder 
tentatively, hoping she wasn't angry with him for hiding the truth.  Instead, she licked her 
dry lips and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders.  He hugged her tight around 
her waist, realizing the only comfort she wanted for now would be without words.  He 
eventually dropped one of his hands down and laid it on her swollen belly.  He rubbed it 
gently with his thumb, the fabric of her jacket soft and warm under his skin.  Mulder felt 
the baby move from his mother's distress and the sudden attention.  

Scully began to sob into Mulder's shoulder with the movement, her moist tears soaking 
through the thin fabric if his shirt.  His hand moved back up from her belly to her hair, 
stroking her head and trying to provide some condolence.  "It's gonna be okay."  He 
whispered, kissing her ear.  He pulled a little out of her embrace and cradled her head as 
he had done so many times before.  Her eyes were puffy and red, matching the wet pink 
streaks on her cheeks.  He wiped away a lingering tear with his thumb and brought his lips 
down to hers.  The kiss was warm and gentle, in pure hopes of consolation.  Mulder then 
kissed her forehead tenderly and brought his forehead down to rest on hers.  She met his 
lips again briefly and then closed her eyes, trying to lose herself in him.

They had been through so much together in eight years.  Abductions, illnesses, injuries, 
fatal cancer, global conspiracies, and the race to find the truth.  Even with all of that, what 
laid ahead still had to be the hardest thing they would have to face.  But they were strong, 
dammit.  They had stuck together through it all, gaining a daughter and an unbreakable 
bond.  Now they would have to learn the answers about their own flesh-and-blood, and 
learn to accept the truth.  

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


































Margaret Scully Residence
May 30, 2001
Saturday, 11:47 a.m.

After discovering what could be the truth about her son, Scully spent the rest of the week 
testing and re-testing the genetic material, always trying to figure out what it meant and 
what it could do.  And mostly, how it would affect her son.  She turned into a relentless 
worker, never wanting to stop testing.  With not going onto the field so close to term, she 
had lots of spare time to work in the lab.  Even with Mulder's persistent pressure to take 
some time off, she refused, explaining that she needed to find the answers.  

Fortunately, she didn't work through her Saturdays, following her doctor's orders.  That's 
why she and Mulder sat in the car heading towards Scully's mother's house.  Scully had 
been invited to her mom's for a reason still unknown to both of them.  Maggie probably 
just wanted to see her daughter; they hadn't seen each other since Mulder was in the 
hospital.

As they pulled into the driveway, there was a van with rental plates in the driveway.  Both 
Mulder and Scully also noticed the light blue balloons tied around the mailbox.

"Isn't that a little early?"  Mulder asked as he put the Taurus in park and unbuckled his 
seat belt.  He put his hand on the handle to open the door and get out, but Scully stopped 
him with a firm grip on his arm.

"Wait, Mulder."  She said, staring forward at the rental van.

Immediately anticipating anything so close to term, Mulder thought something was wrong 
and looked her, a worried expression on his face.  "What? What's wrong?"  He asked 
hurriedly, ready to jump into action at any second.

"I don't want to go in yet."  Scully said.  "Just stay here for a second."  

"Okay . . ." Mulder complied, already confused.  He watched his wife's calm yet 
disturbingly blank expression.  "Scully, what's wrong?"  He asked after a minute.

"Nothing.  I'm fine."  She looked over at him as soon as she answered and saw the slight 
frown on his face.  She knew very well how much he hated her saying that.  "It's just with 
everything that's happened this week, I don't know . . ."

"You don't know if you can face your mother without breaking down."  He finished for 
her.  Though she had been busying herself with lab tests and her personal digging for the 
truth, the realization of everything was still very hard on her.  All week, she had been 
plagued by nightmares, only comforted again in his arms.

She nodded slowly.  "There's something else."  She said, looking back out the windshield. 
She paused for a moment and continued when Mulder didn't reply.  "Bill doesn't know."

"Bill doesn't know what?"  He asked, still turned and looking at her.

"About the baby.  I never told him anything, Mom and Tara never told him anything."

Mulder raised his eyebrows.  "Well then this should be interesting, shouldn't it?"  He said 
with a chuckle.  "They're obviously still here."  He gestured toward the maroon rental van.

There was the sound of a screen door slamming as Maggie Scully stepped out onto the 
porch after realizing they were sitting in her driveway. Both Mulder and Scully looked 
over towards the porch simultaneously.

"Shall we go in?" Mulder offered after a minute.

Scully nodded almost reluctantly and opened her door.  She smiled her best through all the 
thoughts in her mind as she ascended the porch stairs in front of Mulder.  Maggie returned 
a sweet greeting smile as she hugged her daughter.

"Look how big you're getting!"  She said, laughing lightly and patted Scully's stomach.

"Mom, I'm a cow."  Scully said, blushing a little and actually smiling genuinely.

Maggie chuckled again and turned to Mulder, offering him a maternal smile.  "Fox . . ." 
She said, holding out her arms.  "It's good to see you up and well again."

Mulder smiled and hugged his mother-in-law.  He was one of those one-in-a-thousand 
men who actually *liked* his mother-in-law.  She had never wronged him, and didn't hate 
him, which was all he could care about.

As Maggie opened the door back into the big house she owned, Scully put her hand 
behind her back.  Mulder took it and squeezed it, following her through the door.  

The living room immediately inside the door was mysteriously darkened and Maggie didn't 
bother to turn on a light as they entered.  Thinking her mom was just trying to conserve 
energy or something, Scully didn't question it, stepping onto the foyer.  Mulder kept his 
grip on her hand as he closed the door behind himself.  All of a sudden, the lights came on 
and people jumped up from behind furniture and out of the shadows of the darkness.  
They all yelled, "SURPRISE!!" Naturally.  Maggie was among those with a wide grin 
spread across her face.

Mulder watched Scully's expression, seeing how it would change.  Rather than grin widely 
and scream like most surprised party-people, the small smile that had formed on her lips 
drained away.  She was nervous about her composure around her mother, now there were 
about ten other people added that she hadn't anticipated.  Mulder felt her squeeze his hand 
harder.  He kept holding it, stroking her knuckles with his thumb.

"What is all this?" She asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"It's a baby shower, Honey!"  Maggie said proudly, obviously being the one who 
organized the whole shindig.

Scully bit her lip and felt tears pricking up behind her eyelids.  "Excuse me," She said 
quickly, releasing Mulder's hand and rushing off to the other side of the living room and 
through the more formal sitting room.  He glanced around at the guests for a moment, 
seeing that all the previous glee had left their faces when the center of attention had fled.

Mulder turned and rushed after her.  He went through the sitting room, past the basement 
door and to the closed door of the first floor guest bedroom.  He tried the handle but 
found it locked.  "Scully, it's me."  He said.  "Please let me in."  After a few moments, he 
heard the lock click.  He turned the handle and went in, closing the door behind himself.

Scully was sitting on the quilted bed, tears streaming down her face.  Mulder sat beside 
her and took her up in his arms.  She buried her face in his shoulder but didn't start to sob 
terribly yet.  "I'm so sorry, Mulder."  She whimpered.

"Don't be sorry.  It's all right."  He told her, rubbing his hand up and down her back.  
Though he was there for her whenever she needed him, now more than ever; it still 
amazed him that he could really handle her being like this.  Normally so composed, 
collected, and in control, it wasn't until Zoe that he really, truly started seeing the warmer 
side of Dana Scully.  And with this baby, and everything happening to him; she was never 
in control; she had no way to change what was going on inside her or with their child.

"I just never expected this.  I-I don't think I can handle it all."  She said softly, keeping her 
arms wrapped tight around him.

"Dana?"  A worried voice called from behind the door, adding a soft knock.  "Dana, can I 
come in?"

Scully lifted her head and looked at Mulder.  His eyes told her, it's up to you.  She put her 
head against Mulder's chest, not wanting to leave his embrace.  "Yeah, Mom."  She called 
after a minute.  

Maggie entered cautiously, unknowing of what she would see.  When she saw Dana 
sitting on the guest bed, her husband's arms wrapped around her, it broke her heart.  She 
joined them and placed a hand on Scully's shoulder.  Mulder let go of her and Scully sat 
up, facing her mother.  

"Dana, what's wrong?"  Maggie asked, concern written all over her face.

Scully looked at the floor, unable to think of how to explain anything.  "I don't know, 
Mom."  She said.

Maggie shook her head.  "No, Dana. I know better, something is wrong and you won't 
keep me in the dark again."

Scully over at Mulder, still not knowing how to tell her mother about the baby.

"Is something wrong with the baby?"  Maggie asked before either of them could speak.

"Maybe."  Scully muttered, another tear rolling down her cheek.

Mulder took a breath and caught Maggie's eyes, which looked to him next for answers.  
He sighed and figured out what to say quickly.  "There's a chance something could be 
wrong with him because of the tests during her abduction."  He said, narrowly avoiding 
anything about aliens.

"Oh my god."  Maggie whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"It's just really hard on us."  Mulder continued.  

"Oh, of . . . of course."  Maggie said, still stunned by what she had been told.  She looked 
back at Scully, whose tears had begun to fall again.  "Dana, I can tell everybody that 
you're not feeling well and we'll do it another day, if you want."  She offered.

Scully sniffed and wiped a tear away from her cheek.  "No . . . no, don't.  Just give us a 
few minutes."

Having the motherly knowledge that Scully meant alone, she rose to leave. 

"Mom," Scully said before Maggie exited.  "Don't tell, Bill.  I don't want him to know 
about this.  Don't tell anyone."  Maggie nodded and left.

Scully turned back to Mulder.  "Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah.  I think so."  She replied, moving closer to him and dropping her head back to his 
chest.

Mulder put his arms back around her shoulders and held her close for a little while.  He 
kissed the top of her head and tried to think of what to say to comfort her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm just so afraid of what they did to him."  
She said finally.

Mulder didn't know if she was really talking to him or mostly to herself.  He chose to keep 
silent and let her continue.  After all, it wasn't often she would bare her soul to him.

"I said that the hybridization could cause deformities and genetic illnesses.  I just want our 
baby to be healthy."  

Mulder still didn't know what to say.  As far as he knew, there was nothing either of them 
could do.  If their child was indeed hybrid, they would have to learn to live with it.  He 
was afraid too, although he didn't tell Scully.  He was almost positive that Emily had been 
a hybrid, or an experiment of some sort; and she hadn't lived to see her fourth birthday.

After another few minutes, Scully sat up straight and wiped the tears from her face with 
the back of her hand.  Mulder watched her stand and disappear into the guest bathroom 
where he heard the water running from the sink.  He guessed she was splashing cold water 
on her face because when she returned, the red streaks and puffy eyes had almost 
disappeared.

"Do you want me to stay?"  He asked her as she opened the door and he followed her out.

"If you want to.  I mean, I know it'll bore you, but if you want to."  She said, knowing he 
had planned on going to meet with JC for a game.  She didn't want him to not go because 
of her; she wasn't like that.

"I think I'll stay, at least for a little."  He said and smiled warmly. 

The sight of his smile lifted her spirits a little as she returned to the living room where the 
guests were still congregated.  They all looked up and smiled as she entered, knowing it 
unnecessary to yell "surprise" again.  Scully told herself she was going to enjoy this baby 
shower no matter what. The only thing she was really nervous of was Bill.  She hadn't 
seen him in the living room and wondered where he was.

Almost as soon as Scully was with her friends and family, she seemed to forget about 
everything that was troubling her.  Mulder watched her give and receive hugs from who 
he presumed to be old girlfriends, aunts, and cousins.  He however, remained at his 
vantage on the couch, not being nor wanting to be the center of attention.  He did receive 
a few "congratulation's" and "nice seeing you again's" from a few of the various women.  
Once the party got under way, he saw Scully smiling and laughing again, and it brought a 
smile again to his own lips.  

After the initial mingling at the beginning of the shower, Scully joined him on the couch 
for the opening of gifts.  Mulder leaned over and put his lips close to her ear, whispering 
something witty about a party where they rub booties on his face.  Scully, now in a 
completely better mood, giggled and tried to suppress more laughter.  The laughter was 
not because the comment was particularly funny, but because of the peculiar feeling of 
happiness and spirit that had re-grown inside of her.  Just being with her friends and family 
and their warm smiles erased her fears to a buried seed of doubt.  Like a breath of oxygen 
on a dying flame, their innocent unknowing brought back all the joy of the pure fact that 
she was a having a baby.  That she was finally getting what she'd always wanted.

Once all of the women were situated in various seats--or cross-legged on the floor if they 
were younger--around the room, Mulder could get a better look at their faces.  Blessed 
with a photographic memory, he recognized a few of them as guests at the wedding.

"Open the first one, Dana!"  A young woman Mulder didn't recognize called. She had 
strawberry-blonde Medusa-hair curls falling down to her shoulders.  Her bright green eyes 
were simply striking, and the light splash of freckles on her face and arms that 
complimented her hair color perfectly.

Scully grinned.  "Okay, Jo. Okay."  She said.  She glanced quickly around the room, a 
smile still lighting up her face.  "Where's the first one?"  She asked to no one in particular.

Maggie rose a little from the recliner adjacent to the sofa and held out a light blue gift bag.  
"Open mine first."  She said, obviously trying not to sound to over-excited and squeeze a 
childish squeal of delight back down her throat.

Scully took it from her and sat it between hers and Mulder's laps, as her swollen belly 
covered most of hers.  She then began pulling out the white tissue paper from the top of 
the bag, feeling very much like a kid on Christmas morning. After what seemed like an 
endless mound of paper, she finally uncovered a folded piece of gray fabric.  She pulled it 
out, and it unfolded itself in the process.  It was revealed to be an infant-sized gray 
sweatshirt with the words, "Daddy's Little Buddy" printed on the front.  Mulder looked at 
it and smiled.  Scully continued through the bag, bringing out an orange and blue New 
York Knicks baseball cap; also infant-sized.

Mulder laughed at this and took it from Scully, studying it.  "Thanks, Maggie, but I think 
it's too small."  He remarked, placing it atop his head to demonstrate his point.  Snickers 
and giggles rippled through the guests.

The next gift was an adorable one-piece baby blue pajama set.  It had a matching knit cap 
and booties.  All of the women seemed to 'Ooh' and 'Ahh' simultaneously.

Scully laid the outfit over her belly.  She felt a responsive kick from the baby and 
chuckled.  "I guess he likes it too."  She said, laying her hand over the soft fabric of the 
pajamas as her son moved around. Mulder's hand came over and rested there too.

More awes were murmured as a figure stepped off the bottom step onto the foyer before 
the house entrance.  He began toward the entrance of the sitting room and the affair that 
was going on outside of his presence.

Mulder glanced up in time to see his wife's older brother come into the light of the sitting 
room.  Bill's jaw dropped when he saw the center of attention.

"Oh . . . my . . . god."  He said in long, exaggerated syllables.

Mulder nudged Scully with his elbow.  She looked up at Bill's face and then glanced back 
at her husband's.  He raised his eyebrows and flashed a wry grin.  Told you so, his 
expression said.

Scully's eyelids narrowed to a glare at his audacity.  She forced a smile. "Bite me, 
Mulder."  She muttered through her teeth.

"Later."  He mumbled in return and settled deeper into the couch.  He stretched one arm 
over the back of the couch and draped the other over the armrest.  Then he saw Scully put 
on her best innocent baby-sister smile and look back to Bill.  Bill was slowly approaching 
from the other side of the room.

"Hi, Bill."  She said sweetly.

Bill took another step towards them.  "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"  He 
asked.  His eyes glittered with an anger that was slowly brewing inside of him.

Scully rose awkwardly from her seat.  She'd gotten better at standing with the unbalanced 
weight, and could do it with more grace than any other woman Mulder had seen.

"Bill, I--" She began.  Mulder couldn't tell if her voice was equally masked anger or some 
form of an apology.

Before she could continue, Maggie had gotten up and stepped between the siblings.  Her 
motherly senses had already detected the sparks flying between the two.  She faced Bill 
first. "Let's take this into the kitchen, please."  She said calmly.  She glared at him in the 
way only irritated mother could.  Mulder knew by the look that Maggie was sick and tired 
of Bill and his loathing of everything.  He stood for another second, then turned and 
stormed off to the kitchen.  Maggie shot Scully a look that said "Don't start" and then 
followed her eldest son.  Scully hesitated for a moment before going after them.

Mulder was left deciding whether he should follow his wife or stay with the party.  A 
backwards glance from Scully made the decision for him.  He rose quickly from the couch, 
looking at the wondering guests.  They seemed utterly enthralled by the spectacle they'd 
just witnessed.  Like they were watching the events unfold of some dramatic movie, 
wondering what would happen next.  They looked like they should all have a bowl of 
popcorn and a soda in hand.

He pushed through the two-way swinging kitchen door to see Bill and Scully standing 
across from each other by the kitchen table.  Maggie was playing something of a referee in 
their standoff, an even more impatient furrow creasing her forehead.  Mulder stepped back 
behind Scully and leaned against the counter.

"I have had it up to here with you two."  Maggie said sternly, tracing an imaginary line 
across her throat at the base of her chin.  "I realize that you don't see eye-to-eye, but I'm 
fed up with this fighting!"  Her faded blue eyes darted back and forth between her 
children. "I want it to end now."  She ordered, accentuating the words with a sharp stab 
on the wooden kitchen table with her index finger.

She looked at Scully first.  "Dana, I don't agree with you keeping things from us.  But, 
Bill," She turned her head and glared at him equally.  "I do honor her decisions.  And you 
have to choose the most interesting times for confrontation."

Mulder watched Bill shift his weight from foot to foot.  Only a mother could make a sea-
hardy Naval Captain squirm like that.

Maggie finally turned from Bill and Scully to retrieve a tray of deviled eggs from the 
refrigerator.  Without another word, she pushed back through the door into the sitting 
room and the guests.  A few minutes later, laughter rang through the thin closed door and 
into the dead silence of the kitchen.  Maggie had probably lapsed into telling embarrassing 
stories about when her children were children, or showing equally humiliating pictures.

"Dana, why didn't you ever tell me you were pregnant?"  Bill asked quietly after another 
few minutes had passed.  Though his voice sounded calm, his clenching and unclenching 
fists at his sides said that his short fuse had blown.  After a moment, he lifted his eyes from 
the floor to Scully.

Scully uncrossed her arms and let them drop to her sides.  "Bill, I was going to tell you."  
She answered coolly.

"When?  Were you just gonna wait until this kid was born and all of a sudden say, 'oh, by 
the way, Bill, this is your nephew'?"  His voice sounded both hurt and confused now.  His 
eyes were hurt, masked by a veil of anger.  He turned around and rested enclosed fists on 
the countertop behind him.  "Just like your cancer."  He muttered.

Scully shook off the cancer remark.  This wasn't about that.  "Honestly, Bill, you really 
want to know why I didn't tell you right away?"  She waited for him to turn back around, 
and when he didn't, she continued speaking to his back. "It's because you and I don't have 
a very good track record when it comes to breaking news to each other.  Every time I tell 
you something you end up getting mad.  Especially when it involves me and Mulder."  She 
gestured back at her husband.

Mulder was still leaning against the counter with one arm crossing his chest and holding 
his elbow, while the other hand support his chin in the fleshy part between his thumb and 
forefinger; a thinker pose. He now felt like he should be the one with a bowl of popcorn.  
When Bill turned around and flashed him a glance he couldn't interpret, he remained 
indifferent; at least for now.

"I wish you could trust me to tell you things when I was ready."  Scully said finally, her 
voice considerably softer than before.

Bill opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again when the door swung 
open again.  The woman with the strawberry curls, Jo, stepped in. 

She looked around at the gathering.  "Y'all having a party without me?" She asked, smiling 
sarcastically.  Mulder could now clearly hear the mild southern accent in her voice and 
remembered Scully saying something about her being from North Carolina, or somewhere 
around there.  He also got a better look at her now that she was standing.  Jo was around 
Scully's height and weight, and their build was somewhat similar.  Although Jo was a little 
more robust around the hips, and her face was a little more rounded.  She also didn't seem 
as strong as Scully, not as toned and muscular.  This suggested to Mulder that her job 
wasn't physically strenuous, and she didn't work out.  Jo looked first to Scully, who had 
turned away from her brother.  "Dana, when are you comin' back out, hun?  We're waitin' 
for ya'."  She said.

Scully smiled.  "Actually I was just on my way back out."  She said, deciding now would 
be the time to end her conversation with Bill.

Jo stepped aside so Scully could leave.  She looked over at Bill, who was still standing 
stiffly with his hands at his sides.  Jo smiled warmly, ignoring whatever mood had been set 
in the room.  "Billy, come over and give me a hug!"  She said, holding out her arms and 
walking towards him.

The corners of Bill's mouth turned up into a strained smile as he embraced Scully's old 
friend.  She reached up on tiptoe and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"So, how 'ya been, big guy?"  She asked casually.

Bill sighed audibly, keeping the fake smile plastered on his face. "I've been better."  He 
answered honestly.

Jo's smile faded a little to a mild look of sympathy.  "I'm sorry to hear that."  She said.  
After another minute, she gave him another quick hug and left the kitchen.

Mulder remained for a moment.  He was about the turn and leave had he not heard what 
Bill said next:

"You're the cause for all of this."

Mulder faced Bill. Bill was staring menacingly at him.

"What?" He asked, making sure he heard correctly.

"You heard me."  Bill said sternly.

Mulder furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.  "How am *I* the reason for the friction 
between you and your sister?"

Bill shook his head.  He didn't have an answer.  He just needed somewhere to place the 
blame.  "I don't know how you roped my sister into marrying you in the first place."  He 
muttered, pacing across the room and looking at the floor.  "Tell me," He said, looking 
back at Mulder.  "Do you still drag Dana off on cases, hunting for your goddamn little 
green men?"

Mulder didn't respond at first.  He wasn't exactly mad, just a little perturbed.  Not yet, at 
least.  "No one *drags* Scully anywhere."  He stated finally.  When Bill didn't speak again 
for a few minutes, Mulder decided it was time to speak his mind on the whole subject.

"It's funny," Mulder began, chuckling without humor. "You'd think a guy like you would 
be happy for his sister.  I mean; she's having a baby!  The one thing she's wanted most in 
the world, the one thing that would make her happy, and she'd getting it.  And she's 
happy."  Trust me, I would know if she wasn't, he thought, but bit his tongue against 
saying it.

Bill's face took on a pink flush color.  He shook his head.  "Looks like I've lost another 
sister to your fucking Truth."  He said solemnly.

Mulder clenched his jaw to keep from spouting off a river of curses.  He could still remain 
calm, but Bill had just about pushed him over the edge.  His ignorance was just plain 
insulting.  Mulder knew what it was like to lose a sister.  True, he'd gotten his back, which 
is something Bill could never have.  But to dare say that he'd lost Scully to Mulder, was 
plain and simple arrogance.  Family was most important to Scully, but Bill refused to hear 
it.

Just as he wouldn't listen now.  Mulder glared at him, sick he was even *remotely* related 
to this man.  "Bill," He said, "You're a dick."

Mulder watched Bill's face turn from pink, to red, to purple.  The vein popped out of his 
forehead and he balled his fists tighter.  Mulder took an instinctive step backward, being as 
Bill out-sized him by about fifty pounds and two or three inches.

"None of this is about you, or who you hate.  You should respect Scully's decisions on 
when to tell you things that are important in her life."  Mulder said slowly. "Personally I 
don't give a rat's ass whether you hate me or not.  The feeling his mutual.  But this is about 
my wife.  Yeah, my wife.  We're married; remember? We're having a baby.  And there's 
not a damn thing you can do about it."

Bill's eyes narrowed to slits and his lips pursed to a thin white line.  He raised his fist a 
little and Mulder unconsciously braced against Bill's hit.  But it never came.  Instead, Bill 
turned and stomped out the back screen door, making sure to slam it in its wood frame 
real hard.

Mulder let out the breath he'd been holding and shook his head.  So, this is why she didn't 
tell him, he thought.  The he turned, and went back to the baby shower, without a second 
look back at Bill brewing on the back porch.

~

As the shower grew to an end, cake was served and the presents were loaded into the car.  
By four o'clock, all of the guests had left except for Jo.  The five of them, Jo, Tara, 
Maggie, Mulder, and Scully had stayed in the sitting room, just talking for a while.

"So, have you decided on a name, yet?"  Jo asked casually, a cold diet Pepsi in her hands.

Scully and Mulder looked at each other.  "Nope." Scully finally replied.  "We have a list, 
but we haven't really narrowed it down yet."

"You could always name him after his daddy."  Maggie said, grinning at Mulder.

Mulder rolled his eyes. "I would never submit a child to that kind of torture.  It's cruel and 
unusual."

"Oh, I like your name, Fox."  Jo said.  "I have a thing for those unique names. That would 
be why my daughter's name is Jazzabella Arlington McKay."

"Arlington?"  Mulder questioned.

"Yup."  Jo smiled.  "That's where she was born.  My full name is Lilly-Jo Georgia McKay.  
I guess it's a family thing."

Maggie laughed lightly.  She looked at Tara and Jo.  "Well, girls, do you think we should 
give them the last present now?"

Mulder and Scully looked surprised.  "What last present?"  She asked.

The three women got up.  "It's a surprise." Maggie said.

Scully was about to get up and follow them, but paused and sat back down.  "Oh, no, I 
think I've had enough surprises for one day."  She held out her hands to feign it away, as if 
the surprise was something out to get her.

"Oh, come on, Dana, you'll like it."  Jo reassured.

"Now, you guys stay here."  Tara directed to Mulder and Scully, still sitting on the sofa.

They did as they were told and the three women exited the sitting room via the kitchen.

Scully turned her head and looked at Mulder.  "I wonder what they're gonna surprise us 
with this time."  She said, not sounding too eager to find out.

Mulder chuffed a short laugh.  "I'm not sure I want to know."  He said warily.

Maggie returned a few minutes later, empty handed.  She stood before them, grinning.  
"To prevent against the Jealous Daddy Syndrome, we all pitched in to get Mulder 
something."  She said simply.

Scully stared at her mother, trying to figure out what it was.

As if on cue, Tara and Jo returned.  Tara was also empty handed, but in Jo's arms was a 
small, squirming little animal.  Once she got closer there was no doubt that the little animal 
was a puppy.

"Ta-da!"  They all said in unison as Jo placed the little dog on Mulder's lap.

"Oh god . . ." Scully groaned, rolling her eyes.  She watched the playful pup jump on 
Mulder's chest and lick his chin.

Mulder laughed and grabbed the cocoa colored animal.  It was a chocolate lab, with a 
short soft coat, and strong, stocky little legs.  Mulder fell in love instantly.

"We've got a carrying cage, bag of food, toys, and dishes all ready for him."  Maggie said 
to the proud new owner of the dog.

"How did you know?"  Mulder asked her.

"Maggie knows all."  Jo said jokingly, glancing at Scully.

Scully reached over and petted the pup.  He was absolutely adorable.  How could she say 
no?  She couldn't, not in a million years.  She really didn't think they needed a dog, nor 
could they really stand to have one around, especially not with their two frantic cats and a 
baby on the way.  She blamed it on her raging hormones that she wanted to keep the 
puppy.  It made everything seem cute and innocent and her want to keep them.  

"What do you think, Scully?"  Mulder asked.

She scratched behind the pup's ear. "He's cute." She said.  She looked up at Maggie.  "Are 
there any more surprises I should know about?"

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






































Mulder Residence
11:20 p.m. 

Mulder awoke shortly after he had finally drifted into a deep sleep to the sound of soft 
sobbing.  At first, he thought he was dreaming, but knew it was real when he turned over 
and Scully was shaking with held back cries.  Her skin was hot against his, indicating that 
she had been crying for awhile.

"What's wrong?"  He asked her gently, even though he had a hunch it was the same thing 
that had been *wrong* all week.

Scully stopped crying at the sound of Mulder's voice.  She couldn't help sobbing, not really 
aware she was even doing it.  But she'd tried to keep it quiet, not wanting to wake him.  
She wished he hadn't awoken; she wanted to be alone.  She didn't answer for a long time, 
not quite sure of what to tell him.  She couldn't begin to describe what had brought her to 
tears; there were so many reasons.  And again, her hormones weren't helping.

"Did you have another nightmare?"  He asked.

Scully turned to her back and stared into the darkness towards the ceiling.  "No," She 
finally sighed.  "I don't know what's wrong.  Everything's wrong."  She said sadly.

In the light of the moon, Mulder could see the wet tear streaks on her cheeks and her 
shimmering eyes.  Everything's wrong really didn't tell him much, but he still knew what 
she was talking about.  What it really amounted to was that Scully was getting what she'd 
always wanted, only to have the possibility for it to be taken away from her.  The baby 
shower hadn't made her feel better at all; in fact, it had probably made her feel worse.

Since he really couldn't think of anything intelligent to say to comfort her, Mulder just 
draped his arm around her body and held her tight.  She didn't say anything about it and he 
guessed it suited her fine.  After a few awkwardly quiet minutes, Mulder felt her body 
tense as a Braxton-Hicks contraction passed through her.  It seemed to him, that the 
contractions only came when she was distraught, or under a lot of stress.  An 
uncontrollable sob escaped her, and she shuddered.  He could see a tear glisten on her 
cheek before rolling away and onto the pillow.

Scully eventually wiped the tears from her cheeks and closed her eyes.  She told herself 
she was just going to stop thinking, and go to sleep.  Too bad her mind didn't listen.  It 
was buzzing with too much.  Not to mention the horrible twisted pain in her lower back.  
The nerves and muscles felt like they were being knotted and squeezed into a ball right at 
the dip in the small of her back.  She shifted positions, trying to find a way to lay more 
comfortably.  Her enlarged middle somewhat limited her movements and her spine twisted 
painfully when she turned too quickly.  Of course, she didn't say anything, thinking Mulder 
had fallen asleep.

"What's wrong?"  He asked her again, after feeling all the motion beside him and her 
squirming in his arms.

She laid still on her back.  "My back hurts."  She said quietly, wincing.

He pulled away from her and directed her to turn over.  She did as she was told and he 
reached down to her lower back.  He could feel the tightened muscles begin to loosen as 
he massaged.  Slowly and methodically, he pressed his fingers into her flesh and moved 
them around in small circles.  She moved only once and that was to stretch the muscles 
and nerves in her back.  

"Harder."  She moaned, pinching her eyes shut and reveling in the feeling of his fingers 
digging into and loosening her muscles.

He pressed his fingers into her skin a little harder, making the massaging motions a little 
more forceful.  When she moaned wordlessly, he stopped the hard massaging and laid his 
palms flat against her back.  With his fingers pointing towards her head, he rubbed his 
hands up her back, along her spine.  His hands moved slowly towards her shoulders, 
smoothing the cool silk of her nightgown against her skin.  As he reached the top edge of 
her nightgown, his fingers returned to the hard circular motions again, relieving the 
tension in her shoulders.  Once he had worked from the muscles near her neck out, he 
stopped massaging and just slid is hands along her shoulder, pulling down the thin strap of 
her nightgown.  He kissed the soft skin behind her ear, receiving her shiver of delight in 
response.  Then he trailed his lips down her sensitive neck and throat, leaving soft kisses in 
his wake.  He had just reached the dip in her shoulder of her collarbone, still sliding the 
silk strap down her arm, when he heard a faint sound.  Realizing it wasn't Scully because 
she had stilled too, to listen; he stopped kissing her and listened closer himself.  That's 
when it became clearer:  *someone* was yelling for Mommy from across the hall, again.

Mulder groaned softly and rolled onto his back.  "Dammit, Zoe."  He mumbled to himself.  
This was really getting annoying.  Not a single night went by when she couldn't sleep for 
fear of monsters inhabiting her closet, or under her bed.  And it was impossible for him to 
tell her there was no such thing as monsters, after all he'd seen and experienced over the 
years.

"It's not her fault she has an overactive imagination."  Scully muttered, also turning to her 
back again.  "If I didn't know better, I'd say she got it from you."  She said.

"Mommy!"  Was yelled again.

Mulder groaned but remained laying down.  Scully began to sit up.  "No, I'll get her."  
Mulder grumbled, still not making any motions at getting up.  "Just give me five minutes."

"Why?" Scully asked, continuing to sit up.

"It's gonna take me five minutes."  Mulder said.

Scully groaned, annoyed.  She moved her legs slowly over the edge of the bed and pushed 
herself onto the floor. She padded barefoot around the bed and crossed the dark hall to 
Zoe's room.

Scully switched on the overhead light, squinting and rubbing her eyes at the brightness.  
Zoe was huddled on her bed, her blanket up to her chin, even though it was another 
seventy-five-degree night.  

"Zoe, you've got to stop this."  She said, crossing to Zoe's bed and sitting down beside 
her.  "Your Daddy and I both need our sleep."  She glanced away from her daughter, 
regretting the way they had been interrupted.  "Among other things."  She said quietly.

Zoe sat up, clutching her doll in the crook of one elbow and a teddy bear in the crook of 
the other.  "But, I'm too scared to sleep."  She pleaded, her eyes clear and obviously wide-
awake.  She really was scared, too distracted to have even picked up her mother's last 
comment, which she normally seemed to have an ear for.  

"There's nothing to be scared of."  Scully reassured, trying to smile for her daughter.  
"There are no such thing as monsters.  They're all make-believe."

"Nu-uh!"  Zoe replied.

"Uh-huh," Scully said mockingly, tickling her daughter's sides.

Zoe giggled and laid back down. "What about Flukeman, and the Great Mutato, and the 
Amuru?" She asked.

Scully shook her head. "Zoe, those weren't monsters."  She paused.  "Well, except maybe 
for Flukeman.  But, he won't be moving into your closet anytime soon, I promise."

"'Kay."  Zoe sighed.

Scully smiled and touched the child's cheek.  Then she leaned down and kissed her 
forehead before standing up and heading back for the door.  

Mulder had just reached Zoe's room when Scully was leaving.  He looked past his wife at 
Zoe, who was snuggling back into her bed in hops of going to sleep. He smiled faintly and 
reached in to switch off the light.

"Daddy?"  She beckoned.

"Hmm?"  

"I need to ask you a question."  She said, as if she was still forming the words herself.

Sensing the importance in her voice, Mulder came and sat on the edge of her bed where 
Scully had been.  "What is it?" He asked gently.

"I know what's been going on all week."  She said.  "With the baby.  I just . . . I want to 
know . . . Is it *bad* to be part alien?"

He didn't answer right away, off struck by her question.  All week, both he and Scully had 
been worrying about what *could* happen, they failed to see what *was* happening, and 
what already did.  They were so afraid of the baby being different, they didn't even realize 
that Zoe was different, and that was what made her so wonderful.  He had a revelation 
then, that they shouldn't *fear* what could happen, but learn to live with it.

"So, it's not?"  Zoe asked, breaking into his thoughts.

He looked at her after a minute, seeing the innocent wondering and need for his 
confidence in her crystalline eyes.  "No, Zoe. It's not."  It's not your fault anyway, he 
thought.

She smiled and hugged him.  "G'night, Daddy."

"Good-night, Zoe."  He said, returning to the doorway and the light.

He took one final look at his daughter before switching off the light and crossing back to 
his bedroom.

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

















Mulder Residence
June 16, 2001
Friday, 5:31 p.m.

The week before Scully's due date, the twentieth, she began her maternity leave.  She was 
thankful for being able to leave before the baby was actually born, so she could prepare for 
the immense change in her life.  She had almost finished the baby's room, completing it 
with stuffed toys in the finished wood crib and a colorful mobile.  They had a beginning 
stock of diapers, powder, and wipes.  The rest of anything would just have to be bought 
later. 

Since Zoe had gotten off from school for summer break, the two of them had actually 
gotten some work done in the twin flowerbeds in front of the covered porch and around 
the mailbox.  They had weeded, planted, and mulched all day long.  Now, instead of 
weeds, the beds were rampant with daisies, black-eyed Susan's, rose bushes, and various 
other colorful annuals and perennials.  After a cool dip in the pool, Scully settled onto the 
porch swing while Zoe ran down the street to play with the neighbors.

So she sat, swinging slowly on the swing and thinking.  She had pulled out the old diary 
she kept hidden under her bed, and began to write.  It had been two years since she had 
written in it.  The last entry was about what had happened in the hallway outside of 
Mulder's apartment, before she was stung by that *damn* bee.  She chuckled to herself, as 
if it mattered now.  The overall feelings of the entry were frustration and utter 
hopelessness.  She had written about how she had wanted to kiss him.  She had wanted to 
feel his lips against hers, and hope it when much farther.  It was ironic.  She wondered if 
she had known then, that they would end up married, with a daughter and a child on the 
way, what she would've done.  I would've laughed, she thought, smiling to herself.  
"Mulder and I are just friends."  She would've said, denying her true feelings for him, 
sometimes even to herself.  "And I can't have children."  Ha, Scully thought.  Her mind 
momentarily drifted to everything that had been plaguing her over the past few weeks.  
She shook her head; I don't want to think about that.   

She had just turned to the next empty page and scrawled the date when her attention was 
drawn to the driveway by a flash of light.  She looked up to see a navy blue Taurus pull 
into the driveway; the flash of light had been the evening sun glinting of the roof.  She was 
very surprised to see Mulder home so early, as he didn't get off until six o'clock.  He 
pulled the car into the garage and came back out to go in the front door.  Oddly, there was 
no door connecting the garage to the house, only the one out to the back.  He walked up 
the stone front walkway to the porch stairs.  He had his finger hooking his jacket over one 
shoulder, his briefcase in the other hand, and his Oakley shades over his eyes.  He walked 
up the creaky porch stairs and was greeted immediately by the puppy.  

"Some watchdog."  Mulder said down to the dog; who was jumping around his master's 
feet, panting and wagging his tail fiercely.  

Scully laughed lightly from her seat.  "He's tired."  She said.  "Zoe's good at wearing poor 
Jake out."  Jake bounded over to the swing at the sound of his name. Running through a 
list of dog names one night, Jake had popped up and seemed to fit.  So it stuck, along with 
his nicknames, Jakey, Squirt, and Scully's personal favorite: Pain.

Mulder disappeared into the house without even a formal hello only to reappear in a pair 
of jeans shorts and a hug and sweet kiss on the lips.  He settled down on the swing beside 
Scully, a cold beer in one hand.  She had begun writing in her diary as he sat and watched.

"What are you writing?"  He asked playfully, not really curious, but merely wanting 
someone to talk to.

"Nothing."  She said.

He leaned over and tried to see the page, only to have Scully pull the book away from his 
prying eyes.  "Anything about me?"

"Nope."   She lied.  Just about everything she'd written was about him, or something 
relating to him.

Of course, he knew some of the contents of the book.  He'd read only a few pages when 
she had cancer.  He hated reading the words meant to be read when she passed.  He hated 
her thinking there was nothing left, that she would give up hope.  He'd never given up 
hope.  Scully knew he's read a few pages, and she said she had thrown it away.  Mulder 
couldn't tell if it was the same book or not, but he had a feeling it was.  But he still decided 
against pressing it. 

Finally, after a few quiet minutes, she stopped writing and put down the book.  There was 
a noisy squeak as Jake bit down on his orange squeaky ball.  "So, do anything interesting 
today?"  She asked.

He took a swig of his beer and looked at her.  "If you mean any new cases, then no.  But, 
I did have an . . . interesting day."

She looked at him questioningly.  Her eyes told him to explain, but she didn't say a word.

"They assigned me my *temporary* partner for the six months you'll be out on leave."  He 
said, a tone of attitude in his voice at the word, "temporary".

"You sound skeptical."  She commented, inspecting her fingernails.

"Well, last time I had a *temporary* partner, it was when you had been . . . you know, and 
he turned out to be Alex Krycek."  He said, watching Jake chew on one of his various dog 
toys.

Scully lifted her eyes from her hands to her husband's face.  "So, what's he like?"  She 
asked.  "It is a man, right?"  There was only a hint of wariness in her voice.  She knew the 
effects Mulder's--sometimes-meaningless--charm had on women, which was part of what 
she had fallen victim to.

He smiled and met her gaze, chuckling lightly.  "Yes, it's a man.  His name is Jack Harley.  
He's a rookie just up from the Academy, only a year's field experience.  Supposedly, 
Skinner assigned him to me because he thinks Jack could use the experience.  He um, 
majored in criminal profiling, and they say I'm one of the best.  He said it's too bad I threw 
it all away on the X-files."

Scully chuffed.  "Sounds like a rookie.  What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything.  He'll learn."  Mulder said calmly.

Scully was surprised at Mulder's calmness.  Maybe he was already trying to assume the 
role as the collected fatherly figure.  "Did he take my desk?" She asked.

Mulder's smile broadened.  "No, he didn't take your desk.  I know how well you guard it 
and how offended you would be if I let him mess it up.  And no, his name isn't on the door 
either.  He kept his desk upstairs."

Scully grinned approvingly.  She had received a shiny new name plaque on the door as a 
birthday present the previous year.  It kept her happy for, oh, about a week.  Then she 
wanted hers on top.  Baby steps, Mulder had said.

"I want to meet him."  Scully said, picking up a small steno pad from the porch rail beside 
her.

Mulder shook his head. "You would." He said sardonically.

She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"  She snapped.

He looked at her defensively, not anticipating the snap.  "You're the one that just couldn't 
wait to meet all the neighbors and be so 'neighborly'."

She flipped past a few pages on the notepad, not looking at him. "Mulder, when I was a 
kid, we moved around so much, I never got to know my neighbors.  I remember when I 
was about six years old; I made a best friend with the girl next door. Anyway, we moved 
just before we both started first grade.  It broke my little heart."  She explained.  "The only 
real friend I've ever kept over the years is Jo.  She lived in one of the bases and we wrote 
each other if we could.  We met up again in college."

Mulder held up his hand, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together and not saying a word.

"What's that supposed to be?"  Scully asked, irritated by his lack of what she hoped for 
would be compassion and understanding.

He grinned at her.  "World's smallest violin."  The comment was met by a sharp slap on his 
arm.  "I'm kidding.  I'm very sorry you didn't have neighbors when you were a kid."  He 
said with forced sympathy.  "But, in all the time you lived in your apartment, you never 
once tried to get to know your neighbors.  What changed?"

Scully didn't answer for a moment, met with a question more than just about neighbors.  
She was met with a question about her life, and what had happened to it.  She stared off 
into space, trying to think of what to say.  "I don't know . . . " She finally stumbled to 
begin.  "Everything's changed . . . I mean, before, I never had time to meet my neighbors, 
what with work and everything.  And then, when we got married, and moved here, 
everything just slowed down.  I got time to catch my breath and enjoy the view."

"So you don't miss the old life?"  He asked her gently.

She thought for a moment.  Take a mental look at her life.  Everything that she didn't have 
before, and had now, her family being the one that was most prominent in her life.  "Not 
one bit."  She stated simply.

Mulder smiled and kissed her tenderly.  He felt the same way.  But he didn't need to tell 
her. 

A minute later, Jake came trotting over from his blanket on the other side of the porch, as 
if finally sensing he wasn't the center of attention.  In his mouth, he carried a blue rubber 
ball.  His ears were pricked up and his tail was wagging excitedly.

Mulder couldn't help but laugh at the sudden appearance of the puppy.  He bent down and 
pulled the slimy ball from the dog's jaws.  Jake jumped around at his feet, anticipating 
what was to happen next.
  
Mulder tossed the ball out into the grassy yard, where Jake quickly followed it.

"Anyway." Scully said once she was sure she had Mulder's attention.  "We need to give 
this child a name.  We can't keeping calling him 'the baby' for the rest of his life."

"Okay."  Mulder consented absently.  As Scully read whatever was scrawled on the note 
pad, Mulder reached over and slid her tee shirt up and over the ever-enlarging mound of 
her abdomen.  "How's my boy today?"  He said, placing his palm against her pale skin, 
feeling the motion there.

"Active."  Scully said, her lips lifting to a small smile.  "Something tells me we're never 
going to be able to get him to sleep."

Mulder chuckled.  His vision took in the full sight of his wife.  In many of the years he had 
known her, he had never imagined her like this.  Sure, he thought about it, and he could 
see her as a mom.  But, he could never picture her as pregnant.  It was a wonderful sight.  
His index finger traced a path down the center of her belly.  He stopped at her navel, 
which had mysteriously mutated into an outie.  He pinched it experimentally; it was the 
weirdest thing of all.

"What is this?"  He asked no one in particular.  Scully could feel a joke coming.  Mulder 
chuckled.  "Is it like a turkey?  When this pops up does it mean it's done?"

Scully laughed.  "Maybe."  She said.  "It would suit me just fine.  I loved the pregnancy, 
but now I'm ready for the next step."

"You mean the hellish twenty-four hours of labor followed by the feeling of squeezing 
something the size of a watermelon out something the size of a lemon?"

"Actually I was hoping we could skip that part and get to the fun part."  She said.  Oh 
yeah, she was really looking forward to giving birth, especially when one described it like 
that.

"I thought we already did the fun part."  Mulder said, laughing.  He pulled Scully's shirt 
back down over her stomach.

Scully just shook her head.  "Names."  She said.  "I narrowed down our list to five.  You 
get to narrow it down further."  She told him.

"All right.  Tell me the names."  He said, watching Jake as he rolled in the grass.

"Okay, these are just first names."  She began.  "Robert."

In a few silent minutes Mulder played around with the name. "'Nah," was his final reply.

"Okay."  Scully scratched out the name.  "Brandon"

"No."  Mulder replied right off.

"Daniel."

"No way."  Mulder said, thinking immediately of Scully's old boyfriend, Danny Santos.

"Michael."

"Mmm . . . no."

Scully sighed.  "Last one, Reese."

Mulder paused.  He played with the name a little.  "Naming a kid after a chocolate candy, 
interesting.  I like it."

"Well, that's not where I got the name, but you like it?"  She asked.

"Yeah, I do.  What's the middle name you have with it?"

"William." She said.  "Reese William Mulder.  William after my father, or yours."

"Uh, let's stick with the name after your father, not mine.  Otherwise, it sounds good.  
Reese William Mulder."  He repeated, letting it sink into his mind.  He watched two boys 
ride their bikes up the hill, yelling out into the growing evening.  He smiled to himself.  "I 
like it."

Scully grinned too, happy to have come to an agreement.  "Reese William it is."  She 
stated matter-of-factly.

Mulder stared off into the changing daylight, still letting the name roll around in his head.  
The evening sky was still bright, just turning gold off the to west.  The gentle, puffy 
clouds reflected a brilliant pink and purple color.  He caught Scully's eyes and she was 
looking off at the sunset as well.  However, gray clouds were looming in towards them 
from the east, threatening much needed rain.  

"Looks like rain."  Mulder said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah," Scully agreed, "We should call Zoe in."

"Let her play.  We could all use a little rain."

As soon as the final syllable of rain had escaped his mouth, the heavens opened.  There 
was no warning drizzle or mist, just a sudden downpour.  The irony made Scully laugh.  
Mulder opened the screen door and ushered Jake--who had returned to the porch--in, to 
prevent against dreaded wet-dog smell.  The next sound over the sound of drumming rain 
on the road and roof was two girls as they skipped up the road from down the hill at the 
court.  They splashed in every puddle they could, trotting towards the house.  

"IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING, THE OLD MAN IS SNORING.  HE BUMPED HIS 
HEAD WHEN HE WENT TO BED AND COULDN'T GET UP IN THE MORNING!"  
They both sang at the tops of their voices.  

Zoe and a neighbor from the end of the court ran up the three porch stairs, screaming and 
laughing.  Their hair was already completely soaked and their wet clothes were clinging to 
their bodies.  They weren't cold and shivering because the rain was warm and welcomed, 
in fact, they were having fun.  

Scully looked at the two girls, still giggling and grinning wildly.  She rose slowly and 
carefully from the swing.  "I'll get you two some towels."  She told them, and stepped into 
the house, careful not to let Jake out.  After a few minutes, she reappeared, handing the 
girls two beach towels.  "And I thought you might appreciate these."  She said, giving 
them two popsicles.  They thanked her and sat down in the other two chairs on the porch.

She turned back to sit on the swing again when Mulder stood beside her.  He slipped his 
hand around hers and stepped down the first step and into the rain.  "Let's dance."  He said 
playfully and tugged on her hand.

"In the rain?" She said, completely knowing that was what he meant, but not exactly 
wanting to do it.  He nodded, his hair soaking and his clothes beginning to drip.  "We 
don't have any music."  She pleaded.

"We don't need it." He said, giving her hand another tug.  He ran his hand through his wet 
hair, brushing it away from his forehead.

She sighed, giving in.  Truthfully, she thought dancing in the rain was rather romantic.  
And she loved how he looked with his clothes plastered to his body and his hair brushed 
haphazardly over his head.  She finally followed him down the steps and into the middle of 
the yard.  The neighbors would think they were weird, but she really didn't care.

Zoe's friend Anna looked over at her.  Though she was ten, she was very smart for her 
age, but nowhere near like Zoe.  "You're parents are weird, Zoe."  She said.

Zoe giggled.  "I know."  She said, watching the swaying figures surrounded by flowers in 
the yard.

Anna sighed a little.  "They sure love each other."  She said dreamily.

Zoe didn't answer, still observing her parents dancing.  Even living with them for two 
years, she still didn't understand why they weren't together earlier.  Every time she saw 
their gaze's meet, and the pure and utter love that filled their eyes, she wondered what had 
really taken them so long.  And if it even mattered anymore.  She was very happy they had 
such a love.  A love so strong it could overcome anything.

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







Mulder Residence
6:33 p.m.

A sharp rapping on the screen frame of the front door interrupted dinner.  Mulder was the 
one who rose from his meal to see who was there and what they wanted.  He saw his 
sister, drenched from the continuous downpour and looking all too miserable as Mulder 
invited her in.  Her face and eyes were red and drawn, and Mulder knew something was 
wrong.

"Sam, what's going on?"  He asked worriedly. 

Sam frowned and began to cry.  Mulder wrapped his arms around his sister, never minding 
the water soaking into his dry shirt.  "They took my baby!"  She sobbed hysterically.  
"They took Cole!"

By this time, Scully had also gotten up, sensing something was wrong.  She grabbed a 
towel so Sam could dry her dripping hair as Mulder led her to the sofa to sit down.  Scully 
sat in the adjacent recliner to the couch, leaving Zoe and Anna (who had stayed for 
dinner) to finish their meals.

"Tell me what happened."  Mulder said, his hand gently on top of his sister's.

Samantha sniffled and closed her eyes briefly.  "I had left Cole upstairs in the playpen 
while I went downstairs to get the laundry.  I was only away from him for about ten 
minutes, just adding more clothes to the washer and dryer and getting out the dry ones."  
She explained, tears slipping down her cheeks.  "When I came back upstairs, he wasn't in 
his playpen.  I looked all around the house for him, but I didn't find him.  I went outside 
because I thought maybe he had gotten out of the playpen and opened the screen door.  
When I looked up the street, I saw a strange black Sedan speeding away.  I've never seen 
the car before and it was too fast for me to get the plate numbers.  I went back to the 
kitchen to call the police when I found this."  Sam reached into her jeans pocket, pulling 
out a rumpled, slightly damp small piece of paper.  She handed it to Mulder, her sobs 
beginning to arise again

Mulder took the note, which was really written on a piece of thin, creased cardboard.  He 
curiously turned the note over, and the label staring in red and white back at him was 
enough to give him more than a few chills.  Morley.  As Mulder read the note, a worried 
and angered look crossed his face.  It was written in non-descript block lettering, with no 
discernable handwriting characteristics:

FOR THE ERROR OF YOUR WAYS:
WE GAVE YOU A GIFT, WE TOOK
IT AWAY.  TREASON IS A CRIME 
PUNISHED BY DEATH.  A 
PUNISHMENT WORSE THAN
DEATH IS THE LOSS OF A LOVED
ONE.

He handed it back to Scully so she could see it.  She read the writing quickly, knowing 
who had written it.

"I just knew they would find out.  I never should have showed you that stuff.  Now my 
poor baby is going to pay!"  Sam said, crying.

Mulder put his arms around his sister's shoulders, trying to comfort her pain.  Scully stood 
up.  "Does Mike know you're here?"  She asked gently, inquiring about Sam's husband.

Sam lifted her head and shook it.  "He wasn't home when I left."  She said.

Scully nodded and turned for the kitchen.  "I'm going to call him."

Mulder looked at Sam sympathetically.  He couldn't believe they would do such a thing to 
a child.  Wait, yes he could.  This was the very thing those men would do.  They knew just 
how to get to someone, and they used it.  "They found out I was in the lab, didn't they?"

Sam nodded hopelessly.  "I have no idea where they could've taken him.  Or what they'll 
do to him."

"Did you call the police?"  Scully asked, holding the phone in one hand with her other 
palm covering the receiver.  

"Not yet." Sam confessed.

"No," Scully said into the phone, returning to the kitchen.

"They won't be able to do anything anyway." Sam told Mulder. "You're the only one that 
can do anything.  Please, Fox, you have to find my baby."  She pleaded, beginning to sob 
again.  

Mulder embraced her again.  "I will Sam, I will."  He said.  Truthfully, he had no idea how 
he was going to find her son.  He didn't know if he could.  First, he had no idea just 
*how* involved with the Consortium and the Smoking Man she was.  If she was much 
more involved than even he suspected, she would never get her son back.  He deeply 
regretted ever even wanting this truth in the first place.  Then maybe Samantha wouldn't 
have shown it to him, and he wouldn't fear for his son while she lost hers.  This was a truth 
no one should've uncovered.

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


Darkness.

It began with darkness.

And then Mulder.  He was walking down a long wooden pier, his shoes producing a dull 
thud as he crossed each wide plank.  All around him, from out of the darkness, came the 
nearly calming sound of water lapping against the thick circular supports.  A breeze 
whipped past him, blowing his dark hair away from his face and flapping his jacket at his 
sides like wings.  The dismal groaning horn of a freighter pierced through the quiet night, 
announcing its gigantic presence.  

As Mulder neared the end of the pier, he slowed his pace down, watching the small wood 
shack positioned off to the right of the pier.  No lights came on, but the sound of a second 
and third pair of footsteps fell into the night.  The third pair of footsteps was lighter and 
more often than the other two pairs of Mulder and whoever else had come onto the pier.  
This suggested a smaller person, perhaps a child.  

Ahead of Mulder, a tall figure stood in the center of the pier, beside him was a much 
shorter figure.  The tall figure wore complete black, and his leather jacket reflected the 
bluish color of the moonlight through the thin fog.  

"I've brought what you want, now give me what I want."  Mulder said to the figure. His 
voice carried well even though the figure was a good thirty feet away.

"Put the vial on the post."  The figure told Mulder, gesturing toward the thick post jutting 
from the water and the side of the pier nearest Mulder. 

Mulder did as he was told, gently lying the narrow glass vial on the rotting wood post, 
being careful not to let it roll off and into the water.  "Now give me the boy."  He 
commanded.

A short, harsh bark of humorless laughter came from the figure.  "Agent Mulder, your 
devotion seems to have clouded your thought. You have forgotten the cardinal rule you 
never should've let slip."

"Stop fucking around with me, Krycek!"  Mulder yelled.  "I gave you the vial, now give 
me the boy!"

"Trust no one."  Krycek said slowly. The audible click of a hammer being cocked on a gun 
filled the suddenly quiet night. In one swift motion, he aimed the gun and pulled the 
trigger.

There was no exploding sound of a gunshot, only the soft whipping sound of the bullet 
passing through the silencer attached to the end of the gun.  The only telltale sign that the 
gun was fired at all was the brief flash of light that shot from the gun muzzle.  

Mulder lurched backward with a sharp intake of breath.  His hands went immediately to 
his chest, trying to stop the flow of the blood.  His legs gave out beneath him and he 
collapsed to the pier, the dark red blood flowing freely from the hole in his chest.  Within a 
few minutes, his hands went limp.  The blood pooled around his upper torso, and bubbled 
from his lips as he drew in and let out his last breaths.  With one final gasp, he formed a 
single word:

Scully.

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

4:14 a.m.

Scully awoke abruptly, gasping for air and trying to discontinue the sobs that began to 
escape her throat.  Her entire body was covered in a cold, clammy sweat, and she shivered 
even though she wasn't cold.  Salty tears mixed with the sweat on her face as she tried to 
stop crying.  She sat up much too quickly, and she winced as her spine stretched and 
strained.  

"Mulder!" She cried through choking sobs.  Her eyes were still pinched shut and her mind 
was frozen in the vision of her husband lying dead on a pier.  

There was quick and startled motion beside her as Mulder was jerked from sleep just as 
quickly as she had been.  He sat up beside her and touched her hot and damp shoulder.  
She turned and embraced him hardly, dying to feel his arms around her, alive and well.  

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, trying to sooth the harsh sobs that she couldn't 
stop.  "Did you have another dream?" He asked gently, mildly surprised as the dreams had 
began to dissipate.

Scully nodded against his shoulder, utterly unable to speak at the moment.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" He asked quietly, rubbing her arm.  

Scully sniffed, finally able to control her relentless crying.  "He betrayed you." She said, 
her voice still croaked with sobs.

"Who?  Who betrayed me?"

"Krycek."  Scully answered.

Mulder almost laughed.  Of course Krycek would be one to betray him.  It wouldn't have 
been the first time.

"You went to get back Cole for Samantha.  You brought the vial of ovum.  You were 
going to trade them for Cole.  But instead of giving Cole to you, he shot you.  And you 
died."  She confessed, beginning to cry again.

"Scully," Mulder cooed, thinking quickly to know what to say.  Nothing came to him.

Scully pulled a little out of the embrace, just enough so she could look at his face and into 
his eyes.  She could see his eyes clearly in the calm bright moon that shone through the 
cracked Venetian blinds.  His gaze was intent on her, waiting for what she might say.  
"Promise me that you won't go after Cole alone."  She said.

Mulder smiled a little, hoping to ease the moment. "Thought never crossed my mind."  He 
assured her.

"Promise me."  She demanded.

Mulder nodded.  "I promise."  He whispered, he only hoped the opportunity didn't arise 
and he could keep that promise.  

She continued staring into his eyes, hoping to see honesty there.  She couldn't be certain of 
anything anymore, but at least she knew she could trust Mulder.

"Let's try and go back to sleep."  Mulder said.  They laid down together and Mulder pulled 
her as close as he could to him even with her enlarged stomach pressing against him.  He 
kept his arms wrapped tight around her and rested his forehead against hers.  She sniffled 
again and wiped what remained of the tears from her cheeks.  "I'm not going to get shot."  
Mulder told her as her eyelids began to droop closed again.  

She nodded slowly, content with his arms and body surrounding her.  He kissed her 
forehead gently and stroked her cheek just beside her eye.  "I love you."  He whispered.

"I love you, too."  She mumbled, letting her eyes fall completely shut in hopes of sleeping 
comfortably the rest of the night.

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







Mulder Residence
June 17, 2001
Saturday, 10:13 a.m.  

Scully was beginning to drift out of sleep when she became aware of the ticklish feeling to 
her forehead.  At first, she thought it was a fly or a bug of some type.  She was nearly 
awake when she realized that *someone* was tickling the bridge of her nose, just between 
her eyes.  She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the bright morning light.  
When the blurriness cleared, she saw the grinning face of her seven-year-old on the pillow 
beside her.

"Morning, Mommy."  Zoe said cheerily.

Scully smiled in response.  All clear memories of the early-morning nightmare were 
erased.  Mulder had a way of doing that to her, comforting her so that all fear and doubt 
was buried or demolished completely.   

"Guess what today is."  Zoe said playfully.

Scully closed her eyes again, but only for a minute.  "What's today?"  She asked, deciding 
to play along with her daughter.

"June seventeenth."  Zoe pronounced matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, what's so important about June seventeenth?"  Scully inquired, rubbing the sleep 
from her eyes and then stretching her joints.  

"Nothing, but it *is* a Saturday.  And you know what that means…"

"What?"  Scully looked at her daughter, who was curled under the sheets on Mulder's side 
of the bed.  

"Pancake day!"  Zoe announced, a gleeful smile spreading further across her young face.

"Pancake day!"  Scully exclaimed in playful mockery.  She tickled Zoe, just enough to 
hear her adorable giggle and watch her squirm.  After a few quiet minutes, she closed her 
eyes again and inhaled deeply through her nose.  "You smell that?"  She asked her 
daughter.

Zoe closed her eyes similarly and smelled the air.  "Bacon!"  She declared.

"Last one down's a rotten egg!"  Scully called.  Zoe squealed and rolled out of the bed.  
She was on her feet in an instant and running down the hallway.

Scully smiled to herself and slowly sat up.  She didn't mind being the "rotten egg".  A few 
moments later, she heard Zoe laughing and screaming with delight from down the hall.  
Mulder appeared in the doorway, holding Zoe upside-down by the legs.  He carried her 
like that to the bed and dropped her, where she somersaulted easily towards the opposite 
side.  He sat down beside Scully and gazed at her in the most loving way.  

Scully offered him a warm half smile and moved her body nearer to him, desiring to be 
closer.  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips softly and tenderly.  She 
opened her mouth some and let his tongue slip in. After a few minutes of light, mildly 
passionate kissing, they pulled apart.

"Good morning."  Mulder said, grinning.

Scully licked her slightly swollen lips and smiled.  

Zoe snorted laughter from the other side of the bed.  She stood up and ran around the 
edge to the bedroom door.  "Ew, that is so sick!"  She declared, looking back at her 
parents; Mulder in particular.  "I'm out of here."  She waved her hand at them in a 
dismissive gesture and scampered down the hall.

Scully laughed at her daughter's antics.  She looked at Mulder. "What were you thinking?"  
She asked him.

He gave her his best lop-sided grin and shook his head.  "I guess you'll have to find out 
later."  He said provocatively.

Scully shook her head and sighed.  

Mulder chuckled and rubbed Scully's back.  "So, how are you feeling?"  He asked 
genuinely.

"Fine."  She answered simply.  When she saw the lingering skeptical look in Mulder's eyes, 
she smiled.  "No, really, I'm fine.  Honestly.  Never better."  She reassured him.  With only 
a few days left until her due date, Mulder had become increasingly protective.  Not that 
she minded.  She had a hand-and-foot servant, and almost regretting having to give it up 
anytime.  After all, a "due date" was just a rough guess.  It could be any day now.  

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







1:19 p.m.

"More baby clothes?"  Mulder whined as Scully pushed the cart up to a rack of clothes 
marked down by fifteen percent.  

"Mulder, stop whining."  Scully told him sternly as she flipped through the rack.

Somehow, Scully had managed to convince him to go shopping.  He figured it would be 
for stuff they needed, and it was, but he forgot how incredibly boring shopping was.  This 
was the single most thing he missed about being a bachelor; shopping was simple.  You're 
in, you're out, no problem.  No searching for bargain buys or discounted items.  And for 
the most part, men weren't half as picky as women.  Their logic was, if it fits, and it 
doesn't cost a fortune, I'll buy it. 

"Oh, this is cute."  Scully said, holding up a red and white outfit.  The top was a tee shirt 
with a sunshine wearing glasses on the front, and the bottom was a pair of red cotton 
shorts.

Mulder sighed.  "Yeah, if you're Richard Simmons."  He mumbled.  

Scully placed the outfit on the pile of various other clothing in the cart.  Then she cocked 
her head and gave Mulder a good extremely irritate mother look.  She didn't need to say a 
single word, the look was enough to send her point across.

"Mulder, if you're bored why don't you go get something else that's on the list."  Scully 
suggested after returning to the rack of clearance marked infant clothes.

Muttering, Mulder plucked the folded over list from just inside Scully's purse and headed 
off in the direction of the grocery section of the Super K-mart.  At least now he would 
have something to do.  He unfolded the note and glanced at the writing scrawled 
carelessly near the top.  Diapers.  It said.  Mulder groaned.  Okay, maybe this wasn't 
better than watching his wife coo over baby clothes.  Although he knew shopping for 
these certain items would be something he would have to get used to, he'd still rather be at 
home drinking beer and watching baseball.  But no, Scully had used her sugary (sneaky) 
little ways to haul him out to go shopping.  There are some things single people will 
always take for granted.  The most prominent being freedom.  

To get to the supermarket half of the rather large store, Mulder would have to pass by the 
enormous sized toy section.  He couldn't resist.  He had to stop and wander up the aisle of 
toys.  He had a blank look of amazement like a small child with a pocket of his first 
allowance.  He passed by the Legos and picked up a box depicting a large, colorful 
saucer-shaped aircraft.  The box was labeled to be from the "Space Explorations" 
collection and this particular craft was called the "Alien Cruiser".  Mulder couldn't help 
but chuckle.  He vaguely remembered playing with these colored plastic, snap together 
blocks as a boy himself.  Only then, the things built weren't complex battleships, alien 
aircraft, or robots; back then they were fire trucks, windmills, and houses.

Mulder's attention caught a larger box with giant sized, toddler Legos.  The set was for 
building a small train that little pogo-people could ride.  Mulder smiled to himself, and 
reached down for the box.  As he studied the back, detailing hours of fun for toddlers and 
infants alike, a small boy and his father entered the aisle.  

The boy tugged his dad's hand over to the Legos beside Mulder.  At first, he only stood, 
breathing silent wonder at the many types and colors and objects in boxes; ultimately 
summed up in one word, cool.  

"Dad, I want this one."  The boy said, grabbing the nearest box of Legos and plopping 
himself onto the floor to look at the pictures.  The father smiled paternally and lightly 
touched his son's blonde head. He then crouched behind his son and watched him study 
the pictures.

Mulder watched them, all the while in his own silent reverie.  He held onto the box of 
Legos and exited the aisle.  He couldn't wait to have a son of his own.  To share even the  
simplest things like building with Legos with.  He knew that no matter what may come, he 
would have a son.  And it would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Once Mulder finally found the aisle of diapers, he was confronted by yet another dilemma.  
There were hundreds of types and brands and sizes of diapers.  He looked again at the 
vague word scribbled onto the note.  Diapers.  For a similar reason to why someone 
would lift a paperclip from the carpet before replacing to the floor and retrying to vacuum 
it up, Mulder turned the paper over, futilely searching for any details on the diapers.  
When he found nothing, he let his jaw drop and stared at the vast shelves of Huggies and 
Pampers and GoodNights.  He and Scully were going to have to work some sort of 
communication out here.

"Agent Mulder."  A deep voice beckoned as Mulder was just about to turn and head 
further into the aisle.

Mulder turned and looked at a tall man dressed in a black slicker with short, silvery hair.  
He had deadpan gray eyes that were disturbingly unreadable.  He reached out with a small 
piece of paper folded in his hand.  

"I was handed a note.  Now I'm handing it to you."  He said blandly, still offering the slip 
of paper.

Mulder took the paper warily, feeling all too vulnerable without his sidearm tucked safely 
in his shoulder holster.  He unfolded it slowly, keeping his peripheral vision locked on the 
stranger before him.  He noticed that just like the note Samantha had found, this one was 
also written on the inside of a Morley box.  

Dock 21
Baltimore, MD
Three a.m. Tomorrow
Come alone, bring the vial
A bargain is at hand

Orders.  He should have known the ransom note would be coming soon.  Of course they 
would want him to come and rescue Samantha's son.  They knew he would do it too.  

"Wh…" He was about to ask, looking back up to the stranger.  But the man was gone.  
Mulder stepped out to the end of the aisle and looked both ways.  He saw no men with 
silvery-gray hair and a black slicker.  

For a brief moment, Mulder remember what Scully had told him about the nightmare that 
woke her early that morning.  That he had gone to save Cole and trade for the vial.  That 
Krycek had killed him.  He had promised her he wouldn't go after Cole, not alone at least.  
But he had to.  Cole was his sister's only child, and he wouldn't never be able to live if he 
knew he let his own nephew die.  His only choice would be to do what the note said, and 
watch his back.  And not tell Scully.

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





















Mulder Residence
June 18, 2001
Sunday, 1:56 a.m.

The plot was conceived easily enough.  He would wait until his wife was asleep, and then 
slip out of the house.  And he himself would remain awake, to prevent against 
oversleeping and worrying about an alarm of some type.  If the Lord was merciful, he may 
even be back before Scully awoke.  He hoped.  After all, he had promised her that he 
wouldn't go after Cole.  And promises weren't things Fox Mulder liked to break.  But this 
seemed important enough, he just hoped it wouldn't get him killed.

They turned in at around quarter after nine--nine-fifteen in laymen's terms.  It may have 
seemed early then, but pregnant women are easily exhausted, as Mulder had learned long 
ago.  As he had also learned, so are pregnant women's husband servants.  He wasn't tired 
tonight though.  He had no time to be tired.  He would have to hurry, simply to make it to 
Baltimore by three a.m., much less find the godforsaken dock.  

He watched his wife sleep, and even when he was sure she was soundly undisturbed, he 
waited another fifteen to twenty minutes just be safe.  True, she could drop off quickly, 
but reflexive Agent Scully wasn't one for sleeping like a rock.  The quietest noise or 
motion would wake her.  

Slowly, Mulder rolled out of the king-size waterbed they shared, carefully not to rock the 
mattress too much.  He eased his feet to the floor, expertly avoiding every spot he knew 
that creaked.  He was able to change his clothes and put on his shoes without Scully ever 
moving a muscle.  He even began to think that pregnant Dana Mulder slept a lot more 
soundly than reflexive Agent Scully ever did.  Of course he knew that wasn't really true, 
but he still kept that theory when he leaned over and dared to kiss his wife gently on the 
forehead.

She mumbled something in her sleep and slowly shifted positions, but didn't wake.  Mulder 
took a last--almost guilty--look at her sleeping figure before softly closing the door.  He 
crept down the hardwood hall, still carefully avoiding all the creaky spots and making sure 
he always dampened his footsteps by landing them on the carpet runner.

Going down the steps to the older house, creaks in the wood were inevitable, but he 
treaded as lightly as possible, minimizing them.  Before veering right to the living room 
and ultimately his exit, a thought occurred that he should leave her some sort of a note.  
He hadn't planned to write anything, but surely he could come up with something.  He 
headed left to the kitchen.  Taking a pen and the notepad from the refrigerator used for 
groceries, he began to process something to write.  Short and sweet and apologetic he 
finally decided upon.  He placed the notepad on the counter and scrawled his thoughts 
quickly:
I know I promised I wouldn't, but 
I had to go.  I received a note 
telling where Cole was.  He's my
sister's son and my nephew, I 
owe it to him.  I couldn't save her,
I  can save him.  Don't worry, I 
will be back soon.  Don't be 
angry with me.  I'm sorry.
I  love you.  Be back soon.

He didn't detail whom the note was to, or whom it was from.  He figured Scully would 
know that much.  He then left the pen and note where it lay and left through the front 
door.  He locked the door behind himself and headed down the porch, no longer worrying 
about creaking wood.  Now, the more he thought about it that had been the easy part.  
Even their hyper puppy Jake never even noticed when Mulder had left. Mulder sighed and 
hoped the rest of this night would be as easy.

Being that he had strategically left the car out of the garage, all he had to do was get it out 
of the drive without anyone knowing.  No longer bothered by the sound of a noisy garage 
door opener, he climbed in the car and started the engine.  He listened for a moment as the 
Taurus's engine purred, warming itself.  Although it sounded astoundingly loud to him, it 
was really quite a quiet engine.  After a few moments, he pulled out, leaving the headlights 
off until he was well away from the driveway.

In the few minutes it took for Mulder to drive to the end of the street, he was convincing 
his doubts that Scully would be all right with it.  She would understand.  Cole was as 
much her nephew as he was his.  She would have to understand.  She knew Mulder 
couldn't just leave the poor three-year-old at the mercy of the Smoking Man and his 
associates.  She would understand.  Right?

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















Boating Dock 21
Inner Harbor, Baltimore
2:48 a.m.

It turned out that the docks where Mulder was to meet a mysterious man were the vast 
groups of large industrial docks and boathouses.  Twice he had to stop and ask for 
directions on how to get to dock 21.  It seemed to him that none of the docks were in any 
particular order that made sense, numerical or otherwise.

Mulder pulled the car up far from the dock and boathouse, careful not to be seen.  He 
watched from behind the bundled wire mesh where he parked as some remaining activity 
buzzed around the boathouse.  The yard and dock were about fifty yards or so from him, 
but he could still only barely make out what was going on.  A dense fog had gradually 
blanketed the area, and combined with the muggy humidity, it made Mulder's sweat turn 
cold and chills run up his spine.

In the boathouse, Mulder could clearly make out at least three men.  There were no lights 
on in the building, but by the spotty light from a pickup truck, he could see them moving 
crates in and out of the boathouse.  They weren't large crates, small enough for one man 
to carry, but by the power exerted by these men, they seemed fairly heavy.  Mulder warily 
wondered what was in these crates, and if he really wanted to know.  

After about ten minutes of this unloading crates from the back of the covered truck to the 
inside of the building, Mulder heard someone yell that the work was finished, let's get the 
hell out of here.  This brought a new twist on things, it didn't seem as though these men 
were *supposed* to be here.  Mulder waited yet another ten minutes as the men climbed 
into the two pickup trucks and pulled away.  He ducked further into the shadows as they 
drove by, oblivious to him.  

He grabbed his flashlight from the car and flicked it on.  Mildly comforted by the weight of 
his gun under his armpit, Mulder crept (briskly) to the same door of the boathouse the 
men had been unloading to.  He looked around at the darkness quickly, and seeing nothing 
but the same motionless shadows, opened the door.

Mulder nearly reeled when the awful pungent aroma of stagnant water and fish smacked 
him. Not to mention the ammonia-like stinging smell of concentrated sea salt.  There was 
a damp cold feeling to the air that also was uncomfortable to him.  Of course, no one said 
this would be an easy outing.

Not a single light shone in the darkness, and the fog prevented even the tiniest slip of 
moonlight getting through. Mulder's only guide was his flashlight.  He panned the light 
quickly around the room, mostly so he could get an idea as to where everything was.  In 
the center of the gigantic boathouse was a large commercial ship.  It rested in the deep 
hole cut in the floor for the purpose of docking boats and ships.  The name on the bow of 
the ship read "Maiden's Ark".  Judging by the overall rust and rot on both the ship and 
interior of the dock house, it should've been out of commission long ago.  Almost jumping 
like something had bit him, Mulder shone the flashlight down to the floor, searching every 
spot for weak planks he should avoid.  He really wasn't up for a cold early morning bath.  

He was about to ponder why they had chosen this place to make a transaction of a human 
life for a single vial of now useless ovum, when he spotted the unloaded crates.  
Immediately overcome by curiosity, Mulder walked over to the crates, cringing at each 
echoing thud his footsteps made.  He knelt down by a crate and illuminated the words 
stenciled on the top.  FRAGILE--ORGANIC MATERIAL.  It stated in black lettering.  This 
definitely perked Mulder's interest.  What where three guys doing unloading crates of 
organic material from an unmarked truck at three o'clock in the morning?  Mulder got up 
and found a crowbar by the other tools hanging from the wall.  He returned the crate and 
jabbed the sharp end of the bar into the edges of the crate's lid.  After a few jabs and pries, 
he managed to pull the top off of the crate.  Inside the crate, he saw a black box that filled 
most of the crate.  This box had no locks or handles.  But, there was a lid like a small 
refrigerator would have.  He tugged on the lid, finding that it was a little more resistant 
than a normal refrigerator.  He tugged again, this time throwing more force into it.  It 
came free.  A steamy mixture of frozen nitrogen wafted into the air.  Mulder passed his 
hand back and forth across the opening, clearing away the mist.  He saw a rack of small 
vials, much like the ones he carried in his pocket.  When he picked one up, he saw a 
similar milky white fluid along with a name and some sort of identification code.  Why 
would they be transporting this ovum here?

Mulder's interests shifted from the crates, to the ship looming twenty feet away from him.  
Was this ship really what it seemed to be, a commercial tanker, or something totally 
different?  Mulder looked back to the crates when he noticed something moving in the 
shadows.   He squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the figure lurking in the 
shadows.  He stood slowly, switching his light off to keep attention from himself.  The 
figure was a man, he could tell that much.  He couldn't make out a face or any other 
features for that matter.  It might have been nothing but a lowly vagrant or local teenager, 
but he couldn't be too careful.  He reached inside his jacket and unbuttoned the snap on his 
gun holster, but left the weapon where it rested.  

Suddenly, the man began to move faster, he was running away from Mulder and towards 
the docked ship.  

"Hey!" Mulder yelled before he thought about what that outburst may cost him.  Too 
curious to worry about caution, Mulder ran after the man.

Mulder chased the man around the huge bow of the ship and to the opposite side.  He 
heard the clinking of footsteps on metal and looked toward the upper edge of the hull.  He 
saw the man just climbing to the top of a metal rung ladder and immediately followed him.  
As soon as he reached the top, he once again lost the man.  Now he decided to pull his 
weapon, untrusting of the narrow passages and dark corridors on the ship.  

He listened for a moment, but heard nothing.  Using pure instincts alone, Mulder headed 
toward the center of the ship, and the wheelhouse.  All of this was right beside where the 
ladder exited from the hull.  There were traditional portholes in the sides of the wall, but 
they were so covered in green scum not even the flashlight's light could penetrate.  Mulder 
walked around the corner of the wheelhouse, searching for an entrance.  He found a door 
facing the rear of the ship, it stood wide open and seemed to be beckoning him to enter.  
Obviously this was where Mulder's pursuit had gone.  But Mulder never thought twice 
that he might have been led on.  He entered the door and scanned the room with his 
flashlight.

It looked like a wheelhouse from the ships of fifty years ago.  The panels and control 
instruments were antiques.  Not mention covered in the same green scum and rust the rest 
of the ship seemed to be growing.  This ship obviously had not been moved in thirty or 
forty odd years.  It really should have been scrap metal by now.  This raised more 
questions, and the question of why they were unloading crates here stood at the very top.  

Off to the left of the entrance was a small passageway leading to a doorway.  Again, 
Mulder heard the clunking of footsteps.  He picked up the pace and headed down the 
passage.  Just inside this doorway was a brown-stained white sign.  The message on it was 
written in Russian.  There was an arrow pointing downward because of the stairs leading 
down from the entryway.  This put an incredibly new spin on the mystery at hand:  The 
ship was an old, Russian cargo ship.  

Mulder headed down the steps without hesitation, bent on getting answers from whoever 
it was that had he had followed in here.  The stairs spilled out into what should have been 
the engine room, but wasn't.  If there was no engine room, how did the ship run?  The 
ducks were slowly falling into a row.

What was at the bottom of the stairs was a narrow corridor.  The walls of the corridor 
were also crawling with the same bacteria and fungi as everywhere else.  There was a 
single door at the end of this corridor, with yet another sign in Russian.  Mulder grasped 
the rusted handle and pulled down on it.  He expected it not to move at all, and that he 
had been tricked into coming down here.  But it gave very easily.  Mulder stepped inside.

After all the darkness of the night and the shadows of the ship, the light in the next room 
was blinding.  It wasn't extremely bright, but it wasn't the earlier darkness either.  Mulder 
stood in dumbfounded wonder. What he should have seen was the engine room, except he 
didn't.  It was a lab, not a greasy, dirty engine room.  It was a typical, medical research 
laboratory, sterile, clean, and neat.  Much like the one in the Department of Defense 
building and the lab in the FBI headquarters for forensics.  There were metal lab tables, 
benches, cabinets, and refrigeration units.  The only difference was, this lab was inside the 
empty engine room of an antique Russian cargo freighter.

Mulder crossed the space of the lab to another door on the far wall near the right corner.  
He easily opened the door again and went in.  In this room, the light was dimmer, but still 
there.  Immediately, Mulder heard the hum of a generator as he looked around.  This room 
was disturbingly familiar.  He had never been here, but to a place very much like it.  There 
were rows of metal tables, about two or three-dozen in all.  On a handful of these tables 
were people. More specifically, they were women, pregnant women. Mulder neared one of 
these women slowly.  They all looked dead.  But Mulder knew they weren't, their chests 
were rising slowly up and down, too slowly though for normal consciousness.  There were 
tubes and wired sticking every which way from under the sheet that covered them.  The 
sheets had a large hole cut in the center, so that their rounded abdomens would be naked 
in the air.  From their bellies more wires and tubes were connected.  

Mulder frowned.  What the hell were they doing here?  These women weren't no-named 
people used only for experiments.  They were all someone's wives, someone's daughters, 
and mothers.  Mulder's thoughts went to Scully.  Oh god, what if they tried to pull the 
same thing with her?  These men were more heartless than Mulder had ever imagined.    

Something was wrong though.  Most of the tables were empty save for these few.  Also, 
there was no one here.  There should be lab technicians and medical people running all 
around these women.  For some reason, this struck Mulder as odd.  His intuition told him 
the place should be filled with people working on these 'experiments'.  And it also 
shouldn't have been as easy as it was for him to get into this ship in the first place.  He 
needed to get off the ship and as far away as possible.

Mulder whirled around and went back through the door to the lab.  There, he saw 
something he hadn't noticed before.  Next to the door on the opposite wall, marked 
STORAGE (this time in English) was a timer and a very large timer at that.  Mulder 
jogged towards it and looked.  There was a rather large LCD display counting down in 
hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds.  It had gotten down to 1:55:31:20.  Mulder 
then saw the conspicuous black wires threading from the timer.  They ran all along the 
walls.   The entire ship was wired.

It was a trap.

Mulder's heart pounded against its cage of ribs and his balls jumped up into his groin.  He 
shook off the frozen fear and ran towards the stairs.  He ran out into the corridor, never 
even noticing the figure hunkered down in the corner by the doorway.  As soon as Mulder 
passed by, the figure jumped out of the shadows and ran after Mulder.  Mulder whirled 
around when he heard the footsteps behind him and was met by the butt of a handgun 
smashing down into his forehead.  The room went completely swimmy for a moment, and 
Mulder sank to the floor.  The leather-clad attacker dealt Mulder a swift kick in the guts, 
knocking to his side.  His lolling head clunked against the cold metal floor.  Instantly, a 
flaring white pain filled Mulder's head that his brain absolutely couldn't cope with. His 
eyes fluttered shut and all he saw was darkness.  

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

Mulder Residence
4:16 a.m.

At the same time her husband lay unconscious on the floor of an ancient ship while a bomb 
ticked away, Scully was awaking from a not-so peaceful sleep.  It wasn't at all unusual for 
her to wake up from a dream she couldn't remember, her eyes welled with tears she 
couldn't remember crying.  The opened her eyes slowly, returning to the darkness of the 
real world.  The brought her hands up to her face and wiped her damp tears, only vaguely 
recollecting the scenes of her nightmare, or what had made her cry.  She then turned over 
slowly, expected to see the sleeping figure of her husband who would almost always wake 
up and comfort her with soothing words and a tight embrace.  But there was space.  
Mulder wasn't there.  

Scully sat up.  Mulder wasn't in the bathroom either.  Reluctantly, but knowing she 
wouldn't get back to sleep without him, she slipped out of the bed and stepped out of their 
room.  The hallway was still dark, and no light shone from the living room.  Scully headed 
down the hall and descended the creaky stairs.  She went first to the right, towards the den 
door.  When she peered down the stairs, there was no soft drone or white light from the 
TV, so Mulder was most likely not there.  Puzzled, Scully turned back and went into the 
kitchen.  Of course, he wasn't there either.  But something did catch her eye.

Laying blatantly on the center of the clean counter surface was a small slip of white paper.  
Scully neared the counter and picked up the paper.  Clearly it had been ripped off the 
steno pad used for a grocery list.  She recognized the handwriting immediately.  As she 
read the quickly penned note, a thousand emotions began to build.  

"Bastard."  Her anger muttered under her breath.  Mulder broke a promise and lied.  He 
made it clear he wouldn't go after Cole alone, at all for that matter.  And he went anyway.  
Suddenly Scully was afraid.  She still remembered that dream she's had when Krycek shot 
him and left him for dead on that pier.  It was all too convenient that the docks were 
where Mulder had gone.

She needed to contact him.  A strange gut feeling told her something was horribly wrong. 
Something had been wrong since she'd seen the note left on Samantha's table.  She may 
not believe in intuition as a whole, but *women's* intuition was a different story.  
Especially when studies had proved women's intuition was very strong and frighteningly 
accurate during times when hormones reigned in the bloodstream.  Nine months of 
pregnancy and hormones were at their peak.

Her first thought was his cell phone.  Mulder was loyal, and almost always had it with him.  
Without hesitation she picked up the wall-mounted phone by the kitchen entrance and 
dialed the number to his cell.  The receiving end rang once, with no answer, then another 
ring, and another.

"Come on, Mulder, pick up the phone." Scully said into the phone.

After two more rings, a recorded woman's voice came on.  "The cellular phone you are 
trying to reach may be turned off or out of range, please hang up and try again later…"  
Scully dropped the phone back in the cradle and leaned back against the counter.  Who 
was she supposed to call at this dead hour of the early morning?  He sure as hell wouldn't 
be at the office, and wouldn't have even gone there.  Under normal circumstances, she 
would drive to the dock in Baltimore herself, but these were less than normal 
circumstances.  First off, she couldn't fit behind the steering wheel and reach the pedals at 
the same time to drive.  Second, she couldn't just up and leave Zoe alone or expect a 
friend or neighbor to watch her this early.  After a moment's pondering, she picked up the 
phone again and dialed the number to the twenty-four hour switchboard.

"Switchboard, where may I direct your call?"  A rehearsed woman's voice that Scully 
recognized answered.  Holly was working the early shift.

"Hi, Holly, it's Dana Scully."  Scully replied briskly.

"Hello, Dana.  How's the baby?"  Holly said, most likely bored and in need of 
conversation.

But Scully was truly in more of a rush than that.  "Same place he's been for the past nine 
months, I'm starting to think he might never come out."  

Holly chuckled.  "Hang in there.  What can I do for you at this hour?"  She asked politely.

"I'm in need of a number."  Scully said.  "Agent Jack Harley's."

There was a brief pause as Holly looked up the information.  "Do you want his cell 
number or his home number?"

"Just give them both to me."  Scully said, reaching for the pad of paper and pen on the 
counter.

"Okay, his cell is 202-555-4107, and his home phone is 202-555-1864."  She answered 
promptly.

Scully jotted the numbers down quickly.  "Thank you, Holly."  She said.

"No problem, Dana.  You keep me posted on that baby."  

"I will.  'Bye."  Scully waited for Holly's good-bye and click of the line being disconnected 
before hanging up.  She only pressed the hook down for a moment, letting the line reset 
before putting the phone to her ear again and dialing the first number to Jack Harley's cell 
phone. 

After one or two rings, a groggy male's voice answered the phone with the slurred, 
"Hello."

Scully silently thanked God that she could actually get a hold of someone and responded. 
"Hello, is this Jack Harley?"  She asked, just to be certain it was he before she spouted off 
about her problem.

"This is he."  Jack said, the sleep slowly drifting from his voice.

"Agent Harley, this is Dana Scully, you don't know me but--"

"Yeah, you're Mulder's wife, right?"  Jack interrupted.

"Yes.  Agent Harley--"

"Please, just call me Jack, everyone else does."  He said, interrupting her again.

Scully exhaled, to hurried to really be irritated.  "Okay, Jack," She agreed.  "Sorry for 
waking you up so early, but have you talked to Mulder at all this morning or last night?"

"No, I haven't spoken to him since Friday evening, sorry."  He said.  The after a moment's 
silence, "Why? Is something wrong?"  

At first, Scully hesitated about telling him.  With her luck, he might end up just like 
Krycek.  But he was her last and only resort.  Other than Mulder's friends the Lone 
Gunmen, and she really didn't want to have to deal with Frohike right now.  "Actually, 
yeah.  It's a really long story about what all happened, so just bear with me.  Mulder has 
done something incredibly, undeniably stupid."

"Uh-huh."  Jack responded, almost as if he really didn't think this was serious, more like a 
wife's anger at her husband for not taking out the garbage or something.

"He went to deliver the ransom for his nephew who was kidnapped yesterday.  He went 
alone after he was told not to.  You and I both now that it is against FBI policy for him to 
be involved in that case at all because of his connection, much less delivering the ransom 
by himself with no backup.  He's going to get himself killed."  She explained.

To Jack, Scully half sounded like just another worried wife.  But the other half sounded 
like any professional yet all together concerned partner.  From the way it sounded, Mulder 
was digging his own grave.  "And you want me to go and get him?" He asked, now fully 
awaken by the prospect of a little adventure and a lot danger.

"Yes."  Scully said straightforward.  "I would normally go myself but I'm a 
little…incapacitated at the present moment."

A few silent minutes passed as Jack pondered what he should do.  What would be the 
right thing to and what he had to lose.  "I'll go." He said.

Scully breathed a quiet sigh of relief.  "The address he went to is in Baltimore.  It's dock 
number 21 on the inner harbor.  He was supposed meet someone there at three a.m."  She 
said.  She had found the note earlier that night lying on the floor.  She guessed it must 
have fallen from his pocket without his knowledge.  

"Okay."  Jack said.

"Oh, Jack," Scully prompted before they ended the call.  She knew she might sound 
paranoid about what she going to say, but even she couldn't deny that it was the truth.  
"What is going down here is something big, something that's probably over all of our 
heads.  I-I know that I don't really know you, but I don't want you to get in too deep.  Just 
find him and get out."

"All right…" He said, not really sure of what she meant by that.  But by what he's heard 
about "Spooky" Mulder in the academy, he was sure to remember it, whether it was pure 
and simple bullshit or not.  By the seriousness in Scully's voice, he could guess it wasn't 
that at all.  "Agent Scully,"  He prompted this time.  "Does he do this often?  I mean, go 
off like this on his own?"  It was mostly curiosity that asked this, but he also wanted to 
know more about the man he would be calling his partner for a few months was like.  Who 
better to ask than the guy's own wife?

Scully nearly laughed.  You have no idea, she thought.  "Yeah, he does.  He's a real 
asshole sometimes."  She said. 

"I'll remember that."  Jack said.

They said only quick goodbyes and Scully was alone and unknowing again.  The only 
thing she would be able to do now was wait.  And she hated waiting. Hated it like she 
hated being ditched by him all of the time.  Unfortunately, those were two things she did a 
lot.

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










Dock 21
Inner Harbor, Baltimore
5:02 a.m.

Mulder came to slowly, trying to ease the thudding pain in his head.  He managed to sit up 
on the tiled floor of the lab.  He reached behind his head and gingerly touch the spot near 
the top of his skull where the pain radiated from.  His hand came back tacky with half-
dried blood.  He looked at the watch on his wrist and found he had lost at least an hour of 
time.  Of course he knew this wasn't due to a brief alien encounter.  It took a moment, but 
he jolted when he remembered the bomb.  Immediately his attention swept to the large red 
LCD display to the left of where he sat.

0:52:41:07

He had an hour left to get out of this place.  Wincing, he pulled himself off the floor and to 
his feet.  He fought of a brief feeling of dizziness before walking towards the door.  He 
tried the handle, but it door wouldn't budge.  He pulled down on it again, with vague 
hopes that it was only sticking.  It still didn't move.  It was locked.  

"The only thing that works on this tin can and it has to be the locks."  He muttered to no 
one.  He kicked the door out of angry frustration, listening to the ringing it produced 
within the empty expanse of the lab and underbelly of the rusty gargantuan.  He turned 
and paced away a few steps, then turned back, his fists before him.  He began to pound 
relentlessly on the stainless steel of the door, trying to draw the attention of anyone.

"Hey!"  He cried.  "Somebody! Let me out of here!"  Of course there was no one. 
Whoever the attacker had been, he was long gone.  No one else in their right mind would 
board this hunk of old-world junk.  Nonetheless, Mulder continued to pound with the 
fleshy curve of his fists until they ached.  

When he was through trying to force his way out of the illegitimate prison, Mulder leaned 
against one of the empty lab benches, trying to collect his thoughts and approach this with 
some sort of logic.

"Come on, Mulder, think.  There has to be some way out of here."  He told himself. He 
looked over at the bomb timer.

00:44:17:28

He knew he couldn't disconnect the bomb.  With the technology available to this group of 
people, merely touching the bomb could send the whole place up.  Not as if the place 
wasn't going to blow anyway.  But hopefully it wouldn't go off until Mulder was far away.  
First he would have to get out of this empty engine room.  That was it!  It was an engine 
room, at one time anyway, so there had to be at least one emergency exit in case of fire or 
something.  Right?

Mulder jumped into action.  He looked in the storage closet adjacent to the timer, hoping 
to perhaps find a tool that could be of some use.  The closet was empty save for a single 
sprung rattrap.  Frustrated, but not disillusioned, Mulder turned again towards the room 
where the pregnant women were.  His gaze avoided the left-for-dead victims of the 
inhumane experiment, searching the corners and walls of the room for any sign of a 
trapdoor or exit of any type.  There was nothing.  On a far wall, Mulder saw another white 
sign, it was in English, and renewed his spirit for a brief moment.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: BREAK GLASS

He ran down the room to the sign and looked into the case where the sign hung.  It was 
empty.  The glass wasn't broken, but there was no emergency equipment, just a single slip 
of paper.  Mulder crooked his elbow, and clenched his teeth.  Using the crooked elbow as 
a battering ram, he slammed it into the glass pane of the case.  No shards of broken glass 
jabbed through the leather jacket he wore, which was thankful.  Mulder carefully reached 
through the shattered hole in the glass and grabbed the piece of paper.  

Surprising enough to him, it wasn't written on the blank inside of a Morley box.  It was 
just a plain piece of paper.  The handwriting was also different, rushed and messier than 
the previous two notes.  Mulder could only guess that this was his attacker's idea of a 
quick joke:

Long time, no see.  Sorry we won't be meeting
this time either.  Had to run, can't miss the 
fireworks.  They tell me you've stumbled
a little too far, Agent Mulder.  So I left you
a little something nice.  Consider it a gift
from me to you.  Happy birthday and 
Merry Christmas.  This time, we won't miss.

Boom.

It was only too bad he didn't know for sure who the writer was.  Although, judging by the 
warped sense of humor, Mulder had his theories.  He could only guess that it was the 
black-lunged devil's right-hand man, the one and only, Alex Krycek.  Mulder crumpled the 
note in a tightened fist and discarded it onto the floor.  He slowly walked back to the main 
part of the lab, almost certain he had finally met his demise.

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


00:20:19:05

Jack Harley pulled into the boatyard about two hours after he'd received the call from 
Scully.  Unlike Mulder, he didn't have any trouble finding the place.  After growing up in 
this area of Baltimore, he could almost positively tell you what type of ship docked where 
at what part of any day of the week.  He knew these few docks were the "ghost houses", 
home to ships that had been out of commission for quite some time.

He spotted Mulder's empty car immediately.  The doors were locked, but when he looked 
through the windshield he could see Mulder's cell phone.  As he looked around the 
boatyard, a little wary of what this was all about, he couldn't help but remember the last 
thing Scully had told him:

What is going down here is something big, something that's probably over all of our 
heads.

He still had no idea what she'd meant by that.  Sure he'd heard things in the Academy, and 
during his first year in the Bureau.  He wasn't one for gossip, but no one could avoid the 
water-cooler chatter about "Spooky" and "Mrs. Spooky".  Mostly what he's heard though 
had seemed so warped and ignorantly told, it couldn't have been the honest truth.  The 
hearsay ranged from 'I heard Mulder's sister was kidnapped by their father and it drove 
him mad.  Now he's a few tacos short of a party platter.' To more perverted references 
about the duo.  He never really believed any of it.

Until he met Mulder, then he knew that all the paranoia references were very close to the 
truth.  He had come into the decidedly more experienced agent's office, and was greeted 
by a man was seemed very untrusting and wary.  But it didn't cause Jack to think of 
Mulder as crazy, it only made him wonder if someone had wronged him in his life, making 
him act this way.  And apparently people had, on more than a few occasions.

Still, Jack wished he knew the whole story about everything that had happened. So he 
could get an idea of what plagued the man he would be working with.  For now, he would 
only have to dig up some evidence himself, and take a few guesses.  Maybe Mulder (or his 
slightly less paranoid wife) could explain it to him later.

Jack wrapped his light jacket tighter around his young toned body, guarding against the 
chilly harbor breeze.  He began to walk towards the large wooden boathouse, all the while 
looking back and forth for anyone who might be around.  

He pulled open the heavy door on the boathouse and stepped in, jumping a little when it 
slammed shut behind him.  He turned on his own flashlight and panned it around the room, 
seeing the same things Mulder had.  Also like Mulder, his attention lingered on the wood 
crates by the wall.  Jack went towards them, noticing that one had been pried open.  He 
crouched beside it and shone his light inside.  Seeing the black box inside the crate, Jack 
immediately had to find out what was inside.  He grabbed the edge and after a few tugs, 
pulled the lid open.  Frozen Nitrogen again escaped the open mouth of the cold storage 
container, giving way to the vials beneath.  Jack grasped on of the vials, unmindful of it's 
chilled touch.  He held the vial to his flashlight, inspecting the fluid inside.  He had no idea 
what the fluid was, or what it was for.  All he knew was that each vial he picked up had 
the name of a woman, and one of the women, was Dana Scully. 

Jack closed the cold storage and stood up.  He was more confused now than ever.  Why 
would a fifty-some year old boathouse have crates with vials that had women's names on 
them?  And why was Mulder's wife's name on one of them?  Again, he scanned the 
building with the narrow beam of his flashlight.  Unaware of the events that had unfolded 
before, he was not afraid of contacting Mulder by voice.

"Agent Mulder!"  He called, and then listened for a response.  When he heard none, he 
began to walk around to the side of the giant ship in the center of the building.  "Mulder!"  
He called again, shining his light towards the open end of the building where the bulky 
ship's rear end hung out.  Once again, there was no response.

Jack sighed and looked up at the edge of the ship. A thought occurred to him that 
perhaps, for some odd reason, Mulder had climbed aboard.  The way Scully had sounded, 
that would be the kind of thing Mulder would do.  He approached the metal ladder 
hanging about two feet above the wood planking.  It must be sturdy if Mulder could climb 
it, so he pocketed his flashlight and grabbed onto the ladder with a firm grip.  

As he began to climb, the ladder seemed creak more.  Near the top, it seemed to be 
swaying.  Jack looked up at the top and saw no bolts holding the metal arches that clasped 
the ladder to the boat.  That would mean, only the bottom to bolts were holding the entire 
ladder together!  Jack's heart began to pound faster as he climbed the ladder with more 
purpose.  With each rung he ascended, the ladder began to creak and sway more.  He was 
too high to drop down, so his only choice would be to keep going, and hope the ladder 
wouldn't give out on him.  About four rungs from the top, the ladder leaned to the left and 
began to slip off the edge of the boat's hull.  Jack managed to pull himself up another rung 
before the ladder really started to fall.  In one final burst of strength, Jack grabbed the 
edge of the ship in his bare hand.  The metal ladder slipped away beneath his feet and 
crashed to the planking below.  Jack grabbed onto the edge with his other hand as well, 
the sharp rusty metal cutting into the soft flesh of his fingers and palms.  Whoever was on 
this ship last, had meant for no one else to get up there.  

Flexing his muscles, Jack gripped better onto the metal.  He began to swing his left leg up 
and towards the edge.  Once he hooked his foot, he used all his strength to pull the weight 
of his body up and over.  Now that he hadn't killed himself getting up, how was he 
supposed to get back down? Oh well, he thought, cross that bridge when I get there.  

Shaking off the brush with death he'd just had, Jack pulled out his flashlight and turned it 
back on.  The first thing he saw was the large wheelhouse with its rusty edges and 
scummy green porthole windows.  He wasn't looking for a mysterious man running 
through the shadows like Mulder had been, so his curiosity could run more rampant about 
what was around each corner, and down each passage.  

With adrenaline coursing his veins, Jack walked around to the left of the wheelhouse, 
where the door still stood wide open.  Panning his flashlight back and forth, inside the 
room, he stepped through the door.  He could smell the coppery odor of rust and the 
stinking rot of dead fish and fungus.  

"Hello?" He called, not as loudly as before.  He really didn't expect Mulder to be in there, 
or on the ship at all for that matter.  Making his death-defying trip pointless.  He thought 
this, until he heard the pounding.

~

"Hello?"

Mulder heard someone call from behind the heavy metal door.  It could've been his 
imagination.  It might have been wishful thinking, but he didn't care.  He jumped off the 
lab bench he'd been perched upon and began to pound on the door.

"Hey!"  He yelled, hoping he hadn't just missed his chance at getting out of here.

He continued pounding as hard as he could on the door until he heard the voice call 
again…

~

"Agent Mulder!"  Jack called, following the muffled sound of pounding down a dark 
corridor to a row of stairs.

"Down here!"  A voice called back.

Immediately, Jack ran down the stairs and towards the door at the end of that brief 
passage.  "Agent Mulder, is that you?"  He asked, as if it mattered.

"Yes it's me! Open the door!"  He yelled impatiently.  "Hurry!"

"Okay!"  Jack said.  He looked at the door handle, there was a large padlock connected 
through two metal loops on the door and the doorframe.  "Stand back!" He yelled, 
drawing his gun from his shoulder holster.  "I'm gonna shoot the lock!"

Mulder did as the voice told him (he still didn't recognize the voice) and backed away 
from the door a few steps.  Within a couple of seconds, two gunshots rang from the other 
side of the door. Rather than being muffled like the sound of their voices, the gunshot 
reverberated in the steel room, making it sound ten times louder than it was. 

When the shots were over, Mulder stepped forward and pulled down on the door handle, 
it gave and the door opened freely.  Mulder sighed with relief and was fully prepared to 
run. He looked up at the face of the man who'd freed him and saw it was his rookie 
partner that he hadn't given a chance to trust.

"How did you know to come here?"  He asked quickly.

"You're wife called me."  Jack answered, shrugging.

"Oh, well, let's get out of here."  Mulder rushed.

"Why the hurry? What's down here?"  Jack questioned, ignoring Mulder and entering the 
lab.

Mulder turned back and grabbed Jack's arm.  "There's a bomb! This hole place is wired, 
let's go!"  He shouted, pointing at the timer.

00:00:29:41

"Holy shit!"  Jack exclaimed, following Mulder up the stairs.

When they escaped the wheelhouse, Mulder turned to the left toward where the ladder 
was once hanging.

"No," Jack said, "The ladder's gone, it fell off when I was climbing, nearly killed me."

Mulder's eyes widened.  "So how are we supposed to get down?"

Jack's gaze wandered again to the open end of the boathouse.  The water would definitely 
be deep enough.  It was their only choice.  "Jump."  He stated.

Mulder looked, and without another word, began to run full out towards the rear of the 
ship.  Jack followed him closely.  In a moment's hesitation, they both climbed up on the 
edge of the hull.  In another second, they leapt.  They pushed away as far as they could 
from the ship, tucking their arms and legs in to prevent injury.  Just as soon as their twin 
splashes broke the surface of the water, the timer ticked down.

The explosion began near the bow of the ship, soon spreading along the hundred-foot 
length of the vessel.  Mulder and Jack swam underwater, avoiding burning shards of metal 
and debris.  They swam until their lungs burned and their muscles ached and they could 
swim no more.  After they reached about fifty feet away from the ship and boathouse, they 
surfaced.  For a moment, Mulder only floated on the surface, letting his heart rate slow 
back down and the oxygen refill his lungs.  When he began treading water, he looked back 
at the burning ship.  It was horrific.  All that was left of the mock Russian cargo ship and 
boathouse was a burning mountain of flame surrounded by a sea of black harbor water.

Without a word between them, they swam the good fifty feet to the shore.  Once at 
walking distance, Mulder found that his strength was nearly spent.  He managed to drag 
himself out of the water before collapsing onto the sand.  Jack wasn't far behind.  They lay 
there for a few minutes, to tired to move or speak.

"You really are an asshole, aren't you, Mulder?"  Jack said into the silence.

"Yeah, I guess I am."  Mulder replied, sitting up.  It was a sarcastic comment, but there 
was no wry grin crossing his face.  His gaze had returned to the burning hulk of the ship.  
Those six women were dead.  Sacrificed for nothing more than an elaborate decoy to try 
and kill Mulder.  At first it made Mulder want to cry. What if they really did try and pull 
something like that with Scully?  Then he wanted someone to blame.  But the guilty party 
was the same as they always were, not present.

"Mulder, what was in the vial?"  Jack asked after a few more silent minutes.

"Vial?"  Mulder queried, as if he didn't know.

"The vial in the crate, the one that had your wife's name on it."

"Ovum."  He replied.  He hadn't known there was one of Scully's, but he probably 
should've guessed as much.

"What?"  It was clear that Jack didn't believe him.

"Ovum that has been cross hybridized with extra-terrestrial DNA."  Mulder said, rising 
from the sand and starting towards the bound wire where his car was parked.

Jack stood up.  What in the world was this guy talking about?  "Care to elaborate on that 
any?"  

"Not really."  Mulder said.

Jack sighed.  "If we're going to be partners, we really should work out some kind of 
communication."

Mulder opened his car door.  "You're not my partner.  You see the Bureau seems to think 
they always have to have someone to keep an eye on me.  That's the reason Scully was 
assigned to the X-files in the first place.  Since then we've been through a lot.  You and I, 
we haven't.  It's too much to explain and I don't want to drag you into it.  I suggest you 
put in for a transfer before you get killed.  Just tell them you can't handle the pressure.  
Tell them I hit you.  I don't care, but we're not partners."

Mulder climbed into his car and shut the door.

"I will find out, Mulder.  If not from you, then from someone else!"  Jack yelled at the 
closed Taurus door, not really sure if Mulder could hear him.  He couldn't believe it. He 
had just save the guy's life and that was how he was thanked?  

Mulder started the car and let it run for a minute.  He felt guilty now.  It was his anger and 
frustration that had said that.  Jack seemed honorable, but he really wasn't ready to spill 
his guts to the guy.  Jack had saved him, but that didn't mean he could be trusted.  After 
all, Jack could be just as sneaky and believable as Krycek had been.  Mulder's guilt still 
won out.  He reopened the door and stood back up.

"Get in."  He ordered to the younger man.  "I'll explain some if it on the way back."

Jack stared at Mulder.  Mulder sat back down in the driver's seat, ignoring his soaking 
clothes.  Okay, so now Mulder wanted him to ride home with him.  This guy really was 
spooky.  But it didn't matter.  That little outburst had made Jack become determined to 
gain Mulder's trust.  He could take a cab back to pick up his car later.  For now, there 
were more important matters at hand.

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























Mulder Residence
8:23 a.m.

Scully sat up in the living room waiting for word from Jack, or her husband to pull into the 
driveway. She tried to watch TV, but her attention for that was short lived.  Most of the 
time was spent pacing or sitting and waiting.  She knew very well that she shouldn't stress, 
but it was unavoidable in these circumstances.  

The sun was peeking over the horizon when she heard a car pulling into the driveway.  A 
few minutes later, Mulder opened the front door and walked in.  He had long since 
discarded his soaked leather jacket, trying to allow his shirt and jeans to dry, both of which 
were still a little damp.  A young, attractive man followed him, whom Scully assumed was 
Jack Harley.  She looked at Jack, but did not greet him formally, too pissed off at her 
husband to deal with trivialities.

She didn't hug Mulder when he came in, crying and thanking god he was alive.  No, so 
much anger had built up in the last few hours, she needed to release it.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?!"  She yelled at him.

Jack backtracked at her outburst and gestured that he would be waiting outside.  

"Scully," Mulder began, still trying to form his speech in his head.  He knew it was 
hopeless though, if she had something to say, she was going to say it.

Scully crossed her arms over her chest.  "You lied to me, Mulder.  You promised that you 
wouldn't fucking go alone!  But you lied!  You went anyway."

"Scully," Mulder said again, trying to calm his wife.

She wouldn't have it.  "No, Mulder.  First, you break your promise about getting Cole 
back.  Second, you leave early in the morning without telling me.  And then, you don't 
even call and tell me anything.  You fucking ditched me!  I know you've ditched me 
before, but those times I wasn't nine fucking months pregnant!"

"Scully, please." Mulder pleaded.  His plea was about more than an apology.  Because of 
her late term, she needed to calm down.  That didn't seem to be happening.  "I had to go, 
for my sister.  I had to get her son back."

Scully took a deep breath and let her arms fall to her sides.  "Did you?" She asked, her 
voice suddenly calmer.

Mulder averted his gaze to the floor.  "No.  There was no bargain.  It was a set up."  He 
confessed.

Scully sighed and shook her head.  "I can't believe that.  You could've been killed."  She 
told him.

"I know…" Mulder said, daring to return his eyes to hers.

"How long is this going to last?"  Scully asked.  "I mean, how…how long are you going 
to keep chasing this goddamned truth?  Haven't you found what you're looking for?  You 
have your sister back, what else do you want?  I sure as hell don't want any more truth.  
All I ever seem to get out of it is pain."

"I don't know, Scully."  Mulder said gently. "It's just something I have to do.  I have to 
keep searching."

"Why?"  She persisted.  "It may be your life's goal, but it isn't mine. The thing is; are you 
going to let it deter you from the really important things?  I-I mean, are you going to be 
there when Zoe graduates?  Are you going to be able to teach your son how to play 
baseball or see his first day of kindergarten?"  She let her questions sink in for a moment, 
and then said something without thinking.  Something she regretted.  "Or are you going to 
be like your father?"

Mulder didn't say anything.  This was once when it was she that was treading on thin ice.  
There was a certain no-man's land between them when it came to arguments and that was 
one of them.

Scully saw the nearly instantaneous hurt on Mulder's face.  "I'm sorry."  She said.  "That 
was out of line.  I shouldn't have said that…" She sank slowly to the sofa behind her, the 
other wave of emotions finally over-throwing the anger.

Mulder sat beside her, and saw a tear roll down her cheek.  He put his arms around her 
and held her close for a moment.  

"I was scared."  She confessed.  "I was really frightened that something might happen to 
you."

"I know you were."  Mulder said comfortingly, rubbing her back and massaging her 
shoulders.  "I shouldn't have gone.  It was a stupid thing to do and I'm sorry."  He 
continued rubbing her back for a minute or two, thinking she was absorbing his apology 
and considering forgiveness.  After a silent moment though, he saw her place her palm on 
her abdomen, and swallow hardly.  He knew something was wrong.

"Scully?"  He asked, looking into her eyes.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a minute.  "Ah…Mulder…I…I think my 
water just broke."

Mulder's expression went deadpan.  He leaned forward and looked at Scully's face.  He 
half expected her to crack a wide grin and playfully punch his arm, adding a victorious, 
"Gotcha," along with it.  The only thing was, her eyes didn't look like she was joking.  She 
smiled when her gaze caught Mulder's surprised and disbelieving expression, but it wasn't 
because of a sly prank.  

She slapped his arm anyway, pulling him back to reality.  "I'm not kidding!"  She assured 
him.  "I'm having this baby."

"Okay," Mulder said, standing quickly and trying to organize his thoughts.  "Umm. . ."  He 
hadn't a clue what to do.  "I'll get the overnight bag and…Zoe…where's Zoe?"

Scully gestured towards the stairs. "She's still sleeping, unless I woke her up."  She said.  
Zoe wasn't awake of course, that girl slept like a rock, which was very different than both 
of her parents.  The only thing that would ever disturb Zoe would have to be the end of 
the world, if even that.  Certainly a little angry shouting wasn't enough to rouse her.  

"I'll go get her."  Mulder said, hurrying towards the stairs and then taking them by three's.

"Good idea…" Scully mumbled, the low, tight pain of her first contraction slowly 
stretching across her abdomen.  It was only a little worse than the Braxton-Hicks 
contractions had been.  Still, it wasn't pleasant.  Before it was finished, Scully had closed 
her eyes and clenched her jaw shut, trying to concentrate past the pain.  Within a few 
minutes, it was over.  Even with that temporary relief, she knew that there would be more, 
and they would be worse.

Moments after he'd missed the first contraction, Mulder descended the stairs to the living 
room, this time carrying a sleeping Zoe and a black overnight bag.  Zoe was still dressed in 
her light pink pajamas, clutching a teddy bear in the crook of one arm and grasping her 
father's neck in the other.  She showed no desire in waking up for anything, including the 
birth of her baby brother.

He somehow managed to open up the heavy oak door to the screen outside.  Jack was still 
standing on the porch steps, watching the young woman across the street water flowers.  

"Sorry to ruin your…fun." Mulder said, noticing that when the woman bent over to water 
some flowers, her shorts rode up her butt.  Something any man would notice, especially a 
young, single guy like Jack.  "But the time has come, here take Zoe."

Jack stood stunned as Mulder gently unloaded the sleeping blonde child into his arms.  She 
yawned and her eyelids fluttered a little, but she didn't wake up.  Jack recognized the girl 
from a picture on Mulder's desk.

"You're driving."  Mulder told him, turning back into the house.  He helped Scully up with 
a gentle arm around her waist, and then led her to the door.  Jack and Zoe were already in 
Mulder's car when Mulder was helping his wife down the three porch stairs.  She allowed 
herself to be helped, mostly just to keep Mulder under control.  He opened the rear 
passenger door and helped her in, and then went around to the other side.  He gave Jack 
the keys, and sat back against the car door, allowing her lean back against him for more 
comfort. 

Surprisingly enough to any spectator, Scully was the calmest of the people in the car.  
Other than Zoe, who remained fast asleep and oblivious to the events taking place around 
her.  Would she ever receive a surprise when she woke up.  Scully was ready for this, and 
remained in a collected, professional air.  She had spent months attending classes and 
reading books, preparing herself both mentally and physically for the changes that would 
be ahead of her.  

Mulder was the exact opposite.  He wasn't prepared.  He wasn't ready for this leap at all.  
He'd attended the same classes Scully had, but he hadn't learned a thing.  At least not that 
he could recall at the present moment.  He didn't know anything about babies, or 
childbirth.  Yet here he was, riding with is wife to the hospital.  Mulder watched Scully as 
she looked out the window opposite her.  She was quiet, and calm, and seemed rather 
comfortable using him as a pillow.  How did she do it?  Mulder took a deep breath and 
closed his eyes.  He certainly didn't want her to know how nervous he really was.

Scully felt Mulder's chest rise and fall deeply against her back.  Jeez, his breathing was 
more labored than hers, and he wasn't even the one in labor!  She turned a little and 
looked at his face.  He looked downright scared.

"You all right, Mulder?"  She asked.

"Yeah."  He said, touching a rather shaky hand to his forehead.  

She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  "Calm down, Mulder."  She told him.  
"I've only had my first contraction, with my first child.  This could take awhile.  There's no 
need to stress out because when the time comes, I'm going to need you there beside me, 
not passed out on the floor."  She smiled.

He smiled back a little.  "Okay."

She reached up and touched the bruised cut forming on his forehead due to some falling 
debris during the explosion.  He winced even though her fingers were gentle the cut was 
deep and still painful.  "Better get that checked out, too."  She said.

"I will."  He agreed, glad she decided not to play twenty questions about the small injury.  
What she had said was only mildly reassuring, but he would calm down some, for her.

Jack was a different story altogether.  He had been confused the minute he'd left his 
apartment early that morning, and it had only increased since then.  Mulder's explanations 
of the X-files and everything had been vague and complicated, two things that didn't fit 
well together.  Shortly after that, he'd been told he was driving, had a seven-year-old 
dumped in his arms, and then a woman in labor had been loaded into the car.  Now, as he 
drove north on highway 355 to Bethesda Naval hospital, he tried to sort everything out.  
He glanced back at the couple in the rear seats.  Scully seemed impeccably calm, not 
breathing heavily or screaming like the women in the movies always did.  She only sat 
leaning against her husband and gently rubbing her very enlarged belly.  Mulder seemed a 
little nervous, but he was mostly okay to.  Jack noticed with a glance that Mulder had his 
arms wrapped around Scully and was stroking her hand with his thumb in such a tender 
way, it displayed more affection than any kiss or hug could ever hope to.  He thought he 
understood now what Mulder had meant when he said he and Scully were partners, not he 
and Jack.  Partners, not just as professional bounds would allow, but to the limitless ends 
of the soul.

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






























Bethesda Naval Hospital
9:12 a.m.

Dr. Callista Nolan happened to be the obstetrician on call when the three FBI agents and 
one blonde child came into the ER.  Callie saw them from a distance down the long first 
floor corridor as they went first to the administration desk.  The petite woman stood 
calmly before the desk, speaking to one of the nurses running reception.  The man beside 
her with his arm around her back looked worried and stressed.  There was a younger man 
with shaggy blonde hair behind them; he was holding a small blonde girl on his hip that 
Callie guessed was sleeping.  Callie walked quickly, heading towards the administration 
desk for her next patient.  The nurse gestured towards the couple before her when she saw 
Callie.

"Dr. Nolan, this is Dana Mulder.  She went into labor about an hour ago."  The nurse 
explained.

"All right."  Callie said in her light English accent.  "Can I get a wheelchair over here 
please?"  She called back to the orderlies.  When she was certain one was on its way, she 
turned her attention and a kind smile on Scully.  "Mrs. Mulder, Dana, I'm Dr. Callista 
Nolan."  She stuck out her hand once Scully was seated in the wheelchair.

Scully shook it; still somewhat recovering from the last contraction that had occurred just 
before they'd arrived.  She watched Dr. Nolan give a small glance to the orderly and 
mutter a few things to him.  

"Dana, we're going to take you up to your room now, and I'll meet you up there."  She 
said.

Scully nodded.  She had absolutely no problem with going up to a private room and away 
from the rather busy emergency waiting room.  Besides that, the outrageous change in 
hormones that had suddenly invaded her bloodstream was giving her something of a 
headache, and she really wanted to just lay down and rest her eyes for a moment.

As a nurse began to push Scully down the long corridor to the elevator, Mulder doubled 
back to relieve Jack of his Zoe-carrying duty.  Zoe was half awake when Mulder gently 
rested her own his hip.  She lifted her head and looked groggily into his eyes.  She was still 
too tired to speak, but her eyes said she was sleepy, and did not want to be awoken, for 
anything or anyone.  She poked out her lower lip like she was going to cry, but then only 
dropped her head back to Mulder's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Scully's room was on the fourth floor in the maternity ward.  So, after a quick elevator 
ride and brief way down the hall, they were there, room number 419.  The nurse wheeled 
her into the room and gave her a hand to help her stand.  Scully remained standing for a 
moment, rubbing the tight knot in her lower back.  Luckily, she hadn't been cursed with 
the so-called "back labor", but the unbalanced weight was no picnic.  That was definitely 
something she wouldn't miss about being pregnant.  Postpartum depression, ha, not in this 
lifetime.  

"Your gown is here, there's a robe and slippers on that chair," The nurse began, gesturing 
towards the bed and pointing at the folded pale blue clothes on the chair in the corner.  
"TV remote is here," She held up the remote that rested on the table beside the bed.  
"Your doctor will be up in a moment, buzz the nurse if you need anything."  She pointed 
last to the red button on the wall above the bed.  She checked the room again with a few 
quick glances, and then left.

Scully sighed and leaned against the bed.  Although she never cared to admit it, being a 
doctor and all, she hated hospitals.  She had been through too much pain revolving around 
the hospital environment to like them.  Almost every time she was at one, someone she 
loved was hurt or dying.  Sometimes it was even herself.  Even though this wasn't a sad 
time at a hospital, it still brought no relief. 

Eventually, Scully picked up the white and blue hospital gown and headed towards the 
bathroom, not trusting the privacy of a hospital room either.  

Mulder and Jack had taken a left after leaving the elevator, heading toward the maternity 
ward waiting room rather than Scully's room.  An exact contrast to the packed ER waiting 
room, this one was nearly empty.  There was an older woman and a toddler in one corner 
of the room, and a woman in her early twenties with a mildly older man in the center of 
the room.  Mulder picked a chair and gently settled his sleepy daughter into it.  Her eyes 
were open, and they drifted up to his face in a mixture of lingering sleep and annoyance.  

Jack slumped down in a chair beside Zoe.  He rubbed his forehead and leaned back against 
the padded low backrest.  He looked at the watch on his wrist and saw that the time was 
only around 9:30 a.m.  It felt like it was a late hour of the night.  Of course, Jack had 
missed about six hours of sleep on a Sunday morning chasing Mulder.  All in all it had 
been a rather stressful day, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.  

Before turning back and going to his wife's room, Mulder knelt down in front of Zoe.  She 
merely yawned and clutched her raggedy teddy bear to her chest.  Mulder smiled and 
smoothed her long blonde hair back behind her ear.  

"Are you hungry?"  He asked.

She didn't speak, but did nod in response.  

"Okay," Mulder said.  "I'm going to go see Mommy, and then I'll be back and we'll go get 
some breakfast, sound good?"  He asked.

"I wanna see Mommy." Zoe said.

Mulder stood up. "Why don't you stay here and keep Jack company and we'll bring 
Mommy some breakfast?"

Zoe looked at him skeptically, but nodded again anyway.  She knew her mother wasn't 
going to eat anything for a while, but she decided to humor Mulder anyway.

Mulder smiled again and looked to Jack.  Jack looked exhausted and stressed.  A day in 
the life, Mulder thought, mildly bemused with the fact that this was probably the only real 
"adventure" Jack had ever had.  He'd get used to eventually.  Either that, or have a 
nervous breakdown.

"You should go home and get some sleep."  He said to the younger man.  "You look like 
hell."

Jack smiled and leaned forward, rubbing the weariness from his face.  "No, I think I'll stay 
awhile longer.  Watch Zoe for you."  He gestured toward the child staring at him. 

Mulder raised his eyebrows in wonderment.  "Okay…" He agreed, turning to head for 
Scully's room.  What would interest Jack in staying here? He thought.  Not that he really 
cared. It was a free country, most of the time anyway.
    
When he got to Scully's room, he rapped on the closed door a few times and then entered 
without consent.  The nurse that had brought Scully up was nowhere to be seen, and so 
was Scully for that matter.

"Scully?"  He called.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then a pained voice answered back, "In here."

Mulder followed the sound of the voice to the bathroom.  The door was partially open and 
Mulder could see a hand on the lip of the sink through the crack.  He pushed the door the 
rest of the way and saw Scully.  She was using the sink to support herself as another 
contraction passed through her body.  Mulder knew it had to be that because her jaw was 
clenched tightly shut and her eyes were pinched shut in silent pain.  She was dressed in the 
hospital gown and her backside was slightly exposed as she leaned against the sink.  
Mulder went to her side and held her up.  

"You okay?"  He asked.

"Fine."  She said quickly through clenched teeth.  

He took that as an answer, knowing she was unable to come up with a better one at the 
moment.  Besides, she didn't want to just tell him she felt like hell.  With his arm around 
her waist as he helped her back to her bed, he could feel the muscles in her lower torso 
tightened.  He could only imagine how painful it must have been.  So, fine was a good 
enough reply.

Just before Scully sat on the bed, the muscles in her abdomen relaxed and a wave of relief 
washed over her face.  The agonizing pulling of her muscles was painful, but bearable, for 
the time being at least.

"Is there anything I can get you?"  Mulder asked after he helped his wife get into the bed.

"Not unless you can speed up time so this'll all be over."  She said, patting the stuffy 
pillows behind her back.  

Mulder chuckled, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot as he stood vigilance 
over her bed.

Scully smiled again.  She didn't know why she smiled whenever Mulder showed signs of 
being nervous, but she did.  Maybe it was only because it showed he was only human and 
was totally unprepared for this.  It was a refreshing change from the man who could 
usually breeze through everything without so much as breaking a sweat.

The door reopened just as Scully had gotten partially comfortable.  Scully recognized the 
woman that entered as the doctor from the ER.  She had straight, nearly black hair that 
was pulled back in a bun.  Her face seemed very kind, with notably English features and 
sharp evergreen eyes that were very alive and brilliant.

"Dana," She said with a gesturing nod as she walked into the room.  She picked up the 
information chart dangling from the foot of the bed and gave it a quick once over.  "Your 
son decided to come a couple of days early I see."  She said, putting the chart back down 
again.

"Yeah, I think he got my impatience."  Scully said.

Dr. Nolan smiled warmly. She walked around the side of the bed and leaned near the edge, 
pulling her stethoscope from her lab coat pocket. "How far apart are the contractions?"  
She asked, inserting the earpieces into her ears.

"They were about thirty minutes apart, but I just had another one a few minutes ago, so I 
guess about twenty-five minutes." She answered.

"Twenty-five minutes."  Dr. Nolan said thoughtfully, placing the circular disk of the 
stethoscope onto her patient's round belly.  "He may be impatient, but he's taking his 
time." She said, listening to the dual sound of Scully's heartbeat slightly over toning the 
baby's.  When she was satisfied all was well in those aspects, she removed the earpieces 
and stuffed the stethoscope back into her pocket.  Then, she placed one hand high on 
Scully's abdomen, and the other low, trying to get a vague definition of how the baby was 
positioned in the womb.  "He's in no hurry."  She said definitively.  "His head hasn't even 
dropped into the pelvis."  Dr. Nolan stood up and returned to the charts, jotting down a 
few things on it.  "If you think you can, you may want to get up and go for walks up and 
down the corridor out there, it'll help his head drop.  That should ease the pain some.  You 
have chosen natural childbirth, correct?"  She asked.  

Scully nodded, "Dr. Roche told me it would be better to avoid the barbiturate due to my 
medical history."

"Yes, that would be wise I think.  If you do change your mind though, just buzz the nurse 
and you can get a muscle relaxant."  She said.  Still holding the chart, she jotted something 
in blocky letters, using one swift stroke to underline it.  She dropped the chart again and 
turned for the door. "Okay, I will be back in about thirty minutes to see how everything 
has progressed."

"Dr. Nolan," Scully said, stopping the English doctor from leaving.  "I don't mean to 
sound rude, but where is Dr. Roche?  I was told she would be the one here for the 
delivery."

Dr. Nolan's jaw dropped slightly.  "No one told you?"  She asked.

"Told me what?"  Scully queried, a sudden tone of wariness present in her voice.

"Dr. Roche resigned." Callista said. "I don't know why, but she did.  I thought all of her 
patients were notified."

"No…"Scully said, shaking her head slowly back and forth.  

"Oh, well…I'm her replacement, I don't know why no one told you.  Sorry." Dr. Nolan 
said shrugging.  After a few quiet minutes, Dr. Nolan turned and left.

Mulder walked down to the end of the bed and picked up the chart, curious as to what Dr. 
Nolan wrote.  He read a little of it, not understanding a bit aside from preliminary 
information about Scully.  

"What does it say?"  Scully asked.

"I can't really read it, but the last thing she wrote really big and underlined it; 
cephalopelvic disproportion."  He looked up at her.  "What's that?"

Scully bit her lip.  "It means the baby is too big to pass through my pelvis.  I'd have to 
have a cesarean."  She explained.  "I knew that when she said the baby's head hadn't 
dropped yet.  But I'm fairly certain the baby's not too big, the head just needs to drop."

Mulder dropped the chart to dangle from its chain and turned back towards Scully.  He 
rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger and then combed his hair back with his 
fingers.  

Scully moved to one side of her bed.  "Have a seat, Mulder." She said.  "By the way the 
good doctor sounds, this may take awhile."  She patted the bed beside her, craving his 
company and arms around her.  

"Actually, I told Zoe I'd take her downstairs to get something to eat.  I'm gonna call 
Maggie too, I'm sure she'd like to know."  He said.  He leaned forward over her and kissed 
her lips softly.  "Do you want anything?" He asked.

She shook her head and smiled.  

Mulder opened the door to leave the room.  Just before he stepped out though, he turned 
around.  "Do you have any idea how long it will probably take for this baby to make an 
appearance?"     

Scully rubbed her belly with her palm.  "I don't think he's going anywhere for the next few 
hours."  She said.

"Hours…" Mulder repeated, muttering as he closed the door behind himself.

Zoe had been awake since Mulder left her in the hospital room with his rather 
irresponsible partner.  Jack talked to Zoe a little, never even noticing the psychological 
differences she conveyed in her conversations.  He obviously had no experience with 
children, yet he volunteered to "watch" her anyway.  As if she really needed a babysitter.  
He was now across the waiting room, talking to the young woman who sat with the older 
man.  From what Zoe picked up, the woman was the man's brother-in-law, and they were 
waiting as the woman's sister had a cesarean section performed.  

When Zoe spotted her dad's lanky figured walking towards the waiting room from the hall, 
she jumped from her seat and ran to him.

"Daddy!" She squealed, throwing herself into his arms in a dramatic child's greeting.  

"Hey munchkin." Mulder said, lifting Zoe up onto his hip.  "Awake, I see."  

"Yeah," Zoe replied. "Kinda hard to sleep when you know your baby brother's going to be 
born soon."

"Still hungry?"  Mulder asked, continuing towards the waiting room.

"Of course."  

Mulder looked into the waiting room and spotted Jack, who was talking with the young 
he'd only faintly noticed before.  He walked over to Jack and quietly interrupted his 
conversation.  

"Jack," He said.  Jack turned and looked up at Mulder.  "We're going down to get 
something to eat, do you want anything?"  

"No thanks," Jack replied curtly, no longer interested in his temporary partner for the time 
being, but on the dark auburn hair and mischievous gray eyes before him.  

Mulder nodded and left without word.  Zoe didn't say anything either, noting the odd 
unspoken tension between the two.  Trust would be something accomplished only over 
time between them, if even then.

~

Mulder took Zoe back to the first floor where the cafeteria and gift shop was.  Once she 
was situated at a table in the corner, with a bowl of cereal and a cup of milk for a late 
breakfast; Mulder went to the payphone in the corner.  

After a few rings, a familiar voice he'd long since adopted as his mother-in-law's answered.  
She sounded cheery and happy, and he could hear the radiant smile in her voice.  This 
would be one time he called her from a hospital that he wouldn't have to break that smile.  
His news would fill it even more.

"Hi, Maggie, it's Fox."  He replied after her hello.

"Hello, Fox, how are you?"  She asked sweetly.

Mulder smiled to himself.  "Oh, I'm fine.  Actually I'm calling about Dana."

"What about her?"  Maggie's voice wavered for a moment; almost wary of the news 
Mulder would be breaking.

"It's that time." Mulder said.  "The baby decided he was tired of waiting."

"Is that so?"  Maggie asked her voice filled with glee once again.  "Well, we'll be down as 
soon as possible!"  She exclaimed. 

"Maggie," Mulder said, keeping her from hanging up on him.  "Who's we?"

"Bill and Tara." She answered in a way that for some reason made him feel like an idiot.  

"They're still in town?"  He asked, all the while thinking, DUH!

"Yes, Fox.  You know Bill has that extended shore time.  They'll be here until the end of 
June, maybe even the fourth of July."

"Oh," Mulder said, suddenly hoping that Scully would go into the more advanced stages 
of labor so he wouldn't have to deal with Bill when he got there.

"Don't you worry about him, I'll keep him under control."  Maggie reassured.  "Tell Dana 
I'll be there soon."

"Okay," With that, Mulder heard a few voices in the background, and Maggie exclaim the 
news, and then she uttered a hurried good-bye.

Mulder smiled and shook his head.  Perhaps it would have been less stressful if he hadn't 
called the family after all.  He would ring his own mother later; she probably wouldn't 
catch a flight out until tomorrow anyway.

He walked back to the table where he left Zoe and pulled out a chair beside her.  Rather 
than disturb her meal of soggy Cocoa Puffs, he sat in silence, observing the people around 
him.  He looked to the left of the table and saw a man with an infant sitting on his lap.  His 
attention was hooked immediately.  The baby was a boy, dressed in a tiny tee shirt and 
baseball cap.  The father sat playing the baby, tickling him and entertaining him in simple 
ways.  With every peek-a-boo round, the baby laughed and smiled at his father.  Mulder 
just stared in awe.  It reminded him of the boy he saw in the toy section at the store.  He'd 
never realized his true desire to ever be a father until Scully was pregnant.  Even raising 
Zoe he hadn't noticed a change.  He wanted to be there from the start, and in a few hours, 
that dream would come true.  

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

















11:06 a.m.

Zoe was bored.  Plain and simple, no other way of putting it, she was bored.  Jack had 
gone…somewhere with the woman he met; only telling Zoe to stay put.  Maggie, Uncle 
Bill, and Aunt Tara hadn't arrived yet, for only God knows what reasons.  Now, thanks to 
Mr. Responsible, Zoe was alone.  She wanted to see her parents too, so she had gotten up 
and wandered down the hall to the room Scully was in.  When she opened the door, she 
saw Mulder sitting on the bed, and Scully resting comfortably with his arms around her.  
They were both asleep.  Zoe wasn't quite sure how Scully could sleep with periodic 
contractions squeezing her lower abdomen, but she guessed if someone was tired 
enough…they could sleep through anything.

Mixing one genius child with boredom, and there's bound to be trouble.  Of course Zoe 
thought of this, and of course she didn't care.  She decided after only a second's 
consideration, that she should do a little exploring of the Naval Hospital.  After all, what 
child wouldn't want to explore every nook and cranny of such a large building? And the 
thrill of being caught was exhilarating.  

Zoe decided she should start on the first floor, because that was where the action was, that 
was where the ER was.  She tromped down the hall after seeing her parents sleeping, they 
wouldn't even know she was gone.  She boarded the elevator like any normal hospital 
visitor, unmindful of the few other adults' curious looks.  No one stopped her, not even 
the nurse pushing the wheelchair bound patient. No one cared that there was a seven-year-
old girl wandering the hospital corridors, just looking for trouble.  

Of course it was the Emergency Room doors, which brought an overwhelming awe to 
Zoe.  She stood before them, staring at them like a religious person on a quest who has 
found the holy Mecca.  With dreams of being a doctor like her mother always wanted too, 
Zoe stood before the doors to the room she may one day call her office.  She stepped 
gingerly out of the way as two orderlies, a doctor, and a nurse came bustling out of the 
ER, pushing an unconscious man towards to Operating Room at the opposite end of the 
hall.  Zoe breathed out a long, mesmerized sigh and stepped closer to the door.  Being a 
few inches too short for what she was told was the normal height of her age; she was 
barely able to see into the windows above the red-lettered "No Admittance" sign.  But, it 
just wasn't enough, she had to be closer.  

Carefully, as if she might set off some alarm for touching the door, she pushed open the 
right one, only a crack at first.  The mixed voices of nurses and doctors and paramedics all 
combined to make a sound like a dull roar.  Everyone was trying to shout and make their 
own voices heard over everyone else.  Zoe watched for a moment through this crack as 
more paramedics wheeled a patient in through the swinging doors leading to the outside.  
They were all so focused on the job at hand, no one saw the little blonde girl in pink 
pajamas watching from the doorway.  

After a few long minutes of merely observing from the door, Zoe took another step 
forward.  Now she let the door swing behind her, forgetting completely that she wasn't 
supposed to be anywhere near there.  She remained still and quiet, watching the bustle as a 
woman doctor with short, darkish hair worked feverishly over a…car accident victim.  
With mental abilities sharpened over the years, she could tell about each nurse and doctor, 
what was going on that she couldn't see.  That's when she realized she'd been spotted.

"What the hell is that kid doing in here? Get her out of here!"  Dr. Maria Ritton hollered 
to anyone who may be listening.  She wouldn't have even noticed the girl had one of the 
nurses not moved from the side of the accident victim to retrieve clean gauze.  She gave 
the girl only one more glance, and saw that her eyes had widened with sudden stunned 
fright.  But she had no time to deal with that.

"Get that kid out of the ER!!"  Carol Hathaway heard yelled for the third time.  Before, 
she had been too focused to be aware of glancing up to see what Maria was yelling for.  
Maria yelled a lot, so it was no big thing.  That was, until Carol heard what she was yelling 
about.

Carol let the IV bag she had been trying to hook dangle from its stand.  "I got her!"  She 
shouted back at Maria, taking rushed strides toward the girl.

The young blonde girl looked utterly frightened. Her blue eyes had widened into 
crystalline saucers.  They were nearly spilling over with tears, but the girl looked like she 
didn't want to cry, she wouldn't allow herself to cry.  

Without stopping to ask her any questions, Carol grabbed one of her limp hands and 
pulled her out the ER doors.  Carol walked her a safe way away from the Emergency 
Room, and only hoped no one would get in a lot of trouble for letting a small girl slip 
through the fingers of security.  

Zoe had been frightened.  Well, maybe frightened was even an overstatement, she had 
been startled.  She had expected the doctor to yell, even known what she was going to 
yell, but it was still a trifle overwhelming.  She had no desire to burst into tears, and wasn't 
going to.  The tears were just adolescent reflexes to finding herself in a situation she'd 
never been in before.  At first, she thought she was in trouble, but when she began 
absorbing information from the computer that was the nurse's mind, she was certain she 
would get off with nothing more than a lecture, perhaps less.

Carol knelt down before the child, looking her full into the eyes that no longer showed 
signs of tears.  "What is your name?"  She asked kindly, hoping she hadn't frightened the 
girl too much to keep her from talking.

"Zoe."  Zoe replied confidently, deciding to hide her "little girl" act a little more than 
normal. 

"Well, Zoe," Carol said, "Do you know you're not supposed to be in the ER?"

"Yes," Zoe replied.  "It's dangerous and no place for children."  Zoe winced when she said 
that.  She let her tongue slip into saying what the nurse was thinking before she realized 
who she was talking too.

Carol was a little off-struck by her last remark, considering she had thought the same thing 
at the moment Zoe had said it.  "Yeah."  Was all she managed to spit out.  She looked 
around, avoiding Zoe's suddenly haunting gaze.  "Where are your parents?"  She asked 
next, seeing no worried adults searching for a lost girl.

"Well," She began, "My mommy and daddy are upstairs sleeping coz they were up early.  I 
don't know where Jack went, and Maggie isn't here yet."

"Okay," Carol said, nodding.  "And you parents don't care that you went wandering 
around a big hospital all by yourself?"

Zoe shook her head. "I doubt they even know I'm gone.  My mommy's having a baby so 
she and Daddy were in her room and they fell asleep.  Mommy's been in labor for about 
three hours now and like I said, she was really tired."

Carol nodded again and stood up.  "Well, why don't we go back upstairs and see your 
mom and dad?  I think they might just be wondering where you are." She suggested.

"All right," Zoe said, shrugging.  "But I don't wanna wake them up."

Carol smiled.  She held out her hand and Zoe took it gratuitously.  They headed towards 
the elevator together, Carol completely oblivious to the secrets she had just ran into 
during the meeting with this child.  

Back at the lobby, a man stood beside the administration desk watching the nurse walk the 
girl up the hallway.  He knew who the girl was; he'd known her for a very long time.  The 
nurse he didn't know, he could see she had long, dark and curly brown hair.  He couldn't 
see her face from the direction they were walking.  

"Can I help you, Sir?"  A young nurse asked from behind the desk, interrupting his 
thoughts.

"I'm going up to see Dana Scully." He said, still refusing to call her by her married name.  
He had at first cursed the fact that they had not only allowed the marriage to proceed, but 
allowed it to prosper.  That was, until they realized that the relationship could be used to 
their complete advantage.

The nurse didn't look up the name; she didn't really care where some old fart was going.  
Besides, the man looked kind of creepy.  He was dressed well, in a suit and tie and dark 
overcoat.  His face was haggard and his eyes looked bloodshot.  There was a mysterious 
aura surrounding him.  But not an aura that possessed the sort of magical, dreamlike 
quality; it was a dirty aura.  One that no one would want to be around, or feel near them.   
This man looked like he knew things, he knew things people wouldn't dream of in a 
nightmare.  

"Are you of relation?"  She asked.

"Yes," The man answered.  "Yes I am." 

Zoe and Carol were boarding the elevator as the man in the lobby began trekking down 
the hall.  Carol allowed Zoe to push the floor button, as she always did with her own 
children.  There were other people in the elevator as well, so stops were made on the 
second and third floor.

Meanwhile, the strange man in the lobby's elevator went straight to the fourth floor.  It 
might seem to an observer with prior knowledge to his intents that he had planned to 
make the third floor before Zoe and Carol, but in reality it was just the perfect 
coincidence.  He waited in the waiting room situated just beside the elevators for them to 
come up.  His body ached for a cigarette, but he wouldn't light one, not yet.  He may have 
been an addict, but he wasn't stupid.

The elevator Zoe and Carol were on chimed at the fourth floor just moments after the 
Smoking Man exited his.  He stood by the wall of the waiting room, patiently waiting for 
them to walk by.  Zoe would most likely know he was there beforehand, and he 
anticipated that.  

"Is your mommy's baby a boy baby or a girl baby?"  Carol asked Zoe as they walked past 
area designated as the waiting room.

"A b--" Zoe was cut off in her answer.  No one interrupted her; it was that her mind was 
suddenly sidetracked.   She was overcome by an odd feeling, a sort of presence.  She'd felt 
it before, during her own abduction.  It was a feeling like the chilling sensation when the 
hair stands on one's back; a sign that something bad is going to happen.  Only this 
prickling, crawling sensation was in her mind.  She could hear the voices and see the 
pictures. 

She knew there was someone.

He was evil.

"Zoe?"  Carol said, trying to regain the girl's attention.  Zoe had frozen in the hallway, her 
expression drained to blankness, and her full attention focused on something Carol 
couldn't see.

Zoe didn't hear Carol; all she could hear was him.  He slinked around like the darkest 
predator, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.  Yet she didn't want to run.  She was 
prey that had been hypnotized; she only wanted to be lured by his mystical charms.  She 
let go of Carol's hand and wandered deeper into the waiting room.  Knowing where he 
was concealed, she turned her head to the left, and saw the face of the man that may as 
well be the devil himself. 

The Smoking Man saw the girl staring at him.  She'd found him just as he'd planned.  He 
stepped out of the shadows and towards Zoe.  She stood her ground, as brave as her 
mother had always taught her to be.

Zoe didn't move because her thoughts were concentrated elsewhere.   It had been a long 
two years since the Smoking Man had last confronted her.  She had to absorb as much 
information, and learn as many secrets as she could.  But she was opening safes and 
unlocking doors in his mind that no one should ever touch.  She could see the past and the 
present and the future, reflecting in his eyes as pictures of pure pain and heartache.  He 
was bent on the fact that his mission was to save the human race, when in fact he would 
only destroy it.  She saw everything he had put her mother through, everything he put her 
father through.  Before she realized it, she was shaking and tears poured down her cheeks. 
Her mouth hung open in a twisted mixture of morbid fascination and animalistic terror.

Still, no matter how hard she pried she couldn't find a name to fit the face of the black-
lunged demon standing before her.  He had so many names, so many aliases; she doubted 
he had a real name anymore.  Nothing seemed worse than having this man stand before 
her, claim the things he did, and yet lie about the simplest thing anyone possessed:  His 
name.  

"Zoe?"  Carol said again, catching up to her.  Carol knelt down slightly beside Zoe and 
looked at her face.  Her eyes face was blank but it was her eyes that told the story. They 
were filled with more emotions that could ever be described in words.  Pain, terror, hate, 
and malice seemed to run the show; but there were so many more.  Carol was confused.  
She looked up in the direction Zoe's eyes stared.  She saw an old man that she couldn't 
guess at the age on.  His skin was worn like old leather and his eyes were red. He had dull 
gray hair that lay in a right side part.  He didn't look friendly.  

"You're a bad, bad man." Zoe whispered, shaking her head.  Her eyes continued to pour 
tears, but she didn't seem to actually be crying.  

"Am I?" CSM asked chuckling humorlessly and only making himself seem even more 
menacing.

"Very bad." Zoe whispered again.  She managed after a moment to pull herself away.  
Tugging her mind away from his was like tearing a bandage off a sore cut.  It was painful 
and usually followed by a few curses or tears, but it was something that had to be done.  
The wound needed to be cleaned and healed, not left under the choking grasp of the 
bandage.  

Zoe turned around and took a slow, shaky step away from the Smoking Man.

"Don't turn your back to me, Zoe."  CSM commanded sharply.

Zoe turned around again, her lower lip poking out again in her expression of disgust. 
"Why?"  She snapped, amazed after at her own bravery towards him.  Especially 
considering she was completely and utterly terrified of the Cigarette Smoking Man.

CSM knelt down and looked the child full in the eyes.  His gray eyes pierced her blue ones 
like sharp daggers directed to her brain.  "I'm your grandfather."

Zoe's face drained blank again.  Carol just stared in confusion.  The Smoking Man couldn't 
possibly think she'd accept that, could he?  Zoe's lips formed the word "no" but her voice 
didn't accompany it.  She refused to believe it.  But she was that last person on Earth who 
could deny this truth.  It would only be a terrible lie to herself.

"You're horrible."  She said in a trembly voice just above a whisper.  It wasn't exactly the 
fact that he was her grandfather, as he was only so by adoption.  It was the fact that the 
Cancerman was Mulder's father.  Now Zoe understood why the Smoking Man was here, 
now.  He'd received word from one of his various sources that Dana Scully had gone into 
labor, which was the final stage in the experiment.  Not only was Scully some kind of 
unwilling guinea pig in what would one day be a national government test, she was 
married to the grand bastard's son!  Only, the two of them didn't know it yet.  It wasn't 
that the Smoking Man wanted to see the success of his project, but the birth of his 
grandson.  And it was all too much for a child of seven to handle.

"Zoe, come here."  CSM told her, holding out one of his hands.

Zoe took a small step backwards. "Stay away from me."  She said.

"Zoe, come here!"  He commanded more harshly.  

Carol was fed up.  She stood straight, tired of whatever power it was this man held over 
this innocent child.  She didn't like the way he looked at her, and she didn't like the way 
she seemed mortified of him.  "Sir, I suggest you leave her alone before I call security."  
She said sternly.  

The Smoking Man stood up and reached into his pocket.  He needed a smoke, and he 
didn't care how many "no smoking" signs hung around the building.

"No," Carol said, watching him pull the box of cigarettes out of his coat pocket.  
"Outside." She pointed to the door marked "stairs".

CSM stared at Zoe for a moment longer, and then he turned and walked toward the 
elevator.  

Carol looked back down at Zoe.  She still looked as though she was crying.  How was it, 
that that man could invoke such terror in a child by simply looking at her?  Not unless she 
was able to read what bad thoughts were on his mind…and that was ridiculous.  At least, 
Carol would've said that even fifteen minutes before she met Zoe, but now it oddly seemed 
like more and more of a possibility.  Zoe could read minds.

"It isn't right."  Zoe whispered.  
Carol stooped down again in front of her. "What isn't right?"  She asked, but Zoe didn't 
answer right away.  "Zoe, was that man your grandfather?"

"No…" Zoe answered hesitantly, as if she really didn't know the answer herself.

"Zoe,"

"Yes…he is."  She confessed.

To Carol, Zoe had to be one of the bravest children she'd seen.  Whoever that smoking 
man was, he's terrified Zoe beyond belief, and Zoe was still standing firm and strong.  
Except now, she looked ready to break.  She looked like she wanted to cry, she wanted to 
let it all out, but just wouldn't allow herself.

"But it's not right."  She said, frowning and letting more tears continue their trails down 
her cheeks.  "It's not right."  She whimpered, now unable to control herself.  She wanted 
her mother.  She needed her mother to comfort her.

Carol felt utterly sorry for the girl.  When Zoe's emotions broke, and she began to cry, 
Carol did the only thing she could think to do.  She hugged her.  She had no idea what the 
girl was involved in, but it was too heavy to be weighed upon her young shoulders.  

It only took a few minutes for Zoe to stop crying.  She released herself from Carol's 
comforting embrace and wiped the tearstains from her cheeks.  She looked at her hands 
and saw they were shaking.  Never before had a single person's thoughts had such an 
effect on her.  It was almost like he weakened her.  Avoiding Carol's eyes, Zoe went into 
the waiting room and the chair she had left her stuffed bear lying in.  She picked up the 
bear and squeezed it tightly against her chest.  It was a bear Scully had given her and was 
always a comfort.  It may have seemed childish, but the bear was the only one with no 
thoughts running through its head.  It was constantly quiet, and only listened without 
thinking.  

Carol followed Zoe into the waiting room.  The more Carol observed Zoe, the more it 
became clear that Zoe was not a normal child.  Carol didn't know what it was that made 
her think so, but she was almost certain.  

Zoe stood by one of the chairs clutching her teddy bear when Carol knelt in front of her 
and took her little hand in her own.  "Zoe, you're not like normal children, are you?"  She 
asked carefully.

Zoe stared into Carol's soft brown eyes.  There was nothing but the pure kindness mixed 
with strong bravery few people possessed there.  Zoe was reminded of Scully, her eyes 
always held that soft kindness and silent strength.   She stood for a long time, just staring 
into those kind eyes, considering whether she should tell the truth and reveal a dark, 
dangerous secret; or make up a lie.  

"No," She finally whispered.  She couldn't find it in herself to lie to Carol, just as she 
couldn't lie to Mulder and Scully that day in the park, so long ago.

"How are you different?"  Carol asked, intrigued.  She contemplated a moment, and then 
decided to reroute her wording.  "Do you know things?"

Zoe nodded slowly without hesitation.  And as if Carol wouldn't understand by the simple 
nod of her head, Zoe whispered, "Yes."

"Do you see them?"

"Yes,"

"How?" 

Zoe leaned in closer to the nurse that knelt before her, as if to be cautious from being 
overheard.  "I can read your mind."  She whispered softly.

Carol stood up.  "How?"  She asked.  She wasn't quite sure if she believed what the girl 
was telling her, or if she was only humoring her.

Zoe shrugged off the question.  The answer to that simple query, "How?"  Remained yet 
to be solved.  It was by far too complicated to involve more people in.  "I'm not humoring 
you." Zoe told Carol confidently.  "You want to believe, but you don't know if you 
should."

Carol nodded still ready to disbelieve.  From her own experience she knew that children 
were apt to make things up.  They could be so convinced of something; they could make 
others believe it.  A distressed child may believe it is dying so well, that it begins to accept 
this as the truth, and make others believe it so as well.

Zoe closed her eyes.  She'd done this before and knew just how to make someone believe 
the truth they refused to accept.  After all, it had worked on Scully, who'd seen enough 
bullshit in her time to never accept anything.  "How are Tess and Katherine?"  She asked 
like she was one of Carol's aquantainces, simply making conversation

Now Carol was surprised.  She hadn't told Zoe anything about her children, or even let on 
that she had any. "How do you know about my girls?"  

Zoe shrugged again.  "I told you."  She said simply.

But Carol wasn't finished there; she wouldn't fully accept this until she knew for certain.  
"How old are they?"  She asked skeptically.

"They'll be two in November.  They were born on Thanksgiving in 1999.  Tess is older 
than Kate."  Zoe said matter-of-factly.  Her goal wasn't really to impress Nurse Hathaway, 
or make her believe.  In truth, she just liked to show off.  

Carol was stunned.  Zoe had hit the nail on the head.  All of it was true and now she was 
speechless.  "Um, c'mon, Zoe, let's go find your mommy." 

"'Kay," Zoe agreed, taking Carol's hand again and this time leading her to her mother's 
room.  

The door to room 419 was closed when Carol and Zoe got there. Carol knocked once 
with her knuckles and waited until a male voice called, "Come in." Zoe scooted past her 
before she could enter the room and ran towards the bed.  Carol entered the room, closing 
the door behind her and offering the tall lanky man standing beside the bed a greeting 
smile.

There was a nurse by Scully, adjusting the strap to a fetal heart monitor around Scully's 
belly.  The monitor was hooked to a machine that amplified the sound of the heartbeat to 
be heard by the naked ear.  It produced a sort of whooshing sound.  

When Scully saw the nurse escorting her daughter in, she looked immediately worried. 
"What happened?"  She asked, looking at Zoe who was clutching Mulder's neck after he'd 
lifted her up.  

"I found--" Carol began to say, until she got a good look at the woman lying propped in 
the hospital bed.  Her mouth dropped open some with surprise and her eyes filled with 
remembrance.  "Dana!" She exclaimed.

Scully pulled her gaze away from her daughter and to the nurse she'd barely looked at. She 
knew the dark-haired woman who'd escorted her daughter up.  "Carol Hathaway?"  She 
asked like she wasn't really certain if it was she.  Carol smiled and walked to the side of 
the bed with an open embrace.  "Look at you!"  Scully said.

Carol laughed and pulled away from her friend.  "Look at me? Look at you! How far apart 
are your contractions?"  She asked.

"Twenty-three minutes."   

"Whoa, quite a ways to go, huh?" She looked at Scully's exposed stomach where the nurse 
was just finishing up.  "May I?"  She asked, holding her palm near her belly, inquiring 
whether she could feel the baby. 

"Sure," Scully said.

Carol laid her palm gently on Scully's belly.  "Wow, it's active." She said, still smiling.

"He," Scully corrected. "And yeah he is."  

"Does he have a name?"  She asked, pulling her hand away.

"Reese William,"  

Mulder leaned forward and got his wife's attention.  "Did I miss something?"  He looked 
rather confused.

Scully couldn't help but laugh.  "Mulder, this is Carol Hathaway. Carol, this is my 
husband, Fox."  She wanted to laugh again when Mulder rolled his eyes at the use of his 
first name.

Carol turned around and got a better look at the lanky man holding Zoe.  He had the 
toned figure of an athlete and a handsome face, aside from one prominent facial feature, 
and that only seemed to add to his physique.  His eyes were the most intriguing.  They 
were even more mysterious than Zoe's. They were the windows to a soul that was as 
complex and curious as it was troubled and obscured.  His eyes were masked by a 
thousand transparent emotions that Carol couldn't quite put her finger on.  There was only 
one true word to describe those dark, hazel eyes: haunting.  But when he smiled in friendly 
greeting, his eyes shined and displayed the true spirit of the man within.  

Mulder held out his free hand that he wasn't supporting his daughter with.  Carol shook it 
obligingly.

"We know each other from college."  Scully continued.  Mulder nodded, finally 
understanding.

Carol turned her attention back to Scully. "So, are you going for natural childbirth, or 
what?"  She asked.

Scully sighed.  "Yeah," She said, half reluctantly.  "What about you? Any kids?"  She 
asked, gently massaging the area below her mutated belly button.  

"Yup, two." Carol answered.  "Twin girls."

"They'll be two in November," Zoe chimed in over Mulder's shoulder.

Scully chuckled. "Did you go for the natural childbirth?"  She asked.

"I didn't have any choice for the first one, I had to deliver in the ER."  Carol explained.  
Scully smiled but Carol rolled her eyes.  "Not my first choice."

"So I guess you're not going to tell me it was a beautiful miracle."  

"If I did I'd be lying."  Carol said, smiling.  

Scully returned the smile, only more nervously.  "Thanks for the vote of confidence."  She 
said.

Carol laughed.  "You'll do fine."  She told her friend reassuringly.

"So, you have two kids, do you have a husband? Boyfriend?"  Scully asked curiously.  
Even though she didn't get any offended looks from Carol, she still backtracked a little.  
"I'm sorry, I'm just really bored." 

"No, it's okay.  Yeah, I have a husband.  Actually, depending on when you deliver you 
might meet him.  He's a pediatrician.  He's working the day shift today, too." She 
explained.

Scully nodded.  "Okay, so why did you have to walk my daughter up here?"  She asked, 
remember why Carol was up her in the first place.

"Well, Zoe went on a little adventure and ended up in the ER getting yelled out.  I figured 
I better escort her up here personally so she'd get back safely."  She explained.

Scully glared up at the blonde girl resting in her husband's arms.  Zoe blushed and buried 
her face in Mulder's neck.  "Zoe, you should know better."  She said.  She was ready to 
continue one of her so-called "famous lectures" when she felt the familiar wrenching pain 
in her abdomen.  "But my lecture will have to wait."  She managed. 

She clenched her teeth in a painful grimace and closed her eyes, in her way of focusing to 
ignore the pain.  

"Another contraction?"  Mulder asked, looking at his watch.

"Oh yeah," Scully said through her clenched teeth.

"Congratulations, you're now officially down to twenty minutes apart."

"Great," She replied, exhaling and inhaling deeply as she had been taught.

After a few long minutes, the contraction passed, and Scully relaxed.  Carol debated 
whether to tell Scully about the man that had confronted Zoe, claiming to be her 
grandfather, but decided not to.  It was probably just some old loony who'd escaped the 
orderly's care for a little while.  She did look at her watch and then start towards the door.  

"Well," She said.  "I've got to get back downstairs to work or they're gonna kill me."  She 
opened the door.  "I'll tell you what though, I'll come back up after my shift's up, and see 
how you're during.  Maybe we can talk for a little longer.  If not, it was nice seeing you 
again."

"All right." Scully agreed.  "Nice seeing you, too."

Carol smiled and looked to Mulder. "Nice meeting you."

"Likewise," Mulder replied, tiring of holding Zoe and setting her back on her feet.

"'Bye."  She said last, and then closed the door behind herself.  

Scully looked at Zoe once the door had completely shut.  Zoe was standing by her bed, 
hands clasped behind her back, eyes focused on the floor.  "Zoe, why were you down in 
the ER? You knew you weren't supposed to go anywhere."

Zoe shrugged innocently.  "I was bored.  You guys were sleeping, so I decided to go for a 
…walk."

"Uh-huh," Scully said, nodding like she understood.  "And where was Jack during all of 
this?"

"I don't know, he went somewhere with that woman he met.  He's not very responsible if 
you ask me."  Zoe answered, trying to lay the blame on someone else.  She really didn't 
care if she got punished or not, she deserved it.  She was really too busy thinking about 
the Smoking Man.  She was met by the same mental dilemma Carol had escaped from; 
whether she should tell about the encounter or not.  On one hand, there was the thing that 
the Smoking Man was Mulder's father and he was here because he wanted to see his 
grandson.  On the other hand, neither Scully nor Mulder needed to be burdened with that 
information at this time.  Perhaps she would tell them later. Much later.

"Am I in trouble?"  Zoe asked sweetly after a few minutes.  

Scully smiled.  Somehow, children always seemed to weasel their way out of punishment.  
Especially Zoe.  Puppy-dog eyes did it every time.  And Zoe was the master, second only 
to Mulder.  "No, you're not in trouble.  This is pretty boring, huh?"

Zoe nodded.  

Scully moved over in her bed as she had done for Mulder.  "Why don't you climb up here 
and we'll watch TV, okay?"  She patted on the bed beside her.

Zoe grinned and climbed, with some effort, onto the hospital bed.  Scully let her have the 
remote and flip the channels to cartoons, as there was nothing on of interest to her. 
Uninterested in cartoons after only watching for fifteen minutes, Zoe placed her hand on 
her mother's belly.  The fetal heart monitor was a small black, plastic box attached to a 
nylon strap that went around Scully's waist.  Zoe rested her tiny hand just above that.  The 
baby was silent and unmoving, for once.  Perhaps he, too, had fallen sleep out of boredom.  

Scully watched raptly as her daughter gently massaged the area that she guessed the baby's 
head was in.  Zoe gave no backwards glance to Scully, probably either unaware she was 
being watched or uncaring.  Scully looked over at Mulder, who had collapsed into the 
chair and was dozing again.  This seemed to be more stress on him than it was on she.  
After a few minutes, Scully slipped her hand down over Zoe's and squeezed it 
comfortingly.  Zoe smiled and snuggled in closer to Scully's shoulder.

"Can you read his mind?"  Scully whispered.

"No,"

"Why?"

Zoe shrugged.  It was beyond her why she couldn't read the baby's mind, she had never 
really even thought about it.  She did think about it now though.  It was a long while 
before she came up with the answer though.

"No conscious thought." She said suddenly.

"Hmm?"  Scully asked.  She'd completely forgotten what they were talking about in those 
few minutes, letting her eyes slip shut to rest them again.  

Zoe turned her head up a little and looked into Scully's eyes.  "He doesn't have any 
conscious thought right now.  It's all electrical impulses.  I'll be able to do it once he's 
born."

"Oh," Was all Scully could think to say.  "Then maybe you could tell me why he took so 
long to make an appearance."

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












12:37 p.m.

It wasn't until half an hour after the dealings with Zoe and the ER when Maggie and crew 
finally showed up at the hospital.  Mulder and Scully were walking up and down the 
corridor, trying to coax the baby into moving into position like he was supposed to.  No 
luck so far.  

They had made it to their second length down the one side of the corridor when Scully 
saw her mother and Bill and Tara leaving the elevator.  Maggie appeared to be sharing 
some very stern words with her eldest son, while Tara wrestled to keep her son under 
control.  It was all very reassuring to a woman who was about to have her first son.

"Dana!"  Maggie exclaimed when she spotted Scully.  

Scully looked up and smiled, welcoming Maggie's embrace into her own.  "Hi, Mom."  
She said warmly.

"Why aren't you in bed?"  Maggie asked, noting the slight hint of pain on Scully's face.

Scully rested her hands on her belly and tried to stretch her back.  It didn't work.  "Well, 
the baby's still to high up, his head is supposed to drop into my pelvis and it hasn't yet.  
The doctor said walking might help that."

"And your back doesn't hurt?  What about the contractions?" Maggie was clearly 
concerned with her daughter's well being.  She had delivered four children, certainly she 
knew more about giving birth than some doctor.

"Not really."  Scully fibbed.  She really didn't want her mother to peck at her and insist she 
go and lay down.  Lying in the bed was boring; especially considering the labor was 
progressing as slowly as it possibly could.  Hopefully if this child ever moved like he was 
supposed to, things would begin to move a little faster.

"I still think you should be in bed."  Maggie stated firmly.

Breaking away from the evil glare his brother-in-law was giving him; Mulder decided now 
would be a good time to rescue his wife.  "Maggie, why don't you go to the waiting room, 
get some coffee, sit for a little; and by then Dana will be back in bed.  Trust me, we're all 
going to be here for awhile if things keep going as they have."  

Maggie sighed, admitting defeat.  "Okay, I could use a cup of coffee anyway."  She said.  
"Come on, Matt, I saw you eye-balling the candy in that machine."  Maggie held out her 
hand for her rowdy grandson who willingly accepted the offer at the mention of the word 
"candy".

Tara followed them of course, and so did Bill after a lingering glare at Mulder was cut off 
by and equally stern one from his sister.  

"The peanut gallery had arrived."  Scully muttered when she and Mulder had continued 
their swaggering pace. Mulder kept his hand on the ever-strained small of Scully's back.

"And Bill, delightful as always."  Mulder added.

Scully sighed and shook her head, agreeing wholeheartedly.  "I swear, one of these days 
I'm gonna knock his teeth out."

Mulder chuckled.  "Not if I get to him first."

Scully laughed.  "Yeah, right."  She said.

"What? You don't think I could take him?"  Mulder tried his best to sound offended by 
her lack of confidence in him.  It only came off like his normal sarcasm.

"Mulder, Bill has had enough training to know a hundred ways to kill a man with his bare 
hands.  He came this close to being a Navy Seal." She held up her thumb and forefinger 
spread about an inch apart.  "If he ever gets really mad at you, run.  And I mean that."  
She said, still smiling. 

"We came pretty close to a battle at the baby shower."  Mulder told her.

"I know. Luckily Bill can usually control himself as far as physical violence goes.  It's his 
tongue that gets in his way.  But, I guess that's a Scully trait that we all have." Scully let a 
few quiet moments pass and then put her arm around her husband, hugging him tightly. 
"Besides, I'm glad you didn't fight.  I don't know what I'd do if my own brother killed my 
husband."

Mulder laughed lightly and hugged her back.

"Oh," Scully groaned, her face turning to a look of pain again.  She put her hand on her 
stomach, almost like she was trying to hold herself up.  

Mulder took a firmer grip around her back, supporting her if she needed it.  She put out 
one of her hands and he took it, letting her squeeze as hard as she needed.  

"Oh, God this one hurts!"  She moaned, clenching her teeth and tightening her hand 
around Mulder's. 

Mulder looked at his watch the best he could with Scully's hand so strongly gripping his.  
He watched as the seconds ticked slowly by.  "This one's lasting a lot longer, too." He 
chuckled, trying to ease the tension.  "I think we're finally getting somewhere." 

Scully wasn't amused.  "Yeah," She managed to breathe between labored, exaggerated 
breaths.  

It took a few longer minutes than ever before, but the contraction passed.  And Scully 
seemed to relax better than before.  "His head dropped." She muttered in her relief.

"It did?"  Mulder asked, feeling her hand finally loosen its grip on his.

She nodded, swallowing hardly.  "Oh jeez, now I gotta pee."  She blurted, rolling her eyes 
as if an inconvenience was passing her by.

"Do you want to go back to the room?"  Mulder asked.

"No," She replied, "No, I *really* gotta go.  I'll just go down at this one." She pointed to 
the restroom off to the right of the waiting room.  

"Okay, I'm gonna go check on Zoe."  Mulder said as she opened the door to the ladies' 
room and went in.  

"If I'm not out in ten minutes send a search party."  Scully half mumbled as the door 
swung shut.  

Mulder began to laugh, but humorlessly.  Actually the comment put him on edge.  He was 
right, things would really get moving now, and after the past four hours it was about time.  
But now he was back at square one, nervous anticipation and an unpleasant fear of the 
unknown and the things to come.  

Pushing all these irrational fears aside, he went into the waiting room and spotted Zoe and 
Matt playing with some toys on the floor in the corner.  He crept up behind her and 
grabbed her from the back, surprising her so that she squealed.  Rather than picking her 
up, Mulder tickled her until she couldn't seem to stop laughing.  Matt was so entertained 
he was rolling backwards on the floor laughing.  

After he let Zoe go, Mulder looked around the waiting room and spotted Maggie and the 
rest of the bunch, Jack was among them.  They were laughing and chatting like a group of 
old friends.  

Noticing Jack there, Mulder walked casually towards them, hoping his presence would 
invoke some kind of shallow fear in Jack that he could use when he chewed him out later.

"Fox, where's Dana?" Maggie asked pausing from whatever story she was listening to 
from Jack.  

"Bathroom." Mulder replied simply, jutting his thumb out behind him in gesture to the 
restrooms.  "The baby's head dropped."

Maggie smiled and nodded.  

"I see you met Jack." Mulder said, grinning wryly and looking at Mr. Responsible himself. 

"Oh yes, quite a storyteller, this one."  Maggie said.

Jack smiled.

Mulder put his hand down on Jack's shoulder and squeezed, hard.  As he had thought, 
Jack only winced, but tried to hide it.  "Well, Storyteller, you and I have to have a little 
talk later."  Mulder told him, never once changing his tone or causing Jack too much pain 
to scratch his happy façade.

"Okay," Jack choked out.

Mulder released his grip and stood up straighter.  He didn't want to participate in the 
conversation between the four, so he only stood a moment longer.  Bill was the normal ray 
of sunshine, gulping his black coffee and staring at the floor.  Tara and Maggie seemed to 
be enjoying the story Jack was telling.  So, Mulder turned and left.

Scully was just exiting the bathroom when Mulder was leaving the waiting room.  He met 
her halfway and they began walking back down the hallway in the direction of the room.  

"Better?"  He asked, his arm re-finding its place around her waist.  

"Mm-hmm." She said satisfactorily.  The strain on her back had decreased with the new 
position of the baby, and now she was truly relieved.  Little did she know, with his final 
position, the contractions would be all the worse.  

"You wanna go back to the room now?"

Scully thought about it.  Just because the baby had moved to a more comfortable position, 
didn't necessarily mean the boredom would be eased anymore.  "No, not yet."  She finally 
answered.

"You don't think you should?"  Mulder was the one hen-pecking now, but still only 
looking out for his wife's best interests.

"No, I mean, I could still be at this for awhile, right?"  Scully assured him.  "There's 
nothing to do in there anyway."

"Okay," Mulder agreed reluctantly.  

They walked at the same slow pace back up the corridor, talking about anything, mostly 
about Jack.  He always seemed to pop into the conversations as of lately.  Mulder 
explained how he was going to chew him out later on about Zoe, while Scully argued that 
he didn't know he couldn't leave Zoe alone, single men weren't very responsible anyway.  
To which Mulder took offense and Scully gently reminded him that he wasn't single 
anymore. 

About twenty feet from the room, Scully stopped walking again.  "Oh, shit!" She said, 
wincing painfully.

"What?"  Mulder asked.  "It can't be another contraction, you just had one like five 
minutes ago!"
"Yeah, well, now your son has decided he's tired of waiting."  She grumbled, holding her 
belly again.  "Mulder, I-I need to sit down." She said, clearly in more pain than previously.

"Okay," He said, supporting her again.  "Let's get into the room and you can lay down."  
He told her, surprising himself by how calm he was.

"Sure," She replied.  "Easier said than done."  She wanted to collapse.  Her legs felt 
incredibly weak and the pain in her abdomen was unbearable.  More than that, she wanted 
to push.  She wanted more than anything to deliver this child and rid herself of the pain.  
But she knew she couldn't.  It wasn't time yet, but very soon. 

Mulder helped her all the way back into the room, supporting her behind her back and 
holding her hand.  He had to admire her strength.  She didn't yell out in pain, although the 
agony was written all over her face.  Her curses were to a minimum, and only under her 
breath; which most likely be the first variable to change as the delivery progressed.  

When they finally got into the room, the contraction began to subside.  By the time Scully 
was settled into the bed, the pain that she felt minutes before had been reduced to nearly 
gone.  For now.  

"Should I buzz for the nurse?"  Mulder asked; his thumb already held inches from the red 
button above the wall.

Scully nodded, anticipating the next contraction at any time within the next few minutes.  

The nurse that had been hooking up the fetal monitor before was the first to come back.  
She reattached the heart monitor quickly, and the whooshing sound of the fetal heartbeat 
again filled the room.

"How far apart are the contractions?" She asked, holding the chart in hand.

"About five minutes."  Mulder answered, looking at his watch to be sure.

There was a single rap on the door before the doctor entered.  The nurse handed her the 
chart, which she looked over quickly.  "Okay, I see you've progressed."  Dr. Nolan said 
half to herself and half out loud.

Scully nodded, another contraction was beginning to start again.  She watched as Callista 
used her expert hands again to get a feel for the baby's new position.  "The fetus has 
moved into the proper position."  She said, again like she was speaking to a recorder that 
was taking notes.  

Now, she looked at Scully when she spoke.  Scully was breathing deeply again, and 
gripping Mulder's hand.  "Dana, I need to put your legs up."  She said.  There were no 
delivery stirrups on the side of the normal hospital bed, so she would have to support her 
legs herself.  Scully did as she was told, folding her legs up like she was going to do a sit-
up, only spreading them out.  Dr. Nolan adjusted the sheet around Scully's ankles and then 
snapped a fresh pair of prophylactic gloves onto her hands.  She bent by the end of the bed 
and lifted the sheet.  "Okay, Dana, just relax, I'm going to check your cervix." 

By then, the contraction had passed, and Scully did as she was told.  Dr. Nolan stood back 
up again.  "Dilated to eight centimeters," She announced. Two nurses were already 
moving around the room.  One had set up another heart monitor to Scully, readying for 
her to be moved to the deliver room.

Scully was bewildered.  She hadn't been afraid before at all before, but now was totally 
different.  Watching all the people rushing around her was enough to frighten anyone.  
Even without contractions, she felt the need to hold on to Mulder's hand.  But she 
remained confident, she was certain she could do this.

"Let's get a gurney in here!"  Dr. Nolan called.  Within minutes, two orderlies and another 
nurse came in pushing a gurney.  They helped Scully onto it and without missing a beat, 
proceeded to push her down the hall towards the delivery room.

Another contraction was the only thing Scully was trying to focus on as she was rushed to 
the delivery room.  She tried to focus on her breathing if she could, to keep her mind off 
all else, especially the pain.  And the pain was hell.  She was starting to doubt her decision 
for skipping the epidural, or the barbiturate, or whatever muscle relaxants could have been 
given too her. It was too late now.  She was there, she was ready, she was…scared.

She was scared beyond words, beyond whatever comprehension of fear she had ever 
known.  She had always thought she was brave, and people had always told her so, but it 
was now that her own conscious chose to doubt itself.

"You okay, Scully?"  She heard asked.  She let go of focusing on her breathing and her 
fear of what lay ahead and looked up above.  She saw the face of her husband, her partner, 
her one-and-only.  He was smiling, but his eyes were nervous and just as afraid as she felt. 

"I'm hanging on."  She told him.  His smile spread, hoping to comfort her.  

Her eyes fell forward again as they entered the delivery room.  She heard someone yell 
something along the lines of, "…delivery room four is open…" and saw her doctor nod in 
the direction of whoever yelled it.

"How are you doing back there, Dana?" Callista called back as she helped to maneuver the 
gurney alongside the table in the delivery room.

"Never better."  Scully yelled in response.

"You just keep breathing, don't worry about a thing." Callie told her as they gently moved 
her from the gurney to the delivery table.

It was when Mulder saw the deliver room that a wave of reality swept over him.  His body 
wanted to freeze with fright.  In the center of the room was the table, with its metal 
stirrups sticking off the end like a contraption that should belong in the dungeon of an 
ancient castle.  There were machines everywhere, and lights, and a tray with very 
intimidating looking sharp instruments, and…and, and… He felt like he wanted to pass 
out.

"Mr. Mulder."  He heard a voice say.  "Mr. Mulder would you please come with me?"  He 
looked to his right when a hand touched his upper arm.  There was a female nurse in blue 
surgical scrubs looking at him expectantly.  "Mr. Mulder, you've got to get scrubs on if 
you want to be here for the delivery."  She told him sternly.  He nodded in reply and 
followed her to the scrub room.

When Scully regained her bearings and looked around, she saw no sign of her husband.  
Not being the clingy wife type, she normally wouldn't have cared.  Except for the fact that 
he was her Lamaze couch and she relied on him to keep her focused.

"Where's Mulder?'' She asked whoever might be listening.  

The heavy black nurse with a kind face who was stuffing the pillows behind her back and 
making sure all was in order answered:  "I believe he's getting scrubbed up.  He should be 
out in a few minutes.  Just relax."  She smiled and then went off to complete some other 
business.

Scully closed her eyes and focused her breathing into another contraction.  Okay, Dana, 
we can do this.  She told herself.  Breathe in…breath out…in…out…in…out…

"Oh, God it hurts!"  She cried out loud. It was the first time it really hurt bad enough that 
she felt tears begin to trail down her cheeks. 

Dr. Nolan was at her place at the foot of the table at that time, Mulder was by Scully's side 
at almost the same time.  Except now, Callie had her surgical scrubs on, and a paper 
surgery mask over her mouth.  The only exposed parts of her face were her eyes.  "I know 
it hurts, Dana, just stay focused. And don't push yet."  She said.  Callie looked up at one 
of the similarly dressed nurses by her side. "She's dilated to nine, let's have the C-section 
equipment on hand."  She said, but loud enough that Scully could hear.

"C-section equipment, what for?"  Scully asked.

Callie looked up at her, her eyes expressing all compassion and honesty. "It's just in case, 
don't worry."

Don't worry.  That's what people had been telling her all day. Quite frankly, no one had 
given her any reason not to worry.  Scully looked up at Mulder, who had been dressed in 
surgical scrubs as well.  The only thing he was lacking was the paper mask, which he 
probably would have taken off anyway.  He was watching the doctors, and still looked as 
nervous as he had four hours ago.

"Okay, Dana," Callie said, regaining Scully's attention.  "On the next contraction, we're 
going to push, okay?"

Scully nodded, clinching Mulder's hand tightly.  At the onset of the next contraction, her 
grip tightened further, until she was afraid his hand might fall off, but she didn't care.

"All right, Dana, push!"  Dr. Nolan directed her.

She did just that.  She directed all of her strength and her force on the muscles in her 
lower abdomen and pushed.  Her jaw clenched involuntarily shut in a grimace of pain, and 
her eyes pinched shut, squeezing more tears from her eyelids.  Unnoticed sweat had since 
begun to pour down her forehead and cheeks, plastering her auburn hair to her skin.

"It hurts so bad," She said through her tightened jaw.  "I can't do it, Mulder."

"You can do it!"  Mulder said leaning in closer to her so his voice would be softer and 
more convincing.  "You can do it, Scully, I know you can."

At the end of the contraction, Scully cried out in pain.  And then there was relief, not a lot, 
but some.  "Okay, relax, Dana, relax."  Dr. Nolan said.  "We've got the head and the 
shoulders.  And in two minutes you're going to push this baby out."

Scully nodded, trying to swallow the knot in her throat.  The nurse who'd put the pillows 
behind her came by and mopped the sweat from her forehead.  

Mulder touched her cheek and leaned down to kiss her forehead.  "You're doing so good."  
He reassured her.  

"Mulder, whoever said that childbirth was a beautiful experience and miracle of nature I 
am going to *shoot*."  She declared.  The two minutes downtime was good, but not 
nearly long enough.  Her breathing labored as involuntarily as normal breathing was when 
she felt the next contraction coming.  All she could think was that she wasn't ready.

"Okay, Dana, let's finish this up." Callie told her.  

As she had before, only with slightly less strength, Scully pushed.  She honestly thought 
her energy was spent she couldn't do it.  And it hurt beyond any pain she'd ever felt before.  
Even being shot wasn't half as bad.  That was quick and easy, this was slow and utterly 
agonizing.  

"Ohhh, it hurts like a mother--" She began to yell.

"Don't talk, Scully," Mulder quipped, cutting off the curse she was about to yell loud 
enough for the rest of the hospital to hear.  "Just focus." He looked at her face and the 
way her eyes were tightly closed.  "Open your eyes and focus."  She opened her eyes, 
reluctantly.  He held out one finger before her face.  "Stay focused right here, focus 
everything right here."  He told her.  She kept her eyes locked on his finger, never-minding 
the tears on her cheeks or the beads of sweat on her forehead.  Almost immediately, her 
moans of pain eased.

When the contraction reached its peak, the focusing thing didn't work anymore. She 
slowly ended up letting her eyes slip shut again.  She was using up all her strength and 
feared there was nothing left.  By then, she was leaning so far forward her chest was 
nearly to her knees.  Please, God, it had to be over soon.

"Just a little more, Dana."  She heard Callie tell her.  Her voice sounded distant and tinny.

"I…can't…" She said.

"You can, you're almost there." Mulder said; he was sweating almost as profusely as she.  
"You can do it, honey, I know you can." He was watching Callie when she looked up at 
him.  

"Would you like to catch the baby, Mr. Mulder?"  She asked, her mask moving in and out 
with each breath.

"I can do that?"  He asked. When she nodded, all previous thoughts he would have had of 
"ew, gross" were gone in the single thought that he would be the first to hold his son.  He 
let go of (pried off) Scully's hand, which fell to the side of the cushion and gripped that, 
and went around to where the doctor was.

A nurse gave him gloves that he snapped onto his hands and crouched next to Callie.  He 
saw a head, and fine dark hair.  "Support his head here." Callie showed him how to put his 
hand around the baby's neck and support his head up.  She guided the rest of his tiny body 
out.  A nurse reached over with a bulbous blue suction tube to clear the infant's airway.

Scully opened her eyes when she heard her son's first cry.  She looked forward and saw 
Mulder holding him.  Two nurses cut the umbilical cord and one brought a clean cloth 
over to Mulder.  The wrapped the tiny infant in it, and gave him back to his father.  Scully 
was crying, half from happiness, half from relief.  She watched Mulder's face when he was 
holding their son; it was filled with the happiness and pride that were too much for simple 
words to describe. 

"Look at him Scully."  Mulder cooed softly, bringing the baby around to the side so she 
could hold him.  He handed the baby, ever so gently, over to his wife, letting her see him 
for the first time.

Scully held her son.  He was red-faced, wet, and screaming; but he was beautiful.  She 
leaned back into the pillows and just couldn't take her eyes off of him.  Just a single year 
ago, she would've said it was impossible for her to be here, doing this.  Yet here she was, 
holding her newborn son.  Mulder leaned over her and kissed her sweat-soaked head.

"He's perfect." He said softly.  

Scully managed to pull her eyes away from her son to look at Mulder.  There were tears in 
his eyes.  He was crying.  She looked back at the baby.

"Yeah, he is."  She managed to say in a weak voice.  "Hi, Reese." She said when his 
screams began to subside.

All too soon though, it was ended. "Okay, Mom, you'll see your baby in a little while."  
The kind maternity nurse said. "The pediatrician has to check him over."

Scully didn't want to let him go.  But her rationality won over. She kissed her son's tiny 
forehead and gently gave him over to the nurse.  The nurse took him over to the crib and a 
tall, dark-haired man whom Scully presumed to be the pediatrician.  They weren't far away 
at all, within talking distance, and Scully was thankful for that because she didn't want to 
take her eyes off her son.  

The pediatrician checked Reese's pulse and respiration, and he began to wail again.

"He has a very healthy cry."  The doctor said, glancing at Scully and smiling.  

Scully smiled weakly, ignoring whatever the doctor was still doing to her to watch her 
son's first examination.  "I must either be really out of it or a long way from med-school 
because I can't seem to remember what you're doing."

"You're a doctor?"  He asked, writing down something on a chart.

Scully nodded.  "Not practicing, but yes, I am."

"APGAR test." He said.

"APGAR, I remember… What's the rating?"  She asked.

"Well," The doctor said, putting away his stethoscope and discarding his gloves.  "I'm 
gonna say an eight."

Scully sighed and closed her eyes for a second.  "That's good." She breathed silently.

"Oh," He said, moving his clipboard to one hand.  "I'm Dr. Ross, by the way." He smiled 
and stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet you."  Scully said, shaking it.  Her voice was barely above a whisper, and 
she was definitely about to crash and burn.  Her muscles were so exhausted and her mind 
just kept telling her to close her eyes, and let go. 

Dr. Ross watched a moment as the nurse wheeled the infant out in the incubator.  "He's 
very healthy."  He said. "Enjoy sleep while you can, he's gonna be an active one."

Scully smiled weakly.  "That's what I've got him for." She looked up at Mulder.

"I've got a pair of girls myself, twins, in the terrible two's."  He said. "I can't remember the 
last time I slept a full night with my wife.  We usually work different shifts so when I'm 
home, I get the girls and then sleep, and then she comes home and I go to work.  Luckily, 
we got a break today because someone called in sick."

That's when it hit Scully that this was Carol's husband.  "Are you Carol Hathaway's 
husband?"  She asked, hoping she wouldn't sound nosy.

Doug looked at her, a little off-struck by her question.  "Yeah, I am."

Scully smiled again.  "She told me about you.  We went to college together."

"Oh," Doug said, smirking in realization. "Small world, huh?"

Scully was about to reply when Dr. Nolan caught her attention.  They were finished 
cleaning her up and now was time to go back to her room.  She only hoped they wouldn't 
have her walk, she didn't think she could even make it half way.  Of course they wouldn't 
do that.  They moved her onto a gurney and began moving her, slower than before, back 
to her room.

"All right, Dana."  Callie said, walking beside the gurney.  "You go and get a little sleep, 
the nurses are going to get your son all situated.  The maternity nurse should be in soon to 
see how you're doing, and they'll bring Reese in to see you."

Scully nodded slowly, feeling herself losing grip with waking consciousness faster and 
faster.  By the time they'd gotten her to her room and back in her bed, her eyes were 
closed, but she told herself she was only resting them. Once the nurses had left, she pulled 
herself back to awareness.  She wanted to sleep more than anything, but at the same time 
she wanted to stay awake and not miss anything.  

Mulder sat with her own the bed, leaning against the wall as before.  He held her in his 
arms comfortingly, a contentment both to him and to her.  He noticed her fighting to stay 
awake and kissed her head tenderly.  "Go to sleep, Scully." He told her softly.

"I can't," She replied weakly.  "I want to talk to Mom and Zoe…" She yawned.  
"And…Bill..." The last word she said was obscured by another yawn and so quiet it was 
almost unintelligible. 

Mulder craned his neck and managed to look around at his wife's face.  Her eyes had 
slipped shut again and her body had relaxed.  He smiled. Within a few minutes, her 
breathing steadied into long, calm breaths. He yawned once himself, and rested his head 
back against the wall. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to use as a pillow.  But his wife 
sleeping in his arms, and the knowledge that his son was probably in the nursery doing the 
same thing, made up for it wholly.

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





























 2:01 p.m.

When Scully woke up, she was no longer leaning against Mulder.  In fact, Mulder was 
nowhere to be seen.  She sat up, rather painfully, and looked around.  The first thing she 
noticed was the crib beside her bed.  The nurse brought back Reese while she was asleep, 
and that must've half accounted for where Mulder was.  Being that Reese was asleep too, 
the nurse probably saw no problem in leaving him with his mother.  

Scully leaned forwards and looked at her baby boy.  He had been given a bath and dressed 
in the hospital nursery clothes, a baby blue knit cap and matching footy-pajamas. He 
looked so peaceful, just sleeping away.  Scully reached out and brushed his back with her 
fingers.  He had to be the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.  She could just sit forever, 
watching him sleep.

She barely noticed when the door opened slowly and quietly.  She managed to pull her 
eyes from the sleeping baby and looked to see who had entered the room.  When she saw 
Mulder leading Zoe in she smiled.  Zoe's face was alight with simple childish glee, and as 
she noticed Scully awake and sitting beside a baby crib, she let go of her father's hand and 
ran up past him.

"Mommy!"  She squealed, holding out her arms.  

Scully hugged Zoe and lifted her onto her lap, so she could get a good view of her baby 
brother.  "Shh," She said softly, bringing her index finger to her lips.  "He's sleeping."

Zoe leaned forward on her mother's lap, wanting to see the baby. Her mouth hung slightly 
open with wonder, and when she saw Reese's face, her lips turned up in a smile.  She 
looked on as Reese moved a little in his sleep, clenching and unclenching his tiny fists.

"He so cute."  She whispered.  She looked up at Scully; she was still staring at the baby.  
"Can I hold him?"  She asked.

"Maybe when he wakes up, okay?"  Scully murmured back.  Zoe grinned and agreed.  
"Why don't you go tell Maggie and Uncle Bill?"  She suggested.

"Okay," Zoe said, sliding off of Scully's lap.  She ran to the door and opened it up.  Before 
she disappeared down the hall, she popped her head back in.  "Uncle Walter's here."  She 
said, her tone slightly above the whisper she was using before.

Scully rolled her eyes.  Uncle Walter, she thought amusedly.  Zoe had all but officially 
adopted him as one of her many uncles since he'd agreed to watch her once when Mulder 
and Scully were on the field and couldn't get another sitter.  "Did you call him?"  Scully 
asked quietly.

Mulder nodded and opened the door.  Walter Skinner, a tall, balding ex-Marine entered.  
He wore his usual wire-rimmed glasses and uncharacteristic jeans and a tee shirt.  Scully 
thought it was the first time she's ever seen him in something other than a suit and tie.  By 
the look on Mulder's face, he was thinking the same thing.  In his hand, he carried a 
conservative bunch of flowers and a small stuffed animal.  

"Mulder, Scully." He greeted, giving a small nod in each of their directions.

Scully pulled herself up into a standing position.  It hurt her some, but she did it anyway, 
out of mutual respect and the fact that she'd have to stand some time, no matter how much 
it hurt.

Remembering the flowers and toy in his hand, Skinner held them out to Scully.  "I picked 
these up downstairs."  He said as she took them. 

"Thank you, Sir." Scully said, she opened her arms in friendly embrace and he welcomed 
them.  

When Skinner looked at the snoozing infant in the crib, his normal stern expression broke 
into a smile.  "Thank God he looks like his mother."  He joked, grinning ear to ear.  

Mulder and Scully laughed, and whatever professional tension that always seemed to build 
up when they were in Skinner's presence for something other than work, snapped.  

"Normally I would disagree, but I think you may be right."  Mulder replied, still laughing.

"Well," Skinner stepped away from the baby and paced back to the door.  "I just dropped 
by to congratulate you.  So, congratulations."  He said.

"Thank you, Sir."  They replied nearly simultaneously.  

Skinner smiled.  "Don't mention it."  He stepped on the outside of the door, holding the 
handle in preparation to close it when he left.  "I'll talk to you later, Scully.  Mulder, I'll 
see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Sir." Mulder said catching the door before he closed it and watching him walk 
down the hall.  Behind him, he heard the baby begin to cry.  He looked over at Scully and 
saw her lifting Reese up, talking to him in soft, natural tones.  Still, Mulder stood holding 
the door open, waiting until Maggie got it.

Maggie came into the room alone, no longer trailed by the rest of the "peanut gallery".  
She carried in her hand a white paper bag that smelled deliciously of food, and a small, 
book-shaped object wrapped in gift-wrap.  She was smiling warmly and her pride shone in 
her dark blue eyes.  She hugged Mulder tightly with her free arm when she first entered, 
saying, "Congratulations, Fox."  Then, she went over to Scully and sat beside her on the 
bed.  

Mulder followed her over and stood in front of Scully.  He shifted his weight from foot to 
foot in silence, listening as Maggie fussed over the baby.  He lifted his hand and scratched 
the back of his head in an uneasy gesture when Scully looked up.  "I'm gonna go find 
where Zoe ran off to.  Hopefully she's not downstairs bothering Carol again."  He said, 
chuckling.  

"Worse," Maggie added.  "I think she's in the waiting room bothering her Uncle Bill."

"Great," Mulder said, shaking his head. "I'll be back."  He stated.  Then he leaned down 
and kissed Scully's forehead, in that spot just above her temple that always made her smile 
and shiver.  He took a lingering look at his son, who had stopped crying for the moment, 
and touched his head gently, his fingers barely brushing the soft fabric of his cap.

"I'll be back." He said, turning towards the door.  

Maggie watched as the door closed and looked at Scully.  If there were one word to 
describe the effortless expression on her face, it would have to be tranquil.  She looked so 
calm, so at peace.  The child in her arms seemed meant to be there, giving her a relaxed 
expression that seemed to set her face aglow.  

Scully never even noticed her mother's loving gaze falling on her.  But her senses could 
pick up something else.  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose.  "What 
is that smell?"  She asked breathlessly, her voice on her verge of ecstasy.  

"Oh," Maggie remembered the bag she's brought it that she sat on the bed beside her.  She 
held it up, along with the gift. "I brought you something to eat; early dinner, late lunch, 
whatever.  The stuff they serve here can kill you." She cracked, placing the bag on the 
serving tray, which had been moved off to the side of the bed, discarded until needed.

"Mom, you went all the way home and came back?"  Scully queried, her voice lighting a 
tone of impression.  

Maggie laughed.  "No, not quite."  She turned the white bag around, displaying the 
restaurant emblem on the front.  "Boston Market" it read. 

Scully snickered at her own simple naivety. "Almost as good as home cooking." She said.  
"Thanks, Mom." 

"I got you this as well."  Maggie said more genuinely, handing Scully the flat, rectangular 
gift.  "Just a little early mother's day gift, or present for surviving your first year of 
marriage.  Basically just saying, good luck." 

Scully shifted the way she was holding Reese to allow herself a free hand.  "Thank you, 
Mom."  She replied, taking the book.  Letting it rest on her lap, she tore the paper off with 
one hand.  Slowly, she revealed the cover of a hard-backed book.  It was called, "Your 
Incredible Newborn". Scully looked a little warily, but it was only by the title of the book.  
"This isn't a how-to-raise-your-child-in-the-90's book, is it?"  She asked skeptically.

Maggie shook her head.  "No, it's a…well…it's hard to explain.  You'll have to read it."

"Good, I've already gotten enough of those books."  Scully told her.

"Let me offer you some advice, don't read them.  How-to books never hold a candle to 
going with your instinct.  No matter what any critic or psychologist tells you, it takes a lot 
to mess up a kid's life, and that usually goes back generations.  Trust me, I did this four 
times."

Scully flashed that little smile of gratitude.  "You didn't have to do this, Mom."

Maggie put her arm around her daughter's back and hugged her.  "I know I didn't, I 
wanted to."  

~

When Mulder got to the waiting room, he saw his daughter riding the shoulders of her 
uncle.  Bill was playing with both Zoe and Matt, entertaining them in the simple ways a 
father and uncle could.  Bill was laughing and chasing Matt, while Zoe hung onto his 
broad shoulder's and bubbled with giggles. The one thing Mulder had to admit was that 
Bill was good with children.  That only made one of his buried fears boil to the surface 
again. He had been apprehensive about how Bill would receive the newest addition to the 
family.  He wondered if Bill would shun Reese forever simply because of whom his father 
was.  That had to be the last thing Mulder wanted for his son.  All his adult life, "they" 
knew him by his father. He was forever connected to the late Bill Mulder, whether he 
wanted to be or not, good facts and bad. He could only hope Scully's brother would see 
Reese for what he was, an innocent child, never to have the hate and pain of previous 
generations shoved upon his young shoulders.  Whether Bill wanted to admit it or not, 
Mulder and Scully were married, and they had two children.  Reese was as much a part of 
the Scully family as Dana herself.  No matter who his father was.

Mulder stood in the entrance to the waiting room for the longest time, just watching Zoe 
with her uncle.  He couldn't help but let a small smile spread across his face.  Zoe seemed 
so attached to all of her relatives, actual family or not.  Mulder wasn't certain, but he 
thought it was mostly because her birth parents either had no other relatives, or never 
allowed their daughter to meet them.  Certainly he couldn't allow his daughter's ties to her 
uncle Bill to be severed by the differences they shared.  Those differences may never be 
resolved, or forgotten for that matter, but they shouldn't stand in the way of the love for 
the two sides of the family. 

Bill froze when he saw Mulder standing in the doorway watching him.  Of course he didn't 
like his sister's husband, and he probably never would.  He didn't trust Mulder, and 
strongly disliked the way the man seemed to be against the national government, against 
the very core that all of Bill's beliefs fell in.  More than all of that, he didn't like his sister's 
view of him.  Of course he knew they were married, he'd attended the wedding, and gave 
his sister away.  He still couldn't remember what possessed him to do that.  He told 
himself he only wanted Dana to be happy, but that was happy, without Mulder in the 
picture. Most of all, he hated the way Scully thought Mulder hung the moon.  But he 
didn't know why that was the source of his resent. Whatever his reasons, he knew deep 
inside that his opinion would ever change Scully's mind.  She loved Mulder above all else, 
even a blind man could see that.  

"Bill," Mulder said casually, nodding in his brother-in-law's direction.  He tried not to 
make the greeting sound cold or fabricated, but after years of the same feelings toward the 
actual man, it was impossible.

Bill nodded in return, if only to keep up appearances for the children.  He didn't know that 
it didn't matter for Zoe; she would know about the hurtful thoughts and chilled feelings 
without a word or a glance shared.  

"Lemme down, Uncle Bill." Zoe demanded, squirming around in his grip.  He knelt down 
and let her slide off his back.  She ran up to her father and hugged him.

"Are you all ready to go to Maggie's for the night?"  Mulder asked her.

"Yup," She said. "Uncle Bill said we would go by the house so I could get some clothes."

"All right," Mulder agreed.  "The way Maggie sounds you guys are gonna leave soon."

Zoe nodded, glancing back to Bill and Matt to see what she was missing.  "They wanna 
see the baby first though, so we're gonna wait until the nurse takes him back to the 
nursery."

Mulder smiled.  "I think that may have to wait until tomorrow.  I don't think your 
Mommy's gonna give him up for awhile."

"Okay, I'll tell them that. Give Mommy and Reese a kiss for me."

"I will." Mulder promised.  "Now, gimme a hug, Munchkin."

Zoe grinned and threw her arms around Mulder.  "See ya later, Daddy." She said.

"'Bye, Munchkin.  Be good."

"You know me." 

Laughing, Mulder said, "Yeah, I know you, that's why I'm telling you to be good."

Zoe giggled again and returned to her uncle's side.

Mulder stood for another moment, watching Zoe and Bill, and then turned and walked 
back to Scully's room.

~

Maggie wasn't in the room when Mulder came back.  A nurse was just leaving and she 
held the door for him and passed him a friendly smile.  Mulder closed the door softly 
behind himself upon entry, ready to collapse and sleep again.  Who knew he would do so 
much running around today?  

He saw Scully sitting more comfortably in her bed, leaning against propped up pillows.  
She was still holding Reese and looking down at him.  As Mulder got nearer, he could see 
that he was nursing.  He smiled at her, slightly uneasily, and sat beside her on the edge of 
the bed.  

"Hey," She said softly, glancing up at him from the previous silent reverie she'd been in.

"Hi," He said. He watched his son nurse from his wife's breast, caught up in mixed 
emotions of something like amazement, and admiration.  He'd truly never imagined her 
like this.  He said once he'd never imagined her as a mother, and once he did that, he still 
hadn't ever seen her as a *real* mother.

"I thought you weren't going to breastfeed."  He said.

Scully shrugged a little. "Mom talked me into it, and the nurse taught me how, so I 
figured; what the hell?  Might as well give it a--" She cringed, interrupting her sentence.  
"Try."

Mulder furrowed his eyebrows like he was confused.  "Got a little chomp there, does he?" 
He snickered.

"Yeah," She moved a little to stretch her back, but tried not to move the baby too much.  
"You'd never think something with no teeth could bite so hard."

Mulder laughed harder at that.

Scully looked down again and watched her son nurse.  After a few more minutes, Reese 
made a little sound like a sigh and spat out the nipple.  Scully held him back toward her 
breast, talking to him in soft, maternal tones; completely ignoring her husband's on-
looking stare.  Reese moved his head away again and began to cry, clearly not hungry 
anymore.

"Okay, okay," She breathed softly.  Holding the infant away from her body slightly, she 
pulled the front of her gown back down.  

Mulder watched as Scully tried to quiet Reese's cries.  Finally, she looked up at him and 
gestured for him to hold Reese.  He was a little shy about it at first, but soon gave up and 
held out his arms.

Scully gave Reese over carefully, showing Mulder how to hold him properly.  "Support 
his head." She told him, moving his elbow more under the baby's head.  "There you go."  

Mulder smiled, feeling a tremendous amount of accomplishment after both learning how 
to catch the baby when he was delivered, and hold him properly.  This parenting thing was 
going to be a breeze.  Reese stopped crying when he was comfortable in Mulder's arms, 
letting his tired eyes slide shut.  

"If he starts to cry again, he may need to be burped."  Scully said, moving out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Mulder asked, scared of being left alone with a newborn.  Maybe 
the parenting thing would be easy, but not alone! 

Scully grinned, amused with his timidness.  "I'm going to take a shower, if you don't 
mind."

"You can't leave me alone, I don't know anything about babies!" Mulder pleaded.

Scully's smile only widened.  "It's about time you learned."

Mulder's jaw dropped.  She was really going to leave him with Reese.  "But…" He began, 
but couldn't come up with a good excuse for her not to leave him.  He would need the 
practice after all.

After a lingering look to reassure her that Mulder would be fine, Scully grabbed the 
overnight bag and went into the bathroom.

Mulder watched the door to the bathroom close.  A few minutes later, he heard the faint 
hiss of running water.  He let out a soft sigh and looked at the newborn in his arms.  
"Okay, so I've been left alone with a…" He managed to free his right hand and glance at 
his watch. "Two hour old newborn and I don't even think I've been in the same room with 
a baby before."

"I guess I'm as new to this as you are." He said to Reese.  He studied his son, right down 
to the details of his still red-tinted face, and the simplicity of his tiny fists.  Skinner was 
right; he did look more like his mother.  Reese had Scully's eyes and nose (thank God) and 
would probably have her pale skin.  The only thing he seemed to share with his father, 
other than that X chromosome, was his hair color.  

It was absorbing the sight of his son that Mulder remembered what Scully had said earlier.  
"Or are you going to be like your father?" She'd asked coldly.  She had taken it back…but 
it still made him think all the same.  He stood up from his seat on the bed and walked 
slowly across the room to the large picture window.  It was only late afternoon, but it felt 
so much later.  The sun was just beginning it's graceful decent into the bosom of the earth, 
and still bathed its light over everything.  There really wasn't much to look at aside from a 
gray parking lot and some trees, but there was a slight view of a playground within a 
fenced area.  There were a few children playing on the plastic equipment, and shooting 
basketballs into the chain nets.  Mulder smiled inside.

"I don't know if you heard your Mom and I arguing earlier, but what she said isn't true."  
He told his half-sleeping son.  "I'm not going to be like my father.  Okay, so you didn't 
know him…but he wasn't the greatest father.  He was a real jerk sometimes." Mulder 
swallowed the lump in his throat when he remembered how his father did next to nothing 
when Samantha had disappeared. The lump formed again when he recalled that Samantha 
was somewhere, searching futilely for her missing son.  "I'm not gonna be like him.  I'm 
gonna be there for you, okay?"  

Reese moved his arm and kicked one of his legs.  Mulder snickered and took that as a 
response. 

"I mean, I'm not gonna miss anything with you.  I'll be there when you need me, no matter 
what.  And I'll listen too.  When you get older, I'll…I'll teach you how to play baseball, 
and eat sunflower seeds.  And when you're *much* older, I'll teach you about girls."  
Mulder dipped his head down, and kissed Reese's soft head.

"The blind still trying to lead the blind." A voice came from behind.

Mulder turned and looked up, startled out of his own abstractedness.  He saw Scully 
leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.  Her hair was hanging in wet tendrils 
around her face, and she had dressed in one of her own nightgowns, no longer needing to 
be in a hospital gown.  

"How long were you standing there?" Mulder asked, returning to sit on the side of the 
bed.  Ever so carefully, he laid Reese into the crib on his back.  Reese didn't make a sound, 
fallen fast asleep again.

"Long enough," Scully said, crossing to the bed and sitting beside Mulder. "To know that 
you," She kissed his right cheek, "Will be a perfect father."  She finished the statement 
with a tender kiss on his lips.  

Mulder opened his eyes slowly when the kiss was ended.  He let a small half-smile cross 
his mouth and saw a similar comforting smile on her face.  "You really think I'll do okay?" 
He asked her.

"You'll do fine. I'm as knew to it all as you." Scully encouraged.  She averted her gaze 
from his and glanced at Reese.  When she returned it, it was burning sincerity.  "What I 
said earlier, about you being like your father, I didn't mean it.  I was angry and I spoke 
before I thought.  I have no doubts that you will be much different than your father was."

Mulder's smile widened.  He reached up and touched Scully's cheek and then brushed his 
hand back beneath her ear until his fingers were entwined in her damp hair.  Slowly, he 
brought her face close to his, entrapping her lips in his own.  The kiss lasted longer and 
was far more passionate than the previous one she'd given him.  He thrived off her 
confidence in him.  He needed to hear the things she said, and she always knew just what 
to say and when to say it.

It was the yearning for oxygen that drew the two apart.  Scully broke the gaze by making 
a quick glance over at Reese.  She leaned forward near the crib and brushed her fingertip 
down Reese's arm.  He moved a little in his sleep, but didn't wake.  

"Are you scared?" Mulder asked her quietly.  The question was vague enough, but Scully 
knew what he was talking about.  There were no words that could narrow down the 
question.  He was asking her if she had any fear about everything in the future.  

She glanced at the side of his face. He was focused on Reese.  "Terrified."  She answered 
simply.

Mulder let her reply hang in the air a moment, then he reached over and took her hand 
from where it laid on her bare knee.  He squeezed it, showing that the feeling was mutual.  
She returned gesture with her own scrunch, and then she laid her head on his shoulder.

"But I think we'll be okay." She said softly.

Mulder smiled and stroked her hand with his thumb.  "Me too." He said, watching their 
son sleep.  He was their future.  He was what they thought was the impossible.  He was a 
proof that even the most far-fetched dream could very well come true.  

He was their truth.








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

~~ If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23 ~~      

Feedback? I need to know if it's worth continuing the storyline. Email me at 
KRUMS@worldnet.att.net

Acknowledgments:  First, I have to thank Brie for her support and constructive criticism, 
and all the bickering we did to verify or disprove my facts.  She made sure all my 
mythology was right.  Thanx bud.  I also have to thank my publicist Lill who gets these 
stories to all you people out there.  I have to thank all you readers, who've stayed with me 
through this and sent me the feedback.  I have to thank my grandmother for her support 
and reading of my endless fanfiction on the adventures of Moose and Squirrel.  Lastly, I'm 
thanking Chris Carter. Without him, none of this would exist.  

Until next time, keep smilin' and philin'.  Peace ?

Devotedly Yours ~~~ Smurf :op    


















    
    
 





 

  



   

        



    
 














  
  


 





             


         







 








 

  
    






   

   




  

 



    




     











   





  

    

  

          









   

 

    

 



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