Rubbing
OffRubbing
Off
Author: PhileyX
E-Mail: phileyxback@yahoo.com
Web-site: https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx
Rating: PG
Category: MSR, WJR
Spoilers: Arcadia, Requiem
Prequels: Man Without A Face, The Matchbox, The Dinner Guest, A Nobody is Hard to Find,
Time Out, Redhead, A Father is Hard to Find, Visions, Second Time Round, Keeper,
One of Us, Revelations, Persuasion
Disclaimer: All the characters here do not belong to me.
Author's note: The prequels to this story can be found at:
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Face.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Matchbox.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Dinner.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Nobody.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Timeout.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Redhead.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Father.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Visions.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Secondtime.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Keeper.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Oneofus.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Revelations.html
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Persuasion.html
Intro: This story takes place after the Requiem. Two years after his disappearance, a man appears claiming to be Mulder, with a catch; he just didn't have his face. Scully soon finds out he really is her ex-partner and makes the ultimate sacrifice; she gives both Mulder and her son up. Although intent on keeping herself away from her son, she is unable to stop herself from seeing Mulder. Meanwhile, Will grows up without her and soon without his father too. As the years go by, the truth begins to reveal itself, bringing them all together,
to fight the future.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Rubbing Off
Excerpts from the song 'Wise Up' by Aimee Mann.
No infringement of copyright intended.
<It's not what you thought
When you first began it
You got what you want
Now you can hardly stand it though
By now you know it's not
Going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Till you wise up>
Joyce waved her hand at the couple when she spotted them amidst the expectant crowd. Heading towards their direction, she made her way through the mass of co-travelers in her way.
"Hey, Mr. V." She gushed and gave Mulder a big hug.
"Hey there, kiddo." He hugged back with a quick peck on her cheek.
She then turned to Dana and embraced her as well. "How have you been, Agent Scully?"
The latter smiled and gently correctly her. "I've been fine and it's Dana." As they pulled apart, she added. "Or Laura."
Joyce grinned. Although it had been six months since her retirement and three months since the wedding, she still wasn't used to just calling her Dana. The newly married pair casually cast a glance behind her and she was instantly reminded of the first thing she was supposed to do when she saw them. "Oh yes, Jace couldn't make it for this flight."
Her boyfriend's parents flinched slightly and she quickly tried to ease the disappointment. "He's really sorry. It's just that at the last minute, he had a breakthrough and wanted to try it out before the moment passed him. But he promises he will be on tomorrow's flight."
Mulder nodded his head and smiled, putting one arm around her while the other took her bag. "That's fine. I'm glad you came anyway."
"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." She quipped, emitting a mischievous beam at Dana. "It was one of my childhood dreams seeing the available and dreadfully lonely Mr. V happily settled down."
Mulder rolled his eyes at his wife. "Did I ever tell you how this obnoxious brat tried matchmaking me with every one of her single aunts that visited them?"
Dana raised an eyebrow in amusement but Joyce cringed. 'Shit! Way to go and impress the mother-in-law, Joy!' She chided herself and hastily muttered. "But your husband didn't pay any attention to my efforts, Agent Scully. Most assuredly he didn't."
"Laura." Mulder reminded.
"Dana." His wife amended.
Joyce nodded shyly and whispered. "Right..... Dana."
Smiling, Dana looked at Mulder. He winked back and she shook her head slightly. It was truly incomprehensible how he could be so composed. They were blatantly introducing their fake alter-gos to true life Joyce, which in turn may cause serious repercussions, and yet the man seemed totally unconcerned. And to think that he was the one totally against the idea when she first brought it up. She sighed, accepting the cruel fact that she might never figure him out. "Come on, let's go home."
The ride back to the Falls of Arcadia was a long one. But it gave them time to catch up. Joyce updated them on both Jason's and her incredibly hectic life.
Since making headlines with the Chicago water contamination scare, he had been quite in demand by government laboratories all over the country. So much so they hardly saw each other except on weekends. Things got worse when she decided to allocate a couple of those hours providing free legal advice at a voluntary law office in the city slums. Tired and overworked, they were looking forward to this break for weeks.
"Why was Jason's name mentioned in one of the recent X-file report, Joyce?" Dana suddenly brought up casually.
The latter was obviously surprised. "You still have access to the X-files?"
Mulder smirked. "The less you know, the better, Joyce."
Getting the hint, she shrugged. "Well you did refer to Jason a couple of times in the past. I guess, Landell and Maston figured he would be able to help them even after you're gone. And being exposed to various Bureau departments for consultation turned out to be a plus point. The wide network of contacts eventually proved useful in a couple of X-files.
Dana sighed and grumbled under her breath. "A fireman, an astronaut, a pilot, even pro-basketball... A million possible careers and still he picked paranormal science."
"It's in the genes, Scully. He just can't fight it." Mulder grinned.
Joyce chuckled but she sobered when she recalled Jason's recent anxiety to create the vaccine. "Did you hear about anything from Landell or Maston lately."
Mulder and Scully immediately perked up. "What about?"
"Well, Agent Landell called Jace last Monday. Someone slipped a file under the basement door. There were two newspaper clippings; two different tragedies that had absolutely no connection except for the fact that no one survived both."
The couple shook their head so she continued. "The first was a family of four, the Sullivans. Their large farmhouse estate was located in Phoenix, miles and miles away from town. They were rather eccentric, kept to themselves, nobody really liked them. Anyway, one day all four of them were found dead. Police could only claim it was a work of a very sick murderer."
"How did they die?"
"The report didn't specify the details. Landell contacted the local PD at Phoenix and was courteously informed that the case was closed. He was then refused permission for any further investigations, fearing it would respark fear within the community."
"And the other case?"
"A group of environmental activists near the Wasatch Mountains, Utah. They based themselves far from civilization, an experiment proving that societies could live without environmentally harmful technology. All twelve families died of an unknown virus. The military came in and torched everything."
Mulder pursed his lips, tapping on the steering wheel thoughtfully. "Do you see a pattern, Scully?"
She frowned warily. "Small groups and remote sites."
He glanced at her and shot her a smile. "Yes. And the numbers are growing. From a family to a community. My guess would be that their next target is a town or a city."
Joyce shook her head, disagreeing. "But we don't know where the file really came from. For all we know, it could be just a prank pulled by some guys, trying to get Landell on a wild goose chase."
"I suppose that's Maston's view." Dana muttered.
"Yeah." Joyce confirmed. "She was rather skeptical that the information provided should be taken seriously."
"She's right to be skeptical."
Mulder rolled her eyes and groaned. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you, Scully. Do you know how many times we've gotten so close to the actual truth based on information slipped under our door?"
She shook her head. "The difference is Landell and Maston do not have high connections in congress like you had. Who would dare provide them with delicate information such this? Especially now that they are under an AD who is intent on shutting them down?"
"Maybe someone who figures that the information would somehow reach you?" He whispered a dangerously possible explanation.
"What are you saying, Mulder?"
"Maybe someone is trying to warn you, me or Jason that the end is near? Someone who knows that we can do something about it."
Joyce softly cut in. "That's what Jace thinks too."
"The end is near?" Dana sighed and looked briefly out the window as Mulder stopped for a red light. "And what makes you think that this time they actually mean it? Mulder, they proved that they could have done it twenty years ago. Why did they wait till now? Why didn't they colonize the earth then?"
"Because we had a vaccine." He suggested.
She blatantly argued. "Which eventually turned out to be useless because the virus mutated into a new form. They still had the upper hand. Once again, what were they waiting for?"
Mulder's didn't respond and looked blankly ahead at the car in front of theirs. She was right, he thought. What were they waiting for? As a notion slowly began to evolve into a presumption, he bit his inner lip meditatively. 'Perhaps ..... like the shadow government, they too were trying ....."
To his surprise, Joyce whispered his words aloud as he was thinking it. "....to perfect their science. To mutate into a form that could gestate under normal room temperature."
The duo stared at her for totally different reasons. Mulder wondered if he had muttered his thoughts unconsciously and Joyce was just repeating it sarcastically. 'No...' He soon decided. He was pretty sure he hadn't opened his mouth. And Joyce didn't sound as if she was mocking him, more like she was in awe of the very possibility.
Dana however was surprised that a comparatively paranormal novice such as Joyce could dream up such a theory. She recovered first, muttering towards Mulder. "Wow, that sounds like something you would come out with."
"It was." Still staring at Joyce, he mumbled in astonishment.
Oblivious to his disconcertment, Dana turned to the younger redhead. "But it's still just a theory, Joyce."
"What?" Joyce was taken aback, wondering why was she being chided for a speculation that wasn't even hers.
"I said that's a nice theory but the fact of the matter is, we still don't know that the information Landell received can be trusted."
Joyce blinked, still confused why Dana was still pointedly referring to her. But then, Jace's father caught her attention when he abruptly demanded to know. "How did you do that?"
Her eyes widened. "Do what?"
"How did you know my theory?"
Before Joyce could say anything, a loud honking from behind made them all jump. Dana peered out the window and groaned. "Mulder, green light."
"Just a sec." He flippantly replied, his gaze remaining sternly on Joyce. "Well?"
Joyce frowned, now absolutely bewildered. Why on earth were they both asking her about an idea that to the best of her knowledge had nothing to do with her? Then distracted by more enraged honking and a loud curse from behind, she mumbled unconsciously. "Idiotic moron..."
Mulder and Scully blinked. Realizing what she had just said, Joyce blushed and explained. "That's what the guy behind just called you. It's a green light, Mr. V. Will you please move the car?"
Dana rolled her eyes. "Mulder, just drive."
"But Scully, she ...."
"Mulder, please." She whined in a way he wouldn't be able to resist. And he didn't.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"You've been rather quiet." Dana whispered, watching suspiciously as Mulder set the table.
"I've got a theory." He whispered back, wetting her appetite to ask more.
"Oh?"
"Yeah." He smiled a secretive smile.
"Another alien colonization hypothesis?"
"Nope. It's about Joyce."
Now she was absolutely taken aback. "What about Joyce?"
At that moment, the subject walked into the dining area. Mulder winked at his wife and mumbled quickly. "I'll tell you when I'm surer."
She frowned at first but her brow instantly cleared when Joyce unintentionally intruded their conversation. "Do you need any help?"
"Uh... yeah. You could bring the dishes out."
"Sure."
Before long, they were all seated and began dinner. Interested in their newfound normal life, Joyce asked questions about their days as occupants of the Falls of Arcadia.
"It's nice and peaceful." Dana answered.
"In other words, dead boring." Mulder generously translated.
Joyce laughed. "What made you pick this place anyway?"
"Mulder gets a kick out of shocking conformed societies." Dana explained. "The stories he tells in some of the parties we go to...." She trailed off, rolling her eyes.
He defended himself staunchly. "I was just describing some literature from my course. I had to play the part of a learned professor." Both Dana and Joyce chuckled at the description 'learned'. He raised a threatening eyebrow and nodded at his wife. "Why don't you tell her about the time you overreacted over an ordinary bee sting, Scully?"
Dana winced and growled testily. "I just wanted to be sure."
Mulder laughed and explained. "One day this woman was brought in the clinic because of a bee sting allergy.... And Scully went completely berserk, ordering like twenty different tests on her before convinced that it had nothing to do with alien colonization."
Joyce grinned and softly told them both. "I guess it's kinda hard to live normal lives after so many years of living them so extraordinarily."
Her words struck them hard. They shared a brief look before gazing back at her, smiling. "We never thought of them as extraordinary, more like bizarre." Dana muttered.
"Maybe you should." Joyce replied. Then she patted her mouth with a napkin, announcing. "It's Jace, I'll get it." She got to her feet and headed out the room.
Mulder and Scully looked at each other, the latter asking. "Did you hear the phone?"
"Nope."
"Neither did I."
But a moment later, the phone rang.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Mulder jerked when a soft thud coming from downstairs woke him up. He peered in the dark, noting the time. 'What on earth was that? It's barely dawn.' Taking a peek at his comfortably asleep wife, he got out of bed quietly and moved to the door.
It was cold as he crept down the flight of steps; a gust of wind blowing straight into him. He frowned. Didn't he close all the windows before they went up to bed? Feeling a little cautious, his movements quickened and his head darted about, searching for signs of a break in.
He found the front door unlocked, open, thudding against the doorframe with every shift of the erratic wind. Reaching it, he glanced about outside making sure there wasn't anyone there. Satisfied but even more wary with the possibility that the intruder may be inside instead, he softly turned the doorknob and closed the door.
He walked into the living room as quietly as he could. Hesitating at the fireplace, he picked up the fire poker and scanned the room carefully. There were no traces of an intrusion. Moving on to the dining area and subsequently to the kitchen, he still found that nothing had been touched.
He began up the stairs. The empty rooms were as they were. And he soon came upon Joyce's room. His knuckles rapped on the door. No answer. Frowning, he twisted the door handle and peeked in. The bed was vacant! "Joyce?" He tentatively called out. Again, no answer.
A minute later, he tore into his own bedroom. "Scully, wake up!"
"Wha...?" Dana squinted at the bright bedroom lights. "Mulder, it's the middle of the night."
"Joyce. She's gone." He told her breathlessly.
Dana blinked. "What do you mean she's gone?"
"I mean she's gone." He insisted. "She's not in her bed, nor is she anywhere in this house."
This time he got her complete attention. She scrambled out of bed, grabbing one of his shirts to protect her from the chill. "Have you checked the bathrooms?"
"Even the bathroom downstairs. She's definitely not in the house." But his wife continued looking, walking briskly in and out the next room. Rolling his eyes, he clasped her wrist and pulled her to face him. "The front door was open, Scully."
Hope filled her face and she muttered. "So she's outside."
Mulder's brow creased as she broke free from his grip and rushed downstairs, towards the door. 'It was unlike Scully to panic.' He wondered and strode after her. He found her in the garden, yelling Joyce's name shrilly into the eerie silence of the night. "Scully!" He hissed. "Are you crazy? You'll wake the neighbours!"
She didn't seem to care. "Where the hell could she have gone, Mulder?"
"I don't know but I'm sure she's fine." He took her arm shook her. "Now, will you calm down?"
"Calm down?" A worried look clouded her face. "Mulder, what if someone took her?"
"No one took her, Scully." He firmly curbed her fears, soothing her jangled nerves with his calm voice. "Maybe she went out for a walk?"
"It's four AM in the morning!"
"Maybe she likes an early morning walk?"
"She left the door open."
Mulder frowned, an indication that he did agree that that bit didn't quite fit. "We'll find her, okay?" Then looking intently into her eyes, he asked. "Now tell me, why are you freaking out?"
"I'm not..."
"Scully...." He warningly growled.
She sighed and softly admitted. "Because this is the second fucking time I lost Jason's girlfriend."
Mulder tried his very best to hold back a smile. It was endearing that his usually cool and confident partner could actually be insecure with regards to anything. To think that she feared her son would love her less for whatever reason. Then again, he shouldn't be surprised. Scully had always kept him guessing.
Unfortunately for him, a small smirk betrayed his efforts to keep a straight face. She caught it and glared at him fiercely. "It's not funny, Mulder."
"Sorry." He muttered and quickly suggested a plan. "Go put on some clothes and get our coats. I'll get our flashlights and start the car. She can't have gone far." Glad that he was finally being constructive, she nodded and turned to obey.
XXXXXXXXXXX
It wasn't the person he expected. It wasn't the boy, the Alien Bounty Hunter realized. His mouth showed a slight trace of a scowl and he proceeded to ponder over the reasons why this woman was here.
He was certain he had called upon the chosen one. To warn him that it was nearly the time for the elimination of his race. They were running out of time. The series of tests are almost complete, the last one scheduled to run within a matter of days. And yet, there seemed to be no indication that the boy was doing what he was destined to do.
The woman stopped walking when she reached the middle of the field. She looked dazed, confused. He watched her for a moment, wondering who she was. Why did she respond instead of the boy? But it really didn't matter. Ultimately, she wasn't the boy. 'Perhaps the human race is doomed to die after all.' And the Alien Bounty Hunter walked away into the dark night.
XXXXXXXXXXX
They found her standing in the middle of a football field. She was shivering from the cold, in a state of complete shock, muttering incessantly under her breath. They tried to make out her words but she made no sense whatsoever. So they gently quietened her with reassurances and helped her into the car.
When they arrived back at the house, her shaking had subsided. Getting out of her damp clothes, Dana helped her into warm ones, fresh after a minute or two in the dryer. Then she tucked Joyce in, giving her a mild sedative to allow her to sleep and watched her until she did.
"How is she?" Mulder asked when Dana emerged from Joyce's room.
"Okay, I think. She's asleep."
He bit his inner lip thoughtfully, cautiously asking. "What do you think happened?"
"I think she sleepwalked." A small smirk appeared on his face and she recognized it well. She sighed. "I suppose you're going to tell me she hasn't sleepwalked in her entire life."
"Not that I know of and I know her pretty well, Scully."
It was then that she noticed he was dressed for work. "What time is it?"
"A quarter past seven." He told her.
She stifled a yawn and nodded towards the stairs. "You want breakfast?"
"Nah. I'll grab something on the way. But I did make coffee."
"Oh thank you!" She gushed, thoroughly grateful, offering him a small smile. "I really need some of that."
He returned it, guiding her down the stairs. "So do you want to hear it?"
"Mulder, it's too early in the morning." She whined.
"I think I have all the evidences I need to convince you of my theory."
She frowned at him as they entered the kitchen. "Does this theory of yours have any connection to the suspicion that you mentioned before dinner?"
He nodded, his eyes twinkling in excitement. "It all fits perfectly."
"That's what I was afraid of ..." She groaned. Picking up a cup, she poured herself some coffee and settled comfortably on a chair. "Okay, I'm ready."
Facing her, Mulder leaned against the kitchen counter and told her solemnly. "I think Jason's powers have rubbed off on Joyce."
Dana nodded at him blankly, unconvinced. "Rubbed off on Joyce... Right."
"I'm serious, Scully." He quickly began the phenomenal task of convincing her. "Jason has three distinct powers. The visions, the dreams and telepathy. And so far, Joyce has shown signs of having two of his powers."
"Like what?"
"Telepathy. She read my mind on the journey back from the airport. The theory that sprouted from her mouth? That was my theory. I was thinking it when she voiced it out."
"Are you sure it's not her theory too?"
"Word for word? And you and I both know she couldn't have come up with that all on her own, Scully. Not without the background we have."
"Muld..."
He quickly cut her off. "Proof number two, how did she know the phone was going to ring during dinner?"
"That's easy. She and Jace obviously agreed on a time beforehand."
"Or...." He offered an alternative. "Or she had a vision that phone was about to ring?"
She rolled her eyes and sighed, giving up on the idea of arguing for the moment. "And what's sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night got anything to do with any of Jason's powers, Mulder?"
"That I don't know." He admitted softly.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Dana rubbed her forehead. "Okay. Let's say I buy this theory of yours, what's your explanation of this phenomenon of 'rubbing off'?"
"Long term proximity? They're living together, aren't they?"
"I thought they had their own places?"
He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, they must be sleeping together...." His face cleared. "That's it! Sex!"
"Mulder!" She protested.
He blatantly ignored her. "Exchange of bodily fluids! That makes perfect sense!"
"Oh God!" She groaned, covering her face with the palm of her hands, willing away the vision to go away.
Mulder took a step closer and leaned at the end of the table. "You've gotta ask her, Scully."
Her hands dropped with a loud thump. "Ask her what?"
"Sex with Jason. How they .... you know."
She was absolutely incredulous. "How?" She threw her hands up in the air. "What do you mean **how**? You want her to draw you a diagram?"
He wondered how to explain what he meant. "Scully, if this exchanging of fluids theory is sound. Then, they must be.... well .... exchanging flui..."
"All right, stop! Just stop!" She glared at him. "If you think that I'm going to ask Joyce what kind of contraceptive they're using or what bodily juices are bartered during their sexual exploits; you're delusional!"
"Oh come on, Scully." He whined. "Just put on your doctor voice and...."
"Forget it, Mulder! I refuse to ask my son's girlfriend how they do it!" She bounced her cup on the table, as if she had just declared the final verdict of their discussion. "If you want to know, you ask her!"
"But Scully..."
"You're late for work." She warned, ignoring the pout he had on that would usually melt her heart completely.
He sighed. "Fine. But you know I'm right." Turning, he grabbed a pack of seeds from the kitchen counter and slipped it into his pocket. "I'm always right."
She didn't bother to reply, nursing her cup of coffee resolutely. Although rather sore with her, he still made a beeline around the table to plant a quick kiss on top of her hair before heading out the door.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Dana frowned as she reread the article she found on the Web. According to a series of psychological researches, Mulder's 'rubbing off' was actually a sound theory in some cerebral schools of thoughts. It explains how after a certain duration, some couple begin to look like each other. Or how some best girlfriends have coordinated menstrual cycles. 'Hmm.. perhaps Jason did rub off on Joyce after all.'
A sudden movement by the living room doorway disturbed her silent concentration. She looked up and saw that Joyce walking wearily into the room. Dana instantly went to her side and asked gently. "How do you feel?"
"I'm okay, I think." Joyce smiled bashfully, rather embarrassed at the amount of trouble she had caused. "About last night, I'm really sorry..."
"It's all right, Joyce." The elder assured her quickly. "Now why don't you sit down?" Joyce obeyed her and Dana sat beside her. "Can you remember what happened?"
The former shook her head. "Not really." Frowning, she willed herself to think but like previous attempts in her room a couple minutes ago, she just couldn't remember anything else but going to bed and waking up later in the middle of a field.
Dana didn't allow her to dwell on the question too long. "Has this ever happened before?"
"No."
"Have you ever sleepwalked before?"
Joyce looked at her, surprised. "No..... Was that what I was doing, sleepwalking?"
"I don't know. That's only my theory. Of course, Mulder has a slightly..." Dana winced before continuing. "... bizarre one."
"Oh." Joyce muttered, briefly looking down.
Dana watched her quietly, letting the younger woman gather her thoughts. She then thought of the facts she had just researched and considered if she should entertain the idea of asking Joyce what Mulder wanted to know.
"Did you say something?" Joyce suddenly asked, her eyes wide open, staring at her.
Dana momentarily froze. "Uh... no."
"Of ... of course you didn't....." The former smirked to herself, looking away and rubbing her forehead hard. "Maybe I need more sleep, I'm getting delusional. I thought you asked me.... uh .. never mind."
Her mouth was dry when Dana asked warily. "You thought I asked you what, Joyce?"
The latter looked up and blushed. "No..n..o.thing. It... it's stupid."
"What did you hear?" Dana persisted.
Joyce felt a little apprehensive at the way Dana was gazing at her. She raised an eyebrow and softly mumbled the ridiculous truth. "I thought I heard you ask me if I was sleeping with Jason?"
'Oh my God! Mulder was right!' Dana gaped for a full twenty seconds before she uncomfortably croaked. "You heard that?"
Misunderstanding her reaction, Joyce gave a half laugh and tried to hide her embarrassment. "I told you it was stupid! Of course, you didn't ask me that! I mean, why would you ask me that, right?"
Dana frowned and shrugged. "Well, suppose I did?" This time it was Joyce's turn to gape. The elder redhead quickly explained. "I have to admit I was thinking it but I felt really weird asking it, so I didn't."
"You were thinking it?" Joyce shook her head slowly, her face contorted. "I don't understand."
"I think you read my mind, Joyce."
Joyce blinked twice and then burst out laughing. "And I think the marriage is getting to you, Agent Sc..... uh... Dana."
Dana smiled but warned her to be serious with a frown. "I'm not kidding around. I didn't a say word but you knew what I was thinking. Mulder was right, you did read his mind yesterday in the car, about his theory of the mutating alien virus."
Joyce really didn't know whether to laugh or pretend to take her seriously. But as she took the pause between them to figure it out, she suddenly noticed that she could hear words but the former was clearly not moving her mouth. Shocked, Joyce scrambled to her feet, taking a couple of steps away from her. "How did you do that?" She demanded to know.
"Do what?" Dana asked astonishment.
"Talk to me without ta...talking?" She sputtered out.
Realization dawned on Dana. Joyce had heard her thoughts again and this time, she saw with her own eyes that she wasn't spoken to. "I didn't do anything, Joyce. You're doing this all on your own."
Joyce breathed heavily. "Mr. V thinks that ..... Jace's powers are rubbing off on me?"
Dana let out a small gasp of breath, as if in wonder of the phenomenon happing right in front of her. "Yeah. That's his ... slightly bizarre theory."
"No." Joyce shook her head, slowly sinking into the armchair nearby. "No, it can't be. Jace doesn't read minds like this!"
"He's telepathic, isn't he?"
"Not like this. He only reads **my** mind." She began softly before trailing off. "And even then, it's only..."
"Only what?" Dana gently probed.
Joyce looked up, blushing once again. "Only when we're...ummm.... intimate."
'Okaaaaay Mulder, putting on my doctor voice like you said...' Dana silently thought but said aloud. "So... he only reads your mind during sex?"
Feeling horribly awkward, Joyce just nodded her reply. Meanwhile, Dana was trying her very best to keep a straight face. She waited until she was sure her voice would not betray her before she whispered. "That must be pretty handy."
The former frowned. Then a twitch at the corner of her mouth gave Dana away. It set Joyce off with a smile and suddenly they both rumbled out in laughter.
"This is so ... weird!" Joyce admitted in between chortles.
"You can say that again!" Dana lightheartedly added before impishly asking. "By the way, is my son any good?"
Playfully, Joyce replied. "About as good as Mr. V is on the mahogany desk in your stud...."
Dana instantly sobered. "What?!?"
'Uh oh!' Joyce grimaced, the hilarity abruptly and completely forgotten. She whispered nervously. "Uh... Jace still has visions."
'Oh my God! Jason had visions of Mulder and me having....' The blood drained of Dana's face at the thought. 'Ugh!'
Joyce watched the transformation from shock to utter horror and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that was Jace's reaction too."
It was then that Mulder chose to appear, through the front door. "Lucy, I'm home!" He yelled, Ricky Ricardo style.
"Wait a minute..." Joyce frowned, a little confused. "I thought it's Laura?"
Dana smirked. "Yeah, it is. Lucy's just a...." She hesitated and finally waved the explanation. "Oh never mind, it was way before your time."
Her husband sauntered in, immediately stiffening when he saw the younger redhead up on her feet. "Joyce, you're out of bed. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"Good." Mulder bit his inner lip and glanced briefly at Scully who pretended not notice.
But Joyce caught his unasked question and made a face, loudly protesting. "Eww... Mr. V!"
"What?" He frowned, utterly bewildered.
"Exchange of bodily fluids? Really, how gross can you get!" Joyce muttered, visibly disgusted while Dana laughed.
Mulder's brow cleared and he turned to his wife. "You see, Scully! I didn't say a word! She..."
Dana interrupted him quickly, rolling her eyes. "Yes Mulder, she can read minds. You were right and I was wrong. Happy?"
The latter was superlatively jubilant. Beaming, he pounced at Joyce. "I was right, you do read minds!"
"Looks like it." Joyce winced, glaring at him. "I sincerely wish I couldn't though. Especially your mind."
"But it makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Actually Mulder, I'm partial to the long term proximity explanation." Dana informed him.
"Oh so **now** you're sticking to the non-scientific account!" Mulder rolled his eyes at her. "I'm surprised you haven't come up with something more technical like maybe she's pregnant?"
"That's ridiculous, Mulder!" Dana chided him. "We wouldn't be having this argument if she is. It would explain everything. But the fact is, she isn't. Right, Joyce?"
Unfortunately Joyce's brain had numbed right after Mulder first mentioned the word 'pregnant'. She glared harder and harder at the wall in a distance as every piece of the past few weeks began to fall into place. The missed cycle and the headaches she thought were all just stress-related..... 'Could it instead all be because of the one impulsively passionate time with Jace in the shower?'
"Joyce?" Dana looked at her cautiously. "You are **not** pregnant, right?"
"Yeah. I mean, no. I..." She began to say and then muttered. "I don't know."
Dana blinked and then turned to stare fiercely at Mulder. He understood the look very well and wondered how on earth could this be his fault. "What? What did I do?"
"One question. You did have **the** talk with Jason, didn't you? About the birds and the bees."
"Gees, that was years ago! And of course I did!"
Joyce muttered. "Yeah but badly. I think I had more questions after than before..."
Mulder instantaneously protested. "I was all you had, kiddo! Your Dad and Mom conveniently pushed the task of enlightening you to me."
Raising an eyebrow, Dana asked. "So both Jason **and** Joyce learnt about the mysteries of life from you?"
Mulder shrugged. "Yeah."
"Great." His wife mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes. "It's no wonder we're at this predicament."
Before Mulder could say a word in his defense, Joyce gushed hysterically. "No! I **can't** be pregnant. I'm not ready for this...." She snapped her head up. "This can't be happening. There must be another explanation!"
"Well there's only one way to find out. A pregnancy test." Dana told her softly, calming her down.
"Which will have to wait." Mulder said causing both redheads to look at him. "It's time to pick Jason up from the airport."
Joyce frowned, her heart suddenly feeling heavy. "I don't want Jason to know yet."
"Why not?" Dana asked, not liking the idea one bit.
"Because I want to be sure first." She lied. "He's been under a lot of stress lately and I don't want to burden him with something like this."
"But Joyce, he has the right to know."
"I know that. And I will tell him when I'm sure. What's the use of telling him when I'm not?" She argued, pleading earnestly with her eyes.
Mulder and Dana shared a worried look. There was obviously something else bothering her but it was clear that she wasn't about to share it with them. Although dying to know what the problem was, they reluctantly consented to her wishes with a nod.
XXXXXXXXXXX
He smiled when he saw them. And a peculiar feeling came over him as he walked towards their direction. He wasn't sure what it was. They welcomed him warmly. He gave his parents a warm hug each and Joyce, a quick kiss. The latter met his eyes only for a couple of seconds before pulling away. And Jason immediately sensed something wasn't quite right. He made a mental note to ask her about it, at a more appropriate time.
"How was the flight?" Dana asked.
"Bumpy." He complained, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "It got so rough at one point, the pilot actually had us in crash positions."
"Really?" His father frowned thoughtfully. "And which state was that over?"
Dana groaned. "Mulder..."
"We can't write off possibilities, Scully. Especially in the light of recent events."
Both redheads shot him a fierce glare and Jason frowned. "What recent events?"
Mulder stiffened and lied. "Uh.. The file Landell received under his door."
"Oh that. Well, I have good news." Jason softly announced and all three looked at him expectantly. "I think I've figured out the vaccine."
Dana seemed to be the only one able to speak as the other two just stared at him in shock. "You've completed it?"
"Now don't get too excited." Her son warned. "As I said I **think** I've figured it out. I haven't completely tested it yet. But I did try it on the bee extract that stung you twenty years ago. And, it was successful."
"That's a good sign."
"Yeah, I think so too." He smiled.
Meanwhile, Joyce glanced over her shoulder uneasily. 'Funny, there seemed to be no one near me and yet....' She could hear someone speaking to her. But she couldn't tell whom or even see who it was.
"Joyce?"
She spun around at the sound of her name. "Huh?"
Jason stared at her. "Are you okay?"
"Did you say something?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I said a lot things actually."
"No, not about the vaccine." Joyce frowned and looked about hurriedly. "There! I heard it again."
"Heard what?"
Dana and Mulder shared a worried look. And Mulder's firm voice made her look at him. "Joyce, what is it?"
"Someone's talking to me. I don't know who he is but I know he is talking directly to me." She whispered nervously.
Now Jason was utterly bewildered. "What are you talking about, Joyce?"
"Now there are two of them." The latter muttered breathlessly.
"Two of them?" Mulder repeated in awe.
An idea suddenly stuck Dana and ignoring her dumbfounded son completely, she grabbed Joyce's hand, motioning her to keep walking. Mulder followed her lead and told Jason. "We gotta get out of here."
"What the hell is going on?"
Mulder hastily explained. "Remember how the Alien Bounty Hunter found you at the airport in Chicago? Well, I think the same thing is happening here."
Jason blinked. "What?"
"Your powers are rubbing off on Joyce, Jason."
The fact left the latter speechless. He had also stopped dead in his tracks. Mulder sighed and pushed him forward. "Keep walking. Act as if everything is normal."
As Jason stumbled forward, his mind tried hard to digest everything his father said. His powers had rubbed of Joyce? How? And if Joyce was indeed hearing the Alien Bounty Hunter, shouldn't he be able to hear him too? It was then that Jason thought of a possibility he had never considered. He had been so used to switching off the visions, perhaps he had unconsciously tuned out the ability to hear the Bounty Hunter too!
Taking a moment to focus his thoughts, he soon began to perceive sounds that Joyce was talking about. 'She's right. There's two of them!' Instantly, he bounded to her side, grabbing her hand from his mother and leading her quickly towards another direction.
Dana turned to Mulder. "Where's he taking her?"
"I don't know. But I think I see one of them."
"Who?"
"The Alien Bounty Hunter."
She shifted her view to where he was looking at while Mulder made to go to him. "Mulder, don't."
"He's a good guy now."
"But there are two of them. You don't know which this one is. They're shapeshifters, remember?"
Obviously not paying attention to a word she was saying, Mulder mumbled. "He's moving towards the Mens room."
"Mulder!" Dana hissed fiercely. "He's dangerous."
Looking at her, he argued. "I just want to see what he's up to, that's all." She glared at him, reluctant to let him have his way. He sighed and assured her. "It's okay, Scully. I'll be fine. Stay here." Then he left her in the middle of the airport, pursuing the mysteriously hunter.
As Dana indulged in a number of things that could have gone wrong in Mulder's seemingly innocent quest, she was pleasantly surprised to see him back in such a short time and in one piece. "What happened?"
"I didn't make it. I saw several guys come out of the Mens room pretty burnt up and figured it wasn't such a good idea. I think one Alien Bounty Hunter killed the other and he's stinking up the joint."
"Who killed who? The good one killed the bad one or vice versa?"
He threw his hands in the air. "I don't know!"
"Oh brother...."
XXXXXXXXXXX
"Jace! For the last time, I don't know how to tune it out! This is really very new to me!" Joyce yelled in frustration, her voice resonating about the stairwell.
Jason groaned internally and took a brief moment to gather up his patience. "It's easy. Let's just try it again, okay?"
"No, it's obviously not...."
"Just one more time." He cut her off and glared at her.
"Fine." She sighed, reluctantly conceding.
"Good. Close your eyes and think of something nice like .... oh I don't know... Ice cream, snowball fights, raindrop on roses and whiskers on kittens...."
She snorted derisively but gave it her best shot. Ten seconds later, she whined. "It's still not working. I still hear him!"
Jason rolled his eyes. Then he suddenly perked up, his voice dropping into a hoarse whisper. "Wait a minute. There's only one voice now."
"Uh huh." She agreed, not understanding what the implications were.
Jason however was beginning to realize that this voice wasn't the one that took him once upon a time ago. 'This is not good.' He thought, looking intently at Joyce, wondering how exactly to distract her from paying attention to it. "Joyce?" He told her very seriously. "I'm going to kiss you."
"What?" She hardly had time to be surprised when he did exactly that.
His lips were soft at first, gently teasing and making her want more. One hand was entwined in her hair, another began stroking her back, gently guiding her against the wall behind her at the same time. And when his tongue slipped into her mouth, exploring hers slowly and thoroughly, Joyce felt as if she would faint at the sheer pleasure of it all.
XXXXXXXXXXX
"Psst, Scully! I found them. They're in here!" Mulder hissed at his wife who was busy scanning the airport crowd nearby as he peeked into the emergency stairwell.
She frowned as she made her way towards him. "Why are you whispering, Mulder? It's not like the Alien Bounty Hunter will hear us."
He nodded good-naturedly but indicated for her to take a look herself. She did and her eyebrows immediately rose. "For heaven's sakes, this is no time...."
"Uh Scully?" He quickly interrupted her. "I think his intentions are to distract her."
"Oh." Noting Joyce's absolute oblivion, she rolled her eyes. "Well, it's certainly working."
Jason surprisingly noticed their presence and paused long enough from his pleasurable task to call out to them. "Is he still out there?"
Dana blinked at him but he coolly gazed back, waiting for an answer. Joyce on the other hand, was leaning next to the wall, blurry eyed and decidedly dazed. Shaking herself out of her astonishment, Dana turned to Mulder who was peeking out the door. "Jason wants to know if he's still out there?"
"How the hell should I know?" Mulder muttered, cautiously inspecting the passer-bys. "I don't even know how he looks like."
Unsure what to tell her son, she settled for the safer option. "Maybe you should continue ..... umm... distracting her."
"Right." He nodded. Directly turning to Joyce, he tilted her head slightly and once again began his noble assault of her tonsils. Her hands were all over her and in response her whole body arched towards him.
Dana watched them for a moment, and then closed her eyes, muttering. "What am I doing? Okay, this is getting way too bizarre...."
"What?" Mulder snapped to look at her.
"I said this is crazy! I can't stay here a minute longer."
"Why not?"
"Look at them!" She retorted.
He did and instantly grimaced, taking a step back. "Yikes! We might have to hose them off."
"That's it! I'm waiting in the car!"
"What? In this heat?" He stopped her. "What if they take a while?"
She rolled her eyes. "At the rate they're going, I don't think so."
"You may be underestimating our son, Scully." Mulder grinned. "After all, he's got the Mulder genes."
Pulling her arm from his grip, she pushed the door open and mumbled. "My point exactly."
"Hey!"
"I was kidding, Mulder." She carelessly answered, leading him out of the stairwell.
"You were? Damn!" He nudged her playfully. "And I was so looking forward to proving you wrong."
XXXXXXXXXXX
<You're sure there's a cure
And you have finally found it
You think one drink
will shrink you 'til
you're underground and living down
But it's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Til you wise up>
They were sitting around the dinner table, with Chinese takeaway with their hands. The events of the night before and day had left them too exhausted to talk. So they ate quietly, taking the time to reflect on their own thoughts. Then to their amazement, Joyce abruptly got out from her seat, out the door, slamming it shut with all her might.
Dana and Mulder looked at each other and then at Jason. Instantly, they both had a feeling Joyce's sudden outburst had something to do with him. Their son looked frustrated and almost guilty.
"What on earth just happened?" Mulder asked him.
Shoving his chopsticks violently into the takeaway carton, he tossed it aside in disgust. "Nothing."
"Jason?" Dana raised an eyebrow.
He sighed and gruffly admitted. "I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea for Joyce and I to stay apart for a while. I guess she read my mind."
Dana and Mulder groaned silently, exchanging looks of horror. Dana got up from her seat to a nearby cupboard. Opening it, she removed a bottle of whiskey. Mulder's eyes brightened. "Good idea. I think I need one too."
Jason looked at his parents and muttered sarcastically. "You guys are really being constructive."
"Hey, you got yourself into this mess, you dig your way out of it." Dana told him as she poured out two glasses of liquor. "Besides, you know exactly what you want. The question is, what's stopping you?"
"If I'm rubbing off on her...."
"Jason." His father cut him off. "You're not answering the question." The latter looked at him, confused. Mulder sighed, waving it away as if it didn't matter at the moment. Instead, he told him. "Look, why don't you go after her and talk to her."
Jason hesitated but soon nodded meekly. Looking dreadfully dejected, he headed out the door. Meanwhile, Dana shook her head sadly and told her husband. "He's so much like you."
"Yeah." Mulder bit his inner lip despondently. "I screwed him up pretty badly, didn't I?"
"No you didn't!" She incredulously objected.
"Come on Scully, let's face it! If you brought him up, he'd be married with kids by now."
"Mulder if I brought him up, he wouldn't be here at all." She told him firmly. "He'd be a laboratory rat, caged by some secret underground government."
"But he'd still probably be less screwed up." He deadpanned.
Dana laughed but sobered quickly. "He's not screwed up. He's just scared. Like I said, he's a lot like you."
His intense gaze caught hers. "So there's hope for him yet, huh?"
She smiled. "Oh definitely."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Jason found Joyce in the garden in the backyard, looking blankly at nothing in particular. His steps slowed as he neared her. He was still unsure what to say or what to do. His rationale told him that putting a distance between them was the right thing to do but instinct was telling him that it wasn't. The fact remained that she was in danger and he wanted her to be safe.
"What makes you think they won't find me without you around, Jace?" Joyce suddenly turned around to face him.
Cursing under his breath, he angrily reminded himself that she could read minds, resolving to be more careful with his thoughts. A raised eyebrow soon told him that she had heard that too. He sighed, giving up. "Maybe some time away from me, would extinguish the effects I had on you."
She smirked derisively. "You really think you've rubbed off on me?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "That's what dad said."
"And there could be no other explanation?"
"Joyce, all I want is for you to be safe. And after hearing how you took off in the middle of the night and the murder of the Alien Bounty Hunter, I really don't care what other explanation there could be. All I know is that before having a relationship with me, you were normal. So maybe we should...."
"What? Break up?"
He studied the anger in her eyes cautiously. "Let's just take some time away from each other."
She snorted, shook her head slowly and mumbled. "You know, it all makes sense now."
Almost too afraid to ask, he frowned. "What does?"
"Why you never wanted my parents to know about us? Well, now I know." She softly told him. "It's because if I ever did walk away from you, there would still be at least two people from your makeshift family who would still love you."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Mulder knocked on his neighbour's door impatiently. 'What was taking him so long?' He rapped a little louder but still no answer. Now why on earth would Mr. Svenson leave a message for him to 'drop by anytime' to pick up a delivered package for him and yet not be in? Curious, Mulder leaned to take a peek through one of the windows. The lights in the living room were switched on, providing some light into the front corridor of the house nearby the staircase. He could see no movement of anything. But something suddenly caught his eye. There was trail of liquid slowly flowing down from the edge of the staircase. He peered hardly, trying to make it out. It was red in colour. 'Could it be... blood?'
A thought suddenly struck him. Hastily, he ran back to the house, past the door, up the stairs. "Scully!" His loud shout pierced through the air.
"What is it?" She called back. "Where are you?"
"In the bedroom." He was rummaging through the cupboard desperately, searching for Scully's gun. When she finally emerged, he had already loaded it and was frantically looking out the window, at Jason and Joyce.
"What's wrong?"
He turned to face her. "Svenson's dead!"
She was truly shocked. "What? How?"
"The Alien Bounty Hunter. He's out there somewhere and he's after Jason and Joyce."
Dana glanced past him out the window and her eyes widened in confusion. "Mulder, are you sure Svenson's dead?"
He hesitated. "Well, I..."
"Did you see his body?"
"Well, not really." He admitted sheepishly.
"Uh huh." She mockingly retorted. "So that would explain why he's standing in his backyard as we speak."
Mulder directly turned around to look. "That's not Svenson, Scully."
"Yes, it is."
"That's the Alien Bounty Hunter taking his face. Look, he's coming towards the side gate, over to our place! He's after Jason and Joyce. You've gotta take him down!" He pulled Dana closer and held out the gun to her. "You aim's always been better than mine, Scully. Right at the base of the neck, you know where."
She was absolutely incredulous. "Are you crazy? I am not going to shoot Svenson!"
"That's not him! Look, he's wearing boots and the real Svenson can't stand them!"
"Mulder, you don't know that's not Svenson for sure. And I'm sure as hell not going to shoot anyone based on their choice of footwear!"
"Fine, call it a gut feeling then." He growled. "Just shoot the son-of-a-bitch!"
She pushed the Sig away and yelled back. "No!" He started to protest once again but she interrupted. "I said no! And nothing you can say will change my mind!"
He uttered a loud expletive and contemplated on making the mark himself. 'Oh, who am I kidding? I'd never make a shot like that! Come on Mulder, think! You're a fucking psychologist!'
Then it hit him. Taking her arm and glaring into her blue eyes, he whispered. "She might be pregnant, Scully. She might be carrying Jason's baby. You know what that means?" He paused for effect. "She might be carrying our first **grandchild**!"
She looked back at him, unblinking. And Mulder held his breath in suspense. Five seconds later, she muttered. "Give me the gun."
'Yes!' Mulder rejoiced under his controlled mask of emotions. 'Mulder, you **are** a fucking genius!' He told himself and passed his wife her gun.
Dana took a deep breath and steadied herself. Then she aimed carefully at the man who was now only barely a couple of steps away from Jason and Joyce.
"You can't miss, Scully." Mulder warned into her ear, beside her.
She growled back. "Mulder, would you rather make this shot yourself?"
"Sorry." He muttered and backed away quickly to ease the pressure.
Once again, Dana took a deep breath. Then, she said a silent prayer, squinted past the barrel of her gun and finally pulled the trigger.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Jason looked at Joyce intently. Her words had pierced into his soul like a twisting knife and he felt breathless from the realization that she may be right. Perhaps he has yet to come to terms with everything that had happened. Perhaps he was still having trouble grasping the concept of actually having his very own parents, still thinking of the Callahans as his immediate family and wanting desperately to hold on to that. Perhaps he hasn't truly accepted the fact that Joyce did love him. Perhaps he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For everything to fall apart, just as it always did in the past.
"So you see...." Joyce's soft voice penetrated his thoughts. "You never did trust me, did you? Deep inside you always believed that one day, I would finally have had enough and leave you."
"No." He softly muttered, but sadly unconvincingly. "No Joyce, I..."
"What then?"
"I..." Confused and dazed, he looked down. "I don't know...."
"Well maybe you should figure it out." She told him. "Whatever it is, I'm not going anywhere Jace. I'm staying here. You're not getting rid of me that easily."
He looked at her, dumbfounded. "I don't understand. You're angry that maybe I don't trust you enough and yet you...." His voice faltered. "I don't get it."
She sighed and for a brief moment wondered if his mother had this much trouble convincing his father. Suddenly a loud gunfire shot made them both jump. Jason and Joyce stared as only a few steps away, a man crumbled into a mass of green goo right in front of them.
Realizing what was actually happening, Jason automatically stood as protective shield between the toxic fumes and Joyce. "Don't look at it."
Her forehead crinkled as she felt the bitter vapor sting her eyes a little but that was all it did. It began to occur to her that she might be immune to the lethal gas too.
Oblivious to the notions passing in her head, Jason wondered who was this Alien Bounty Hunter and what did he what from him. Was it the same reason why Krycek wanted him?
But Joyce interrupted his thoughts, reminding him with a soft growl. "He wasn't only after you, Jace. He was after **us**."
XXXXXXXXXXX
End of Rubbing Off
Author: PhileyX
E-Mail: phileyxback@yahoo.com
Web-site: https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx
Still two more installments on the way. Please, drop me an email. Let me know I'm on to something good here. Thanks!