Title: Happy Girl
Author: Michelle A. Mainer (MainerIA)
Feedback: michelle_mainer@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: DeadAlive
Disclaimer: The X-Files characters are not mine and
are merely borrowed from Fox and 1013 Productions.
Summary: Dipper Fiction
AUGUST 5
9 PM
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
The night was cloudy and warm. The wind whistled
softly in the trees, as Amanda walked along the wooded
path on her parents' property. She knew that her
mother had forbidden her to go out alone at night,
but she didn't really care. Her mother was an old
bat, who only wanted to control Amanda's life.
Besides, at 15, she felt she was almost a grown woman
and fully capable of doing what she wanted. Amanda
followed the path, as it wound around and ended, just
at the water's edge. She sat down on the wooden
bench that was there and watched the moonlight
sparkle on the ripples that played across the
surface. She leaned her head back and closed her
eyes, allowing the soft music of the pond to soothe
her, allowing her to forget about the earlier fight
with her mother. She never heard it come out of the
woods and up behind her.
AUGUST 6
7 AM
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
Agent John Doggett rolled over and looked at his
alarm clock. 7:01 am. He supposed he should get up
and get ready to go to work, but he really wasn't
looking forward to it. Today was supposed to be his
first day of being partnered with Agent Mulder.
After his initial meeting with the man, he wasn't
sure that this "partnership" was going to work at
all. And Scully wouldn't be at work today, because
it was the first day of her maternity leave. John
Doggett decided that today would probably not be a
very good day at all, as he headed for the shower.
7:30 AM
FBI HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON DC.
Agent Fox Mulder usually didn't get to work much
before 8 (or later, depending upon his mood), but
today he decided to arrive early. It was going to be
his first day of being partnered with this, Agent John
Doggett, a man he decidedly did not like, and he
hoped that by arriving at work before Doggett, he
would demonstrate, that he was still in charge of the
X-Files.
Mulder looked around the office. Everything looked
in order, but something felt strange. He shook his
head. Perhaps it was just because he knew Scully
wasn't going to be coming in to work today. Whatever
the feeling was, he had a new X-File on his desk to
start reading. Mulder sat down and propped his feet
up on his desk, picking up the file. He tilted his
chair back and began to read.
A few moments later, Agent Doggett stepped out of the
elevator and walked towards the office that he had
begun to think of as partly "his" in the short time
that he had shared it with Agent Scully. He noticed
that the door was open, even though it was before 8.
He quickened his step and entered the office.
"Good morning, Agent Doggett!" Doggett was slightly
irritated at the fact it was a cheerful Mulder
that had greeted him; but he was also irritated at
himself for hoping that it might have been Scully.
"Morning, Mulder."
Mulder immediately took the initiative. "I've been
looking over our new case here, Agent Doggett, and I
was just getting ready to make our flight
arrangements. It looks as if we're going to be
heading to a small town in Southern Mississippi
today."
"And why's that, Mulder?"
"Here's the file, Agent Doggett. I suggest we get
started on our way. You can read over the file on
the plane."
NOON
SOMEWHERE IN US AIRSPACE
Doggett glanced over at Mulder before opening the
file. Mulder was humming softly and smiling as he
looked out the plane window. Agent Doggett was
slightly grouchy, not having gotten much sleep last
night, and grumbled to himself, as he opened the file
on the case they were going to investigate. There
weren't many facts. A young girl had been murdered
on her parents' property the night before. She was
found in the lake, nude. There were no bruises or
cuts on the body...save for two small puncture wounds
on the back of her shoulder. The only other
distinguishing feature about this murder, is that the
body had been exsanguinated. He looked at the info in the file again.
It didn't say exactly how she died though. Doggett
figured she had probably been drugged and then died,
as her blood was removed, seeing as how there weren't
any other bruises or cuts on the body. If anything,
he thought this murder probably had something to do
with some sort of a ritual. Doggett looked over at
Mulder, wondering if he should tell him that he
didn't really think this was an X-File. Mulder
appeared to be asleep. Doggett shrugged and looked
at his watch...an hour left in the flight, he should
try and get some sleep as well.
3 PM
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
As they got off the plane and headed towards their
rental car, Doggett decided to broach the subject
with Mulder.
"So, Mulder, what do you really expect to find here?"
"Isn't it obvious to you, Doggett? Two puncture
wounds and no blood?"
They got in the car and started driving towards the
small town where the murder had occurred.
"So what is it, Mulder, you trying to tell me this
was a vampire?"
"You got any proof that it wasn't?"
"Well, no, Mulder, I don't...but I think it'll be
easier to prove that it was a human who committed
this murder and not a vampire."
Mulder just rolled his eyes.
The rest of the ride continued in silence.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN DC...
Dana Scully walked out of her doctor's office into
the bright sunshine to hail a cab. This was one of
her last appointments before she delivered. She was hoping for another miracle,
for her baby to be healthy. As Scully reentered her
apartment, she thought about her maternity leave.
She was missing work, even though it was her first
day away. Work had been somewhat of a mixed blessing
ever since Mulder had been found. It was hard
working with Doggett, a man she trusted and respected
now that her partner was back. She almost felt like
she was betraying Mulder by working with another
partner, one that she liked working with. Plus, every
day, she debated whether or not she should tell Mulder
the truth about her pregnancy. Working at least, had
given her something to distract her mind. Now that
she was on leave, she couldn't think of anything
else. It would only be fair to tell him...after all
they had been partners for over 7 years and best
friends for most of that. It seemed strange to her
not to confide in Mulder. Scully was getting a headache from all of
the arguing she was doing with herself and decided to
take a nap.
By the time that Doggett and Mulder arrived at the
small town where their investigation was centered, it
was almost dusk. Doggett thought that they should go
to the motel and begin in the morning, but he knew
that Mulder would not take kindly to his suggestion,
so he just kept his mouth shut. As they drove down
the main street(one of the few that there were),
they noticed a large crowd gathered outside what
appeared to be the jail. Mulder pulled over to the
side of the road and both men got out. Looking
around the crowd, Mulder decided the short man in the
front with the little gold star pinned to his chest
must be the one in charge. He walked up to him and
flashed his badge.
"Agent Mulder, FBI. What's going on here?"
"Nice to meet you, Agent Mulder, I'm Sheriff Muldoon.
Appears that you boys came all the way down here for
nothing."
"What do you mean?" Doggett asked quietly, as he also
produced his badge.
"Well, boys, we seem to have caught the murderer."
"What? Who?" asked Mulder, almost in disbelief.
"A local teenager named James Shannon. He's got a
history of peeping in windows and the such. When we
brought him in for questioning today he confessed to
the murder."
"That so? Did he tell you how he had done it?"
Mulder continued to fire questions at the man.
"Well, no, Agent Mulder, we didn't ask him for any
details. Seeing as how he said he done it, we
figured he must be telling the truth. Why would an
innocent man admit to doing something as horrible as
this?"
Agent Doggett stood back a little, listening quietly
to the whole exchange. It was kind of interesting to
see how Mulder worked.
"Well, Sheriff, seeing as how you already caught the
killer, I don't suppose you'd mind if I went ahead
and had an FBI Agent do an autopsy, would you? I'd
like to have the report to put in our files when I
make my report. And of course, anything they find
could only help your case."
Doggett glanced at Mulder, raised an eyebrow.
"Well, son, I guess you're right. Can't hurt none."
"Thank you for your time, Sheriff. I'll go make the
arrangements," said Mulder as he walked away.
Doggett hurried to catch up to Mulder.
"What's the autopsy for, Mulder?"
"Just covering all of my bases. Why don't we get some
food and try and get some sleep?"
It was about 9 pm when Doggett got back to the motel.
Mulder had decided to go for a walk. Doggett kicked
off his shoes and stretched out on the bed, thinking
about his earlier dinner with Mulder. It had been a
pleasant enough meal. They'd talked about nothing of
great import: sports, cars, and the weather. He'd tried
to get Mulder to talk about the case, but all Mulder
would say, was that it was too early to form a theory.
Doggett was sure that was bull. Mulder's mind had
probably been working 100 mph since he'd first opened
this file. Fox Mulder always gave his all to his
work.
Doggett sighed.
He rolled over and set his alarm for 7 am.
Dana Scully hung up the phone and sighed. She knew
she shouldn't have let Mulder talk her into going to
Mississippi, but when had she ever been able to tell
him no? Besides, all he needed her to do was an
autopsy, so why was she having second thoughts about
going? Scully sighed
again and reached for the phone.
The man in DC listened to the taped phone
conversation again. So, Dana was heading to
Mississippi. He knew she would go, would do whatever
Mulder asked of her. No matter. His plan would
succeed whether in Washington DC or rural
Mississippi. He reached for his phone.
Scully parked her rental car in front of the Sleep E-
Z motel and got out to stretch. She looked at her
watch: 5:05 am. Mulder probably wouldn't be happy to
get woken up so early, but she was here now and
wanted to get the job over with.
She entered the lobby of the motel and looked around.
A chair, a desk, a TV, and a lamp. Scully smirked.
There was no one at the desk for her
to speak to, nor a bell to ring for assistance. The
register, however, was lying on the desk. She turned
it around and immediately spotted his familiar
handwriting. Fox Mulder, room 234. She picked up
her bag and headed for the stairs.
Mulder was dreaming. He and Scully were on a beach
with their child building sandcastles. The day was
warm and sunny. Then he heard a noise, a loud
knocking. He looked around, but couldn't find the
source. Slowly he came awake and realized the
knocking was someone pounding on his door. He opened
one eye and looked at his watch: 5:10.
"Go away" he growled.
"Mulder, it's me. Get up and let me in."
Mulder got up to open the door.
"Scully?"
"Yes, Mulder. Were you expecting someone else?"
"No, Scully...it's just that it's 5am. What are you
doing here?"
"I believe I was called here to do an autopsy."
"At 5am?"
"Mulder look...I've been traveling all night and I'm
not in the mood to play twenty questions. Give me
the file and I'll read it while you go and get a
shower."
"Sure, Scully. Whatever you say."
Mulder returned 20 minutes later looking much more
awake.
"So, Scully, whaddya think?"
"Well, Mulder, looks like an unsolved murder, not
necessarily an X-File."
"C'mon, Scully, a dead body with no blood left and
two puncture marks?"
"Well, Mulder, until I complete my autopsy, I'd
rather not come up with a theory."
"OK, let's go!" Mulder got up and walked to the
door.
"Wait, Mulder" Scully bit her lip and frowned.
"Shouldn't we invite Agent Doggett?"
Mulder frowned.
"Nah, Scully, we should probably let him get some
sleep. He looked pretty worn out yesterday. Why
don't we wake him when we get back with the results?
Then we can talk about the case."
"Fine, Mulder. Let's get moving then."
After dropping Scully off to do her autopsy, Mulder
went across the street to the jail. Mulder
thought sarcastically. Mulder walked up to the front
desk.
"Fox Mulder, FBI. I'd like to see James Shannon
please."
The deputy at the desk looked up and shrugged.
"Sure, sign here, down the hall to the left. Only
occupant we have."
Mulder scribbled his name and walked away. He
stopped at the last cell on the block and looked
inside. He saw a young boy who looked to be no more
than 15 or 16, sitting on the bunk staring at the
floor. He looked up and asked belligerently "Who're
you?"
"Fox Mulder. I'm an agent with the FBI. Mind if I
ask you a few questions?"
"Whatever." He looked at the floor again.
"They tell me that you confessed to murdering that
young girl. Why did you do it?"
James didn't say anything, didn't even look up.
"How did you kill her?"
Still no answer.
Mulder sighed. "Look kid. Talking to me may be your
only chance to help yourself."
James finally looked up. "I don't need your help. I
did it. I should be punished. Now please, go away."
He looked back down at the floor.
Mulder continued looking at James for a minute, then
shrugged and walked away.
Scully stood up straight and stretched, massaging her
back. She really should have told Mulder that she
didn't want to take this case. She didn't need this
stress. It was looking like this might be an X-File
after all. Scully heard the door open behind her.
"Mulder," she began as she turned around. "I hate to
admit it-"
She stopped and stared in shock.
"Krycek!" she hissed, as her brilliant blue eyes
snapped with fire. "What are you doing here?"
Krycek leaned back against the door and smiled,
grimly. "Scully, I know you won't believe me, but
I'm here to help. To give you a warning. They're
coming after your baby. You need to leave-now."
"Who is coming, Krycek? Who wants my baby? Why?"
"I can't tell you. I shouldn't even be here warning
you. Please, Scully, whatever you do, watch your
back...and protect your baby." And with that, Alex
Krycek was gone.
Scully just stared at the door after him.
Doggett awoke with a start, breathing hard and
sweating. He looked at the clock: 6:35 am. He'd
been having the dream about finding Luke in the woods
again. Only this time it was different. It wasn't
Luke who was lying on the ground dead. It was Dana
Scully.
Scully jumped, as her cell phone started ringing.
"Scully" she answered nervously.
"Good morning Agent Scully."
"Agent Doggett." Scully smiled, only part of that
smile from relief. "What can I do for you?"
"Actually Agent Scully, I was just calling to see how
you are doing. Is everything all right?"
Scully frowned.
"I'm fine, Agent Doggett. How are you?"
"Me? I'm fine. I just thought I'd see how you were
enjoying your maternity leave."
Scully snorted, rather inelegantly. "Maternity
leave? Some 'leave.'"
"What do you mean, Scully?"
"Didn't Mulder tell you?" she asked.
"Tell me what, Scully?"
Scully sighed. "Tell you that I'm here in
Mississippi, doing the autopsy for your murder case."
"You're what?"
Scully sighed again. "Yes, I'm here helping on the
case, Doggett. I've been here since 5 am so I could
do this autopsy. Listen...I just finished up. Why
don't I find Mulder and we'll meet you at the hotel
to talk about the case."
"All right, Scully. I'll meet you guys in the
lobby."
Mulder walked across the street from the jail just in
time to meet Scully coming out of the morgue. There
was something in Scully's face, in the way she
walked. She seemed upset.
"Hey Scully. How'd the autopsy go?"
"It was ok, Mulder. I think I'll wait to discuss my
results when we meet with Doggett."
"Any particular reason, Scully?"
"Other than making sure Agent Doggett, as your
partner on this case, stays informed? Nope. I spoke
to Doggett, Mulder. Why didn't you tell him I was
coming here?"
"Well...I guess it just slipped my mind."
"Ok, Mulder."
"So, Scully, what's the plan?"
"We're going to meet Doggett at the motel, so we can
all discuss the case."
Doggett sat in the motel lobby waiting for Scully and
Mulder to show up. He'd be happy to see Scully, but
he knew it was going to be torture to see her
together with Mulder. He knew that she loved Mulder,
but he also knew that in the three months that Mulder
was "dead" he'd come to fall in love with Dana
Scully. Now he'd probably never have the chance to
tell her how he feels.
Mulder and Scully entered the lobby, to see Doggett
staring off into space. thought Scully. Doggett stood up, as Mulder and Scully
approached. There was an awkward moment, as they all
looked at each other without saying anything.
Scully broke the silence. "Mulder, why don't we all
go up to your room to discuss the case?" Both men
nodded and followed her up the stairs.
Scully sat in the only chair in the room, leaving the
bed for the other two to sit on.
"OK. I'll go ahead and start with the results of my
autopsy. You just might be right about this being an
X-File, Mulder. Apparently, the girl died of heart
failure. She had a massive heart attack, although
she had never had heart problems before. As for the
two puncture marks and the blood being removed, that
is a bit more puzzling. I can't figure out how the
blood was taken from the body. The two puncture
marks barely broke the skin. They didn't even get
close to an artery or a vein. And there were no
other wounds on the body."
"So you're saying this girl's blood just disappeared?
It was there and then it was gone?" This from
Doggett, the Eternal skeptic.
"Yes, Agent Doggett, that's what I'm saying. I'm
sorry, but I just can't explain this one."
Doggett grinned. "No apologies necessary, Scully.
If I can't explain some of what I've seen with my own
eyes, I certainly don't expect other people to be
able to."
Mulder watched as the two of them bantered back and
forth for a few minutes.
"So, Mulder, what do you think?"
Scully's question interrupted his thoughts, which was
ok, because his thoughts were disturbing anyway.
"Honestly, Scully," he replied. "I don't have a
theory on this one. I've never heard of blood just
disappearing from a human body before." Mulder
appeared just as confused as the other two felt.
Scully wondered.
"Did you find out anything
when you interviewed James Shannon?"
Mulder shook his head. "Nothing helpful. All he
would tell me, is that he's guilty and he should be
punished for it."
"So what do you think we should do now, Mulder?"
asked Doggett, who had been listening silently for
awhile, watching Scully and Mulder interact. "It
definitely sounds like an X-File, but the locals have
someone who confessed in custody. They seem happy.
Should we pursue it?"
"What do
you think about giving it another 24 hours Doggett?
If nothing happens by then, we'll head back to DC."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. What do you say we
call this meeting quits and go and get some food?"
Mulder grinned. "Now that sounds like an even better
idea."
Scully reached down for the bag she had brought
upstairs earlier. "Listen you guys go on ahead. I'm
going to head back to DC."
Mulder's face fell. "So soon?"
"Yeah, Mulder. After all, I am on maternity leave."
Scully smiled. Both men couldn't help but return her
beautiful smile.
"Have a safe trip, Scully. Make sure you call us
when you get there," Doggett said as he gave her a
quick hug.
Mulder held Scully in a long embrace. "Be careful."
He whispered in her ear.
"I will. See you guys in DC."
Doggett and Mulder watched Scully leave the room.
They weren't the only ones watching Dana Scully's
movements.
As Scully got in her rental car, to head for the
airport, she thought about what had happened while
she was in Mississippi. She was glad to see Mulder
and Doggett attempting to work together...or maybe that
was just for her benefit. She really wasn't worried
about that right now. She was more concerned about
the visit from Krycek. She wondered if she'd made a
mistake, by not telling Mulder or Doggett about his
visit. She was so
lost in her thoughts, that she failed to notice the
black van that was steadily gaining on her.
Although Mulder and Doggett had gone ahead and had
lunch together after Scully left, things were quiet
and a little bit tense. Neither man was sure how to
act towards each other, now that Scully wasn't there
to defuse any potential bombs. Both men were lost in
thought, as they left the restaurant.
Mulder, too, was thinking about the man he was
partnered with.
They were both so lost in thought, that neither of
them realized that they had wandered to the edge of
town, which wasn't a hard feat considering how small
the town was. They continued walking down the road,
until they reached a car parked haphazardly on the
side of the road. The car looked like it had been
beat up pretty good. The bumper was all banged in
and the trunk lid looked like it wasn't going to
close ever again. As they got closer, the car began
to look familiar.
"Hey. Mulder?" The comment from Doggett was so out of
the blue, that Mulder practically jumped.
"Yeah?"
"Look at this car here. Doesn't that look like the
car Scully was driving?"
Mulder stopped at the side of the car and looked at
it. Heck, he didn't really remember. He hadn't been
too interested in her car. But it would be a good
idea to check it out, just in case Doggett was right.
Mulder reached for the door handle to see if it was
unlocked. The door came open easily. Inside on the
front seat was Scully's travel bag, her purse, and
her cell phone...and stains that appeared to be blood.
"Oh shit."
"It's hers, isn't it Mulder?"
"Oh shit", Mulder muttered again, as he sank to the
ground by the side of the car, with his head in his
hands.
Doggett reached for his cell phone. He knew they
were going to need some help.
Assistant Director Walter Skinner's intercom buzzed
just as he was leaving for the night.
"Yes?"
"Sir, Agent Doggett is on the line. He says it's
urgent."
"Thank you." Skinner picked up the phone. "What is
it, Agent Doggett?"
"Sir, I'm not really sure the best way to tell you
this, but Agent Scully is missing."
"What? How? Where? What happened?"
"Well, Sir, Agent Mulder had called Scully out here,
to help us with this case, by doing an autopsy. She
arrived early this morning and did her autopsy.
After our meeting this afternoon, she got into her
rental car, with all intentions of driving back to the
airport and flying back to DC. Agent Mulder and I
were taking a walk this evening, when we found her
rental car on the side of the road. It's pretty beat
up and there's blood inside. And no sign of Agent
Scully."
"What was she doing in Mississippi? She was on
maternity leave!!"
"Well, Sir, apparently Mulder can be quite
persuasive."
"Damn. How long has she been missing?"
"We're not sure, Sir. We found the car 45 minutes
ago. We've called in the local police, the State
Patrol, and the local bureau. So far, no leads."
"How is Mulder taking it?"
"I'd say he's in shock, Sir. He hasn't said anything
since we found Scully's car."
"Ok, Doggett, thanks for calling. I'm on my way down
there."
Scully tried to sit up and look around. She tried to
move her arms, only to find that they were tied
behind her. She tried to open her eyes, but she
couldn't see anything. She figured she'd been
blindfolded. She tried to say something...no luck
there either. It felt like she had something taped
over her mouth. Scully was frustrated. She
could feel the tears seeping out from under the
blindfold.
Scully held her breath as she heard footsteps
approaching and the door opening. She felt hands on
her arms. "It's time Dana. Let's go."
Doggett sat straight up in bed again, in a cold
sweat. He was breathing heavy. He stretched and
rubbed his eyes. Again, the dream. If he didn't
stop having that nightmare, he was going to go crazy
from lack of sleep. The dream was the same as last
time. He's walking through the woods with some other
officers, knows that he's going to find his son dead
on the ground when he gets there. But then, he walks
into the clearing and it's not Luke that's lying on
the ground. It's Scully. She's dead. Her eyes are
open, but they're rolled back into her head. Her
lips are blue and there are marks on her neck. It's
at this point that he wakes up, shaking and
terrified. He shook his head to clear it and went to
get a shower.
Skinner got out of his rental car at the motel and
stretched. He'd been traveling all night. He'd
been on the phone to the local police, the state
police, and the local bureau. Nobody had anything to
report. Now, he wanted to talk to his two agents that
he had down here, and see if they had anything to tell
him. He walked into the lobby and spoke to the man
at the desk. "Which rooms are Agents Mulder and
Doggett in?"
"Rooms 234 and 236."
"Thank you."
Skinner headed for the stairs.
Skinner stopped in front of Room 234 and
knocked...loudly. There was no answer. He knocked
again, this time even louder. The door to Room 236
opened. "Sir?"
"Agent Doggett. I take it, this, is Agent Mulder's
room? Have you spoken to him lately?"
"No sir, not since last night. He seemed ok when I
showed him to his room last night, just quiet. I've
got another key to his room. Let me get it and we
can go in."
Doggett came back with the key.
"Thank you Agent Doggett."
Skinner inserted the key into the lock and swung the
door open. He walked over to the bed, where Mulder
was completely covered up. Doggett leaned against
the doorway.
"Agent Mulder?" Skinner shook Mulder's shoulder.
Again, louder. "MULDER?"
Startled, Mulder sat straight up in bed. "Sir?" He
rubbed his eyes and looked confused. "What are you
doing here?"
Skinner sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm here
to find Scully, Mulder. How are you doing? Doggett
says you haven't said much, since Scully's car was
found."
"I'm ok, Sir. No...I'm not ok. I feel guilty. I
asked Scully down here. I knew she was on leave and
I knew she was in a sensitive situation with her
pregnancy. But I needed her help, I needed her
opinion, I wanted her here. All I could think about
was me. I didn't think about her safety or
protecting her, and now, because of me, she's missing
and something could happen to her or her child. And
it will all be, my fault."
"Agent Mulder, you cannot think like that. You know
that it will not be your fault. Just like it wasn't
Scully's fault, that you were abducted months ago.
Mulder, I need you to help me find Scully. You
aren't going to be any help to me if you're going to
sit in your room and feel guilty. Snap out of this
Mulder."
Mulder just shook his head. "I don't know if I can."
Agent Doggett stepped into the conversation. "Mulder
you're going to have a lot more to feel sorry for, if
we don't get Scully back in one piece. The faster
you snap out of it and help us, the better chance we
have."
"You're right, Doggett. Me sitting around here isn't
getting Scully back to us any sooner. Let me get
dressed and we'll go find her."
Skinner smiled in relief.
Meanwhile, Scully was in a room, lying flat on her
back. She felt as if she was on a table of some
sort. They had brought her in here earlier and given
her a shot in her arm. It hadn't had any effects at
first, but now...she could feel contractions starting.
She thought that it was something to induce her
labor. The contractions began
to intensify and come faster. She was in such pain.
She wanted to scream. She heard that voice again. Calm,
soothing. "It's ok Dana. Everything will be fine.
Calm down. No one is going to harm you...or your baby.
We're just going to take your baby. You'll both be
fine." Scully began to
struggle. She heard a sigh. "Dana, settle down or
I'll have to give you something to knock you
unconscious." She struggled even harder. She was
NOT going to give into whoever these people were.
She was going to do everything in her power to
protect her baby. She felt another needle slide into
her arm. She began getting warm. Her eyes felt
heavy. She felt like she couldn't move. She knew
that she was going to become unconscious, but she was
trying to fight it all the way. "Shhh...Dana. It's
ok. You'll be just fine. Everything will be fine
when you wake up." Slowly, Dana slipped away from
reality. The man smiled. Everything was going as
planned. He looked at the doctor. "You may begin
now Doctor. Please remove the child."
Not sure what else they should be doing to find
Scully, Mulder, Skinner, and Doggett all joined the
manhunt. They were fanning out through the woods by
where Scully's car had been located. So far, no one
had found anything or heard anything. Doggett and
Mulder had completely forgotten about the case that
they had been working on. Their one goal now, was to
find Scully. They had been out in the heat searching
all day long. They'd only taken a break once, to eat
some sandwiches someone had brought out, and then gone
right back to searching. It was nearing nightfall
when they heard a shout. "Assistant Director! Over
here!" The three men took off running through the
woods and towards a clearing. Doggett faltered,
realizing that what he was seeing was eerily similar
to his dream. Skinner turned slightly, looked over
his shoulder. "Doggett! Aren't you coming?"
"In a minute, Sir," Agent Doggett replied, as he said
a quick prayer that his dream was not about to become
a reality.
Mulder was the first one to reach Scully's side.
"Scully! Scully, can you hear me? Are you ok?"
Mulder was frantically searching for some sign of
life. Doggett, in complete fear and unable to look,
had stopped at the edge of the clearing. Someone
called for the paramedics. It was complete chaos.
Skinner knelt next to Scully, felt for a pulse. He
found one, although it was weak.
"It's ok, Mulder, she's still alive." Both Mulder
and Doggett breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The paramedics came running with a stretcher. "It's
ok Mulder." Skinner repeated. "Let them do their
jobs and get her to the hospital."
Scully had been taken to the emergency room and
checked out. She seemed physically unharmed. It
appeared that she had been drugged and that was the
reason she was unconscious. Mulder couldn't help but
interrupt the doctor, as he gave them his report.
"What about her baby?"
The doctor appeared startled. "I'm sorry?"
"Her baby?" Mulder repeated. "How is her baby?"
"Excuse me, sir, I'll be right back." The doctor
hurried back to Scully's room.
Mulder looked at the other two and shook his head.
"He MISSED the fact that she's 9 months pregnant?"
The doctor appeared, as quickly as he disappeared.
"I'm sorry, gentleman, that I didn't catch the fact
earlier. It would appear that sometime recently Ms.
Scully has given birth. She is no longer pregnant."
Mulder glared at the doctor. "What did you say?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but the patient is no longer with
child. It would appear that she gave birth sometime
in the not so distant past."
Skinner thought.
"Is she awake, doctor? May we see her?" Doggett
asked quietly.
"She is awake, but she's still exhausted. Please,
don't push her."
The three men nodded and walked towards Scully's
room.
The other two men hung back by the door, to let Mulder
be the first one to talk to her.
Mulder sat next to Scully's bed and reached for her
hand. She was so pale, she looked almost dead,
especially with her eyes closed. Mulder felt his
heart racing out of fear.
"Scully?" he whispered.
She slowly opened her eyes. When she saw it was
Mulder, she began to cry. "Mulder, they took my baby
away from me."
Mulder's hazel eyes mirrored the sadness in Scully's
blue ones perfectly.
"I know, Scully, I know. It will be ok. I promise,
I will find your baby if it's the last thing I do."
"Really, Mulder?" Scully looked up at the man she
loved so much, hope flickering in her eyes that were
bright with tears.
"Hey...you never gave up hope when I was missing. Don't
give up now. I'll find your baby or I'll give my
life trying." Mulder stood, bent, and kissed Scully
on the forehead. He turned to leave. Scully
grabbed his hand. Mulder turned back around to look
at her.
"Thank you, Mulder," whispered Scully.
Mulder's eyes filled with tears. He nodded and
walked out of the room. Doggett followed, leaving
Skinner alone to talk to Scully.
"Dana," Skinner said as he sat down next to her.
"Walter. What are you doing here?"
"Doggett called when they found your car. Nothing
was going to stop me from coming to find you."
Scully smiled weakly and reached for his hand.
"Thank you."
Skinner nodded, not saying anything as he looked at
the woman who was not only one of his best agents,
but a very close friend as well.
"Do you think Mulder will find the men who took my
child?" Scully interrupted his thoughts.
Skinner shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but I do
know that if anyone can find them, it is Mulder."
Scully nodded. "I hope that you're right, Sir."
There was a knock on the door and Agent Doggett
reentered the room. "Mulder is waiting in the hall
to speak to you, Sir."
Skinner nodded and looked at Scully. "I'll be back
to check on you before I head to DC." He got up and
went to work out a plan of action with Mulder.
Doggett took the seat Skinner had vacated. He had no
idea what to say to Scully. He reached out and
took Scully's hand, wishing with all his heart that
he could take away her pain.
"Agent Doggett?" She up looked at him with eyes that
were so blue, so beautiful, even when they were
swollen and red from crying.
He squeezed her hand. "Yes, Scully?"
"Why aren't you out on the search with Mulder?"
"I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I mean..."
Doggett interrupted. "I understand what you mean.
It's ok. I talked to Mulder. He'd rather work this
case alone and I understand that. Besides, someone
should be here to work the case from your end, in case
you're contacted by the kidnappers."
Scully nodded. "Makes sense. Mulder probably
wouldn't be good company right now anyway. But I
warn you, I won't be pleasant for you to be around
either."
"That's ok, Scully. Believe me, I know what you're
going through. Why don't you try and get some rest."
"You won't leave me?" Scully was suddenly terrified
at the idea of being in the room alone.
"I promise, Scully. I'll be right here the entire
time."
Mulder sat in his car in the parking lot of the
hospital. He had a lot to think about.
Suddenly, the passenger door of Mulder's car swung open,
and a dark, good-looking man, slipped into the seat.
Mulder took one look at the man and reached for his gun.
The other man slowly raised his hands in the air. "Don't
shoot. I've come to help."
"What kind of help could you possibly offer me?"
Mulder growled, still pointing his gun at the other
man.
"Information, brother, about the whereabouts of your
partner's child...your child."
Mulder's eyes snapped fire. "Keep
talking. It just might save your life."
Scully awoke with a gasp. She'd been having a
nightmare about the kidnapping of her baby. She felt
someone holding her hand and looked to see Agent
Doggett asleep in the chair, one hand in hers, the
other on his gun. Scully couldn't help but smile at
the image. Scully prayed, as she drifted back
off to sleep.
Slowly, Mulder put his gun away. "You're sure it's
the Smoking Man?"
"I saw him with my own eyes," replied the other man.
"Damn." Mulder grimaced. "That man will never die,
will he?"
The other man smiled, grimly. "Doesn't appear that
way, does it?"
Mulder looked at the man in the other seat. "So,
Krycek, why come to me now? Why didn't you come
forward and try to stop this? Why didn't you tell me
sooner?" Mulder was getting angrier by the second.
Krycek could sense that and sighed. "I tried to,
Mulder. I followed Scully to Mississippi and I
warned her to get away and to protect her baby."
"Don't you see, Krycek? They had already followed
her here! Her, trying to leave, gave them the
opportunity to attack her! If you were so concerned,
why didn't you stay and protect her?"
"And get myself killed for working both sides? Are
you NUTS? Besides, I was sure that Scully would
confide in either you or that other agent."
"Well she didn't, Krycek!" Mulder took a deep
breath.
"So Krycek, where do we go from here?"
"Start driving. I'll tell you everything I know."
When Scully woke up again, her hospital room was
bright with sunshine. She looked at her watch: 9:00
am. She looked at the chair next to her bed,
expecting to see Doggett. The chair was empty. The
panic began to rise before she could stop it. Then
she noticed her door was open and Doggett was in the
hall talking to Skinner. She sighed with relief.
Scully reached for the phone on the nightstand.
Krycek looked at the ringing phone. Mulder was
asleep in the passenger seat.
Krycek picked up the phone and poked Mulder in the
shoulder. "Mulder! Wake up, your phone is ringing."
Mulder took the phone from Krycek with a muffled,
"Thanks."
"Mulder," he mumbled sleepily.
"Mulder, it's me."
Instantly Mulder was wide-awake. "Scully. Hi. How
are you feeling today?"
"Physically, I'm fine Mulder. How's the case going?"
"I have some leads I'm working on. Nothing concrete
yet. I'm sorry, Scully."
Scully sighed. "I figured as much, Mulder. I just
wanted to check in."
"Scully, I promise you that I will call you as soon
as I have something. I promise. Please, just take
care of yourself. Keep your cell phone with you and
I will call. OK?"
"OK, Mulder. Thanks for trying to make me feel
better." Scully hung up.
Mulder looked at Krycek. "Any way you can make this
car go any faster?"
Scully set the phone back on the nightstand and
sighed. Scully began to cry. Scully put her head down
on her knees and began crying in earnest.
She felt someone put an arm around her shoulders.
She looked up to see John Doggett sitting next to
her. He offered her a tissue. Scully wiped her eyes
and blew her nose. "Thanks." Doggett removed his
arm from her shoulders, suddenly wondering if he'd
overstepped his bounds. "No problem," he replied.
"What were you and Skinner talking about, Doggett?"
Scully asked with interest.
Doggett shrugged. "He just stopped by to see how you
were doing. Kersh called and Skinner had to head
back to DC. He hadn't heard anything new from
anyone. He's unsure of where to go from here."
Scully started laughing uncontrollably. "He's
unsure? I don't know what to do. I don't know if I
should go or stay, sleep or stay awake, eat or not
eat...." Scully broke down crying again. Doggett
opened his arms. Scully leaned into them. Doggett stroked
her hair, gently rocking her back and forth.
"Shh, Scully, it'll be ok. What do you say we get
out of this place, get our stuff, and head back to
DC? Then you can figure out what to do from there."
Scully pulled away and nodded. "OK." She got up and
began to get her clothes together, so she could get
ready to go. She turned back around.
"John?" Doggett looked up, startled.
Scully seemed shy all of a sudden. "Is it OK if I
call you John?"
He nodded. "Of course you can."
"I just wanted to say thanks."
"You're welcome...Dana."
Scully smiled at him weakly and turned around to
finish getting ready to go.
Scully unlocked the door to her apartment and turned
to face the man standing next to her holding her
bags.
"Thanks, John, for bringing me up to my apartment.
It wasn't really necessary."
Doggett smiled down at her. "It's my pleasure. Is
it ok with you, if I check the rest of your apartment,
before I go? I'll feel more at ease if I do."
Scully shrugged. "Sure, why not?" She followed
Doggett into her apartment. And that's when it hit
her. She'd moved into this apartment so there would
be room for the baby. She sunk down on the couch.
She
could feel the tears beginning to build and she
desperately fought them back. She wiped away the few tears
that had managed to escape, as Doggett walked back
into the room.
"Well, Dana, everything appears to be secure. It's
getting late, so I guess I should get home."
"Are you sure you'll be okay to drive home, John?"
Doggett nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay. But you call
Me, day or night, if you need anything at all, ok?"
"You too, Dana. Good night."
Scully made sure to lock the door behind him. She
still didn't feel quite safe, so she drug a kitchen
chair over and placed it under the door knob. Then
she sat down on the couch, too much on her mind to
sleep.
Mulder looked around, but, as it was pitch black and
raining, that didn't give him any clue to his
surroundings. "Where are we?"
Krycek glanced over at Mulder. "Finally awake, hmmm?
We're in Maine."
Mulder frowned, confused. "Why the heck are we in
Maine?"
Krycek shrugged. "Probably on a wild goose chase.
But the best information I can get, has him holed up
near the Maine/Canada border."
"How far away are we?"
"Couple of hours."
Mulder nodded. "Let's get this over with."
Doggett rolled over and looked at his alarm clock:
5:56 am. Doggett shook his head
furiously. Doggett sighed and headed for the
shower.
Krycek pulled the car up in front of a cabin in the
middle of the woods and stopped. Both he and Mulder
got out, drawing their guns as they approached the
cabin. It appeared deserted. Krycek motioned to
Mulder. "I'll take the back," he said quietly.
Mulder nodded to him and stopped at the front door.
He knocked loudly.
"FBI!! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!!" No answer.
Krycek came back around to the front. "There are no
doors or windows on the back."
"What do you think?" Mulder asked. "Want to break
the door down?"
Krycek smiled at this suggestion. "Why not?"
Mulder took a couple of steps back and kicked the
door open. Krycek entered, gun leading. Mulder was
close behind. There was no one in the cabin, and it
appeared no one had been there, for several hours.
"Damn," Mulder cursed under his breath. "How did he
know we were coming?"
Krycek shook his head. "I don't know, but he left
you a note." One piece of paper was on the kitchen
table. It merely read: "Give up, Mulder. You won't
find us."
Mulder turned the table over in his anger. "That
bastard! I will find him!"
Krycek could only imagine what Mulder was feeling.
"So, Mulder, what now?" Krycek asked as casually as
he could.
Mulder's eyes were ice cold as he turned to look at
him. "We find them."
Krycek shivered at the tone in Mulder's voice.
And it took a lot to unnerve Alex Krycek.
Scully awoke to find the sun shining in her eyes.
She sat up and looked around to discover she was in
the living room. Then
she remembered. She sat there thinking for another minute,
unsure of what to do next. Suddenly she nodded.
She got up and headed
for the shower.
At the same time, Agent Doggett was waiting to be
seen by AD Skinner.
"Agent Doggett? He will see you now."
Doggett thanked the secretary and entered Skinner's
office.
"Please be seated, Agent Doggett."
Doggett promptly sat down in front of Skinner's desk.
Skinner looked up from his work. "Have you spoken to
Agent Scully this morning?"
"No, Sir. Have you?"
Skinner shook his head. "No, Agent Doggett, I
haven't. But I heard from Agent Mulder. It appears
that a man named Spender, also known as the Smoking
Man, has taken Scully's child. I'm still not
entirely sure how he came by that information. He
said something about an unlikely source of help. I
do know, that he's not having any luck finding him.
This is our file on the Smoking Man, Doggett."
Doggett picked up the file Skinner handed him.
Skinner continued. "I'd like you to look over the
information and see if you can come up with anything
he or I may have missed."
"Yes, Sir." Doggett turned to leave, but stopped
halfway and turned back around.
"Sir?"
"Yes, Agent Doggett?"
"Will you tell Scully about the call from Mulder?"
Skinner sighed. "No. Not yet."
Doggett nodded and closed the door behind him.
Dana Scully walked purposefully down the bright,
deserted hallway. She was confident that she had
made the right decision.
Scully entered an office and seeing no one sitting at
the secretary's desk, walked straight to the interior
door and knocked.
"Come in," answered the man on the other side.
Scully walked in and sat in front of the man's desk.
"Good morning, Sir."
Skinner looked up from the papers he'd been reading,
startled. "Agent Scully! What are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too, Sir," Scully said with a faint
smile. "I'm here because I'd like to return to
work."
"Already?" Skinner was visibly shocked.
"Yes, sir. I've been thinking about it and I think
that if I stay home, I'll dwell on it and become
depressed. Work was the best thing for me while
Mulder was missing and I think it will be the best
thing for me now." Scully set her mouth in a
determined line and gave Skinner a look.
Skinner was visibly unnerved by the look Scully was
giving him. He tried to maintain his composure. He
cleared his throat. "Well, Agent Scully, if you
think it's the right thing to do, then feel free to
go back to work. But please, if it doesn't work and
you need time off, come ask."
"Thank you, Sir." Scully stood and turned to leave.
"Agent Scully..."
"Yes Sir?"
"Be careful, Agent
Scully."
"I will." Scully closed the door quietly behind her.
Skinner put his head in his hands and said a quick
prayer.
Scully leaned back again the door to Skinner's office
and sighed. She had been very confident in front of
Skinner, but now she was having second thoughts.
She walked away from Skinner's
office and headed towards the basement.
Doggett looked up, startled, as someone walked into the
basement office he thought was, probably, the best
place for him to be working...since he didn't have an
office of his own anymore. Seeing it was Scully, he
quickly shoved the file he was reading in a pile of
papers. He quickly stood.
"Good morning, Scu---Dana."
Scully smiled as Doggett stumbled over what to call
her. "Good morning John."
Doggett cleared his throat, slightly unnerved at
Scully's sudden appearance. "So, Dana, what are you
doing down here? Is everything ok?"
"Everything is as 'ok' as it can be John. I haven't
heard anything from Mulder yet, so I know he doesn't
have any information for me. I needed something to
distract me, so I decided to come back to work."
Doggett looked concerned. "Does Skinner know?"
"Yes, and he's ok with me being back at work."
They were both silent for a moment.
"So, John, what are we working on?" Scully looked at
him expectantly.
"Working on?" "Uh, actually, I
was just going through all of the papers on Mulder's
desk seeing if I could put them into any sort of
order."
Scully looked at Doggett skeptically, one eyebrow
raised. "So, what are you hiding from me John?"
Doggett's eyes opened wide. "What makes you think
I'm hiding something?"
"Is it really necessary, that I explain how I know
you're hiding something from me?"
Doggett shook his head. "No, not really. Listen,
Dana...have you talked to Skinner about your case
today?" Doggett asked, desperately stalling for
time.
Scully frowned. "No. Why? John, if you know
something, you'd better tell me."
"Dana, I really think that you should talk to Skinner
about this."
"Oh, I will." Scully gave him one of those looks
that could bring men to their knees. "But you're
going to tell me what you know...now."
Doggett sighed and avoided Scully's glare. He knew
that he was beat. "Scully, do you know a man named
C.G.B. Spender?"
Scully gasped, her blue eyes widening. "The Smoking
Man? What does he have to do with my case?"
"You have to realize that what I'm telling you is
third-hand information, ok? Mulder apparently has an
informant who told him this Smoking Man has your
baby. Mulder called Skinner and told him and Skinner
confided in me this morning. That's all I know. I
swear. I was just reading Spender's file when you
came in, trying to get an understanding of him."
Scully stood and began pacing the office in her
frustration. "And why were you all keeping it from
me? We are talking about MY child here! Of all
people, John Doggett, I never ever expected you to
keep things from me." Scully marched towards the door.
Doggett stood. "Dana? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see Skinner, Agent Doggett." Scully
slammed the door on her way out.
Doggett sank back down in the chair.
Doggett shook his head and pulled the Smoking Man
file back towards him, hoping to lose himself in his
work.
Scully marched right past Skinner's assistant, who was
shouting after her. "Agent Scully, you can't go in
there! Agent Scully---"
Scully slammed Skinner's door shut behind her.
Skinner was on the phone. "I'll have to call you
back," he said calmly as he hung up.
"Dana. What can I do for you?"
Scully took a deep breath before opening her mouth.
"Well,
Walter, I'll tell you why I'm here. I'm here because
I found out you're withholding information about my
case from me."
Skinner sighed.
"Have a seat, Dana. You're right...I was keeping it
from you, because I wasn't sure how or when to tell
you. I didn't have much information...I still don't.
All I know, is that Mulder called and said that he had
an unlikely source of information that told him, that
Spender had your baby. That's all he would say and
then he hung up. I'm sorry. I should have told you
earlier."
Scully sat listening to Skinner, quietly. "I'm sorry, Sir.
You're right. Just please, next time don't keep
anything from me. I can take it. Not knowing, is
going to be worse, than knowing."
Skinner nodded. "I promise, Dana, next time I hear
something I'll tell you. For now, why don't you go
ahead and go back to work."
"Ok. Thank you, Sir, for not yelling at me for
busting in here like that."
Scully turned and left, Skinner staring after her,
hoping that everything would work out.
Mulder dropped his bag on the floor of the room he
was going to be sharing with Krycek for the night and
plopped on his bed. He had no idea where they were.
He knew that they were in the Midwest somewhere, but
he'd let Krycek drive for awhile, so he wasn't sure
where they'd stopped. He didn't really care though.
All he wanted to do was find the Smoking Man, beat
him senseless, and take Scully's baby home to her.
That wasn't too much to ask, was it?
Mulder looked over at Krycek who was lying on the
other bed, reading through some information he got
from somewhere.
"So, why did you believe me, Mulder?" Krycek asked,
still reading his papers.
Mulder was startled.
"Well, you know me, Krycek, I always believe the
unbelievable."
Krycek laughed. "That's true. It's good to know
that you haven't changed."
Mulder nodded. "You're right...in that regard, I
haven't. What about you, Krycek? Tell me what
you've been doing since you left the Bureau."
Krycek sighed. "Basically
Mulder, I worked for Spender. For awhile. I screwed
up by betraying you and Scully in the first place.
Since I had already lost your trust, I decided to
keep working for Spender and gathering information.
I thought that, if I knew what was going on, I could
protect the two of you. Unfortunately, that didn't
work too well in this instance. Anyway, I stopped
working for Spender about a year ago. I got tired of
all the bullshit. I kept some of my contacts, so I could
get information now and then, but I basically went
into hiding. I didn't want to be involved in
anything. I bought a cabin in the woods out west and
I spend a lot of time there, trying to decide what I
should do with my life."
Mulder's eyes widened.
Both men were quiet then, staring off into space,
thinking their own thoughts.
Miles away, another man, was doing some thinking of his
own. He looked down into the crib he was standing
over. Inside was a beautiful baby girl with red hair
and hazel eyes. The man couldn't help but smile, as
he watched the girl sleep. He reached down and
stroked the child's hair. He turned and went outside to have a
cigarette.
Scully hadn't gone back to work like she was supposed
to, after leaving Skinner's office. Instead, she got
out of the building, as fast as she could, and just
started walking. She was so angry that she needed
someway to work it off. She kept walking, headed
towards her apartment now. She thought, defiantly, as she
unlocked her apartment door. She flung her coat
across the back of the couch and was walking towards
her bathroom to shower, when she noticed the light on
her answering machine was blinking. A jumble of
thoughts raced through her mind. She quickly pushed the PLAY
button.
"Dana. It's your mother. I'm afraid I have some bad
news...." "...Your brother Bill was
coming out here to see us today. He was killed in a
car accident. Dana, please call me when you get this
message...." Margaret Scully was openly crying into
the phone now. "...I love you."
Scully stood frozen to the spot, staring at the
machine in complete shock.
Two days later, on a warm sunny afternoon, Scully
stood next to her mother in a Virginia cemetery,
listening to the priest talk about how Bill was in a
better place now. Scully stared down at the casket,
tears running silently down her face, her blue eyes
sad and distant.
Her thoughts flew to
Mulder, then just as quickly, shifted to Doggett. She
looked around the cemetery. Many of her friends from
the Bureau were there, but not Doggett. Scully had
hoped that he would be there. Scully looked back down at
the casket, wishing with all her heart that she had
someone to comfort her.
John Doggett stood back 50 yards or so from the group
gathered around Bill Scully's grave. He still wasn't
sure if he should approach Scully or not. He
thought. But then there was an answer from that
nagging inner voice. Doggett stood there for another
moment, still unsure, before he began moving forward.
The mourners were beginning to leave. Scully knew it
was time to go. Scully felt her mother's hand on her
arm, urging her to leave. Scully shrugged her
mother's hand off. "Give me a minute, Mom," she
pleaded quietly, her blue eyes still shining with
tears. Her mother nodded and headed towards the car.
Scully closed her eyes, praying for her brother,
remembering all the time she'd spent with him, saying
goodbye in her own way.
Doggett stopped a few feet behind Scully. He didn't
want to interrupt what appeared to be a private
moment. He watched her crumble a handful of dirt
over her brother's grave.
Scully stood and turned around, then saw him standing
there. "John?"
Doggett thought that, maybe, he saw something in her
eyes when she spoke his name. "Dana. I'm so sorry."
Scully nodded and tried to hold back her tears. She
was unsuccessful.
Doggett was unsure what to say, so he just held out
his arms, remembering how he'd comforted her in the
hospital.
Scully gratefully stepped into his embrace, needing
to be comforted by him.
Scully woke early the next morning to the sound of a
phone ringing. She picked up her cordless, only to
realize it was her cell phone ringing. She walked
over to her dresser to pick up her cell phone,
looking at the clock on the way: 6 am.
She prayed, as she answered the phone. "Scully."
"Scully, it's me. I just heard about Bill. I am so
sorry."
She could have cried with relief at hearing Mulder's
voice.
"How are you holding up?" He asked. "Do you need me
to come back and be with you?"
Scully's tears began to fall upon hearing the
compassion and caring in Mulder's voice. "I'm ok
Mulder. You don't have to come back. I appreciate
the offer, I really do, but I need to have you
working my case."
Mulder nodded, even though she couldn't see him. He
understood. He just missed her so much. He wanted
to be with her.
Something suddenly occurred to Scully. "Speaking of
my case, Mulder, I want to know. Who is your
informant?"
Mulder cleared his throat. He'd really been hoping
that she wouldn't ask that question. "Um, actually
Scully, it's Krycek."
His announcement was met with shocked silence on the
other end of the phone. "Scully?" He was worried at
the silence.
"Krycek, Mulder? Alex Krycek? Why? How do you know
he's not involved? Maybe he's feeding you false
information to keep you from the truth!" Mulder
could hear the anger in Scully's voice.
"I know, Scully, I know. Believe me, I don't like
this anymore than you do. But at this point, he's
the only lead I've got. Don't worry. I will find
your baby."
Scully sighed. She knew there was no arguing with
Mulder. "Be careful, Mulder, ok?"
"You bet, Scully. Look, I gotta go. We're heading
out. Call me if you need me, ok?"
"I will. Bye Mulder." Scully looked at the phone
sadly, as she hung it up.
Scully went over to her bed and crawled back under
the covers, hoping against hope, that she'd be able to
fall asleep. But her mind wouldn't let her. Scully turned over
and buried her face in the pillows, allowing the tears
that she'd been fighting for so long, to flow freely,
crying until she exhausted herself to sleep.
Scully was dreaming. She had pulled her car up in
front of a beautiful old home with a large porch.
There were flowers all over the front yard and a
white picket fence. There was a child's playground
set up next to the basketball hoop. She knew that
this was her house. She got out of the car and
walked towards the front door. A man opened it as
she came up onto the porch and held his arms out to
her. "Welcome home, Dana." He whispered, as she
returned his embrace. "Mommy! Mommy!" yelled the
little girl, who came racing down the hall towards
her. "Hi, Sweetie! How are you?" She asked, as she
scooped the little girl up.
Then her alarm clock went off.
Scully rolled over and turned it off, looking at the
time as she did: 8:00 am. Scully lay in bed for
another minute thinking of her dream, then got up to
make coffee. She sat at the kitchen table with her
cup, staring off into space. She was thinking about
how precious life was, how she wished she had a
normal life and someone to share it with.
Someone else was also thinking, about how nice it
would be, to have a normal life. John Doggett was
sitting on the front porch of his home, drinking his
coffee, and reflecting on his past. Being so close
to Scully, seeing her pregnant, had brought back so
many memories for him. Memories of a time when he
was in love and felt like he was on top of the world.
Memories of being a father, having someone who loved
him unconditionally. And memories of the day it had
ended. The day he found Luke and knew he could never
have his son back. His wife had left shortly after
that. His whole world had collapsed on his head.
He'd thrown himself into his work, anything to
escape. And now? Doggett sighed.
For days, he'd been struggling, over whether or not he
should tell Scully how he felt. He wanted to tell
her now, but he was afraid it was too soon and she
would reject him. He knew how she felt right now and
knew how easy it was to make irrational decisions in
this situation. But he also knew how precious each
day was and was scared that if he waited his chance
would be gone forever. "What should I do?" Doggett
asked himself out loud. He shook his head and stood
to answer the ringing phone.
"John Doggett."
"John. Hi. It's Dana," a voice said softly.
Doggett's smile could have lit an entire stadium.
"Good morning, Dana. Everything ok?"
"No. Everything isn't ok. I was just sitting here
thinking about everything and I needed someone to
talk to, and I didn't know whom else to call. I
just-"
John interrupted her, speaking softly and soothingly.
"It's ok, Dana. I know how you're feeling. I'm glad
that you called me to talk about it, instead of
keeping things bottled up inside you. When I lost
Luke, I was unable to talk...to anyone, not even my
wife. I was so angry...with the world, with God, with
the man who took my son. But even more than that, I
was angry with myself. I should have been there for
him. I should have been able to protect him. He was
my son."
Dana was truly touched, not only by the emotional
undercurrent raging in John's voice, but also by the
very fact that he had confided in her. She knew that
this was a part of his life that he hardly ever
discussed with anyone.
They were both quiet for a moment. Dana was unsure
what to say, what words to use, to tell him how much
it meant to her, for him to confide in her. She
wanted to tell him how grateful she was to have him
to talk to, but the words seemed stuck in her throat.
On the other end of the phone, John was thinking back
to the time when he lost Luke. He thought back to
the week he had spent locked in his house, with the
phone unplugged. He didn't remember much of it.
He'd spent too much of that time drunk. He'd been so
angry and hadn't known how to deal. He remembered
how Monica had come and broken in his front door and
told him that enough was enough. She had dragged him
out of the house, forced him to get over his misery.
And it had worked. She had made him realize that he
wasn't in it alone, that people were there for
him...that life was worth living. And he wanted to be
there like that for Dana, more than anything in the
world.
John broke the silence. "If you aren't doing
anything today, Dana, maybe you'd like to get out of
the house and spend some time together."
"John, you don't have to give up your weekend to
spend time with me. I'll be ok. I'll read or watch
some TV or something." As much as she wanted to
spend time with him, she didn't want him to feel like
he had to.
Doggett shook his head on the other end of the phone.
He looked out the
window. It was a beautiful day outside, bright and
sunny. The kind of day to show Scully that life is
still worth living. "Actually, Dana, I was thinking
of going to a park today. And it would be a lot more
fun if I had someone to go with me. When I start
talking to myself in public places, people kind of
look at me funny."
Scully smiled.
"Well, we wouldn't want people thinking the FBI
hires lunatics, now would we? Should I meet you
there?"
"I'll come and pick you up. How does an hour sound?"
"I think I can be ready in an hour."
They both hung up, bright smiles on their faces.
Scully hurried to get ready, her mood already
brightened by the prospect of spending a day outside
of her apartment...a day with John Doggett.
True to his word, John pulled up in front of Dana's
apartment building exactly 59 minutes later. Dana
laughed, as she came out the front door. "You're a
minute early."
John couldn't help but smile at her good mood.
"Yes, well, guess that gives us more time to spend
together. Come here."
Dana walked over to John wondering what this was
about.
"Where we are going today, Dana, is a surprise. So
you either have to promise to keep your eyes shut the
entire time or I'm going to have to blindfold you.
OK?"
Dana giggled, looking younger and probably the most
alive that John had ever seen her.. "Ok, I'll keep
my eyes closed. No need to blindfold me."
"All right then, let's go." John took her hand and
helped her up into his truck before going around and
getting in on his side. He looked at her, as he
started the truck. She was watching him intently,
her blue eyes alight with happiness. He tried to
look sternly at her. "Close your eyes, Dana." She
laughed at him trying to be stern, knowing that it
was all a show, but leaned back and closed her eyes,
hoping that the ride wouldn't be very long.
They had been driving for so long that Dana had
actually fallen asleep. About 3 hours after they had
left her apartment, John pulled the truck to a stop.
He looked at where they were and prayed that she
would like the surprise. He glanced over at her
sleeping, her head resting against the window. John reached over and gently
touched her arm. Immediately she was awake and, of
course, forgot to keep her eyes shut.
"John, where are we?"
"Jersey." He couldn't help but smile. She hadn't
seen the sign for the "park" yet.
"Jersey. Why are we in Jersey?"
"Well...I said I'd take you to a park." With that, he
pointed at the sign.
Dana read the sign out loud. "Six Flags Great
Adventure? John?"
He had to laugh. "Well...I didn't say I was taking you
to a normal park."
She started smiling.
Dana turned and looked at him, excitement flashing in
her bright blue eyes. "Well, let's go! I haven't
been to one of these since I was a kid."
They got out of the truck and she grabbed his hand,
eagerly pulling him along behind her through the
gates that marked the entrance to the park.
It was mid-afternoon and they'd stopped to get some
ice cream. They were sitting on the bench, each too
busy trying to eat their ice cream before it melted
to say anything. Doggett couldn't stop grinning. He
could not remember the last time he had had this much
fun. Scully's enthusiasm had been contagious. They
had ridden almost every ride possible. Scully wanted
to go on the water rides after they ate their ice
cream. John really didn't care for water rides, but
he knew he couldn't tell her no, so he had resigned
himself to the idea.
After they finished their ice cream, they sat on the
park bench for another minute. John reached over and
took Dana's hand in his. She looked at him, surprise
evident in her eyes. He wondered if he was making a
mistake, but she scooted closer to him on the bench
before pulling her hand back so she could reach for
the park map to check out the water rides.
"So, John," she began as she leaned her head back
into the crook of his arm, "It looks like there are 6
water rides in the park. I think we should start
with the Tidal Wave. What do you think?" Dana
looked up at him and smiled at the look of
resignation on his face. He had told her earlier
that he didn't want to go on the water rides, but she
was hoping to talk him out of it. "Unless, of
course, you'd rather not ride them? I'm sure that I
could find someone in line who wouldn't mind sitting
next to me on the rides."
John tightened his arm protectively around her.
He sighed. "No, I don't think
that's necessary. I'll ride the water rides with
you."
Dana jumped up, her face showing pure happiness.
"Let's go! It's right over here."
John grinned as he stood up and followed her over to
the ride.
It was. The ride was a blast. It was like riding a
roller coaster in the water. By the time they got
off the ride, they were both completely soaked. Dana
stood next to the ride wringing the water out of her
hair, John trying to shake the water out of his eyes,
when they noticed people were staring at them and
pointing. Trying to figure out what was going on,
John looked down at Dana. He almost couldn't stop
himself from laughing. She had a white T-shirt on.
Dana followed John's glance and her face immediately
went bright red as she turned and tried to hide
herself from view.
"Oh my God. I can't believe I didn't think of this
before getting on that ride!" John tried not to
grin, as she was so obviously embarrassed. He had a
long sleeve shirt tied around his waist, so he took
it off and handed it to her.
"Here. Put this on. It should help."
Dana looked up at him gratefully. "Thanks, John." She
Said, as she quickly wrapped his shirt around her.
She couldn't help but notice, as she put it on, that it
smelled of him. She could still feel people
looking at her and thought that perhaps it was time to
go. The park was going to be closing soon anyway.
Scully looped her arm through John's and looked up at
him. "I think I've ridden enough rides for today.
How about you?"
John smiled down at her. "Sounds good to me. Why
don't we go get something to eat before we head
home?"
Dana nodded and they walked out of the park arm in
arm.
It was evening and they'd gone to a fast food
restaurant to get some burgers and were sitting
outside on a bench eating them.
"John?" He turned to look at her.
"Hmm?" He asked inquisitively.
On impulse she reached over and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you for today. It was exactly what I needed."
He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, for
as long as she would let him. It felt so right.
"You're welcome Dana." They finished the rest of
their meal in companionable silence then got back on
the road. It was late when they got back to her
place.
Dana looked at him, unsure of herself all of a
sudden. She sat there for so long that John got out
of the truck and went around to her door, opening it
for her. "C'mon. I'll walk you upstairs."
She took his hand, still unsure of what to say, and
let him lead her up the stairs. At her door they
both paused. He was as afraid as she was, of making
the wrong move. Preferring to err on the side of
caution, he bent down and kissed her lightly on the
cheek. "Good night, Dana."
She smiled at him, glad that she hadn't had to make a
decision. "Good night, John."
He gave her hand a squeeze and turned and walked
away.
John knew that Christmas would be a lonely time for
Dana. It was a holiday that had failed to be
enjoyable for him since Luke had died. He knew that
she was supposed to go to her mother's house, but
that she didn't want to have to endure questions
about Mulder, whom she hadn't heard from since
August, or her still missing child. And so, John came
up with a plan. He'd invite her to spend Christmas
at his house. It would be just the two of them,
drinking cocoa and watching old movies. They'd
become close friends since their trip to Jersey, but
things hadn't progressed any farther than that. John
was hoping things would change soon.
It was about a week before Christmas and John and
Dana were in the office finishing up their report for
the last case they'd worked. It had been about
children being murdered and it had been very tough on
both of them. They'd finished the first part of the
report and were sitting, taking a break, lost in
thought, before writing down their conclusions.
John broke the silence. "Dana?"
She looked up. "Yes?"
"I was wondering...I know this is short notice, but
would you like to spend Christmas with me? It won't
be anything fancy. Just you and me, watching TV and
drinking cocoa. What do you say?" He looked at her
hopefully.
Dana just sat there, with her mouth open slightly.
They had been spending more time together outside of
work since their trip to Six Flags. In the fall,
she'd helped him plant flowers for the following
spring, so his yard wouldn't look so much like a
"Marine's yard," as he'd called it. Then he'd gone
with her to help her buy a car. And just last week
he'd helped her pack up the nursery and turn it into
a guest bedroom. She looked back up at John, who was
still watching her expectantly. "I'll bring
dessert." John let out the breath he hadn't known
that he'd been holding. "Great. How does noon
sound?" She smiled. "That's fine with me."
Grinning widely, they both returned to finishing up
their report.
Christmas morning, Dana woke up bright and early. She
almost felt like a kid again, she was so excited
about going over to John's house. She was hoping
that maybe today, she'd get up the courage to tell
John about her feelings for him. It had taken her a
long time to admit her feelings. Before she'd been
able to admit them, she'd had to let go of Mulder.
It had been a very hard battle, but finally she was
at peace with the fact that he and her child were
probably gone from her life forever. She had given
up hope sometime after Thanksgiving. She hadn't
heard from Mulder for 3 whole months by then. She and
John had spent an entire week in October doing
nothing but trying to track Mulder, Krycek or Spender
and had come up completely empty-handed. Even
Skinner seemed to have given up hope.
Shortly after 11, Dana got into her car and headed
over to John's house. She had had no idea what to
get him for Christmas and so had fallen back on the
standard "what to get any guy for Christmas":
clothes. She had knitted him a dark blue sweater
that she thought would complement his eyes. It had
been ages since she'd knitted, but she thought that
it had turned out all right, if she did say so
herself.
John met her at the door with a cup of cocoa. He
kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Merry Christmas,
Dana."
She grinned as she took the cocoa, one of her
favorite things ever. "Merry Christmas to you too,
John." He was wearing a Santa Hat and an apron that
said, "Kiss the Cook."
She pulled out her gift for him, from behind her
back. "Where should I put this?"
"In here," he replied as he led her into the living
room. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace
and he had set up an enormous tree by the front
window.
"John it's gorgeous!" she exclaimed pointing at the
tree.
He blushed, slightly embarrassed at the attention.
"Why don't you sit in here and relax, while I finish
up our meal?"
She nodded and sat down on the couch so that she
could watch the fire as she sipped her cocoa. A few
minutes later she heard John call out from the dining
room. "Dinner!"
Dana gasped when she got to the doorway. The table
had a white lace tablecloth and lit candles on it.
John had also strung white Christmas lights around
the room giving it an ethereal glow. "Wow," she
whispered.
He walked to the table and pulled out a chair. "Your
dinner awaits, Madam." She smiled, as she walked over
to the offered seat. The meal looked wonderful. He
had made baked ham, sweet potatoes, and green bean
casserole. She had brought banana pudding for
dessert.
After the meal, they decided to go back into the
living room to open gifts. They both sat on the
couch, sitting close together, but not quite
touching. After some friendly arguing over who would
go first, Dana finally convinced John to open his
present. He unwrapped his gift slowly, knowing that
she was anxious to see his reaction. When he pulled
the lid off, his mouth dropped open. "My God, Dana,
it's wonderful," he said as he pulled the sweater
out. "Did you make this?"
Now it was Dana's turn to blush. "Yeah, I did," she
whispered softly.
He looked at her, love shining clearly in his eyes.
"This is the best present I've ever received." Then
he pulled a small rectangular box from behind his
back. "Now, you open mine." He wasn't sure how she
was going to react to what he had bought.
Now it was her turn to prolong the suspense, by slowly
taking the bow and paper off the box. She was
surprised to see that she had unwrapped a velvet
jewelry box. She opened the lid and gasped. Inside
was a sapphire and silver bracelet. In the middle of
it were silver letters spelling "I LOVE YOU." She
lifted it out of the box and put it on her wrist and
then just stared at it sitting there, glimmering on
her arm. Nobody had ever given her anything like
this before, in her entire life. It made her feel
special...and beautiful.
John was watching her expectantly.
When she looked up at John again, there were tears
shimmering in her eyes. Finally she broke the
silence.
"I love you too," she whispered as she leaned over
and wrapped her arms around him.
January 2, 2002
Agent John Doggett walked down the dim corridor to
his basement hallway, whistling softly as he went.
He was remembering the week after Christmas, in
particular the conversation that he and Scully had
had regarding Mulder. Doggett had been afraid to
believe that Scully really loved him, until this
conversation.
They'd been sitting on the couch at Doggett's house,
listening to the fire crackle in the fireplace. It
was snowing softly outside and it was very cozy to be
sitting in front of a warm fire. Scully had asked
John about his past and he'd been telling her about
the time when Luke had died and then his wife had
left him. Doggett decided that it was now or never
and so he asked her, "What about Mulder?"
Scully had looked up at him, surprise and slight
confusion evident in her eyes. She had thought that
Doggett had believed that she loved him, but then she
did understand. After all, it had been obvious that
she'd been in love with Mulder. It was natural for
him to want to be reassured that she was over Mulder.
"What do you want to know, John?"
"What about your feelings for Mulder?" Hope and fear
were waging a battle in Doggett's blue eyes, as he
looked down at her.
Scully reached over and took Doggett's hand. "I will
always have feelings for Mulder, John. He was the
center of my life for many, many, years. He was also
the father of my child." A look of sadness crossed
Scully's face as she mentioned the child that she had
never seen. "But I've come to terms with that. I
realize that Mulder will probably never return...and if
he did, he's not ready to settle down. I love him
dearly, but I need more than he could have ever
offered me. I need you, John Doggett. I need your
strength and your stability. I will always love
Mulder, but you're the one I want to be with." She
reached up and pushed a lock of hair away from his
forehead. "I love you," she whispered.
He leaned back and looked into her eyes. He could
see the love shining from her eyes and knew she was
telling the truth. It wasn't that he doubted that
she loved him, he just needed to hear it from her.
He needed to know that Mulder was no longer a threat
to him. Looking down at her, it dawned on him that
he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this
woman. He slowly leaned forward until his lips
brushed hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck
and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.
With a shake of his head, Doggett realized that he was
getting bothered by his memory and should stop there,
since he had to go to work and be professional now.
He reached for the keys in his pocket, so that he
could unlock the door to his office, when he noticed
that there was a piece of paper taped to the door.
Frowning, he reached up and tore it down when he saw
that it had his name on it. He opened his office
door and carried the piece of paper over to his desk.
He sat down and took the lid off his coffee cup to
let it cool a bit before opening the note. There
were only three lines to the letter:
My office.
9 am.
AD Skinner.
Doggett stared at the letter, as if he could get more
meaning from those three lines. Hearing someone walk
down the hallway towards his office, he quickly
stuffed the note in the pocket of his jacket and
pulled a file towards him.
Agent Dana Scully was in a great mood, as she made her
way to the office for her first day of work since
Christmas. She thought with a smile
on her face. Christmas this year had been wonderful.
It seemed as if maybe things were finally going to
work out. Her relationship with John seemed to be
getting off to a great start. They had spent most of
the week together, alternating between spending time
at his house or her apartment. And they had talked
the entire time...about anything and everything. Scully smiled, as she stepped off the
elevator into the basement hallway. She felt
something brush against her wrist and glanced down at
the bracelet John had given her.
She opened the office door and saw Doggett sitting at
his desk, feet propped up, reading a file. She had a
fleeting memory of seeing Mulder sit like that, so
many times, and shrugged off the twinge of guilt that
she felt, as she sat down at her desk, the one that
had been their Christmas present from Skinner.
"Morning, John." She greeted as she pulled her coffee
towards her, to warm her chilled fingers.
He looked up and smiled at her. "Morning, Dana."
"So what're we doing today?"
"Well...I've got about 6 files for us to go through...Man
found at bottom of lake, woman who sees death, you
know, the usual."
Scully raised an eyebrow at his tone of voice.
"Anyway, why don't you take half and I'll take half
and see if any are worth our time."
Scully nodded. "Sure, why not. Give me the
interesting ones, ok?"
It was Doggett's turn to raise his eyebrows. "But I
thought all the cases sent to this office were
interesting ones?"
Scully laughed and took the files he held out to her.
"Whatever," she replied as she settled back and began
reading.
A short time later, Doggett set down the file that he
was reading and sighed.
Scully looked up at him from the file she was
reading. "Everything ok, John?"
Doggett nodded, wondering briefly if he should tell
her where he was going. Remembering what had
happened last time he had kept something from her, he
decided he'd better tell her. He just thought he'd
put it off for a little bit longer. "Find anything
interesting to read there, Dana?"
She smirked at him. "Well I was reading about the
man who was found at the bottom of the lake. It was
kind of interesting, that even though he'd been there
for about two weeks, he never floated to the top,
even though he wasn't being held down by anything.
But well, I hate autopsying bodies that have been in
the water for that long. So we'll put that in the
'To be investigated when there is nothing else to do
file'" She said, as she shoved it in the bottom desk
drawer which was already overstuffed with files. She
picked up another file and held it up in the air.
"This one, on the other hand, is much more
interesting. It's about a little 9 year old girl who
claims that she sees dead people."
Doggett snorted. "Sounds like a good movie plot to
me."
Scully grinned at that. It did, after all. "Yeah,
I'll agree with you there. However, I wouldn't have
to do any autopsies for this case. And well...the kid
lives in Maui, so I think we should go."
Doggett stood up to go to his meeting, immediately
knowing he would be preoccupied by thoughts of Dana,
in a bikini, on the beach. He cleared his throat.
"Well, unless you find something more interesting in
those other files, I'm all for going to Maui. But
right now I have a meeting with Skinner to attend."
Scully frowned, confusion evident in her blue eyes.
"A meeting with Skinner? About what?"
Doggett shrugged, plainly as confused as Scully. "I
have no idea. I found this note on the door
when I opened the office this morning." He explained,
as he took the note from his jacket pocket and handed
it over for her to examine.
Her brow furrowed, as she looked at it, but she didn't
get any hidden meaning from reading it. "Do you want
me to go with you? What if it's about my case?" she
asked.
"If it's about your case, I'll call down to the
office and have you come up, ok? So while you're
waiting, how about making those travel plans to
Maui?" He suggested, with a devilish grin on his face.
She blushed slightly at the look in his eyes, but
returned his grin nonetheless. "You're on."
Doggett walked out the door, sauntering slightly and
humming under his breath.
He was freezing his butt off sitting out here. It
was COLD in Montana in January. Really cold. And he
hated stakeouts. He wanted to just go inside and
bust the door down and get it over with, but Krycek
was right. Going in like the Marines was not going
to solve anything. Besides, they didn't know for
sure if the Smoking Man really was the one holed up
in this cabin in these woods. So they were doing a
stakeout. He sighed,
as he thought about Scully. He hadn't called her
since August. Part of that, was because he'd lost his
cellular phone, somewhere along the way. But part of
it, was because it was easier for him to keep going, if
he didn't hear her voice, didn't hear the longing she
felt. He knew it was selfish to not call her, but he
didn't have anything to tell her. And he felt that
feeding her false hopes was cruel. He just hoped
that she would understand when he came home. He
needed her to still be there for him, to understand.
He sighed again, rubbing his eyes, as he leaned back
against the tree. He looked over at Krycek, who was
standing about 50 yards away, involved in a deep
conversation on his phone. He thought that Krycek
must have a lady friend that he'd left behind, from
the bits and pieces of conversation that drifted
towards him on the wind. And just yesterday, when
they'd gone into town for supplies, Krycek had bought
a postcard to send to someone in Denver. He had been
really confused about why Krycek had thought it
necessary to buy a postcard with a buffalo on it, but
whatever. What Krycek did was his own business. He
didn't pry into Mulder's business and Mulder
certainly wasn't going to ask him to explain a
postcard. Mulder was still amazed that Krycek had
stuck with the search as long as he had. He knew
that Krycek was dying to go home; he'd hinted it
several times. But, he also knew, that Krycek was
going to do whatever it took to get Scully's baby
home to her. And for that, Mulder was eternally
grateful. He'd come to consider Alex Krycek a friend
in these past few months and would miss that
friendship when they parted ways. Mulder sighed
again and looked at the light glowing in the cabin
window. It was going to be a long day.
Doggett didn't see Skinner's assistant anywhere, so
he walked over to the inner door of the office and
knocked softly.
"Come in," a voice answered from inside.
He opened the door slowly and walked inside.
"You wanted to see me, Sir?" He asked as he took a
seat in front of AD Skinner's desk.
Skinner put down the papers he was reading and looked
up. "Yes, Agent Doggett, I did want to talk to you.
I have a case that I need for you to work on."
"A case?" Doggett asked puzzled. "An X-File, Sir?"
Skinner shook his head. "Not really. It may have
something do with Agent Scully's case."
"Then why isn't Agent Scully up here? No offense,
Sir, but you know that I'm not going to keep anything
from her anymore."
Skinner nodded. "I realize that, Agent, but I'm not
sure that it has anything to do with Agent Scully's
case. As you know, I've had flyers of Mulder,
Krycek, and Spender posted all across the country and
yesterday I had a call from someone in Montana
claiming to have seen the Smoking Man. I'd like for
you to go out there and investigate it."
Doggett shook his head. "No."
Skinner was stunned. "What did you say?"
Doggett was very firm in his response. "I said no.
If I go, Agent Scully will be going with me. She is
my partner and I refuse to work a case without her.
If you don't want her to know about it, you'll have
to send someone else."
Skinner sat in silence, staring at the Agent in front
of him. He knew that Doggett and Scully had become
close friends, probably more than friends, but he
never expected this. If anything, he would have
thought that Doggett would have jumped at the chance
to help Scully.
Doggett sat there, returning AD Skinner's stare.
Doggett was trying to
convince himself that he was doing the right thing by
not going, that it would be better if he stayed with
Dana, that he probably wouldn't find anything in
Montana anyway.
Skinner sighed and broke the silence. "Well,
Doggett, if that's the way you feel, I'm not going to
force you to go. I understand, if your answer to this
request is also no, but would you please keep this
conversation from Agent Scully? I would hate to feed
her false hopes. You're right, it's probably
nothing."
Doggett stood. "I'll make no promises about keeping
this conversation from my partner, Sir. I'll think
about it and, if I think it's best, I'll not tell
her."
Skinner nodded. "I understand."
Without another word, Doggett left the room and
closed the door behind him.
"Unbelievable!" Scully exclaimed as she slammed down
the phone. She turned to see Doggett enter the
office. "Well, there goes our trip to Maui!
Apparently the FBI has decided to do an internal
audit to see if we are spending our travel funds
'wisely.' So we can't go anywhere out of DC until
they're done." Scully frowned as she dropped back
into her chair and threw the file in a desk drawer.
Looking up at Doggett's face, she noticed he seemed
preoccupied.
"What was your meeting with Skinner about, John?"
He had sat down at his desk with his face in his
hands. He looked up at her question. "Nothing."
Scully rolled her eyes. "You know that I can tell
when you're lying to me right, John?"
He just looked at her, unsmilingly. "Yeah. Sorry.
I just don't want to talk about it right now, ok?"
He pulled a stack of files towards him, signaling the
end of the conversation.
Scully sighed
heavily and pulled open the desk drawer with the "To
be investigated when there is nothing else to do"
files. Scully flopped open a file and began
reading about a man who ate metal.
Doggett glanced over at Scully, who seemed to be
absorbed in the file that she was reading.
Doggett sighed, completely frustrated by the fact
that Skinner had confided this information in him.
He knew that Scully deserved to know, but he didn't
want to be the one to tell her. He didn't want to
shatter what they had together. Doggett slammed down
the file he was reading and abruptly stood.
Scully looked up at him, raising an eyebrow but not
saying a word.
Doggett spoke, his voice soft but gruff. "Let's go
get some lunch and talk."
Scully nodded, closing her file, as she stood and
reached for her jacket.
He reached over and took her hand, as they walked out
of the office together, closing the door behind them.
Doggett knew of a little coffee shop and diner that
was off the beaten path and thought that it would be
a good place for them to go for lunch. It was a
great place to eat, but generally deserted, as not
many people knew about it. He didn't want to tell
Scully about his meeting with Skinner when there were
lots of people around, just in case. He thought that
he was beginning to know her, but he had no idea how
she was going to react to this information.
The waitress took their order almost as soon as they
were seated. Scully ordered a salad and diet coke,
Doggett a hamburger and fries.
As soon as the waitress left, Doggett reached over
and took Scully's hand. He took a deep breath before
beginning. "When I told you my meeting with Skinner
this morning was about nothing, I lied. Apparently
there has been a sighting of the Smoking Man in
Montana. Skinner wanted me to go out there and
follow up on this sighting. He didn't want you to
go, he doesn't want you to know about it, because,
like me, he thinks it's a wild goose chase."
Scully stared at him, unmoving, no emotion visible on
her face. "What did you tell him?"
Doggett had to look away from her. He couldn't stand
seeing her like this. "No. I told him there was no
way in hell was I going to work a case without my
partner."
Scully's grip tightened on his hand.
Doggett looked back over her, amazed at not seeing
anger in her face. He was seeing...gratefulness?
Thankfulness? He couldn't begin to describe what he
was seeing.
"It's ok, John. I never expected you to take on my
case, running all over the country searching for
answers. That's something more suited for Mulder."
A brief flash of sadness crossed her face at the
mention of Mulder. She shook her head to stop the
memories before they could begin.
Doggett was stunned. "You're not mad at me? Don't
you want to go out there?"
Scully shook her head. "No. I...I want the answers,
John, but it's been too long. For me to go out there
Now, would be for me to reopen wounds, that I've tried
so hard to let heal. It's been almost 5 months.
Surely, if good news was coming, I would have
received it by now."
Right then, the waitress arrived with their lunch.
Not knowing what to say to each other, they ate the
rest of their meal in silence, both wondering if they
would ever find the answers.
Hundreds of miles away, another man was also wondering
if he would ever find the answers. He shifted
against the tree that he was leaning on. Both of his
legs had fallen asleep, but he wasn't about to get up
and move.
He glanced over at the man sitting next to him, as the
cabin door opened. They'd been working together for
so long, it was almost as if they could read each
other's thoughts.
The first man wanted to go for it, to see what was
in there. The second man shook his head almost
imperceptibly, looking up at the sun.
The first man nodded, and leaned back against the
tree. He then did something he thought that he had
given up long ago: he prayed.
After work that night, Scully had gone back to
Doggett's place with him. He'd promised her that
he'd cook dinner for her tonight and she was
interested to see what he could come up with. She
already told him that it had to be something
different than he had made at Christmas. She barely
managed to get some coffee made before he shooed her
out of the kitchen, telling her he needed complete
silence to concentrate on his "culinary expertise."
She shrugged and took her cup of coffee into the
living room. Doggett had this huge black leather
recliner in his living room that she had absolutely
fallen in love with. Not only was it comfortable, it
was big enough for her to curl up in, and it smelled
faintly of him. She smiled, as she set her coffee on
the end table next to the chair and leaned over to
pick up some of Doggett's magazines off of the floor.
She quickly tossed that one
on the floor. That
one might have shocked her, if she hadn't been used to
Mulder's collection of magazines. The last
magazine that she came to was People, an issue
claiming to have all the info on the hottest
bachelors in America. She thought, as she
glanced towards the kitchen. She smiled to herself, as she
opened the magazine and started flipping through it.
Doggett stood silently in the living room doorway,
watching Scully thoughtfully. He loved the way the
light from the fireplace shimmered in her hair. It
almost made her hair look as if it was on fire. She
was curled up in his recliner, flipping through a
magazine. He still couldn't believe that she was
here with him, that she had accepted him into her
life. He wanted more, though. He wanted to be her
everything, just as she meant the world to him. He
softly cleared his throat. "Dana?" he said, his
voice almost a whisper. "Let's eat."
She looked up at him from her place in the chair,
almost sorry that she had to get up. She'd gotten so
comfortable sitting there, that she could almost fall
asleep. She hadn't been sleeping well lately. Her
nightmares had returned to haunt her. Shaking her
head to clear it, she got up and set down her
magazine. "Well, John, let's see what you've managed
to make with your 'culinary expertise'." Doggett
smiled at her mocking his words, and held out his arm
to lead her to the table. He pulled out her chair
for her to be seated before going to his spot at the
other end of the table. He'd taken the leaves out of
the table before going to work that morning so that
they would be closer together. Scully looked down at
the meal. Fettuccine Alfredo. One of her favorites.
She smiled as she took her first bite.
"This is really good, John."
He grinned. "Are you surprised?"
"A little, yeah. I haven't known many men who can
cook."
"Oh there are lots of things you don't know about me,
Dana." His smile turned slightly devilish.
Scully blushed and looked down at her plate. She
knew the attraction was there, could feel it pulling
at her. She just wasn't sure that she could do this.
She knew she wanted to, but she almost felt as if
she'd be betraying Mulder. She tried, so hard, to
convince herself. She'd almost succeeded, until that
little voice broke in.
Doggett glanced at Scully, confused. He could see
the emotions racing across her face, but he had no
idea what she was thinking. "Everything ok, Dana?"
She looked up, embarrassed that he had been watching
her. "Yeah, fine. Sorry, I was just preoccupied for
a moment."
They both sat there in silence for a moment, trying
to find a topic to talk about. They both worked
together, so it's not like either one could ask about
the other's day. They already knew what happened.
Thinking back to the magazines she'd tossed on the
floor, Scully asked "Do you fish, John?"
He appeared startled.
Almost as if she could read his thoughts, "I saw your
Field and Stream magazine in the living room. I was
just wondering if you fished, or just liked to read
about it."
"I used to fish, years ago. I even took Luke fishing
with me once. That was the last time I went fishing.
I've just been too lazy to cancel my subscription."
"Oh." She hadn't meant to touch upon something as
sensitive as that. She didn't know what to say now.
John spoke next. "Why? You want to go fishing
sometime?"
Dana wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. "You mean
put warm, live, squiggly worms on a hook so I can
catch something cold and slimy that flops at my feet?
I think I'll pass on that one, thanks for the offer."
John had to laugh at her description. He'd never
thought of it that way before. He shrugged. "Just
as well. I don't own any fishing equipment anymore
and would have to go and buy some if you wanted to go
fishing."
"Lucky you."
They continued the rest of the meal in companionable
silence, each thinking about the other and where
their relationship should or would go.
Scully sighed as she pushed her plate away and
reached for her coffee. "That was a wonderful meal,
John."
"Thanks. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. I don't cook
much anymore, so I was afraid that it wouldn't taste
very good. Why don't we go into the living room with
our coffee and let our meal settle."
Scully stood up and headed for the living room.
"Just for a few minutes though. I'm getting pretty
sleepy. You're going to have to take me home soon or
I'll probably fall asleep on your couch."
John
thought, as he followed her into the living room.
He sat down in the corner of the couch, waiting to
see where she would sit. He was hoping that she'd
sit next to him, but he figured she'd go for the
recliner. Safer, that way. Neither one of them
would have to deal with the increasing tension then.
But then she surprised him. She sat on the couch with
him. And not at the other end of the couch either.
She sat right next to him. There was only about 6
inches separating the two of them. Doggett inhaled
sharply.
Scully heard Doggett's reaction.
She moved closer to Doggett, putting her head in the
crook of his arm. He put his arm around her
shoulder, tightening it. He never wanted to let go
of her. Never. But should he tell her that?
They sat there like that for several minutes. Dana's
breathing began to slow and John could tell that she
was almost asleep. He slowly moved his arm from
around her, trying not to wake her. It didn't work.
She sat up, looked at him. She blushed slightly. "I
fell asleep, didn't I?"
He smiled down as he bent over her, passion simmering
in his eyes. "Yeah, you did, but it's ok. You can
stay tonight, if you want." He held his breath
waiting for her response.
She was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say,
knowing that if she said 'yes', everything would be
different from this moment on.
She looked up into his eyes, seeing love shining
clearly from them. It would be ok. She smiled and
whispered "yes", as she wrapped her arms around his
neck.
He put his arms around her and lifted her from the
couch. She was so tiny, so light. It felt like he
wasn't carrying anything at all. Slowly, he made his
way towards the stairs.
He pushed open the door to his bedroom and slowly
made his way across, careful not to run into anything
with her. He laid her down in the middle of the bed
and just looked at her for a minute. There was a
soft glow from the moon coming in the window. He
could see her eyes sparkle in the light. Her hair
was all around her on the pillows. She looked
exquisite. He leaned over her and looked deeply into
her eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.
She nodded slightly. "I'm very sure." She reached
up and pulled him down for a kiss. He returned her
kiss, feverishly. He made every move slowly, knowing
that, at any time, she could tell him no, hoping that
she wouldn't change her mind. He took turns being
gentle and demanding, bringing her as high as he
could again and again without pushing her over the
edge. He wanted tonight to be a night that she would
never forget.
Afterwards, she lay spent in his arms. She had never
ever had a night like this. Never had a man made her
feel so special, so loved, so...desired. She snuggled
closer to him, stifled a yawn. "I love you, John
Doggett" she whispered in his ear.
He tightened his arms around her. "I will always
love you, Dana Scully."
They both drifted off to sleep, arms wrapped around
each other, smiles on both of their faces.
John awoke first in the morning, the sun streaming in
through the blinds hitting him squarely in the eye.
He looked down at Dana, who was sleeping peacefully,
her head on his chest. He watched her breathing in
and out, a lock of her hair being blown around by her
breath. He reached up a hand and smoothed her hair
away from her face. He was a very lucky man and he
knew it. He just hoped it would last. He was
somewhat afraid that she would regret what she had
done, when she woke up, and he hoped that she
wouldn't. He looked back down at her, as she started
to stir.
She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room before
bringing her eyes up to meet John's. "Morning," she
muttered sleepily.
He bent down and kissed her on the top of the head.
"Morning, Sweetheart. How are you this morning?"
Her eyes had closed again. She opened one eye and
looked at him. "Tired."
John grinned widely at that remark. "Well, that's too bad. I had
planned on us having a picnic in a real park today
and perhaps flying some kites. But, of course, if
you're that tired, we could just spend the rest of
the day in bed."
Scully eyes widened at his wicked suggestion,
although they were filled with amusement. "You know,
I think I am really exhausted. I should probably
sleep all weekend long, so I'm not too tired when I
get to work on Monday morning."
Dana couldn't help but giggle, as John quickly reached
down and pulled the covers over both of their heads.
Monday morning Dana Scully woke bright and early in
her own bed. It felt strange not to wake up next to
John, but she needed a little bit of time to herself.
She wanted to be sure that she wasn't making a
mistake, getting involved with John. Dana hummed, as
she got ready to go to work. She glanced at herself
in the mirror and was surprised by what she saw. Her
eyes were bright and she was almost glowing. Dana
grinned at her reflection, extremely pleased by what
she saw. She picked up her suit jacket and swung it
over her shoulder, sauntering slightly as she locked
the door behind her. She had a meeting with Skinner
this morning, to ask him about the Smoking Man and
didn't want to be late. She had a good feeling about
today.
Skinner sat down at his desk with a steaming mug of
coffee, feeling slightly disgruntled. He really
wished that Doggett hadn't told Scully about the
sighting of the Smoking Man. He didn't think that
anything good was going to come from this meeting.
He sighed, as he added creamer to his coffee and took
a sip. He
pulled the latest report from his agents in Montana
towards him and began reading.
He sat up as his intercom buzzed.
"Yes?" he replied as he straightened his suit coat.
He heard his assistant's perky voice. "Agent Scully
is here to see you, Sir."
He sighed. "Please send her in."
Agent Scully entered the room, closing the door
softly behind her. She took a seat in front of
Skinner's desk, thinking about how many times she had
sat here, like this, with Mulder sitting next to her.
She shook her head, stopping the memories before they
could start. They were too hard to take, but it was
getting better. She thought of him less often now
than she did at the beginning.
"Good morning, Sir."
Skinner nodded and attempted to smile, knowing that
he was going to get a major ass-chewing. "Good
morning, Agent Scully. How are you?" He looked at
her carefully, as he said that. There was something
different about her, but he couldn't quite put a
finger on it.
"As a matter of fact, Sir, I'm doing really well this
morning. However I did have something that I need to
talk to you about. I hear that there has been a
sighting of the Smoking Man in Montana."
Thought Skinner. "Yes, Dana, there
was a sighting of him at a small grocery store in a
village, about a week ago. Shortly after Agent
Doggett turned down my request to go out there
himself, I sent another pair of agents to
investigate." He paused there.
Scully looked at him expectantly. "And?"
"And there is nothing more to tell, Dana. As a
matter of fact, when the agents got out there, they
couldn't even find the man who had spotted the
Smoking Man in the first place. They canvassed the
entire county and spoke to everyone that they could
find. They came up with nothing. I'm sorry, Dana,
that I don't have better news to tell you."
Scully nodded and sighed. She had expected as much.
It had been almost 7 months since her child was
taken. She didn't think that she would be getting
good news anytime soon.
She stood abruptly. "Thank you for your time, Sir.
I think I'll be getting back to the office now." She
walked swiftly out the door, closing it firmly behind
her.
John Doggett was whistling, as he opened the office
door promptly at 8 am Monday morning. Even though
Dana had decided to go back to her apartment on
Sunday morning, it had been a good weekend. They had
several long talks, about life, work,
relationships...almost anything, They had decided that
it would be a good idea to take things slow at first.
Even though it had been months since she had heard
from Mulder, John knew that she thought about him
often. He also knew, that Mulder occupied a very
special place in Dana's heart and he never wanted to
intrude upon that. He also knew, that he wanted to
spend the rest of his life with her and he didn't
want to make any stupid mistakes to ruin that.
He sat down his coffee on his desk and hung up his
coat before sitting down at his desk. He looked at
the pile of files in his inbox and groaned slightly.
He was sure that all the interesting ones were
probably all the way across the country. And since
their travel budget still had a hold put on it, they
couldn't go anywhere. He looked at the folders again
and grimaced. He opened the paper and
began reading about the President's latest half-baked
idea and other such political nonsense.
That was how Dana found him when she walked in the
office 10 minutes later. She began smiling, as soon
as she saw him there. It was an uncontrollable
reaction. He looked up and returned her smile.
"Morning, Dana."
"Morning, John. Anything good in the paper?" She
asked, as she sat down at her desk and pulled all of
the crap out of her inbox.
John frowned. "Is there ever? I was just reading
about that intern who disappeared and how that
Congressman is supposedly involved in it. I'm sure
it's just one more thing our government will cover
up."
Scully looked shocked. "You sounded just like Mulder
when you said that."
Doggett looked up at her, surprised at the
comparison. "Yeah, I guess I did. But after working
in this office, I can see why he distrusts the
government so much. Anyway, looks like we have
plenty of files to go through. I already checked on
our travel funds and they're still frozen. I guess
we'll have to find some local cases to work on."
Scully sighed and opened the file on top of her desk.
"Figures." She muttered, as she began to read.
A few hours later, Doggett stood and stretched.
They'd been reading case files nonstop for a long
time now and he figured it was time for a break. The
clock said that it was noon, so it was lunchtime
anyway. He looked over at Scully, who was rubbing
her eyes.
"Hey Dana," he said softly, so as not to startle her.
She looked up at him, still rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Let's take a break and get some lunch. I know this
great Chinese place about 10 minutes from here." He
was reaching for their coats as he spoke, knowing
that she was probably as ready to get out of the
office as he was.
She nodded enthusiastically and stood up.
Just as Doggett was helping her get her coat on,
there was a knock at the door. Scully looked at him,
puzzled. He shrugged and opened the door. On the
other side was a UPS delivery boy.
"Special Agent Dana Scully?" The young man queried,
although it was obvious to him that this giant in
front of him, was definitely not, a 'Dana.'
Doggett shook his head 'no', as Scully stepped in
front of him.
"I'm Agent Scully." She said, somewhat
authoritatively.
"Yes ma'am." The young man blushed and averted his
eyes. "I have a package that I need your signature
for."
She held her hand out, tapping her foot somewhat
impatiently.
He held out his board for her signature. She quickly
scribbled something and handed it back.
"Here's your package, ma'am," the boy said as he
handed her a small manila envelope. "Have a nice
day."
Scully nodded and absently waved him away, unable to
take her eyes off of the envelope.
Doggett looked at her, at the look on her face,
wondering if he should speak.
"Dana?"
She looked up, startled out of her thoughts. She
shoved the envelope in her coat pocket and looped her
arm through John's. "Come on, let's eat. I'll open
it later."
The restaurant didn't look like much from the
outside. The interior, however, was very impressive.
There were huge, plush area rugs scattered across the
polished hardwood floor. There were brightly colored
paintings hung on the walls. The lighting was dim,
sort of soothing. Each table had a lace tablecloth
and candles for intimate lighting.
The maitre 'd approached them, walking swiftly, yet
with a sort of elegance to him. "Right this way, Mr.
Doggett." He said with a soft, cultured voice.
Dana's eyebrows shot up, as she looked at John. "Come
here often?" she asked, with a hint of surprise in
her voice.
John laughed and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah. I love Chinese cooking and as much as I've
tried to imitate it at home, I've never succeeded.
Just wait until you taste their crab ran goons."
Scully smiled, somewhat distractedly. Her thoughts
had centered again on the envelope that she could
feel in her jacket pocket. She was almost sure that
whatever was in it, could not be good news.
John could sense the change in her mood, as he pulled
out her chair for her. He sat down across from her
and began reading his menu, even though he already
knew what he was going to order. He figured she'd
talk about it when she was ready to.
The waiter came and took their orders. They both sat
there in silence for a moment. Then Dana let out a
huge sigh and pulled the envelope out of her jacket
pocket. She carefully examined the outside before
opening it. She dumped the contents out onto the
table and gasped, all the color fading from her face,
her eyes wide with shock.
Spilled out across the table were about a dozen
glossy photos. Some were wallet sized, some where a
little larger. But there were all of the same
subject: a beautiful little baby with bright red
curls on her head and the biggest hazel eyes. Scully
felt tears pricking at her eyes. She just knew that
this had to be her little girl. She had Mulder's
eyes and Mulder's mouth. Scully was unaware that the
tears were now running down her face. She turned
over each picture, looking to see if anything was
written on it. On the last one was a name:
Samantha. That was all that was written on there.
She looked up when she felt John take her hand.
"Are you ok, Dana?" He couldn't stand to see that
pain in her eyes again, the pain he'd worked so hard
to remove over the past six months.
She shook her head, unable to speak. She just pushed
the pictures towards him, her hands shaking slightly.
John cursed under his breath. "Who would be cruel
enough to send these to you?"
Dana shrugged, her face downcast. "Maybe the man who
took my child wants to torture me some more? I don't
know. They sure don't give me much to go on though,
do they?"
Just then the waiter brought their food. John picked
the photos up and handed them back to Dana, watching,
as she just picked at her food. She looked crushed.
He wasn't sure how to help her in this situation.
"Hey Dana. Why don't we take those pictures over to
the Gunmen and see if they can get anything from
them?"
She nodded, not looking up. Her mood from earlier in
the day was completely gone. She knew that she
needed to get ahold of herself, but after seeing
those pictures. Who could be so cruel to her? They
had her child, the child whose sex she just now found
out, did they really need to taunt her with it? She
wanted to go home and curl up in a ball and sleep for
hours. She looked up at John, at the compassion,
love, pain, in his eyes and she knew that she couldn't
give up. Things may be really crappy right now, but
she'd always have him. She reached across the table
and put her hand in his. "Yeah, why don't we see
what the boys can come up with?"
John threw some money on the table and they both got
up and left, their earlier happiness completely
shattered.
Scully knocked long and hard on the boys' door.
Doggett was standing back from her a couple of steps.
Scully stepped back a bit, as she heard several locks
being released. Frohike pulled open the door.
"Hey Scully," he said as he gave her a once-over.
"What's wrong? You look upset."
"Well aren't you observant, Frohike, or should we
conduct our business out here?"
Frohike frowned and stepped back to let them in,
making sure that he walked behind Scully.
Langly rolled his eyes at Frohike, as Byers stepped
out of the back room.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" asked Langly, while Byers was
shaking hands with John.
Scully and Doggett looked at each other, unsure of
who should speak first. Scully nodded and pulled the
envelope out of her pocket. "I got these delivered
to me today. I wondered if you guys could examine
them and tell me anything at all that you can get
from them." She handed the envelope to Byers, who
promptly poured the contents on the table.
There was a sudden intake of breath from all three
men.
Byers spoke first. "Scully? Is this? I mean, are
these...photos of your child?"
Scully shrugged, determined to hold back the tears.
"You tell me. I want it to be. She looks like
Mulder to me. But it's torture to look at these
pictures and not know where she is or who has her or
why."
Doggett put his arm around Scully's shoulder and
hugged her close, as the three boys exchanged looks.
Frohike looked up at Scully, after examining a couple
of the pictures. "Well, all I can tell you so far is
that they look to be real photos. I'll see if I can
find any distinguishing remarks on them, find out
where they were developed, stuff like that."
Scully managed a weak smile for Frohike. "Thanks,
you guys. Let me know whatever you find ok? Even if
it's not good news."
They all nodded and Frohike walked them to the door.
He gave Scully a quick hug before she left. She was
slightly surprised, but returned the hug nonetheless.
"Thanks Frohike."
He nodded, blushing slightly, as he locked the door
behind them.
Dana and John stepped outside of the Gunmen's Lair
and realized that the wind had picked up. Dana
shivered and pulled her coat closer around her as she
looked up at the sky. She felt John take
her arm and followed him to the truck. They sat
inside waiting for the engine to warm up.
John reached over and took her hand. He wanted so
badly to take her home and comfort her, but he knew
how Dana cherished her independence. Besides, they'd
already decided that they weren't going to spend
every night together. Dana was afraid that Kersh
would find out what was going on and fire them both
for it.
John shifted his truck into drive and began pulling
away from the curb, as the snow started to fall. They
were big flakes and they were coming down so fast
that John had to turn his wipers on. It took them
twice as long as usual, to make it back to Dana's
apartment.
When they got upstairs to her apartment, Dana noticed
that a piece of paper was taped to her door. She
quickly tore it off and flipped it open. It was a
note.
"Dana," it began. "I hope that by now you have
received the pictures that I sent you. I meant no
harm in sending them, but I thought that you might
like to see your child. Her name is Samantha. She's
5 1/2 months old now. She's a beautiful child who never
fusses about anything. I know that you'll never
understand why I had to take her, but it was for your
best interest. Yours and your child's. I'm sorry,
Dana, but it had to be done. I just hope that this
might bring you some closure.
Yours,
C.G.B. Spender."
Dana crumpled the paper into a tight ball as she
could feel the tears welling in her eyes. John could
see the tension enter her body, but he didn't know
the reason for it, as he hadn't seen the note.
"Dana? Are you ok? What is it?"
She handed him the crumpled up ball of paper, as she
began to unlock the door to her apartment. She
didn't quite trust herself to speak. She was having
a hard enough time holding back her tears. She heard
John shut the door behind him, as she walked over to
the window. She watched the snow falling, looked at
the people struggling through the blanket of snow
that already covered the ground. She didn't realize
that the tears had begun to stream down her cheek.
Dana crushed that flicker of hope
before it could become a flame.
Dana felt John wrap his arms around her. She sighed
and leaned back onto him. He kissed her lightly on
top of the head, not saying anything, just holding
her close. She turned in his arms and wrapped her
arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest.
She could hear the steady beat of his heart and it
was comforting to her. She looked up into his eyes.
Her tears had dried, but the pain was still in her
eyes. He wanted to take it away, but didn't know
how.
"You couldn't have stopped this John." It was almost
as if she had read his thoughts.
He shook his head. "Maybe, maybe not. But maybe I
should have tried."
It was her turn to shake her head. "Don't beat
yourself up over this John. You may have ended up
getting hurt or killed if you had gone out there.
It's ok." She hugged him tighter.
John shook his head, frustrated with himself.
Dana released him and turned to look back out the
window. It appeared as if there was already six
inches on the ground and it didn't look like it was
going to be letting up anytime soon. "John?" she
asked softly.
He had headed towards the kitchen to make some
coffee, but turned back around when she spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Will you stay with me tonight?" her voice hardly
above a whisper.
John nodded, before realizing that she wasn't looking
at him; she was still staring out the window. "Yeah,
Dana, I'll stay."
She nodded and kept staring out the window, lost in
her own thoughts.
John came back in a few minutes with two cups of
steaming coffee, one black, one with creamer. He
handed one to her. She turned away from the window
and took it from him, grateful not only for the
coffee, but for the distraction from her thoughts.
She went over and sat on the couch with her coffee.
John closed the blinds on the window before joining
her.
"Well," he began, "from the looks of things out
there, we might be stuck here for a few days."
Dana shrugged, and began to smile as a thought
entered her mind. She tried to
quash the thought. She should be thinking of her
daughter, and how to save her, not of making love to
John. She could feel her cheeks began to turn red,
and quickly turned away from him, flipping on the TV.
She settled back against his chest, as the news began.
He reached up and pulled the afghan from the back of
the couch over them, thinking that being snowed in
might actually be a blessing in disguise.
John could hear Dana's breathing become steady,
almost rhythmic, as the news came to an end. He
picked up the remote control, turned the volume down,
and began flipping channels. He didn't want to wake
her up, not yet. He knew she was probably exhausted
from the emotional roller coaster that she'd ridden
today. He pulled the blanket up a little bit more
and shifted slightly so that the arm of the couch
wasn't digging into his back so sharply. He reached
up and flipped off the light next to the couch, before
settling in to watch "Top Gun."
Dana woke several hours later to the dim flickering
light of the TV and the sound of soft snoring. At
first she was disconcerted. Then she noticed John's
arms around her and realized that they were on the
couch. She began trailing her fingertips up and down
his arm, mesmerized by how strong he was, when he was
so gentle with her. She slid her fingers down to
link them with his. As she drifted off to sleep in
the safety of his arms, she thought about how lucky
she was.
John awoke with a start, not realizing where he was
or why he had woken. Glancing at the TV that was
still on, he figured that was what had woken him. He
checked the time on his watch. 6 AM. He looked down
at Dana, who was still sleeping peacefully in his
arms, her fingers intertwined with his. He laid his
cheek on top of her head, breathing in the fragrance
of her shampoo. At that moment, he felt like the
luckiest man in the world.
Dana stirred in his arms, here eyes fluttering open.
He picked his head up, so she could tilt hers to see
him.
"Morning," she spoke softly, her voice still raspy
from sleeping.
"Good morning," he replied, grinning widely. He
couldn't help but be happy when he was around her.
"Want some breakfast?" he offered.
She nodded, as she sat up and stretched. "Coffee
first though, please."
John stood and worked the kinks out of his neck.
"Coffee it is, Madam."
Dana giggled and headed in the direction of the
bathroom.
John had the radio on in the kitchen and was
listening to some news program, when Dana walked in 15
minutes later, still drying her hair with a towel.
"Mmm...something smells good in here," she offered, as
she poured herself a cup of coffee.
John grinned at her over his shoulder, from where he
was standing at the stove. He was making omelets for
breakfast and they were at the crucial stage where if
he didn't watch them closely they could be ruined.
Dana sat her coffee on the table. "Anything I can do
to help?" she asked. John tilted his head to the
side as he thought about it. "I suppose you could
set the table if you want. Everything else is under
control."
"Ok" she replied as she got plates and silverware out
of the cabinets and put them on the table.
John carefully slid her omelet onto her plate, as she
sat down. He then served himself and sat down across
from her. Smelling the food made them both realize
just how hungry they were. They'd skipped supper
last night and neither one had eaten much lunch.
They began to devour their food, too busy eating to
talk.
Dana sat back in her chair with a little sigh of
contentment after she finished. "That was fantastic,
John."
He grinned at the praise. "Thanks. It's been a long
time since I've cooked breakfast."
She frowned slightly, her brows drawing closer
together. "Why is that?"
John shrugged. "It just seemed like too much of a
hassle to cook for just me. After awhile my
breakfast became cereal and coffee, then toast and
coffee. Now it's usually just coffee. What about
you? Do you cook much?"
She shook her head. "Not really. I guess like you, I
don't really see the point in it either. I usually
have coffee and maybe some yogurt for breakfast. I'm
generally too tired or too busy to cook when I get
home from work and either have a sandwich or order
something in."
Just then a loud beeping coming from the radio
interrupted their conversation.
"Attention all listeners. All of the metropolitan
area has been placed under a severe winter weather
advisory for the next 24 to 48 hours. Snow
accumulations of between 18 and 24 inches are
expected..."
John and Dana gaped at each other, ignoring the rest
of the weather bulleting.
"Well, John said with a smile, "Guess we won't be
going into work for awhile."
"Guess not." Dana grinned, pleased at the thought.
"Guess I'll be stuck here for awhile as well," John
remarked, his grin widening.
Suddenly, Dana faked a yawn. "You know," she began
with a mischievous light in her eyes, "I think I need
to take a nap after eating that big omelet." She
stood and stretched, faking another yawn.
"Yeah," John agreed. "I think I need a nap too."
John came around to her side of the table and,
without warning, swept her up in his arms. She
giggled and kissed him, as he headed down the hall
towards the bedroom. She pushed the door shut behind
them.
Several hours later, Dana's eyes flickered open. She
rolled over in the bed and propped herself up on her
elbows, so she could look down at John, who was still
sleeping soundly. As if he could feel her looking at him,
his eyes opened. "What time is it?" he asked,
rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Dana slid her eyes over to the clock on the
nightstand and then back to his. "2:30. I can't
believe we spent the whole day in bed."
"Well," John looked at her, eyebrows raised. "The
day isn't over yet."
Dana swatted him playfully on the chest, before
getting out of bed and wrapping her robe around her,
tying it at the waist.
As she headed to the bathroom, she tossed back over
her shoulder, "And if we spend the whole day in bed,
what will we do tonight?"
"I hoped more of the same." John muttered under his
breath, as he pulled on some clothes and headed for
the kitchen to find some food.
He was opening and closing cabinet doors when Dana
walked in. She leaned against the doorway as she
asked, "Find anything good in there?"
John jumped a little, startled, and turned to look at
her. Leaning against the door, her robe tied
haphazardly, and her hair all mussed, John thought
she was more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.
"Well," he said, pulling out a couple of cans. "How
about some soup?"
She nodded in agreement. "Sure. I'll make some
grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it, if you'd
like."
"Grilled cheese?! I love grilled cheese!!"
Dana grinned at the enthusiasm in his voice and for
the next several minutes they worked side by side, as
if they had been doing this for years.
They sat down and, over lunch, discussed how they
would spend the next couple of days. As it was still
snowing outside, they both figured that they wouldn't
be working tomorrow either.
"Well, as I'm not here much, there probably isn't a
whole lot to do."
John raised an eyebrow at that comment.
Dana blushed at the look and averted her eyes.
"Well, besides that anyway."
John acted confused. "And what's wrong with spending
the next 24 hours in bed?"
Dana laughed. "I guess nothing, really. I've just
never done that before."
John shrugged. "Me either. But they say there is a
first time for everything."
The next 24 hours passed very quickly. Following
John's suggestion, they'd surfaced from the bedroom
only to eat or to use the bathroom. They'd finally
decided to get up and venture outside to see if any
damage had been done by the storm. They linked
fingers as they walked down the streets, peering in
the windows of the few shops that were open. The
snowplows had gotten most of the streets cleared and
traffic was starting to move more like normal. They
came to a coffee shop that was open and decided to go
inside and warm up. They sat side by side in a
corner booth, sipping their coffee when Dana's cell
phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket.
"Scully."
"Hey, Scully."
"Frohike. What's up?"
She heard a deep sigh come from the other end of the
phone. She wondered.
"I wish I had good news, Scully, but I don't. I
wasn't able to get any information from the photos."
Dana sighed and leaned her head on John's shoulder.
"It's ok, Frohike. I knew it was a long shot
anyway."
"Yeah, well, I'm still sorry. I really wanted to
find something. Anyway, we're done with the pictures
if you want to come and pick them up."
"Thanks. We'll probably be by later."
She turned the phone off and put it back in her
pocket and turned to face John, who was watching her
intently. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going
to flip out or fall apart."
John smiled, the tension leaving his body. "I guess
they didn't have any good news, huh?"
She shook her head. "I wasn't expecting them to
anyway. Mulder couldn't find anything." She really
wanted to call Mulder. But the last time she'd
tried, she got a message saying his cell phone had
been disconnected.
John saw the emotions crossing her face and decided
to break into her thoughts.
"So," he said, laying some money on the table to
cover their coffee, "should we go get those pictures
now?"
She nodded. "Yeah. But let's take a cab. I'm tired
of walking."
John agreed and they headed outside to hail a cab.
A few minutes later they got out of the cab outside
of the Gunmen's Lair. "Thanks." Scully muttered as
she handed the driver some money. Riding in cabs
always made her uneasy for some reason.
Scully knocked on the boys' door and stepped back so
the camera was focused on her face. Frohike looked
at the TV screen on the inside. "Hey guys-It's
Scully and Doggett."
Langly snorted. "The Dog Man huh?"
Frohike interrupted. "Shaddup, Langly."
Scully could hear the many locks releasing. She
turned to John and rolled her eyes.
The door slowly swung inward.
"Come in and hurry up, you're letting the cold in,"
grumbled Frohike.
Scully smiled, as she and Doggett followed him inside.
"It's nice to see you, too, Frohike. Hello Byers,
Langly."
Doggett nodded to all three of them. He knew they
were the good guys, but he still thought they were
almost as paranoid as Mulder. He thought it probably
best to say as little as possible.
Byers came forward with a manila envelope for Scully.
His eyes were sad. "I'm really sorry that we
couldn't find anything for you Scully."
She nodded and took the envelope. "It's ok. I
didn't really think that you guys would."
Langly spoke up. "Still no word from Mulder?"
She shook her head. "No. I tried to call him a
couple of weeks ago and found out that his cell phone
had been disconnected. I take it you guys haven't
heard anything from him either?"
Langly shook his head sadly. "No. I hope he's ok."
Scully nodded. "Me, too, but it's been almost 6
months." She quickly wiped away a tear. "Thanks
guys. I think we'll leave now."
Frohike nodded and walked them to the door. "See you
guys later."
Doggett took her arm and led her outside to find a
cab home.
By the time they got home, neither one had the energy
left to cook so they ended up ordering a pizza and
sitting on the couch watching TV. Neither one said
anything, but then, words weren't needed. John
understood Dana's pain, to an extent. He also felt
that she would talk about it when she was ready to.
And so, they sat on the couch in silence, wrapped in
each other's arms until it was time to go to bed.
The next several weeks passed peacefully. They spent
their days working on local cases, since their travel
budget was still locked up tight. They spent their
nights at John's house. His house felt more like a
home to Dana than any other she'd ever lived in. At
first, she went to her apartment to get something
every day. But the last time she'd been back to her
apartment had been over a week ago. After the
blizzard had finished wreaking havoc and John and
Dana had spent their first night alone, Dana had
decided that Kersh could take his rules and stick
them. She deserved to be happy and being with John
made her very happy. So she moved in with him.
As far as John was concerned, he almost couldn't be
any happier. Almost. The only thing that could
possibly make him happier would be if Dana would
agree to marry him. Humming under his breath, he
wandered into a local jewelry store on his lunch
break. It was almost Valentine's Day and John was
going to ensure that this was a very memorable day
for both him and Dana.
Valentine's Day dawned bright and sunny. The snow
had melted off a couple of days before and it was
warm enough outside to feel like winter was finally
over. As today was a Thursday, Dana felt like she
should have been at work. But there hadn't been any
new X-File cases for almost 2 weeks now, so Skinner
had agreed to let them take a long weekend. Dana
didn't think she would have been able to concentrate
at work anyway. Yesterday she'd received a dozen red
roses from John. The card had been somewhat cryptic.
It read "I'll be there at 7pm. Wear something
elegant. Love, John."
Thinking back to the note, Dana wrinkled her nose.
John hung up his phone and smiled. He'd just
confirmed the limousine reservations for tonight. He
fingered the small velvet box in his pocket.
He picked up the phone again and began to dial.
He wanted to double-check the restaurant
reservations, just to be on the safe side. He was
humming softly, as he waited for the call to go
through.
Dana walked into a fancy clothing store in downtown
DC and gasped. Never in her life had she seen so many
beautiful dresses all in one place. How in the world
was she going to be able to find something to wear?
A young perky salesperson came over, her blonde hair
bouncing on her shoulders, as she moved. "Hi! My
name is Allison, can I help you?"
Dana groaned inwardly. "I
hope so," she replied. "I have a date tonight, , and my boyfriend told me to wear
something elegant."
Dana swallowed and stood waiting, as Allison walked
around her, scrutinizing her from top to bottom.
When Allison again stood in front of Dana, she
clapped her hands excitedly. "I have just the dress
for you. Come right this way!"
Hundreds of miles away, Mulder waited in the trees,
his body tense with excitement and fear. After weeks
of scoping the place out, learning their routines,
Mulder and Krycek had finally come up with a plan
that they liked. And today they were putting that
plan into action. Mulder looked up at the sky, as he
felt a raindrop land on his head and run down his
nose. He was anxious to get this over with.
He'd wanted to go in weeks ago. He wanted it over
with. But he knew he was thinking with his heart and
not his mind. That was why he had let Krycek make the
majority of the decisions. He looked over at his
friend, who was also waiting in the trees in the
rain. Just then the cabin door opened, as it had
every day, for as long as they had been doing their
surveillance. They knew the man walking out of the
door was Mac, the man Spender sent on errands. Krycek
waited until Mac had gotten in his truck and driven
away before turning to return Mulder's gaze.
Mulder raised an eyebrow.
Krycek nodded.
Dana let Allison lead her through the massive store.
It seemed like they had walked a mile, before they
finally stopped in front of a mannequin. Dana felt
her mouth drop open. The dress on display was
absolutely breathtaking. It was aquamarine blue and
floor length. The top was fitted, but the skirt
flared slightly at the waist. It was held up by two
thin spaghetti straps on each shoulder. The straps
were lined with rhinestones and crossed over the
shoulder blades before meeting the dress at the back.
"Well?" Allison asked excitedly.
Dana nodded her head, not once removing her stare
from the dress. "It's absolutely beautiful."
Allison grinned. "Wait until you try it on!"
She took a dress off the rack and then grabbed Dana's
hand, pulling her towards a fitting room.
John was grinning widely, as he walked out of a tuxedo
shop downtown. The sun was still shining and the day
had warmed up a bit. It was still pretty chilly
outside, but it felt glorious after the snow. John
put the tux in his truck, then shoved his hands in
his jacket pockets, as he walked down the street.
He thought happily.
Dana slipped the silk dress over her head and "oohed"
at the mirror when the dress finally slid into place.
She reached behind her and pulled up the zipper in
the back before twirling in front of the mirror. She
felt like a princess in this dress. It was perfect.
Allison knocked softly on the door. "Dana? I have a
few accessories that I thought you might like to try
on with the dress."
Dana opened the door and stepped out.
Allison was holding a shawl, shoes, and an evening
bag, all of them silver and shimmery.
Dana held out her hand for them.
"Wow." Allison whispered. "You look stunning."
Dana blushed slightly, as she bent down to put on the
strappy sandals. "Thanks."
She straightened up and wrapped the shawl around her
shoulders. The shawl was so thin it was almost
invisible. But it sparkled in the light and that was
the desired effect. Dana picked up the evening bag
and turned to Allison.
"What do you think?" she asked, excitement shining
softly in her eyes, eyes that shone even brighter
when complemented by the dress.
Allison was smiling again. "I think you will
outshine everyone else, in that dress!"
Dana grinned and went back into the fitting room to
change.
John walked out of the florist's office carrying two
small white boxes. One contained a boutonniere for
him, the other a small corsage for Dana's wrist.
They were both made out of white roses. He carefully
placed them on the passenger seat of his truck, before
heading home. He glanced at the clock on his dash:
12:00. He had a
feeling that those 7 hours were going to feel like 7
days.
Dana looked at her watch, as she walked out of the
clothing store loaded down with bags. She gasped.
She hurried to her
car, tossing her bags in the back seat before getting
in and starting it. As she waited for the car to
warm up she debated whether she should grab something
to eat on the way home or wait until she got there
and make something to eat. The thought of a
cheeseburger won out and so she headed for
McDonald's.
Mulder slowly pushed open the cabin door, Krycek
covering him with his gun.
"What'd you forget this time, Mac?" Called an
irritated voice from the back of the cabin.
Mulder pushed the door open the rest of the way, as
CSM walked into the living room.
"Mac didn't forget anything!" Mulder growled, his gun
trained on CSM, as he entered the cabin, Krycek close
behind him with his own gun out.
"Agent Mulder?" The older man looked surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
Mulder's eyes roamed the room, taking in the crib near
the fireplace, the box of diapers on the floor next
to it. His gun, however, remained trained on
Spender. Krycek had gone through the rest of the
cabin, making sure they were alone. Mulder brought
his eyes back to Spender's face. "Do you really need
to ask why I am here?" Sarcasm was dripping from
every word he spoke.
Just then, there was a flash of lightening and a loud
clap of thunder. The baby in the crib began crying.
Mulder's baby, the baby whose sex he still didn't
know. Mulder nodded towards the baby and Krycek went
to pick it up. As much as Mulder wanted to go see
his child, comfort it, he wasn't about to take his
eyes off of Spender. Krycek picked the baby up and
rocked it gently, murmuring soothing words.
"It's a little girl, Mulder," Krycek spoke softly.
"Yes, Mulder," Spender spoke up, looking more
confident. "Her name is Samantha. How fitting that
you should come to save her since you couldn't save
your sister." Mulder lunged, his gun flying, his
hands wrapping themselves around the elder man's
neck. "Why? You sick bastard! Tell. Me. Why. You.
Took. My. Child!" His words came out staccato fast,
each one punctuated, by Mulder shaking the other man.
Krycek was standing back watching, still holding the
now cooing child. As much as he wanted to be the one
strangling Spender, he knew that this was Mulder's
moment. He looked down at the baby that was drifting
off to sleep in his arms. She had beautiful red
curls on her head and cute chubby cheeks. Krycek
felt a tug at his heart, but shook it away, as he
turned back to the confrontation on the other side of
the room.
"You have to understand Mulder." Spender croaked
out. "I did it to protect the child, to protect you
and Scully."
Mulder loosened his hands slightly, so the man could
speak. "Protect us from what?" he growled out.
"From the aliens, Mulder. Your daughter is very
special. The aliens left something of themselves in
both you and Scully during your abductions. That has
been passed on to your daughter, making her very
unique. The aliens want her to study her, how her
mind works, how her DNA is different than yours."
Mulder snorted. "And how is it, that you can protect
her better than I can?"
"I...I just can, Mulder." The other man began to
stutter, the fear returning to his eyes. "I-"
Mulder cut him off. "Wanna know what I think?"
Mulder asked, taunting. "I think you're full of
shit. My daughter is special, yes, but the aliens
aren't after her. We've been watching your cabin
for weeks now and we know no one is after her,
especially aliens." He looked at Krycek. "Anything
else we should ask him?"
Krycek shook his head. "Nope."
Mulder turned to look back at Spender, hate flowing
from his hazel eyes. "You're done interfering in my
life. Adios." And with that, Mulder snapped the
other man's neck.
As the body fell to the floor, Mulder bent over and
retrieved his gun. He turned to Krycek and held out
his arms, eager to meet his daughter. He gently
rocked her in his arms, whispering in her ear, as
Krycek went over to rifle through the dead man's
pockets.
"No ID, nothing Mulder." Krycek shrugged. "What do
you want to do?"
Mulder had been packing stuff for the baby, getting
ready to go. "Burn it. Burn it all."
Dana picked up her favorite bottle of perfume,
"Clinique Happy," and dabbed some behind her ears.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had
curled her hair and piled it on top of her head so
that a few loose tendrils framed her face. The tiny
diamond earrings that she had put on sparkled under
the bathroom light. She smiled and liked what she
saw. She walked into the living room, her heels
making a faint clicking sound on the floor through
the carpet. She pulled her shawl around her shoulder
and picked up her evening bag just as there was a
knock on her door.
She pulled open the door and felt her mouth drop
open. John was standing outside the door holding a
small white box. He was wearing a black tuxedo with
a blue vest underneath it. He looked incredibly
handsome.
John had been stunned when Dana had pulled open the
door. He knew that she was beautiful, but this...He
thought he'd died and gone to heaven. The blue of
the dress brought out her beautiful eyes. Her hair
was piled on top of her head, but loosely, so that
she looked both sexy and sophisticated at the same
time.
He cleared his throat, trying to find his voice. "I
thought the card said 'elegant' not 'knock you on
your ass stunning.'" He grinned and Dana blushed at
the compliment. He handed her the small white box
that he was carrying. "This is for you."
She opened the box slowly, her eyes lighting up when
she saw what was inside. "John, this is beautiful."
He took the small white box from her, setting it on
the table by the door, reaching inside to pull out
the corsage that was inside. It was made of three
small white roses, with baby's breath tucked around
them. He carefully slipped it on her wrist. "Ready
to go?" he asked, hoping that he didn't seem too
anxious. She nodded and took the arm he offered.
When they got to the front of the building, Dana was
stunned again. In front of her was a white stretch
limousine with a man waiting to open the door for
them.
"John?" she asked, looking up at him, the question in
her eyes clear.
He smiled down at her. "Happy Valentine's Day,
Dana."
She smiled back at him as they got settled in the
limo.
Mulder and Krycek stood by the car they'd "borrowed"
from Spender watching the cabin go up in flames.
They'd placed Samantha in the car seat in the back
and she'd fallen back asleep almost immediately.
Mulder watched the sunset through the trees, glad
that it was finally over. Those two
words still sent a shiver down his spine. It seemed
unreal. Then it hit him. He needed to call Scully.
Now. He looked over at Krycek, who was also watching
the cabin burn. "Hey, Alex, mind if I borrow your
phone?"
Krycek shook his head. "Not at all." He replied, as
he handed his phone to Mulder. Mulder quickly
punched in Scully's home number, tapping his foot
impatiently as it continued to ring. He heard the
machine answer and cursed under his breath, as he hung
up and then punched in her cell phone number. Again,
he only got her voice mail. He looked
at his watch. It was 7:30 in DC.
He handed the phone back to Krycek.
"No answer, huh?"
"Nope." Mulder replied, looking dejected. He'd
wanted, no needed, to share this news with Scully.
"Don't worry, Mulder. You'll get in touch with her."
Krycek quickly calculated the drive time from there
to Denver in his head. He needed to call Tammy and
let her know he was coming home. They were about 5
hours away so that would work. He picked up his
phone and dialed, smiling when she answered. "Happy
Valentine's Day, Babe." He said huskily. He listened
for a minute and then said, "I'm coming home,
tonight." He held the phone away from his ear, so he
wouldn't lose his hearing, to her screams of joy.
"Listen, we have to get on the road. Meet us in the
parking lot of Barnes and Noble at 10:30, ok? We will
be in the dark green Taurus with Montana plates." He
was silent again for another minute. "I know, Babe.
I love you too." He hung up, sliding the phone back
in his pocket and turned to Mulder. "Let's get out
of here."
Mulder turned away from the smoldering remains of the
cabin and the Cigarette Smoking Man. He nodded.
"I'll drive the first part," he offered. Krycek
agreed and went around to get in on the passenger
side. Mulder started the car and backed carefully
out of the woods. He was smiling by the time he got
to the interstate.
Dana looked around in awe, as she and John entered the
restaurant where they had reservations. The interior
was done almost entirely in blue. The floor was
covered in a royal blue carpet, so thick that Dana
could feel her feet sinking into it. The walls were
done in a blue gray color that almost looked like
mist. The maitre 'd led them to their seats. It was
a small, two-person, table set back in a somewhat
secluded corner. There was a pale blue tablecloth
that matched the chairs. On the table, there were two,
small, white, rose-shaped candles for mood lighting.
Their waitress, an attractive woman in her late 30s
came their way. She had short dark hair and was
wearing a well cut dark blue suit. Dana thought, rather
amusedly. The waitress flipped open her order book
and addressed them. "Hello, my name is Jayne and I
shall be your server this evening. May I interest
either of you in a bottle of wine?" She asked,
displaying their wine list.
Dana looked at John and shrugged. She wasn't too
picky. John chose a wine and the waitress said she'd
return in a moment to take their orders. This
restaurant was known for it's fine seafood and, after
perusing the entire menu, John and Dana both decided
on swordfish. The waitress returned, poured their
wine, took their orders, and left as swiftly and as
gracefully, as she had arrived. As Dana sipped the
Chardonnay that John had ordered, she wistfully eyed
the dance floor. She hoped that John would ask her
to dance.
John had been watching Dana all night long and saw
the look in her eyes, as she watched the couples
twirling on the dance floor. Slowly, John pushed his
chair back from the table and walked around to where
Dana was sitting. He offered his hand, very much the
gentleman he was. "May I have this dance?"
Dana smiled and suppressed a giggle. She put her
fingers in his, enjoying the feel of the warmth
emanating from them. She shivered slightly, as she
stood, her shawl falling into her chair. "I would
love to dance." She replied, as the band began playing
a slow romantic song. John wrapped his arms around
Dana, pulling her close to him on the dance floor.
She rested her head on his chest, listening to his
heartbeat. He put his head on top hers and they both
swayed in time to the music, listening to the words
of the male vocalists.
"Every time our eyes meet
This feeling inside me
Is almost more than I can take.
Baby when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me
And it just blows me away.
I've never been this close to anyone or anything
I can hear you thoughts
I can feel your dreams..."
Dana looked up at John, love for him shining in her
eyes. He bent down slightly and kissed her cheek.
She smiled and put her head back, on his shoulder.
"I don't know how you do what you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby I'm amazed by you...
John pulled her closer, whispering in her ear. "I'm
amazed by you." Dana looked up, slightly surprised.
"I love you too." She whispered.
"The smell of your skin
The taste of your kiss
The way you whisper in the dark
Your hair all around me
Baby you surround me
Touch every place in my heart
Oh it feels like the first time
Every time
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes
"I don't know how you do what you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby I'm amazed by you..."
John had planned to wait, but he knew that now was
the right moment. He pulled away from Dana, her eyes
slightly hurt. As the music kept playing, he pulled
out a small black velvet box and got down on his knee
in front of her.
"Every little thing that you do...
Oh every little thing that you
Baby I'm amazed by you."
As the song came to a close, John reached up and took
Dana's hand. "You are my everything." He said
softly. "Without you, Dana, I am but part of a man.
You complete me. Will you be my wife?"
Dana stared at him, tears in her eyes. She looked at
the ring he was holding, waiting to put it on her hand.
It was gorgeous. In the middle of the gold band was
a marquise cut diamond. On either side of it were
smaller, princess cut, diamonds. She began to nod,
unsure of whether or not she could talk. Finally,
she found her voice. "Yes, John, I will be your
wife."
John slid the ring on her finger and stood,
wrapping his arms around her in a bone-crushing hug.
Soon they were kissing each other, neither one
realizing for a few moments that people in the
restaurant were clapping. As they came to their
senses, Dana realized that everyone was watching
them, and blushing slightly, she took John's hand and
led them back to their table. As they were seated,
Jayne appeared with a bottle of champagne and their
food. "Compliments of the management," she explained
as she uncorked the champagne. John and Dana lifted
their glasses to each other. "To our future." She
offered. "To our future." He seconded, as they both
took a sip, already giddy with happiness.
Krycek pulled the car into the crowded parking lot of
a Denver Barnes and Noble and turned it off. He
glanced over at Mulder, who was asleep in the
passenger seat.
Krycek glanced around his familiar surroundings
looking for her. He noticed a pair of
headlights turning into the parking lot. He reached over and shook
Mulder awake.
"Wha-?" Mulder sat up rubbing the sleep from his
eyes. "Where are we? What's going on?"
"It's ok, Mulder." Krycek said reassuringly. "We're
in Denver. She's here." Krycek pointed to the woman
walking towards them. As she passed under a light,
they could see what she looked like. Mulder was
stunned. She was about 5'8" with shoulder length
chestnut hair. She was wearing all black, except for
the green leather jacket.
They got out of the car and stood next to it, waiting
to meet her. Mulder left his door open slightly in
case Samantha woke up and cried out. Alex opened his
arms, as she came closer. He wrapped his arms around
her and hugged her close. "Oh God, Tammy, I have
missed you so much." He kissed her quick and hard
before releasing her. "Tammy, this is Special Agent
Fox Mulder. Mulder, Tammy."
Mulder stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you." As
she came closer to shake his hand, he noticed her
eyes. They were emerald green and burned with an
intensity like none he'd ever seen before. He felt
himself becoming lost in the depths of her eyes and
quickly released her hand, looking away.
"So," she asked, her voice soft and alluring, "do I
get to see why my Alex has been gone for so long?"
Mulder jumped when she spoke, startled out of his
reverie. "Yeah, sure, she's asleep in the back seat.
Her name is Samantha." He slowly pulled open the
Door, so that she could see his daughter. She leaned
in and gasped softly when she saw the baby in the
backseat. She was so perfect. She looked over at
Alex, then Samantha, and then back at Alex. She turned back to Mulder and
impulsively gave him a hug. "Good luck."
Mulder looked at her strangely, but didn't say
anything.
Krycek cleared his throat. "You sure you're ok to
drive back to DC alone, Mulder?" He asked, with
concern showing on his face.
Mulder nodded and smiled that heart-breaking, make-
you-weak-in-the-knees grin of his. "Sam and I will
be fine. I'll call you in a couple days, ok Alex?"
Krycek nodded and walked over to Mulder, enveloping
him in a bear hug. "Take care, Fox. Good luck."
Mulder returned the hug, feeling a closeness to
Krycek, a kinship, he'd only ever felt with one other
person. "Thanks Alex, I owe you one. Take care."
Tammy and Alex stood holding hands, watching as
Mulder pulled out of the parking lot, before turning
and heading back to her car.
Alex pushed the door shut and leaned back against it,
sighing. It felt so good to be home. He watched as
Tammy walked across the room, kicking off her boots
and tossing her coat across the couch. He could feel
himself becoming aroused just by watching her. It
had been too long.
"Tammy?" He whispered, his voice soft and husky.
She turned around, flipping her brilliant red hair
out of her eyes. "Yes?" Her voice, sultry.
"C'mere."
She walked towards him, feeling the excitement build
in the room. She had missed him, so much. He opened
his arms, as she came closer. He loved the way the
moonlight from the window played in her hair, the way
it shimmered in her green eyes. He felt his jeans
tighten.
She walked into his arms, loving the feel of him, his
unique smell. God, how she had missed him. He
reached a hand up, brushing her hair back from her
face, following his hand with tiny butterfly kisses.
She could feel her nipples beginning to harden just
from his light touch.
Suddenly, he spun her around, so that her back was
against the door. He reached over and closed the
blinds on the window. He tipped his head down,
kissing her forehead, her eyes, her nose, before
settling on her mouth.
She gasped, slightly, at the invasion of his tongue,
her surprise allowing him even deeper entrance. His
tongue battled with hers, both of them becoming more
heated by the second. He pulled back and drug in a
deep breath. Her eyes had gone dark green with
passion, almost as dark as his.
His fingers pulled her shirt, tugging it from her
pants, seeking entrance. He ran his fingers up her
sides, making her shiver. She tipped her head back
against the door and closed her eyes, enjoying the
feel of his talented hands on her. He unsnapped her
bra, quickly moving it out of the way. He cupped her
breasts, gently kneading them. She gasped, feeling a
pulsing begin between her legs. She wanted him to
take her now, but knew that the exquisite torture
would be worth it. Suddenly, he lifted her in his
arms and walked away from the door.
"I want to enjoy this." He whispered in her ear,
kissing it, as he placed her in the middle of the bed.
He kicked his shoes off, shrugged out of his coat,
before climbing on the bed on top of her. Her hair
was spread out across the pillows and he knew he had
never seen her look more beautiful.
He quickly pulled her shirt off, her bra following
behind it, then sat back, gazing at her beauty. Her
nipples were hard and stood out, begging for his
touch. He was happy to oblige. He bent down and
began suckling on one nipple, his hand playing with
the other one. He began running his tongue around
her nipple, then applied his teeth, gently, but
enough to get a reaction from her.
Her hips bucked, as she groaned out his name. "Oh
God, Alex."
He smiled against her chest, feeling his own
excitement building. He wanted this to last though,
wanted it to be special. He felt the need to make up
for having been gone so long.
Her hands roamed down his back, looking for the ends
of his shirt. She found it and pulled it up and over
his head, tossing it across the room. She ran her
hands down the front of his chest, loving the feel.
She teased his nipples with her fingertips, smiling,
as she elicited a groan from him.
With one move, her pants and underwear were gone. He
couldn't let her get control, not if he hoped to last
very long. He slid his hands back up her legs, his
mouth never leaving her breasts. Her breaths began
coming in short gasps. She was close, this Alex
knew, but he was determined to push her, as far as he
could, before he let her come. He stopped when his
fingers were almost at the juncture between her legs.
He could feel the heat coming off of her, felt her
buck beneath his hands. He stopped and looked up at
her, smiling evilly.
"Oh God, Alex." She moaned. "Don't stop now.
Please. I want you. Inside me. Now." She spoke
softly, quickly, knowing what he wanted to hear.
He nodded and was happy to oblige. He slid a finger
inside of her, his thumb rubbing at her clit. She
was so wet, so ready for him. He almost came when he
felt her contract around his finger. He took a deep
breath and slid another finger inside her, grinning
widely, as she lifted her hips off the bed to meet
him. He began to move back and forth, slow at first,
then getting faster and faster. She began mumbling
incoherently, her hips bucking wildly. With his free
hand, he reached down and removed the rest of his
clothes, letting them fall off of the side of the
bed. He removed his fingers, knowing that she was
almost there. She frowned and groaned slightly.
He sat down and picked her up, impaling her on him in
one swift move. She screamed, as she took him in,
feeling herself climax around him. Alex began moving
her up and down, almost removing her from him
completely each time he picked her up. Her head fell
back, her excitement building again. He leaned
forward and nipped at her breasts, first one and then
the other. She moaned. "Oh God, Alex, now. Now."
He pumped into her harder, faster, feeling himself
about to climax. He reached down with his hand,
rubbing her clit with his thumb in time to his
movements. She moaned and screamed his name and she
climaxed violently, clutching him tightly within her.
One more thrust and he came too, calling her name,
Mumbling, as he felt his hot seed pour into her. He
laid back on the bed, letting her fall onto his
chest, not bothering to remove himself from her.
They were both breathing hard. She ran her hands up
his chest and into his hair. She leaned closer and
kissed him softly on the lips. "I love you Alex."
"I love you too, Tammy."
John and Dana giggled, as they stood outside waiting
for the limo to be brought around. They had stayed
at the restaurant until close and in that remaining
time they had finished off both the bottle of
champagne and the bottle of wine. Plus John had
purchased another bottle of the champagne from the
restaurant to take home with them. Dana wrapped her
arms around John's waist and nibbled on his ear.
"So," she asked, her voice low and seductive, "are we
going to your place or mine?"
"Yours." He whispered, his voice hoarse, as the limo
pulled up. "It's closer." He grabbed her hand and
practically dragged her to the open limo door, a huge
grin on his face.
Dana awoke the next morning to the sunlight streaming
in through her bedroom window. She was lying on her
right side curled up next to John, her left hand on
his chest. Her fingers were laying in the sunlight
and she wiggled them, watching her ring send rainbows
all over the room. She pinched herself. And she giggled at herself, for
being so silly. John opened his eyes at the sound,
gazing at her beautiful face. She reached up and ran
her fingers over his face, through his hair. He
rolled over, so that she was underneath him and began
kissing her, running his fingers through her red
hair, urging her on. Soon, he was in her and they
were moving to their own rhythm. He felt like his
very soul was going to explode from what he felt for
this woman.
Afterward they both lay contentedly in each other
arms. "Well." Dana said, the first words either one
had spoken all morning. "Good morning to you, too."
He laughed softly, Dana feeling the rumbling in his
chest where her head was laying. He kissed her on
top of her head. "I love you."
She smiled into his chest. "I love you too, John."
"So," he asked, pulling her closer, "what are we
going to do with our day off today?"
She knew what his suggestion would be. "Well," she
said, raising herself up on her elbow so she could
look into his face, "I thought that maybe we should
begin by spreading the good news. I guess we should
probably set a date first."
"Tomorrow." John replied without a moment's
hesitation, drawing a laugh from Dana.
He smiled at her reaction, before continuing. "It
depends. Do you want a big wedding or a small
wedding, Dana?"
She frowned slightly, wondering what kind of wedding
his first had been. "Well...knowing my mom, she'll
want to help, and we'll end up having a huge wedding.
Is that ok with you?"
He shrugged. "That's all right with me. But the
sooner the better."
Dana laughed again. "In that case, we'd better get
up and get moving, hadn't we? I'll go make some
coffee while you get cleaned up."
John nodded and sighed. "Well, there goes my plans
for the day."
She picked up a pillow and hit him with it, playfully,
on her way out of bed. "I thought that's what the
honeymoon was for." She ran, laughing, through the
bedroom door towards the kitchen, so that when he
threw the pillow at her, he missed.
By the time they got home that night, it was late,
and they were both exhausted. They'd decided to
spend the night at her place again so that they could
spend the weekend packing her apartment up. She'd
told him earlier that after they were married she
wanted to move into his house with him. Permanently. He had been
more than happy with that news. Dana hummed softly,
as she walked around the living room, picking stuff
up. John had dropped her off and then gone to his
house to get some clothes. Waiting for him to come
back, she decided she needed some music to play on
the radio. She went over to the stereo and turned it
on, flipping through the stations until she found one
that seemed to be playing upbeat music. She turned
the stereo up as the female singer's voice filled the
room.
"I used to live in a darkened room / Had a face of
stone / and a heart of gloom
Lost my hope, I was so far gone / Cryin' all my tears
/ With the curtains drawn
I didn't know until my soul broke free / I've got
these angels watching over me"
Dana began to listen to the words more intently,
transfixed by how so much of it reflected her life.
"Oh watch me go / I'm a happy girl / Everybody knows
/ That the sweetest thing you'll ever see / In the
whole wide world / Is a happy girl"
Dana smiled.
She began to dance, as the music kept playing.
"I used to hide in a party crowd / Bottled up inside
/ Feeling so left out
Standing in a corner wearing concrete shoes / with my
frozen smile / and my lighted fuse
Now every time I start to feel like that / I roll my
heart out like a welcome mat"
"Oh watch me go / I'm a happy girl / Everybody knows
/ That the sweetest thing you'll ever see / In the
whole wide world / Is a happy girl"
"Laugh when I feel like it / Cry when I feel like it
/ That's just how my life is / That's how it goes"
"Oh watch me go / I'm a happy girl / and I've come to
know / that the world won't change / just cause I
complain / Let the axis twirl / I'm a happy girl"
Dana was so caught up in the music that not only
didn't she realize that John had come in, but she
didn't even hear the phone ringing. He answered it,
then tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and
turned the radio off. She turned to him, smiling.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." He was holding the
phone out to her, unsmiling. She frowned. "What is
it John?"
"Skinner's on the phone for you. He said it's
important."
She took the phone from him, a look of impatience
crossing her face. "Scully."
"Dana, it's Walter. I'm sorry to be calling you at
home so late, but I have some news for you."
"What kind of news?"
"Can you meet me at GW Hospital? I'll tell you when
you get here. It's urgent, so come now."
With that, he hung up.
Dana turned and looked at John, startled.
"What was that all about?" he asked, looking very
confused.
She shook her head. "I'm not sure. He told me he
had news and to meet him at GW Hospital as soon as
possible."
He grabbed the coat that he had just taken off.
"Well, let's go then."
John pulled into the parking lot of GW Hospital,
turned off his truck, and sighed. He could see the
bright lights from the emergency room off to his
left. He reached over and took Dana's hand. "Come
on," he said softly, "let's go see what's going on."
They walked across the parking lot hand in hand.
Skinner watched them walk across the lot towards him
with their fingers intertwined. He raised his
eyebrows in surprise. He had figured that they had a
relationship going outside of work, but since they
kept it private, he hadn't found it necessary to
remind them of the Bureau's policy. He sighed heavily,
as they came closer.
'John? Dana?" He began. "I'm sorry to bring you out
so late at night, but I felt this couldn't wait."
"What is it, Walter?" Dana asked, holding John's hand
tighter.
Skinner swallowed, visibly nervous. "It's Mulder."
Dana's face paled and John put his arms around her
shoulders, afraid that she was going to collapse.
"Mulder?" she whispered softly.
"He was in an accident. He ... A drunken driver ran a
red light and broad sided Mulder."
Dana gasped. "Oh my God! How is he?"
"He's critical. He's in surgery right now with
internal injuries. He has a broken leg. They're
going to check him for head injuries when he wakes.
I guess he had a pretty nasty cut on the side of his
head from where it cracked the windshield. But Dana,
that's not all."
John spoke for the first time, quiet but firm.
"There's more?" His voice was tinged with a bit of
disbelief.
Skinner nodded. "He had a baby in the car with him.
A little girl."
Dana felt her knees buckle.
Skinner reached out to catch her, but John already
had his hands under her arms, holding her up.
"How is she?" She whispered. "How's Samantha?"
Skinner shook his head slightly. "I can't explain
it, Dana, but she's fine. She doesn't have a scratch
or a bruise on her."
Dana slowly stood on her own feet again. "Can I see
her?"
Skinner nodded. "Follow me."
They walked swiftly down the bright white halls of
the hospital towards the elevators.
"She's in the nursery." Skinner explained, as he
punched a button. He glanced over at them out of the
corner of his eye. Dana was leaning back against
John's chest, some of her color finally returning.
He had his arms around her and she had her hands on
top of his. Skinner groaned inwardly,
noticing the ring for the first time. The elevator
stopped and the doors slid open, allowing them to see
into the windows of the nursery. Skinner led them to
the nurse station. He went up to the nurse in charge
and flashed his badge. "We're here to see Samantha
Mulder."
John and Dana both thought in
unison.
The nurse, whose nametag said Lorna, smiled and
nodded. "Right this way please."
They began following her down the hallway, Skinner's
eyes appreciatively taking in her long brown hair and
hourglass figure. He mentally slapped himself.
The four of them stopped in front of a door marked
"PRIVATE."
"Here you go," said Lorna. "Let me know if I can do
anything else for you." With that she headed back to
the nurses' station. Skinner looked at them. "I'm
gonna go check on Mulder, ok? I'll be back."
John nodded, reassuring Dana. "Go ahead, Honey. It's
ok."
She looked at him, her nervousness showing. "Come
with me?" she asked softly, pleading.
He nodded and she pushed open the door. There was a
crib inside, along with a rocking chair, a bed and
some monitors. Dana picked up the chart off the back
of the door, needing a moment to compose herself.
Satisfied, both with the chart and with her
composure, she walked over to the crib. She gasped
when she looked inside. Not only was the baby even
prettier than in the pictures, but she looked like
Mulder. This was her baby. Samantha was smiling up
at her, her hazel eyes wide and bright. Dana could
feel the tears begin running down her cheeks, as she
reached down and picked up her daughter for the first
time.
Dana made her way over to the bed and sat down,
patting a spot next to her on the bed for John to sit
down. He sat down and put his arm around her. She
began talking to Samantha just like she had all of
those months when she was carrying her. "Hi
Samantha. I'm your mommy."
Samantha looked up at her, nodding her head slightly,
as if agreeing. Dana smiled and wiped away her
tears. "Samantha, I want you to meet someone. This
is John." She looked up at him. "Do you want to
hold her?"
He nodded, his eyes bright with unshed tears. He
carefully took Samantha from her mother's arms. "Hi
Samantha." He whispered, rocking her back and forth,
feeling both happy and sad at the same time.
Dana smiled, as she watched the two of them together.
She prayed that everything would be all right.
Skinner opened the door about 10 minutes later. Dana
was holding Samantha again and John was holding both
of them. Skinner felt like he was intruding and was
about to leave when Dana looked up. "What is it
Walter?"
"Mulder is out of surgery. He's still asleep," he
cautioned, "but you can see him if you'd like."
"How is he?" she asked anxiously.
"His doctor is waiting upstairs to speak with you."
She nodded and turned to John. "Are you going with
me?"
He shook his head, remembering the last time Mulder
had been in the hospital. The look on Dana's face
when she had sat with Mulder. He couldn't go through
that again, especially now. "I think I'll stay here
with Sam." He said quietly, unknowingly giving the
child a nickname that she would use for years to
come.
Dana nodded, bewildered, but in too much of a hurry
to ask questions. She handed Sam to John, giving
them both a quick kiss. "I'll be back soon," she
said, as she followed Skinner out the door.
"Well," John said, looking down into Sam's big eyes,
"guess it's just you and me kid." He slowly walked
over to the rocking chair and sat down, cradling her
in his arms. He began rocking back and forth, still
talking softly to Sam. "You know, your Mom didn't
tell you, but I'm in love with her. I have been ever
since I met her." He sighed heavily. "I just hope
she chooses me over your daddy." He whispered, his
voice breaking. He hugged her closer, as the tears
ran down his face, thinking of all he'd already lost.
He prayed he wouldn't lose Dana too.
Dana and Skinner were met in the upstairs hallway by
a tall, blond haired, distinguished looking man.
"Hello, you must be Dr. Scully. I'm Dr. Ray. It's
good to meet you. I'll tell you, Agent Mulder is a
very lucky man. He does have a fracture in his left
lower leg, but it's not bad and should heal within 6
weeks. His internal injuries were not as bad as we
thought they were. We did have to remove his spleen
and his liver is slightly bruised, but other than
that, no damage was done. He does have a 6 inch gash
on the left side of his head where it broke the
windshield. We were able to stitch it up nicely, but,
as he is still unconscious, I don't know if he will
have any head trauma. Would you like to see him?"
Scully nodded, absorbing all of the info she had just
been given. "Yes, please."
"Right this way."
He stopped in front of a room marked Recovery Room 4.
"If you have any questions, you can have a nurse page
me."
She nodded again. "Thank you Dr. Ray."
She turned and looked at Skinner. "Shall we?"
"Are you sure you want me to go in with you Dana?"
"Yeah. I'm sure."
They both entered the room. Mulder looked very
strange lying there with tubes running out of his
body and his head bandaged. His leg was up in a
sling. Dana grimaced slightly, remembering a time,
not so long ago, when she was sitting with Mulder in a
hospital. She sat down next to the bed, holding his
hand. Skinner stood slightly behind her.
Suddenly, Mulder moved and his eyes began to open.
"Mulder?" Dana whispered softly. "Can you hear me?"
He opened his eyes and blinked them a few times,
trying to clear them. He looked around the room
before his eyes settled on the beautiful face looking
down at him.
"Mulder? Can you hear me?"
He nodded, a look of confusion on his face. "Who are
you?"
Dana's eyes opened wide, almost as wide as her mouth
did, yet she was unable to say anything.
Mulder looked at Skinner next. "Agent Skinner? What
are you doing here? What's going on?"
Skinner was as shocked as Dana was. Neither one of them was able to
speak. Mulder continued to look around the room,
unaware that he was still holding onto Dana's hand.
He finally turned back to Skinner,
"Agent Skinner, what is going on here? Why am I in a
hospital? Where is Diana?"
At that last question, Dana gasped and dropped
Mulder's hand.
A thought hit Dana like a lightening bolt and she
turned to Skinner.
"I'm going to find Dr. Ray." She mumbled, as she
quickly left the room, praying she'd make it outside
before she broke down.
Skinner took the seat that she had vacated. He had
no idea what to say to Mulder.
"Agent Mulder, you were in a car accident earlier
this evening. You sustained severe internal injuries
and were brought to the hospital. You were released
from surgery about an hour ago."
Mulder nodded taking in the information. "I see.
Who was that woman who was just in here?" Skinner
could tell that Mulder wasn't joking by the look on
his face.
"That was Special Agent Dana Scully. She's your
partner."
Mulder's jaw hit the floor. "What? She's not my
partner. Diana Fowley is my partner. Where is
Diana?"
Skinner shook his head, wondering how to explain this
one, when Dana returned with Dr. Ray.
"Hello there, Mr. Mulder." Said Dr. Ray, looking as
calm and cool as he had earlier. "I'm Dr. Ray. I'm
the surgeon who operated on you. How are you
feeling?"
Mulder looked at him, and shook his outstretched
hand. "I'm rather sore, but I feel fine."
"I see. Can you tell me, Mr. Mulder, what today's
date is?"
Mulder frowned.
He looked at the calendar on the wall. "It's
February 15."
Dr. Ray nodded. "What year is it?"
Mulder
wondered. "It's 1993, of course."
Dana sat in a chair out in the hallway, her head in
her hands. After Mulder had said that it was 1993
she hadn't been able to stay in the room any longer.
She knew what had happened. She had read about this
kind of amnesia before, where years disappear from
people's memories. The only problem was, no one knew
for sure how to solve it. She could feel the tears
seeping out from under her eyelids again and wished
she had better control over her emotions. She
quickly wiped them away. She could feel the tears
beginning again, this time in earnest, the tears she
hated to let fall, but knew that she couldn't stop.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly wiped
her eyes dry before looking up.
"Are you ok, Dana?" A soft, gentle, caring voice
asked.
"I'm fine Walter," she said, without conviction.
He sat down in the chair next
to her and gave her a quick hug. "I'm so sorry Dana.
I wish I could fix this."
She tried to smile at him. "It's ok Walter. It's
not your fault. You couldn't have known that Mulder
wouldn't remember me. Besides, you've given me Sam."
She stood up. "Speaking of Sam, I think I'll go
downstairs and see how she is. Excuse me."
Walter stood and watched, as she walked down the hall
towards the elevator, shoulders slumped, the fire
gone. He felt horrible.
Dana peeked in through the window of Sam's room,
before going inside. John was sitting in the rocking
chair, holding Sam. They were slowly rocking back
and forth. It looked as if John were talking to her.
Dana felt her heart tug, watching them. She knew
that this was meant to be, this was where she was
meant to be. She slowly pushed the door open and
could hear that John was singing to Sam. Dana
smiled. He was singing "their" song, "Amazed" to
her. She walked over to them.
John looked up. "Hey." He noticed the look on her
face. "What's wrong?"
Dana held out her arms for Sam, needing to hold her.
She took Sam in her arms and hugged her, before
answering John. "He doesn't remember me."
John was shocked. How could someone forget this
beautiful woman? "He doesn't remember you?"
She shook her head. "He thinks it 1993...before he met
me, before he started the X-Files, before
everything." She blinked quickly, hoping to stop the
tears. She'd cried enough about it, she refused to
cry anymore.
John stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her
and Sam. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm so
sorry, Honey."
She smiled, a small one, but the first real smile
since she'd been to Mulder's room. "I know. It's
ok. I'll learn how to handle it. It'll just be hard
at first. His not remembering me, is like removing 9
years from my life."
"We'll help him Dana. It'll be ok."
She tilted her head up and kissed him, Sam cradled
between them.
Mulder looked around his cold, smelly hospital room.
He hated being in the hospital, he always had. He
rubbed his eyes with his hand. He was so confused.
The doctor had left awhile ago, after explaining to
him that it was 2002, not 1993. Skinner had told him
that he would be back in a little while and would
answer any questions that Mulder had. So that left
him alone. Alone in his misery to wonder what had
happened. He felt bad, not remembering her. He
couldn't believe he could forget a face like that.
Yet, he didn't remember. He shook his head. He closed his eyes
and prayed that things would be different when he
woke up.
John awoke early the next morning and looked around,
disoriented at first. Then he remembered.
He and Dana had stayed up
late last night talking. He had been very afraid
that Dana might want to take Sam and be a family with
Mulder now, and he had told her so. He grinned, as he
remembered what she had told him. "John Doggett!"
She had said, her voice firm. "Of all the things I
want at this point in my life, being part of a family
with Mulder, is not one of them." They had decided
that they would go ahead with their plans for their
life together. Besides, they'd already told Dana's
landlord that she was moving out. They were going to
take things one day at a time and see how it went.
John sat up on the bed and stretched. Dana was in
the rocking chair next to the crib, fast asleep.
He'd tried to persuade her to sleep in the bed with
him, but she'd wanted to be close to Sam. "Just in
case." She'd said. He couldn't fault her. If he had
been Dana, he probably would have wanted to hold Sam
all night long. He looked at his watch as he stood
up and nodded in satisfaction. 6:30 am. He quickly scribbled a note for Dana and
headed out the door.
Mulder awoke that same morning with a pounding
headache. He opened his eyes and closed them just as
quickly, when he realized the sun was shining in them.
He was very irritable and thought about going back to
sleep when a bright, entirely too cheerful voice,
broke the silence. "Good morning, Mr. Mulder." The
voice chirped from over by the window. The sunlight
disappeared and he opened his eyes again, much slower
this time. Standing in front of him was a very
pretty, but very young, nurse.
"My name is Lorna, Mr. Mulder and I am the nurse in
charge of this floor. I thought I'd stop by and see
if you needed anything."
Mulder winced at the cheerfulness in her voice.
"Yes. Yes I do. First it's just plain Mulder. No
Mr. And second, do you have any painkillers? I have
a bitch of a headache this morning." He groaned and
closed his eyes.
Lorna smiled, as he closed his eyes. Oh, he may seem
difficult, but those were her favorite kind of
patients. "I'll be right back with some painkillers,
Mulder." She replied in a much softer tone of voice,
as she left the room. She thought.
A couple of hours later, Alex opened his eyes and
sighed. Tammy was lying on her side facing him, her
head pillowed on her arms, her hair splayed across
her arms, a lock falling onto her forehead. Alex
reached out with a hand and gently brushed the lock
of hair behind her ears. She opened her eyes
slightly and smiled. "Hi." She whispered.
"Hi yourself." He gave her that beautiful smile of
his, the one that always made her heart melt. He
leaned over and positioned his lips directly above
hers, stopping for a moment before making contact,
teasing her with the feel of his breath on her mouth.
He closed the gap and brushed his lips across hers
lightly, so very light that she almost didn't feel
them. She reached up and ran her fingers through his
hair, locking them behind his head, and pulling him
down, kissing him, soft and slow at first, then
deepening the kiss, kicking her legs to get the sheet
out of the way. She wanted to feel him on her...feel
all of him on her. Not only on her, but in her.
Last night he'd had his chance to be in charge, but
Now, she was going to take charge. She rolled him
over so that she was on top of him. She ran her
fingers down his chest, following them with her lips.
She stopped with her mouth, teasing his nipples,
first one and then the other, her fingers making
circles on his abdomen. He gasped, allowing a soft
groan to escape from him. She began moving farther
down with her mouth, bypassing the part of him that
was aching for her touch. She slowly ran her mouth
down one leg and up the other, pressing soft kisses
everywhere before coming back to his penis. His
proud erection, standing tall, the tip gleaming. She
ran her fingers up and to the top, rubbing the small
opening with her thumb. She felt the moan before she
actually heard it. She smiled and knew she had him.
She leaned down and kissed the tip of his penis,
running her tongue around the head and pressing
kisses along its entire length. She then ran her
tongue from base to tip before opening her mouth and
taking him in, slow, smooth, teasing him with her
teeth. She ran her mouth up and down, slowly sucking
on him, feeling him pulse within her mouth. She
moved faster, feeling the excitement building when
suddenly, he sat up and reached down and pulled her up
off of him. "No." He whispered. "Together." He
laid her down on the bed and climbed on top of her,
loving the way that her eyes went so dark that they
were almost black when she was excited. He smiled
down at her heaving chest, her nipples erect. He
bent over and took one of her nipples in his mouth,
nibbling on it, at the same time he entered her. He
moved slowly, surely, wanting to bring her to the
same level of excitement that she had brought him to.
He moved a hand lower, massaging her clit. He
brought his mouth up to her lips and kissed her
deeply, the movements of his tongue, matching his
movements within her. She began to thrash back and
forth, her breath coming in small gasps. She pushed
as hard as she could against him, striving to get him
deeper inside her. "Oh God, Alex," she moaned. The
sound of her voice excited him, causing him to move
faster, harder, deeper. Suddenly he felt her clinch
around him, hear her moaning his name, and felt his
own climax begin to wash over him. His seed ran
inside her as he collapsed on top of her, kissing her
hair. "Wow," she muttered.
"Wow, is right." He answered, smiling against her
head. He propped himself up on one elbow so he could
see into her eyes.
She smiled up at him. "I love you."
"I love you too, Babe. Will you marry me?"
Tammy stared up at Alex, love and surprise battling
in her emerald eyes. She gazed deep into his face,
hoping, praying that he meant what he said. She knew
he loved her, but she'd never thought that he would
be ready to take the plunge. She almost cried at
what she saw in his eyes. Love, trust, everything
she had ever wanted. She leaned up and kissed him
softly. "Yes, Alex, I will marry you."
He smiled and moved over to where his pants where
lying on the floor. He pulled a small box out of his
pocket and sat up in the bed next to Tammy. He
really hoped that she liked the ring. He had decided
not to go for just diamonds. When the hell had he
ever been traditional? He kind of kneeled on the bed
in front of Tammy and slowly opened the box. She
gasped when she looked inside. He slowly slid the
ring on her finger. In the middle was a 3/4 carat,
emerald cut ruby, and on each side was a 1/4 carat,
round cut diamond. He kissed her hand after he
slipped the ring onto it. "I will always love you,
no matter what." He whispered.
He tugged on her hand, pulling her out of bed.
"Let's go get some breakfast."
She smiled at him. "Maybe we should get dressed
First, if we're going out?"
He looked down at himself, then back at her. "Yeah,
maybe."
A couple hours later they returned from The Westwood
Inn, Tammy's favorite place to eat breakfast. They
were lying around the house, watching TV, when Alex
had a thought.
"Hey," he said, looking at Tammy who was lying on the
floor almost asleep.
"Yeah?"
"Think I should call Mulder? I know he said he'd
call me in a couple days, but I have this funny
feeling."
Tammy shrugged. "Sure, why not? I don't figure
he'll be pissed at you for checking up on him. Tell
him you wanted to know how Sam was, if you feel you
need an excuse."
He grinned that one-of-a-kind-make-you-weak-in-the-
knees smile. "Me? Need an excuse?"
He ducked, as she tossed a pillow at him, and went
into the kitchen to pick up the phone.
He returned about 5 minutes later and stood in the
doorway watching Tammy. His soon-to-be-wife. He
smiled. After everything he'd been through in his
life, everything he'd done wrong, he never thought
that he'd find acceptance. But with Tammy, he'd
found more than acceptance. He'd found trust,
friendship, and even love. He slowly made his way
over to where she was resting on the floor. She was
lying on her right side, facing the TV. Some of her
hair had fallen over her face and it moved gently
when she breathed. He could tell that she'd fallen
back to sleep. He looked at the clock and wasn't
surprised. It was only 7 am. He bent down and
brushed her hair away from her face. She murmured
slightly but didn't wake. He gently lifted her from
the floor and carried her to the bed. He set her on
it and laid down behind her, wrapping his arms around
her stomach. After having been gone for so long, he
never wanted to leave her again. She snuggled closer
to him in her sleep. He smiled and closed his eyes,
praying that things would be quiet for awhile.
Dana sat up and stretched, moving her head from side
to side. She had a headache from sleeping in the
rocker all night long, but it was worth it to be
close to her daughter. She smiled,
as she stood up, bringing her hands above her head to
stretch the rest of her body. She looked around the
room, expecting to see John still asleep in the bed.
She frowned when she didn't see him on the bed behind
her. Then she noticed a piece of
paper propped up on the table next to Sam's crib.
She hurried across the room to pick it up, peeking in
the crib at a sleeping Sam, as she passed. She
flipped open the note and held it up to the light to
see it better.
"Dear Dana," it began. "Good morning, Dear. I had to
run a few errands this morning before we took Sam
home. I hope you don't mind that I left you alone
for a bit. I should be back by 10. I love you,
John."
Dana looked at her watch. It was 8:00. She smiled,
knowing that when John came back, they would be able
to take Sam home.
She was humming when there was a soft knock upon the
door.
She pulled open the door.
"Walter?" She said, somewhat surprised to see him
there, so early in the morning. She knew he had been
up with Mulder until late the night before and had
figured that he would sleep in.
"Morning, Dana," he said, looking tired, the bags
under his eyes making him look older than he really
was. He held out the bags he was carrying. "I
brought breakfast." He said, as she took them from
him. He looked around the room. "Where's John?"
"He went to run some errands." She replied, as she set
out the muffins and the coffee on a table near the
bed. She picked up an apple cinnamon muffin and a
cup of coffee and sat on the bed. "Here." She said,
motioning to a spot on the bed next to her. "Have a
seat."
Walter picked up his own coffee and sat next to her,
somewhat glad that John wasn't there. It would make
it easier to have this conversation with Dana.
"So, Walter?" Dana began, not one to beat around the
bush. "What can I do for you this morning?"
Skinner sighed. He had been hoping that perhaps they
could make some small talk first. "Well, Dana," he
said, afraid he would stumble over it and alienate
her. "I noticed your ring last night."
She smiled as she moved her fingers, so that her ring
sparkled in the light. "Yes, John asked me to marry
him."
He smiled at her obvious happiness.
"Congratulations. However, I know that this isn't a
good time and this isn't a topic that I want to
broach, but I feel-"
Dana interrupted, finishing his sentence. "That you
must remind me of the Bureau's policy regarding
interoffice relationships."
Skinner nodded, relieved that she seemed to be ok
with discussing this. "Yes."
She smiled at him, now understanding what his earlier
nervousness had been about. "I understand your
position here, Walter. And I will be talking to John
about that shortly. Right now I would like to ask
you if I may take my maternity leave now?"
He nodded again, glad to have that conversation over
with. "Of course you may, effective immediately.
Just let me know when you'd like to come back to
work."
"Thank you, Sir, I will."
With that they finished their breakfast in
companionable silence.
15 minutes later, Skinner stepped off the elevator in
an upstairs hallway. He walked down the hall towards
Mulder's room, wondering in the back of his head if
Lorna was working today. He slowly pushed open the
door to Mulder's room. He was almost more nervous
about seeing Mulder, than he had been about seeing
Dana. He had no idea where to begin explaining
things to Mulder. Skinner shrugged to himself and entered
the room. He just prayed that he'd know the answers,
when Mulder started with his questions. He looked at
Mulder lying there in the bed. His eyes were closed
and so Skinner crept quietly across the room, hoping
he didn't wake him, as he sat in the chair.
He sat there for about 10 minutes or so, just
watching Mulder, lost in his thoughts, when Mulder
began to stir. He rolled his head to the side and
looked at the man sitting next to him. "Skinner."
"Good morning, Mulder. How do you feel?"
"Like shit. How are you this morning?"
Skinner smiled, thinking that this sounded like the
Mulder he knew. "I'm ok. Tired, but ok."
"Really? Cause you look like shit."
Skinner laughed out loud. "Thanks Mulder, but you
don't look much better."
Mulder sighed and looked at the ceiling again.
Skinner sat there quietly, knowing that Mulder would
talk when he was ready to.
"Agent Skinner?" came the voice softly from the bed.
"Actually, it's Assistant Director now, Mulder."
Mulder looked at Skinner again, the shock obvious in
his hazel eyes. "AD huh? Congratulations."
Skinner blushed slightly. "Thanks Mulder. What was
your question?"
"I just wanted to know if this was a dream, or if I
really did forget 9 years of my life. But you just
answered that question."
Skinner sighed, unsure of how to help his friend.
"I'm sorry."
Mulder nodded, sure that he was, but knowing that
hearing it didn't make him feel any better. "Where
are my parents?"
Skinner lowered his eyes. "They're dead, Mulder."
Mulder's eyes widened and filled with tears. "Dead?"
Skinner nodded.
"And Diana?"
"She's dead, too, Mulder."
It was then, that Mulder couldn't hold back the tears
anymore. He rolled his head back so he was staring
at the ceiling, not wanting Skinner to see his
torment.
Skinner stood up, understanding Mulder's unspoken
request. "I'll be back later," he promised softly, as
he closed the door behind him.
Mulder began crying in earnest when he heard the door
click shut behind Skinner.
Skinner went back downstairs to the nursery, turning
towards Sam's room when he got off of the elevator.
He had an idea, but he wanted to run it by Dana first.
He slowly opened the door, smiling at Dana sitting in
the rocking chair, singing softly to Sam. She looked
up at him, her eyes bright, some of the happiness
having returned. She sat up straighter, the smile
dropping from her face, when she saw the look in
Skinner's eyes.
"Sir? What is it?" unknowingly reverting to the term
of respect that she always used when things got bad.
He shook his head, as he sat down on the bed. "I just
went to see Mulder."
She nodded. "How is he this morning?"
"He still doesn't remember anything. This morning he
asked about Diana, about his parents."
Dana's eyes flashed understanding of where Skinner
was going with this, and compassion for what Mulder
was feeling. "How did he take it?"
"Not well. That's why I'm here. I...I have this
feeling that Mulder doesn't think he has anything
left worth living for, and well..." he gestured around
the room.
"You'd like for him to meet Sam?" she asked.
"Only if you're comfortable with it." He was quick
to reassure her. "I just thought that, well, she is
his child and even if it doesn't help trigger his
memory, it might make him realize that life goes on."
He shrugged. "It was just an idea."
She nodded. "Yeah, it's an idea. Not a bad one.
Let me think about it, would you please?"
He nodded and stood to leave. "I couldn't ask for
anything more from you."
Dana was still sitting, contemplating Skinner's idea,
when John returned. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Good morning."
"Good morning yourself, Beautiful," he replied as he
bent down to give her a kiss. "What had you looking
so preoccupied when I came in?"
"Skinner stopped by to see me this morning."
"Yeah?" John replied as he held out his arms for Sam.
Dana gently handed her over.
"Well, he had two things that he wanted to talk to me
about. The first was he wanted to remind us of the
Bureau's policy on relationships within the Bureau."
John sighed.
"Don't worry," Dana was quick to reassure him. "We
have the entirety of my maternity leave to think
about that."
"Good," John grinned.
"Also he wanted to talk about his visit this morning
with Mulder."
John's grin dimmed slightly. "How is Mulder doing?"
Dana shook her head. "I haven't been up to see him
yet today, but Skinner says he's not doing too well.
I guess Mulder asked about his parents and Diana this
morning." At John's confused look, she explained.
"Diana was his girlfriend in 1993. She was murdered.
Both of his parents are dead as well."
"Oh God," John said as he sand down onto the bed,
still holding onto Sam, a bit tighter now. "I can
imagine how he feels."
Dana continued, "Skinner had a suggestion to make and
I wanted to discuss it with you."
John nodded.
"Skinner thinks that Mulder feels he has nothing left
to live for. He thought that, perhaps, it might give
Mulder some meaning, if he were to meet Samantha."
Dana bit her lip and looked at John. He was frowning
slightly, the lines on his forehead indicating that
he was deep in thought.
They sat in silence for a minute when John suddenly
spoke up. "You should do it."
Dana looked at him, surprise evident in her blue
eyes. "You think so?"
John grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I do. If anything
is going to give him the will to live, it'll be this
heartbreaker."
Dana smiled at him and held her arms out for Sam.
"If it's all right with you, I think I'll introduce
them before we go home. Want to come with me?"
John shook his head. "I think it would be easier if
I didn't go this time. If I did you would not only
have to inform Mulder that he's the biological father
of Sam, but that the man standing next to you is
going to be the one marrying you."
Dana nodded. "That's true. I don't want to spring
too much on him at once."
"I'll tidy up here while you go see Mulder. I'll be
here when you get back."
Dana started to leave, but stopped and turned around
at the door.
"John?"
"Yes, Dana?" He looked up for where he was making the
bed.
"Where did you go this morning?"
John got a gleam in his eye. "It's a surprise.
You'll see."
Dana stuck out her tongue at him and quickly hurried
out the door.
John whistled softly, as he wandered around
straightening up the room.
Mulder was sitting up in bed, flipping through the
channels, bored out of his mind. He wanted to go
home, but Dr. Ray said he wanted to make sure that he
didn't have any severe head injuries. Mulder had had
to hold back a laugh when Dr. Ray had said that.
He looked up, as he heard a soft knock on
his door. He thought
bitterly. That
brought a small smile to his face. "Come in," he
called.
The door opened slowly and in walked the redhead from
the night before, carrying a small child. Mulder
racked his brain but couldn't think of her first name,
so he just said, "Hey."
"Hey," she replied somewhat shyly, sitting on the
chair by his bed. She could tell he still didn't
really remember her, so she shifted Sam to one side
and stuck out her hand. "I'm Dana."
He smiled, glad that she understood. "I'm Fox," he
said as he shook her hand.
Dana thought. <'Fox' huh? He must've been
hit harder on the head than we thought.> She
thought maybe she'd try and make small talk first.
"How are you feeling today?"
Mulder made a face. "My head hurts like a bitch."
Looking at Sam, he blushed slightly. "Uh...I mean, I
have a headache. How are you today?"
"I'm doing great."
Still looking at Sam, he remarked, "She sure is
pretty."
Dana nodded. "It's surprising, since she looks so
much like her Dad."
Mulder laughed. "Poor guy."
Dana giggled, at ease with Mulder once again.
"Actually, that 'poor guy' is you, Fox."
His jaw fell in surprise, as Dana rushed to explain.
"We worked together for 8 years. In that time, you
became my best friend. You knew that more than
anything in the world, I wanted to be a mother. At
the time I was unattached." She glanced down at her
engagement ring, Mulder's eyes following. "So, you
agreed to be a donor."
Mulder's eyes widened. "A sperm donor?"
Dana nodded, praying he didn't ask when she'd had the
Invitro.
Mulder was quiet for a minute, a look of intense
concentration on his face. He shook his head,
indicating that he didn't remember. "So...what's my
daughter's name?" He grinned at Dana and held out his
arms.
"Sam...Samantha Katherine Mulder." She'd found the
middle name on a birth certificate that had been in
Mulder's personal effects.
Mulder looked up at her, his hazel eyes glistening
with unshed tears. "Samantha? After my sister?"
Dana nodded and watched, as he interacted with their
child. "Hi Sam," he said making silly faces at her.
"I'm your Daddy."
Watching him play with Sam, Dana prayed he would be
ok with John being a dad to Sam too.
As if reading her thoughts, Mulder turned to her.
"So, Dana, when do I get to meet the man who's going
to be Sam's step-dad?" He tried to put on a serious
face. "After all, I should approve him first,
right?"
As Dana looked shocked and opened her mouth to argue,
Mulder began laughing.
Realizing that he was only kidding, Dana laughed too.
"You can meet John whenever you want to."
He nodded. "Good. I should be out of here in a day
or so. Maybe we can all get together then."
She nodded, but didn't say anything as Mulder had
already turned his attention back to Sam.
About half an hour later, Dana returned to Sam's room
to meet John. The meeting with Mulder, ,
had gone much better than she'd expected. She was
surprised at how easily he had seemed to take to Sam,
but then again this wasn't the same Fox Mulder who
had gone to find their daughter so many months ago.
She shrugged, as she opened the door to Sam's room.
Who was she to argue with it?
Dana gasped as she walked into the room. On the
table in the middle of the room were a dozen white
roses. Thinking they were for her, Dana walked over
and pulled the card out. She giggled when she
realized that they were addressed to Samantha Mulder.
Opening the card she found a little note. "Welcome
home, Sam. Love, John." Dana had to wipe a small
tear of happiness from her eye, as she read the note.
"Look Sam," she said, pointing to the flowers.
"These are for you." She heard a noise behind her
and turned around. John was leaning against the
door, holding a small white teddy bear. She'd never
seen him look more adorable.
"So," he said, emotion clouding his voice. "Ready to
go home?"
Dana nodded happily, as she held out Sam for John to
take, so she could put her coat on. "I'm more than
ready to go home. John, the flowers are beautiful.
You didn't have to."
He smiled. "I know. But I wanted to. What's a
hospital room without flowers in it?"
Dana walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the
cheek. "Thank you."
He hugged her tight, still holding onto Sam with his
other arm. "Let's go."
Arm in arm they walked out of the hospital, the three
of them lost in their own special world.
John pulled his truck up in front of his house and
went around to help Dana and Sam out. He couldn't
wait for them to get inside. He hoped that Dana
liked his surprise. He couldn't help but grin with
his excitement. Dana noticed.
"What're you grinning about, John?" she teased.
"Oh, just that I'm bringing home not one, but two
beautiful girls."
"Yeah, right." She grinned at him, pleased with how
everything seemed to be working out.
As they walked through the front door, Sam yawned
rather loudly.
"Uh oh, I think somebody's ready for a nap," Dana
said.
"C'mon, let's go put her down for a nap," John said,
beckoning her to the stairs.
"Well...we don't have a crib for her here. It's still
in storage. I guess we can put her on your bed and
surround her with pillows."
"I guess," John answered noncommittally.
At the top of the stairs, John stopped at the door
right before the master bedroom, the bedroom that
would soon be his and Dana's. "John?" Dana asked.
He nodded towards the door and she slowly pushed it
open and gasped. Inside was all of the baby stuff
that she had bought to make her second bedroom into
the nursery. It had all been set up exactly as it
had been in her apartment. She turned and looked at
him, love shining in her eyes.
"Do you like it?" he asked anxiously.
"Like it? I love it! John this is perfect!!"
He smiled and handed Sam over to Dana so that she
could put her down for her nap.
He watched, as Dana cooed at Sam softly, as she tucked
her blanket in around, laying the small white teddy
bear from John next to her.
John walked over and stood next to her, looking down
into the cradle, as she rocked it slowly back and
forth. It took all of about 60 seconds for Sam to
fall asleep. John wrapped his arms around Dana's
waist and they stood like that for another minute,
just watching Sam sleep. John kissed Dana on the
side of the neck and she smiled.
"Come here, I want to show you something."
Dana turned and looked up at John? "Another
surprise?"
He grinned and took her hand, leading her out of the
room, stopping to turn on the baby monitor on the way
out of the door. They walked down the hall and into
the master bedroom. Dana frowned, looking around the
room. He pulled her over
to the closet.
"Ok," he said, the nervousness obvious in his voice.
"Open the closet."
Dana pulled open the closet door, expecting to see it
filled with John's stuff as it usually was. She gasped when she got the door
completely open and turned to look at John. "You
didn't!" she said, shocked.
He grinned that beautiful smile of his, his blue eyes
lighting up. "I did."
Suspicious now, Dana walked over to the master
bathroom. There, lined up on the sink, were all of
her cosmetics, stuff she'd left at her apartment
until she could manage to get it all packed up and
moved to his house. Just like all of her clothes
were side by side with his in the closet. She could
feel him standing behind her and turned and wrapped
her arms around him, too happy for words.
He bent to whisper in her ear. "I hope you don't
mind that I took the liberty of having all your stuff
packed and brought over here. I thought that you
might be kind of busy with Sam around."
She smiled up at him and kissed him softly on the
lips. "Mind? John, it's almost as if you read my
mind. I feel as if I should do something in return
for you."
John leaned forward and planted kisses on her
forehead, her nose, and finally her mouth. "I can
think of something you can do for me."
Dana laughed. "Is that all you men think about?"
"Where you're concerned, I'm sure."
Dana blushed slightly at his comment and put her arms
around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss.
John slowly began backing them towards the bed when
they heard a sound on the monitor. Sam crying. John
and Dana moaned simultaneously. He looked at Dana
and winked. "Why don't you stay here while I go get
her? Don't worry. I'll be back."
Dana smiled and nodded, as he turned to leave the
room.
Dana smiled to herself and went to the bathroom to
splash water on her face, as she waited for John to
return. Hearing a noise from the bedroom, she walked
back out to see what was going on. There wasn't
anyone in the room. She frowned, as she looked around
and realized the sounds were coming from the baby
monitor that John had set up next to the bed. She sat down own the bed, taking
the monitor in her hand so she could listen to what
was going on in the other room. John was making baby
talk to Sam. It sounded like he was sitting in the
rocking chair with her. She curled up on the bed,
tucking her legs between her, leaning back against
the headboard. She smiled, as John began softly
singing lullabies to Sam.
About 15 minutes later, John walked back into the
room. Dana was still curled up, holding the monitor,
staring off into space.
He walked softly across the room and took the monitor
from her hands, setting it on the bedside. She
looked at him startled. He took her face in his
hands. "Now where were we?" he murmured as he
lowered his lips to meet hers. He brushed his lips
across hers softly, so soft that she barely felt
them. He softly tugged on her lower lip with his
teeth, bringing it into his mouth, running his tongue
along her teeth. She moaned softly and sank back
onto the bed bringing him along with her. He took
advantage of her moan to deepen the kiss, running his
tongue just barely inside, teasing hers with the tip
of his. She returned the favor, dipping her tongue
inside his mouth, running her fingers up and down his
back as she did, creating little whispers of
sensation all throughout his body. He could feel
himself straining against his jeans. God, he loved
this woman so much. He slowly reached down with his
hands, grasping the bottom of her shirt and pulling
it up and over her head, tossing it on the floor.
She gasped, as the cool air hit her chest, right before
John covered her with his body again. She could feel
the warmth of him through his shirt, but wanted him
closer. As he bent down to kiss her neck and then
her chest, she untucked his shirt from his jeans,
landing it on the floor nicely next to hers. He
smiled and made short work of her bra, sending it
sailing. Dana laughed, as it got caught on the
bedpost and he watched how her laugh made her breasts
move, almost as if teasing him, tempting him. He
leaned down and flicked his tongue over one erect
nipple, smiling at her indrawn breath. He slowly
took her nipple into his mouth, teasing it first with
his tongue and then with his teeth, as his fingers did
the same for the other nipple. She groaned and
leaned into his mouth, wanting more. He knew what
she wanted, but he wanted to go slow. He slowly slid
his fingers of his other hand down to her jeans,
undoing the button and slowly unzipping them. He
kissed his way down to her stomach, sliding her jeans
and underwear off of her in one swift move. He moved
his mouth lower, feeling the warmth of her. He
flicked his tongue against her swollen clitoris and
she jumped at the sensation. Then his tongue was
inside her, slowly sliding in and out, back and
forth. She was bucking against him. He reached down
and removed the rest of his clothes, never stopping
his movements with his mouth. He stopped right
before she climaxed and positioned himself above her.
She looked up at him, her blue eyes so dark with
passion that they were almost black. She saw the
unspoken question in his eyes, loved how he always
asked her permission, even though she'd never turn
him down. She reached up and locked her fingers
behind his head, pulling him down for a kiss.
"Please, John," she whispered in his ear. "Make love
to me."
Needing no further encouragement, he slowly slid
inside of her until she felt that she would explode
from his size. He moved in and out, pulling himself
almost completely out each time, so as to increase the
friction. She began moving against him, tossing her
head from side to side. He pumped faster, harder,
wanting to climax, as badly as she did. He reached
down with his thumb and rubbed her clitoris in time
to his movements. That did her in. She arched
against him, moaning his name. Feeling her squeeze
around him, he climaxed as well, his hot seed
spilling into her. He slowly lowered his weight on
top of her, not removing himself from her. She
pushed a lock of hair back from his head as she
slowly returned to earth. She kissed his temple. "I
love you," she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close.
"I love you too."
After dinner that night, they sat in front of the TV
watching the news. Not that Dana really enjoyed
watching the news. There was too much violence and
heartache in the news these days. But John liked
keeping up on world events. And he wanted to make
sure that the new President wasn't going to start
another war. So, they sat and watched the news. As
the program came to an end, Dana stood. "Would you
like some coffee, John?"
He looked up at her, noticing that she seemed to be
nervous. "Sure."
She nodded and quickly walked out of the room. She
didn't know why she was nervous. She really didn't
think John was going to be mad at her or anything.
She smiled,
as she waited for the coffee to brew. 
