By Vickie Moseley

.
Chapter 3  Waiting for Charlie

Maggie Scully residence

June 1, 2005

8:15 am

Mulder awoke to find Scully wrapped in his arms and something warm cuddled against his back.  Turning so he could look over his shoulder, he found that William had migrated from his cot by the window and was now sleeping soundly in his parents' bed.  From her vantage point in the playpen, Missy smiled up at him and tossed her stuffed rabbit, just missing him.  Sammi was still sleeping peacefully in the crib that blocked the closet door. 

Mulder lay there a few minutes, trying to figure out the best escape route that would wake the fewest number of individuals currently sharing his sleeping space.  He opted for waking the one least likely to demand he go down and make breakfast. 

"Scully," he whispered in her ear.  "Scully, can you move over a little, love.  I'm stuck." 

A muffled grunt, and her reaction was to stuff the pillow more firmly under her cheek and turn so her back was now toward him.  For good measure, she scooted over a little more so that her bottom was nudging his stomach. 

"Scully, it's an emergency," he whispered.  "Bathroom," he added, hoping that would cause the desired effect. 

She turned over again, this time on her stomach, but he caught her shoulders shaking and knew he'd been had.  

"You've been awake all along," he accused as she finally slid over so that he could crawl over her and out of the bed. 

"You're just too easy, sweetheart," she said, not bothering to stifle her giggles. 

"Mamama!" shouted Missy and soon another honey blond head popped up in the nearby crib.  "Da-da-da-da-da!" echoed Sammi. 

"Mommy, I'm hungry," moaned William as he felt the mattress move and his personal bedwarmer leave the premises.  "What's for breakfast?" 

Mulder returned quickly from his mission with the room down the hall and scooped up both girls, much to their delight.  "Let's go downstairs and see what Gramma Maggie has in the cupboard.  I bet we'll find something to eat," he told William. 

"Make coffee?" Scully requested as she trudged off toward the bathroom. 

"If it's not already made.  You get your caffeine addiction honestly, Scully.  I've noticed your mom has the same problem." 

In truth, the coffee maker was just finishing its cycle as Mulder carried the girls down the steps with Will bringing up the rear.  Maggie was at the counter, buttering an English muffin while Tara was seated at the dinette with a blanket modestly covering most of her upper body.  Mulder recognized the fashion statement and knew a very young lady was already getting 'breakfast' under the cover of the blanket. 

"Gramma, what's for breakfast?" Will asked loudly and Mulder cringed.  

"Will, don't startle the baby," he said quietly, pointing to Tara and the blanket. 

Will immediately turned to look at his aunt and his expression changed to one of awe and understanding.  "Sorry, Auntie Tara.  Are you feeding Baby Julia mommy milk?" 

Tara grinned.  "Yes, William, that's all she can eat right now." 

"I know.  Missy and Sammi used to drink mommy milk all the time but now they can eat Cheerios, like me," he said seriously. 

"I bet they like that," Tara said, trying not to chuckle. 

"Well look what Grandma happens to have in the cupboard," Maggie said, holding the cabinet door so that William could see what was inside. 

"Cheerios!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. 

"Want to help me get the bowls and spoons?" Maggie asked. 

"Sure, I'm a good helper," he told her and quickly pushed Maggie's step stool over to the cabinet, counting out the bowls.  "Daddy, do you want Cheerios?" 

"Sure, buddy.  I'll have Cheerios this morning." 

"What about Mommy?" 

"I'm betting she'll want one of those English muffins your Gramma has there." 

"I'll have some Cheerios, William, if there's enough," Tara chimed in. 

"Oh, I have a whole unopened box if we go through this one," Maggie assured her daughter-in-law.  

Will dutifully counted out enough bowls and carried them to the table, where Maggie had already deposited the requisite number of spoons.  Soon, Mulder had a handful of dry cereal placed on each of the twin's high chair trays, with a sippy cup of milk, and Will, he and Tara were eating cereal from the bowls.  Maggie smiled at them all. 

"I'm starving!" came the sound from the doorway.  Matthew Scully walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.  "Are those Cheerios?" he asked, turning up his nose. 

"I have other cereal here, Matty.  What would you like?" Maggie asked, although she was already reaching into the cabinet for another box. 

"Raisin bran," the young boy said with a firm shake of his head. 

"Just like your father," Maggie said with a wink to Tara. 

"You'd think all that bran would help your father's disposition," Tara muttered under her breath, with a quick glance over at Mulder before she returned to eating her breakfast one handed. 

Mulder dipped his head in acknowledgement of an ally, but didn't say a word. 

Scully was the next to surface, freshly showered and dressed.  She helped herself to coffee and one of the muffins, dropping a few more pieces of cereal on Missy's tray when the baby had started to reach for her brother's bowl. 

"Morning Mom, Tara, family," she said with a wink and smile to Mulder as she reached past him to ruffle their son's hair.  She pulled up a chair next to her partner and satdown.  "What's on the agenda today, Mom?" 

"Well, Charlie and Karen's plane doesn't get in until 4:30, so I thought we could go over to the new outlet mall and check out the sidewalk sales." 

"They have 'another' mall here, Daddy?" Will exclaimed, wide eyed. 

Mulder stifled a laugh at Tara's confused expression.  "Will and I took in the Capitol Mall yesterday with our old boss, Walter." 

"This is a different mall, Will," Maggie assured the little boy.  "Like the one in Helena that you took me to when I visited you last year.  It has toy stores and book stores and stores where I can buy you and your sisters new clothes." 

Now it was Mulder's turn to look confused.  Scully placed her hand on his forearm.  "Mom wants a family portrait.  She's hoping we can find matching outfits for the kids.  At least the little ones.  I don't know if Ben and Nate are willing to go along with the idea." 

"It would be fun if we could get matching polo shirts for the adults.   For my Dad's birthday last year my brothers and their wives and Bill and I had our pictures taken with matching shirts.  It turned out really nice," Tara said happily. 

Mulder chewed on his lip a moment, wondering where this strange custom might have come from but Scully was pressing her heel onto the top of his foot and he chose to refrain from making a comment. 

"I have the appointment set up with the photography studio for next Monday at 1 pm.  They promised it wouldn't take more than an hour.  I told them we have small children in the party and they said they had the perfect photographer for working with kids.  I've seen her work and it's really fantastic," Maggie said happily. 

"Next Monday at one.  OK, I think we can handle that," Mulder said, silently dreading the day.  It had been torturous enough having just the five of them sit for a portrait at Christmas, he didn't want to see the chaos that having five additional adults, an infant, a young boy and two teenagers would invoke. 

"Did Walter say when we could move in," Scully asked as she headed for another cup of coffee. 

"I still don't see why you can't all stay here," Maggie groused from her seat at the table. 

"Mom, at Walter's we can have a room to ourselves and we won't be eating all your food.  Besides, by the time Charlie, Karen and the boys get here, you'll be glad we're not underfoot as well." 

"You are not underfoot, Dana," Maggie said firmly.  "I like having you all here." 

"We will be here a lot, Mom.  We just won't be sleeping here.  And with the current bed situation, I think that's a good thing.  Anyway, what did he say, Mulder?" 

"He gave me the key, said we could head over any time we want.  He's alerted the doorman to expect us in the next day or two.  I don't see why we can't go over this evening after dinner." 

"That soon?" Maggie asked, frowning. 

"Mom," Dana replied, an eyebrow giving fair warning that the matter was not up for discussion. 

"Let's get the kids ready and we can take on that mall," Tara suggested helpfully.  Mulder shot her a smile.  Tara seemed to be the perpetual peacemaker.  Since she'd been a part of the family longer than he had, he respected her ability to put quarreling parties at ease. 

"Yes, I think that's a good idea.  Fox, do you want to join us?" Maggie offered. 

Mulder immediately took on his panic look and Scully kicked his leg and snickered at him.  "Mom, I think Mulder wants a day to just lounge around the house, don't you?" 

"That sounds really nice," he admitted. 

"Well, Bill will probably sleep until 10 or so, so it should be quiet here," Tara said and Mulder couldn't decide if she was giving him a 'heads-up' warning or just dispensing information. 

"I'll remember to be real quiet," Mulder assured her and she smiled and nodded. 

Even with three women working full speed, it still took about an hour to get everyone out the door.  Mulder sighed in relief as he heard the tires on the minivan pull out of the driveway.  He got up and poured another cup of coffee and sat down at the table to read the Washington Post for the first time in almost 5 years. 

After reading the paper, Mulder took his coffee outside to the patio and just sat in the sunshine.  He itched to go fire up Maggie's computer, the one he and Scully had given her for Christmas so she could receive the countless photos and emails that Scully sent her to help her feel in touch with the family in Montana.  But the computer was in the office that had once belonged to Scully's father and Mulder knew instinctively that Bill would hit the ceiling if he found his sister's partner messing with any of Captain Scully's personal effects.  It was better just to enjoy the warmth and humidity that was a summer morning in Baltimore. 

He'd dozed off until he heard the back screen door slam.  Sitting up, he saw Bill looking around blearily, coffee cup firmly in his right hand, paper in his left. 

"Oh, I thought everyone left," Bill said dryly. 

"Not everyone," Mulder replied.  "Your mom, Tara and Dana took the kids shopping for clothes."  He made a point to call his partner Dana around her family but it still seemed like he was referring to someone else. 

"Yeah, Tara said something about a family portrait," Bill huffed as he settled in at the patio table and spread out the newspaper.  "That'll be a cluster-fuck if there ever was one," he growled. 

"Your mom searched for a photographer that's good with kids," Mulder said, mentally kicking himself for continuing the conversation.  He'd promised Scully he would give Bill a wide berth and here he was, in direct engagement.  She'd kill him if she found out. 

"Mom means well.  We tried something like this a couple of years ago, when Matt was a toddler.  Just Charlie, Karen, the boys and Tara, Matty and me.  Of course, at the time we thought we were the only kids left."  Bill looked over at Mulder and tilted his head, waiting for a reaction. 

"Well, I think I'm going up to take a shower," Mulder said suddenly and left faster than might be considered polite. 

When Scully arrived back at the house, a little past noon, she found Mulder in the bedroom on the bed, reading an old romance novel.  She held back her laugh as she sat down beside him. 

"Mulder, you keep unfolding like a flower," she teased as she pulled the book from his hands. 

"I was hiding.  It was the only form of entertainment available in this room," he said, pulling her down for a kiss.  After a moment, he noticed she was alone.  "Where are the kids?" 

"Downstairs.  The girls are in the playpen in the family room and Will is helping Mom and Tara make lunch." 

"Peanut butter and jelly?" Mulder grimaced. 

"There's lunch meat for those of us with more refined tastes," Scully assured him.  "Why didn't you just turn on the TV in the family room?" 

"Bill was down there.  I thought it might be safer up here," he admitted. 

Scully stood up and pulled him by the hand to his feet.  "Don't let Bill bully you around, Mulder.  You have every right to be here." 

"Not in his opinion," Mulder replied.  "Besides, why antagonize the guy?  We're only staying here till this evening, I figured I'd stay out of his way and maybe we can avoid any 'sorry son of a bitch' declarations for a while.  Or at the very least, postpone them." 

"You aren't the only one he does this to," she said, hugging him for a moment.  She looked up at his face.  "It's probably the main reason I refuse to call William by the nickname Bill." 

Mulder shot her a confused look. 

"It's too close to what we called our beloved older brother behind his back:  Bully.  Oh, yes, Bill has a long history of family oppression and I'm getting just a little tired of it." 

"And here I thought I was the only member of this partnership to have a dysfunctional childhood," he teased back. 

"It wasn't dysfunctional, Mulder.  It was fairly common back then.  But Bill never quite grew out of that stage."  She tugged on his hand, leading him toward the door.  "But Mom is downstairs now and even Bill knows better than to antagonize her." 

"Smart man," Mulder agreed with a grin. 

Scully was true to her word.  As long as Maggie was present, Bill acted civilly, if not overly friendly toward his sister's partner.  Lunch passed in excited conversation between Tara and Maggie about the upcoming portrait, with Scully chiming in about the other items they'd picked up at the mall.  As with most lunches with women just back from 'gathering', the men were left to silently add up their now burgeoning credit card charges. 

It was early afternoon and Mulder was hoping to sneak into the family room and see if the Yankees game could be found on ESPN.  To his consternation, Bill had beaten him to the set.  "Mom!  When are you gonna install that damned Dish!" he yelled as he tried and failed to locate his preferred channel. 

"When I start spending more than thirty minutes in front of it each night watching the news," was her terse reply from the kitchen. 

"Damn.  Well, we have a choice between the Braves in Chicago or Houston in Milwaukee," Bill muttered, somewhat in Mulder's direction.  Both men issued matching sighs. 

"Wait, there's soccer," Mulder pointed out before the channel switched again.  Bill shrugged apathetically and flopped down on the big recliner, most likely his father's chair.  Mulder settled in on the sofa.  At least he was secure in the knowledge that Maggie was just a few feet away in the kitchen.  He felt like a total idiot, or worse yet, an 8 year old constantly wanting to stay close to his mommy, but it did make him feel less uncomfortable to know that his partner and her mother were there to hear any altercations. 

By mid afternoon, Bill was dozing and Mulder was falling asleep.  It was quiet and peaceful.  He could hear Matthew and William playing in the backyard.  The girls were probably down for their naps.  He had no idea what was going on in the kitchen but it seemed to entail a great deal of chopping, stirring and an occasional clank of metal pots and pans.  

He was just drifting off to sleep when he felt the cushions on the sofa dip.  A small hand brushed the hair off his forehead and a soft kiss was placed right below his left ear.  He shook off his drowsiness, but without opening his eyes, he pulled his partner onto his lap. 

"I thought you were asleep," she whispered so as not to wake up the sleeping bear in the recliner. 

"Just about.  In my dreams, this delicious nymph came by and started kissing me," he whispered in reply as he opened his eyes to smile at her. 

"A cute nymph?" she asked with a raised brow over the twinkle in her eye. 

"The cutest.  Damn sexy, too.  Excuse me, I want to get back to her," and he promptly closed his eyes, feigning sleep. 

She took that as her cue and started kissing him all over his face and neck.  He was thoroughly enjoying himself, about to embark on returning the attention when a growl from the recliner startled them both. 

"Get a room!" Bill slurred. 

"Get a life," Scully quickly responded, but the mood was broken and Mulder felt her tense in his arms. 

"Then go upstairs," Bill countered.  

"We can't.  The girls are upstairs taking a nap in our room," Scully shot back, her arms crossing her chest.  "And besides, this isn't your room, either, Bill." 

Mulder groaned at that last comment.  He recognized it for what it was -- a shot across the bow.  "Scully . . ." 

"Well, it's more my room than yours, little sister," Bill said with a lowered voice that made Mulder want to hide behind the sofa. 

"Since when?" Scully challenged.  

Mulder looked around the room, noting where sharp and heavy objects might lie within reach and wondering if either combatant would focus on him if he tried to remove them. 

"Since you ran off and played dead for two years, that's when!" Bill spat.  "What, you think you can just waltz in here like nothing happened?  Do you know the grief you caused this family -- the grief HE caused this family?  How you can even show your face in this house is beyond me!" 

Scully's eyes narrowed and Mulder knew whatever silence there was in the room was simply the eye of the hurricane passing over.  The back half of the storm was about to unleash.  

"You sanctimonious son of a bitch," she seethed.  "How dare you sit there in our father's chair and talk to me like that.  I did what I had to do to keep my family safe and I would do it all again if need be.  You have no idea what I went through, what Mulder has gone through, because if you did you'd be down on your knees in gratitude.  We saved your life, you asshole!  Your life and the lives of your family." 

"By bustin' him out of prison?" Bill laughed, but there was more menace than hilarity in the sound.  "Oh, that's rich.  What are you going to tell me, Dana?  Gonna try to tell me about how he was abducted by aliens, how he died and then was raised from the dead?  Mom might believe that load of shit, but I'm not buying it for minute!" 

"You were never here to see any of it, Bill!  You're just like Dad, never there when you're needed!"  The shock of her words hit her before the last syllable had left her mouth.  Mulder reached for her shoulder but she shrugged away, her hand to her lips as if hoping to stop any more heresy from escaping as she ran from the room.  Bill stood in stunned silence and then glared at Mulder before leaving the room, but turning in the opposite direction as his sister.  Mulder heard the screen door slam at the same time as hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs leading to the second floor. 

Tara stood in the doorway, chewing her lip.  "What was that all about?" she asked cautiously. 

"Sibling rivalry?" Mulder tried for a joke but realized it was hopeless.  "You better go find Bill.  I'll talk to Dana." 

"This is going to be a long vacation for us, isn't it, Fox?" Tara offered with a sad smile. 

Mulder took a deep breath and nodded. 

Scully was throwing clothes into one of the suitcases when he made it up to their room.  The babies were still sleeping, but she didn't seem concerned about waking them as she grabbed diaper wipes and toys and shoved them in bags.  He caught her hands, but she pulled out of his grasp. 

"We're going home," she said through clenched teeth.
 

"And not see Charlie?  And skip out on Walter and Kim at their wedding?  And who exactly is going to tell your mom?" he asked quietly as he sat on the bed, watching her frantically clear the room of their possessions. 

She swallowed several times and then sat down next to him on the bed.  "He makes me . . . there are just times I want to . . . " 

"Shoot him?" he asked in perfect deadpan, but his eyes gave him away. 

"No.  I don't like him that much," she shot back, but he'd succeeded in getting her to calm down a little.  "Mulder, I can't stay under the same roof as that man," she said tersely. 

"I know.  I understand.  But this isn't just about you and Bill.  This is about William, Missy and Sammi.  This is about Charlie and his family, Tara, Matty and Julia.  But mostly, this is about your mom, Scully.  She's been through so much and all she's asking is for us to get along for a couple of weeks."  He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him.  "I know it's hard, but we have to find a way to make it work." 

She nodded slowly.  "I know, Mulder.  And you're right."  She punched him lightly on the arm when he grinned at her.  "Don't get a big head about it," she warned.  "But quite frankly, this house just isn't big enough for Bill and me.  I think we need to get over to Walter's apartment as soon as possible." 

"It sounded like you were making enough food to feed the Seventh Cavalry, Scully.  I think we're morally obligated to stay until after dinner."  

"OK, but the minute the dinner dishes are done, we're out of here!" she growled.  He smiled at her angry expression and kissed her on the nose.  She kissed him back, on the lips.  He put his arms around her, pushing her back on the bed and proceeded to kiss her with all the passion he could muster. 

"Da-da-da-da," sang Sammi as she stood up in the playpen.  

Scully pushed against him and reluctantly he let her up.  "Who needs a dry diaper?" she cooed as she picked up the cherub faced little girl, still warm from her nap. 

"Mama, mama," called out Missy and Mulder picked her up, carrying her over to lie her next to her sister on the bed.  

"So, Scully, wanna race?  First one finished with the diapering wins?" 

"You are so gonna lose this one, Mulder," she told him.  This time, she was right.  

"Dana, I wish you'd reconsider.  Charlie is going to be heartbroken if you're not here," Maggie pleaded with her daughter as Mulder took the last of their luggage out to the minivan. 

"I wish their plane hadn't been delayed, too.  But Mom, we're just going to Arlington.  Crystal City Place is no more than an hour away and we will always be traveling opposite rush hour.  I promise we'll be back here tomorrow before 11 and we'll all have lunch and then do something together, maybe take the kids to the park." 

"I hate it when you kids fight, I always have," Maggie choked out through her tears. 

"I know and I'm really sorry.  But believe me, this is for the best.  You have the number of the condo and you have my cell and Mulder's.  If something comes up or you need to confer with us on plans, just give us a call." 

"He's stubborn, but he loves you," Maggie insisted.  "He's just being a big brother." 

Scully gave her mother a resigned smile.  "We'll see you tomorrow, Mom.  I promise." 

"The kids are all buckled in," Mulder said sheepishly.  "We better get going." 

Maggie gave her a hug and kiss.  She waved at Mulder, who was standing by the car in sight of the children.  She stood on the porch and watched them as they pulled out of the driveway and down the street.  Only when they turned the corner did she finally step back into the house.

~~~
 
 

Going Home:  Chapter 4 Family

Crystal City Place
Apartment 1210
Arlington, VA
9:30 pm

The doorman had been most helpful, giving Mulder
directions to the underground parking space and
coming down to help them with their luggage.
William was impressed with the elevator and
decided that he would be the official elevator
operator for the time they lived in the condo.

Not much had changed since the last time Mulder
and Scully had stepped foot in their former
superior's home.  The personal effects were gone,
but there had been few of them before.  His desk
was missing, but aside from that the place still
housed a good deal of furniture.  Skinner had
assured Scully that the furniture was staying with
the apartment.  Kim's furniture was now in the new
house and what she didn't have, they intended to
purchase.

When they walked into the second bedroom, they
were all in for a surprise.  A youth bed, complete
with Thomas the Tank Engine comforter and two
cribs were neatly arranged along the walls, along
with a changing table.  There was a note on the bed,
in Kim's handwriting.

"Just wanted to make sure you had everything you
and the children needed to be comfortable.  When
you're done with these items, Walt and I hope to put
them to good use -- at least one of the cribs.  Enjoy
your time here.  Love, Kim."

"Think Skinner's knows she's thinking of starting
their family?" Mulder asked with a wink.

"I'm thinking it was probably Walter's idea," Scully
replied with a knowing look.  "He's waited this
long, I don't think the man wants to waste any more
time."

"Sounds like she's in agreement," Mulder said with
a nod.  "Well, this means we don't have to set up the
portacribs," he added, putting the items in the closet
along with the now empty luggage.  "We can take
these back to your mom's tomorrow."

Scully walked out of the room, but not before
Mulder heard her heavy sigh.  He finished
unloading diapers and wipes and followed her out to
the living room where she stood at the French doors
looking out on the lights of the city.

"Scully?" he asked and put his hands on her
shoulders.  She shrugged out of his hold and
stooped to pick up one sleeping baby from the end
of the couch.  "Get Missy for me, please?" she
asked.  Missy was sleeping soundly on the other end
of the couch; with Will half under the coffee table.
"They just dropped the minute we got in the door,"
she said affectionately as they carried the infants in
to place them in the cribs.

Scully, we will talk about this, Mulder vowed to
himself.  For the time being, he let her fuss with the
children, tucking them in and leaving on the
nightlight in their room.  Meanwhile, he discovered
his own little 'welcome home' gift -- a six-pack of
Rolling Rock in the fridge and a box of microwave
popcorn on the counter.  He put some popcorn in
and set the timer, pulling out two of the beers and
opening the tops.  He leaned against the countertop,
watching the popcorn bag expand through the door
of the oven and was startled when he heard the
chime of the intercom with the front door.

It took him a minute to figure out how to use the
intercom, but finally the doorman's voice came
through.  "Mr. Mulder, this is George down at the
front door.  There's a Mr. Charles Scully down here,
says he knows your wife.  Should I let him up?"

Mulder tensed for a second.  Charlie was here?  Had
he come to take his sister back to their mother's
house?  It was almost 10 o'clock at night and the
man had been trapped in airports all day long?
What was he doing at their apartment?

"Mr. Mulder?" came George's voice again,
questioning.

"Uh, sorry, this is a confusing contraption here,
George," Mulder covered for his delay.  "Yeah, of
course.  That's my, uh, my wife's brother.  Please,
send him up."

"Sure thing, Mr. Mulder.  He's on his way."

Mulder still had the two beers in his hand when he
heard the knock at the door.  He opened it to find a
man about his height with dark auburn hair, like
Scully's sister, but the same blue eyes Mulder knew
from his partner and their own children.

"OK, to hell with Bill and what he thinks, you're my
kind of guy, Mulder," Charlie said affably as he
extracted one of the beers from the former agent's
hand.

Mulder had to laugh, and immediately knew the
other man wasn't there to abscond with his partner.
"Charlie, I presume."

"The one and only, at least in this family.  Thanks
very much for naming the kid after the mean
brother, by the way," Charlie said with a smirk as
Mulder led him into the living room.  "Wow, when
Mom said you guys had a nice set up, I wasn't sure
what to expect.  This place must rent in the six
figures!"

"We're just subletting it, from our old boss,
actually," Mulder said, settling on the sofa.

"The guy who's getting married.  Yeah, I heard.
Still, I wish we could have snagged a deal like this.
Instead I have to put up with all the 'bill-shit',"
Charlie said, chugging down a third of his beer.
"Rolling Rock.  Good stuff."

There was a shuffling in the hallway and suddenly
Scully, clutching a tissue and sporting red-rimmed
eyes appeared in the doorway.  "Charlie?" she said,
surprised.

He stood up and opened his arms and in the time it
took her to run across the room she was hugging
him for dear life.  "I'm so glad to see you,
Chuckles!"

"You too, Dynamite," he said affectionately and
hugged her harder.

"What are you doing here?  Where are Karen and
the boys?" Scully asked, still holding on with both
arms.

Charlie pushed and wiggled and finally had her
sitting next to him of the couch, not letting go of her
hands.  "Back at Mom's.  I wanted to see you.  I
wanted to make sure you're OK."

"I'm fine," she said, with a quick glance to Mulder.
"Really," she said defiantly, but she still had to sniff
back some tears.

"Don't let him do this to us, Dana," Charlie said
quietly.  "Don't let Bill ruin this reunion for us."

"How about another beer, Charlie?" Mulder asked,
seeking an escape so that brother and sister could
have a little time.

"Uh, better make that a soft drink, I have to drive
back," Charlie said with a lop-sided grin.

"One water, coming up.  I think that's all we're
equipped for right now," he explained.  "Unless you
want toddler apple juice."

Charlie grimaced.  "No, I've lived past those days,
thankfully.  Water sounds fine.  Thanks."

Mulder took his time with the water, even finding a
jug in the cabinet and filling it with some water to
place in the refrigerator.  He found a bowl in the
cupboard and dumped the now finished popcorn in
it.  Finally, he made his way out to the living room
to find his partner looking calmer, but not
completely relaxed.  Charlie smiled when he saw
Mulder and reached for the glass.

"Thanks," he said, taking a sip and putting the glass
down on the coffee table.  "So, you're the big hairy
monster Bill's always telling me about," he grinned
in Mulder's direction.

"Well, I don't know about 'hairy'," Mulder scoffed
with a twinkle in his eye.

"Don't worry.  Bill and I have been on opposite
ends of the world for a long time.  He was the
oldest, the responsible one.  I'm the irresponsible
baby of the family."

"Irresponsible, my eye!" Scully disagreed.  "You
were married at 18 -- "

"Because we had to, if you remember," Charlie
interjected.

"You worked your way through college, entered the
Navy with a Commission -- "

"But I'm still not the same rank as Billy boy.  Don't
think that doesn't irk to have to salute my own
brother," he chimed in again.

"Charlie, you have a wife who adores you, two sons
any man would be proud to call his own -- Ben was
just accepted to Annapolis.  Mom told me last
night."

"They're good kids, but most of that is Karen's
doing.  I'm just the guy who shows up every three
months or so."

"Charlie is a submariner," Scully explained.

"So that's why we never saw you," Mulder finally
got a word in.

Charlie laughed.  "Well, that and we really didn't try
too hard to get home," he said, chewing on his lip.
"We came home for Dad's funeral -- the kids were
younger and it was a rough trip.  After that, we sort
of never got around to it."

"You sent flowers," Scully reminded him.  "When
Missy died, after Emily, even at Mulder's -- "  She
stopped, unable to speak of the time when she'd
buried her partner.  Mulder grabbed her hand and
squeezed it, pulling her closer to him.  She leaned
into him for a moment before speaking again.  "We
missed you, Chuckles."

"But you've been back recently," Mulder said,
thinking of Bill's comment about the family portrait.

"Karen talked me into it.  Especially after you two,
uh, well, dropped off the face of the earth."

"Charlie, we had no choice -- "

"Dana, believe me, I'm not here to place blame or
judge.  I've done some stuff in my time that I'm not
very proud of and some things that would take
several hours to explain.  I'm just glad it's all
resolved and you two can come home again.  I just
wish . . . "

"Charles Benjamin Scully, don't you dare try that
guilt shit on me," Scully growled suddenly from the
protection of Mulder's arms.  "Don't you dare come
here and -- "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa down Nellie!" Charlie
interrupted throwing his hands up in surrender.
"Don't shoot the piano player!  Geez, Dana, I'm not
the bad guy here, remember?"  He waited to see if
the fire had dimmed in his sister's eyes before he
continued.  "Look, I of all people know what a
sanctimonious asshole Bill can be."

"If you're looking for someone to disagree, you're in
the wrong apartment," Mulder offered.

"But there are others to consider," Charlie
continued.

Scully got up from the couch and paced over to the
glass doors leading to the balcony.  "Did you and
Mulder compare notes or something?" she hissed,
but it didn't have the anger of her earlier statements.
She sighed, but finally turned to face them.  "I
suppose you have a plan?"

Charlie grinned, ear to ear.  "Well, I can't claim all
the credit.  Mom had a part in it, too.  Friday night,
we're going out to dinner, just the six of us.  Bill,
Tara, you two, Karen and me."

"Why can't your mom come?" Mulder asked,
realizing that it might have sounded like a whine.
"Your sons are old enough to watch the kids."

"Because it needs to be just us -- just the six of us.
Mom has agreed to stay home with the kids.  Ben
and Nate are great guys, don't get me wrong, but
they haven't had much experience with diapers and
bottles and infants younger than a year old.  I'm sure
Tara would feel more comfortable leaving Julia
with Mom than with my sons.  I know I would,"
Charlie admitted.   "Besides, Mulder, when Bill sees
that he's the only one still holding on to the grudge
he thinks we're all supposed to have against you,
he'll drop it.  Bill is a 'team player'; he hates being
the odd man out.  He'll get with the program.  And
besides, if we're in a restaurant, well, he's always
Mr. Proper.  He wouldn't dare kick up a fuss."

"There's a new place in Baltimore I read about when
we were making the airline reservations," Scully
said thoughtfully.

"You're actually agreeing to this?" Mulder asked,
trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice.  "I
mean, this is your family, but earlier tonight -- "

"I know, Mulder, but what Charlie is suggesting
makes sense.  And what you said earlier is true, too.
We owe this to our kids.  Will, Sammi and Missy
have just as much right to be members of this
family, to grow up knowing their cousins and their
aunts and uncles, as Bill's kids.  I'm not going to let
my squabble with him stand in the way of them
knowing their family."

"OK, if you two think it's doable, I'm game,"
Mulder relented.  "But I'm scoping out the exits the
minute we get there, just in case."

Ruth's Chris Steak House
Baltimore, MD
June 3, 2005
7:30 pm

Thursday and Friday had passed in relative peace,
primarily due to the fact that a couple of Bill's
friends from high school were also in town and he
had golf dates both days.  Mulder spent time with
Charlie, learning to appreciate the younger man's
sense of humor as much as his common sense
approach to dealing with two teen aged boys.
Scully finally got a chance to bond with her sisters-
in-law.  Mulder loved catching sight of her, happily
playing with her new niece or holding one of their
own children.  The look on her face at being able to
share the trials and tribulations of motherhood with
her family was worth all the heartache and years it
had taken.

Maggie was completely in her element, playing
with the babies, listening intently to the younger
boys descriptions of the wild life in her own
backyard and cracking jokes with her older
grandsons.  Mulder was definitely glad they'd made
the journey to spend time with her and the rest of
his partner's family.

As Friday night approached, Mulder was relaxed
enough to think that maybe the evening had been a
good idea.  On Maggie's suggestion, they decided to
try a popular steakhouse.  She knew one of the
managers and arranged for a table for six on a
usually sold out Friday night.

"I love steak," Karen hissed as Charlie held her
chair for her to sit.

"I had so much of it growing up.  I'm probably
going to get the seafood," Tara said with a shrug.

"Don't you get enough of that in San Diego?" Scully
asked, unwrapping her silver and settling her napkin
on her lap.

"Dana, there is never such a thing as too much
seafood.  I could go straight seafood any day of the
week.  It's your brother who demands his red meat.
When he's at sea Matty and I eat a lot of fish and
meatless dishes."

"Well, they are better for you," Scully agreed.  "But
seafood is sort of expensive in Montana.  It has to
be shipped in."

"What's your house like?" Karen asked.

Scully smiled, remembering their not so little house
by the mountain.  "It's in the country, on the state
road.  The nearest town with any shopping, Mt.
Airy, is about 15 minutes away; it's 45 minutes the
other direction to Helena, where Mulder teaches.
The yard is about 2 acres front and back, at least
what Mulder can keep from returning to the old
growth forest," she said with a grin.  "It's on the side
of a mountain, but the peak is right behind our
house.  It's beautiful at sunset."

"Sounds like heaven," Tara sighed.  "How many
rooms?"

"Well, we built on last year.  It was three bedrooms
but now we have four.  We have an office
downstairs and upstairs we have a master suite with
a full bath.  In the living room there's a fireplace
with a carved wooden mantel.  I think you can see
the mantel in the pictures we sent you at
Christmas."

"Oh the one with the mirror over it, yes, I
remember.  That was so pretty!" Karen exclaimed.
"I hope someday we can come out and see it."

Scully smiled as she looked at her sister-in-law over
her menu.  "We'd love to have you out," she said.  A
kick to her shin and she smiled again.  "Someday."
Her glance shot over to her partner who was
listening intently while appearing to consider his
'red meat' options.

Bill was indeed on his best behavior and even
managed to not growl during the dinner
conversation.  Most of the time they talked about
children or the housing markets in various parts of
the US and Japan, where Charlie and Karen were
currently stationed.  If anyone had been passing by,
they might mistake the group for college friends.

Mulder watched the interaction between Charlie and
Bill.  It was fun to use his previously rusty
psychology tools again and the two men were the
epitome of sibling rivalry.  Charlie and Scully had
been right; Bill did like to dominate the
conversation, just as his opinion was always the
correct one.  Mulder was cautious when he voiced
his own opinions, usually couching them in
objective terms to avoid antagonizing the self-
appointed 'head' of the family.  It was tricky, but no
harder than any time he'd been working with other
agents at the Bureau.  He turned his head once to
see his partner gazing at him with gratitude and
admiration.

The women begged off dessert, but everyone
accepted coffee.  After very little argument, the bill
had been split three ways.  They were enjoying their
coffee when Bill tapped his water glass.

"I guess this is the best time to give you my little
surprise," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Surprise?" Charlie asked, shooting a look over to
his sister.  "What surprise is that, Big Bro?"

"Do you remember Robbie Hickman?"

Scully nodded, Charlie did so but more slowly, his
face a mask of caution.

"Well, he's a real estate broker now.  He was in my
foursome at golf yesterday and today.  Anyway, he
has some property in Ocean City, beach front
property."

"You're buying a house in Ocean City?" Karen
asked, a confused expression on her face.

"Hell no!  I doubt Mr. Moneybags Mulder could
afford these places," Bill said with a glance over to
his sister's partner.  "No, I'm not buying anything.
We're renting.  All of us.  For a week starting
Sunday night."

"Who, exactly, is 'all of us'?" Scully asked in the
voice that Mulder was certain to turn brutally hard
if she didn't get the answer she wanted.

"You, Mulder, Charlie and Karen, Tara and I, all the
kids and Mom," Bill said, very pleased with
himself.

"All 14 of us.  In one beach house," Karen said
slowly, as if hoping that she'd heard wrong.

"It's got 6 bedrooms, four of the bedrooms have
double beds, one has two sets of bunk beds and the
last one has a day bed with plenty of room to set up
portacribs.  Each couple gets their own room, the
babies can sleep in another room and Matty,
William and the older boys can bunk in one room.
Mom gets her own room.  It's perfect.  And the best
part is, it has it's own beach.  Just walk right out the
back door, down some steps and you're on the
ocean."

"I hope the back door has a secure lock," Tara said
worriedly.

Mulder looked over at Scully, trying to gauge her
reaction.  Aside from the shock of Bill's 'surprise',
she didn't seem overly enthusiastic about the idea.

"I don't know, Bill.  All of us in one little house -- "

"Little?  This is the friggin' Playboy Mansion, Dana.
There are two living rooms, two and a half baths,
the place is usually split up with people renting only
one half but we get the whole thing for five days at
a measly $1200.  Split three ways that just $400 a
piece.  You can't stay at a hotel in Ocean City for a
week for 400 bucks and you know it!  Plus, we can
eat most of our meals in and save on that, too.
There's a full kitchen with all modern appliances,
plus a gas grill and a deck overlooking the ocean.  I
saw the pictures, I'm telling you, this is too good to
pass up."

"We're already renting an apartment in the city,"
Mulder interjected.

Bill shot him a sour look.  "Yeah, well, we can't all
rent condos in DC," he huffed.  "Look, it's going to
be great.  The kids will have a great time.  Charlie,
there's more in Ocean City for Ben and Nate to do
than there is at Mom's--the boardwalk is just five
blocks away.  And Dana, you know William will
love being that close to the ocean!  He can pick up
seashells or build sandcastles with Matty -- "

Mulder flashed back to a dream he faintly
remembered.  He and a small boy about Will's age
building an enormous sand structure on a beach
somewhere.  The sand structure was a spaceship . . .

"So, it's all set.  I signed the papers in the
clubhouse," Bill was saying when Mulder returned
to conversation from his musings.

"You what?" Charlie exclaimed, choking on his
coffee.

"I said I signed the papers.  It's all set," Bill said, a
scowl taking over his previously happy expression.
"Rob couldn't wait on this, Chuckles.  He had to
know today.  Another party cancelled at the last
minute and he had to fill the spot.  That's the reason
we're getting it so cheap.  Ordinarily this place goes
for twice that amount."

Mulder blew out a breath through pursed lips.
Scully was breathing heavily beside him and he
wondered how long it would take before she
exploded.  Karen looked stricken and Charlie was
looking a little sick.  Tara was sitting in stunned and
embarrassed silence.

"So, what's the problem?  I get this great place and
everyone's acting like I just torpedoed your ships."

Mulder bit his lip, knowing that what he was about
to do was not going to please his partner and most
likely wouldn't even ingratiate him to either of her
brothers.  "I think it sounds nice," he said quietly.

Charlie shot him a fierce look and all Mulder could
do was shrug.

"I guess it would be nice to be by the ocean for a
while," Karen agreed reluctantly.

Scully looked wide-eyed at her sister-in-law, as if
she'd just seen her for the first time and she had
three heads.

"It would be easier on your mom," Tara chimed in.
"I mean, she wouldn't feel like she has to wait on us
hand and foot if we're in neutral territory.  Not that
her house isn't neutral territory, of course . . . what I
mean to say -- "

"We understand what you're saying, Tara, and
you're right.  We could each pull our weight in the
kitchen, maybe get Maggie to go out on the beach
and relax," Mulder said, saving the poor woman
from dying of humiliation.

"Charlie?  Dana?  Whaddya say?" Bill asked,
crossing his arms as if declaring victory.

Scully, with her tongue worrying the inside of her
cheek, looked over at her partner.  He needed no
refresher course in unspoken communication to
know that he was in for an earful when they were
alone.  But after a moment, she nodded slowly.  "I
guess we're going to Ocean City.  When do we get
possession?"

Bill beamed at her.  "Three o'clock on Sunday.  We
pick up the keys from Rob's rental office when we
get there.  If we go to 11:00 Mass at St. Francis we
can head out directly after that and be there in time
for dinner.  Dana, can Mom ride with you in your
minivan?"

"Sure," Scully said with a quick nod.

"Then we're all set.  The place has everything, bed
linens, towels, dishes, cookware, a washer and
dryer, dishwasher.  There's even a hot tub on the
patio under the deck."

"Oh dear, I hope it has a tight cover," Tara
muttered, again looking worried.
 

Crystal City Place
11:30 pm

"Scully, you have to talk to me sometime," Mulder
pleaded as he crawled into bed next to his partner.

She turned on her side facing away from him.

"Look, it's not like I came up with the idea, you
know."

She shot him a heated glare over her shoulder.  "No,
you just had to join in on the bandwagon," she
accused.

"He'd already signed the paper!  He would have
been stuck for twelve hundred bucks!  Then he
would have had another reason to hate me," Mulder
exclaimed, flopping on his back with his arms under
his head.

Scully rolled over so he could see her clearly when
she spoke.  "I never saw you as a coward."  Then
she flipped so her back was to him again.

"Now wait just a minute," Mulder seethed.  "I was
just trying to keep the peace and you know it."

"What happened to standing up to him?"

"Scully, you're the one who wants to stand up to
him," Mulder reminded her.  "I just want to get out
of this vacation with my skin intact!"

Scully fell back onto her back.  "Did you see the
look on Charlie's face?  I thought he was going to
bust a spleen!"

Mulder chuckled with her, wondering not for the
first time where she picked up such a strange idiom.
"Yeah.  Hey, this won't set them back too far
financially, will it?  I mean they probably weren't
expecting to have to shell out $400 and with Ben
going to college in the fall -- "

"First, Ben gets a full scholarship to the Naval
Academy, so they don't have to pay a dime for his
education and second, Karen's the only grandchild
of a very wealthy family. She's got a nice trust fund
that they can dip into whenever they need it.  It's not
as large as your financial statement -- "

"That's 'our' financial statement," he interrupted,
leaning over to kiss her shoulder.  "Oh shit, that
reminds me.  I had an appointment set up with a
lawyer on Thursday.  I'll have to reschedule now."

"A lawyer -- why?"

"I want to make you and the kids beneficiaries on
the accounts," he said.  "I meant to do that last year
when we were finally free to use our real names, but
it's so much easier to do it face to face.  I have to
sign a bunch of papers and such.  You're more than
welcome to come along."  He leaned over her and
whispered in her ear.  "I know how paperwork is
such a turn on for you, Scully."

She struggled to hold back her smile and pushed at
his shoulder.  "Oh, yeah, it's a wonder we didn't
have mad passionate sex on your desk the first time
I had to reconcile one of the expense reports you
decided to make a work of fiction."

Mulder started placing kisses on her jaw and along
her neck.  "Darn that Walter, taking the desk to the
new place already."

"Guess we'll just have to make do with this horribly
comfortable king sized bed," Scully purred as she
started to return his favors.

"It's a dirty job -- "  The rest of his cliche was lost in
the heat of the moment.

~~~
 
 

Going Home:  Chapter 5 Beach House

Beach House
Ocean City, MD
June 6, 2005
6:30 pm

It had been worth it.  It had been so worth it.
Mulder smiled contentedly from his Adirondack
lounge chair as he watched Ben and Nate play
frisbee with Matt (as he preferred to be called) and
Will on the sand.

Mulder would remember till his dying day the look
on Bill Scully, Jr.'s face when he and Scully walked
into St. Francis Church with their children.  Mulder
knew Bill expected him to stay at Maggie's house
while everyone attended Mass.  Well, he didn't stay
home in Montana, he sure as hell wasn't going to
stay home in Baltimore just because Bill Scully
expected him to!  Even Tara had a surprised look on
her face as Mulder led his family into the pew and
then held the twins so that his partner could kneel
and pray for a few minutes before the Mass began.
When he opened up the hymnal and sang, without
even really needing to see the words, the opening
hymn, he thought Bill was going to explode and
Charlie was going to bust a gut.

Although Mass had been fun, well, except when
Missy decided to chew on the collar of his polo
shirt, leaving it a sopping wet thing against his
neck, the drive out to Ocean City had been
wonderful. The twins had fallen asleep, even
William grew drowsy on the long ride and Mulder
and Scully finally had Maggie all to themselves,
just for a little bit.  The three of them talked about
adult things, the kind of conversations he and his
partner had on a thousand car rides through their
time at the Bureau.  It made him remember why
he'd stayed on the road with her all those years.

The beach house was the icing on the cake.  He was
almost shocked to find that the house was
everything Bill had promised and then some.  It sat
apart from other houses on the beach, giving it the
appearance of having more land than it actually did.
Mulder couldn't figure out how it had escaped some
developer's condo plans, but he wasn't going to look
a gift horse in the mouth.  When he walked with
Scully out on the beach for the first time, Will
holding on to his leg and watching the churning
water with trepidation and the twins holding
Scully's hands, he felt like he'd just come home
after a very long absence.  The salt spray, the
seagulls, the lull of the pounding surf at high tide
transported him back to his childhood on the
Vineyard.  He was so happy he felt as if he might
cry.  When he looked over at his partner, her eyes
told him she understood as tear tracks streaked
down her face.  He leaned over and kissed her.

It hadn't taken long to get the twins interested in
seashells, even though they seemed more interested
in them as chew toys.  Will finally ran to the surf
with his father, letting the water lap at his bare toes.
Once he figured out that it wasn't going to eat him,
he let himself enjoy the waves as his father did.
They spent the first night playing on the beach,
joined eventually by Charlie and his family.  Ben
and Nate insisted on building a fire and after putting
the small children to bed, the adults came out and
sat by the blaze, watching a million stars sparkle
above them.

When the sun rose over the ocean, there was a soft
tap at their door.  Mulder opened it to find Charlie
in shorts and running shoes.  "C'mon, old man.
Race ya on the beach!" he said with his trademark
smart-ass grin Mulder had come to know in the last
couple of days.

"You're on, youngster.  Let me get ready, I'll be
down in five minutes."

Mulder found not only Charlie, but Ben and Nate
ready to take a run down the beach.  They started
out at an easy lope, but after a mile, broke out and
the two young men gave the two older men a run
for their money.  When they returned to the house,
sitting on the deck to let the ocean breeze cool the
sweat from their bodies, Mulder turned to Charlie
and socked him playfully in the shoulder.

"That was a set up!" he declared breathlessly as he
gratefully accepted a bottle of water from Nate.

"Nah, Uncle Fox.  Dad just didn't want to be left
behind all by himself this time," Ben assured him.
Mulder graciously accepted his new nickname.  It
was somewhat better than what Matthew had been
calling him -- Mr. Mulder.

"They run my ass ragged all the time.  I just figured
you needed to see what you're in for in about 10
years," Charlie said between gasps for air and sips
of water.

"Hey, I'll be an old man by the time Will can run
that fast.  He'll have to push me in a wheelchair,"
Mulder said, shaking his head and wiping his face
with the hem of his Knicks shirt.  "C'mon, let's see
if we can work the high tech coffeemaker I saw in
the kitchen."

Breakfast came and went, each member of the
family slowly making their way to the kitchen to the
smell of coffee and in search of sustenance.  When
the dishes were being put in the dishwasher, Matt
asked if he and William could hunt for shells on the
beach.

"I was just headed out that way," Maggie said and
grabbed her sun hat and a couple of empty sand
buckets from near the door.  "C'mon, boys.  Let's go
play!"

Scully leaned against the counter next to Tara and
smiled.  "This was a good idea," she confided.

Beach House
11:15 am

Mulder had found a quiet spot in the downstairs
family room, an old leather sofa not unlike his from
the apartment on Hegal Place.  He'd started out
reading a battered copy of Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban, a book he'd wanted to read for
a while but had never found the time.  After the
second chapter, he'd drifted off to sleep.

Pounding footsteps on the wooden stairs to the
lower level and his son's tearful entreaties woke him
suddenly.

"Daddy!  Daddy, Matty called me a bad name!"
Will hiccupped around his sobs.

Mulder sat up and then held out his arms to the little
boy.  Will quickly fell into his father's embrace as
Mulder pulled him up on his lap.

"Hey, there, buddy.  It's all right.  Now, what
happened?  What did Matty call you?"  Mulder
could just imagine what kinds of language a child
who had grown up in military housing might be
capable of peppering in his language.

"He said I was a bastard!  And he said Missy and
Sammi are bastards, too!" Will cried and hid his
face in his father's shirt.

"He was just calling you names, Will.  I bet he
doesn't even know what that word means," Mulder
consoled.  Will hid his face and cried all the harder.
"Let's go talk to Matty," he finally said, in the hopes
he could calm his son.

He carried the boy up to the kitchen where there
was a tense silence.  Mulder looked around, noting
that Bill and Matt were the only occupants of the
room and that tears were streaking down the older
boy's cheeks, too.

"I spanked him," Bill said evenly.

Mulder started to say something in the boy's
defense but Bill held up his hand to stop his words.

"I spanked my son for calling his cousin a name.  I
thought, wrongly, that he was just being a bully.  I
come to find out, not only was it not a wrong name,
I've been lied to all this time."

Mulder opened his mouth and then closed it without
a word.  He felt his stomach drop to somewhere
around his knees.

"You never married her?" Bill accused angrily.
"You knocked her up, left her with a baby she had
to give away, took her from her family in the dead
of the night, got her pregnant again and you never
married her!"  The last few words were shouted so
loud that the others came running.

"Mulder?" Scully asked as she came in from the
deck.  "What's going on?"

"Take Will outside, Scully," Mulder said tersely.

"No, what is all the yelling about?"

"You're not married, that's what the yelling's all
about!" Bill bellowed at the top of his lungs.  "What
the hell are you doing with that ring on your
finger?" he shouted, grabbing her left hand up to
show them both before dropping it like a hot rock.
"Is lying all you know?"

Maggie, Tara, Charlie and Karen appeared from
various parts of the house.  Maggie looked
frantically from her son to her daughter and her
daughter's partner.  Mulder was deathly pale,
clutching his son to his chest, holding his hand over
William's little ear as if hoping to keep the boy from
hearing the words flying through the room.  Dana
was beet red, shame coloring her cheeks.

"Bill," Maggie said, holding out her hand in an
effort to calm him down.  "You don't know what
they've gone through -- "

Bill wheeled on his mother, his eyes widening in
horror.  "You knew?  You knew they weren't
married and you let them act like they were?" he
whispered, betrayal thick in his voice.  "You let
them sleep together under your roof like it was
nothing?"  He looked around at the other faces in
the room.  Charlie was showing shock, as was
Karen.  Tara had tears streaming down her face and
her hand to her mouth.  Bill shoved his way through
the throng of people crowded in the kitchen and
stormed out of the back door.  After a heartbeat,
Tara ran after him.

Maggie turned to her daughter, shaking her head
slowly.  "I knew this would come out, Dana," she
said bitterly.

Mulder finally found the strength to move.  He
hugged Will tightly to him and then handed the boy
over to Maggie.  With one look at his partner, he
turned and headed up the stairs to their room.

"Mom -- " Scully started to speak, but Maggie
jerked her head toward the stairs.  With a quick kiss
on her son's cheek, she followed her partner.

Mulder was tossing a few items in one of their
suitcases.  He was rather intent on his work, or he
chose to ignore her as she came into the room.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" she asked,
taking a pair of running shorts out of his hands.  He
grabbed the pants back and shoved them in the
suitcase.

"Back to the condo.  Where I belong."  He spoke
tersely, his anger coloring his tone.

"Mulder, what do you want to do -- get married to
make Bill happy?  That's a pretty damned poor
reason -- "

He zipped the case shut and turned on her, grabbing
her by the arms.  "You're right, Scully.  Marrying
me to please your brother would be a horrible idea."
Sarcasm dripped off every word.  "I would never
want you to do anything that you didn't want to do."
He grabbed the case off the bed and headed out into
the hallway.

She tugged at his arm before he got to the stairs.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Nothing, Scully.  Just like always, I'm talking to
the wind," he huffed, pulling his arm away from her
grasp.  "Kiss the girls for me.  I'll call when I get in
tonight."

"Mulder!  You can't go like this!  This is insane!"
she called after him as he made his way through the
main floor of the house, heading toward the door.
She caught him at the car, as he tossed the case into
the back seat.

"Get your purse.  I need you to drive me to the
rental car place in town. I don't want to leave you
stranded," he said evenly.

She crossed her arms, her temper flaring.  "No, you
just want to leave me," she spat.

He rested his head on his arms atop the car roof.
"No, I don't want to leave you," he said tiredly.  He
turned his head so he could look at her.  "But I can't
sleep in the same house with you and not sleep in
your bed, Scully and that's the only thing that would
appease Bill.  I haven't done that for over two years
and I can't start now.  So let me go back to the city -
- "

"We'll go with you," she said, tears streaming down
her face.

"No, you and the kids stay.  If we all go back now --
no, we can't do that.  It would kill your mom,
Scully.  Can't you see how this is tearing her up
even now?  If I'm out of the picture, Bill won't have
a focus and the kids can get to know their family."

"I don't know that I want them to get to know those
people," Scully whispered.  "I don't want you to
leave us."

He lifted his hand to her cheek, brushing a tear
away with his thumb.  "I could never leave you,
Scully.  If you haven't figured that out by now,
nothing I say could possibly convince you.  But I
can't be the object of Bill's anger.  And I won't let
him ridicule the way we've chosen to live our life
together.  So I think it's best for me to go.  You'll be
home in a few days.  We'll be together soon."

Her face crumbled as she reached out to embrace
him, clutching at his back as she had many times
before when she thought she was about to lose him
forever.  "Please be there when we get back," she
begged.

He smiled, even though he knew she couldn't see
him, and kissed the crown of her head.  "I will be.  I
love you, you know that."

She nodded her head against his chest.  "I love you,
too," she said, muffled by his shirt.

He kissed her again and then pushed gently at her
shoulders.  "Go, get your purse.  I want to get the
other car and then you can come back here and fix
the kids some lunch."

"What do I tell Will?  He's going to want to know
where you are," she said, tears threatening again.

"Tell him -- tell him I went to work.  He
understands that.  Just tell him I had some work to
do in the city and I couldn't stay out on the beach."

She nodded weakly, wiping at her face.  He nodded
toward the house and she took off at a trot toward it.

Charlie was standing in the foyer, watching them
through the screen door.  "Is it true, Dana?" he
asked timidly.

She bit her lip and nodded, looking away.  "I have
to get my purse."

"Where're you going?" he asked, grasping her wrist
lightly.

"I'm taking Mulder to the Lariat office in Ocean
City to get another car.  He's going back to DC
today.  We'll be joining him at the end of the week."

Charlie looked like he wanted to say something, but
simply shook his head and walked back to the
kitchen.  She found her purse and quietly left the
house.

Crystal City Place
8:35 pm

On his way  back to DC, Mulder shoved his pain
into that part of his mind he'd almost forgotten.  He
knew he loved Scully and he knew Scully loved
him.  He knew that they were as strong, if not
stronger, than they'd ever been.  But he also knew
that much of what Bill had yelled at him was true --
he had ripped her from her family in the dead of the
night, forcing her to run away with him.  So what if
they were able to retrieve their son, so what if he'd
made her a good life in Montana?  They were still
living a lie, even now, when they were able to come
back and face the truth.  That hurt him more than
anything.

After their midnight disappearing act, Maggie had
packed up Dana's apartment and his and put
everything in storage.  She'd been paying $125 a
month for items probably best left on the curb for
the trash pick up.  So, since he was in a frame of
mind to clear out the old, he drove directly to the U-
Store-It, located in Georgetown.

The first thing to meet his eyes when he opened the
wide garage door to the unit was his old couch.  He
couldn't help but smile as he let his finger trail over
the worn leather.  He thought about shipping it back
to Montana, but wondered if it was worth it.  Better
yet, he'd see if Walter and Kim might have a family
room or den they could put it in.  He'd call Kim and
see if she'd be interested in looking over the
furniture.  He and Scully had all the furniture they
needed in Montana.  What Kim didn't want and
Scully didn't think they could ship back to
Alexandria, they would donate to the Salvation
Army or Maggie's parish.

It was the boxes on top of his old desk that caught
his eye.  Four banker style boxes, sealed with duck
tape.  Two were marked Dana's Desk, two were
marked Fox's Desk.  Those were loaded into the
back of the rental car to be sorted through back at
the condo.  He was really surprised to find his and
Scully's suits, all of them, in large U-Haul
cardboard closets.  Whatever else had been in their
dressers, Maggie must have donated to the poor, but
she'd kept all of their suits.  Almost as an
afterthought, he grabbed several of the drycleaner's
bags and hooked them on the clip in the backseat of
the car.  With one last look at their belongings, he
closed the door to the unit and locked it.

When he arrived at the condo, George was there to
help him with the suits and boxes.  After dumping
his treasure on the dining room table, Mulder
immediately stripped and headed for the shower,
rinsing off the dust and grime.  While toweling off,
he stood by the phone, trying to decide if he was
ready to call and wish his children goodnight.  The
phone rang as he was just about to reach for it.

"Mulder," he said.  It felt odd and yet so natural to
answer the phone that way again.

"Good, you got there safely.  I was worried."  He
smiled when he immediately recognized his
partner's voice.

"Yeah, I even made good time."

"Then why didn't you call sooner," she chided.  Her
voice sounded strained, he knew she'd probably
been crying again.

"I'm sorry.  I stopped at the storage place.  I'm going
to call Kim, ask her if she wants any of that
furniture.  My stuff was crap but you had some
really nice things.  I thought if there were a couple
of pieces you want to take back to Montana, we
could see about shipping them by rail."

"Yes, I would like my dresser and armoire.  And
how about your couch?"

"I thought I'd see if Walter wants it.  I don't have
room for it at home."

"You could put it in the office," she suggested.
"But if you're ready to part with it, sure, see if
Walter would like it."

"Scully, your mom kept all our good clothes,"
Mulder said.

"Wow.  I wonder if I can squeeze into any of them
now," Scully mused.

"You're still tiny," he assured her.

"I've given birth twice, Mulder.  I don't think I'll be
seeing a size 4 any time again.  But your suits
should still fit.  And they definitely wouldn't be out
of style."

"Oh yeah, I'll be the Professor in the Armani.  That
should get me a raise or two from the
Administration," he joked.

"Still, you should keep some of them.  We could
pull them out, just for each other."

"Me in Armani and you in . . . nothing?" he
suggested coyly.

"I like that idea.  Or me in one of your dress shirts
and you in . . . one of your ties," she shot back in
whispered tones.

He crowed with laughter.  "I knew it, Scully.  You
were always hot for my ties!"  He sighed, wishing
she were beside him rather than three hours away.
"So, how're my little buddies, all of them?"

"Will was a little upset that you left, but I explained
that you had work, like you suggested and that he
could talk to you tonight.  He seemed to accept that.
Missy woke up cranky, but I think it's just the
tension in the house.  Bill hasn't spoken to anyone
except Tara for the whole day, not that I have
anything to say to him.  Sammi is taking it all in,
she's been playing with Karen and Charlie, but I
think she misses you."

"How's my other buddy?" he asked tenderly.  "The
one who doesn't think she can fit in to a size 4
anymore."

"She misses you horribly.  She can't understand
why we're talking on the phone and not holding
each other.  She hates her brother at this moment --
"

"Scully, hey, none of that," he said when he heard
her voice crack.  "It's just till Friday, love.  We've
been separated for almost a whole year!  We can do
four days, can't we?"

"But I never wanted to do four minutes," she
whispered.  "I never want to be alone for another
second," she continued until all he could hear was
her choked sobs.

"Scully, Scully, listen to me.  It's all right.  Really.
It will be all right.  We just need to let Bill have
some time.  Look, you dry your eyes and let me talk
to Will, OK?"

The rest of the phone call was spent listening to
good night kisses cast over the line and repeating
one bedtime book, remembered not so much by an
eidetic memory but by near constant repetition over
the last two years.  Finally, he wished his partner
good night, again telling her he loved her and
hearing the same from her.  With a heavy heart, he
placed the phone back on the charging unit.

The boxes on the table whispered to him as he
walked past them to get a beer from the fridge.
With nothing else to keep him occupied, he opened
his Rolling Rock, dug a paring knife out of one of
the kitchen drawers and neatly sliced through the
tape on one of the boxes marked with his name.
With some trepidation he peeled back the lid and
peered inside.

He smiled fondly at the contents.  No monsters
here, just the contents of his old desk.  He found his
address book, mostly blank pages except for Sen.
Matheson.  Matheson had lost his last election and
was currently vying for a seat on the appellate court
in Massachusetts.  Mulder silently wished his
former mentor luck.

There were bills now three years past due, a notice
that his subscription to the Magic Bullet was due for
renewal in June 2001, a few old magazines that he'd
kept for the articles.  Hopefully it was Scully who
had cleaned out his desk while he was in hiding in
New Mexico, because he didn't see a single
Celebrity Skin in the box.

Since the first box had been so innocuous, he
decided to tackle the second one.  Here he found the
contents of the bottom drawers of his desk.  His gun
locker, empty, but still useful.  They had a new gun
locker for their weapons in Montana, and he'd been
damned happy to have them the previous summer
when a super soldier had kidnapped the twins.  But
they didn't need two lockers, perhaps Skinner would
know someone at the Bureau in need of a good one.

Under the gun locker was his family photo album.
Because of the size, it was wedged into the bottom.
He tugged on it and something fell out of the
binding.  A small velvet bag with a silk cord tie.

His heart stopped.  Of all the nights to find this bag,
he had to find it when the issue was so close to his
thoughts.  With numb and stumbling fingers he
loosened the silk strings and pulled open the small
bag.  Holding his palm under the opening, he
upended the bag, spilling the contents.

A perfect one-caret diamond ring in a platinum
setting sparkled as beautifully as it had the day he'd
bought it.  Tucked in the bag was the receipt for the
ring, kept so that the jeweler would size it to fit the
intended owner's finger.  The ink on the receipt was
starting to fade, but the image was still clear enough
to read.  February 12, 1997.  Mulder thought back
to the moment he stepped into the little jewelry
shop on Wisconsin in Georgetown.  He'd just left
Scully off at her apartment, secure in the knowledge
that she intended to fight her cancer.  He still
couldn't say what had come over him, but he'd
stopped the car and walked to the store without
conscious thought.  He found the ring, the perfect
ring, in a selection of more than fifty other equally
beautiful diamonds.  He pulled money out of his
trust fund to pay for it.  And then, ever the coward,
he'd hidden it in the back of his family album,
waiting for the day when he could gather the
courage to give it to Scully, to ask her to be his
wife.

Carefully dropping the ring back in the bag and
laying it aside, Mulder opened the first of the boxes
marked with Scully's name.  In another life, he
would have been hesitant to open the box.  Days
gone by when he found her hospital room empty
and curiosity borne of guilt caused him to read a
journal written directly to him but never meant for
his eyes.  But now he felt bolder by years as more
than just her work partner, as her life partner as
well.

Most of the box was similar to what he'd found in
the first box.  Her address book, a 2002 calendar
with William's and his birthdays marked with
circles but with times listed only for William's
pediatric checkups.  Flyers for take out food,
another bad habit she'd picked up from him.  The
normal detritus of a busy professional woman who
had become a single mother through no fault of her
own.   His heart ached as he looked at a snapshot,
taken by a Polaroid camera, of William in the arms
of a shopping mall Santa.

He found an album, just as he'd had in his own
desk.  He was startled when he opened the cover to
find a note to him written in her florid style on the
back of the cover.

"Mulder,

I know how much it hurt you to leave us.  But you
have always been with us in our hearts.  I've
collected this album for you, so that you may know
your son as he was while you were gone.

Happy Father's Day

Scully"

His throat closed up and he found his vision
swimming with unshed tears.  With tender care, he
turned the pages, wiping the dampness from his
cheeks from time to time so that none of it would
fall and mar the images beneath his trembling
fingers.  Pictures of William as he remembered him
-- a tiny bundle of arms, legs and head wrapped in a
blanket that he had picked out on a whim.  Later
pictures of William sitting in a car seat, William
resting in the lap of Walter Skinner, friend and
protector.  William with Monica Reyes and John
Doggett, looking at a Christmas tree.

Mulder closed the book as it ended, with a picture
of William holding a huge chocolate Easter Bunny,
all brown drool and happy three-tooth smile.

How could she have given him up?  Rather to see
him happy, healthy, than snatched from his family
as Samantha had been.  He realized in that moment,
as he never had before, the full weight of her
decision.  Scully was simply trying to ensure that
the past did not repeat itself in their lives.

Mulder laid his head down on the cover of the
album and cried himself to sleep.

~~~
 
 

Going Home:  Chapter 6 You Can't Go Home
Again, Can You?

Crystal City Place
June 7. 2005
8:15 am

He was in the car, heading to some crime scene.
Scully was asleep beside him and he smiled over at
her affectionately.  At a red light, placed
suspiciously in the middle of nowhere, he reached
over and was about to brush a lock of her hair
behind her ear when his cell phone rang.  He
snatched his hand back as if burned and grabbed for
his phone, deep in his pants pocket.

Wait.  He never put his phone in his pants pocket
when he was driving -- did he?

In that second, he came fully awake, finding himself
not in the driver's seat of yet another non-descript
rental, but in Walter Skinner's former kitchen.
Displacement and adrenaline rushed through his
body as he found himself continuing to dig for his
phone, which he finally retrieved from the pocket of
his cargo shorts.

"Hello."  It had taken almost a year for him to stop
choking on his name as he answered his cell phone.
Fortunately for both he and his partner, most of the
time it was Scully on the other end, so the
occasional 'Mulder' that had popped out had never
caused any problems.  Now that he could use his
own name again and not the alias they'd been living
under, he was finding the new habit hard to break.

"Mulder?"  Even half asleep and disoriented from
his location Mulder recognized the baritone of his
former superior.

"Yeah, Walter, sorry.  I was asleep," he answered,
wiping drool from his chin.  "What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if you were still planning on
coming back to the city for the fitting this afternoon.
It's really not necessary.  I can tell the tailor -- "

"Too late, Walt.  I'm already here," Mulder
interrupted him.

"You came back from the beach?  Wow, that wasn't
long.  The babies OK?  William?"

Mulder swallowed hard.  He hoped his children
were OK, after all they were with their mother.
Still, it was the first time he'd been away from them
in three years.  He swallowed back the hurt he was
feeling and took a deep breath.  Their separation
was just temporary, he promised himself.  "Nah,
something else.  I'm here by myself.  Look, I'll
come get you about 12:30."

"Mulder, did something happen?"

"I don't really want to get in to it right now, Walt.
I'll be there at lunchtime.  Look, I'm gonna get a run
in, take a shower.  I'll see you at the office, OK?"
He hoped that would cut off further prying
questions, at least for a while.

"Yeah, sure.  Whatever you say.  See you in a few
hours."

He ran, he showered and then he stopped by the
little cafe that was just around the corner for an
omelet and some coffee.  It felt like old times,
alone, sitting in a corner booth reading the
Washington Post.  Old, old times.  Back in the days
before he had started spending all his waking hours
either at Scully's apartment or she at his.  He didn't
miss those lonely times one iota.

There was a grocery store just a block from the
condo, and realizing that eventually his family
would be coming back, he decided to stock up on a
few things.  Besides, he was almost out of Rolling
Rock.  Six plastic grocery sacks and $88 later, he
trudged back to the condo and put away his larder.
By the time he'd finished stashing the last of the
groceries in the cabinet, it was time to go see
Walter.

He started for the car when he caught his reflection
in the glass of the patio doors.  He'd tossed on the
same type of clothes he'd worn the day before at the
beach:  tee shirt, cargo shorts, and sandals.  No, he
was not going to walk into the Bureau wearing
sandals.  He turned around and headed back to the
bedroom to change.

In less than ten minutes, he was hurrying out the
door wearing one of the suits he'd retrieved from the
storage unit.  Luckily, a pair of wingtips was also in
one of the boxes he'd found.  As he walked past the
glass door a second time, he smiled ruefully at his
reflection.  It really did feel like old times.

A visitor's badge was waiting for him at the guard
station.  He clipped it on his label and smiled at the
guard, a different one from when he'd come up to
visit Walter with William.  The guard offered him
directions to the Assistant Director's office, but
Mulder waved him off with a "Thank you, I know
the way."

Holly looked up and then recognized him.  She
smiled up at him.  "Talk about a blast from the
past," she said.  "Take a seat, the Assistant
Director's got one more appointment and then he's
free as a bird."  She stood and picked up some files
from her outbox and headed for the door.  "You
look really nice, Agent -- er, -- "

"Mulder, Holly.  No 'Agent'.  Just Mulder," he said
with a wicked grin.

"Still, you just looked -- wow, like you never left,"
she said wistfully and hurried out the door, but not
before he could see the blush rising to her cheeks.
What was that all about, he wondered.

A tall dark skinned man, wearing a suit that didn't
quite match his frame, came into the office and
looked around.

"Holly just left for the stacks.  She'll be right back,"
Mulder told him.

When the man turned toward Mulder, it was
obvious he was young, and equally obvious he was
nervous.  New agent, his whole posture screamed.
"Have a seat," Mulder offered, nodding toward the
other end of the couch he was sitting on.

The young man licked his lips, looked around again
and finally nodded.  He sat down and immediately
began fiddling with first his badge and then his tie.
Suddenly he looked over at Mulder.  "Oh, sorry,
Jerry Wright," he said, extending his hand in
greeting.

"Fox Mulder," came the reply, and Mulder accepted
the handshake.

Wright nodded and looked away, only to do a
double take a second later.  "You wouldn't be 'the'
Fox Mulder, would you?" he asked, his voice
breaking just a little.

Mulder snorted.  "I'm pretty sure there isn't another
one," he said.

"Fox Mulder, X Files Division Head for 9 years, top
profiler of the BSU for 3 before that.  Recruited out
of Oxford.  The guy who wrote the Monty Props
monogram -- that Fox Mulder?" Wright recited as if
it were all memorized in exacting detail.

Mulder chuckled again.  "Yeah, I guess so."

"Wow," Wright said, giving Mulder a long look.
"Wow."  He leaned back against the couch, looking
slightly bewildered.  Finally, he turned back to
Mulder.  "I heard you were dead."

"You know what Mark Twain had to say about
that," Mulder quipped.

Wright looked more befuddled but remembered the
reference.  He laughed.  "Reports of my demise are
greatly exaggerated," he quoted.

Mulder didn't say anything, just touched his nose.
Wright's smile got even bigger.

"I mean, we heard all about you at the Academy.
We had to study a couple of your profiles.  You had
a partner -- "

"Have, I still have a partner," Mulder said fondly.
"Dana Scully."

"Yeah!  That's the one!" Wright said, not missing a
beat.  "Smart as a whip, they said.  A doctor, was in
line to be head Pathologist -- "

Mulder's head jerked up at that.  That was
something he hadn't heard before.  Scully had never
mentioned --

"Yeah, I heard tell she'd be hired on the spot for the
Head of Forensics today, but of course everyone
thinks -- "

"She's not dead either.  As a matter of fact, we have
three small children."

"You don't say," Wright said cheerfully.  "Wow."

At that moment, the door to the inner office opened
and Walter Skinner's shining pate appeared.
"Where's Holly?" he asked, directing his question at
Mulder.

"Filing.  Stacks," Mulder replied with a shrug.

Skinner turned his attention to young Agent Wright.
"Agent Wright, I didn't expect to see you back so
soon," he said dourly.

"I just had a couple of things I needed to run by
you, sir," Wright said, standing tall, almost at
parade attention.

Walter sighed.  "Mulder -- "

"I'm perfectly comfortable right here, Walt," Mulder
grinned.

"This better not take long," Skinner growled at the
agent, stepping aside to let the young man enter the
room.  "Mulder, don't touch anything," he quipped
as he closed the door.

Mulder's grin got all the bigger and he leaned his
head back against the couch, absolutely content to
do nothing but wait.

Holly came in, they chatted for a while about
Mulder's kids and how life in DC was treating her.
After about a half an hour, Agent Wright made a
hasty exit from Skinner's domain.

"Nice to meet you, Agent -- em -- Mr. Mulder," he
said politely as he hurried out the door.

Skinner was a few seconds behind him, pulling on
his suit jacket.  "Holly -- "

"You're in a meeting out of the office," she smiled
up at him.  "And you have your cell phone if
anyone _really_ needs to get hold of you."

"You're the greatest," Skinner said with an easy
smile.  Mulder looked at the man for a moment,
amazed at what he was seeing.  "What?" Skinner
asked gruffly.

Mulder smiled and shook his head.  "Nothing.  It's
just nice to see you so . . . happy, Walt," he said
with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, welcome to the club," Walter replied
and they headed toward the elevator.  As soon as it
was evident that they were alone, Walter turned to
his friend.  "So, who threw the first punch, you or
Bill?"

Mulder closed his eyes and leaned back against the
wall of the elevator.  "Neither.  But enough words
were thrown to outweigh the need for punches."

"Mulder, you can't let Bill Scully get to you -- "

"He found out we're not married," Mulder said
quickly.

Skinner dropped his eyes to the floor in sympathy.
"How did he find out?  Scully didn't tell him, did
she?"

Mulder opened one eye to regard his friend.  He
smiled, relieved that Walter seemed to be taking his
side, unlike Scully's family.  "No, I don't think Dana
said anything.  Actually, I can't figure out who
spilled the beans."

Walter whistled low.  "How did Scully's mom take
the news?"

"Not that well," Mulder answered.  "I left.  I knew it
would just get worse if I stayed around."

"Mulder, that doesn't sound like you.  This is your
life, yours' and Scully's.  It really shouldn't matter if
you're married -- "

"The only thing Scully had left of her old life was
her faith.  She's been attending Mass every Sunday
since we got to Montana.  Her Church is telling her
that living with me and not being married is a sin.
It's the way she was raised.  Hell, her younger
brother married a girl after he got her pregnant.  We
have three kids together and no ceremony.  That's
what Bill's pissed about."

"So, if it's important to her, get married," Walter
said, as the elevator doors opened.  "Did you
drive?"

Mulder shook his head.  "I took the Metro.  And for
the record, I've asked her to marry me, repeatedly."

"So what's the hold up?" Walter shot back, digging
his keys out of his pants pocket and hitting the
remote door switch with his thumb.

"She hasn't said yes," Mulder bit out, immediately
regretting the heat behind his words.  "Sorry.  It's a
bit of sore point."

"You have to know that Scully -- "

"Walter, I admit to being a bit dense about my
partner's feelings for me for the first seven years of
our relationship, but I am very secure in the
knowledge that she loves me and she's in this for
the long haul."

Skinner nodded in agreement.  "So, I reiterate, why
didn't you just punch his lights out and be done with
it?"

Mulder shook his head again.  "It's her family.  She
has to come to terms with this.  Scully would tell
you that we're married, she has told me in no
uncertain terms that she considers us married,
married since March 6, 1992, as a matter of fact.
But she has to explain that to her family.  That is
her place, not mine, to make them understand.  I
don't think busting my knuckles on Bill Scully's jaw
is going to bring about enlightenment."

"True, but there would still be a certain amount of
satisfaction," Walter pointed out with a wicked grin.

"So what had young Agent Wright so tangled up in
knots?" Mulder asked, deftly changing the subject.

"Wright's a good agent.  Green as they come but
bright.  A case came through Violent Crimes and he
picked up on the fact that it might be a serial."

"Profiler?"

"He has the makings of one.  Like I said, he's a bit
green."

"Hey, when is our appointment at the tailors?"
Mulder asked as his stomach growled loudly in the
closed space of Skinner's Buick.

Skinner cocked an eyebrow.  "We have enough time
to appease that monster," he teased.

Lunch was good, Skinner took Mulder to a deli that
had opened up not far from the Hoover. They
decided that after their appointment with the tailor,
Skinner would take Mulder by the new house.  The
fitting was completed in record time, Mulder would
be in a black tux with black tails, Walter in grey
jacket with tails.  Walter's cell phone went off as
Mulder was changing back into his own clothes.

"Damn it, I can't even take an afternoon," Skinner
groused.  "Do you mind if we run past the Bureau
on the way out to Falls Church?"

"Not at all.  You sure you don't need to get back to
the office?  I understand if you have work to do this
afternoon."

"No, it's just some forms I forgot to sign.  They're
due in the Director's office by 5 and if I don't get
them there, I have not only Holly, but Kim on my
ass."

"Not to mention the Director," Mulder quipped with
a raised eyebrow.

"He's the least of my problems, believe me,"
Skinner deadpanned.

Mulder followed his former superior back to his
office.  Skinner sat down, waving in the general
direction of the two chairs lined up in front of his
desk.  The former agent gave his friend a sardonic
grin as he slid down into his usual seat.  The forms
requiring signature also seemed to require some
review, so Mulder quickly sought out something to
occupy his mind.  He picked up a folder he found
on the edge of the desk blotter.

"Mulder?"  He looked up to find Walter staring at
him, a quizzical look on the older man's face.  "Did
you just go into a fugue state on me?"  There was
humor in Skinner's voice, but not in his eyes.

"Sorry.  I was just -- "  Hastily Mulder returned the
file to its place on the desk.

"Pretty interesting, isn't it?" Skinner asked, leaning
back and crossing his arms.

Mulder shrugged.  "No trauma to match cause of
death.  I'm sure a tox screen -- "

"A few pages toward the back is the full tox screen.
Over the counter antacid, no other substances."

"Death by Rolaids," Mulder muttered, pulling on
his lip.  "But the organ failure -- "

"You read the ME's report?"  Mulder nodded.  "Do
you think it's possible that the heart and lungs could
be 'cooked' with no external trauma?"

Mulder grinned and shook his head.  "Boy, are you
asking the wrong person," he said.  "Are you
finished signing the Constitution, yet, or do we need
to convene another Continental Congress?"

"I've been done for five minutes.  I was trying to get
your attention," Skinner said coolly as he stood and
gathered the papers he'd just signed.

As they started for the door, Mulder stopped and
looked back at the file.  Skinner watched him and
finally nodded.  Mulder went back and pick up the
file, flipping pages.

"It's not protocol, but would you like to take that
back to the apartment, read it over a little?  Agent
Wright could use some help on where to proceed."

Mulder dropped the file to the desk.  "I -- No.  I
think that's probably a bad idea," he said, but his
eyes were full of indecision.

"What could it hurt?" Skinner asked.  "Just take the
file, look it over.  Give the kid some pointers.  We
do actually hire consultants around here.  They
make pretty good money, I'm told."

"Don't need the money, don't need the trouble,"
Mulder said lightly but he still hadn't moved from
his spot next to the desk, his hand hovering over the
folder.  With an obvious effort, he dropped his hand
to his side and sprinted out the door after his friend.

Beach House
Ocean City, MD
June 7, 2005

Scully sat on a chaise lounge on the deck, shielded
from the sun by a large umbrella.  The twins slept
peacefully next to her in their playpen, William was
out on the beach with Matthew, both little boys
following their cousins Ben and Nate, as they
searched for shells and driftwood.  Will was having
a great time, and the older boys, to their credit,
didn't seem to mind the littler ones tagging along.
The uproar of the previous day appeared to be all
but forgotten.

Except by her.  Every time Scully closed her eyes
she could see the hurt, the helplessness and finally
the resignation on her partner's face as he got into
the new rental.  As they'd kissed goodbye she
couldn't shake the feeling that it was one of those
times she shouldn't have let him go.

It could hardly be considered ditching.  She knew
exactly where he was, could call him at any time.
But she felt strongly that there were things she
needed to sort out, feelings she needed to put into
focus and she sensed he was giving her time to do
that.  Even if she didn't really want to go through
the process, it was something that needed to be
done.

The adults had spent the previous night and the
morning walking on eggshells, taking care of the
children, ignoring each other.  Maggie had tried
talking to Bill but it had ended in slammed doors
and silence.  It was hard enough to think of all that
the argument had dredged up, much less deal with
the emotions left in its wake.  Still, after sleeping in
a cold bed and waking up alone, Scully knew she
had to take matters back into her own hands.

She found Bill in the living room, trying to get the
ancient VCR to work.

"We need to talk," she said firmly as she turned off
the television set.

"I don't see much that needs to be said," Bill replied
tersely.  "You've made your bed -- "

"Cute choice of phrase Bill, but you're not going to
win this one," Scully replied.  "Look, I don't give a
rat's ass if you don't approve of my life.  I haven't
for a very long time."

"Well how about Mom's approval?  Or Dad's?" he
shot back.

She cracked a bitter smile.  "As if you are the
authority on Dad's thought processes.  In case you
didn't notice, Dad died 11 years ago.  And I don't
remember anyone electing you to take his place."

Bill's eyes narrowed.  "Someone had to."

Scully huffed.  "No, Bill.  No one had to.
Especially not you.  You and your perfect life, your
perfect marriage.  You have no idea what I went
through to finally get to a place where I wasn't
comparing every life choice to what Mom and Dad
wanted for me, what you and Charlie had done
before me.  Well, guess what?  When I finally let
myself get past the walls I'd built up, I discovered
something.  What Mulder and I have is stronger
than what Mom and Dad or even you could ever
know!  And if you can't handle the fact that we're
happy, that _I_ am happy, then I see no reason for
you and I to have any further contact."  She turned
on her heel and left him with his mouth hanging
open.

Tara was in the kitchen and by her wide-eyed
expression; she'd overheard every word.  "Dana,
you don't mean that.  Please, I don't want to lose
you.  You're the only sister he has -- "

Scully stopped and wiped at the tears tumbling
down her cheeks.  "I can't.  I can't be around him.
He has to change, Tara.  This time I'm not going to
be the one to give in.  He has to change."

"I know, I know," Tara said, reaching out to take
her sister-in-law into a hug.  "Just please, please
don't give up on him.  Give him some time."

Scully pushed out of the embrace, shaking her head.
"How much time does he need?"  When Tara
couldn't answer, Scully nodded.  "I have to get the
kids ready.  We're going back to DC."

Charlie was standing in the doorway to the deck,
looking perplexed.  "Dana, William is all the way
down the beach with the boys and the girls are
napping.  You don't have to leave now, do you?"

"Who's leaving?" Karen asked anxiously, hot on
Charlie's heels.  "Dana, you aren't leaving, are
you?"

Scully felt as if her back was against a wall and she
had no defenses left.  "Listen, all of you.  I just want
to get my children and go home."

"All the way to Montana?" Karen asked.

"No, back to Mulder," Charlie said knowingly.

Without even looking at her brother, Scully turned
and walked toward the stairs.  "Tara, could you
watch the girls while I pack our things, please?"

She was stuffing clothes in one of the duffle bags
when she heard the door open.  She looked up and
saw Charlie.  She went back to her packing.  "I'm
really not in the mood for this, Charlie," she said
through gritted teeth.

"Why didn't you go back with him yesterday?"
Charlie asked, sitting down on the foot of the bed.

She shot him a glare, but it softened when she saw
his openly curious expression.  "Mulder wants the
kids to know their family.  Our family, I guess.  He
wanted me to stay so that they could stay."

Charlie nodded, taking that information to heart.
"OK, then let the kids stay."

"What?" Scully snorted.  "No, I don't think so."

"Dana, Mom is here, Karen, Tara and I are here.
You don't think Bill would ever do anything to hurt
-- "

"Of course not!" she objected immediately.

"Then let the kids stay.  It's just for a couple of
days.  Will is having a blast; Ben and Nate think
he's a hoot.  They were telling me some of the stuff
he's been coming up with.  For a four year old, he's
one sharp cookie."

Scully smiled proudly.  "He's reading, you know."

"I know.  He was telling me the ingredients on the
bag of Cheetos at lunch.  I had no idea how much
sodium was in those things!"

For the first time in 24 hours, Scully laughed.

"You can trust us with your children, Dana.  They're
our family, too.  And when was the last time you
and Mulder had a little time together by yourself?"

She shook her head.  "You always have been able to
surprise me, Chuckles.  I was certain you'd come up
here to convince me to stay."

Charlie feigned shock.  "Me?  Surprises?  Never!
Besides, I thought you were a fool to let Mulder
leave by himself yesterday."

She shot him a narrow eyed glare.

"I'm serious," he said firmly.

"You aren't upset that we aren't married?  I mean
you and Karen -- "

"Are us, and you and Mulder are totally different.
Dana, Mom has given me a brief but concise run
down of all that you two have gone through.
Whereas Bill might not have listened, I did.  As far
as I'm concerned, you're married where it counts,"
he said, pointing first to his head and then to his
heart.  "What everyone else thinks really shouldn't
matter."

She walked the two steps so that she was right in
front of her brother and leaned down to hug him
tightly.  "I love you, Chuckles."  She released him
and stood back.  "Why couldn't you have been born
first?"

"You know, I've asked Mom that all my life," he
said with a wicked grin.  "But I'm not sure birth
order is the only thing going against Bill.  I have a
theory."

She cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"Yes," she encouraged.

"I think Mom dropped him on his head a time or
two before we all got here."

Scully laughed again and then shook her head.
"OK, that's it.  I'm out of here."

Charlie caught her arm, stilling her movements.
"One thing, Dana, you have to tell me before you
go."

She swallowed, waiting for the onslaught.

"Where did you stash the extra diapers?  You aren't
leaving here before you tell me!"
 

~~~
 
 

Going Home:  Chapter 7 Not What She Expected

Crystal City Place
June 7, 2005
7:30 pm

She parked in the visitor's space for Skinner's
apartment, just a few spaces over from Mulder's
rental.  It took all her effort to drag herself and her
duffle bag out of the car.  Traffic on the Chesapeake
Bay Bridge had been a nightmare, as usual, but
more than that was causing her exhaustion.  She
hadn't slept the night before and was still struggling
with emotional upheaval.

She juggled her keys as she walked down the
hallway.  What was she going to say to him?  She'd
seen his face as he drove away.  He hadn't looked
angry, but he had every right to be.  He looked sad
and . . . disappointed.  When confronted with her
own lie, she'd let him take the brunt of it.  She was
angry with herself, she didn't blame him if he was
angry with her for waiting until he'd been gone a
night before she would stand up to her brother.

Not to mention he probably wouldn't be happy
when she arrived alone.  She hadn't consulted him
on leaving the kids at the beach.  Not that she didn't
relish spending time alone with her partner (angry
or not), it was just that they never went anywhere
without the kids, well, almost never.  The only
people they trusted with their children were the
Hawthornes, and never for overnight.  But this was
her family, she argued internally.  Yeah, the same
family that practically disowned her for loving her
partner.  She got the image of a cat chasing its tail.
No matter what his mood, she would talk to him,
make it right.  Nothing else mattered but that they
were on the same page.

She unlocked the door to the apartment, calling out
to him.  "Mulder?"  Silence answered her.
Frowning, she walked through the empty apartment,
dropping her duffle in the bedroom they shared.
He'd been there the night before.  The bed was
unmade and his clothes were on the floor.  She
found a clean pair of shorts and clean tee shirt lying
on the bed, hastily folded.  His sandals, the pair he'd
lived in since warm weather had arrived, were
tucked under the edge of the bed skirt.  What the
hell had he worn to meet Skinner, she asked herself.

He'd gone out to dinner, she decided.  It was
entirely possible that Skinner and Kim had invited
him out to eat, since he was in the city alone.  That
alternately warmed her heart and froze it.  He
shouldn't have been here by himself.  She should
have been with him.  But beating herself up over it
wouldn't change the past.  All she could do was
hope to make it better in the future.

Scully wandered into the kitchen to find something
to eat.  Amazingly, the refrigerator was stocked,
including 2 percent milk and apple juice.  She
smiled; he knew they were coming home.  At least
he didn't think they'd abandoned him.  She found
her favorite lunchmeat, thin sliced turkey breast, in
the meat drawer and made a sandwich for her
dinner.

There were boxes on the table, so she had to move
some things aside to make room.  As she ate, she
looked at the writing on the side.  Her mother's
handwriting, in china pencil, just as she'd marked
all the boxes in every move the Scully family had
made through the years.  She bit her lip as she
realized what was in the boxes.  Her things, his
things.  All the pieces of their lives that they'd left
behind on that one dark night in June three years
ago.  Dropping her half eaten sandwich to the plate,
she pulled the closest box toward her and peered
inside.

Her desk items stared up at her.  Her drawer
organizer, neatly wrapped in clear plastic, the
pencils, pens and paperclips still in their proper
compartments.  Her address book, very handy now
that she would probably start sending Christmas
cards to old friends again after a three-year absence.
Photo albums made the bottom layer.

She pulled them out, brushing her hand across the
leather.  Opening one of the albums, her throat
tightened and tears blurred her vision.  She
remembered this album.  She had made it for
William.  It was pictures of his father, so that the
little boy would know the man who'd given him
life.

Mulder at a crime scene, staring hard at the ground.
Mulder in the office, feet on the desk, giving her a
'don't you dare' look as she snapped the picture.
Some pictures of the two of them, taken by crime
scene photographers.  She remembered asking for
them, just to keep the picture out of the water cooler
gossip mills.  Pictures of the two of them that
Langly or Frohike had taken when the two agents
had visited the Gunmen.

She stopped turning the pages at one picture.  It was
an 8 by 10, it took up the page, black and white.
Mulder was standing on a street corner, looking off
into the distance, thinking.  She ran her finger over
the plastic, tracing his jaw, his forehead.  She loved
this man.  She loved him more than she had ever
realized.

The last three years and the nine before that, she'd
known her place.  Her place was at his side.  For the
first few years, she felt the need to protect him,
while he carried on his quest.  Sancho to his
Quixote.  She'd been sent to spy on him, she was as
aware of that as he was from the start, but she had
no intentions of being a spy.  When she saw his
nobility, his honesty, his integrity; she knew he
needed her as a buffer from the powers that were
out to destroy him, whatever the reason.

With her own abduction and with the loss of
Melissa, she took his quest on as her own.  No
longer were they hero and sidekick, now they were
partners in crime.  She smiled at that thought.  She
had felt like a criminal when they'd returned from
Antarctica to find their work handed off to other
agents.  No, not just other agents -- Diana Fowley
and Jeffrey Spender.  Scully shuddered in revulsion.
No matter that the woman had died almost six year
previous, she still got a lump in her stomach at the
mere thought of Diana.

Jealousy.  She could finally allow herself to look at
her feelings without the pressures of a strictly work
partnership.  She hated Diana on several levels, not
the least of which was because Scully was certain of
Diana's duplicitous nature.  But overriding all of
that, Scully was jealous that Mulder had trusted the
other woman.  Trust was something she'd had to
earn, and she had over years of partnership.  To see
him blindly trust someone who was so obviously
not working in his best interest infuriated Scully.
There were times when she didn't want to just
scratch out Diana's eyes, she wanted to rip Mulder's
arms off and stuff them down his throat.

Shaking her head, she laughed.  What a picture!
Years later and she still could get her hackles up
over it.  But in some ways, Diana had ultimately
given her life to ensure Mulder survived.  She
redeemed herself at the last moment.  Scully would
forever be grateful for that.  But it didn't mean she
wasn't just slightly pleased that the bitch was dead.

Love, jealousy, trust, misunderstandings.  Life,
death, burials and births.  They'd gone through it all
and come out all the stronger.  Scully had seen
marriages break up over far less.

Another album hidden behind one of the boxes
caught her eye.  She picked it up, recognizing
almost immediately.  The Father's Day present she
never got to give.  Again the tears caused her vision
to waver, but she gently turned the pages,
remembering their son, their first miracle together.
She ached to give Mulder those memories.

But if the album was out on the table, he must have
found it.  It hit her like a freight train; he'd found the
album.  For a moment, that thought dismayed her.
She'd wanted to present it to him, as it should be
given, a cherished gift.  To have him stumble on it
with no preparation --

The little velvet bag slid out from between two
pages.  She picked it up gingerly; as if she was
afraid of the secrets it held.  Biting her lip, she
pulled open the silk chords holding it shut and
upended the contents into her hand.

A perfect diamond ring landed in her palm,
followed shortly by a slip of a receipt.

She stopped breathing.  This was too much.  What
had he done, had he gone out and bought this
today?  Her anger was warring with her underlying
confusion.  She laid the velvet pouch on the table,
putting the ring on top of it.  With shaking fingers
she opened the receipt to find the date.

Oh my God was the first thought to whiz through
her brain.  It wasn't the current date at all.  He had
purchased the ring --

The date finally settled in her brain and this times
the tears sprang forth with no possible hindrance.
He'd bought her an engagement ring long before
they'd even become intimate.  He'd bought the ring
just days after her remission.  And at the time, she'd
thought the chip in the back of her neck was his
only declaration of undying devotion.

A thousand little moments crowded into her mind.
'Marry me,' said to her while she was trying to find
a rational explanation for a little girl's murderous
doll.  'You're my one in five billion,' rasped to her
from a bed in a psychiatric ward.  'I owe you
everything, Scully and you owe me nothing,' said in
an anguished voice in a dingy hallway.  'I love you,'
coming from lips just recently blue from lack of
oxygen and the effects of near drowning.  'You are
my constant, my touchstone," said with a tear
choked voice from a battered soul.

All those moments, and hundreds just like them, all
that time he held this ring, hidden, buried in his
apartment and his heart.  He'd broached the subject
a hundred times and each time she'd ignored what
he was saying.  Of course, he could have come right
out and said the words, handed her the ring, but her
Mulder, the man she'd given her heart to years
before, was too insecure for that.  His fear of
rejection held him in check.

Silently she slipped the ring on her finger, where an
engagement ring was supposed to be worn.  It fit
perfectly, as she knew it would.  Her heart clenched
and tears flowed freely.  When she heard the key in
the door, she startled.  Ripping the ring from her
finger, she stuffed it and the receipt in the bag,
concealing them in the pages of the album and
hiding the album in one of the boxes.  She didn't
want him to know she'd found it.  Not yet.

When he opened the door, Mulder sensed
movement in the apartment.  The hairs on the back
of his neck lifted and he automatically reached for
his weapon, which would have been on his hip in
earlier days.  He grabbed thin air and sighed.  OK,
fists would just have to do, and the element of
surprise.  It had been quite a while since he'd had to
think on his feet in a dangerous situation.  He
considered going back out in the hall, as he should
as a private citizen.  Nah, he hadn't been that
domesticated.  He stepped forward toward the
kitchen where he heard shuffling and bumping --

"Scully!  For God's sakes -- you trying to kill me?"
he yelled at her.  She turned and he got a good look
at her tear-streaked face.  "Scully, baby, what's
wrong, what's the matter?" he pleaded immediately,
opening his arms.

It took only a couple of steps but it felt like she'd
run all night.  She grabbed him tightly and pillowed
her cheek against his chest where she could listen to
his rapid heartbeat.  She couldn't talk, she wasn't
going to move, she was right where she wanted to
be, safe in his arms, him safe in her arms.

"Scully, hey, love, what's the matter?  Is it one of
the babies?  What's happened?  Please, you're
scaring me, tell me what's wrong," he begged of
her.

That forced her into action.  She pulled away and
grabbed his face in both hands, pulling it down for a
scorching kiss.  When they needed air, she released
him, smiling up at him through her tears.  "No,
nothing's wrong.  I just missed you."

He chuckled at her and leaned down for another
kiss.  "Remind me to stay away for a day again
sometime," he teased, but she would have none of
it.

"No, not ever.  Never are we going to sleep in
separate cities, in separate beds unless we both
agree and have damn good reasons, and my
brother's whim is not damn good enough!" she
growled forcefully.  They kissed again and it was
getting very warm in the kitchen.

Finally, Mulder pulled away, holding her at arm's
reach.  He looked around, listening for a moment.
"Scully, where are our children?" he asked with a
raised eyebrow.

"With my mother and brothers at the beach," she
answered, biting her lip.

"You came back without them?" he asked,
frowning.

"Mulder -- "

"We have this whole apartment to ourselves?"

"Mulder, don't be angry.  I trust my mother -- "

"Scully, stop talking, now!"  He picked her up in his
arms as she whooped and grabbed on to his neck.
"No more talking until morning.  Come show me
how much you missed me," he said with a wicked
grin.

Crystal City Place
7:35 am

Walter Skinner was seldom a patient man.  Having
been called out of the arms of his intended just an
hour before, he wasn't a very happy man, either.  He
stood in front of the door to his old apartment and
rapped again.  Still, no answer.

Digging into his pocket, he produced his keys and
quickly unlocked the door.  "Mulder," he called,
walking into the living room.  No sign of his friend,
but that wasn't unusual.  Mulder didn't have a
schedule to keep and he'd been at the Bureau pretty
late the night before.  Skinner was still alternately
kicking himself and patting himself on the back at
roping Mulder in on Agent Wright's case.  Mulder
had been one of the best, if anyone could teach
Wright how to investigate -- and keep an open mind
-- it was Mulder.  If only he could figure out how to
get Scully involved, Skinner mused as he moved
toward the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

Odd, Mulder's suit coat was hanging off the newel
post to the upstairs.  Odder still, his tie was slung
over the banister.  One wingtip was kicked toward
the corner of the landing; Walter found the other at
the top of the steps.  Was that a woman's shoe lying
in the hall?  What the hell was Mulder thinking,
bringing a woman to the apartment when his partner
was still at the beach?

"Mulder?  What the hell is going on here?" Skinner
demanded as he pushed open the bedroom door and
caught a full frontal eyeful of Dana Scully reaching
for the sheet that had fallen to the floor.

"Walter?" Scully squeaked, grabbing the sheet and
wrapping it around her.

"Dana?" Skinner returned, in a voice almost as high
as his diminutive former agent.  He stood there,
stunned, unable to move.

"Hey, uh, Walt, could you meet us downstairs?"
Mulder asked politely from a crouched position on
the other side of the bed, also without clothing.

"Sure.  Yeah.  I'll -- I'll make coffee," Skinner said
quickly and almost ran down the stairs.

Walt blushes all the way across his head, Mulder
decided as he made his way over to the cabinet to
retrieve a coffee mug.  "Um, we, uh, didn't hear you
knock," said the former agent, now dressed in shorts
and a tee shirt.

Skinner refused to meet his eye, staring at a spot
just over his left shoulder.  "I did knock, you know.
I called you, too."

"I think Scully heard that.  And your footsteps on
the stairs," Mulder said, sipping his coffee.

A thought occurred to Skinner.   "Where are
William and the girls?"

"Still at the beach," Mulder explained, digging in
the refrigerator and producing bagels and cream
cheese.  He pointed toward the food, wordlessly
offering Walter a share in their breakfast.

"No, I can't.  I need to get in to the office.  Actually,
I came by to get you.  There's been another
murder."

"Murder?" Scully asked from the doorway.  She,
too, had dressed, even to the point of wearing long
sleeves.  Mulder shot her a raised eyebrow and she
ignored him.  "What about a murder?"

Skinner shot a look over to Mulder who shrugged
and looked down at the floor.  "A military
contractor was found this morning in his office.  He
was dead, but there appears to be no external
trauma."

"Heart attack, stroke, brain aneurism," Scully rattled
off.

Mulder shook his head.  "He's not the first.  I'm
pretty sure when he's opened up they'll find internal
organs done to perfection," he commented, taking
another sip.  At her questioning look, he grinned.
"Cooked.  Like a Christmas goose.  The military
turned to us?" he directed his question to Skinner.

"He was a contractor.  But it appears he worked in
an accounting position, not someone with
intelligence information.  The company CEO called
it into DC police, but we had a bulletin posted for
these types of deaths."

"Is Wright at the scene?" Mulder continued.

"Yeah, I told him we'd -- " he shot a look at Scully
and something flashed through his eyes.  "I said I'd
meet him there."

"I'm going with you," Mulder announced.

Scully stuck her hand out.  "Wait a minute.  Why
are you going?" she quarreled.

"The kid, sorry, 'new' agent, an Agent Wright,
assigned to the case is working over his head," he
explained.

"So?  Walter should assign him a partner," she said
through gritted teeth.

Skinner busied himself staring at the tile floor.

"Walter asked me to help the kid out.  Just give him
some pointers," Mulder said quickly, hoping to
forestall the inevitable argument.

"Like hell you will," she shot back.  "Mulder, you
aren't an agent.  You haven't been for four years.
You are not going back in the field!  You don't have
a weapon, you're skills are rusty, at best -- "

"I didn't hear any complaints last night," he groused
sotto voce.

" -- and you're not ditching me with the kids!"

"I thought the kids were at the beach," Walter
interjected and immediately regretted opening his
mouth from the look Scully shot him.

"Scully, you know, it would really help Wright if
you looked at this body," Mulder said, taking hold
of her shoulders loosely so that she'd look him in
the face.  "Please.  It's just one little body -- "

"I haven't looked inside any body in three years,"
she spat out.

"But it's like riding a bike, Scully.  I mean, it's not
like they changed where things are put in there," he
added, trying to sound reasonable.

"Why?" she challenged.  "Why this?  Why now?"

"I just want to extend a professional courtesy," he
said, dropping his hands from her shoulders to his
sides in defeat.

Her eyes narrowed.  "The only courtesies you
extend will be to me, Mister," she growled.  She
turned on her heel and headed out of the kitchen,
but stopped before she got to the doorway.  "You
can't go dressed like that.  They'll think you're a
death groupie."

"Yes ma'am."

"And I'm coming to the crime scene, too," she
directed at Walter.  "To keep him in line."

"Absolutely," Skinner agreed.

"I'm getting dressed.  I'll only be a moment."  It was
a command more than a statement.

"I brought a couple of your 'after William' suits
from storage -- ones I didn't recognize," Mulder
called out to her as they heard her footsteps
tromping up the stairs.  "I better go make sure she
finds them and get changed myself."

"Motherhood doesn't seem to have softened all the
edges, has it, Mulder?" Walter asked with a small
smile.

"Not all of them," Mulder admitted.  "I tend to think
a couple of the edges got sharpened.  Be right
back."

Walden Electronics, Inc.
Falls Church, VA
9:45 AM

Skinner stood by the door, out of the way of the
forensics team, watching his two former agents as
they surveyed the crime scene.  A rush of deja vu
flooded him.  It was like the last five years had
never transpired.  He sighed, wondering how things
might have been different it he'd refused to allow
Mulder to go out to Bellefleur.  But then, knowing
Mulder, the man would have gone ahead without
permission and no one would have been there to
witness what had happened with the alien ship.

There was no telling that things would have ended
differently in the long run anyway.  Scully and
Mulder had been in an intimate relationship, by
evidence of their conceiving a child together, long
before he and Mulder left for Oregon.  If Mulder
hadn't been abducted, Scully probably would have
left the X Files, maybe even the Bureau, to raise
William.  Mulder, since Samantha's fate had been
revealed, might very well have left as well.  Maybe
they would have purchased a house in the area,
settled down.  Having spent time with them in
Montana, Skinner didn't find it so foreign to see
them with three kids and an SUV.  Whatever had
transpired in the last few years, at least everything
appeared to be going well for them now.   Of
course, no longer facing eminent colonization by an
alien force might have had something to do with
that.

"I'm just happy you're willing to do the autopsy,
Agent Scully," Wright was chattering on as Scully
examined the body still seated at the only desk in
the room.

"I'm not an Agent anymore, Wright," Scully said
with a patient smile.  "Call me Scully.  Or if you
want, Dana."

"Well, we have plenty of prints, but I'm guessing all
of them belong to the victim," Mulder said from his
position on an office chair, dusting a ceiling vent.
"No sign of a 'Tooms' like entry, either."

Wright gave Scully a confused glance but she shook
her head and wrinkled her nose to avoid any
questions.  "If you're done with the body, I'd like to
get it transported to the morgue," she said.

Mulder jumped off the chair and moved to stand by
her.  He looked expectantly at Wright.  "Your call,
Agent Wright.  Do we give the ME the OK to move
him?"

Wright looked surprised.  "Uh, yeah, I guess we're
done here, right?"

Scully found the floor rather interesting, using her
hair to block her smile.  Mulder put his hand on the
young man's shoulder, much like a father would,
and walked him over to the corner.

"Wright, I'm sorry, Jeremy," he s