Beyond The Lies
by Sable
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Season 8 in general, through Medusa.
Summary: The truth about Mulder's abduction and Scully's
pregnancy.
Notes: The timeline of this season is a huge mess. In "The
Gift," Doggett clearly said that "Agent Mulder disappeared in
May" of 2000. Yet in "Medusa," a reference to "Survivor II" sets
that episode in late January or, more likely, February of 2001,
where Mulder is still missing and Scully's pregnancy has not
even begun to show. Anyway, that's where the idea for this story
came from.
Scully studied the postcard she had received in the mail two
days ago. It was postmarked New York City and bore a photo of
the Empire State Building on the front. On the reverse side, it
read in block printing, "Wish you were here" followed by the
numbers 12 2 15. She checked the time, then looked at Doggett.
He sat at his desk, absorbed in a file.
"Agent Doggett?" She waited until he looked at her. "Why don't we
have a working lunch? Would you mind going to the cafe down the
block and bringing back food?"
"No problem. What do you want?"
She scrawled her request on a piece of scrap paper and handed it
to him.
"Be right back." With that, Doggett loped away.
Scully consulted her watch again. It was nearly noon on February
15. According to the code on the postcard, she should place her
call at 12. She crossed to the door and locked it, then returned
to Mulder's desk. Pulling open the top-right-hand drawer, she
removed his nameplate and pushed a hidden switch on the bottom.
The plate began to glow a pale green. Satisfied, she picked up
her cell phone and dialed 27 digits.
On the third ring, a voice answered. "Mulder."
"Mulder, it's me," Scully greeted her partner.
"Did you use it?" he demanded.
"The little gift from our friends?" Scully studied the pulsing
nameplate. "Yes. I was very careful."
"Good. We can talk freely, then. As long as that device is in
place, our calls can't be traced or monitored."
Scully sighed. "I hate to complain when you're so far away, but
why can't we talk more often? I'm tired of only getting a
postcard with a coded message every couple of months or so."
"Sorry, but that's the way it has to be for now. Time passes very
differently where I am. And we have to be careful."
"Well, how much longer will you be gone?"
"Can't say for sure. But with you holding down the fort in my
absence, I know things will be the same when I get back."
Scully glanced at Agent Doggett's desk and decided not to mention
it. "Was such an elaborate set-up really necessary? Not that I
don't have faith in the medical abilities of our friends,
considering that they healed me, but don't you think going to
Oregon with Skinner and making him believe you were taken
against your will was just a bit much?"
Mulder replied in the tone of one who had already explained a
particular opinion multiple times. "What was I going to tell
everyone, Scully? That I needed six months' leave to go and get
cured by an alien race because I'd developed an undiagnosable,
fatal brain abnormality? An abduction was the perfect excuse.
It's in character, it's indefinite, and I'll still have benefits
when I get back."
"You know, Mulder, you've been gone an awfully long time
already," Scully pointed out. "You left in May, and here it is
February 15. You're missing 'Survivor II.' And lying to Skinner
that I'm pregnant was a mistake. I know we thought I might need
the sympathy vote, and a real pregnancy wasn't doable because
you wouldn't be around for it, but frankly, his stupidity amazes
me. The man can't even count. How did he ever get to be an
assistant director? And what am I supposed to tell him when he
finally realizes how long I've supposedly been pregnant--that I
have the gestation period of an elephant and I won't even start
showing for another four months or so? Even worse, with my luck,
you just know one day he'll run into my mother and mention my
'pregnancy.' She doesn't even know you're gone yet. I quit
phoning her a long time ago because I'm already lying to enough
people. For all she knows, I've dropped off the face of the
earth."
Mulder wisely and none-too-subtly changed the subject. "So,
how's the new guy doing?"
Scully sat back and propped her feet up on the desk. "Well, he
lets me choose all the cases. He hasn't ditched me yet. He
covered for me with Skinner without my asking. On our last case,
he followed my instructions almost to the letter. I think if I'd
told him to stand in front of a moving train, he would have done
it. Plus, he's pretty easy to control. A few well-placed tears
every now and then, and he falls for it every time. And I hate to
admit it, but he's actually even saved my life once or twice."
"In other words, he's working out," Mulder said flatly.
Scully smiled. "Is that a note of jealousy I detect, Mulder?"
"I couldn't say. What do you think?"
Scully decided to let him off the hook. "Don't worry. Agent
Doggett has come in handy, but he's no competition for you."
Reassured, Mulder questioned, "You're still calling him 'Agent
Doggett'? Isn't that a little formal?"
"It wouldn't bother you if I treated him like a human being?"
"No, not really. When you call him that, you sound like you have
a..." A burst of static drowned out the rest of his words.
When the line cleared, Scully asked, "What were you saying,
Mulder?"
"Nothing, Scully," he muttered.
"Never mind," she relented. "I got the point. I'll establish
friendlier terms."
"Good going, Scully. We might want to keep Doggett around for a
while."
Scully started as a rattle sounded at the locked door. "Look,
Mulder, I have to hang up. He's back already."
"That's okay. I have to get going myself. Our friends want to try
out a new drill on my soft palate."
"Send another postcard soon. Love you, Mulder."
"Love you, too, Scully."
She hung up, switched off the nameplate, tucked it back in the
drawer, and hurried to unlock the door.
Doggett shoved his way in and looked around suspiciously.
"What was that all about, Agent Scully? What were you up to
behind that locked door?"
"It was...personal." Let him make what he would of that. And now
to effectively distract him. "By the way, we've been working
together long enough that I don't think we need to be quite so
formal."
Doggett gaped at her. "You mean you want me to call you 'Scully'?"
"Not quite."
"Dana?" he said hesitantly.
"Wrong again. What you called me in the subway tunnel had a nice
ring to it."
Doggett looked blank.
"Boss," Scully prompted, grabbing the lunch bag from his limp
hand. "You said I was 'the boss.' That will do perfectly. Now,
you get busy on that paperwork, while I take a lunch break after
all..."
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