Mulder sat in the driver's seat of the 2005 Sunfire, chewing on sunflower seeds. Every now and then he'd spit a shell out the open window, as he continued to wait at the designated spot. Scully had asked him to meet her here, on a winding country road. And here he sat, the car off, lights off, sitting on the shoulder of the road next to a cornfield that reminded him of an event many years ago that had inadvertently sent him on a wild goose chase after Scully. Across the road was an expansive field of cut hay. The bales spotted the field here and there, but otherwise he had an uninterrupted view of a farmhouse sitting in the middle of the field. Lights were on, and he wondered what the family was doing right now.
Were they sitting down to dinner? Curled up in the living room, sitting around the TV watching reruns of All In the Family? He could picture a normal family doing normal things. Something he and Scully never had, and probably never would have. You couldn't really have a conventional relationship when the two lovers referred to each other by last names, he supposed. Every now and then he wondered if this was the life Scully craved – to be settled down, with children, and a dog in the backyard.
He could never offer her those things. For one, he himself wasn't interested in that sort of life. But she always came back to him. They could go for months without seeing each other, and then his doorbell would ring. He would open the door and there she would be on the doorstep, asking to be let in. He always opened his home and his heart to her. He just couldn't help it.
As he spit another shell out the window, he looked in his rear view mirror and watched as some headlights drew closer to his car. The car pulled over to the side behind his, and the lights went out. The driver's side door opened, and Scully emerged from the car and headed to his. As she got into the passenger seat, Mulder put the bag of sunflower seeds away. "Hi, Scully," he said, and smiled a half-grin.
"Hey, Mulder," she said, getting comfortable in the seat. The two sat in silence for some time. Mulder nodded to the house across the way, "Is that why you brought me here?" he asked.
She nodded, "I suppose you want to know why, right?"
"Well, yah." He said, as he watched the front door open and a young child run outside, only to come running back when his mother came to the door. The door closed, and life resumed its normal pace.
"That was William, Mulder." Scully said quietly.
He looked over at the house again, "Really? These are the people who adopted him?"
She nodded silently as she stared longingly at the house. Oh, to be the mother inside that house. She would give almost anything to be able to raise her own son, to watch him grow before her very eyes. And somewhere deep down she wished that Mulder would be the father to her son, just as she felt he was the father.
Mulder looked over at Scully only to see tears in her eyes. "Scully," he said, concern in his voice as he turned to her.
She opened her purse and grabbed a tissue, and began to blot out the tears, but they just kept coming. "Why couldn't that have been us, Mulder? Is it so much to wish for? A happy family?" she sobbed, as she tried to gain control of her feelings.
Mulder's heart fell. Was this it? Would their love end here, on this quiet country road, not too far from where their only son was probably watching cartoons? He took a deep breath. He had once promised himself to be himself, and honest with Scully, and he wasn't going to change that now. "Is this what you want, Scully? Really? A regular home life? I can't get give you that, I never could. You know you've got my love, but I can't give you this!" he gestured to the farmhouse.
Scully laughed through her tears, "I know that, Mulder. But is it a sin to dream about it at times?" she paused, looking out the window at the house. "I've convinced myself that what we have is what I want, but deep down, every now and then I regret never finding what that family has."
"I have to know then, Scully. Is what I have to give not enough for you?" You couldn't hear the fear in his voice, but it was there, in the pit of his stomach. Would she leave him for the arms of John Doggett? John, the man who stood by her side, and wished from afar that she would lay her eyes on him for just once. Mulder knew that John could offer Scully this sort of life. One that could be considered conventional.
"Oh Mulder, don't say that," Scully whispered, her light blue eyes searching the darkness for his own.
"But I have to know, Scully. I need to know." Mulder said, his voice finally showing some strain.
Scully reached out and grabbed his hand in hers, "Mulder, after all this time, you're still the one I love. After everything we've been through, I don't think I could ever love someone as much as I love you."
She took a deep breath, "Every now and then I wonder why I still stick by you, and keep coming back. But I know it's because our love is determined to defeat the odds." She pointed to the house, "That child in there, Mulder, William; he is the proof that our love can defeat all odds. If I didn't strongly believe that, do you think I'd be sitting in this car with you tonight?"
"I don't know, Scully. I think you've brought me here for a reason, and I'm a bit anxious to find out what that reason is." Mulder said, the knot in his stomach not loosening a bit.
"I brought you here so you could know our son is doing well. Look at that house, Mulder. Look at the things in the yard. He's doing well, even without us in his life. I'm confused about how I feel with that. But he's okay. We did at least one thing right."
She reached over and kissed Mulder lightly. "You're still the one I run to, Mulder. And I belong to you just as much as you belong to me. And you're the one I still kiss goodnight. And I want to do that for the rest of my life." She paused.
The fear gone, Mulder leaned over and returned her kiss, letting in linger. "Alright, if you're not here to break up with me, as you've so assured me, what are we here for?"
Scully smiled as she kissed him again, "Would it be so wrong if we shared a house, Mulder? Lived together? Stayed together?"
Mulder grinned as he let his fingers curl in her long red hair, "Why Scully, are you asking me to be your roommate?"
She giggled softly, "Something like that, anyway," she whispered as she let her own fingers run through his soft brown hair. As their kisses grew longer, the front door of the farmhouse opened again, and William ran out into the front yard, eyes skyward.
His mother continuously scolded him for coming out here at night, but he just couldn't help himself. He was obsessed with the sky. He loved the stars, the moon, and the planets. His room was covered in them. He plopped down at the bottom of the steps and sat there, watching the sky.
Back in Mulder's car, the two had broken their embrace. Scully left Mulder's car, and the two followed the road back into town together. They would go to Scully's for the evening, and when Scully fell asleep, she'd be dreaming of Mulder.
As the taillights blinked out of sight down the road, William began to scream with joy. "Mommy! Mommy! I saw an alien spaceship! MOMMY!" he cried, as his mother came hurrying out the door. He pointed up into the sky, but all she could see was stars. And then it happened again. A star streaked across the black sky, and another followed soon after. "Make a wish, Billy. Make a wish, and it might come true."
William closed his eyes tight, and wished with all his might.
His mother grabbed hold of his hand, "What did you wish for?"
"I can't tell you, else it won't come true." William said with such conviction that his mother didn't ask again. She led her son inside, and closed the door and locked it. She closed her eyes and smiled, and remembered her own falling star that she had wished upon over nine years ago. And here she was holding hands with a wish that had come true.