Together again

by kphillips

Mulder and Scully split up after they disagree about Diana Fowley. Five years later they are brought together to try and stop colonization.

Together Again

Disclaimer Information: I know I don't own any of these characters but I do like to play with them from time to time.

Spoilers - assumes a basic knowledge through One Son (season 6)

Rating - PG13

Archive - anywhere you would like. Just let me know.

Feedback - would love to hear what you think xfstories@yahoo.com

Summary: Scully and Mulder part ways after the events surrounding Mulder's faith in Diana Fowley. The remain apart for 5 years until they are summoned by the President to help win the battle against colonization.

Thursday February 11, 1999

After all the times that Mulder had asked Scully to believe him, why was it so hard for him to believe her just this one time?

Scully left the Lone Gunman's facility in shock. She had shown Mulder proof, and lots of it, that there was plenty of reason not to believe that Diana Fowley's intentions were all good.

And he refused to believe her - refused to even consider the fact that Scully may actually be right.

Mulder had obviously once again fallen under the spell of Special Agent Diana Fowley.

There was no way that Scully was going to hang around and found out what happened next.

It was hard enough to think about loosing Mulder, much less to someone like Fowley, without staying around and watching it happen right under her nose.

Was she jealous? Sure she was. Scully had waited years to get the kind of response from Mulder that Fowley seemed to be able to get within a matter of minutes.

She thought that she and Mulder had a sort of understanding. A bond - something that was more than just a mere partnership.

Obviously she was wrong.

Scully returned to her house and quickly logged onto her computer. She immediately went to the FBI website and checked out the job postings.

"Where to go?" she thought to herself. "I definitely don't want to stay in the greater DC area." There was too much risk in that.

She scanned the postings in California and found several listed under the San Diego office.

"Perfect" she thought to herself "I may have to leave Mom, but at least I will be close to Bill's family."

Friday February 12, 1999 FBI Headquarters

It didn't take Mulder long to notice that Scully was a bit out of sorts as they worked quietly in the bullpen. He knew she was mad at him for not believing her accusations about Diana, but how could he? After all, he knew Diana better than that.

Didn't he?

Well, it wasn't the first time that Scully was mad at him and it probably wouldn't be the last so he decided to put it out of his mind. It was Friday and he knew he would come up with a plan over the weekend to cheer her up on Monday.

Other than observing Scully's foul mood, the day passed rather uneventfully. Five o'clock arrived quicker than he thought.

Mulder had no intentions about leaving on time, and was a bit surprised when Scully started packing up her things.

"Anything special planned for this weekend Scully?"

"No, not really. Just going to try to get my life back in order."

Mulder assumed she was referring to the fact that they had been so busy that she needed to clean her apartment, do laundry and other personal errands.

"Well, have fun Scully. I'll see you Monday"

Mulder thought it was a bit odd how Scully just stood there looking at him so intensely. If he didn't know better, he would think that she was trying to store a picture of him in her memory.

"Good night Mulder"

Monday February 15, 1999 Kersh's office

Mulder sat in front of Kersh's desk wondering what he could have possibly done this time to annoy his boss. He had been relatively good over the past few weeks and had even caught up on most of his paperwork.

He was also wondering where Scully was. It was unusual for him to be called before Kersh without Scully. It was almost as if Kersh needed her there to explain whatever Mulder was trying to explain to him.

Mulder's wait didn't last long. Within a few minutes, Kersh walked into the office. Alone.

"Agent Mulder, thank you for being so prompt this morning."

"Good morning Sir"

"You are probably wondering why you are here." Mulder nodded.

"A decision has been made about the future of the X-files. Agents Spender and Fowley will wrap up the current open files and then the X-files will be closed permanently."

"You can't do that!" Mulder shouted resisting the urge to jump to his feet.

"The order comes from above Agent Mulder and I have no intention of going against the wishes of my superiors."

"As of this morning, you are being assigned back to the Violent Crimes Unit. You will report to them immediately."

Mulder had a great sense of dread come upon him as he asked "You mean, Agent Scully and myself Sir?"

"No Agent Mulder, just you. Agent Scully has been assigned to the forensic team out in San Diego. She reported there this morning."

February 2004 8:30 am The Oval Office

FBI Director Skinner walked into the Oval Office wondering why he had been called into a private meeting with the President. He and the President had a nice working relationship but besides the odd round of golf, had never been alone together.

Something was going on. Something big. Skinner just knew it.

He rose when the President entered the room.

"Good morning Skinner"

"Good morning Mr. President"

The President waved for Skinner to sit down and took a seat himself right across from him.

"I am sure you are wondering why I called you down here this morning?"

"The thought did cross my mind Sir"

The President smiled and then continued. "About five years ago, AD Kersh was ordered to shut down the X-files by the man who was in this office then." Skinner nodded and the President continued

"Do you know why? To try and keep Agents Mulder and Scully from stumbling onto the truth too quickly. To give them a reason to go their separate ways. To assure their survival until they were truly needed."

"I am not sure I get your meaning Sir"

"Not to worry Skinner. You will soon enough. There will be a meeting in your office two days from now. I expect you to have Mulder and Scully there."

"Sir, that may be easier said than done. As far as I know, they haven't seen or spoken to each other in five years."

The President smiled. "I am sure you can get them there Skinner" and then he stood indicating that the meeting was over.

10:00 am FBI Headquarters

AD Mulder walked towards Skinner's office thinking to himself how many times he had done that very thing.

In the beginning, it was he and Scully always facing Skinner together. And then the X-files were shut down and he was put back in the VCU and was once again under Skinner's scrutiny.

But this time it was different. After Scully had been reassigned and the X- files were taken from him, he lost a lot of his desire to search for the truth. He actually started to obey the rules of the FBI.

He became invaluable to the VCU and before long his stalled career was back on track.

"Now look at me, I am an Assistant Director." He smiled to himself.

He knocked on Skinner's door and quickly entered the room. "You sent for me Sir?" Mulder said throwing himself into a chair the same way he had a million times before.

"This morning I had a meeting with the President." That got Mulder's attention and he sat up in the chair paying extra attention to Skinner's words.

"He mentioned that he wanted to have a meeting here in two days to discuss something to do with the X-files. He requested you be here."

"The X-files?" Mulder looked like he was about to jump out of his skin.

"Wait Mulder, there's more. He wants Scully here too."

Skinner watched closely as Mulder tried to hide his reaction. "But I thought Scully was teaching forensic science near San Diego. She isn't even with the FBI anymore."

Skinner was surprised that Mulder really didn't know what Scully was doing. "Actually she is. She works as a consultant. She is usually only brought in for special cases."

Mulder looked impressed. "Case by case basis - gosh, who did she sleep with to get that position?"

Mulder was only joking but couldn't help but notice Skinner squirm a bit in his chair. Mulder raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

If something had happened between Skinner and Scully, it was surely none of his business.

"Do you think she will do it?"

"I hope so. I am heading out there tonight to ask her myself."

He noticed Mulder's eyebrows going up again "I thought it was best that you both heard about this from me."

Mulder nodded and stood up to leave. He had gotten to the door when Skinner called out to him.

"Hold up a second Mulder" Skinner's voice spoke to Mulder as a friend not a boss. "Sit down, please."

Mulder sat down looking expectantly at Skinner, not at all sure he was going to like what he was about to hear.

"About three years ago, I was sent out to California to help the San Diego Bureau work through some internal problems."

"I remember that"

"Well, I ran into Scully out there and we went out socially a few times."

"And?"

"Well, it started out being for old time's sake and then ended up being a bit more."

Mulder tried to keep his face neutral but was having little luck.

"How long?"

"A few months, tops. But it wasn't meant to be. Although Dana and I had feelings for each other, there was an obstacle we could not overcome."

Mulder instead of feeling mad at Skinner, was actually starting to feel bad for him.

"What was that?"

"You"

Mulder tried to absorb what Skinner was telling him and once again went to leave the office.

"Thank you Walter" he said and he quietly left.

11:30 am Lone Gunman Headquarters

Frohike heard the pounding on the door and got up to see who it was.

"Hold on Mulder" he said and he began to unlock the many locks that kept either the Lone Gunman in or the rest of the world out.

Mulder flew past him as the door open. "Frohike, I need to know everything and I need to know it now!"

"Mulder, calm down and tell me what you are talking about."

"Scully. I need to know everything about Scully."

Frohike stared at Mulder. Not once in the five years since they had parted company, had Mulder inquired about his former partner.

"Why do you think he would know anything about Scully?" Byers asked joining the two men.

"We know that Frohike had a HUGE thing for Scully. If anyone would know what happened to her, he would."

Langley looked at Frohike who suddenly was very interested in his shoes.

"Well, have you been tracking Scully?"

"Maybe just a little." Frohike admitted.

"Show me" Mulder said.

Frohike sighed and walked over to his personal computer. After logging on to several different systems and putting in even more passwords, a file appeared labeled simply "D K Scully"

Frohike relinquished his seat to Mulder and went to make coffee. It was going to be a long day.

Even Mulder was amazed at the amount of information Frohike had accumulated on Scully. Most of it appeared to be from the FBI databanks (which Mulder himself could have seen if his pride hadn't prevented it) and from other places accessible to the general public.

Of course Mulder didn't think that Scully, phone records and listing of her Pay-per-view movies were on the public record but he said nothing.

Frohike seemed to also have a handle on Scully's personal life and Mulder did not want to know how.

After spending a good two hours drinking coffee and reading files, Mulder had a pretty good idea about what Scully was doing over the past five years.

He wasn't too surprised that Scully had put in the request to be transferred to San Diego. After all the problems they were having, it was understandable that she put as much distance between them as possible.

She was placed with the forensic team and due to her smarts and her talents quickly worked her way up the latter. She seemed to be in line for a high up position but refused it - citing her desire to stay on the West coast.

It was after solving and doing the autopsies on a mass murder including 17 children, that Scully began teaching college classes and cutting back on her case load.

She had obviously seen enough.

Scully had been involved in a few romantic relationships - none lasting more than a few months. The one with Skinner was apparently the most serious.

Mulder rubbed his eyes trying to take in all the information he had read. He was truly puzzled that Scully hadn't settled down. He thought for sure that she would find happiness away from him.

Could she be experiencing the same hollow feeling that has plagued him since they parted company?

"Just wishful thinking" he thought to himself.

Dana Scully's apartment the following day San Diego, CA

Scully rushed home from her last class hoping to have time for a quick shower before Walter arrived. She was looking forward to seeing him and was hoping to get at least some of the grime off of herself before he got there.

Scully paused under the shower's spray for a minute to wonder about why Walter had come out to see her. He hadn't given her much of an explanation about why he was coming, but just told her that he thought it would be better if they met at her apartment instead of at the office.

Scully thought for a second that Walter may be trying to pursue her romantically again, but quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Walter was many things to her these days, but most of all a trusted friend.

She knew he could never be anything more and so did he.

"Too bad" she thought to herself as she rinsed out the rest of her hair. "He was soooo good in bed and I could really use a good lay tonight."

She smiled to herself thinking that it might be fun to seduce him for old time's sake but knew that it would be far too cruel. She knew he could never think of her as a one night stand.

Scully managed to get her hair in order and some fresh clothes on before Skinner rang to bell to her apartment.

She opened the door and greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Walter, this is a pleasant surprise"

"Dana, it is so good to see you" Skinner said giving Scully a quick kiss on the lips.

"Come in, can I get you a drink?"

"Sure anything cold would be great"

Skinner settled in on the coach and waited for Scully to return with his drink. He couldn't help but remember all the things that had happened to him in this very apartment.

This was where he had first made love to Scully. This was where he had held her in his arms and told her he loved her. This was where she had tried to return his love, but couldn't. He knew the reason was that she still had deep feelings for Mulder, even though she denied it to him and to herself.

Scully handed him a beer and sat down next to him on the coach.

"So what's up? I doubt you came all this way to sample my homemade chili?"

"No, put the thought of it does make my mouth water." Skinner took a long drink of beer and put it down on the coffee table.

"Dana, yesterday I had a meeting with the President." He paused a second and then continued. "He wants to reopen the X-files."

He stopped to give her a second to react. She nodded. "Mulder will be pleased. Do they let Assistant Directors run after aliens?"

Skinner forced a smile.

"There is more Dana. The President seems to be wanting to set up some sort of task force. I am not exactly sure who will be on it, but he specifically asked for Mulder and you."

"Me?" Scully started to look a bit panicked.

"Yes, Dana. He was very specific in his request that you be at the meeting tomorrow. In DC."

"But I can't face." she caught herself and stopped. "Walter, you know how much I want to avoid Washington. Is there anyway out of this?"

Skinner shook his head and seeing the pure look of dread on her face, opened his arms and gathered her in a hug. He savored the moment and quietly kissed her on the head.

"When do we leave?" she mumbled into his shirt.

"As soon as you're packed"

Three hours later Aboard the FBI jet

Skinner tried not to worry about Scully as he watched her gaze out the window. She would be fine. It would probably be good for her to finally face Mulder and all of her pent up fears about him.

Only then would she know if the feelings for him were still there or if she could finally move on with her life.

She was desperately trying not to think of Mulder but he kept creeping into her thoughts anyway. It had been five years since she laid eyes on him, but she found herself thinking about him almost everyday - during the strangest times.

Perhaps Skinner was right. It was time for her to stop running away from him and to see just what her feelings were. As far as she knew he would be a totally different man.

Surely he must have changed drastically to go from Spooky Mulder to an Assistant Director in 5 short years. She knew that Skinner had helped Mulder (and her) as much as he could these past five years, but only Mulder could have gotten himself into such a position.

Early the next morning Washington DC

Scully was truly thankful to have finally reached the hotel in Georgetown. She would only be able to fit in a few hours sleep, but that combined with the little she got on the plane, should get her through the day.

And what a day it would be. She didn't know what made her most nervous. Being called into a private meeting with the President or seeing Mulder again.

She dreamt about both as soon as her head hit the pillow.

11:45 am FBI Headquarters

Scully arrived at FBI headquarters somewhat rested and a bit apprehensive about what lay ahead of her. But she was Dana Scully and she soon had her personal persona on as she walked through the halls.

It struck how little had changed over the past five years. A few of the offices seemed to have been painted, but in general the FBI looked like it always did.

She was surprised to see Skinner waiting for her outside his office.

"Good morning, Dana. I hope you got some rest."

"I did thank you."

Skinner looked a bit nervous "I know this is going to be a bit awkward for both you and Mulder so I thought it would be a good idea for you to have a couple of moments to yourselves before everyone arrives. He is inside."

Scully was truly touched by Skinner's thoughtfulness. She raised her hand to his face and stroked it for a second "Thank you Walter".

She then squared her shoulders and walked into the office.

Mulder was standing with his back to the door lost in thought looking out the window. He never heard it open and Scully took advantage of the fact to take a good long look at him before saying his name "Mulder?"

He turned at the sound of her voice and looked at her with an intensity that took her breath away. Before either one could talk, she was in his arms.

They stood like that without a word until Skinner entered the room. He looked at them in their tight embrace both with their eyes closed and a look a pure contentment on their faces. "They are indeed two halves that make up a whole" he thought to himself. "I can't believe they managed to stay apart this long."

Skinner cleared his throat a couple of times and finally got their attention.

"The Secret Service just called to say the President is on his way up"

Scully and Mulder both nodded and silently took their seats. Skinner couldn't help but notice that Scully had put on her professional face and that Mulder was trying to put on his, but was too busy trying to sneak looks at her.

Skinner smiled to himself as he went to let the President in.

"Good day everyone"

"Good day, Mr. President"

"I am sure you are curious why I wanted to meet with you Dr. Scully and AD Mulder. In short, we, not just the United States but the entire world, need your help. Sometime within the next twelve months we believe that the alien race that uses what you used to refer to as the 'black oil' will begin their colonization process. We need you to stop them."

Mulder spoke up first.

"Sir, I am flattered that you thought of Dr. Scully and myself but to be honest with you I am not sure why we were chosen. We have been out of the loop on this for over the past five years."

The President smiled and continued "You were out of the loop because we chose you to be that way. We did not cause your separation but we quite happy when it occurred. It saved us a lot of work. We wanted to keep you apart. Keep you from continuing your work. Keep you safe."

Both Scully and Mulder were about to speak when the President silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"I am sure all of your questions will be answered soon enough. I will leave all the details to your superior. I just wanted to meet with you to impress upon you the importance of this assignment. You cannot fail or we shall all loose."

And with that, the President rose and turned to leave the room.

"Thank you both."

Mulder and Scully both stared at Skinner when the President and the Secret Service agents left the room.

"The President didn't want to get caught up in the details of this operation" Skinner explained. "We should be joined by someone who should be able to bring you up to speed on all of this."

The words had barely left Skinner's mouth, when there was a subtle knock on his door.

"Come in"

The door opened and in walked Agent Spender.

Both Scully and Mulder had trouble hiding their shock at seeing Jeffrey Spender again. Spender was an agent, who in their brief acquaintance with him, held the X-files and everything that went with it in contempt. As far as they knew, he hated everything that had to do with the X-files.

Spender went over to shake first Mulder's and then Scully's hands. "Nice to see you both again. Thank you for coming."

"Spender, what the hell are you doing here?" Mulder blurted out

"You always hated the X-files and everything that went along with it."

"You are right Sir. I did hate the X-files. I thought it was nothing more than running after little green men that people like my mother dreamt of in their own little worlds. But then I saw what they did to my mother. What my father did to her and I knew I was wrong. I knew I had to fight back."

Mulder nodded "But why do you need us?"

"Sir, both you and Dr. Scully have more experience than any other member in the FBI in dealing with this particular situation."

Scully shook her head "But there is more to it than that, isn't there Spender?"

"You are right Dr. Scully. This project being run by the aliens is very personal for both of you."

"Why do you say that?" Mulder interrupted "because of our work on the X- files."

"Partially yes, but there is more. Much more. The aliens are working on a way to spread the black oil. We have gotten some intelligence on their facility. It is being housed in a remote part of Maine and being run by clones."

"Clones, alien clones?" Mulder asked.

"No, they wanted to make alien/human hybrids using real human embryos. The process fertilizes a human egg with human sperm and then injects the growing embryo with alien DNA. The result is a clone that looks and acts almost perfectly human, but that is very hard to destroy. Only the black oil, and the alien weapon can do it. They are working on a vaccine to use on their own clones to protect them."

"This is all very interesting" Scully added "but what does this have to do with Mulder and myself?"

"First of all, Dr. Scully we know you have been vaccinated against the black oil."

Scully knew there was still more "And?"

"We were able to capture one of clones temporarily. We drew enough blood to run some DNA tests on it." Spender handed Scully some files. "Here are the results of the tests."

Scully viewed the papers inside with her eyes growing wider by the second. A quick flicker of pain and fear passed over her before she was able to pull back into her professional mode.

Mulder instinctively grabbed her hand. "Scully, what is it?"

"The clones" she started hardly able to get the words out "I am their mother."

Scully, Mulder and Skinner all sat there in silence trying to absorb that piece of information.

After a few minutes Skinner asked "and do we have any idea of who the father is?"

Spender looked a bit uncomfortable but answered the question. "From what we could tell, the sperm was lifted from a sperm bank located outside of London, England. Apparently it was deposited there about 15 years ago."

"Do we know by whom?"

Before Spender could answer Mulder cut in. "It was donated by a student who was taking a sociology course taught by this incredibly beautiful and incredibly liberal teacher whose pet project was helping people who couldn't get pregnant using traditional means. She was worried about the poor quality of sperm donors out there and offered extra credit to any of her students who would help out her cause. Every heterosexual male in the class was in there within the week."

Scully's mouth fell to the floor. "You?"

"Apparently the folks behind the project have a sick sense of humor."

Sensing that Scully had had enough shocks for one day, Skinner rose.

"Spender why don't you leave what you have with Mulder and Scully to look over. I am sure once they have gotten a chance to let everything sink in, they will be able to come up with a plan of attack."

Spender nodded frankly surprised with how well both of them were taking the news. Shock he supposed.

"Let's meet again tomorrow at 9am"

Spender quietly left the office and was followed shortly by Mulder and Scully.

"Scully, are you all right?"

"I'm fine Mulder." Mulder smiled despite himself at her stock answer.

"Scully, I think we should. ah, perhaps it would be a good idea if we."

Scully smiled as she saw that Mulder was struggling about how to approach her.

"Mulder, I got about two hours sleep last night. How about I get a few hours of sleep and you bring the files around to my hotel around 7. We can grab a bite to eat and go over what we have."

Mulder smiled relieved that Scully still seemed to have the ability to read his mind. He got her hotel information and took the files and headed straight to the Lone Gunman's headquarters.

Two hours later Lone Gunman Headquarters

"So Mulder" Frohike said as he typed away frantically on his computer "are you going to be bringing the ever beautiful Dana Scully over for a visit?"

Mulder smiled at his friend. "Can you keep your mind on your work for a change? I'll make a deal with you - you find the testing facility and a way to get into it and I will bring Scully here."

"Bring her in a mini-skirt and you got a deal" Frohike said laughing. He and his comrades were busily hacking into every government computer trying to find the alien testing facility.

"Mulder, I think I found something promising" Langley said from his computer over in the corner.

Mulder walked over and peaked over his shoulder. "There is an old warehouse located near Arcadia Park up in Maine. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It has been listed as empty by the town it is in, but I have found Fedex invoices showing deliveries being made there almost every day."

"Fedex - anyway to find out what is in those boxes?"

"I'll start on that" Byers said. "You and Frohike try to find a way to get into the building."

Mulder smiled at his old friends as they busily started thinking of ways to break into the building. It was just like old times.

Mulder broke himself out of his thoughts and glanced at his watch. It was getting close to 6pm. He had better get going or he would be late getting to Scully's hotel room.

"Print off what you have so far guys, I have to meet up with Scully."

They all looked at him and smiled.

"What?"

"We have a pool going you know"

"A pool for what?"

"For when you and Scully finally give into your animal urges"

"You guys make me sick"

Mulder left after telling them to meet in his office tomorrow morning at 8am to go over everything they had.

Driving over to Scully's hotel, he couldn't help but think about what they had said.

Was it only a matter of time until he and Scully ended up together? He had assumed that too much damage had been done and too much water had gone under the bridge.

But who knows? She had felt so good in him arms that morning but the magic of that moment had been broken and they had quickly gone back to their professional roles with each other.

Mulder shook his head as he pulled into the hotel parking garage. This was going to be a very interesting assignment in more ways than one.

Fifteen minutes later Scully's hotel room

Mulder stood at her door with a stack of files and lifted his hand to knock on the door. He hesitated a moment thinking how many times in the past he had done it and wondering how many times in the future he would.

"Hey" Scully said as she opened the door. She was out of her professional attire and wore a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirts. She looked a bit groggy.

"Hey. Did you have a good nap?"

"Yeah, I think I could have slept straight through til morning. I just got up. Come on in."

Mulder paused to look at his former partner once again shocked by just how beautiful she was. Sure, she had aged a bit over the past five years, but in a good way. She looked softer now more feminine.

Mulder glanced around her hotel room and let out a whistle.

"Good grief Scully, how did you manage to get a room like this?"

Her room was actually suite with a couch and two comfortable looking chairs situated around a small fireplace. There was a small work station and even a café style table with two chairs tucked into the corner.

In the second room, Mulder spotted a huge bed that was obviously disturbed by Scully's nap.

"This looks like something out of the movies"

"Well, it was a bit of a negotiating point. I was a bit reluctant to come here and told them that I would need plenty of space in which to work."

Mulder didn't ask about her reluctance, just put the files down on the coffee table and sat on the couch.

"Just think how much quicker we would have solved all those cases if they had put us up in rooms like this?" Mulder said remembering the countless cheap motel rooms he and Scully stayed in over the years.

"Are you kidding? We probably would have never left them."

She raised an eyebrow giving Mulder a reason to wonder exactly what she meant by that statement but then continued. "I took the liberty of ordering us lots of coffee and some food to eat."

She sat down on the couch next to Mulder "I hope your tastes in food haven't changed much."

"Nope, I will still eat anything and everything."

"Good."

They both fell silent not quite sure what to say next. Their awkward silence was broken by the sound of discreet knocking on the door.

"Perfect timing" Scully said as she rose to answer the door.

She wheeled over a large cart filled with enough food and coffee to satisfy even Mulder. He looked at her when he saw it all

"I thought we might be up for awhile and I know how hungry you get when you are working" she explained.

They sat down at the table and started eating the food -talking between bites.

"Have you had a chance to go over the data yet Scully? Are those clones really our" he couldn't quite get the words out.

"Children? From what I can tell, yes. Strange isn't it? It took me most of the day to get that to sink in but I am not really sure if I can accept it until." her voice faded a bit.

"Until we actually see them for ourselves. I know what you mean Scully. We may be able to do that quicker than we originally thought."

Mulder then went on to explain what the Lone Gunman and found and what they were hoping to dig up by the next morning.

They spoke a bit about how they would get into the complex and whose help they would be needing - deciding after a while it was non productive to plan too much until they had all the facts in front of them.

They finally got up from the table each stretching a bit not realizing that they had been sitting there for almost three hours.

"Enough shop talk for now" Mulder said. "We have lots to catch up on."

Scully nodded and crossed over to the small fridge located in the corner of her living space. Bending over she pulled out two bottles. One of wine the other of beer.

"What's your pleasure Mulder?"

Mulder wanted to answer 'you' but pointed to the beer instead.

Scully opened the bottle and handed it to Mulder pouring a glass of wine for herself. She sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire and motioned for Mulder to sit in the other.

Mulder sat and looked at the unlit fireplace and raised a questioning eyebrow at Scully. She nodded and Mulder quickly set to starting the fire. It wasn't a real fireplace, only a gas one, but it still looked pretty and gave them something to stare at when they were at a loss for words.

They chatted briefly about this and that catching up on mutual acquaintances and the like. Mulder was fascinated to find out that Frohike had actually looked up Scully whenever he had been out in California. Scully assured him that he was nothing but a gentleman, even if he had escorted her to some rather odd establishments.

When they had gone through all the safe topics of conversation they grew silent again.

"Go ahead Mulder"

"Go ahead what?"

"I know there are things you want to ask me, you might as well get them out of the way."

Mulder nodded but kept quiet for a moment or two. He was trying to think of just the right way to ask what had been bothering him for the past five years.

"Why Scully? Why did you leave me?"

"Because Mulder, there was no reason for me to stay."

Seeing Mulder's confused expression she explained how is lack of trust in her and her opinions were the straw that broke the camel's back.

"You and I had been through a lot. We had hurt each other but had always been there for each other. Had always trusted each other. I could deal with you separating yourself from me. I could deal with you sleeping with Diana. But I couldn't handle you not trusting me."

"Sleeping with Diana? Nothing happened between us until you had been gone months."

Scully frowned."Oh, that was not what she led me to believe. Either way, that wasn't the main issue Mulder. Your lack of faith in me was. You once told me that I was your one in five billion. That I made you whole. So I took a stand and waited to see if you followed me the way I had followed you so many times in the past. You didn't"

"I wanted to but didn't think you wanted me to. I thought it was painful to watch all our work be taken away from me. But that pain was nothing to what I felt when you left."

"It seems like for once our infamous telepathic communications skilled failed us."

Mulder only nodded slightly. He sat with his head in his hands wondering why he didn't follow Scully out to California.

"I thought about going out there everyday but I was scared of the rejection I thought would be waiting for me there. Diana took advantage of my weaken emotions. She played me like a fiddle. Before I knew it we were living together and she even began talking marriage. I woke up one day and couldn't remember the reason we were together. Couldn't think of a reason why we should stay together. I didn't feel 'whole' with her, only more empty."

"So you split up."

"Yeah. It was all for the best all the way around. I could tell she was getting bored with working in DC. She left the FBI and pretty much disappeared. I'd like to think that she is quietly consulting somewhere but I have my strong doubts."

Mulder raised his head and tried to look less depressed. He took a sip of his beer and asked Scully "Speaking of romances. what is this I hear about you and Skinner? I knew Skinner always had a thing for you but I didn't realize you went for the bald forceful type."

Scully glared at him briefly and then smiled. "Walter was very kind to me and was friend when I needed one. He wanted to marry me but I couldn't."

"Why not?"

Scully looked very sad but said nothing. She silently got up and went over to the fridge to get Mulder another beer. She turned around and gasped when she realized that Mulder was standing right behind her.

She avoided looking at him but he put his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Why not Scully?"

The look she gave him was filled with such despair that he dropped his hand away. She answered him though

"Because I was longing for something I couldn't have."

They both returned to their chairs and sat and stared at the fire for awhile. Finally Mulder got up the nerve to break the silence.

"I should get going. We have to meet the Lone Gunman at eight."

Scully simply nodded and walked Mulder over to the door. He turned to her before leaving.

"Scully, do you think we will be okay?"

"I don't know"

"Scully, we probably aren't going to be leaving for Maine for another couple of days. Do you think between then and now that you and I could go out?"

"Out?"

"Like on a date. You do remember what those are, don't you?"

Scully smiled. "I suppose so, but Frohike is not going to be too happy about it."

Mulder smiled too and bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

6:00am the following morning Scully's hotel room

Scully was still in her robe drying her hair when she answered the knock on her door. Looking through the peephole she wasn't at all surprised to see Mulder nervously standing there with two cups of what she hoped was coffee and a small paper bag.

"Good morning" she said as she opened the door and walked back towards her bedroom. "I hope you brought me some real coffee. The stuff they serve through room service leaves a lot to be desired."

Mulder smiled as he watched her walk back into her bedroom. Despite the fact that he wanted to ravish her right then and there, he put the coffee and the bag down on the table. "I hope you still take it the same way Scully. Oh, and I brought you a nice chocolate éclair donut too."

Mulder laughed as he got the reaction he was looking for. Scully came out of the room barely dressed buttoning up her blouse and she walked briskly over to the bag and peered inside.

"You didn't, did you?"

"No, I didn't. It's a plain bagel with light cream cheese lightly toasted."

Scully pulled the bagel out of the bag and smiling at Mulder walked over to him. She reached up and patted his cheek fondly.

"I guess you having a photographic memory does come in handy every once in awhile."

They sat down at the table to eat and Mulder noticed that Scully hadn't bothered to ask him why he had shown up. It was almost as if she knew he would - like he did in the past when they were about to face off with their superiors in the FBI. They would share a quiet breakfast and plot their strategy.

Wiping some chocolate frosting off his face Mulder turned to Scully.

"Scully, please, please, please don't take this the wrong way" Scully raised an eyebrow at him as he continued "you haven't been in the field in quite a while. Do you think you are up to this?"

She smirked at him

"Like Assistant Directors are out there every day. Yes, Mulder, I am up to this. Although I admit that I will have to purchase some more practical clothes before heading up to Maine."

"Don't forget something frilly for me"

"In your dreams Mulder"

"Actually it was, just last night"

8:00am Mulder's office

Scully looked around Mulder's office truly impressed with what she saw. Gone were the objections of his obsession that had lined the walls of their basement office. They were replaced by some token objects of his many successful cases.

She went over to look at the far wall that was covered by photographs. There were pictures of some of the more bizarre sights they had seen, some of Mulder and famous people and one picture of the two of them.

Their picture must have been taken by a crime scene photographer for it was obviously taken at the scene of a crime when Mulder and Scully were deep in one of their unique conversations.

"Nice picture" Scully said as she turned to Mulder who was taking a seat at the head of the conference table.

"Thanks - I'll get you a copy if you like"

A quiet knock was heard on the door and in walked the three Lone Gunman. They barely acknowledged Mulder before heading right over to Scully.

"Agent Scully" Langley said "It is so good to see you again!"

"You are looking wonderful" Byers chimed in.

"Better than wonderful" said Frohike "Say you came back to DC to finally run away with me"

"Shhh, not in front of Mulder" Scully teased as she hugged him.

"I hate to break up this happy reunion but we have work to do" Mulder said and everyone sat down around the table.

He was amazed at home much information that Lone Gunmen had been able to come up with. They had detailed maps of the facility as it looked about 6 years ago when it was last used as a shoe factory.

It was a large building made up of very large rooms with very high ceilings and a few small offices. There was also a small dormitory at the side of the building which housed a lot of the workers. There were passageways everywhere. It looked a bit more like a maze than a factory.

They were unsure of the security system in place and figured that they could get a better look at that once they got up to Maine.

They also managed to find out about some of the deliveries being made to the facility. Nothing really stuck out except for the large amounts of saline. The reason was unclear, but they all assumed it had to do with some sort of experimentation.

Food and other more personal supplies were being delivered on a more sporadic basis and as far as the locals were concerned, the facility made medical supplies.

Mulder thanked the Gunmen for all their help and told them that he would be in touch with them about getting up to Maine and when they would try to infiltrate the facility.

Scully and Mulder then headed up to Skinner's office to make an official plan of operation.

9:10am Director Skinner's Office

Mulder and Scully were ushered into Skinner's office where Spender, Skinner were waiting for them.

They wasted no time going over the information that had been provided to them by the Lone Gunmen.

"Well done" Skinner said as he finished listening to what they had to say.

"Have you come up with a plan yet Mulder?"

"I would like another day or so here Sir to make sure we have our ducks in order before heading up to Maine. I am hoping between now and then that Agent Spender will be able to find us a place close to the facility that we can use as a base for our operation without drawing too much attention to ourselves."

Spender nodded and said "Who do you anticipate being involved?"

"You, me, Scully and the Lone Gunmen. They can give you the specifications of what they will need from you. Dr. Scully here will need access to some sort of medical facility to analysis any samples we may come across."

"We have a special mobile medical team in place specially trained to work on making up a vaccine and running any other tests we can think of on the aliens."

Scully broke in "We need more than a vaccine to prevent the spreading of the black oil, we also need a plan to inoculate the population. What would really be helpful is if we could find a way to stop this aliens without having to resort to sticking metal objects in their necks."

"This medical team has been working on that as well and would appreciate any input you may have on the matter." Spender said.

Skinner said "I imagine we can everything in place relatively quickly. Spender you head up to Maine tomorrow morning and secure the proper location. Mulder and Scully plan on leaving in three days time. I suggest for security reasons you travel separately from the Lone Gunmen. Between now and then I want you Mulder to work out the specifics of how you are going to go in and get out that vaccine and destroy the facility. Scully you will go in with him as his backup with Spender providing additional backup from outside the facility."

All three nodded their agreement to the plan and Skinner continued "Scully, I want you to meet with the medical team and get a handle on a way to take these aliens out once and for all." He paused for a second.

"For reasons I know I don't have to explain to any of you, this has to be a covert action. The FBI will try to remain out of the limelight and I may not be able to help you as quickly as I'd like to if problems arise. We shall not be meeting again about this until your safe return home. Good luck."

Spender, Scully and Mulder stood up to leave when Skinner said "Mulder and Scully may I have a private word, please?"

They waited until Spender left the room and then sat back down.

"You both realize that this assignment may result in you having to kill the clones out in that facility, don't you?"

They both nodded and Scully looked down at the table. Skinner reached over and gently took her hand

"Dana, these clones they may look like you or Mulder. They may look like Emily. Are you up to this?"

Mulder tried to push down the feelings of jealousy that washed over him brought on by Skinner's kind words. He didn't know what bothered him most, the tone in which Skinner addressed Scully or the way she didn't glare at his assumption that she may actually have some sort of weakness.

A single tear ran down her cheek.

"Don't worry about me, Walter. I can do this. I want to do this. For me. For Melissa. For Emily. I don't want everything I have been through to be for nothing. This is my way of making a difference."

Skinner removed his hand from Scully's and looked directly at Mulder.

"I know I don't have to tell you to take care of her because you always have and I know you always will. But will you do something for me, please? For both of you"

Mulder looked up feeling somewhat guilty about the jealous feelings he had a moment before.

"Go out and have some fun together while you can. You two deserve to have some happiness together and who knows what will happen next."

With that Skinner stood indicating that the meeting was over. His two former agents walked over to him before leaving the room. Mulder shook his hand and Scully planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.

They left the room in silence.

Mulder spent the remainder of the day doing what they both did best. Scully worked with the medical team going over data and getting everything ready and Mulder worked with the Lone Gunmen coming up with a plan on attack.
6pm Maggie Scully's House

Mulder stood at the door still not believing that he had been invited to take part in dinner at Maggie's house. Sure, he had kept in touch with Scully's mother over the past five years through Christmas cards and the occasional lunch, but he was amazed when Maggie Scully herself called and invited, no insisted, that he come to dinner.

His knock was quickly opened by Scully who looked to be relatively relaxed. Mulder assumed it was truly being back home again that caused this reaction in her but he was glad to see it no matter what the cause.

"Hey Scully" he said bending over to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Hey yourself"

"Is it okay with you that I'm here?"

"Why wouldn't it be okay? Besides, Mom would kill me if I wouldn't let you come. She has been looking forward to seeing you again."

Mulder entered the house and was quickly greeted by Maggie Scully. She gave him and huge hug and quickly ushered him into the living room.

The evening went nicely with Maggie noticing that not only did the underlying tension between her daughter and Mulder seemed to have subsided, but they both actually seem to be able to acknowledge, at least a little bit, the feelings that they have had for each other all these years.

Maggie was no fool. She had known pretty much from the start how devoted these two were to each other and she knew that sooner or later they would see it too.

Conversation during dinner remained light and avoided all real discussion about why Scully was in DC. A brief mention was made about she and Mulder working on a special assignment and that was it.

Maggie assumed that the lack of information meant that the assignment was a dangerous one since Scully always tried to keep her mother from getting worried but let the subject drop. She would just savor her daughter's company and then pray for her safe return.

Around 8:30 Mulder and Scully decided to call it a night. Since Scully had taken a taxi over to her mother's house, Mulder offered to give her a ride back to her hotel.

"Are you okay Scully?" he asked as she noticed that Scully had grown quiet in the car.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about what the future will bring to people like my mother."

She let out a big sigh and then continued.

"Mom told me about this great new ice cream stand down by the water. Do you think I could talk you into buying me a cone?"

"Dana Scully, are you really going to eat actual ice cream? Not some sort of tofu substance that tries to pass itself off for the real thing?"

"Yup, guess I figured it was time to start taking some chances in my life" she gave Mulder such a flirtatious leer that he almost drove off the road.

"Scully, I will be happy to give you whatever you want"

9:10 Kelly's Incredible Ice Cream stand

Scully and Mulder were strolling along the water gazing silently out on it. Mulder had gobbled his cone down in a manner of minutes while Scully was slowly savoring hers.

Mulder tried not to think too much while he watched Scully slowly licking her cone. He couldn't help but wonder if she had any idea how sexy she looked doing that one simple thing.

Scully paused for a moment and looked out on the water. Mulder quietly came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He remained motionless there waiting to see if Scully rejected his advances. When she kept working on her cone, he became nuzzling her neck.

"Mulder, do you have any idea how hard it is to eat an ice cream cone while you are doing that?"

Mulder chuckled into her neck. "Want me to stop?"

"No, but you could help me eat this so I don't waste all night on it."

Mulder spun her around and took the cone she offered him. He took one look at it and then at her and promptly threw the cone over his shoulder.

Scully began to speak before she could she realized that Mulder was kissing her. Finally kissing her. The cone was forgotten as she savored the kiss she had waited for so long.

After a few minutes they separated and continued their walk down the beach. Neither of them said a word until they paused again and Mulder once again wrapped his arms around Scully pressing his face into her neck and kissing her there.

"Scully"

"Ummmm"

"Tomorrow is our last day before heading North"

"Ummmm"

"I think I know what we should do until we have to leave."

"And what's that?"

"I think we should go back to your hotel where I will slowly remove each piece of your clothing before taking you to bed and spending the next 36 hours exploring you."

Mulder turned her around to face him and waited for his answer. She looked up at him and saw a strange mixture of love, lust and fear in his eyes. He was holding his breath she noticed waiting for his response.

She smiled a wicked smile. "Okay, but only if I get to explore you too."

8:30am the following morning Scully's hotel room

Scully tried to concentrate as she packed her bags for their trip to Maine but was having little luck. Over the past few days, she had been called back to Washington, assigned to probably her most important X-file and was reunited with Mulder. In more ways than one.

She shook her head trying to get her mind off of all the wonderful things they had done the night before and back to the task at hand. Mulder and she were such a perfect match for each other professionally that she really wasn't such a surprise when they melded together so perfectly physically.

Making love to Mulder was all that she had dreamed it would be and oh so much more. Scully had never felt so safe and so loved in her whole life.

Scully was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Mulder coming up behind her until he had wrapped his arms around her.

She sighed wishing that they could head back to bed instead of up to Maine for a future that was far from certain.

"Hey Scully" he said between placing small kisses on her neck. "Why did we take so long to do this?"

"I don't know Mulder - guess the time was never right?"

"Was it worth the wait?"

Scully didn't answer him just turned around and gave him a long passionate kiss.

"Scully you gotta stop that or we will never get out of here" Mulder said and he pulled away from her and went to pick up her luggage.

Scully reluctantly nodded and followed Mulder out of the room wondering to herself if she would ever see it again.

2:30pm The FBI Safehouse

The trip to Maine had been a relatively uneventful one. Since they had gotten little sleep the night before, both Mulder and Scully slept as much as they could on the plane and were feeling a bit rested when Spender picked them up at the airport.

They drove about 20 minutes until they reached an old farmhouse in the middle of an abandoned farmstead. This would be their home for the extent of their mission.

When they arrived they could tell that Spender had been very busy setting up the house and surrounding outbuildings.

The main house would act as the dormitory for the two of them, Spender and the Lone Gunmen. The barn was turned into a makeshift laboratory with the medical technicians staying there.

As Scully walked up to the farmhouse she could help but think how romantic this spot would be under normal circumstances. A quaint farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with just Mulder to keep her company but instead she was greeting by Langley as she climbed up onto the porch.

"Scully, glad to see you and Mulder made it in one piece" he said opening the door for her. "Welcome to our humble abode."

Mulder, Scully and Spender entered into the house and were greeted by not only the Lone Gunmen but a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. The smell, it turned out, was Byers special pasta sauce that he was making for dinner.

"There are only four real bedrooms here so Mulder you are going to have to bunk up with someone." Frohike said trying not to look at Scully too expectantly.

He had noticed that they were both looking at each other a bit more than they normally do and they appeared to be trying very hard not to look like a couple.

"Perhaps you would like to share my room. It is the closest to Scully's."

Mulder thought he saw Frohike give him a slight wink before he replied "Sure that would be great."

Mulder and Scully quickly settled into their rooms and went about checking on the plans for breaking into the facility.

The Lone Gunmen quickly filled Mulder in on the facility's security or lack thereof. They had gotten as far as the receptionist's office the day before posing as Fedex men dropping off a delivery. The security outside the facility seemed to be token at best and the security inside didn't seem much better.

"It's almost too easy" Langley said to Mulder. "Either they really think no one will bother them or they think that even if they are attacked that no one can hurt them."

Scully went to talk to the medical technicians and see how the lab was coming along. She was amazed at the amount of equipment that they had managed to smuggle up to Maine in their relatively small trailer.

The afternoon passed by relatively quickly and before they knew it, the entire group was gathered in the small dining room eating Byers food and make final plans.

"I think tonight, the Lone Gunmen and I should go on a scouting run up to the facility" Mulder said wiping sauce from his mouth. "I would like to get a feel for what we are getting ourselves into."

"Mulder" Scully started, but he cut her off.

"Don't worry, Scully, I have no plans on ditching you or going in there without you. I promise I will be back before you know it and besides, didn't you say you and the medical team are just about ready with the inoculation that may stop the aliens."

Scully glared at Mulder but didn't mention his scouting mission. Instead she talked about the formula the medical team had just about finished.

"They have put together a formula based on certain minerals found out in the southwest. According to Native American legend, visitors from the sky were scared of certain sacred rocks. We are hoping that the legends were based on some actual fact."

The conversation then went into a different tangent as the Lone Gunmen, Spender and Mulder got into a heated discussion about the truth behind legends, UFO's and a wide variety of other paranormal topics.

Scully just sat quietly and observed them enjoying their banter and appreciating the fact that it may be the last time they were all together like this for a long time.

It was decided that Mulder and the Lone Gunmen would head out around 2am so the Lone Gunmen went to bed shortly after dinner.

Since he was still capable of functioning on very little sleep, Mulder opted to stay up a while and help Scully with the dinner dishes.

"Scully, I am really not ditching you" Mulder started as he was drying some plates.

"I know Mulder, but I can't help getting the feeling that I should be there for you."

"You are here for me. Because of you, tomorrow when we sneak into that facility, we will have a weapon to use against these creatures. A weapon, if it works, will mean a lot whole lot to a whole people very soon."

Scully just nodded as she put the dishes away silently.

"Hey Scully" Mulder whispered in her ear as she put away the last dish. "I spotted an old double swing down by the stream earlier. Want to head down there and make out a little while?"

Scully couldn't help but smile when she saw Mulder giving her his best puppy dog look. "You are impossible" she said walking outside.

"I know, but that is just one more thing you love about me"

9:30 pm The stream outside the safehouse

Mulder and Scully spoke very little as they sat together on the swing slowly swaying back and forth. Mulder's make out session ended up being more of a cuddling session with Scully's head placed on Mulder's chest and his arms wrapped around her.

Both we lost in thought and neither wanted to do anything to break the moment of peace they had finally found together.

It was Scully who finally broke the silence after stealing a look at her watch.

"Mulder it is getting late. You really should get some sleep before heading out."

Mulder placed a kiss on her head and nodded. "Scully, will you do something for me?"

"Sure what?"

"Marry me"

Mulder got scared when Scully said nothing. He was worried that he was pushing her too fast but was determined not to go into yet another life threatening situation without her knowing exactly how he felt about her. He couldn't bare the thought of loosing her again.

He pulled back from her to try to get a glimpse of her face and saw one lone tear running down her cheek.

"I'm sorry Scully, I didn't mean to scare." he couldn't get another word out because Scully was kissing him so incredibly sweetly. The kiss seemed to last forever and yet was over too quickly.

"Do I take that to be a 'yes'"

2:10am FBI Safehouse

Mulder gently brushed the hair off Scully's face as he looked down on her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful. So beautiful. He didn't want to wake her up but he had promised her when he had kissed her goodnight a few hours before that he would say goodbye before he left.

He bent over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Scully's eyes opened a bit and she smiled up at him.

"Be careful Mulder"

"I will Scully. We aren't planning to do anything but look around. I will be back before you know it."

"Wake me up when you get back."

"I will" he said and he left the room.

The drive over to the facility was a relatively quiet one. All four of them were a bit tired and looking forward to get this entire ordeal behind them.

They found no signs of life as they silently rolled into the facility's parking lot.

"This almost seems too easy" Frohike said as they prepared to leave the van.

Mulder nodded and told them all to be careful and to meet back in the truck in 30 minutes.

They quietly left the van and fanned out immediately. Mulder headed directly for the main entrance being very careful to avoid the security cameras that were placed here and there along the walls.

He was just about to examine the lock when he thought he caught a glimpse of red hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see his attacker raise his weapon and then everything went black.

6:30am FBI Safehouse

Scully felt the warm sun on her face and turned towards it in her sleep. Still groggy she opened her eyes and looked out the window. It looked like it was going to be a perfect day. Sunny and warm.

It took her foggy brain another minute to realize that she should have been up hours ago. "Mulder" she said out loud as she sprang from her bed thinking that she was going to kill her for not waking her up when he returned.

She stormed into his room and noticed that neither he nor Frohike were there.

Panic started to seep into her and she tore downstairs to check the kitchen and the living room. She hoped to find them sitting there drinking coffee even though she knew in her heart that they wouldn't be.

After checking both rooms she looked outside to see if the van was there. It wasn't.

Scully took off like a shot to Spender's room and began to frantically bang on the door.

Spender opened the door and knew immediately by the look on Scully's face that something had gone terribly wrong.

"They're not back yet" she said barging into the room. "Mulder said they should only be gone an hour or so and it has been closer to 5. Something must have happened out there. We need to go out there right now and see what's wrong."

"What we need to do Dana is just take a deep breath and figure out our options."

Scully knew he was right and they both agreed to take quick showers and be ready to leave in 15 minutes. Scully was ready in ten and had coffee ready for Spender when he arrived down in the kitchen.

They sat at the table and tried to figure out what to do next. All they really knew was that the Lone Gunmen and Mulder had left a little after 2am and that they were long overdue.

It was decided that they would go up to the facility immediately and check out the situation. Hopefully getting there before the brunt of the day's activities began.

Not quite sure how to proceed, it was decided the Scully would pretty much try to walk right in using her credentials and stating that she was following up on an EPA complaint about disposing of medical wastes.

They hoped that by taking the straight forward approach, Scully would at least be able to get some sort of bearing on what was going on inside the facility.

Afterwards they could contact Skinner in Washington and ask for additional help.

Scully would go in alone armed only with her weapon and a small device to inject what they would hope to be a lethal dose of toxin she and the medical team had developed into the alien's bloodstream. That was to be used only as a last resort. They didn't want to show that hand unless absolutely necessary.

Spender would stay outside the facility and call in backup if Scully failed to appear within 60 minutes.

7:40am Alien Facility

Scully dropped Spender off a half mile from the facility and drove her non- descript Taurus right through the main entrance.

Almost immediately she noticed the Lone Gunman's van parked discreetly by the side of the road. She jumped out of the car and ran over to the van pulling open the back doors.

Inside sat Frohike, Byers and Langley all expertly bound and gagged. Scully released them and was glad to see that they appeared to be unhurt.

"Scully, they had to know we were coming" Byers started.

"They jumped us within a minute of getting out of the van" Frohike added.

"They took Mulder but left us alone knowing that you would be out here at the crack of dawn looking for us" Langley continued. "We can only assume they are waiting for you too."

"Did you see where they took him?"

"I think I saw one of them throw him over its shoulder and bring him inside." Byers said.

"I am going in after him" Scully said getting ready to leave the van.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Frohike said. "Isn't that playing right into their hands?"

"It may be, but I can't just leave him in there. We don't know what they do in there or what they will do to him."

The Lone Gunmen nodded knowing that there really wasn't any other way. They agreed to wait in the van for Scully's return and if she wasn't back within the hour, to meet up with Spender to think of another plan.

Scully climbed back into her car and drove directly to the visitor's section of the facility's parking lot. She took a deep breath, checked her pocket for the vial of toxin and got out of the car.

Scully had little difficulty getting into the building. She found herself in a large comfortable looking lobby that although it had a reception desk, appeared to be lacking a receptionist.

She heard footsteps approaching and slowly turned to see who was walking towards her. She gasped as she saw the man approach her.

In front of her stood the spitting image of Fox Mulder except he had red hair and blue eyes.

"Good morning, Mother" the man said "we have been expecting you."

Scully managed to close her gaping mouth and respond "You have. Why is that?"

"From everything we have been told about you, we knew that if we trapped our father that you would come looking for him."

"Your father"

"Assistant Director Mulder, of course. We had hoped to one day meet both of you."

"Why?"

"Every child wants to meet its parents"

Scully didn't answer but followed the alien clone as it gestured to her to do so. "We are your parents?"

"Yes. I will explain everything to you before."

"Before what?"

"Before we terminate you. Since you have been inoculated against the black oil, we really don't have much use for you, unlike the Assistant Director who should prove to be very useful to us."

"How is that and why are you telling me all of this?"

"We have no reason to lie to you" it began and then it slowly explained their plans for Mulder.

He had been infected with the black oil and it would be only a matter of time until he lost his own strength of will and would be just a pawn for the aliens to use.

They would send him back to DC and he would not only feed them information on the government's attempt to stop them, but also eliminate anyone who stood in their way.

"With the black oil within him, he will have exceptional strength and when you and those who traveled up here with you dead, no one will even know it is not truly him."

"And if Mulder's will cannot be bent?"

"Then we will inject him with the substance that shall turn him into a human host for our master race."

Scully's mind was racing as she looked around the facility trying to figure out where the core of its operation was and how she could possibly escape.

She found the alien more than willing to answer all her questions since he thought she had no escape.

She fought frantically to keep panic from setting in and to not stare at the creature in front of her that was so obviously made from herself and Mulder.

And the alien wasn't alone.

While they walked around the building, they must have seen more than a dozen more looking exactly the same - all of them calling her 'Mother'.

After walking around for a bit longer, Scully asked if she could see Mulder.

The alien nodded and showed her to the room where Mulder was being kept. She wasn't allowed into the room but was able to peek through the rather large window in the door.

Mulder seemed to be in a deep sleep even though he was being actively restrained in his bed. There was no guard on him since the aliens thought it was impossible for him to escape.

Scully was only allowed to look at Mulder for a moment before the alien touched her arm indicating that it was time for them to move on.

She followed him in silence trying desperately to remember the way back to Mulder's room through the maze of corridors through which they went.

They finally arrived at a small examination room complete with an examination table and medical equipment.

"Please sit" Scully did so and was surprised to see the door open and a woman in a white coat stroll through the door.

"Agent Scully, so nice to see you again."

"Fowley. Why am I not surprised?" Scully said to Diana Fowley who was standing right next to the alien.

"I have to admit you were mostly right about me. I wasn't to be trusted. I have been involved with this project since the beginning. But you were wrong about one thing - my feelings for Fox."

Scully tensed up at the mention of his name.

"I loved him then and I love him now. Why do you think he is being spared right now, because of me."

"When you are done with him, he won't be anything more than a puppet." Scully hissed at her.

"True, he will be a puppet for awhile and oh how I will enjoy pulling his strings. But don't worry Dana, when colonization begins, the black oil will be removed and he will survive along with those of us who have been here all along. We owe that much to him, since we really couldn't have done this without him."

"But you, my dear Dana, aren't going to be so lucky."

Fowley turned to the alien as she walked out the door

"Give her a minute or two to make her peace and then give her the lethal injection."

With that, Diana Fowley walked out the door.

Scully pushed the thought of anger and personally wringing Diana Fowley's neck out of her mind and looked to see if opportunity would present itself.

It did when the alien turned its back on her to prepare the lethal injection. Scully grabbed the device out of her pocket and quickly injected the alien in the arm.

It fell quickly to the floor and Scully fought the urge to grab it in her arms has it looked pleadingly at her with Mulder's eyes.

She ran out of the room and down the hall frantically trying to retrace her steps without drawing attention to herself. She paused briefly by a stairwell door to catch her breath when she was grabbed from behind and dragged into the stairwell.

Before she knew it she felt a mouth on hers kissing her passionately. She thought for a second it was Mulder and began to give into the passion when she realized it was indeed someone else.

She managed to push away her attacker but could do nothing more than stare when she saw who it was.

"I always knew you were a passionate one Dana. I almost had you there. Maybe I will be luckily next time around."

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to save you and Mulder - again."

"Why? Why save us Krycek?"

"Because believe it or not, we are on the same team. I don't want colonization any more than you do. Now stop asking questions and follow me."

Krycek ran up a flight of stairs with a very bewildered Scully right behind him. She didn't want to trust him, but at this point felt like she had little choice.

Krycek obviously knew his way around the facility for within minutes they were back at Mulder's door. Swiping a keycard through it, Krycek opened the door for Scully and followed her in.

Before them lay Mulder, out like a light. Scully ran over to him and checked his vitals. Mulder seemed to be relatively unhurt.

"They injected him with the oil about 4 hours ago. You only have about 20 hours to reverse the process or it will be too late. Even you, Dana, won't be able to handle him once they get his mind under their control."

"But how can I help him?" Scully said looking pleadingly at Krycek. "I don't have the vaccine."

"You don't, but I do" Krycek said showing her a small vial. "There is only one small problem. This was the only vial I could get my hands on. Give it to Mulder and it will take you years to come up with the correct formula to protect the general population."

"But if I don't Mulder will become." Scully couldn't even bear to say it.

"Not necessarily Dana. Why do you think they are so desperate to kill you? Within you lies the key to his survival and the survival of everyone else."

Scully took the vial and carefully put in her in pocket not knowing what to do.

She would have to get Mulder safely out of the facility first. There was no way she was going to give him the vaccine without medical support.

Krycek broke into her thoughts again by injecting a substance into Mulder's arm. Mulder began to slowly come around.

"Wait here a couple of minutes. I will create a distraction. Take Mulder and get out of here. If you take this corridor all the way to the end you will find a stairwell. Follow it all the way down and there will be a door leading to the outside. I will buy you as much time as I can."

Scully nodded slowly. "And Dana, don't worry, you will do the right thing."

Krycek turned to leave them room when Scully touched his arm.

"Thank you." Krycek leaned in and gave her another passionate kiss. This time Scully allowed herself to respond just a bit more.

Krycek smiled at her and said

"Just let me know if you ever get sick of the G-man" and he turned and walked down the corridor.

9:00am Outside the Alien Facility

Scully wasn't sure how she had done it, but she somehow had managed to drag Mulder outside of the building.

Krycek had done what he promised and created a distraction. From what she could tell, he had somehow rigged the operations center to explode causing fire and havoc everywhere.

Thanks to his efforts, she and Mulder were able to escape and get out of the building just before the flames started shooting through the ceiling.

"Good job Alex" Scully thought to herself and she continued to drag the half walking Mulder away from the building. She wondered if Krycek had managed to escape himself but she assumed he had since the man seemed to have more lives than the average cat.

Scully also thought of Diana Fowley and her alien offspring most likely trapped inside the building. She tried to feel sorry for them, but really could not.

Scully propped up Mulder and was looking at the burning building behind her when a dark van roared up behind her. Within seconds she and Mulder were loaded in and heading back towards the safehouse.

10:30am The barn outside the safehouse

Scully looked down at Mulder and frowned. He was lying on the hospital bed wearing restraints in a feeble attempt to keep him still if the black oil effect's kicked in before they expected them to.

Scully looked at Mulder and looked at the vial she held in her hand. She knew what her heart wanted her to do and she knew what her practical side wanted to do. She also knew what Mulder would want her to do.

Scully turned to the Lone Gunmen and Spender who were also in the room and said

"Take this to the medical team and have them start their analyze. They quicker they figure out what is in this vaccine, the quicker we can start inoculating people."

"But Scully what about Mulder?" Frohike asked sounding just a little bit scared.

"We all know that this is what Mulder would want. And besides, there must be another way. Krycek told me so. He told me that the answer was within me." She sighed heavily "All I have to do is think of what it is."

She left the barn and began to wander aimlessly around the grounds trying not to think of Mulder.

Trying, instead, to think of the solution that would bring Mulder back to her.

But it was too hard. Mulder kept entering her thoughts. She remembered the good times and the bad times.

Their first meeting, their first fight, their first kiss. It became too much for her and before she knew it the tears were running down her face.

She sat down by a tree and just let the tears come. They fell for her, for him, for what could have been between them.

She cried a good long time and when she finally stopped looked up to see Byers looking down at her.

"Feel better?"

"Not really."

"You know Mulder would do the same thing, don't you. It would kill him like it is killing you, but he would do it."

"If we can't counteract the black oil, we will have to kill him. You know that, don't you?"

Byers nodded. "So we will have to make sure we don't fail"

Scully managed a feeble smile and accepted Byer's hand when he offered to help her up.

"Now tell me again exactly what Krycek said."

"He said not to worry that the key to everything was inside of me and that was why they wanted me dead."

"And you thought he was talking figuratively"

"Yes"

"Well, perhaps he was talking literally."

Scully looked at him perplexed so he continued.

"I don't suppose by some miracle that you and Mulder are the same blood type."

"Yeah, we are. Why do you ask?"

Scully said as she slowly started catching onto what Byers was thinking. "Are you suggesting that I literally fight off the black oil?"

"Yup"

"You think that if I give Mulder a transfusion of my blood my antibodies might do the trick?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?

Scully didn't answer. She was too busy trying to figure out how to do a massive blood transfusion way up in northern Maine.

3:30pm Barn outside FBI Safehouse

Scully looked around her before lying down on the table. Just a few feet to her left lay Mulder. He was already connected to the machine which they had jury-rigged in an attempt to save him.

Scully called Byers over

"If there is a problem and things go opposite of the way they are supposed to" Scully swallowed hard before continuing "don't let Mulder and I out of here. The device you can kill us with is right over there. Promise me you won't let us get away."

Byers grimly nodded and turned to help supervise the last of the procedure. Basically the machine that was created by himself, Scully and the medical team was going to drain some blood out of Mulder and directly pump a portion of Scully's blood into him.

It seemed like a simple procedure except for the fact that they had no idea how much of Scully's blood was needed to combat the black oil within Mulder and if by using direct transfusion, some of Mulder's blood would get into Scully.

This could save them both or kill them both.

Scully gave the signal to start the procedure and lay back trying not to worry. She tried to concentrate on happy thoughts as she felt the machine slowly removing her blood. She fought hard to stay away but soon the blackness overtook her.

7:45pm The FBI Safehouse

Scully moaned softly and slowly opened her eyes. Her left arm felt terrible and she felt as if every ounce of energy had been stripped from her body but other than that, she felt pretty good.

She tried to sit up in bed quickly only to be overcome by a large bout of dizziness.

"Slow down there Scully" Frohike said offering her a hand to sit up. "Take a sip of this"

Scully took a sip of the ginger ale he offered and muttered "Mulder?"

"He is resting next door."

"Did it work?"

"Too early to tell I think. We pumped with as much of your blood as we could without loosing you. It is now up to Mother Nature to take care of it."

"I have to get over there."

"You have to rest. You aren't going to do Mulder any good by passing out cold running over there to watch him sleep. Byers and Langley are with him and they will come get you as soon as there is any change."

Scully nodded suddenly feeling the urge to rest again. "Get me" was all she could say before she fell asleep again.

Scully awoke sometime during the middle of the night and found Frohike sleeping in a chair next to the bed.

She smiled at him as she got up and rumbled over to the bathroom. She grabbed a quick shower and headed downstairs.

It had to be three in the morning, but the living room and kitchen were buzzing with activity. Spender and the head of the medical team were in deep conversation while Director Skinner sat at the table looking at a large stack of black and white photographs.

"Scully, nice to see you up and about."

"Thank you Sir. It's nice to see you too. Why are you here?"

Skinner motioned for her to sit down and told Spender to get her something to eat.

"Spender called me as soon as you and Mulder were found. We flew a team up here immediately to see how much damage was done to the facility and to see if we could help out in any way." Skinner took her face in his hand. "You look very pale Dana. Are you okay?"

Scully smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze. "I'll be fine."

Spender gave her some food and said "Dana, we need to run some tests on you to make sure that the black oil hasn't hurt you in any way. I also think that Mulder should be moved to a place where we can monitor him more closely."

"How is he?"

"Still no real change. We have him sedated for the time being and he is beginning to run a very slight fever. We hope that is a sign that he body is rejecting the black oil."

Skinner added "Dana, we have set up a special facility to handle such emergencies. I think we should fly Mulder there immediately. We will be able to run more complete tests there on both of you."

Scully nodded her agreement. "I'll go pack."

7am Washington DC

Scully held Mulder's hand the entire trip back to Washington. Outwardly he looked the same as always but she knew that within him a major battle was being fought. She prayed that Mulder would win it.

Scully submitted to her own tests and was quickly given a clean bill of health. She wanted to stay with Mulder but since they were going to run a battery of tests on him, decided that it would be a good time to head back to her hotel to drop off her stuff and grab some essentials.

Scully walked quickly into her hotel room not wanting to waste any time. The quicker she was done here, the quicker she could get back to Mulder.

She grabbed a few clean clothes and was about to leave when she noticed an envelope addressed to 'Dana' sitting on the small desk.

Curious she walked over to it and ripped it open. Inside it was a small key and a note.

"Dana, since you have gotten this far I assume that things are going well for you and Mulder. This key is literally the key to your future. Good luck. Alex."

Scully read the note three times and then picked up the small key that was inside the envelope. It appeared to be a locker key of some sort although Krycek hadn't bothered to tell her where the locker was.

Apparently he didn't want to make things too easy for her. She stuck the note and the key in her pocket knowing that the Lone Gunmen would be able to track down the locker for her soon enough and returned to the hospital.

Both Spender and Skinner were waiting for her outside Mulder's room when she returned. Immediately she panicked but Skinner quickly put her mind at ease.

"Dana, I think it is working. They want to bring him around but we wanted to wait for you."

"Thank you Walter" Scully said and she quietly went into the room.

The medical technician who sat with Mulder gave up his chair and asked Scully if she was ready to bring Mulder around. She nodded yes and quickly sat by his side and picked up his hand.

It took almost a minute before Mulder's eyes started to flutter open. Scully let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Hey" she said to him.

"Hey" he muttered back. "I feel terrible."

Scully just smiled. "Well, you have been through quite a bit since you went out there just to take a quick look around."

She proceeded to fill him in on what had happened since he was hit over the head. He listened quietly only nodding on occasion.

"So they were using that facility as bait?"

"They knew sooner or later you would head up there"

"And then when I got in trouble you would be there behind me."

Mulder was getting tired again and slowly closed his eyes. He managed to get out a 'thanks' before falling back to sleep.

10am Lone Gunmen Headquarters

The Lone Gunmen had been very busy since Scully had approached them with the key and the note. It took them a little over 12 hours to track down the locker which ended up being in a small bus terminal a block and a half from Scully's hotel.

Inside there was nothing more than a business card with the name "Turner Clinic" on it.

They hopped on the internet and quickly found out that the Turner Clinic was a fertility clinic specializing in freezing embryos.

They wasted no time hacking into Turner's computer and doing a quick scan on their files. They found two names -Scully and Mulder listed as clients.

They were eager for more information but thought it was only fair to wait for Scully to arrive before delving any deeper.

When Scully arrived they could hardly contain themselves they were so excited about what they thought they would find when the hacked into Scully's personal files. She may finally get the answers she was looking for.

Scully grabbed a cup of coffee, took a deep breath and sat down next to the computer. "Okay" she said "let's do it."

Langley clicked on her name and up came a brief summary. Scully scanned it and quickly learned that just recently several sets of fertilized eggs had been deposited into the facilities freezers.

She was listed as the egg donor and with Mulder donating the sperm.

That news didn't surprise her as much as they name of the man who had delivered them to the clinic on their behalf.

Alex Krycek.

Stunned Scully sat back and thought about what she was reading on the computer screen in front of her.

Alex Krycek, the man that had tried to kill her and Mulder on several occasions, the man who most likely killed her sister and Mulder's father, not only saved them up in Maine but apparently rescued the last of her fertilized eggs for them too.

But why?

Just whose side was he on anyway?

Scully shook her head and thought to herself that she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and that she would try to be thankful to Krycek for trying to give back to her the one thing she truly missed - her ability to have children.

A tear rolled down her cheek as the Lone Gunmen hugged her and told her how happy they were for her.

Now all that was left was to tell Mulder.

1pm George Washington Hospital

Scully managed to pull herself together before she returned to the hospital to see Mulder. She didn't want to upset him more than she had to and was trying to decide when would be the right time to tell him about what she and the Gunmen had discovered.

Mulder was sitting up in bed watching TV when she entered the room. His smile turned to a frown when he saw her. He knew something was wrong immediately.

"What is it Scully? What's wrong?"

Scully walked over to the bed and sat down next to him. She opened her mouth to speak when suddenly all the pent emotions of the last few weeks overwhelmed her. She broke down and sobbed.

Mulder didn't say a word and just held her stroking her hair letting her get everything out.

He wasn't surprised at her outburst. Scully was strong but no one could go through what she had just been through without breaking down.

Finally the sobbing stopped and she began to tell him about what she had found out. When she had finished they just sat there in silence holding each other.

Scully finally broke away from him and looked at him not quite sure what she should say.

Mulder leaned over and gave her a light kiss and picked up her hand and kissed it as well.

"Scully, they said I should be out of here by tomorrow."

"Great."

"And that I should be back on my feet within a couple of days after that."

"Wonderful"

"Scully, do you remember the promise you made just before."

Scully cut him off "Of course I do."

"Well, what do you think about flying out to Vegas and doing it in the Elvis Chapel out there?"

All Scully could do then was laugh.

Fourteen months later The Oval Office, the White House

He sat back in the comfortable leather chair and thought about all the things that he had witnessed over the past year or so.

He watched discreetly as FBI Director Skinner stood beside his Assistant Director as best man during the private ceremony in Maggie Scully's garden. He felt a small twinge of jealousy when the bride and groom exchanged their vows and briefly kissed at the end of the ceremony - but he let it pass without action.

He was there when both Mulder and Scully testified in front of a secret congressional panel about what they had seen and done and were given special medals of honors for their contributions.

He was a silent partner to their plan to begin inoculating children at birth against the alien virus.

The public hadn't been told of the threat and didn't really notice one more injection being added to the long list of things babies were subjected to at birth.

He had seen a lot and was generally pleased with what he saw.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when the door to the Oval Office opened and the President walked in.

He prompted stood.

"Good morning Mr. President"

"Good morning Alex, I trust your trip to the West coast was a good one."

"Yes sir. They will be beginning the inoculation process in all LA hospitals by the end of the week."

"Good. Sit down, please."

Both men sat and the President offered Krycek a newspaper. "Thought you might find this of interest."

Krycek took the paper and noticed it was a birth announcement.

FBI Assistant Director Fox Mulder and his wife Dr. Dana Scully are please to announce the birth of twins. William Walter Mulder and Margaret Alexis Mulder Were born last Monday at George Washington Hospital.

Krycek skipped over the rest of the announcement. He would get all the details later.

"Margaret Alexis, Krycek?" the President said smiling. "If I didn't know better, I would think they were thanking you for saving them last year."

"I wouldn't know about that Sir" Krycek said trying not to smile too much.

"How do you think they would feel if they knew those children were still part of the project?"

Krycek said nothing not wanting to give away his personal feelings. It was obvious he was going to have to rethink his position with the project yet again - especially now that he had a namesake.

"Enough baby talk Krycek. I want you to leave immediately and head over to Africa. There are some bees over there that need your immediate attention."

"Yes Sir" Krycek said rising to leave. He said goodbye to the President and left the Oval Office wondering how to stop the madness.

There was only one answer. Mulder and Scully. Krycek would have to contact them soon.

But first, he had to tend to some bees.