They'd been on the run for three days. So much had occurred in those three days. They'd made it to New Mexico at Mulder's insistence when they should have gone to Canada. They'd faced Cancer Man and been chased by black hawks, proving the shadow government knew Mulder's intended movements better than he expected. After all the excitement, finally they'd escaped to a life on the run.

Now, here they were. Wrapt in each others arms in some run down motel, in some godforsaken town, far from a major interstate. This would be their life now. Everything, everyone they knew, beyond reach and them beyond amendment.

'You can still go home, Scully,' Mulder muttered, unconsciously mirroring his lover's thoughts. 'It's not too late for you to change your mind. They have nothing on you, not even my escape.'

'Mulder,' Scully sighed, snuggling closer, 'I told you last night, I wouldn't change anything we've been through.'

'I have the death penalty hanging over my head. If you're caught with me, you'll be an accessory. As it stands now,' he stated, 'you could return to your old life.'

'What's left of my old life, Mulder,' Scully spoke quietly, her words infused with steel. Moving out of his embrace, she turned, propping her head on an arm to watch his emotions play across his mobile face. 'I have you back now. I don't want to let go of that. After yesterday, if we lay low for a few weeks or months, they might just think we died in the explosion.'

'You really believe that?' Mulder had to ask, a little hope infusing his expression.

'No,' Scully sighed wistfully, 'but you're case wouldn't stand up in a court of law. The exposure wouldn't be worth the effort. Discrediting you this way, they've achieve what they want. Neither of us will ever be able to work for the government again. All avenues to the truth have been taken from us. I truly believe, if we keep our heads down for a while, we'll be able to go back to some form of normal life.'

'If I stop chasing monsters with butterfly nets,' the sarcasm in Mulder's voice aimed internally.

They lay quietly together, each searching the others gaze, communicating without the need for words. Through the thin curtains, almost covering the large window facing into the motel's parking lot, the dawn of a new day peeked in on them. Yet Scully could hear Mulder's mind whirling at a million miles an hour.

'Mulder,' she cautioned, realising he held something back.

'I couldn't sleep last night, Scully,' he admitted, unable to meet her eyes 'so I went to check the e-mail account we set up for emergency communications.'

Instantly alert, Scully's eyebrow rose in askance. Handing her a print out, Mulder moved to sit against the head of the bed. It took fifteen seconds for Scully's hand to cover her mouth, another ten seconds for her clear blue eye's to cloud with tears and three more to turn her orbs on Mulder.

'You want me to make a choice,' she managed to stutter, incredulity shining through the fat salty tears streaming down her cheeks.

'I can't tell you what to do, Scully,' Mulder told her mournfully, reaching out a hand and gently stroking the side of her face. 'I never could. But I believe you'll want to go home.'

'Mulder,' the word came out as a long keening sob.

Reaching for her, Mulder wrapt his arms around Scully and dragged her to him. 'I want you to have a normal life with William. I want you to be happy, fulfilled.'

'I've had to give both of you up at least once. Please don't ask me to do it again. I don't think I'm strong enough,' Scully howled, her voice shattered by heart wrenching tears. After several minutes, she'd regained enough control to continue. 'I am not going to give you up, Mulder, not when I've just got you back. But I want my son.' Once again the desolate weeping overtook Scully. The emotional barriers she maintained so rigorously crashed down, leaving her open to a thousand wounds. 'Oh god, Mulder,' she wailed, broken by this new situation, 'I want my baby back in my arms. I want our William.'

'I can't think of a way for you to have both of us,' Mulder spoke just above a whisper.