Thanks Luiza!

Ch 13

11:27 am

The offices of The Lone Gunmen

Byers called out to Frohike and Langley as he puzzled over a text received on one of the disposable cells that lay waiting for just such an emergency.

"What the hell does this mean?" the primly-suited conspiracy theorist questioned as his compatriots gathered round to peruse the mystery text message.

To: LG Electronics

Needing an equipment upgrade. Can't possibly listen to my Rod Stewart 8-tracks on such an unreliable instrument. Throw in some headphones, so I won't be bothering the nosy neighbors. Don't forget the paperwork for the extended warranty in case I need to exchange it later. Just put it on my account and deliver by one today, if possible.

Sorry for the trouble,

Truman N. Owens

"Maybe this phone has a recycled number," Byers wondered, examining what he thought to be a brand new, untraceable phone.

"It's from Mulder, genius, look at the initials T-N-O, " Frohike sarcastically replied. "Trust no one," he pedantically explained. "He wants us to deliver this disposable phone to Maggie Scully this afternoon."

"Yeah, and make sure she calls them back when curious ears aren't listening," Langley added.

"Oh, and don't forget the camera—she'll need a new passport photo," Frohike called back to Byers as he grabbed the phone that had received the text and an assortment of debugging equipment.

"And you got all that from Mulder's text?" Byers replied, though still incredulous.

"You gotta' read between the lines kid," Frohike grumbled as they headed out, "Read between the lines…."

Xxx

"Dana?" Maggie Scully questioned into the phone, looking over her shoulder at the funny little men who had shown up on her doorstep that afternoon, finally giving her the go-ahead to make the call after their scanners assured them that no one was listening in for the moment.

"Hi, Mom," Scully gushed.

"Hi, Maggie," Mulder called out from behind her.

"Hi, you two. What's going on? And why is this odd little man measuring me and taking my picture," she questioned.

"Well, first off, that's Frohike, Langley and Byers—they're helping us out, so don't worry about them. Secondly…Mulder and I are married."

"Married?" Maggie questioned with a rousing, "Congratulations!" from Langley and Byers with a "Mazel Tov!" thrown in from Frohike for good measure.

Maggie turned and went into the kitchen for a little more privacy.

"I didn't even know you were dating," she scolded softly.

"Well, we had a church wedding and everything, the nuns even took pictures," Scully added, hoping to placate her mother with photos.

"Well, tell me all about it," Maggie prodded, completely befuddled by the recent turn of events.

"Later—when there's more time. But I need to tell you—tonight, make sure you have a pen and paper by your bed. Don't be surprised by whatever you dream. Just go with it, and try to remember everything you can, ok?"

"Sure, honey. But you need to tell me what's going on," Maggie insisted.

"I don't want to tell you too much ahead of time. Why don't you make plans to visit Bill and Charlie in the next few days, alright, Mom? I'll call you back this time tomorrow, but as soon as I hang up, take the battery out of that phone, OK?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Tell Fox 'congratulations' and that I always thought of him as a member of the family, anyway," Maggie grinned, glad to hear the good news even if it was surrounded with a veil of mystery.

"He knows," Scully smiled over her shoulder at her husband. "Love you…talk to you tomorrow, Mom."

"You, too, sweetheart," Maggie Scully smiled and heaved a deep breath as she slid open the battery pack and dislodged the power source.

Maggie Scully's attention was quickly returned to the odd little men in her kitchen, closely perusing her eye color and examining her roots to be sure she was a natural brunette.

Though she was trying hard to tolerate the strange line of questioning, she had to put her foot down when Byers finally asked—

"So, Mrs. Scully, do you know how much you weigh, or should we find the scales…?"

Xxx

The next day passed in general contentment for Scully and Mulder, happily feasting on the local fare, sneaking a skinny dip in one of the local springs and buying some second-hand hippie-era survivalist books at the local shop.

"Mulder, do you seriously think we'll have to resort to tanning hides and spinning our own wool?" Scully flashed her husband that look that simply questioned whether or not he had lost his mind.

"You never know, Scully. Better to be prepared," he flipped through another volume, recoiling a bit at the description of dressing a hog, though giving more attention to the details on blacksmithing and iron-making.

"Hey, I think I should get points for not buying the volume on snake handling and foot washing."

"Yes, points for you, Mulder," Scully bestowed on her thoughtful husband a generous kiss. "Oh, here, you'd better start reading up on the midwifery chapter," Scully tossed another worn volume to her husband.

"But I thought I'd been working pretty hard on my part in the process," Mulder said with a suggestive leer.

"Yes, you have," Scully conceded, but you need to learn how to get the baby out as well."

"But you're the doctor in the family," he whined.

"Yes, and I'll be otherwise occupied, so read-up Mulder," Scully gave her husband a satisfied smile. His pout was so amusing that Scully finally conceded, "Finish your chapter, and I'll let you try the horny goat weed you bought.

Mulder's eyes flashed mischievously, "Time to put that photographic memory to work… chapter one…."

Xxx

After the vigorous love-making, induced in no small part by the experimental herbal supplements Scully and Mulder finally deigned to try, they sought their delicious bed and each other's arms, hoping once again to see their little boy.

xxx

"Momma, guess who I got to see?" William ran down the beach to clamber into his mother's waiting arms.

"Who?" Scully's blue eyes glittered at her son's excitement.

"Nana Maggie, Ahab brought Nana Maggie here," William's saucer-shaped eyes grew even rounder with wonder.

"He did?" she bubbled with excitement.

"Yep, they couldn't stay very long, and he had to tell her a whole bunch of stuff that didn't make much sense to me. But he said to tell you, 'Starbuck, you did good.' Momma, are you Starbuck?" William asked in all seriousness.

Scully and Mulder both chuckled.

"Yeah, William, I am," she explained succinctly as they moved ever closer to the ship they'd been designing.

"Wow, buddy, you've been working hard," Mulder surveyed the intricate glyphs that covered the sanded dome.

"Gotta' hurry and get finished," William acknowledged, picking up again with his task. His parents helped with the bare spots, the glyphs still burned in their memories from that dark time when William had to fight so hard to keep his Daddy from giving up.

"William…," Scully began hating to press her young son for answers, but weighing that against the necessity of the information he might know. "Was there anything else that Ahab said I should know?"

William thought for a moment, trying hard to recall all the instructions that he'd been bombarded with in the last few days, "Something about a whale…following the whale?" he looked up with a confused expression toward his mother.

A knowing smile spread across Scully's face as she turned toward her husband with a twinkle in her eye, "I know where we're going…."

Xxx

After a few more moments of precise but industrious work, William stepped back from the ship with a satisfied grin, dusting the sand from his hands with finality.

"It's done," he declared, hands on hips and one final nod marking his certainty.

"It's amazing," Scully sighed with welling tears, knowing what it meant for young William, knowing the burden and responsibility he would eventually bear.

"Your mom is right, it is pretty amazing," Mulder concurred, as he wrapped his arms around his wife to steady her.

"William, time for breakfast," a voice called from the porch of the large white house on the hillside.

Scully had to find her breath again, looking up to see a young woman with wavy auburn locks holding a squirming preschooler in her arms.

Melissa held up a hand to wave to her sister, while Emily waved energetically before disappearing back inside.

Scully still held up her hand in greeting even long after they had disappeared from sight.

"I gotta' go," William sighed. "Love you, Mommy," he placed a sandy kiss to Scully's cheek. "Love you, Daddy," he gave a peck to Mulder's stubbly cheek.

"Love you, too, William," Scully sniffled back her tears.

"Love you, buddy, be good," Mulder ruffled his son's hair as he bounded up the mountainside.

Suddenly, Scully and Mulder were alone though still dreaming.

"Come on, Scully," Mulder led his wife by the hand down around the curve of the beach, obscured from the house by the small inlet and tall trees that grew not far from the water. She quirked an eyebrow as her husband stepped into the water.

"Might as well stick a toe in…test the waters?" he tempted.

She could only shake her head at his incorrigible behavior, her silk nightgown floating higher on the water with every step she took.

"Check out any great, white whales that could be lurking about?" Scully teased, her spirits once again buoyed by her husband's shenanigans.

"Flatterer," he accused playfully, shedding his soaked shorts and tossing them back to shore.

"You couldn't even wait till we woke up?" Scully questioned coolly, even as her husband lifted her dripping gown over her head, casting it back to shore as well.

"Took me nearly seven years to wake up, Scully," Mulder confessed as he wrapped his wife's legs around his hips. "Don't want to wait any more…."

"Neither do I…," Scully smiled, capturing his mouth, while beneath the blue water, Scully sheathed herself on her husband's ready length.