"Scully left. She had to go back to Washington." Mulder told Albert. "She misses her children." Albert said. "She left us the car." He tossed the keys to Mulder. Albert directed Mulder to the Navajo Nation Reservation from the passenger seat.

"In the desert, things find a way to survive. Secrets are like this too." Albert said solemnly from the front seat. Mulder pulled into one of the better looking homes on the reservation.

"Why me?" Mulder asked, cutting the engine.

"You are prepared to accept the truth. To sacrifice yourself for the truth." Albert said. Mulder stared blankly. "There was a tribe of Indians who lived here 600 years ago. Their name was Anasazi. It means ancient aliens." Albert looked at Mulder. "No evidence is left of their existence. Historians say they disappeared without a trace. They say that because they will not sacrifice themselves for the truth."

"What is the truth?"

"Nothing disappears without a trace."

"You think they were abducted Albert?"

"By visitors who come here still." Albert replied nodding. "My grandson Eric will take you." Eric had already come out and got on the dirt bike, starting it. Eric was not happy to have a white man on the reservation but his grandfather had said he was different and could be trusted. So Eric took him out to the desert. To the spot he had gone to.

After what seemed like eternity on the back of the dirt bike, Eric parked the bike. He pointed down at the ground on the edge of the road. Mulder stared at it. It was long and made of metal. Eric and Mulder made their way down together. As Mulder walked along the metal, he noticed writing in the dirt. He kicked away the red and found a small plaque. Sierra Pacific Railroad.

"Over here." Eric called to Mulder. Eric was doing just what he had done before.

"It's a box car." Mulder said.

"A refrigeration car." Eric corrected him. Eric opened the hatch and let Mulder jump in. Mulder had to call Scully immediately. "I'm in a box car. Buried in the desert. There are bodies everywhere stacked to the ceiling. These aren't human skeletons. From the looks of it their alien. Wait a second. But this one has a small pox vaccination scar." Mulder's voice mail cut out. Above the box car was a helicopter from the army. It was landing and destroying evidence. Everything was burned. The only person they found at the site was Eric.

In the desert, the abandoned box car, with the skeletons of mutated human remains, burned brightly. In Albert's home, Cancer Man came with the army, demanded to know where Mulder was. The army men beat Eric, Eric's father, and Albert.

Scully wasn't sure why, but she turned her phone on once more before getting ready to board. Her voice mail dinged and she hit play. She heard Mulder's voice, then it being cut off, engulfed in static. Panic rose in her and she took off. She went straight to Albert's home and walked in to see the disaster that was there. Albert's son was attempting to clean a very sharp cut on his father's face. The kitchen was a wreck. Everything that could be broken was broken.

"What happened?" Scully asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

"Some men. They were looking for your partner." Albert said.

"Where is he?" Scully had to know. Albert shook his head. Eric came out of his room and walked into the kitchen behind his grandfather. His face was destroyed. His bottom lip was split from the swelling. It was three times its correct size. Two huge bruises trailed from his lip to either side of his chin. He more than likely had broken his jaw. His right was swollen shut, purple engulfing it. Scully had to get Eric to a hospital. He needed to be x-rayed. If he had the broken jaw and ocular bone Scully suspected he could have more damage coming from doing nothing, including his eye sinking into his head. On the way to the hospital, Scully used what connections she had and had people flipping bills for her. Eric did tell her the location. It was so hard to hear him. As soon as she dropped the family off, and thanked her friend for pulling the strings he had, she took off in the direction Eric said she should be able to find Mulder.

Scully ran down the side of the hill, tripping and falling, but getting back up, running just as fast, lesson not learned. The wreckage was still smoking. Thick, white, and billowy. She couldn't get near the metal at all as it was she could feel the heat radiating off of it. She looked around. She couldn't believe it. He couldn't possibly be one of the charred bodies left down in the box car.

"MULDER!" She screamed out. Nothing. Just her echo back in on her.

Scully drove back to the airport, feeling defeated. She had spent the afternoon, right up until the sun dropped, looking for Mulder. She had found nothing. She had called and checked on Eric. He was already coming out of surgery. A pin had been put in place on the ocular bone, he had a facture along his jaw, but wouldn't need anything for that but checkups. He would be out in a day. Scully had just clicked off and fought with herself when a spot light came out of nowhere and onto her car. The spotlight blinded her, causing her to stop the car. The helicopter accompanying the spotlight touched down onto the two lane highway in front of her. Men hopped out and drew weapons at her. Men roughly pulled her out of her car and spread her out, patting her down. They pinned her against her own door.

"Where are the files?" They yelled at her. She knew she wouldn't get out of this one. She mind as well corporate. They shoved her once more, cutting off her breath.

"The trunk." She said sharply, feeling the lack of oxygen. One of the soldiers went around and pulled things out of the trunk.

"We need the DAT copy." He yelled at her. She could feel the gun on her head, being pressed in.

"I don't have it." She yelled back.

"Who does?"

"Mulder." That was enough for them. They released her and made their way back into the helicopter as quickly as they had come leaving Scully with a few bruises and on the side of the road. Somehow she made her way back to the airport, shaking with fear. What were these guys up to? Would they go after her family? Did they know about Emily and William?

The next day she sat in an office at the Hoover Building. She was still dazed from the previous night. Skinner sat on Scully's right. He did not want to have this done to her. She had children to feed. She was innocent. He hadn't even wanted to get Mulder investigated.

"It is the department's recommendation that Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully be given a mandatory leave of absence until the full detail of her misconduct can be calculated. This summary action is justified under the articles of review and Agent Scully will complete her leave without pay or benefits due to the nature of her insubordination and the direct disobedience of her superiors. We will have to ask that you check your weapon and your badge before you leave the building Agent Scully." Scully stared at the man who had just read the sentence to her. She stood strongly and unclipped her gun from the small of her back. She tossed her gun on the table.

"We also are asking that you make yourself available to any questions we may have regarding Agent Mulder." Skinner said. Scully threw her badge down on top of her gun, looking Skinner in the eye.

"I've already told you everything that I know." Scully swallowed hard. "To the best of my knowledge Agent Mulder is dead." Part of her still refused to believe it. Wouldn't accept it. This was not fair. She was supposed to have a partner this time. She wasn't supposed to have to do everything alone again. She had no idea what to tell Emily, so she had said nothing. That they were having some fun time with Gramma.

"Don't think this hasn't been difficult for everyone." Skinner blurted out. Scully resisted the urge to smack him across the face. She turned abruptly and walked out of the office.

Scully made her way back to her mother's house. She was exhausted. Emily and William were going about their everyday lives. The result, both were out of the house. Scully climbed to her brother's room and changed into her sweats and flopped into bed. Her mother walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. She watched her daughter struggle with herself.

"Mom." Scully choked out. "I've made such a terrible mistake and Dad would be so disappointed in me." Maggie bent down and hugged at her daughter. Scully ended up crying herself to sleep in her mother's arms. She remained asleep until the next day.

Meanwhile, in the desert, some young boys knocked on Albert's door. They informed the family that they had seen buzzards flying about in the quarry where Eric had originally found the body. At that news, Albert managed to get several of the Navajo Nation Reservation to go out with him and his son and Eric and search for what the buzzard was after.
"Remember," Albert was giving some of the younger ones that had come along a small lesson. "The buzzard is a large but cowardly bird. It will not hunt for its prey but allows others to hunt for it. It will only come to pick the bones after something has died or is about to die." Albert was walking cautiously over some of the rocks, while some of the younger men of the tribe spread out. Albert approached a pile of rocks that hadn't been that way before and saw a white hand sticking up from amongst them. The younger men of the tribe bent down and slowly began to uncover the body, pulling off rock after rock that had fallen from the explosion of the box car. It was Mulder. They pulled him out of a small tunnel that had broken way under the pressure of the rocks. Albert looked down after they pulled Mulder out. It had been two days. How had he managed to survive? As he looked in, he saw a misshapen skeleton, much like the one Eric had brought back with him. They gathered Mulder in a blanket and walked him to the medicine tent. In the medicine tent, they brought four old twigs to help bring the spirits with them. The spirits were needed to help to heal Mulder. In accordance with the Blessing Way Chant, only the holy ones could save Mulder. The men took Mulder off of the blanket and placed him onto a bed of greenery. As they backed away, they could barely see the rising and falling of his chest. Albert sat in the middle of the hut with Mulder, and took kindling to a small fire. He took the small pile of kindling over to a much larger one, starting a large fire.

It was early in the morning when Scully heard the doorbell at her mother's. It kept ringing. She had hoped if she ignored it, whoever it was would get bored. Apparently that was not the case. She slipped on her sweatshirt over her tank top and made her way down the stairs quietly. In the next room, through the partially opened door, she could see that Emily and William were fast asleep. At the bottom of the stairs, she opened the door. Frohike stood there, staggering in place.

"I heard the news." He said. Scully just stared at him. "Maybe I should go."

"No. How much have you had to drink?" Scully asked, leading Frohike into her mother's house.

"Do you guys recycle?" He asked, holding an empty fifth. How Mulder had a knack for making friends who couldn't hold their booze was beyond Scully. In the kitchen Scully kicked on the light and went about making coffee.
"He was a good friend." Frohike said. Scully poured him a cup and sat down across from him. "Guess you get the troch."

"No. I might be losing my job actually." Scully said. Frohike stared at her dumbfounded.

"What about the kids?" Scully shrugged. Scully honestly didn't know. William would be too young to remember but Emily would take this very hard. She loved Mulder very much. Naturally Bill would be thrilled. Scully wasn't sure about anything. Emily would always be solely hers, but would Mrs. Mulder want to get William? She had been known to make comments about how she didn't stay home with her babies but went to work. And what about a job? She began to feel queasy at the mere thought. Frohike pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"It's about Kenneth Soona. The Thinker. The man who gave Mulder the files." Scully took the article and began to read it. "The date is the day after Mulder went missing! Could they be this stupid?" Scully said happily. She could have kissed Frohike and did. She soon ushered him out of her mother's house and went up to bed.

Back in the hut, Albert prepared to heal Mulder. He was using white sand to create designs in the dirt floor. Albert's father had been a healer and Albert had assisted him many times. Albert's only concern for Mulder was that he wanted to die, that he didn't want to come back to the land of the living. It didn't matter to Albert though. He had to try. He knew that the baby that Scully had shown him a picture of was Mulder's son. He placed ash on Mulder's forehead, two spots above his eyes. He took the feather with the beads at the end of it and raised his arms up as the drums began to beat. Albert began to chant.

The next morning in Washington, Scully felt a pressure on her chest. Emily was straddling her. Emily had been worried about her mother. The back and forth between Gramma's and Aunt Melissa's. Something was up. And where was Daddy? But seeing her mother's bright blue eyes that mirrored her own made her feel better. Scully came down to breakfast that morning and watched William make a mess attempting to feed himself. Soon Scully's phone rang, interrupting her time. She was being summoned in. She decided to drive Emily to school that morning and drop off William. They were going to be ass holes to her, she could take her sweet time. She entered into the front of the Hoover Building, having to enter the same way all public did. Scully let the tour group get in front of her as she stopped to tug at one of her black stiletto heel. It was always difficult when she stopped to do this. Her black pencil skirt was tight to her body but she managed. She always did. She approached the metal detector and the security guard looked at her. He was always switching the gates that he worked in and when Scully had first started, they had gone out a few times with each other.

"They're making you come through the front door now Agent Scully?" He teased at her. He had heard and knew she was embarrassed about the entire thing had to at least try to lighten her mood.

"For now." She smirked back at him, dropping everything into the basket. Upstairs, she was made to wait in the front room of Skinner's office.

"You can come in now." Skinner stuck his head out, letting Scully enter. Scully sighed and stood up.

"Sir, I came across a news article about a man found dead in New Jersey. I have a strong reason to believe he was killed by the person responsible for Mulder. The date of death postdates the date of disappearance of Mulder's." Scully pulled out the article and handed it to Skinner. True Skinner had summoned her this morning, and she had already answered a lot of bull shit questions in another room when she had pulled Skinner aside and asked to speak with him. Skinner examined the article.

"See you could cross check it with the ballistics report from Mulder's friend. See if it's the same weapon, Mulder couldn't have done it." "I'm afraid I can't do anything. It's run by the Trenton P.D. If something matched all bells and whistles would have gone off." Skinner told Scully cockily. It was like he was trying to maintain some air. "Well I was just trying to help with your investigation."

"Well I just want answers. Like why did I have to sign a search warrant on your home to look for a DAT?"

"I don't have it." Scully said.

"Bring me the tape if you want to bring me a smoking gun." Skinner said, dismissing Scully. Scully left, hurt. If Mulder was really dead, she didn't want him marked as a killer. With Scully gone, Cancer Man walked into Skinner's office from the side alcove.

"Did you ask her about the tape?"

"She doesn't have it."

Meanwhile, in the desert, the Blessing Way Chant continued. For three days. Fevers raging throughout his body. Many in attendance of the chant began to believe Mulder was gone. The third night though, Mulder woke, asking for water. Before the sunrise, Albert took Mulder outside and gave him the ritual bath and the ritual food. "We haven't told anyone we've found." Albert said after the sun was up, warming the two. Mulder, chewing, pointing to Albert's cheek. "Some men came looking for you. We wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know. They attacked us." Albert explained.

"Scully?" Mulder choked out.

"As far as we know, she's ok. She really helped Eric. Eric would have lost his vision but she got him to the hospital and got his operation paid for." Albert smiled. "She is a very good woman to have on your side." Mulder nodded.

"How long ago was that?"

"Five days ago."

"And that was the last you'd heard from her?" Albert nodded. Although, if everyone thought him dead, Scully wouldn't have reason to call down to New Mexico. All she would need to do to check on Eric would be to call the doctor she had called in the favor to.

Scully sat there and dressed in black. Black round toed heels. It would prove to be a bad idea. She would get stuck in the ground at the cemetery. Tight black pencil skirt over thin nude nylons. Black dress fitted button down tucked in. She knew she was going to catch hell from Mrs. Mulder for not bringing Emily. She did not want Emily remembering this. She had Melissa pick her up earlier that day for some special girl time. She wasn't necessarily sure what that consisted of, but after having to tell her mother about everything and her belief that she would feel it if Mulder was really gone and therefore not dead. Scully pulled her kinked curls back off her face before heading to get William dressed. She placed him in his little black canvas converse, dark, dark jeans, a small light blue button down, throwing a deep blue v neck sweater of the shirt. She packed his diaper bag and carried him down to the car for the drive to Boston. William was a car sleeper though. Once the car got moving, it didn't matter how long the ride, he was out. He was still out when Scully unblocked him from the car seat and walked towards the grave with him in his arms, wrapped in his blanket. As the funeral went on, Scully swayed with William in her arms, as she received looks from people she didn't know. She didn't understand why either. She fought back tears though, clinging to William. As the service ended, Scully made her way to Mrs. Mulder. She barely acknowledged Scully.

"You won't even morn him!" She cried at Scully.

"Because I have a very strong feeling that he's alive." She bit back. She took her leave as those around began to stare.

"And you wouldn't marry him." Scully headed back to the car and placed William in the car seat. "You're an unfit mother!" She yelled at her back. Scully shook off her words and began the drive back to her mother's. At her mother's Emily had already been dropped off. Scully slumped into the chair next to daughter who was on the floor watching TV.

"Did you have fun with Aunt Melissa?" Scully asked her daughter. Emily nodded on the floor. "When did Melissa drop her off?" She asked her mother.

"Oh about two hours ago." Scully nodded at her mother and picked up her phone calling her sister, leaving the room.

"Miss. I had a very bad day. Can you come back over to mom's?" Scully clicked off and realized her mother's wasn't a good place to talk. She called Melissa back, hoping to catch her. She didn't pick up her phone so she left her a voice mail.

"Miss. We can't really talk here. I can't let anyone else hear this stuff. I'm coming over instead. See you in a few." Scully gathered her keys and her coat and nodded at her mother. She was heading out to her car when she realized something wasn't right. Skinner pulled up alongside of her, telling her to get into the car.

"I need you to get in the car. I need to talk to you. It's very important."

"I'm going to my sister's."

"I'll drop you off but right now, you need to get in the car with me." Scully relented to Skinner's demands and got in the car with Skinner. Skinner drove them to Mulder and Scully's home. Scully unlocked the door and allowed for Skinner to get in first. Scully was scared. Yet, she listened to what Skinner had to say.

Meanwhile, Melissa was leaving and close to her mother's house when a flash of light went out, followed by the sound of back fire. Melissa's body slumped to the ground and Krycek ran over to her from the car he'd been hiding out in. Realizing he'd gotten the wrong red head, he took off, as people along the side walk screamed.

Scully couldn't listen to Skinner. Even though Skinner claimed he had Mulder's tape. Scully, scared, pulled her weapon on Skinner and had him sit on the sofa. Scully was about to lower her own weapon when a scuffling noise from outside of the door made them both jump. That small hesitation gave Skinner enough time to pull his own weapon. Scully jumped into standing position, Skinner following. Skinner and Scully were both yelling at each other to drop their weapon. Neither would budge. The front door opened in with a thrust and Mulder came in with his gun held out.

"Scully. Are you ok?" Mulder was relieved to see Scully. He was worried that Albert hadn't heard from her. Yet, here she was, standing in their home, pointing a gun at Skinner. Scully nodded, smiling. "Ok. Take his gun." Skinner handed the gun over to Scully.

"Listen, I'm going into my coat pocket and this bull shit is ending." Mulder nodded at Skinner's demand. He slowly took his hand down and pulled something from the inside pocket. It was the DAT. "I assume you both know what this is."

"Give her the tape." Mulder told Skinner. Skinner shook his head.

"I want an explanation."

"That is the MJ Files." Skinner's jaw dropped.

"Now hand it over." Mulder demanded.

"No. If this thing is powerful enough to kill for than it's our only leverage." Skinner yelled at Mulder. "It won't do us any good if it falls back into their hands."

"Then it better not." Mulder released the death grip on his weapon. "C'mon Scully. Let's go." As the two exited and looked for a cab, Scully stared at Mulder. Mulder turned to face her, seeing her smile. It excited him in more sense than one.

"I." Scully stammered.

"Whatever you're going to say." Mulder began to cut her off.

"I went to your funeral." Scully cut Mulder off instead. "William and I." Her lip quivered.

"It's ok." Mulder hushed her. A cab pulled up along the two. Mulder had forgotten to put his arm down. The two got in and made their way to the Gunmen.

While holding up A.D. Skinner, Maggie had had the phone call she never wanted to have. She was told to get down to the hospital right away. She quickly packed up Emily and William and bolted. Inside the hospital she found someone who looked official. He was wearing a white coat.

"My daughter was brought in here." Maggie had burst in beyond her access and had left Emily and William in the waiting room.

"What's her name?" The doctor asked, realizing the woman in front of him was distraught.

"Dana Scully."

"No. We have Melissa Scully. We just had her in surgery. She had a cranial gunshot wound."

"That's her sister." Maggie whispered out feeling very faint. They led Maggie to the ICU room containing Melissa. A nurse had come to take Emily and William elsewhere. Children shouldn't see this. Melissa was on a ventilator. Machines were beeping steadily. Her entire head was encased in gauze. Bruising was on the little patches of skin that could be seen. Maggie knew it would be moments before she got sick but she still had to tell her baby that her mom was here. That she was going to get better. That she was going to live.

Inside the Gunmen had a field day. Mulder was alive. Mulder was back. It was a bad joke. Scully smiled watching the scene. They could all be idiots at times. Soon they got down to work. Langley and Beyers were around a lighted magnify glass. They were staring at a picture Mulder had recovered of his father. Mulder was pointing out his father to the bunch, asking if the two recognized anyone in the photo at all. He was sure whoever had killed his informant had connections to this group of people.

"Are you familiar with the post-World War 2 project called Operation Paper Clip?" Beyers asked Mulder.

"Our deal with the devil. The US provided safe haven for some of the Nazi scientists."

"I know this one." Langley said.

"The man standing next to your father is one of those war criminals Mulder." Beyers explained. "It's Victor Klemoph. Not the most famous to escape but definitely the most evil."

"What'd he do?" Scully asked.

"Experimented on the Jews." Langley said. "Drown them, suffocated them, put them in chambers. All in the name of science."

"With Von Brown they helped us win the space race." Beyers informed the group. "With their knowledge on flying at high altitudes, we were able to put men on the moon before the Soviets." Mulder rubbed his temples.

"Do you recognize anyone else?" Mulder asked. The two shook their heads.

"Operation Paper Clip was supposed to have been scrapped in the 1950s but that picture is dated 1973." Beyers said, shaking his head.

"Whatever happened to Klemoph?" Scully asked.

"He's still here." Langley replied disgustedly. "Living very well off the American tax payer." Before anyone could ask another question, Frohike ran into the room.

"Scully. Your sister's in critical condition. I picked it up on the radio scanner. Gun shot." Frohike hated delivering bad news to anyone, particularly to Scully. The room turned to look at Scully. She was sure all blood had drained from her face. She staggered, as if she was going to fall backwards, before turning away. She needed to get out of here. She needed to get to her sister. She needed to be sick. So many thoughts going through her mind. She made it outside when Mulder caught up with her.

"Scully wait!" Mulder grabbed her hand and turned her towards him.

"I have to get to the hospital. That bullet was meant for me!"

"If someone is trying to kill you, the first place their going to go to is the hospital." Mulder reasoned with her. Scully felt herself fall forward and Mulder caught her.

"Those bastards." Scully choked out. Mulder felt Scully's legs begin to give out on her after the initial shock adrenaline wore off. Mulder sunk down onto the ground with her, holding her to his chest. Scully peeled herself away from him, still sobbing hard and began to vomit. This clearly was Scully's day from hell.

After a few hours, Mulder called Maggie. He had moved Scully to one of the beds of the Gunmen after she sobbed herself to sleep in his arms. He went to the hospital and picked up Emily and William, both who were asleep. He knew if he had made his presence known to Maggie, Maggie would try to kill him. If what Scully had said was true, someone was trying to kill Scully. The wrong Scully had gotten caught in the cross fire. He took Emily and William back to the Gunmen's and attempted to figure out where they were going to go. Mulder had called Albert as soon as he had gotten Scully settled. Albert had helped him and if anyone could help Melissa, he could. Albert walked into the hospital room and introduced himself to Maggie. Albert prayed over Melissa, while Mulder and Scully headed to West Virginia, leaving William and Emily in the care of their uncles, Beyers, Langley and Frohike.

Mulder and Scully had gone to a mine in West Virginia seeking out answers. The mine had been in the background of the photograph. On the first platform they came on, there were doors, sealed with key pad locks. Mulder and Scully rushed over and began trying numbers on all the doors. At the second door Scully punched numbers in, the key pad went from red to green. The door unlocked itself.

"Mulder wait. You've only recently found out your father was connected with these people. I just don't want you be affected." Scully said, knowing if doubt was cast on the man her father was it would destroy her.

Meanwhile back in DC, Skinner had called Cancer Man.

"I may have found your DAT."

"Did you find it? GIVE ME THE DAT!" He yelled at Skinner. "I will not negotiate."

Back in West Virginia, Scully and Mulder were underneath the mine.

"It looks like they're storing records. Names, alphabetized." Mulder flipped the lights on. Rows and rows and rows of files there.

"What's in these medical files?" Mulder asked.

"A birth certificate, blood sample, small pox vaccination, and tissue sample. But the tissue sample in this file is old. The new tissue sample storage is made of plastic." Scully informed Mulder.

"What year was this person born in?"

"1955." Scully pulled a few more files. "They're all 1955."

"Let's go find your birth year." Mulder hit home. He found Scully's file. After review it, and seeing that the tissue sample contained in that file was a new one, made of plastic, Mulder shoved it back into the draw and went looking for his sister's file. He found that one as well. He searched Samantha's file. There was something peeling on the edge of the label dubbed Mulder, Samantha Ann. Mulder tugged at it, revealing Mulder, Fox William. The file was originally supposed to be his own file. Samantha was never the intended. The lights in the hallway went out and a shaking could be heard. Mulder left Scully to go look at it. As Mulder looked up above, Scully was underground. She spotted another light down the end of the hallway. Up above Mulder saw lights and heard car engines. Mulder knew he had to get Scully and get out. Men in suits came charging in and Mulder took off away from them. Bullets followed his movements, ricocheting off of the metal beams. He ran back to the door that had unlocked for them and called out to her. Scully called back.

"They've got a small army out there Scully. We're trapped." Scully shook her head and grabbed Mulder leading him towards the light she saw.

The next morning, while Maggie called her sons, Scully and Mulder had called Skinner. Skinner met the two of them at a place that Skinner didn't even know existed.

"I might get a deal for the DAT to get you guys back in." Skinner announced.

"No." Mulder said. "I need that DAT."

"I think he should make that deal. I need to see my sister."

"It's up to you Scully." Mulder said. Mulder left to stand outside. He didn't want to hear her tell her to make the decision.

"I told him to make the deal but to not hand over the DAT until you agree to it." Scully told Mulder and climbed into the back seat of Skinner's car. Mulder followed climbing into the front.

Scully and Mulder were dropped off and went to pick up their kids. They finally went home. After days of not being there. Skinner went to the hospital to deliver a message to her mother. Skinner was attacked and the DAT stolen. Scully and Mulder no longer had any leverage. The two sat, watching Emily and William play together, feeling lost. Skinner said he was still going to go through with the deal. Skinner had come up with a plan.

The next afternoon Cancer Man walked into Skinner's office.

"I have what you've been looking for. I'll destroy it or hand it over to you for Mulder and Scully."

"I don't make deals especially with people that bluff. You have nothing." Cancer puffed in his face.

"I'm not finished." He stood and went to the door. "Albert." He called in the old Navajo code talker. Albert came in and spoke the first line of a section in the files in Navajo.

"What is this?" Cancer Man asked appalled.

"This is where you pucker up and kiss my ass. Now listen here you son of a bitch," Skinner got right into the chimney's face. "This man is Albert Hostien. And you'd better remember that. If Mulder and Scully or Emily or William even come down with a case of the flu, Albert is prepared to recite every word in those files."

"You're joking." Cancer puffed again.

"Sure, you're thinking Albert is an old man. Plenty of ways to kill him. But you're forgetting he's Navajo. In the ancient oral tradition of his people, he has told twenty other people, all who can recite everything. You'd have to kill every Navajo." Cancer dropped his cigarette. Angry he turned and walked out. He had to make the deal.

That evening, Mulder was at home. He'd just finished giving Emily her bath and was getting her into her nightgown when the doorbell rang. He finished pulling her nightgown over her red curls before picking her up and swinging her onto his hip. William had already been bathed and was asleep. Mulder walked down and opened the door. Bill and Tara stood in it. Tara extended her arms for Emily and instantly Mulder knew.

"Daddy'll be back sweetie." He said, placing a kiss in Emily's red curls, grabbing his keys and jacket. It only took less than thirty minutes to get to the hospital and park and get to the ICU floor. He found Maggie in the waiting room, just hanging up with Charlie.

"Dana won't come out." She said. Mulder nodded, giving Maggie a quick squeeze before going to find Scully. He found her. She was still staring at the bed that had contained her big sister. The body had been removed over an hour ago. Scully sat on her hands. She couldn't bring herself to move. Mulder felt himself break for Scully. Scully heard the movement behind her and turned to see Mulder in the doorway.

"It happened three hours ago. She went into surgery. Damage to her brain. Worse than we all thought." Scully said mechanically. "Her blood pressure started to rise." Mulder crouched down next to Scully. "She just um. She slipped away." Mulder placed a hand over Scully's knee. She was a mess. "She died for me. I tried to tell her I was sorry." Tears began to spill. "I don't think she'll ever know." Scully shook with the force of her sobs.

"Shh. She knows." Mulder stood and hugged her to him. "Melissa knows." It took probably another thirty minutes for Mulder to finally convince Scully she had to leave. That no matter how long she sat there or how desperately she wanted it, Melissa would not be wheeled into that room for recovery. He got Maggie and Scully into the car, driving back to his and Scully's home. Bill and Tara then took Maggie home, while Mulder carried Scully up the stairs like a child. He set Scully on their bed and he curled up about as small as she could get herself. For three days Scully wouldn't come down or out of bed. On the day of Melissa's funeral, Mulder finally got Scully out of bed. Scully went to the funeral but sat in the back not with her family. Scully clung to Emily in her little black dress, sobbing on her. Through the prayers, and the ups and downs, she wouldn't let Emily go. It was Melissa who had helped Scully at first, before she had taken off traveling. She had still provided a roof if Scully had ever needed one. It was actually Melissa who had been present at Emily's birth. Scully still needed her big sister in her life. Who was she supposed to talk to about Mrs. Mulder's comments? It was supposed to be her. Instead, the priest was walking around the casket, dousing it with incense. Scully wasn't able to get through the entire Mass. She had to get out of there. The pressure was overwhelming. Mulder went to find her afterwards. She had uncharacteristically flopped on some stone steps, snagging her nylons, ruining what he assumed would be the dry clean only blouse with a tear.

It took a couple of weeks for Scully, but she was called back to work when a little boy came into Mulder and Scully's lives.