The next day, Emily was to have her birthday party. Miss Emily Ann Scully was turning seven years old. Scully woke to find the bed empty where the other body should have been. She had been hoping to talk to Mulder last night, but the fire. Images of burnt paper, water logged wood, tattered memories filled her. She shook these from her mind as she slipped on her short summer robe over her boxers and tank top and went into Emily's room. Emily was still sleeping, but Scully woke her up, picking her up in her arms. Emily giggled.
"Ugh. I think you're too old now for me to hold you." Scully teased.

"No Mommy no!" Emily laughed as Scully stood her on her bed.

"Let me see." She studied Emily. She was beginning to have an awkward smile, between baby teeth, holes for teeth to come in, and the three adult teeth she had. It was still a precious smile. It would grow to be a beautiful one, once her teeth all came in. She had insisted upon growing her hair out this year, like the other girls in her class. Her mid back red ringlets fell around her face, her bangs, cut to the side, stayed straighter. Some freckles were littering her nose. The weather had been beautiful lately and they had been spending time outside. Her light blue eyes were still bright as could be. "I think I see a wrinkle," Scully said, pointing. "There!" She grabbed Emily's side and began tickling her.

"Mommy stop! Daddy make mommy stop!" Emily laughed. Scully hadn't even realized Mulder was walking around. He had come in with William on his hip, in his terry cloth footie onesie. William, having been outside more often as well, had a little more red in his hair. Mulder smiled at Scully. It looked as if he hadn't slept much but his smile was genuine, Scully could see it in his green eyes.

"Mommy. Be nice." Mulder said, handing off William to her. "Cuz it's my turn!" He too began tickling Emily. After a few moments of laughter, Mulder picked Emily up.

"Someone's getting to be awfully big." It was true. She had grown a lot since their first encounter. She was less chubby, especially in her cheeks. She had also gotten very tall. She was average height but Mulder still thought her tall. The four went down to have breakfast to find Maggie Scully already at the helm. After breakfast, everyone got ready for the day. Mulder kept William occupied as the girls got the house ready. Around 2:00 the doorbell rang and the first of the guests arrived. Screams filled the air. This continued for much of the day. Doggett and Reyes made their way over closer to dinner. As there were other parents there, all for the BBQ, Scully, Doggett, Reyes, and Mulder slipped away for a bit to talk about the fire. Mulder, was obviously, still upset, but had cooled down some. He had already come up with a plan. The Gunmen soon joined the group and Monica and Scully left the boys to their games. In the kitchen Monica seemed off.

"Dana. Can I ask you something?" Scully turned to look at Monica. She was nervous about something.

"Yes."

"How accurate are those home pregnancy tests?" She asked, twisting her hands.

"Just as accurate as any you'll take at the doctor's office, unless you're on hormones." Scully stared at her. "Why?"

"Well…" Monica trailed off. Scully started clapping her hands and hopping around.

"You are aren't you?" Monica nodded at Scully's question. Scully hugged her and instantly pulled a bottle of vitamins out of the cupboard. She had recently went and purchased two bottles of prenatal vitamins and handed one off to Monica. Monica stared at the bottle in her hand. "Monica, are you happy about this?" Scully asked. Monica shrugged.

"Well, I don't know how to approach this subject with John. I mean, Luke was murdered. I don't know how he'll feel about another child." Scully placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"When I watch him with William, when he's over here working, you can tell, he wants one." A smile crawled across Monica's face. Their moment was disturbed when Grandma Mulder came in. She had only recently arrived.

"Oh hi Teena." Scully said to the Mulder head. "Let me get Mulder." Scully bolted from the room before anyone had a chance at anything. She had not been alone with Mulder's mother since the fiasco at the supposed funeral of Mulder. She had told Mulder what had happened and it was a sore spot with him.

"Mulder," She called into the basement, where the adults were doing something childish with the kids' toys. "You're mother's here." That ended whatever fun they were having and they all trickled up. Mulder walked over to his mother, who had followed Scully.

"Fox." She said peaking him on the cheek.

"Mom." He said. "Didn't Scully do a great job planning Em's birthday? I still can't believe my little girl is seven."

"Fox. She's not your little girl. And yes. Dana did a nice job. If she didn't work I'm sure it could have been better." Everyone inched away and ran off. They were fairly certain of what would happen next. Lucky for Scully she heard William crying.

"Excuse me," Scully said quietly, leaving like a kicked puppy, to get William. She found William upset for his sister not allowing him to play with the Barbie's the girls were having fun with. She picked him up and went past the two Mulder's and up into William's room to get away from everything.

"You know Mom, you could be nicer. Scully practically does everything."

After the BBQ, prepared by Mulder, and cake baked by Grandma Scully and Scully, it was time for presents. What didn't Emily get is probably the better way to list off everything she got. She was one very special little girl. As the day died down and sun began to set, kids began to trickle out. Soon it was just Scully, Maggie, William, Mulder, Beyers, Frohike, Langley, Doggett, Reyes, and Skinner. Doggett stood up.

"I have an announcement since you're all here." He said beaming. "Monica's pregnant." He was so proud. Scully felt slightly dashed. She had been hoping to get Mulder to be present and talk to him tonight about the new baby. She was only six weeks along, if she had done her math correctly, and she had time to tell him. There was no rush. This could be Monica's moment.

Meanwhile, across the country, in the dry desert of Arizona, a team of carpooling scientists were making their way home. They had been on the verge of very big things, pulling long hours to make up for it. They were very happy to not have to work the next day. They had even gotten to cut out of work at noon that Saturday. In the car, next to one of the heads of a department, one in charge of the car pool, sat a man, shivering, groaning.

"Not you too Sandy." He said annoyed. He just wanted to get home and start the weekend. "You're just going to have to hold it until you get home." After what seemed an eternity, the van pulled up to a house, that looked like every other house on the block. Sandy got out, breathing hard.

"See you on Monday Sandy." The man called, shutting the van door as Sandy made his way up his Arizona driveway. Once inside the house Sandy wrapped his arms around his torso. He had never felt so cold in his life. Sandy walked over and stared at the thermostat. It was set for a nice desert 60, however Sandy cranked it up as high as it would go. It stopped speaking in numbers at 80. He moved over to the darkness of his living room and sat on the sofa, still trying to get warm. He hadn't even bothered to change. The thought of having to change made him feel even more cold. Sandy went to move his hands and saw something. His hand. It wasn't right. In fact, his hand was near translucent, bones and veins showing. Something was very wrong.

Monday, promptly at Sandy's 7:05 pick up time, the white van pulled into the drive way. The van honked. It was odd for Sandy to not be waiting on his porch for them. The van honked again. Still, Sandy did not appear. Growing concern, and concern for tardiness, the head of the car pool hopped out of his place in the van and walked up to Sandy's front door. He knocked but heard nothing. He knocked once more than opened the door.

"Hey Sandy! Chop chop!" He called, sticking his head in the doorway. The heat of the house hit him in the face. Something was wrong. He stepped into Sandy's company rented home. It was already nearing 70 outside, yet it was so warm inside, even more warm than the outside air. He tentatively took a few steps into the foyer. He noticed the thermostat reading hi. He tugged at his tie, sweat already dripping off of him.

"Hey… Sand Man." He called. Sandy must be ill. But where was he? Why wasn't he responding? The house was dark as well. He walked into the living room. Sandy was sitting on the sofa, facing away from the door way. "Hey hot dog! Carpi." He clapped at Sandy. No movement. Not even a startled flinch from the claps. And Sandy was one to jump at noises as well. He walked around to the front to see Sandy. He was not ready to face what he saw. Sandy was lying, still in his clothes from Saturday. His stomach cavity was empty, ripped opened. Blood soaked the white leather sofa and Sandy's light colored button down. Where were Sandy's stomach and diaphragm and intestines? Where organs should have been was a hollowed gut. He fought the urge to be violently ill. He had to get out of there and call someone. He turned to leave but a noise and small movement stopped him. He looked up in the corner of the ceiling. He began to scream. Outside, in the car, no one heard what was happening in the house. All just sat there doing what they usually did every morning. Sandy's car pool head was being shredded. His one side of his body was soaked red as he limped to the door. He tried to pull at the knob but the blood pooling in his hands caused the knob to slip. What had attacked him came at him again, dragging his prize away.

Mulder sat in front of a panel in the Hoover Building, putting forth his case. In the days since Gibson had gone missing, he and Agent Doggett had been pulled off of the X-files. Mulder had been painstakingly pulling the charred files and putting them back together. He and Doggett were sitting, discussing the matter with the panel, and Scully came in. She was late. Even if she had not been officially on the X-files for over a year and a half, she was constantly called in for consult. Scully slid in next Doggett at the end of the table in the empty chair. The three had only recently received news that Agent Spender and a recovered Agent Fowley were taking over the office, rebuilding it, leaving the charred remains behind. The three walked out of the room. The two would be joining Agent Scully.

In New York, Cancer Man spoke with his associates. Messiness in Phoenix. Sandy's bloody image displayed on a screen in front of them.

"The local PD got involved." Cancer puffed. "A local crime reporter took photos."

"These were run in the press?" An old Italian associate in brown suit asked of the smoker.

"I made up a story about a crazy Indian on the loose." He slid the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger.

"How did this happen?" An elder British accent came from the shadows wearing black.

"He was one of ours." He took one more deep inhale before stubbing out the cigarette. "He must have accidently injected himself while working on the virus. It took just 12 hours for the creature to gestate." The Italian stood up, pacing the room.

"This thing is alive?" Italian asked.

"Yes. It's already killed a man." Cancer was pulling out a new cigarette.

"It's out there?" Italian couldn't believe what was at risk.

"As far as I know." Cancer lit up and took a deep inhale. "I'm managing the situation."

"Manage all you want. Someone has to find this thing." Italian spoke seriously of the matter at hand.

"Find it? Someone has to kill it." Cancer puffed. "The response must be equal to the threat."

"Can you dispose of this problem?" Italian asked of Cancer.

"Yes."

Down in a tech lab, Mulder was pulling yet another long night. Since his office had been destroyed, he refused to come home, opting instead to scanning and attempting to put files back in order. Scully was left to man the helm. Skinner was walking by the lab and noticed Mulder in there.

"You're wasting your time."

"Well," Mulder looked up to him. "You said you wanted evidence. I'm going to bring it back from the ashes."

"It will never get you to be reassigned back to the X-files." Skinner hated telling Mulder this. There was a greater force at work, one giving Fowley and Spender the new and so called improved X-Files. "It's been denied." Mulder stared hard at Skinner before flipping the machine off and taking the gloves off. He gathered up his box. "Listen, the virus. There's a file folder. It's on the desk of your old office." With that the two parted and Mulder made his way back down the familiar halls to his old office.

As he walked in, the office had been reconstructed. It was amazing what the government would pay to get things back in order. A new desk, chair, phone, and computer had been brought in. The walls still smelled of wet paint. Mulder set his box of charred remnants on the new desk and picked up the file.

"Is that for me Agent Mulder?" Asked Agent Spender from the side room.

"Old habits die hard." Mulder said picking up his box, sliding the file in with them not being seen. He heard heels clicking and turned to come face to face with Diana Fowley. Ah. The bitch. He nodded at her before leaving the office.

In a dark hallway that led to a makeshift O.R. Cancer Man walked the hallways. He was going to see what progress had been made. He ignored the No Smoking sign on the glass door and lit up a new cigarette. He stared at the team in the room before walking in, cigarette rolling between his thumb and forefinger. The staff gawked at Cancer Man, walking into a sterile environment with a cigarette, let alone without becoming sterile himself. They had an open head. They were operating on missing Gibson Praise. He was still conscious as the doctors poked and prodded.

"I need the patient closed up and bandaged. We're going on a little field trip."

The night that Skinner had given the file to Mulder was the night that he had come home. Scully was resting when he excitedly came into their bedroom. He didn't even notice how worn out Scully seemed to be. He was like a kid in a candy store.

"We're going to Arizona tomorrow." He said placing a kiss on Scully. "I tried Doggett. He can't come. He went to see Monica. So it's you and me baby!" Scully didn't have the energy to fight. Perhaps she'd even get some time to talk to Mulder about her recent discovery. So after dropping both children off in the morning and things at Maggie Scully's, the two were off to the airport. Maggie had sensed something wasn't right about Dana but was not going to press the issue.

It was hot in the desert. Scully felt completely uncomfortable. She was spending most of her time nauseous as it was, and now to add heat to the mix. And Mulder was in his own determined world. 'God, can he even handle another baby?' Scully questioned. Mulder was cutting through the yellow tape on the front door, opening it before them. He barged in, Scully following.

"Mulder, I just want to remind you by not informing local PD we're in violation of state laws of contaminating a crime scene." Scully called after him. Mulder was already running around the home, his khakis and black polo and after shave in his wake. Scully shook her head, moving slowly. She already wanted to shed her own light jacket she had worn on the plane. "Why do I bother?" She said to herself, closing the door. It was the door knob that caught her attention. Someone had tried to run.

"Scully, come here and take a look at this." Mulder called out from a different room. Scully turned and went to find Mulder. She had to concentrate on her breathing again. The heat was making her stomach flip. She approached Mulder with a deep exhale. "Have you ever seen anything like this?" Mulder ignored the exhale. He was too into the deep, for lack of a better way to put it, claw marks dragged down the wall, covered in blood.

"What is it?" Scully asked, her stomach now flopping at the sight of the blood.

"According to the file, they're an attack by a Native American man on a scientist." Mulder had pulled out tweezers.

"With what weapon?" Scully raised an eyebrow high, walking about the living room. Scully was walking towards a spot on the floor.

"It says in the file that he used his bare hands."

"His bare hands?" Scully shook her head bending down to the spot on the floor. She had found more marks in the floor. "Mulder. This is hardwood."

"Uh huh." Mulder agreed that this made no sense.

"This kind of gouging didn't happen with anyone's bare hands." Scully stood up and placed a hand on the sofa back for a moment before going back over to Mulder. Mental note to herself. Whether or not she told Mulder while in Arizona, she was going to have to go to the doctor to get the medicine she had been prescribed the last time. She stared at Mulder, whittling away at the wall. His prize finally came loose. "What is that?" Scully asked, extending her hand.

"Looks like someone broke a nail." Mulder placed the nail that was more like a claw in Scully's opened palm.

"Is it animal?" Scully asked, having seen nothing like this in medical school or on rounds.

"The body of the other victim was found here on the sofa." Mulder walked over to the spot with the file in his hand, reading aloud, while Scully bagged whatever it was Mulder had pulled from the wall. "His viscera was torn from his torso. But the ME says that the deaths were hours apart. Which means that this victim," Mulder pointed down to the sofa while Scully walked over. "Was dead hours before the second attack."

"So the attacker never left." Scully stated bluntly.

"It wasn't an attack." Mulder looked her dead in the eye. "I think it was celebrating its birthday." Scully stared at Mulder as if he was indeed crazy. "The first victim must have gotten infected with the virus. Right here on this sofa was where the creature was born." Scully shook her head. "That would account for the damage done to the man's torso. The virus that creates an alien that ripped away its chest as it gave birth right here. Look." Finally Mulder showed Scully the file containing the picture of Sandy with a gaping hole in his chest.

"Given the description, which you've just described." Scully fought to keep her meal down. "You're talking gestation in less than a day. 12 hours to be exact. And forget the scientific argument here, but you're saying that this was done by something new born?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Mulder said, his deep green eyes digging into Scully. While inside, something was happening outside. A black car pulled up across the street in front of the driveway and stopped. The driver had his window rolled down, while rolling down the window in the back. Cancer Man sat with Gibson, whose head was covered in bloody gauze.

"It was here. But it's gone now." Gibson stated. The driver turned and looked back at Cancer Man.

"I should take a look."

"It's not here!" Gibson snapped back. "Why don't you believe me if you're so afraid of me?" Gibson was frustrated and not feeling well at all.

"I'm not afraid of you." Cancer stated rolling his cigarette.

"You think I can destroy you." Gibson stated. "With what I know because of what I am. You're thinking you could have destroyed me to. And if you don't find this creature you will."

"He'll find it." Cancer indicated for the driver to keep going.

"I don't see what the argument is here. You admit yourself you believe the crime report was a lie." Mulder stated, heading for the door with Scully.

"That doesn't mean I can just accept your theory." Scully tucked her hair behind her ears as they shut the door behind them.

"What will it take for you to believe?!" Mulder raised his voice. Scully grabbed onto his hands.

"Listen. You told me my science kept you honest." Scully pleaded with him. She felt horrible, she didn't want to add Mulder mad at her to the list. "That I made you question your assumptions. That by it, I've made you a whole person. If I change now, it wouldn't be right or honest."

"And I'm talking about aliens, alive, on this earth, in our lifetime." Mulder hadn't taken his hands away from Scully's yet. "I'm sorry Scully, but this time, you're science is wrong." Mulder pulled his hands from hers and turned to walk back towards the car, leaving Scully standing there.

That evening, Scully hid in her hotel room. Mulder had tried to come over to sleep with her but she had locked him out. She had said she just wanted to be left alone. He couldn't understand. He had been honest with her, wasn't that what she wanted? Scully held herself, sobbing. She couldn't help it. Her hormones were playing with her. On top of that, Mulder was upset with her. And on top of that, Mulder was running around chasing aliens again, hoping for a connection to Samantha. How long was it going to take until he gave up? Until he was truly ready to be a family? How could she be so stupid to be bringing another life into this world like that? And why the hell did her and Mulder seem to be able to make babies? And who was stupid enough to not use anything? She only had herself to blame. She couldn't help it though. It was who she had fallen in love with. She would follow him to the ends of the earth, but she had to stop and think. She was a mother. She was going to a mother again. If he went to the ends of the earth, she could not follow. Emily, William, and this new baby would need a parent still. How far could she go? How much could she give? And how long could she keep everything from Mulder?

That evening in the Nuclear Power Plant, it was like any other. Dull day, dull night. A man trudged down the stairs, his short sleeve shirt soaked in sweat. He just wanted to get his hard hat off and wipe away the sweat there. Inside the control room, which was cooler, he saw his partner asleep at the controls.

"Wake up Homer." He tapped his friend on the shoulder causing him to jump. The two laughed at the Simpsons reference.

"I am awake. I was just thinking." He said, smiling up from his chair.

"That'll be a first." He replied taking his hard hat off and wiping his brow before placing it back on his head. He was coming in for the new shift. He placed his ID on his front pocket. "You're ten minutes late on your systems check, you know."

"If there was a problem we woulda heard about it." He said sleepily, standing up, clipboard by his side. "Like Arizona's gonna go without air conditioning for ten minutes." He walked to his systems lazily. His friend picked up another clipboard and began to help. He walked the opposite way.

"Hey Homer, looks like something is going on in the bleed cooling system." He stated looking at the gage. Homer made his way over. "See there."

"It's five degrees off."

"Might be in the core reactor."

"No, no, no, it's gotta be monitoring glitch." Homer tapped on the glass gage, hoping it would drop back down.

"Phones could start ringing any minute. Might wanna go check it out." Homer sighed at his partners words.

Homer walked down the hot and humid hallways to the cooling system. He looked at one of the gauges connected to the system, reading it. He turned his head at a sound he heard. He had never heard a noise like this from the system before. It almost sounded like something out of a horror film. But what was it? He began to walk around a cluster of pipes before cautiously making his way into the cluster. He saw something slimy when he stepped in and made his way towards it. What on earth could have gotten in there? He took off his hard hat and pulled the wrench from his back pocket. He reached out to the slim with the wrench. It grabbed him, pulling him in further as he screamed.

In the morning Mulder pounded on Scully's door. She still didn't want to talk to him. She knew her eyes would give her away. She had already been up and sick for an hour, but she talked to Mulder through the door.

"We've got a lead." Scully rushed to get dressed, hoping make up would cover enough for her to not be in Mulder's radar. The two drove up to the Nuclear Power Plant. An entire scene was there. People in biohazard suits. Radiation suits. Fire department. Paramedics. Police. Scully had taken more time to dress than Mulder. She had thrown on a pair of navy slacks and dark top, hoping to mask her slight weight gain. Another mental note to herself. She wasn't gaining as well as she should be. While Mulder had opted for the T shirt and jeans. At the scene, they also encountered a pair of FBI agents they hadn't expected to see. Spender came rushing up, claiming authorized personnel only.

"We received a call that someone was murdered here." Mulder explained to Spender.

"By who? Skinner? I'm going to get you censured for this and demand a review of Skinner's actions." Spender whined at Mulder and Scully.

"Just let us through." Mulder attempted to push past.

"Authorized personnel only."

"C'mon Diana, let us in." Mulder pleaded of Diana as she came over.

"No. It's been sealed off." Scully listened to Diana's bull shit excuse, and tuned the three out. Dark colors in the desert weren't a good idea. The heat beating down on her was making her dizzy.

"C'mon Mulder. Let's get out of here." The two turned back to head to their car.

"I hope I know whose errands you're running Diana." Mulder said walking back towards the rental behind Scully. In a matter of a stride he had caught up with her though.

"You weren't getting anywhere with them." Scully said.

"It's here and they know it." Mulder said standing over, looking down at Scully and the car.

"How do you know?" Scully asked. Getting nothing out of Mulder she asked again.

"Give me the keys and get in the car. Now." Scully glanced down, handed the keys. Scully couldn't believe what she saw. She climbed into the back seat of the car as Mulder went to the driver.

"Gibson, sweetie." Scully said, carefully lifting his bandaged head and placing it on her lap. "Sweetie? Gibson?" He was unresponsive. His pulse was erratic but he had one. She closed the back door and Mulder took off. As Mulder drove the two discussed what to do.

"We can't take him to a hospital Scully. They'll track him there." Scully nodded in agreement with Mulder, still holding the boy to her.

It had taken a few hours of cooling down but finally Gibson was awake. They had taken him to Scully's room and Mulder was standing guard while Scully cut away to see what they had done to him. She sat on the edge of the bed, having propped Gibson up amongst the pillows. As she peeled off the gauze and bandages, Mulder came and sat on the other side of Gibson. Scully fought back tears. He was only a little boy. Who could do something like this to him? His head was shaved bald. He had one scar already across his hair line, or where his hair line would have been. Now, there was a giant T across his head. They had made a mess of this. His stitches had been done sloppily, leaving chunks out. Scully knew that this would keloid and probably cause him pain in the future. Her heart broke for Gibson. He was such a sweet boy and they had gone and done this.

"Frankenstein. Really?" Gibson asked Scully. He had read her thoughts. Thoughts she had hoped to keep at bay but she was hormonal and upset.

"No sweetie." Scully lied, attempting to plaster a smile on her face. "You've been worked on by some good doctors. They did a good job on your stitches."

"You think they were butchers." Gibson quipped.

"They were butchers." Mulder spoke up from the other side of Gibson. He too was angry and upset at what had been done to Gibson.

"They should have changed your bandages sweetie." Scully said, grabbing Gibson's little hand, wrapping it tight in her own. "You've got some swelling and some infection. You've also got a fever." Scully rubbed his chest with her free hand, fighting the urge to cry and get sick. "Why did they do this to you sweetie?"

"Because I can read people's minds." Gibson acted as if he was stating the obvious. Scully stared across at Mulder biting her lip. Mulder took over for her.

"How did you get into our car Gibson?" Mulder asked. Gibson turned to look at Mulder, hand still in Scully's.

"When they weren't looking I snuck away." Gibson smiled. "It's easy when you know what they're thinking." It was Mulder's turn to fight back his feelings.

"Why are you here?"

"They were using me. Cause I can communicate with it." Mulder looked at Scully. He knew the it Gibson was talking about was what they had been looking for.

"Communicate with what sweetie?" Scully piped up.

"You already know." Gibson stated, adjusting himself in the pillows. "You just don't want to believe it." Mulder nodded at Scully, standing up. Scully followed suit and moved towards Mulder.

"This kid could find this thing." Mulder whispered low to Scully.

"Mulder," Scully began. "This kid belongs in a hospital."

"But you've been getting his fever down." Mulder tried to rationalize.

"No. He belongs in a bed under constant medical supervision, not going on some hunt." Scully didn't want to budge on this one. "Listen, what I'm saying is in your best interest. We have to take every precaution to make sure nothing happens to this boy. Mulder, he is your scientific evidence."

"We don't have the X-Files." Mulder whispered.

"But what if he could confirm everything you've been saying?" Scully pointed out. "This boy could be our last best chance." Mulder nodded at Scully, knowing she'd won. Scully went out to the car and started it up, while Mulder carried Gibson out to her and the car, cradling him in his arms, tenderly placing him in the back seat. As he was placing Gibson in the backseat, head lights blinded Mulder and Scully. The car pulled right in front of Scully. She could not get past.

"Agent Mulder." It was Diana Fowley's familiar voice calling out. Mulder stood behind the car door of the back seat. "Fox. I'm going to get out of the car. I'm alone. Alright." Mulder shut the back door and began walking towards her. Scully hated Diana. She couldn't help it. And he hated going by Fox. Scully's hands clenched the steering wheel, turning her knuckles white as Mulder walked over to.

"Diana what are you doing here?" He asked, not too friendly.

"Fox. I couldn't say anything to you earlier." Diana said, standing by her own driver's door. "I was given this assignment Fox. They offered it to me." Diana was pleading her case. Mulder didn't care. She had taken his baby away from him. His life's work. "I took the chance Fox."

"I'm listening." Mulder replied cockily at her.

"To make sure someone served your interest." Diana said frustrated that he would not listen to reason. "Someone who believes in the work. Don't forget, we found the X-Files together."

"Who sent you?" Mulder asked, accusingly.

"I'm here on my own." Diana spat back at Mulder.

"Why? To prove to me your noble intentions?" Mulder mocked her.

"Listen to me. That thing is in the number four reaction chamber. We can let them find it and destroy it or we can find it ourselves." Diana still wasn't sure why she was trying with Mulder. "You need proof Fox. You're so close. Why can't you see that?" Inside Mulder and Scully's rental car Gibson squeaked up.

"She's just as threatened by you. Maybe you should tell Mulder sooner rather than later."

"Gibson sweetie, it's ok." Scully feigned, shushing Gibson. She was worried about his condition. She had managed to bring the high grade fever down, but with a brain operation or whatever they'd done to him, any fever could be deadly. She watched Mulder walk to the passenger door.

"What's going on?" She asked as he opened the door.

"You take Gibson." Mulder all but ordered of her.

"Where are you going?"

"To find this thing Dana." He shut the door and walked away and into the passenger side of Diana's car.

On the ride to the hospital Scully fought with herself. With Diana Fowley back in the picture, she felt threatened. Mulder seemed to drop everything for the woman he had dated before the years of solitude before Scully. Was Scully just a matter of convince? Of wanting to get back in touch with the world? Was William, Emily and herself just a chore to him? He had gone back to pulling painfully long hours, cutting himself off from his family. Scully felt blood in her hands. She had squeezed the steering wheel so hard that she had actually managed to cut her hands. Was he ever going to be ready to find whatever home it was he wanted? She shook her head as she heard Gibson in the back seat.

"Tell him and you'll see."

"Sh. Gibson sweetie. It'll be ok. We're almost there." She cooed to him.

Meanwhile, as Scully had gone one way, Mulder and Fowley went in the opposite direction back out to the Nuclear Plant. On the road, Diana did most of the talking.

"Agent Spender and I got the call. We were on a plane in less than an hour in constant communication."

"With who?" Mulder questioned, looking at Diana's frame. She seemed to have recovered well from being shot.

"The Nuclear Regulatory People. NRC was first on the scene. They were the ones to find the victim." Diana smirked, feeling his eyes on her. "But by the time we got there, it had been removed. We never saw the body."

"Who removed it?" Mulder asked, now turning his attention to the lines in Diana's face. There was something almost harsh about the lines he had once loved. Now, they were stone cold. Nothing he could love. Her eyes were a cold hard blue, while Scully's at the office mirrored Diana's, at home they were fresh and full of excitement, love, and caring.

"I don't know." Diana said, breaking Mulder's thoughts. "I couldn't get a straight answer." Diana shrugged. "Then the NRC sealed off the number four reactor due to a problem with the heat transport systems. I believe that one was legit." Mulder turned away from Diana. Something was turning in his mind. Over and over and over again.

"Maybe that's why it's there." Mulder stated tentatively. "It wants heat. It needs heat. This thing gestated abnormally fast. What if heat activates it?"

"It could spur on the virus." Diana was nodding her head. "The entity. The virus."

"But it's still seeking heat." Mulder looked out the window. "Why?"

"What if it's still developing?" Diana asked glancing over at Mulder, who turned to look at her. Those eyes caused chills in Mulder. Mulder's mouth gaped open and he lean his head back in the car, thinking. "See Fox, what we're looking for doesn't make sense in any conventional way."

"No." He shook his head and they spent the rest of the drive in silence, Diana trying to throw out flirtations.

Scully entered the hospital walking next to Gibson on a gurney. She wasn't going to leave his side, except for maybe a moment to talk to a doctor about a prescription for herself.

"You're going to be fine Gibson." Scully smiled down at him. "You're ok sweetie." They two men wheeling the gurney stopped.

"We've got to get the bed ready." They parked Gibson in the hallway off to the side and Scully came around to be near his head.

"You're going to run more tests." Gibson said, looking at Scully through his round glasses.

"We're going to get you better sweetheart." Scully said. It was the truth. Yes. They were going to have to run more tests. No. She didn't want to do it. She needed to see what extent of medical torture Gibson had been exposed to.

"You say that, but you're just going to run more tests. Like the other doctors." Scully felt a pang as Gibson spoke. She didn't want to be like those other doctors.

"We've got to run more tests sweetie."

"You want to make me well." Gibson stated as the men came back over. "But you're only thinking about yourself. And what you can learn from me." The men moved Scully aside and wheeled Gibson into a room. Scully exhaled deeply, hurt by what she was doing.

"You're a very special boy Gibson. You know that." Scully tried to reason with him.

"No. I'm a very special lab rat." Gibson spat back. Scully hadn't kept him safe like she had said she was going to. Now she was just like the other doctors. The nurses pulled the drape around Gibson's bed close, shutting Gibson and Scully out from each other. She turned around, and went to find the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall and emptied her stomach and sobbed. What was she doing? What was she doing in Arizona? What was she doing to this poor boy? Why hadn't she been able to keep him safe before? She would hate her if she was in Gibson's shoes as well. It was a female nurse that found her. She insisted that she be examined. Scully shook it off.

"I'm pregnant. Not keeping anything down." She said. The nurse smiled and congratulated her and went to find a doctor. The nurse came back as Scully had finished drying her face off. She was staring at the freckles on her nose. She was grateful for those stupid freckles at the moment, they were diverting attention from her puffy eyes. The nurse handed over the script and left.

It was nearing midnight as Diana and Mulder ran through the fog at the power plant, avoiding security on patrol driving about. Inside, they walked past some offices, not looking at them hoping that they were so busy that they would fail to notice the two agents. The two walked the same path that Homer had done earlier that day. Up a set of stairs, past pipes, to the cluster of pipes.

"According to what little we could gather, the victim's body was found near here." Diana said as they neared the cluster of pipes. Mulder reached out feeling the heat coming off the pipes.

"It's hot in here." He stated stupidly.

"Well, we're right above the core reactor." Diana explained. "And these pipes are part of the heat transport cooling system." Mulder turned to examine but he stepped in something that felt as if he'd stepped on slime. He looked down at the heel of his shoe. It looked as if the material on the ground should have been liquid. Instead it was goopy. He bent down to further examine it. He wished he could have shown Scully. He had touched the substance with two fingers, feeling the texture as Diana came over and slunk next to him, grabbing his hand.

"It looks organic." She stated, holding Mulder's hand. Mulder looked to the side, slightly disgusted by the feel of the substance. His eyes followed a trail and Diana's eyes followed along. It was the same substance, making its way through the pipes, pooling in certain locations. The two stood and followed the trail, coming to the pipe that Homer had squeezed himself into earlier during the day. Mulder noticed that the same substance had covered the pipes. He snuck in between the pipes, hoping he could see better. As he leaned in, on the floor in a large pool of the clear sticky substance was Homer's wrench, the pipe next to the pool covered in blood. Mulder reached his hand out and jumped pulling it back.

"What?" Diana asked, jumping as well.

"There's something in there." Mulder stated, attempting to gain himself better footing. Mulder reached his hand and grabbed at what he had felt. He tugged and something came forth. He tossed it on the floor and bent down to see what he had discovered. It looked as if it was Homer's skin. His cell phone went off causing him to jump, yet again.

"Yeah?" He answered.

On the other end was Scully. She had found something. She was pacing in the hospital and had hoped Mulder would make contact first, but as he hadn't, she had to call.

"Mulder. I've found something you're not going to believe."

"Ditto." Mulder responded, almost laughing at the mere fact he was alive. His adrenaline was in high gear.

"I did blood tests on Gibson," Scully started, not letting Mulder get ahead of her. "And there's evidence of the virus in his system."

"The same one?" Mulder asked. "What does that mean Scully?"

"I don't know Mulder. I don't know." Scully was beginning to panic. She had been exposed to the virus while abducted. "But I think we're onto something. Onto something huge."

"I'll call that bet and raise you." Mulder stated at Scully.

"What?" Scully asked.

"Never mind. Just take care of Gibson." With that he hung up on Scully.

Gibson sat lying on his bed, hooked up to oxygen. He felt terrible for the things he had said to Scully. She had been very sweet to him. He had to restrain himself from itching the new bandages that the doctors had placed on his stitches. He also had to remind himself that those were the thoughts he'd heard in Scully. The curtain around his bed began to flutter. He sighed, knowing what was coming. Why couldn't anyone just leave him be. He sat up, seeing one of the male nurses who had escorted him in.

Scully had just gotten off the phone with Mulder, thoroughly annoyed. Take care of Gibson. That was all he'd said to her. He didn't even bother to try and tell her everything was ok. That there was no way the virus could still affect her. As she rounded the corner and into Gibson's room she felt her legs begin to give out on her. Where Gibson should have been he wasn't. His monitors had been silenced, which would normally be screaming that his heart leads had been pulled and thought he had no pulse. Scully looked around, hoping that Gibson was just seriously mad at her. She knew it wasn't true. She stuck her head out of Gibson's room and began to yell.

"There was a little boy in that room and he's gone." She pointed at the doorway of Gibson's room. Doctors stared at her. "Does anyone know what happened to that little boy?" Scully asked the crowd now gathering. "His name is Gibson Praise. He was just in that room." Scully stopped and stared at some of the nurses. "God does anyone know what the hell is going on?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Someone in scrubs approached Scully, attempting to get her to shut up. If anyone knew they'd gone and lost a patient, it would make bad press. "Let's just calm down." He told her.

"That little boy that I brought in is missing." She responded realizing he was the other nurse who had helped them.

"He can't be missing." He stated. "He should still be in his bed."

"He's. Not. There." Scully was losing what little patience she had left. And quickly.

Down the road an ambulance raced by. It was odd though. Its lights weren't flashing. The man driving it was the nurse who had taken Gibson and Gibson lay in the back on the gurney. All Gibson could do was lay there quietly and bide his time.

Inside the plant, Mulder and Diana we're making a dash to get out. The two were weaving in and out of stairs and pipes and had in fact almost made it to the exit they had come in at. Mulder ducked down, Diana following suit. The door had opened. Security was pretty shitty here, Mulder thought to himself, observing who had just walked in. He was appalled to see that it was a man dragging Gibson with him. Gibson was struggling to keep up. The drugs pumping through his system, his fever, the trauma to his body, all having affects. The man dragging Gibson took a different route than the one they had come from. Mulder stood, keeping low, and followed the man with Gibson. Diana followed Mulder, not wanting to be left behind. They realized that the man was taking Gibson to the reactor. The rushed after, up some stairs, a different way, hoping to beat the man with Gibson.

The reactor glowed eerily. Its light was white, pure, and bright, yet with the pipes running to and from it, it gave off some creepy shadows. The pool of cool liquid it sat in looked like a radioactive lily pond. The man dragged Gibson onto the top rung of the reactor, looking down into the pool.

"It's here." Gibson announced. The man pulled out his gun.

"Where?" He asked Gibson. Gibson stared at the pool.

"Somewhere." He said to the man. The man shoved Gibson and dragged him towards the stairs. The two walked down together, the man pushing Gibson the entire time. On the first level, he held his gun in one hand, Gibson in the other, carefully taking in his surroundings. The man was startled by a pounding on the door behind him.

"Open this door you sick son of a bitch!" Mulder's shouts were muffled by the thick layer of glass. The man looked at the lack on the door.

"Fox." Diana called out. "I'm going to go see if there's another way in." Diana took off down the hall with her gun out. Mulder nodded and returned to banging on the door demanding the mustache to open up. Gibson turned to look to his right in the direction of heavy breathing.

"I told you it was here." He said to the man with the gun as he looked over as well. A creature lunged at him from the darkness of a corner. Blood covered the glass window in the door. Mulder began to scream out for Gibson. The alarms in the plant began to sound and Diana ran forth, pointing her gun at Mulder, while other employees rushed out.

A couple days later Mulder and Scully were back in front of the panel. Probation. They were being slapped upside the head this time. They were officially all reassigned. They were banned from the X-Files. Scully waited outside the room, as they finished up with Mulder and Doggett's reprimand. Scully leaned against the wall. She giggled to herself, remembering this was one of the very first times Mulder and her had gotten close. She stared at the scuff marks on her heels. She had shed herself of her own jacket. She felt her clothing become tight on her. Mulder and Doggett came out. Doggett nodded at Scully and went his separate way. Scully touched Mulder's arm. Mulder shook her off.

"I'm going back to Arizona. I've got to hide something." Was all he would say to Scully leaving her standing in the hallway confused and hurt? She never got a chance to tell Mulder she was going to the doctor's in the morning, nor which doctor it was. She heaved a sigh and turned round on her heel.

Mulder touched down late that evening. He went to a location to pick up a small boy. His hair was slowly growing back. Small patches of fuzz appearing. He looked at Mulder through his thick round glasses.

"It's ok Gibson. I'm going to put you somewhere they can never hurt you."