Title: Maturity: Chapter 3
By: Merlin, merlin@hpoint.com
Category: MSR, Everyone Angst
Keywords: S,MSR
Rating: PG-13 for violence

Spoilers: Basically, everything up to and including the Movie, Season 6 never happened.

Summary: Mulder is Growing up and maturing, getting ready to be a player, but a Serial Killer causes some Scully
Angst.

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer. Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Walter Skinner, Maggie Scully, and the other regulars belong to 1013. I am just borrowing them for a short adventure. Johnny Nokamura, and the other Anaheim agents, Doctors, etc. are mine.

Chapter 3, Recovery.

Anaheim California,
Mercy Hospital
Wednesday June 16, 1999, 1:15pm.

Mulder was lying in bed watching a baseball game on the TV when the door opened and the respiratory therapist came in with her blowing tube as Scully called it.
"Good afternoon Mr. Mulder, and how are we feeling today?" she asked.
* I am feeling like shit, how are You feeling * he wanted to ask, but settled for "Better."
"Okay then lets check you out." She had him check his breath strength, volume, and stamina then wrote it on his chart.
"Very good Mr. Mulder, you are improving quickly. I will be back to see you later today."
As the therapist turned to leave, Mulder looked up when the door opened. He was expecting Scully, and he had a big smile ready. He was only partly right as Bill Scully came through the door.
"Hello Bill." He said cautiously.
"Afternoon Mulder." said Bill, offering his hand.
Mulder took the proffered hand, and shook it.
"I would guess that by the smile you had on your face that you were expecting Dana?"
"Yea I was."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but she wanted me to tell you that she was running late. Her and our mothers were going shopping with Tara, so I told her that I would keep you company."
"Okay." Said Mulder tentatively.
"Hey relax, I'm not going to hurt you."
"I didn't think you were Bill, but you did make it known how you feel about me a while back."
"Yea, I know I did. And I am sorry for that. I made the kind of mistake that I tell my men to not make. Never assume something without examining all of the facts. I made a mistake judging you. Mom, Charlie and Dana all told me I was wrong, but I did not listen, all I knew was that my baby sister was dying, and I couldn't find anyone to blame except you. But then I found out that it was you who saved her. Then again last summer, you went to the end of the earth for my sister, didn't you.
Mulder only nodded his head.
"You did know that my mother has the wedding all planned out didn't you?"
Mulder again only shook his head no.
"Well, you better get used to the idea Mulder, because my mom says that she has known it for years, Walt has known about it for a long time, and somebody named Kimberly is taking bets on it."
Mulder only stared at Bill, a shocked look on his face.
"Well, you better make an honest woman out of my sister Mulder."
"I plan on it. Can you get that box out of the drawer over there for me Bill?"
Bill opened the top drawer of the small desk that was in the room, and pulled out a FedEx box and handed it to Mulder.
"Can you open the outside wrapping, it hurts if I pull. Thanks."
Bill opened the package and handed Mulder the inner box.
"I had some friends break into Dana's place to get her ring size from one of her rings that I know fit, then get this out of my safe deposit box and have it resized." Said Mulder opening a small velvet jewelers box. "They FedEx'ed it to me and it came in last night."
He handed the opened jewelry box to Bill.
Bill looked inside at a beautiful diamond solitaire centered between two sapphires that were the color of Dana's eyes. The ring itself was a delicate woven gold band with silver threads intermixed in a complicated pattern.
"That is beautiful Mulder, Dana will love it."
"What will I love?" She asked coming through the open door.
Bill in his haste to hand it back to Mulder flipped it up in the air as he closed the lid. The box made a lazy loop before plopping down on the bed.
Dana zoomed in and picked it up.
"Bill, is this my birthday present?"
"Uhh, no Dana, not really. It really belongs to Mulder."
Mulder shot Bill a dirty look as Maggie and Walter entered the room.
"Are we interrupting something?" asked Walter, sensing the tension in the room.
"No, not really." Replied Dana still holding the closed jewelry box. "Bill was saying something about how much I would love this when I came in the door, and then tried to hide it from me."
"But Dana, it's not mine." Said Bill, getting red faced.
"It's mine Scully, I asked the guys to send it to me here." Said Mulder.
"What is it Mulder" she asked.
Mulder took as deep a breath as he could then looked deeply into her eyes.
"It is the ring I was going to give you when I asked you to be my wife."
"But, but Mulder, we----."
"Yea I know Scully, but the hell with them all, you have been the most important thing in my life for years now. If the FBI wants to split us up, let them, we will be together at home, and they can kiss our 90 percent solve rate goodbye. I need you Scully! I love you even more than life itself, and I can no longer stand being without you."
"Please Scully. Dana, will you marry me?"
"Tears filled the eyes of the petite redhead as she responded.
"Yes Fox, I will." She answered as she leaned over and kissed him gently. "Whenever and wherever you want to."


Anaheim California,
Mercy Hospital
Wednesday June 30, 1999, 11:15am.

Mulder was finally leaving the hospital after a 3-week stay, but he was not going home yet. He would require two more weeks of rest and recuperation before they would let him fly home. He was moving around now but got tired rather quickly, the Doctor expected it to take several months before he would be able to return to work.
Dana stood alongside the bed giving him the look.
"Mulder, if you don't get your butt into this wheelchair, we will never get out of here."
"Okay, okay." And as he turned to sit in the offending chair he planted a quick kiss on her. "But you are so cute when you are demanding."
"Muuuldeeerrrr, what am I going to do with you?"
"Marry me Scully, what else?"
Mulder finished signing the release forms, handed them to the nurse, the turned to the orderly.
"Home James." He said, pointing to the elevators.
Scully followed behind sighing. This hospital stay had been different than the others; Mulder did not drive the Doctors and nurses crazy like he usually did during a stay. He took his medication without argument, did the exercises that they had requested he do, and generally was a good boy.
They helped into the back of the van and closed the doors. Dana sat up front next to Tara.
"Scully, are you sure about this?"
She looked at Tara and smiled, knowing what was going on in his mind.
"Yes Mulder, I'm sure, Bill and Tara have plenty of room, and it is on a secure military base, so it is unlikely that anyone will try to come after you, and I think he wants to grill the future brother in law."
"Ohh." He replied. "I am really grateful Tara, for you to take me in like this. I just hope that we won't be to much of a burden to you."
"You won't be any trouble at all Mulder, with you, Dana, and Mom all here it will be like a holiday."
Dana in the meantime frowned; this was not the Mulder she was used to.
When they arrived at the house, Bill was just opening the door; he put his briefcase down and came over to help. He helped Mulder out of the van, and stood by as he navigated up to the house. Scully stood back and looked at the house with horror, it was a split level home; all the bedrooms would be upstairs.
She turned to Tara.
"Where will he stay, those stairs will be impossible Tara"
"Oh, we talked about it yesterday with the doctor while you were out, Fox said that he would be fine in Bills oversized recliner, or we would have rented a hospital bed. Didn't he tell you?"
"No, guess it slipped his mind." Replied Dana.

Later Mulder was relaxing in the recliner, Bill had gone back to work and Tara had just left for the store. Dana decided that she was going to find out what was going on.
"Okay Mulder." She said in her best 'Getting down to business voice'. "What is going on?"
"What do you mean Scully?" he answered, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.
"You know what I mean Mulder, you have been to calm about this whole thing, normally by now you would have had the entire hospital staff pissed off at you. But instead you have my brother who used to hate you catering to you, his wife is waiting on you hand and foot, my mother is planning a wedding that surprised me." She took a breath and calmed down. "Ever since we got beck from Antarctica you have been different, I just want to know what is going on in your head?" she said quietly.
"Scully, something happened to me in Antarctica, I found my proof." He put up his hand to stop her protest. "I know you didn't see it, but that is not what I am saying. I found my proof. My proof is you. Then when we were safely back, I sat down and had a long hard talk with myself."
"I'll bet that was interesting." Said Scully with a hint of a smile.
"It was, I realized, that I was not only your worst enemy, I was also my own worst enemy. I was charging blindly into battle, waving my 'truth is out there' banner, and we kept getting the shit kicked out of us. I realized that if a surgeon can check out someone's heart through the vein in their leg, we could do things differently. I realized that I had to get my career back on track so that when someone heard my name they would think of the person who solved the so and so case, not the 'chicken little guy' who was screaming about the sky falling. I also realized what you had lost, being associated with me. I know it was all by your choice, but I wanted to restore your status as well. I found out that you were still respected, even though you were with me, but that was because you cared enough to have proof before you spoke. I said it before, and I will say it again, Scully. You have made me what I am today. The FBI would have dumped me long ago if not for the solve rate that you are responsible for."
"No Mulder…"
"Scully, just shut up and let me finish, will you?" He paused until he saw her nod her head. "You are responsible for our solve rate, you made me prove things to you, you wrote reports in a manner that people could believe, you made me write up my observations so that they could be followed. You kept me sane."
Scully was close to tears hearing this and squeezed his hand.
"That same night I had a dream, Albert came to me in it and explained to me that rushing headlong into a boulder will cause pain and damage, but that water flowing and wind blowing would over time reduce the boulder to sand. He said that I needed to grow up to fulfill my destiny, and that I would have to keep you with me to do so. When I woke up, I felt that I knew what I had to do, and I did. But while I was unconscious in the hospital, I dreamed even more, but about you this time. I knew I had to make up for what you had given up for me. A life family, a husband. I knew then that I had to propose to you, that you would accept, and that we would be able to stay as a team. The rest you know. All I can say to you Scully is that I love you more that life itself, and that I could not go on without you. I know that you were angry with me for blocking Fletchly's shots, but I really felt that the vest would protect me. I did think Dana, before I acted."
"Dana kneeled on the floor beside him, tears running down her cheeks. " I love you too Mulder!" She said softly. "But I need to know that you will try to take care of yourself as well, I feel the same way, I can't live without you either." She saw how emotionally spent he was, and had him lay back and rest. She kissed him tenderly and went into the kitchen.

Sitting at the kitchen table, she reflected on what Mulder had told her. He was right, in the last 6 months alone he had stepped back into the bureau mainstream. Enough so that cases were offered to them on a consultant basis, since Kerch would not allow them off of the backgrounds check detail. She knew that Mulder was hoping to get the X-Files back eventually, and he was playing the political game very well.

San Diego Naval Base
The Home of William Scully Jr.
Saturday July 3, 1999, 2:45pm.

Mulder was feeling quite a bit better now, and was moving around pretty good. He was sitting in the back yard with Bill Scully listening to a ball game on the radio.
Matthew was sacked out in his play pen, and Tara and Dana had gone to the airport to pick up Margaret, Teena and AD Skinner, who had to be in Anaheim on Monday for a hearing, were arriving to spend the fourth with them before heading back to Washington DC with Mulder on Wednesday.
"So Mulder, how did you meet my sister."
"As strange as it sounds Bill, she was assigned to spy on me." Bill raised an eyebrow, proving to him that it was a Scully genetic trait.
"Scully is/was and always will be a scientist. Someone figured that she would be able to debunk me, put down my wild theories. But they did not pick up on one part of her personality."
Mulder paused to take a drink of apple juice, his concession to juices that Scully forced on him; he would never admit that he liked it. While he paused he did not hear the family come in behind him.
"They did not take into account Scully's integrity, the fact that she would not send a report in without investigating it thoroughly. They did not count on her loyalty, her tenaciousness in seeking the answers."
"So when did you fall in love with her?" asked Bill, seeing Dana smile.
"Jeez Bill, think you got enough questions? I think it was probably on our first case together, when she came running into my room in her underwear."
There were raised eyebrows all around on that one, and a very blushing Dana Scully.
"She had found two marks on her back, similar to the ones on the victims, and she was concerned. I explained that they were only mosquito bites. It was then I knew that she trusted me not to try to take advantage of the situation.
At the time I never thought of it, she was not really my type. But I was hooked, I fell in love with her mind and soul, then one day I was thinking about how beautiful she was and wondered, 'Where in the hell did that come from, when did Scully become beautiful'?"
The quiet became tense, and Skinner let the door close.
"Hello everyone." Said Maggie.
Scully walked over and kissed Mulder.
"How much did you hear?" he asked.
"Enough." Was all she said, but what he read in her eyes told the rest of the story. "Enough to know that I love you. But, it is time for you to rest before dinner." She helped him up and into the house as everyone else relaxed.


3 Hours Later

Mulder was back out on the chaise lounge waiting for dinner. Walt was sitting at the picnic table talking to Maggie and Teena who were watching Matthew. Bill had just got the barbecue started, and Tara was making a salad.
"Where's Dana?" asked Mulder.
"In with some paperwork that I brought out from Washington…" Said Walter, who suddenly had a stricken look on his face.
"MULDER!!" screamed Scully from inside the house. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!!"
"Mulder suddenly looking panicky, turned toward Walt."
"The expense report from last summer was in there, it was turned down again." Answered Walter, and Mulder realized what he was going to hear about.
Scully suddenly materialized right in front of him, shaking the handful of papers in his face.
"When the hell were you going to tell me about this?"
"About what Dana?" asked Fox, realizing that he had just inserted his foot up to the ankle in his mouth.
"About what it cost you to go to Antarctica to get me! About how you are not going to get reimbursed a dime for what you spent. Where in the hell did you get that much money Mulder?
"How much money are you talking about dear?" asked Mrs. Scully.
"One million four hundred thousand, six hundred fifty seven dollars and 32 cents!" she said, staring at Mulder.
Tara Gasped, Bill Scully spit out his beer, and Margaret said. "Oh My."
"I'm waiting Mulder." Said Scully.
"I sold some stock that my dad left me Scully. It was not big deal, I only put in the reimbursement request because Skinner said that it would give us some leverage to use later, I knew Kersh would never approve it. All I cared about was getting you back, no matter what the cost."
"But Mulder, so much money, what if you would have failed?"
"I would have not come home to worry about it." He answered looking in her eyes.
She saw the truth there, in his gaze. She shivered slightly, and then held him carefully for a moment.
"Where did you get that much money Mulder?" asked Bill.
"Oh, my dad left me some stock, and I cashed in some of it."
Dana's head, which had been resting in his lap, came up at that.
"Some of it?" she asked.
This was getting into something that he did not really want to talk about. He caught his mothers' eyes from across the patio.
"Go ahead Fox, tell them."
"It seems like they pay very well. Dad left an estate of about 18 million dollars. Some of it leftover from his parents. It was to be split up 3 ways, to mom, Samantha and me. I invested a lot of it, and set up trusts for Mom, Sam, and you, in case anything was to happen to me. It is worth about 28 million at last count."
"Good God." Said Skinner, and Maggie Looked pale.
"I didn't want to say anything to anyone, I was afraid that it would change things. Looks like I was right"
"No Fox." Said Maggie. "Nothing has changed, it just takes some getting used to, knowing that someone is a millionaire, and doesn't care about the money."
Teena sat, tears in her eyes. Looking at her son, the son that had raised himself. She was so proud of him, and she wanted to finally become part of his life. Already being in this family circle had helped to heal the rift between them. Over time, she hoped to become part of his life again. It seemed like it was starting to happen.

End Chapter 3



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Maturity - Recovery