Maturity
Chapter 9: Homecoming
Category: MSM, Alternate Universe
Keywords: S,MSM, Alternate Universe
Rating: PG
Spoilers: off and on, everything up to and including the Movie, Season 6 never happened.
Summary: The discovery and subsequent recovery of Melissa Scully brings great joy to the family, but the explosion and injuries to Mulder temper the feeling. The Attack on the Mulders home also causes some issues for the family.

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer. Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Walter Skinner, Maggie Scully, and the other regulars belong to Chris Carter and 1013. I am just borrowing them for a short adventure. The others however are mine.

Maturity

Chapter 9: Homecoming
The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia

Thursday March. 9, 2000, 6:45 p.m.
Mulder and Scully were just getting home from work when Mulders cell phone rang. "Mulder." He answered.
He listened for a few minutes, signaled to Scully that it was important, and waved her over.

"So how accurate was this rancher who made the sighting report Frohike?"

He listened some more.

"Nah, I think I will pass on this one, sounds flaky to me, but thanks anyway. Yea, we will stop by this weekend. Okay, tell the others hi for us. Thanks."

Mulder set the phone down and headed upstairs.

"They think that they have a good lead on Melissa, he is sending the file encrypted to your computer."

"Scully shrugged out of her suit coat and headed up to her office. She tossed the coat on the couch, very unlike her and logged onto the network. The file was waiting for her and she opened it and started scanning it right away. Mulder had gone into the bedroom and now entered her office dressed in jeans.

"Well, is it good?"

"I think it is her Mulder." She said with a catch in her voice.

"What have you got." He said leaning over her shoulder.

She showed him the report from a small town newspaper about a woman found in a wrecked car in a ravine with no identification. A minor follow-up article mentioned that she had not been identified. A description followed. It also mentioned that the car was registered to a local man who had died a few weeks back.

Another newspaper article from about a year later mentioned that the new dance and yoga instructor an the local YMCA was drawing a large crowd of young girls to her classes, and mentioned that she was the unidentified woman from the accident. All the newspapers were from Yakima Washington, a medium sized town east of Seattle. There was also medical reports from the hospital where she was treated, and from the psychologist who saw her.

A newspaper photo from the article about the dance instructor showed a woman standing next to a young girl helping her with her stance. In Mulders mind, there was no doubt about it, it was Melissa Scully.
Mulder turned to look at his wife and saw the tears in her eyes as she stared at the photo.

"Let's go get her Scully, let's bring her home."

Mulder called Skinner and Hawk and got the okay to take a couple days off. He then called the airport and booked a flight to Seattle, and arranged to rent an SUV when they got there.

He had managed to get a 7pm flight out of Dulles, so they decided to pack now and leave from work.

Scully called her mom and asked her to watch the house for them while they were gone, Thunder and Lightning did not warm up to many people, Mrs. Scully, Skinner and the Lone Gunmen were about the only ones who were able to take care of them. Mulder let the LGM know what was going on.

After he loaded the suitcases in the Jimmy they ate, watched a little TV, and then went to bed. Morning would be coming all to soon and Mulder knew that Scully would be really keyed up.

The Scully/Stevens Home
Bowie, Maryland
Friday March. 10, 2000, 6:45 a.m.

Angel rolled over in bed and looked up at Charlie. He leaned down and kissed her.

"Sorry to rush off so soon Angel, but I have to be at the staff meeting at 0900 hours, and have my report ready to go. Then we go out on a deployment, I will be gone for about 3 days. I am really sorry for leaving you with this mess honey, but there is nothing I can do about it."

"Thass okay." she replied sleepily. "Just hurry home."

"I will, there is fresh coffee in the kitchen. I will see you later."

He kissed her again, and left.

Angel stayed in bed for a few more minutes enjoying just relaxing. She started to stretch, and winced when the soreness in her muscles from moving made itself known.

When she had first found out that Charlie was being reassigned to Annapolis her heart dropped. She had never felt about anyone the way that she had about him, in just a few months he had become the center of her world. They talked about it for a couple of hours and Charlie finally just came out with it.

"Dammit. Angel, why don't we just get married and you come with me?"

Angel stopped what she was saying, her mouth open and had the look of an animal caught in the headlights of a car on her face.
Charlie had a stunned look on his face as well, almost as if he could not believe what he had said.

She sat and stared at Charlie for a few minutes, tears in her eyes. Then finally she spoke.

"I may marry you in the future Charlie, if you still want me to, but for right now, I will just go with you if are willing to have me."

So they started planning at that point, Charlie managed to get ten days off to move, and got several of his friends to help.
Angel got her friends to help as well, and they got her packed in just two days, and the two set off driving to the east coast.
Angels mother was not really happy about her living with someone 'out of wedlock', but had noticed the change in her since she got involved with Charlie and kept quiet. Angel knew her mom and dad did not approve of the arrangement, but they did understand.

She did enjoy the week-long drive across the country with Charlie, and they learned a lot more about each other.
When they got to the place that Charlie had arranged to rent she was surprised, it was a beautiful two story three bedroom townhouse in a little community called Bowie, not far from either Annapolis where Charlie would be stationed, or from Washington D.C. where Angels employers were.

She had just finished getting dressed when her cell phone chimed.

"Hello, this is Angel."

"Oh hi mom. Mom. Mom what's wrong. Oh God no. Okay mom I will be there as soon as I can catch a plane. Bye."
She hit the number one on the speed dial and waited for Charlie to answer.

"Charlie, I am really sorry to bother you right now, but my mom just called, my dad had a heart attack last night and is in the hospital. I have to go to them. Yes I have enough money. Okay I will. Talk to you later. I love you too. Bye."
Her next call was to the airline where she got a seat on a flight in three hours. Hurriedly she packed a suitcase and called a cab.

Dulles International Airport
Washington D.C.
Friday March. 10, 2000, 6:45 p.m.

Mulder and Scully were seated in the first class cabin of the jumbo jet waiting for it to takeoff. Mulder had splurged and requested the first class seats this time, he knew that the seats would be more comfortable for the late night trip across country.

As the plane rolled down the runway Scully gripped his hand hard, she always did on takeoffs. Once they were airborne she relaxed some and they talked while waiting for the meal.

After eating both reclined their seats and tried to drift off to sleep.

Mulder watched her as she slept, they would be arriving at 9:45 although they were in the air for almost 6 hours. He only hoped it really was Melissa, and that she would remember who she was.

The next thing he knew was when Scully was shaking him awake.

"Come on Mulder, wake up, you need to put your seatbelt on. We are landing in just a few minutes."

The landing at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport was uneventful, and they managed to retrieve their luggage without problem.
The SUV that Mulder had reserved was even ready on time. The only problem that they did have was not being tired, so they decided to head over the mountains to Yakima tonight.

They made the hundred and fifty mile drive in about three hours, and got a room at the Yakima Holiday Inn. They turned in, planning on visiting Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital first thing in the morning.

Holiday Inn
Yakima Washington

Saturday March. 11, 2000, 9:45 a.m.

After breakfast at the Denny's next to the Holiday Inn, they drove over to the Hospital.

They presented their credentials to the Hospital administrator who was more than happy to see them.

He called in the psychologist who was working with the unknown young woman to help her recover her memories. And went over her case.

They talked about how she had been found unconscious in a found in a wrecked car in a ravine with no identification. And about how she had remained in a coma for over a month.

Scully discussed with the doctors the methods of treatment that she had undergone, and the results. After an hour of talking the psychologist suggested that they visit her at the YMCA where she was most likely teaching a dance class.
They drove, the psychologist, Dr. Adams giving directions. It was only a short trip, no more that five miles.

The trio entered the building and walked toward the gym, as they neared the windows looking over the gym floor, Dr. Adams made a suggestion.

"It might be better if Agent Scully approached her alone, so to not make her feel she is being crowded."

Scully looked at Mulder and saw the understanding and agreement in them. She opened the door, then crossed the gym floor toward the woman she suspected was her sister. The other woman was walking a little girl through a complicated dance move and didn't hear her until she was close.

"Can I help you?" she asked, turning toward Scully.

She turned to stare directly in Dana's face, she looked as if seeing someone she should recognize but could not remember. That look turned into puzzlement. Then in a instant that changed into startled recognition.

The two sisters hugging fiercely and slid down to the floor, startling dance students and both Mulder and Dr. Adams moved forward slowly.

"Dana. Oh my God! Dana! I remember, I remember!" cried Melissa.

They got up from the floor and Melissa instructed her students to take a break, and then do their floor exercises.

They walked over to the bleachers and sat down, still holding each other.

"Oh god Missy, I have missed you so much."

"What happened Dana?" asked a tearful Melissa. "What happened to me! I remembered going into your apartment and then nothing until some time later. But I was here in the hospital, and I couldn't remember who I was. How I got here. How could this happen."

Scully sat holding her sisters' hands, trying to come up with some sort of answer for her.

"Oh my God, Dana you're married!" cried Melissa. Looking at Dana's rings. "Was it Mulder?"

"Yes it was Missy, we got married about four months ago, on Halloween."
Melissa looked down at her hands.

"I missed it, I missed my sisters wedding."

Scully looked into her sisters eyes and started sobbing, feeling extreme guilt.

Mulder recognized what was happening and walked up to her putting his hand on her shoulder for support.

"Oh Missy, you have been gone for almost five years. And I am so sorry, we never searched for you.

We thought you were dead. We found a woman, your identical duplicate, shot in the head in my apartment. She lived for almost a week and then died. I thought it was you Missy, I never looked for you."

With that Scully burst into tears and cried on Melissa's shoulder. Releasing all of the emotions of finding a sister who was gone from her life, and with a start Mulder wondered if he would be the same way if they found Samantha. Mulder and Dr. Adams explained what was going on to the YMCA staff, and let Scully and Melissa have some privacy.

"They did this to you because of me Missy, because of my being part of Mulders crusade, my crusade. I am so sorry, you don't know how much. I wish…" and Scullys voice trailed off.

Melissa didn't say anything, she just looked at her sister sadly, realizing how much guilt she carried.

"Dana, stop blaming yourself, I don't. It was,…fated to happen. You found me, and that is what is important. How is everyone at home?"

"Mom is fine, so are Bill and Charlie. Charlie got divorced 3 years ago, he caught his wife in bed with another man. But he just started seeing some one a few months ago, and they are moving in together, Charlie was just reassigned back to Annapolis. Mom is seeing someone as well, Admiral Gunderson. There have been a few hectic times but things have worked out pretty well overall."

"Dana, I have to see mom and the others, when can we go?"

"Well, I would like your doctor to look you over, and get a release, then we can fly back together. You can stay with us until things get settled."

"Where are you living now?"

"Mulders house in McLean, it's beautiful, 6 bedrooms, hot tub, you'll love it."

Mulder and the Doctor walked over to the two women when Scully waved to them.

Mulder was just getting ready to ask Scully something when Melissa stood up and wrapped her arms around him.

"Mulder, I knew you would finally get around to admitting it. Remember I told you that you loved her and that it was just a matter of time."

"Yea you did Melissa, but it took a while for me to admit it, even longer to admit it to her."

"But you finally did."

"Yes, I did."

Fort Benton Hospital
Fort Benton Montana
Saturday March. 11, 2000, 9:30 a.m.

Carolyn Stevens looked down at her adopted daughter with affection. She was curled up as much as she could in the easy chair in the corner of the hospital room where her adopted father lay recovering from a quadruple bypass.
She had told Angel that it was not all that serious, that a bypass was not a big deal anymore, but she would hear none of it and decided to stay all night.

She sat a cup of coffee down on the table by her daughter, then sat herself. It was twenty two years ago when she and Frank were asked to be foster parents to a scared amnesiac 9 year old. They adopted her two years later. Angel had never regained her memory, and no relatives had ever been discovered.

She had grown up with five brothers and three sisters in the big ranch house, and had worked on the ranch like the rest of the family. The horses raised by the Steven's were some of the most sought after saddle horses in the country, and the entire family was proud of that reputation.

Angel attended school with her brothers and sisters, and was close to them, but had also always been apart from them. She had gone to college at the University of Montana at Bozeman, getting high marks, and yet Carolyn knew she was not happy. She worked in the computing department of an engineering firm for a short time, keeping their computer system up and running, then one day she came home mad, packed her things up and left.

It was four months before they heard from her. She had got an apartment in San Diego and was working at a store of some kind.
Frank had sent Angels older sister Lisa to bring her home. Lisa returned a week later, alone. She told her parents that Angel had become what was known as a Goth, wearing only black makeup and clothing, Lisa had said that Angel was extremely depressed, and just wanted to be alone. She had promised to stay in touch, and to not do "anything drastic."

They had visited her as often as they could, and found it hard to identify the pale young woman with the black makeup as their daughter. Although they enjoyed being with her, her depression was oppressing. She and Frank had wondered if they had made a mistake by not getting Angel counseling when she started having the nightmares and calling for someone or something named Fox.

Angel had started changing last fall. When she and Frank had visited her right after Thanksgiving they had found her wearing hardly any makeup, jeans, and a bright blue US Navy T-shirt. She also fairly bubbled. Angel had never bubbled. That was when
Carolyn knew that Angel had met someone, someone who was extremely special to her. Someone she was in love with. They spent a wonderful weekend with her and had met Charlie, the tall handsome, husky sailor who had stolen her daughters heart.

Her husband had warmed up to Charlie right away, and she had found herself liking him rather quickly. He had something that most young men did not, respect for others, he called her ma'am, and Frank sir. And she could tell that he was deeply in love with Angel. That weekend had been wonderful, and had healed almost the entire rift between them.

Angel stirred and opened her eyes.

"Morning sleepy head." Said Carolyn.

"Mornin mom." Replied Angel stretching.

Angel went and used the restroom, then came back and sipped at her coffee.

"Mom." She started. "Tell me about my real parents."

This was the conversation that Carolyn had been expecting for years, and had dreaded.

"I really don't know what to tell you Angel. The children's services people in Bozeman, who had asked if we could take you in as a foster child, contacted us. We were told that your parents were killed in a car accident a few months before they contacted us, and that you had spent quite time in the hospital recovering from a coma. They told us that they had been unable to locate any relatives of your parents."

"A year later they informed us that there were no relatives anywhere, and we asked if we could adopt you, you had become such a part of the family by then."

"They didn't tell you any more about my parents?"

"No sweetie they didn't. All we were told was that they were from the East Coast and were traveling west in a car towing a U-Haul trailer when the accident occurred."

"Well I guess I could check with them to see if I can get any information."

"If you need to honey, but unless there is a medical history reason they will usually not give you any information."

"Yea, I know mom. It is nothing against either you or dad, but I have always wondered about my real parents, and why I cannot remember anything about them. I have dreams about a life that I know nothing about, about someone who I feel is important to me, and I cannot remember anything at all."

Carolyn had nothing that she could say to help Angel through this, so she did the next best thing and hugged her close.

She was able to talk to her adopted father for a little while, and she reacquainted herself with her brothers and sisters.

Holiday Inn
Yakima Washington
Saturday March. 11, 2000, 7:45 p.m.

Mulder sat at the bar watching Scully and Melissa in the mirror behind the bar. He was giving them some space and time to catch up. Now all he had to do was keep them safe.

Earlier they had cleaned out her room at the Y, and packed all she owned into two large suitcases and a steamer trunk. She had found time to say goodbye to her dance class with sadness and a pep talk to them.

The bartender asked him if he needed another glass of ice tea. He agreed. When the glass was set in front of him the bartender spoke to him.

"Notice that you have been watching those two. Think you would have a change with one of them?"
Mulder smiled to himself. "Yea. Yea I do."

"I don't know, that one on the left, she seems to be closed off from men. I think that they're probably lesbians."

"Think so?" Mulder asked with a smirk."

"Yep, when they first came in they had two or three guys stop at the table, they didn't give any of them the time of day."

"Bet you I can get both of them to leave with me."

"Yea, right."

Mulder finished his tea, then tossed a couple of bills on the bar.

"Watch me." He challenged.

He went over to the table and leaned on it.

"Hey babe, the bartender thinks that you two are a 'couple'. I bet him I could get both of you to leave with me. It's time to go anyway, so how bout we make his day." Grinned Mulder.

Scully flashed a thousand-watt smile at him, as did Melissa. Both women stood up and each took an arm. Mulder grinned at the stunned, gawking bartender as they left together.

As they crossed the parking lot to their rooms Mulder hung back as they went into the room. He pulled out his cell phone and hit one of the speed dial buttons and waited.

"Hello sir, just wanted to check in." he said, motioning for the women to go on without him.

"Yes we did find her. Yes, Scully thinks that she's real, she did a blood test at the hospital here, and it fits. She took samples for a DNA test, and shipped them to the lab at Quantico."

"We are going to be leaving here in the morning. Scully wants to take the next week off, to spend with her family."

"Yea, I know. Yes sir. We will sir. Okay, I will be back Monday for the conference, figure on Scully being gone all week though. Okay, thank you sir. Bye."

Mulder stood for a few minutes watching the outline of the mountains through the clear night sky. He was so relieved that they had found Melissa, at least one of Scullys losses had been redeemed. He could not make up the time they had lost together, but she was back. Now he had to get some protection for her, maybe that private security firm that Skinner had mentioned.

He entered the large double room to find Scully and Melissa sitting and talking. He grabbed a clean T-shirt and some sweats and went in to get a shower.

Melissa watched her baby sister follow Mulder with her eyes.

"You two are so in love it is almost sickening. So what did it take to get you together."
Scullys face darkened for a minute as she remembered the shooting.

"We were on a case in Anaheim, and after the suspect was captured he broke loose and tried to kill me. Mulder was between the gunman and me and took the bullets meant for me. He stood in the path of those bullets wearing a bulletproof vest, thinking he was safe. The gun however was loaded with cop killer bullets, and he was shot three times in the back of the chest. He thought he was going to die, and said that he couldn't until he told me he loved me. Well, he survived and proposed to me when he got out of intensive care."

Scullys eyes filled with tears as she related the story, and Melissa was sorry for asking, but it was something she had to know.
So much had happened while she was gone, and she was starving for news.

Mulder came out of the shower and sat near the two women.

"Scully, I think we need to consider what Krycek suggested last Christmas."

"You mean about the bodyguards?"

"Yea, I think when we get back I will give the outfit that Skinner suggested a call. We should cover our mothers, Melissa, Bill and Tara, The Gunmen, but I am not sure who else."

"Krycek suggested Sabrina as well. Mulder, what is this going to cost? Can we afford it?"

"Well babe, I have been doing a lot of day trading lately and have done very well. I bought a stock in January for $22 a share, it was $385 a share last week and did a 4 for 1 split, then climbed to over $200 a share, I sold it Wednesday for $224. Right now we have a little over fifty million scattered here and there. So, yea I guess we can afford it." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Jeez Mulder, and I worry about using premium gas in the Porsche." She laughed as she turned to Melissa.

"Mulder bought me a 81 Porsche Turbo Carerra for Christmas, you remember my dream car. Well it seems he took a inheritance and is turning it into an empire."

"Not really, anyway I am backing out of the market now, I don't want to have our money tied up now. Want to keep it handy and available."

The three sat and talked for a couple hours about what Melissa had missed over the five years she had been 'gone' before turning in.

Holiday Inn
Yakima Washington
Sunday March. 12, 2000, 8:15 a.m.

The three had just left the Denny's next to the Holiday Inn. The rented SUV was packed up and they were ready to head home.
Dana and Melissa were arguing about how to best tell their mother about Melissa's return to the living.

Dana wanted to warn her first, Melissa wanted to just walk in. Finally they agreed to allow Dana to at least talk to her first.
They arrived at the airport a little before noon, their flight home was set for 2:12 p.m. so they had a leisurely lunch, and did some shopping. Dana was paying for some Salmon that she was having shipped to her mothers house, and mused at how easily it came to her to pay for everything with one of her credit cards. They were always paid for in full when the bills came due, so she hardly ever carried any cash with her.

Melissa too marveled at how much her sister had changed. Dana had grown more beautiful as she matured, and now sported a more confident, secure attitude compared to the insecure, cautious person she was before. "Mulders influence" she decided. Dana had always tried to be in the background of things in school, and she suspected in real life, so something had changed her. For the better though, much better.

They boarded the plane without trouble, and enjoyed pleasant conversation on the flight to Dulles International. Mulder napped some, but the two sisters talked most of the flight about family, friends and what had happened during her absence.

They landed and retrieved the luggage without problem. During the drive home, Scully was quiet. She was trying to come up with a way to explain to her mother about Melissa.

Fort Benton Municipal Airport
Fort Benton Montana
Sunday March. 12, 2000, 2:30 p.m.

Carolyn Stevens and the rest of the family had shown up to see Angel off. She did not want to leave so soon, but she was starting a new job, and the rest of the family assured that they would take care of their father.

Everyone was glad to see that she had returned to her 'old self', and all her sisters were dying for details of Charlie. Angel had told them the truth, explaining about the attempted rape and Charlie's role in her rescue. She had promised to try to bring him out to meet her family later in the year.

But finally had to board the plane for her flight to Helena.

There was a layover in Helena, and her flight to DC would not get her home until just before noon.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Sunday March. 12, 2000, 10:45 p.m.

Mulder pulled up to the gate and punched the security code in. The gate opened and he drove slowly up the driveway, opening the garage door with the remote control. He pulled in the garage and shut the truck off. As the garage door closed Scully got out, asking Mulder and Melissa to wait for her to come back.

She opened up the door to the house and went through it.

"Fox, Dana is that you?" called her mother "It has to be, the dogs aren't making any noise."

"Yes mom, I'm in the kitchen." Called Scully who was busy greeting the two dogs.

Maggie in a bathrobe came in the kitchen.

"Where is Fox?" she asked.

"He's unloading the truck, will be in a sec. Mom, sit down, there is something I have to explain."

"What is it Dana? Is something wrong with Fox?"

"No, mom, nothing is wrong, this is something… else. It's not easy to explain. But I'll try. You know I have told you that there are a bunch of people who are out to control the country?"

"Yes. What is it Dana? Just get to the point." Maggie was beginning to get nervous.

"Okay mom, here it is. When Melissa was shot in the head, it wasn't really her, it was a double who was made to look exactly like her. Melissa was somehow given amnesia and hidden in a small town on the west coast." Dana paused noticing the excited look on her mothers face. "Mom. We found her. We brought her home!" And Dana walked over to the door to the garage and opened it, Mulders queue to bring Melissa in.

Mother and daughter rushed together, holding each other and crying tears of joy. Mulder hugged his wife, then urged her to join in. He returned to the garage and carried the bags in leaving the mother and daughters time to talk.

He got their stuff unpacked and put away and checked the clock. 11:15 p.m., time to think about going to bed, he had a conference to attend tomorrow.

He turned on the shower, stripped, and stepped in. The hot water and the familiarity of being home felt great, and he enjoyed the feeling. He was just finishing washing his hair when the door to the shower stall opened.

He felt soft hands on his back and smiled to himself.

"Hey babe, shouldn't you be with your mom and Melissa." He asked.

"No Mulder, she is here mainly because you believed. I had a hard time believing that a clone was killed in her place. You believed enough so that we looked for her, and found her. I wanted to thank you, and show you how much I love you." She pushed him against the shower wall and started kissing him.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 6:45 a.m.

Mulder went downstairs after showering and dressing and was greeted to the smell of fresh coffee and muffins.

Maggie was already sitting in the kitchen looking tired, but happier than he had seen her in a while.

"Morning Fox." She said as he poured himself some coffee.

"Morning mom." He replied. "How did you sleep?"

"Wonderful Fox, we talked way too late, but I slept good."

"You didn't have to get up this morning so early you know."

"I know Fox, but I wanted to make sure you had something to eat before you left, and to thank you."

"There is no need to thank me, it was my fault this happe…."

"Hush Fox. This is not your fault, Dana has been explaining to me what is going on, and you are right, they have to be stopped. And to answer you, yes, I do believe in the existence of aliens, I always have. Don't know why but just do. Anyway, Thank you for returning my daughter to me." And she stood up and kissed him.

"Your welcome mom." He answered, slightly choked up. "But please do me a favor, stay here for awhile though. We are close to exposing these people, and I want all of you safe. This week I will be getting bodyguards for all of you. Even Bill."
Maggie looked stunned.

"I realized that this is a shock to you mom, but you must realized that things are going to get really tense here. I don't want anyone to get hurt, and they might try to come after our families to try and stop us."
Maggie thought for a moment.

"Okay Fox, if you think that is best, you do what you have to do." She said determinedly.

"Glad to hear it." Answered Mulder relieved. "Dana is taking this week off, so she can help you with what ever you need."
With that he stood up and kissed her on the cheek then left to get his jacket on. Maggie put several muffin in a bag and took them to the door and handed them to him. As he left she mused "He is such a wonderful man, but he has such lousy taste in ties."

An Office in the Department of Defense.

"Melissa Scully is gone."

"Gone where?"

"Mulder and Scully found her, she regained her memory, and left with them yesterday."

"Have you located her yet."

"No, we just started looking, I would guess she is at their place."

"Make sure, and have a recovery team ready."
Hotel Inter-Continental
Washington DC
Monday March. 13, 2000, 11:37 a.m.

Special Agent Paul Jenkins from the Houston office had just finished giving his intelligence briefing to the group, and everyone was taking a break.

Mulder was standing by the window of the conference room listening to Hawk and Skinner arguing about some agent assignments. He glanced out the window and saw a driver jump out of a produce truck and start running, the passenger also did the same.
He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he recognized the passenger. He was know to be tied in with several of the more militant of the militia groups from the south.

He grabbed both Skinner and Hawk.

"Look, I just saw two men jump out of a produce truck in the alley and take off running. One of them was Hank Jefferson. We need to get out of here. Now! Head to the opposite side of the building and take the stairs. Someone call the front desk and let them know what's going on."

The three started getting the agents out of the conference room, and sent others to check the rest of the floor.

Hawk went to the lobby to get started clearing the rest of the hotel, and try to get the surrounding area cleared. Skinner stood at the stairwell door and herded people down the stairs. Mulder had just left the conference room and was putting his phone away as he headed to the stairs.

"Hurry up Mulder, we don't know how much time we have." Urged Skinner.

"On my way." He called.
He glanced behind him one more time before he went down the stairs, and was just in time to see two waitresses exit the service elevator.

"Shit." He said.

He started toward them pulling out his ID and holding it in front of him.

"Excuse me, this is an emergency. I am with the FBI, and we are evacuating this building. You need to go down the stairs right now!"

He steered them toward the stairwell and followed closely.

They were only a little way away from the stairwell when the shorter girl stumbled and fell. Mulder helped her to her feet as the first girl started down the stairs. Twenty five feet to go, and Skinner was holding the doorway open when it happened.

It started with a rumble and quickly turned to a crashing roar. Mulder felt a impact on his lower back and was knocked to the floor. Skinner who was holding the door open was thrown back against the back wall by the door slamming closed.
The explosion of the produce truck was almost equal that of the one at the Murrah building in Oklahoma City. The truck was parked in the alley behind the convention center and restaurants and devastated the back half of the section of building. All six floors were laid open and partially collapsed.

The office building on the other side of the alley being older took much worse damage. Most of the building was destroyed and several hundred people killed.

Hundreds more were trapped in the rubble.

When Skinner regained consciousness he tried to open the door to find that it would not budge. He stumbled down the stairs slowly finding stairs sprung and some rubble lay in the way. When he got to the main floor and out into the lobby his steps were steadier and he was fully alert. Police and fire crews were just beginning to respond to the scene, telling Skinner that he had obviously been unconscious for a time.

Hawk entered the lobby and pulled Skinner outside.

"Where's Mulder?"

Skinner shook his head and said. "I don't know. The blast caught him before he could get in the stairwell. I couldn't open the door there. I don't know if he is dead or trapped."

"Shit. All of us got out but Mulder then, Tompkins got caught in some glass and got cut up some, but everyone else is fine. I think we got most of the Hotel staff out, but the office building on the other side of the alley was hit hard." He shook his head sadly. "What am I going to tell Dana?" he asked.

"I'll call her Hawk. I was the last to see him, and somehow I feel he is alive up there. Lets see what we can help with."

They identified themselves to the emergency crews setting up the command post and informed them of what they knew. They tried to give a good description of where Mulder and the missing room service waitress were located.

Hotel Inter-Continental
Washington DC
Monday March. 13, 2000, 1:22 p.m.

Preliminary search crews had not been able to locate Mulder or the missing young woman. Access to the last known area where they were seen was blocked completely. They were waiting for some specially trained people and equipment before trying anymore.

Walt Skinner stepped away from the noise and pulled out his cell phone and hit the autodial.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 1:26 p.m.

"Hello. Oh hi Walter." Said Scully.

"Hello Dana, have you been watching the news?"

"No I haven't. What's up. Is something wrong?" she asked sensing trouble.

"Dana, I hate to tell you this but.."

"It's Mulder isn't it? What happened?" She interrupted.

"Dana, there was a bomb, just like in Oklahoma City, Mulder saw it being set, and got the hotel cleared, but as we were leaving there were two waitresses who left the service elevator. Mulder went to get them and was almost safe when the bomb went off."
Scully ran into the living room and turned on the TV to views of the bombing. She gasped when she saw the devastation.

"How bad was he hurt Walter?"

"Dana….He didn't get out, he is still trapped inside somewhere. I am so sorry, he was just a few feet from me, but I couldn't get back through the door to find him."

"Walter, I know you, if you could have done something, you would have. Don't worry about it. I am on my way in be there as soon as possible."

She stood looking at the views of the damage on the TV when she felt a touch on her shoulder.

"Dana? What's wrong?"

"Oh mom, Mulder is trapped in there somewhere." She said, pointing to the TV. " I have to go to him."

"Yes. Go. We will be alright, call when you know something. We will pray from him.

Melissa hugged her sister, feeling the sadness and fear in her.

"Dana, call the police for a ride, don't try to drive."

"Good idea Melissa." She said. And picked up the phone. She called the highway patrol who was sending a car for her. It was there in minutes.

Maggie watched as her daughter stopped pacing, unlocked her desk and took out the handgun in its holster and put it in the waistband at her back. She took a could of extra magazines and dropped them into her coat pocket. It was really so…unnatural watching her little girl with a gun. She threw on a jacket and rushed out the door to the patrol car without saying goodbye.
She knew where her daughters thoughts were, and understood.

The Scully/Stevens Home
Bowie, Maryland
Monday March. 13, 2000, 1:45 p.m.

The cab pulled up in the driveway of the townhouse and let Angel out. She paid him and carried her bag to the door, she found the door unlocked and was instantly alert. She was just about ready to go to the neighbors when the door opened and there stood Charlie. Angels eyes got wide when she saw that his arm was in a sling.

"Charlie. What happened?

He grabbed her around the waist with his good arm and kissed her before speaking.

"Don't worry Angel, it' not bad."

"What happened Charlie?"

"I can't tell you all of the details, but it was just an incident on the deployment."

"What kind of incident? And what happened to your shoulder or is it the arm?"

"Angel, I can't tell you. It is related to the mission and is secret. As far as what happened, I was shot in the shoulder, it is very minor and will be fine. Now come in, something has happened to Dana's husband."

He carried her bag in and set it in the bedroom. He took her into the living room and pointed to the TV.

"There was a bomb, similar to the one in Oklahoma City that went off in Downtown DC. Mulder was in the hotel when it went off. Mom just called and told me about it."

Hotel Inter-Continental
Washington DC
Monday March. 13, 2000, 2:08 p.m.

As he pulled himself out of the darkness, he was aware of two things. A heavy pressure on his back holding him to the floor, and the sound of a woman crying. He coughed slightly then heard the woman talking to him.

"Mister, are you okay?"

"Don't know yet."

Mulders mind raced, trying to remember where he was, and what was happening. He remembered! He was heading for the stairwell when the young woman tripped and he helped her up, when they were almost there the bomb went off and something hit his back.
He tried to move his legs, but he could feel nothing below his chest. Panic started to set in, but he forced that to the back of his mind and spoke to the girl.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so, just some scratches and bruises from falling stuff."

"Can you see what is on me?"

"Yes, it looks like the whole wall or something, I can only see your head and shoulders."

"Does it look like things are stable?"

"I don't know, things keep falling, but not big stuff."

"Are you trapped?"

"No, but I tried to see if there was anyway out, but everything is blocked."

"I can see some light, where is it coming from?"

"One of those red emergency light things on the wall, only one bulb is broken, but the other one is on."

"Okay, what is your name?"

"Jaime, Jaime Fargo."

"Okay Jaime, you can call me Mulder, I am with the FBI. I am sure there are search teams looking for us, so we will just have to hang on till they get to us. Are you bleeding anywhere?"

"No, just some scrapes. Are you okay Mulder?"

"I don't know Jaime. I can't feel my legs, so I don't even know if they are there. Can you look at my watch to see what time it is?"

He heard her crawl over to him and pull back the sleeve of his jacket.

"It says two fifteen." She paused to brush his hair back out of his face. "Are you okay Mulder"

"I guess, for someone who can't move, and can't feel their legs." He joked, coughing slightly. "Well, they should be searching for survivors, so it is just a matter of time now Jaime."

Outside at the Command Post.

Walter Skinner stood at the edge of the main group, listening for information of anyone found inside the wreckage.
Not much searching was being done in the hotel part due to the lack of probable victims. His frustration was evident to those around him.

He was heading to the FBI command post when a Highway Patrol car pulled up, and a small redhead got out of it.

"Walter, have you heard anything?" she asked.

"Nothing yet Scully, they are not looking as hard in the hotel, they suspect that Mulder and the one waitress are the only missing victims."

"Have you tried calling him?"

"No, I haven't. Never even thought about it."

Scully whipped out her cell phone and hit the AutoDial number 1.

"It's ringing." She said.

After a minute or so, the message came back that the phone was not answering.

Inside the wrecked Hotel.

Mulder would have jumped when his cell phone rang if he could have moved. He tried to moved his arm to reach it, but was not even able to get close.

"Jaime, can you try to reach my phone?"

"I can try. Where is it?"

"My right outside jacket pocket."

Jaime crawled down under the concrete slab that was lying on Mulders back. Managing to push things out of the way she pulled it out, but not before it stopped ringing.

"Okay, I got it!"

"Okay, go ahead and hit memory one to call out, you should get my wife Scully, she is probably here unless I am totally off the mark. Tell her what the deal is here then I will try to talk to her."

The young woman hit the keys and dialed out.

"Scully"

"Hello, this is Jaime Fargo, I am calling for Mulder, is this his wife?"

"Yes it is. Where are you? Is he alright?"

"We are trapped somewhere in the hotel, we were on the fifth floor, near the stairwell at the front. Mulder is trapped under a cement slab, and can hardly move. He also cannot feel his legs."

There was a choked off sob at the other end of the phone, and then.

"Is he able to talk to me?"

"Yea," let me get the phone down to him."

As she waited, several FBI agents crowded around Scully as she waited for news from her husband.

She knelt by Mulder, and got the phone near his head where he could hold it.

"Hey Scully."

"Mulder. How are you?"

"Don't know Scully, got this big assed chunk of concrete on my back. Can't feel my legs, and can move very little at all."

"Oh Mulder……are you bleeding anywhere?"

"Not that I can see, can't move very much though."

"Okay Mulder, give the phone to the girl in a minute, I want to give her some instructions, then go pass the information to the rescue crew. Remember this though! I Love you very much, so no matter what don't forget that! Now give the phone to the girl."

"Love you too babe." He wheezed. Then handed the phone to Jaime.

"Yes." She answered.

"It's Jaime right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Jaime can you describe how he is trapped. And how he is lying."

"Well he is lying on his stomach, face turned to his left. He has a little movement of his right arm and hand, and more on his left. The slab of cement is on his back, the edge just below his neck, I can't see anything under the cement chunk, but when I went after the phone I felt a bunch of stuff under it."

"Okay Jaime. I am going to hang up now. Keep the phone with you, and call if something happens. I don't want to wear the battery out, but I will call you back in a little bit. Okay?"

"Okay." She answered in a small voice.

"Bye."

Jaime closed the connection and sat near Mulder.

"She's nice Mulder."

"She's everything." He answered.

Jaime sat back and hoped that someday she would find someone who loved her that much.

Outside at the Command Post.

Scully and Skinner had cornered one of the commanders of the rescue crews.

"I just got in touch with my husband. He and a girl named Jaime are alive but trapped. He has a large slab of concrete laying on his back. They are not bleeding, or at least he does not think he is. However he cannot feel his legs, nor can he move more than his head and arms."

"Where are they?" he asked.

"Near the door to the stairwell on the fifth floor, they said everything seems stable at this time."

The fire commander started issuing orders and looked over the blueprints to see the best way to approach the rescue.

Skinner pulled Scully out of the command post and took her back to the FBI communications truck. He handed her his cell phone.

"Scully, you need to tell your mom and Mrs. Mulder the news. I left Simkins over at the command post with instructions to call us with any news."

Scully took the phone and thanked Skinner.

"Sir. Sir, they caught them!" cried out Special Agent Les McCullough as he ran up to the command truck. "Mulders description was right on, they were caught just as they were heading out of town. Highway patrol spotted the driver, recognized him from the bulletin we sent out."

"Any trouble?"

"They had to chase them down, and the suspects lost control and crashed, both of them were stunned, so I don't think they were able to put up much of a fight."

"Where are they now?"

"In transit back here. They were put under close watch for the trip."

Scully talked to both her mom and Mrs. Mulder as she watched the entrance to the hotel. Several minutes had gone by and no one had entered the hotel. The crew she had seen getting ready was nowhere to be seen.
She headed back toward the command post. Once there she found the battalion commander addressing a group of the press.

"At this point we are not recovering the dead, we are in full rescue mode only. There are many people who are trapped in the office building and we are searching for them with all possible haste. Addition rescue crews have been called from Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia. We have also requested help from the military. I will be keeping you up to date on what is going on. Thank you."

With that Battalion Commander Max Travis stepped away from the reporters. Max was the poster boy for the DC Fire Department, Tall Blond, rugged looking. And with 20 years service he was the perfect choice to be spokesman. He spoke with authority, and no one ever challenged him.

That is until a petite red haired woman strode up to him and asked him 'Where the hell is the rescue crew that was going after my husband'. He stood looking down at her and frowned, two of the reporters were moving closer to them.

"Ma'am, right now all of our attention needs to be focused on helping the greatest number of people, and that is in the office building. We just can't spare the people to be searching around in the wreckage of that hotel for two people."

"What searching! I have been in contact with them and know exactly where they are. He has a wall on top of him and cannot feel his legs. He is finding it harder to breathe over time, so there is a chance that the wreckage is settling on him. He needs to be in a hospital ASAP."

He was contemplating how to handle the situation when his radio squawked at him.

"Travis." He listened for a moment, then replied. "Good, have them meet." He peered at her ID card. "Agent Scully at the door to the hotel, she has information of where two victims are located." Then he turned to her.

"The Navy has sent a Marine Corps disaster recovery team over to assist, they will be going after the two victims for you, happy?"

"Yes I am, I understood your reasons for not going after him though, so you don't have to act like such a pompous jackass."
With that Scully stalked away leaving Max Travis with a stunned look on his face.

She met the Marine rescue crew at the hotel entrance and found them being briefed by Skinner.

"He was on the fifth floor when the bomb went off, right near the front stairwell. His wife has been in touch with him by cell phone. Either a wall or some other section of concrete has fallen on him, leaving only his shoulders and head uncovered. He has no feeling in his legs. The young woman with him is not injured."

"Okay sir, ma'am we will get him out." Replied their commander and the team entered the hotel.
Scully stepped back from them and pulled out her cell phone.

"Jaime, this is Dana, there is a rescue crew on their way to you right now, please watch and listen for them."
She heard a sound in the background then Mulders voice.

"Dane." he whispered. "Hard to breathe."

"I know Mulder, just hold on, there is a rescue team on the way."

"Who is with your mom and Melissa?" he asked.

"No one, should there be?"

"They know she is gone by now, good time breathing to try to get her back." He wheezed.

"Okay Mulder, I'll get someone out there."

She said goodbye and looked for Skinner. When she found him she passed Mulders fears onto him. He agreed with Mulder and sent four agents from the local office out there to watch the place.

In an Office in the Department of Defense.

"The fools managed to get themselves caught." Stated a tall silver haired man in the uniform of a Lt. General.

"No matter, they don't know anything. I am more concerned about Melissa Scully being located and returned." Answered the Smoking man.

"Why, she was only a distraction."

"Yes, but they should have never been able to locate her, someone messed up."

"So what do we do about it?"

"Well Mulder is out of commission for right now, which means Scully is out of it as well. Send a team out to Mulders place to pick her up and bring her to the sanitarium."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Yes, send out a cleanup team to handle those militia idiots. I will check in later." Replied the smoker.

Outside at the Command Post.

Scully stood in front of the hotel watching. Waiting. Waiting to hear that they had found Mulder. She was still standing there when she felt a touch on her shoulder.

"Dana."

It was Bill, with Charlie and his girlfriend.

"Mom called and told us what happened. I came out with the team, and was able to get Charlie and Angel through with my credentials. Is there any news yet?"

"No, they just went in. Mulder and the girl are still alive, he is pinned down by a large chunk of concrete." She said, noticing Charlie for the first time. "Charlie. What happened?"

"Nothing Dana, just pulled it during a training deployment. It will be fine."

She looked back toward the building.

"It's funny. All he had was a meeting today, domestic terrorism, you know like the Montana Freemen stuff, no X-File or anything. He looks out in the alley and sees a known terrorist running away from a truck that they left parked in the alley. They evacuate the hotel and a bunch of the office building across the alley, but he goes back to help two waitresses that were in the service elevator. One of them falls down, and he could not leave her, so instead of making it out he is trapped, funny huh."

"Did you want him to leave her Dana?" asked Angel.

"No, he would not be able to do that, If he did, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. I couldn't live with him. I just wish that sometimes things would go our way."

They stood there silently for almost an hour when the rescue crew called for a full length back board. Scully moved closer, but had to wait another half hour till they came out the door with a pretty teenage girl walking on her own, and an unconscious Mulder on a back board. Scully rushed to his side.

"How is he?" she demanded.

"His vitals are good, when we raised the wall off of him he screamed that it hurt, and passed out. My guess is that the pressure of the wall bruised him severely underneath his weapon which he carried at his back. I have seen it before, and when the swelling goes down, and the pressure is relieved he will be fine."

"That's good. I will be riding with you" she told the medics when they arrived.

They checked Mulder again, and started to load him up.

"Bill, Charlie." She called. "Go see mom out at our house. It's important."

They watched as she climbed into the ambulance, then left themselves.

George Washington University Hospital
Washington DC

As the emergency medical technicians rushed Mulder into a trauma room, a Nurse moved to intercept Scully. She was grabbed by the arm by another nurse and was told.

"That is Special Agent Dana Scully, if she has that look on her face it means the one on the gurney is her partner/husband Fox Mulder, let her go, she is a Doctor, and she will not be left out here to wait."

Scully followed them into the room unmolested.

He was face down on a full length backboard and the trauma team moved him onto the bed the way he was. They started releasing the straps and cutting his clothes off. When he was naked you could see the massive bruise where his weapon had been carried.
It was an ugly red-black and was full of blood. They quickly wheeled an x-ray machine over and took some pictures.
When the x-rays had been taken, and they were waiting for the film to be ready to view, the trauma team quickly looked over Mulder. He had bruises all over his back and legs besides the one bad one at the small of his back. There did not seem any broken bones or cuts, just bruising.

When the x-rays came in the doctor looked at the films and turned to Scully.

"Looks like things are going our way, nothing broken, will have to do a detailed MRI to see if there is any soft tissue damage, but things look good so far. I would like to start draining the hematoma here before we send him for the MRI."

Scully nodded quietly then moved to Mulders head when he started to wake up. She grabbed his hands when they started to flail around.

"Mulder, I'm here, stop struggling. You are here at GWU Hospital, you are okay you are going to be fine."

"Jaime?"

"She is okay too, you were both brought out okay."

"Itches Scully, itches real bad."

"What itches Mulder?"

"My legs and feet."

She smiled at that and tears ran down her cheeks. "That's good Mulder, that means that you can feel them."

He turned his face slightly and grinned at her.

"Yea it does doesn't it."

They smiled at each other as the doctor explained what he was going to do. Things were going to be just fine.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 5:26 p.m.

Maggie hung up the phone after getting word from Walter about Mulders rescue. She turned and explained to Melissa when she heard a car drive in. Peering out the window she saw Bill, Charlie and his girlfriend getting out.

"Melissa, it's Bill and Charlie, go upstairs, we can surprise them."

Melissa dashed up the stairs as Maggie waited to open the door.

When she did they greeted each other like most families do, hugging and kissing, but there was some sadness as well. Charlie asked about Mulder, and Maggie replied that there was no news yet. She got all of then coffee and they sat in the living room quietly. She was sitting where she could see the stairs and nodded slightly to Melissa who was waiting. Melissa in turn walked down the stairs and through the living room.

"Hi Bill, Charlie." She said calmly.'

Charlie leapt to his feet and cried out. "Melissa, oh my god!"

Bill stood quickly his mouth open.

Melissa rushed to Charlie and hugged him, tears running down her face.

"'Lissa, how. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you Charlie, I don't know. Mulder found me and he and Dana came and got me and brought me home."

"But I identified the body, I saw you in the hospital. Mel, what the hell is going on." Asked Bill.

"I don't know Billy." She replied hugging him as well. "I woke up in a hospital in a small town in Washington. I could not remember who I was, or anything. I lived there for almost five years not knowing who I was or if I had a family or anything. Then Dana showed up."

She coughed quietly. "Then suddenly it was like a dam had burst, I remembered who I was, who she was."

"Bill, I don't know how, or why, but Dana proved that the Melissa that we buried was a double of our Melissa. I don't know who took her, or why they took her, but I am just grateful that Fox and Dana found her and brought her back."

They sat talking until the phone rang again. It was Mr. Skinner telling the that Mulder was fine. He explained about the injuries, then asked Mrs. Scully if there was a car outside the driveway watching the house. She walked over to the window and peered out.

"Why yes Walter there is." She told him.

He explained that they were there making sure that in the confusion that no one would try to grab Melissa again.

She watched the car as a jogger ran up the street and past the car. He stopped suddenly and pulled a machine gun out from under his sweatshirt. With a sudden motion, but very little noise the rear window shattered and the men in the car slumped down.

"Oh my god. Walter someone just shot those men." She cried.

At that very moment the power in the house went out. A second later it came on as the emergency generators kicked in, but the phone went dead.

On hearing his mother say what she did, both Charlie and Bill rushed over to the window. They watched as armed men cam over the wall. Charlie counted six of them but figured at least four more would be out there as well, it seemed like a classic hit.

"Bill, remember how to use one of these?" asked Charlie, pulling a Colt .45 out from under his shirt.

"Of course I do, I just re-qualified as expert. Why?"
Charlie had pulled his arm out of the sling and was flexing his shoulder.

"Because Billy boy, unless I miss my guess, someone is pissed that Melissa is here, and not where they had her, and wants her back."

"What makes you think that?"

"Why else would someone gun down two FBI agents and send in an armed combat team? Look, Mom, Melissa, Angel. Go upstairs and hide. Bill and I will try to keep them down here. Use your cell phone and call the cops."

The women ran up the stairs, Maggie going in her room and Angel and Melissa going into one of the guest rooms. Maggie pulled a cell phone out of her purse and dialed 911.

She explained what was going on and warned the woman that they were armed and going to protect themselves. The 911 operator informed her that officers were already on the way along with ambulances and FBI agents.

She kept the phone in her hand but she opened the night stand drawer and pulled out a nickel plated Colt .38 automatic. Her husband had given it to her shortly after they married and he shipped out to sea for the first time. She had not used it in years, but when Melissa was shot she dug it out of the dresser and took shooting lessons at a local gun club. She was a very good shot with it.

Melissa and Angel stood looking at each other in the guest room.

"Welcome to the family." Grinned Melissa.

"Is it always this exciting?" asked Angel.

"God I hope not. But I have been out of touch for five years."

"Sorry, I didn't think…"

Hey, don't worry about it." Answered Melissa.
Angel looked around and found a duffel bag full of baseball equipment. She opened it up and selected a well used aluminum bat.
Melissa looked over Angels shoulder and pulled out Dana's old softball bat. The two women took places on each side of the door and waited quietly.

Downstairs Bill and Charlie had each taken positions to defend the home. Bill was in the kitchen, near where he could hide behind the refrigerator and stove. Charlie was in the alcove off the front hallway.
Upstairs Mrs. Scully smiled as she heard the garage window break, both Thunder and Lightning were in the garage, who ever crawled in there was in for a surprise. She held the pistol in her hand still on the phone with the emergency operator and opened the door a crack so she could see down the hallway.

The front door slammed open about like Charlie expected. What he did not expect was the three men rushing in all at once. He took the first one out with a straight on punch to the throat. He got a hold of the second ones hands and spun him around, dislocating both of the mans shoulders. He grabbed the third one and was wrestling with him when two more rushed in past him and headed up the stairs.

George Washington University Hospital
Washington DC

Skinner pushed his way into the trauma room despite the protests of a nurse. He glanced at the bruises on Mulders back and paled.

"Scully." He called to her. "The two men I assigned to guard your house were just shot, and a group of gunmen are entering the house. Police and our people are on the way."

Scully gasped and for the first time that Skinner ever noticed, Scully seemed at a loss of what to do.

She felt her hand being squeezed and leaned down to hear what Mulder was saying.

"Scully, go. Go to them, they are family. I will be fine here, Walter will probably have guards here knowing him. Go to them. Go!"

"I love you Mulder"

"Love you too short stuff, go on."

Following Skinner Scully rushed out to a waiting highway Patrol car.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 5:48 p.m.

Bill Scully saw the men kick in the back door. Two rushed into the laundry room while the other two looked out over the yard. He stood and called to them.

"Freeze."

They made no reply but turned and fired on him. He ducked behind the stove as gunfire ripped into the appliances. When they paused he popped out the side and fired himself. One went down, but the other fired at him again. He felt the burn as a bullet grazed his forearm and the smack as another entered his left bicep.
He fired again and the man dropped like a rock. He fired a couple of shots at the one on the porch, but was forced to duck again as they fired at him.

In the hallway up stairs the two men who had got past Charlie were checking each room. The first two they had checked were empty. One opened another room and stepped in. The door swung back toward Melissa who jerked it all the way open. The poor guy was pulled off balance and was wide open to Angel. Angel who grew up with 4 older brothers had played neighborhood baseball as a matter of habit, and was on the University of Montana at Bozeman softball team the year they won the women's western division championship. She swung the bat with a short chopping stroke and caught the guy in the forehead. He dropped without a sound, 'cept for the thump when he hit.

But when Angel looked up the other had her in his sights and was grinning wickedly as he tightened his finger on the trigger. Angel stepped back, and he took one step forward. Right into the door that was slammed shut by Melissa. He staggered back, lowering his gun, but started to fire through the door.
Maggie stepped out, raised the pistol, and fired one shot. The man fell, curling up in a ball and moaning slightly.

Downstairs Charlie finally got the guy he was wrestling with in a choke hold and rendered him unconscious.

Bill was still hiding behind the stove, but was low on ammo, having only three more shots available. The two remaining gunmen were occasionally firing at him, but not with any real determination.

When he heard the sound of sirens they fired a couple more bursts at him then took off running. He gave them a minute then stood and looked out the window. The two men disappeared into the woods behind the house.
Cars screeched to a halt in the driveway and Charlie heard the sound of running feet. He stood out in the open with his hands in the air.

One of the first ones in the house was Special Agent Jana Timmons, and she recognized Charlie.

"Cool it guys, this is Scully's brother Charlie. Where is everyone else Charlie?"

He lowered his hands wincing as his shoulder let him know that it was not happy with him.

"Bill is in the kitchen, Mom, Angel and Melissa are upstairs."

That brought a look from Jana, as well as Ed Thornburg, another Special Agent.

"Bill, Mom, Angel, Melissa. The cavalry finally got here come on down." He called out.

Bill walked into the living room and handed the gun he had used to a policeman. He was holding his arm where the bullet hat hit him.

"You will want this for evidence, I used it on the two you will find out on the back porch."

"You will probably want this one too then." Spoke up Maggie handing her pistol to another uniformed officer.

"Might need this bat then." Said Angel who handed the bat to the same cop. She then went to Charlie. "Charlie, your shoulder's bleeding, did you pull the stitches open?"

"Must have." He agreed.

Maggie returned from the bathroom with a couple of towels. She handed one to Angel, then went to Bill and wrapped the remaining one around his arm.

"Are there paramedics on the way?"

"Yes ma'am." answered Jana. "They are helping the surviving Agent outside."

To the Agents, especially Jana it was almost surreal. This was a quiet suburban home, yet there were injured and dead bodies all over the place.

"Both dead back here." Called an officer from the back porch.

"One dead one gut shot up here." Called an Agent from the upstairs.

"One dead and two out of it here." Said another policeman.

"Shit!" said Jana sitting down.

Her radio buzzed to life and she was informed that the other two had been cornered and had put up a fight. One was dead, one shot twice, and one officer was severely injured.

"Shit!" said Jana once more

The prisoners and injured had been remove by the time Dana and Skinner got there. Dana was surprised to find Charlie and Bill both there, having heard that they had been hurt. She surveyed the damage and rushed to her mom.

"Mom, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" She asked.

Before Maggie had a chance to speak Bill bullied his way in.

"Of course she is not okay, she had to shoot a man who was trying to kidnap her daughter. AGAIN! I had to kill two men myself, Charlie had to kill one, and his girlfriend killed a man too. And just because they were visiting YOUR house. Yours and that looney tune you're married to. How long before we are all dead or crippled, just because of what you do. When are you going to GET A CLUE DANA!? Aaaarrrrgggggghhhhhhh."

He never got a chance to finish because Melissa had punched him on his injured arm as hard as she could.

"God damn you Bill Scully! Do you really think this is all Dana and Mulders fault? How stupid are you?"

Bill looked at his sister in shock, his eyes full of tears from the pain in his arm.

"What is so important about me that they would kill people to kidnap me. What are Dana and Mulder doing that is important enough for some one to have to have some sort of control over them? Huh? Why is someone always trying to stop what they are doing Bill? Why? Well, I don't know either, but it scares the hell out of me. Someone goes to the trouble to create a duplicate of me, kill her, and make me disappear with amnesia, just to mess with Dana and Mulder? What are they trying to cover up Bill? Did you ever think of that?"

"That's what I would like to know as well. At ease." Said Admiral Gunderson to the two men who were trying to stand at attention.

"Dick." Said Maggie who walked over to him and hugged him.

He put he arms around her protectively and asked.

"What the hell happened here?"

Scully sat on the couch and let her mother and brothers explain while she petted and stroke the two dogs who would not leave her side. She smiled to herself remembering how the one gunman who broke into the garage spilled his guts after she has rescued him from the two dogs who had him cornered on the top of the Jimmy.

To Dana the weight of the events of the past three days were catching up with her, the emotional roller coaster was about to jump the tracks. She put her head in her hands and started to weep. She felt an arm slide around her shoulders and looked up into a pair of Hazel eyes.

"Let it go Dana, you're among family here." Said Angel.
Scully hugged the woman and sobbed on her shoulder, all the while condemning herself for her weakness.

"Some family you're getting into huh?" Asked Charlie. "All in one day you get to go to a bombing, a kidnapping and a shoot-out." And as soon as he said that he regretted it. He had forgotten that Angel had killed a man a little while ago.

"Charlie." She said still holding Dana. "My life was pretty messed up when you saved me from those two assholes. While we were having coffee that morning I started to fall in love with you. As time went on it I fell even deeper in love, and I started to get a new purpose out of life. Knowing you, not just the fact that I love you has saved me. I'm no longer depressed all the time, I no longer dread waking up the next day. I can't wait till you get home every day, I hate it when you are gone, but I am happy, and this family is beginning to be important to me as well. They are important to you, so they are important to me."

Charlie stood looking over the scene, what a mess. As he wandered through the house he noticed the damage and shook his head. He had seen the results of this kind of fire fight before, and it never failed to sadden him.
He neared Skinner and arrived at the same time as he hung up his phone. Skinner turned to him.

"Preliminary report is in, all the men were former Military, mostly Rangers and Force Recon with some sort of Black Ops experience. All were members of one Militia movement or another. One of the men is talking, he said that they have been funded by a group of European businessmen, they were approached by a tall thin man who smoked way too much. They were told that this would be a clean snatch, no resistance would be put up by two women."

Charlie snickered at that.

"Yeah, wonder what they thought hit them when they came through that door," mused Walter. "Anyway, this time I have them stashed where they should stay alive."

Charlie cocked a very Scully-like eyebrow at Skinner.

"Mulder and Scully's evidence has a problem of disappearing," he answered.

"What do you mean, disappear?" asked Bill.

"It vanishes, without a trace," he replied angrily. "I have hand-carried evidence for them and logged it into the evidence vault myself. Next morning when I go to retrieve it, it's gone, every last trace. That's part of the reason for their reputation, the proof always vanishes."

"Chicken Little," said Bill, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Chicken little," answered Walter. "Look, I have rooms at the motel down the street, get some clothes and let's go.
Don't even think about heading home tonight."
They gathered what they needed and left, cleanup crews arriving as they left. By the next day, most traces of the free-for-all would be gone from the house, but not from their minds. It would stay there for a long, long time.

George Washington University Hospital
Washington DC

Tuesday March. 14, 2000, 11:20 a.m.

Mulder lay on a special bed with a strange looking pad on his back. Machines pumped ice water through tubes in the pad, keeping the large bruise from swelling any further.

Skinner, Scully, Mrs. Scully, Melissa and Bill stood in Mulder's room talking about his plan for hiring bodyguards.

"Do what you want to waste your money, Mulder, there's no conspiracy. No one is going to try to kidnap my family to stop you. This is all in your imagination. YOU are the only danger to anyone, so maybe they can keep you away from the rest of us."

Maggie turned to her son, embarrassment evident in her face.

"I am so ashamed of you Bill, you still think that you're the head of this family. Well, I'm going to tell you something--you aren't. I am! Mulder will make sure your family is safe, but until you learn to respect others, just stay home." And with that she turned away from him.

He spun on his heel and left the room.

Mulder lay in his bed, tears dripping on the mirror he used to see the TV. Once more he'd managed to tear the Scully family apart. If nothing else he would do everything possible to keep them safe.

Promptly at 11:30, a tall, white-haired man knocked on the door.

Skinner walked over to him and shook his hand.

"Glad you could make it, Mike. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Margaret Scully, her daughters Melissa and Dana, and this in the bed is Mulder. He's the one who's interested in your services. Everyone, this is Mike Meyers. All joking aside, he was a Navy Seal and designed many of the training plans for the USMC Force Recon. He's been running a bodyguard service for
sixteen years now."

"Are you any good?" asked Mulder.

"The best. I've only lost one customer and they had to shoot down an airliner to do that. I lost four good men. Before we get too involved, let me give you some information. I am very expensive, I control the situation, and I have certain things that I will require before I take a contract."

"And they are?" asked Dana.

"I may need to move the people to a safer location, I'll have to control their movements, and they have to be willing to work with me."

"Fair enough," said Mulder. "I want you to protect Mrs. Scully, Melissa, her son Bill Scully, his wife Tara and their son.
You'll also need to watch Sabrina McKay, the Lone Gunmen and my mother. Charles Scully shouldn't need any protection, but his girlfriend might. Bill will be a problem; he thinks that all this is in my imagination. But I will guarantee you it is not."

"Okay, what about the locations?" asked Mike.

"You know where I live?"

Mike nodded.

"Okay, the houses on either side of me have been purchased by a company I own, as well as the one across the street and the one in back of the woods behind my place."

Dana gave him the eyebrow look.

"I know, Scully, I forgot to tell you. I didn't want anyone to get hurt if there was a fire fight," he apologized. "The Gunmen are in an old warehouse that should be easy to cover. They never seem to go anywhere and are extremely paranoid, so I know you've been checked out carefully. Mrs. Scully and Melissa will be staying with us for a while, and we can use the extra eyes at night."

"With Charlie's girlfriend, you'll have to work with him, he seems to understand," he glanced at Dana for confirmation. She nodded her agreement and he continued. "Sabrina has been staying with Skinner here, so you'll have to work out the details with him."

"I know this is going to be expensive, so can you give me a rough idea of the cost?" asked Dana.

"Each person I assign to the job is going to cost ten thousand a month. Going at the very minimum, I'll have to have about twenty operatives working. Before you say anything, these men and women are from all over the world. They've been secret service agents, something equivalent that is just as good, or military black ops specialists. I've trained them myself and I trust them completely."

"Fair enough," said Mulder as he gestured to Scully, who leaned down so he could whisper. She reached for her purse and pulled out a piece of paper.

Mulder leaned up as far as he could and looked into Mike's eyes with all the emotion he could muster.

"Here is a certified cashier's check for two million dollars. Use all the men you feel you need. These people are important to me, don't let them get hurt."

"Mr. Mulder, Walt has told me some of what we're up against, so I won't bullshit you. I can't guarantee anything, but I will promise you that if something happens to anyone my people are protecting, it'll be because my people are already dead."

Mulder raised his arm and shook hands with Mike. Dana gave him all the addresses he needed and instructions on the best method of contacting everyone. She also looked into Meyers' eyes as she spoke to him. "Good luck Mr. Meyers, you're going to need it."

"I make my own luck," he stated as he turned and shook hands with Walt. He then strode to the door and opened it. A large black man and a small Latino woman came in. "Mrs. Scully, Miss Scully. This is Brick and Maria; they'll drive you home when you're ready to go. Mrs. Mulder, they will also drive you if you wish. They'll be right outside the door."

He nodded to everyone and then the three left the room.

The doctor came in, discussed how things were going with Dana, and asked everyone to leave for a while. Dana kissed Mulder goodbye and left with her mother and sister. Mulder would be coming home tomorrow and she wanted to get everything ready for him.

In a Private Club in New York City
Thursday March. 16, 2000, 6:00 p.m.

"I see Mulder has made it home safely," said a large man who spoke with a German accent.

"Yes he did, and he's going to be extremely difficult to control now," said a man whose head was haloed by smoke.

"Why is that?"

"He has used his genius to play the stock market. He's turned the rather generous inheritance he got from his father into a large fortune. We estimate it at over forty million."

"That's not very much."

"It is when there are no expenses going out. He has recently turned a lot of it into cash and stashed it away with the help of his three friends. He has a lot of property as well, and holdings that can be turned into cash right away."

"Take care of his friends."

"That would be difficult. He's hired bodyguards to protect everyone we could use to, let's say, influence them. And these are not ordinary bodyguards either. They're specialists; they're better than what we normally use and cannot be bought. We have to plan our next move carefully."

"Let's not wait too long, my friend. Things are getting tense as it is right now."

"I'll work on it."

"You'd better."

TBC