Title: Without You part 13

All other information, disclaimers, etc. in first chapter.

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews. Keep them coming. I love hearing that you guys are enjoying my work. Enjoy!

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May 20, 2002

Somewhere over Virginia

11:13 p.m.

All is dark below the plane that is traveling from Roswell to D.C. The passengers are very quiet for the red-eye flight. A little too quiet. Or maybe its just my nerves.

During the past twelve hours waiting for a flight all I could think of was getting to by baby boy and figuring out this huge mess.

Just what exactly is going on? Why the hell is there a clone of William?

I know asking myself these questions will never get the answers, but as I look to my right Mulder and Doggett both are asleep. Its amazing, really, because Mulder would never ever sleep before on planes until just a few years ago.

I continue to stare out at the dark Earth. It makes me wonder what is in store for the coming weeks and years. Will anything ever be normal again?

Often, I have wondered what a normal life would look like. Up until about five months ago Mulder and I had the closest thing that we would have gotten to a normal life.

After working on the X-Files for eight years, anything even resembling a family life was normal to both of us.

Mulder shifts uneasily in the chair next to me and I turn my gaze back to him.

He and I have such a history and to even think that after all of the life threatening cases we've been through that we are still alive, breathing, and have a family is an x-file in itself.

Mulder opens his eyes, tiredly and smiles at me.

"Hey," he whispers.

"Hey."

We continue to gaze at one another for a long time. Words between us never had to be spoken. I think that one of the beauties of our relationship is the fact that its what we don't say that means a lot.

A gaze can mean a thousand different things, but we have always interpreted it the same.

"What are you thinking about?" he finally asks.

"I was thinking about William and what all of this means," I tell him, even though I'm sure he already knew.

"We've seen it before."

"Yeah, but not like this. Not with our own child," I respond.

He places his hand on me, caressing my arm, reassuringly. The simple touch reassures me and I can't believe how lucky I am to have him back and alive.

"Mulder, what does this mean, though? Where did the clones come from and why?" I inquire very concerned.

Mulder closes his eyes and breathes in deeply for effect. Then his deep hazel orbs stare into my eyes.

"I have something to tell you, Scully," he finally whispers.

"What?"

Another long pause passes between us.

"When I went missing last year and was presumed dead, they would talk thinking that I wasn't listening, but I heard them talking about starting an inferior race that would be even more powerful than the super soldiers--"

He stops painfully grimacing as he digs deeper into his regressed thoughts.

"There's more?"

"The inferior race would come from the clones of children of parents with alien genetic make-up. Children that would be immune to the coming takeover, but they failed miserably."

"What are you talking about? We saw a clone of William," I tell him completely and entirely confused.

"Most of the mothers couldn't carry the children to full term. William was the only one, but the thing that was so odd to them was the fact that they did not create him in a lab. He was a naturally conceived child and that was of even greater value to them."

"Mulder, why the clones of him though?"

"I think they staged our deaths and took him and me to get more of the material they need to make these inferior beings," he says solemnly.

"How do we stop it?"

"We are not going to do anything. I will not risk you losing these children," Mulder says as he protectively places his hand over my abdomen.

"Then how do you stop it?"

"I have to go to the source."

"Which is where?"

He stares at me, afraid to even start talking about such a topic.

"Mulder?"

"Through extensive research I have found that the 'source' we are looking for is deep within the government and the military."

"This can't be happening. It's crazy. Mulder, do you realize what you're saying. You are saying that the president--"

"--is involved and this reaches to the highest parts of the government, even higher than we once thought."

"That's preposterous," I tell him shaking my head.

"But if it's true, Scully, the entire world could be a whole lot of trouble."

"We are now making our final decent into Washington D.C. Please fasten your seat belt," an unseen stewardess says into the intercom.

Mulder and I stare at one another for a long moment. It almost feels like old times: Mulder proposing the most out-there theory that he can think of and me shooting it down.

Doggett opens his eyes and looks to us confused.

"I thought I heard some outlandish talking about the government and aliens."

"That was me," Mulder tells the man next to him raising his hand like a child.

"Wonderful," Doggett replies sarcastically.

"What do you think, Scully?" Mulder asks turning to me.

"I think its time to see our son."