Time Is Running Out Part Four
By Katie Phillips
Disclaimer Information located in Part One
June 7th 6:30 PM Baltic Labs
Alicia looked at Mulder over dinner and frowned at him. "Fox, I think we need to talk about some things."
"Okay." Mulder said pushing back his chair and giving her his complete attention.
"I have been thinking about us." She began.
"Us?" Mulder asked sounding a bit confused.
"I don't really know how to ask you this so I am just going to go right ahead and ask. Okay?" Alicia said knowing that she was rambling.
Mulder nodded and she continued. "Do you love me Fox?"
"Excuse me?" Mulder said shocked by the question.
"Do you love me?" Alicia repeated.
Mulder didn't answer and after a moment she spoke. "I didn't think so."
She smiled at the look of concern that appeared on his face. "Don't worry about it because I don't think I love you either. I wouldn't have brought it up at all except for the fact that General Elliott called this morning and told me that we are being moved to a more elaborate facility tomorrow."
"More elaborate? Do you mean I actually get to see the sight of day?"
Alicia laughed at this. "Be serious Fox, you know that you have been allowed out pretty much since the beginning of the year."
"True enough, but I must admit I will not miss being stuck in this old house." He reached over and took her hand. "But what does all of this have to do with you and I being in love?"
Alicia blushed a bit at this. "Well, a new facility will mean new people and I just wanted to make sure we knew where we stood with each other. . ."
Mulder cut her off laughing. "Are you that eager to find yourself another lover Alicia? I am sorry that I left you so wanting."
Alicia blushed. She and Mulder hadn't slept together all that often but when they did, he hadn't left her wanting for anything. "You know that's not it."
"I know. You have my permission to sleep with whomever you want whenever you want."
"Thanks a lot." She said getting up and walking over to where he sat. "I was hoping that since this will be our last night together" she sat on his lap with one leg on either side of him "that maybe you could do that thing. . ." she stopped suddenly shy.
"What thing?" Mulder said already beginning to unbutton her shirt.
"You know, that thing where you . . ."
Mulder laughed and stood wrapping Alicia's legs around him as he carried her to the bedroom. "Oh that thing. I think I might be able to manage it."
Mulder lay on his back looking at the ceiling while Alicia snuggled against him. Out of habit, not love, he placed a small kiss on the top of her head.
"Fox, can I ask you something?"
"Alicia, after what we just did, I don't think there are a whole lot of secrets left between us."
She chuckled and then became serious. "You still love her don't you?"
"Who?" Mulder asked closing his eyes in an attempt to keep an image from popping into his mind.
"Scully."
"Scully?" Mulder responded knowing that he hadn't answered her question.
"Yes, Scully. You called out that name practically every night when you first got here. I always wondered who 'Scully' was until I saw that piece in the paper."
Mulder grunted his acknowledgement. He carried that news clipping around in his wallet. He had no idea why.
They were silent for a couple of minutes and Mulder hoped that she had fallen asleep. She hadn't.
"You didn't answer me. Do you still love her?"
"Yeah, I do."
July 4th 10 AM Mulder's Grave
Skinner had not been all that surprised to find Scully gone when he had woken that morning. She often left in the early hours of the morning to return to her apartment to get ready for work. They had become much closer over the past few months but Skinner knew that Scully was still holding something back.
She was still not willing or able to give herself completely to him. Skinner realized this and accepted it. He would wait.
He showered quickly and had called her apartment wanting to meet her for lunch. There was an orchestra playing on the Mall that afternoon and he thought it would be the perfect way for them to spend the holiday.
When there was no answer at her apartment he had tried her cell phone only to be greeted there as well by her voice mail. He had then tried calling her mother's house even as he had chastised himself for being the overprotective boyfriend.
Maggie had answered the phone and had been quite sure where he would be able to find her daughter. Apparently, every Fourth of July when they could get away, Mulder had taken Scully to the most bizarre place he could find to watch the fireworks. Maggie assumed that Scully had snuck off to visit Mulder's grave.
Skinner had thanked Maggie and hung up the phone wondering what he should do. The part of him that was Scully's lover had to admit to being a bit jealous over her desire to visit the grave of her dead partner. The part of him that was Scully's friend thought he should be there for her.
Scully's friend won out and Skinner quickly found himself on the way to the cemetery where Mulder was buried. He stopped when he spotted her squatting down in front of his tombstone.
Skinner assumed she was tidying up the flowers that were planted there, but when he looked closer he realized that she seemed to be talking. A wave of overwhelming sadness came over him as he watched the woman he loved pour out her soul.
He gave her a few minutes and when she seemed to be done talking walking silently up behind her. She must of sensed his presence for she spoke to him without looking up.
"Do you think I am crazy talking to a dead man?" She said plucking a dead flower from its stalk.
"Not at all. I still go and ask my father advice from time to time." Skinner said placing a gentle hand under her arm and helping her up.
"Really?" Scully asked her eyes brimming with tears.
"Really." Skinner responding opening his arms and gathering her in. She didn't cry but he stroked her head tenderly just the same. "You still love him." It was a statement not a question.
"Yeah, I think I do. Of course it would have probably done us both more good if I had bothered to tell him when he was still alive."
Skinner pulled back from her. "Are you trying to tell me that you and Mulder never. . ."
"Never." Scully smiled despite herself. "Hard to believe isn't it?"
"Well, I don't plan on making the same mistake with you." Skinner said cupping her head in his hands. "You do know I love you and I will wait as long as it takes."
Scully smiled at him. "I know Walter. I know."
"But you could use a little more space right now, couldn't you?" Skinner said sadly.
Scully nodded. "Not too much space, okay?"
April 8th 6 AM The Oval Office, Washington DC
"Thank you for getting here so quickly General." The President said as he rose from behind his desk to shake General Elliott's hand. "They tell me that things are starting to pick up as far as colonization is concerned."
"That they are Sir, that they are." Elliott replied taking a seat and nodding to the other people assembled in the room.
"And what is our readiness General?"
"We have been working on the vaccine for about 18 months now as well as a plan on how to distribute it. We will be flying in our two experts to consult with the task force at the FBI today."
"Excellent General and Director Williams will the FBI be ready?" the President asked turning his attention to the Director.
"We don't foresee any problems Sir. The person we would like to head up our portion of the task force is not only an experienced field agent but a medical doctor who has been working out of Quantico for the past year."
"Time is running out gentlemen. I expect a plan in place no later than June 1st with the distribution starting shortly thereafter. I don't want any little green men catching us with our pants down."
April 8th 9 AM American Airlines Flight 1013
Mulder looked at the window barely able to hide his enthusiasm. He was going home. Back to DC. Back to the X-files and most importantly back to Scully.
He frowned to himself wondering if she was still working on the X-files or if she had been reassigned after her marriage to Skinner. "I wonder if I will have to call her 'Skinner' now?" he thought.
Beside him Alicia was fast asleep. She was scared of flying and managed to pour not only several whiskey sours down her throat before they took off, but a couple of sleeping pills too. Mulder hoped he would be able to wake her when they got to DC.
He had everything all planned out. First they would swing by the hotel and drop off their bags and they would head over to the FBI Building where he would make his triumphant return. Married or not, he knew that Scully would not appreciate finding out about his return during their meeting with the Director the following day.
He couldn't wait.
April 8th 4:30 PM FBI Headquarters, Washington DC
Walter Skinner opened his office door and smiled at Scully. "Thank you for making the trip all the way down here Dana."
"It was my pleasure Walter. I was just thinking to myself that it is has been too long since we have seen each other." Scully said standing back as Skinner walked past her.
"Perhaps after the meeting tomorrow we can grab a bite to eat." Skinner said motioning for Scully to follow him.
"I would like that. What exactly is this meeting about?" Scully said as they began their way towards the elevator.
"I am not too sure. All I know is that the Director wants to see both of us in his office first thing tomorrow morning and that he wants us to bring everything we have on colonization." Skinner said "I thought we could head down to the basement and dig through the X-files."
"Colonization? As in aliens?" Scully said "Why would they want that?"
Skinner was about to answer when the sound of approaching footsteps stopped him. He glanced up to see who was approaching and did a quick double-take. Beside him he heard Scully gasp as she recognized the man who approached them.
She grew paler with each footstep bringing them closer together and Skinner thought she would faint when the man stopped his conversation with his female companion and noticed them standing by the elevator.
"Scully is that you?" Mulder asked breaking into a slow jog.
Scully gasped again and began to frantically push the elevator button holding her breath until the doors had shut and she was safe inside.
"What's with her?" Mulder said to an equally pale Skinner.
"I think you surprised her." Skinner said so softly that Mulder had to strain to hear him. "I think you should go after her."
"Me, Sir? Don't you think you should? After all, you are her husband." Mulder said still surprised at the reception he was getting. He was expecting hugs and tears not people who looked at him so strangely.
"Husband? What are you talking about Mulder? Agent Scully and I aren't married." Skinner said sounding rather annoyed.
Mulder looked quite puzzled for a moment and then a light went on in his head. "Oh my God, what have they done?" Mulder said under his breath as he pushed the elevator button.
He got on and was on his way down to the lobby before he realized that he had left Alicia all alone with Skinner. He didn't really care.
Alicia, who had watched events unfold with great interest, turned to Skinner. "What's with her, you would think she had just seen a ghost."
Skinner truly noticing her for the first time snorted. "She has." Seeing her confused look he continued. "I am Assistant Director Walter Skinner. I'm Mulder's boss. Come with me, we will wait in my office until they get back."
"How will he know where to find her?" Alicia asked following Skinner back towards his office.
Skinner stopped and smiled down at the smaller woman. "He'll know. He always does."
Mulder burst out of the front door of the FBI lobby and looked quickly from side to side. The sidewalks were relatively quiet and there was no sign of Scully anywhere.
Mulder took a deep breath and forced his mind to concentrate. Where would Scully go? She may have gone down to the garage and driven home, but he didn't think so. When Scully was upset, truly upset, she liked to walk.
Mulder closed his eyes briefly trying to draw upon the memory of their last big fight. It had been a bad one and Scully had stormed out of the office. He had found her hour later walking down near the river close to the bench where they sometimes ate their lunch.
He would look for her there.
He spotted her pacing back and forth between two clumps of trees. He paused a moment just to watch her. He had thought about her everyday day and she had often filled his dreams, but here in person she seemed even more beautiful and she stomped back and forth with her fists clenched by her sides.
Mulder began to walk over to her hoping that she would refrain from using her weapon on him. He wasn't sure what he had done, but it must have been pretty bad.
"Scully" he said softly as he approached her from behind.
She whirled to face him her eyes full of rage. Before he knew what happened, he felt the force of her slap on his face. "You son of a bitch. You let me think you were dead." She turned and stormed away from him.
Mulder regained his senses enough to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. She took a step backward and he stepped forward to close the space between them. This continued until Scully found herself trapped between him and a large clump of trees.
Instead of backing down, she resumed her assault.
"You bastard. You were stayed away all this time knowing that I thought you were dead." She said giving him a hard shove to emphasize her point. Mulder opened his mouth to speak but then thought better of it.
"You let me bury your body. Pick out your tombstone. Settle your affairs while all this time you are probably shacked up with that bombshell." Her shoves were getting weaker and she just kept repeating "I thought you were dead." over and over again until she finally collapsed against him.
Mulder wrapped his arms around her then and held her while all the tears she had held in for the last year and a half came tumbling out. He stroked her back, kissed her head and whispered words of comfort into her ear until the tears stopped and she looked up at him as if seeing him for the first time.
The pain and longing in her eyes were matched by his own and before he knew it he was kissing her. Kissing her as if their very lives depended on it.
Finally, she broke the kiss and pushed him back away from her.
"Scully." he said trying to reach for her. She raised one hand to stop him.
"Not now Mulder. I need time." She reached up and touched his cheek tenderly where the red mark of her handprint showed.
And then she walked away.
Ten minutes later Mulder was sitting in front of Skinner's desk trying to make sense of everything.
"Judging by the mark on your face, I assume you found Agent Scully." Skinner said walking around to the front of his desk and leaning against it. "Were you able to explain everything to her?"
Mulder shook his head. "No, she was far too emotional for explanations, especially since I am not sure myself what happened." He looked first at Alicia who was sitting next to him and then to Skinner. "Before I was dragged off to Nebraska, I was told that Scully would be informed of my departure. That she would be told that I hadn't ditched her again."
"Oh she was told all right. The first either of us heard of your departure was when the Director notified us of your death the Monday after you left."
"Monday? I left Friday. So are you telling me that Scully was left wondering all weekend where I was only to find out that I was dead?"
"In a nutshell, yes." Skinner said. "They went to great pains to make sure that Scully didn't question your death. They even sent her all her personal items that they had removed from your body. After seeing the conditions of those items and the burned body, she really had no choice but to believe you were gone."
Mulder nodded slowly and then abruptly turned to Alicia. "Did you know about all of this?" he asked looking at her accusingly.
"Not about faking your death. All I was told was that I was to keep you under for as long as possible and when you woke up try to keep you too distracted to think about returning back here."
"So far, this makes sense Mulder, but where did you come up with the idea that Scully and I were married?" Skinner asked shifting a bit uncomfortably when he realized that sooner or later Mulder would find out the truth about him and Scully.
"From this." Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Folded up inside was a small piece of newspaper. He opened it up and handed it to Skinner.
Skinner looked at it and frowned. "This is a fake."
"I can see that now Sir." Mulder said smiling at his boss. "Unfortunately I didn't have enough sense to question it when it was presented to me then."
"Why would they want you to think that we were married? It doesn't make any sense?"
"Yes it does." Alicia interrupted. "In my weekly reports to General Elliott I told him of how Mulder still yelled out to Scully in his sleep practically every night. Apparently the General was worried that Mulder would find a way to return to her because a week later he sent me the article to show Mulder."
Mulder got up and began to walk around the room. "The article more or less gave me permission to explore other relationships without feeling guilty about Scully." He looked at Alicia and raised an eyebrow at her. "Very clever."
"I am sorry Fox." Alicia said looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Mulder walked over to her and squatted down next to her. "You have nothing to feel sorry for. You were a pawn in this just as much as I was. I have no regrets when it comes to our time together in that house. You shouldn't either."
Alicia smiled and wiped away a tear. "If you'll excuse me I think I will go freshen my face and then head back to the hotel. I am sure you two have plenty more to talk about. I will see you both in the General's office tomorrow morning."
Mulder watched Alicia leave and then went to stand in front of Skinner. "Sir, there is one more thing I need to know." Skinner looked him straight in the eye. "What is that Mulder?"
Mulder paused a minute before continuing. "When I was walking down the hall today, before you and Scully looked up, you two, well, you two looked like a couple."
Skinner swallowed hard but did not drop his eyes as Mulder went on. "What I want to know Sir is if my unannounced arrival is throwing a monkey wrench into your relationship with Scully?"
Skinner relaxed a bit and got up and walked over to his window. He looked outside for a moment or two before answering. "Mulder, I will not lie to you. I have feelings for Dana, very strong feelings and for a while I thought that they were strong enough for the both of us." He turned and Mulder could see the sadness in his eyes. "Unfortunately I was wrong. We were together for a while and I know she loves me."
He walked over to Mulder and put his hand on his shoulder. "It is just that she doesn't love me the way she loves you." He smiled when he saw the look of confusion flash across Mulder's face. "I don't understand why you two don't see it. Together you are a perfect example of the whole being greater than its two pieces. You complete each other."
Mulder looked at Skinner. "I am sorry Walter."
"I know Mulder." Skinner took a deep breath. "Dana needs to know about all of this."
"You are right, she does and I think you are just the man for the job." Mulder said patting Skinner on the shoulder.
"Me?"
"Yes you. She trusts you Walter. She will listen to you. If I went over there now," Mulder pointed to his still slightly red face "I don't know if I would get out alive."
Skinner snorted at this comment. "Okay, I'll go but only if you promise me that you will take advantage of this second chance you two are getting."
"I promise Sir."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of part four - do you like it?
Disclaimer Information located in Part One
June 7th 6:30 PM Baltic Labs
Alicia looked at Mulder over dinner and frowned at him. "Fox, I think we need to talk about some things."
"Okay." Mulder said pushing back his chair and giving her his complete attention.
"I have been thinking about us." She began.
"Us?" Mulder asked sounding a bit confused.
"I don't really know how to ask you this so I am just going to go right ahead and ask. Okay?" Alicia said knowing that she was rambling.
Mulder nodded and she continued. "Do you love me Fox?"
"Excuse me?" Mulder said shocked by the question.
"Do you love me?" Alicia repeated.
Mulder didn't answer and after a moment she spoke. "I didn't think so."
She smiled at the look of concern that appeared on his face. "Don't worry about it because I don't think I love you either. I wouldn't have brought it up at all except for the fact that General Elliott called this morning and told me that we are being moved to a more elaborate facility tomorrow."
"More elaborate? Do you mean I actually get to see the sight of day?"
Alicia laughed at this. "Be serious Fox, you know that you have been allowed out pretty much since the beginning of the year."
"True enough, but I must admit I will not miss being stuck in this old house." He reached over and took her hand. "But what does all of this have to do with you and I being in love?"
Alicia blushed a bit at this. "Well, a new facility will mean new people and I just wanted to make sure we knew where we stood with each other. . ."
Mulder cut her off laughing. "Are you that eager to find yourself another lover Alicia? I am sorry that I left you so wanting."
Alicia blushed. She and Mulder hadn't slept together all that often but when they did, he hadn't left her wanting for anything. "You know that's not it."
"I know. You have my permission to sleep with whomever you want whenever you want."
"Thanks a lot." She said getting up and walking over to where he sat. "I was hoping that since this will be our last night together" she sat on his lap with one leg on either side of him "that maybe you could do that thing. . ." she stopped suddenly shy.
"What thing?" Mulder said already beginning to unbutton her shirt.
"You know, that thing where you . . ."
Mulder laughed and stood wrapping Alicia's legs around him as he carried her to the bedroom. "Oh that thing. I think I might be able to manage it."
Mulder lay on his back looking at the ceiling while Alicia snuggled against him. Out of habit, not love, he placed a small kiss on the top of her head.
"Fox, can I ask you something?"
"Alicia, after what we just did, I don't think there are a whole lot of secrets left between us."
She chuckled and then became serious. "You still love her don't you?"
"Who?" Mulder asked closing his eyes in an attempt to keep an image from popping into his mind.
"Scully."
"Scully?" Mulder responded knowing that he hadn't answered her question.
"Yes, Scully. You called out that name practically every night when you first got here. I always wondered who 'Scully' was until I saw that piece in the paper."
Mulder grunted his acknowledgement. He carried that news clipping around in his wallet. He had no idea why.
They were silent for a couple of minutes and Mulder hoped that she had fallen asleep. She hadn't.
"You didn't answer me. Do you still love her?"
"Yeah, I do."
July 4th 10 AM Mulder's Grave
Skinner had not been all that surprised to find Scully gone when he had woken that morning. She often left in the early hours of the morning to return to her apartment to get ready for work. They had become much closer over the past few months but Skinner knew that Scully was still holding something back.
She was still not willing or able to give herself completely to him. Skinner realized this and accepted it. He would wait.
He showered quickly and had called her apartment wanting to meet her for lunch. There was an orchestra playing on the Mall that afternoon and he thought it would be the perfect way for them to spend the holiday.
When there was no answer at her apartment he had tried her cell phone only to be greeted there as well by her voice mail. He had then tried calling her mother's house even as he had chastised himself for being the overprotective boyfriend.
Maggie had answered the phone and had been quite sure where he would be able to find her daughter. Apparently, every Fourth of July when they could get away, Mulder had taken Scully to the most bizarre place he could find to watch the fireworks. Maggie assumed that Scully had snuck off to visit Mulder's grave.
Skinner had thanked Maggie and hung up the phone wondering what he should do. The part of him that was Scully's lover had to admit to being a bit jealous over her desire to visit the grave of her dead partner. The part of him that was Scully's friend thought he should be there for her.
Scully's friend won out and Skinner quickly found himself on the way to the cemetery where Mulder was buried. He stopped when he spotted her squatting down in front of his tombstone.
Skinner assumed she was tidying up the flowers that were planted there, but when he looked closer he realized that she seemed to be talking. A wave of overwhelming sadness came over him as he watched the woman he loved pour out her soul.
He gave her a few minutes and when she seemed to be done talking walking silently up behind her. She must of sensed his presence for she spoke to him without looking up.
"Do you think I am crazy talking to a dead man?" She said plucking a dead flower from its stalk.
"Not at all. I still go and ask my father advice from time to time." Skinner said placing a gentle hand under her arm and helping her up.
"Really?" Scully asked her eyes brimming with tears.
"Really." Skinner responding opening his arms and gathering her in. She didn't cry but he stroked her head tenderly just the same. "You still love him." It was a statement not a question.
"Yeah, I think I do. Of course it would have probably done us both more good if I had bothered to tell him when he was still alive."
Skinner pulled back from her. "Are you trying to tell me that you and Mulder never. . ."
"Never." Scully smiled despite herself. "Hard to believe isn't it?"
"Well, I don't plan on making the same mistake with you." Skinner said cupping her head in his hands. "You do know I love you and I will wait as long as it takes."
Scully smiled at him. "I know Walter. I know."
"But you could use a little more space right now, couldn't you?" Skinner said sadly.
Scully nodded. "Not too much space, okay?"
April 8th 6 AM The Oval Office, Washington DC
"Thank you for getting here so quickly General." The President said as he rose from behind his desk to shake General Elliott's hand. "They tell me that things are starting to pick up as far as colonization is concerned."
"That they are Sir, that they are." Elliott replied taking a seat and nodding to the other people assembled in the room.
"And what is our readiness General?"
"We have been working on the vaccine for about 18 months now as well as a plan on how to distribute it. We will be flying in our two experts to consult with the task force at the FBI today."
"Excellent General and Director Williams will the FBI be ready?" the President asked turning his attention to the Director.
"We don't foresee any problems Sir. The person we would like to head up our portion of the task force is not only an experienced field agent but a medical doctor who has been working out of Quantico for the past year."
"Time is running out gentlemen. I expect a plan in place no later than June 1st with the distribution starting shortly thereafter. I don't want any little green men catching us with our pants down."
April 8th 9 AM American Airlines Flight 1013
Mulder looked at the window barely able to hide his enthusiasm. He was going home. Back to DC. Back to the X-files and most importantly back to Scully.
He frowned to himself wondering if she was still working on the X-files or if she had been reassigned after her marriage to Skinner. "I wonder if I will have to call her 'Skinner' now?" he thought.
Beside him Alicia was fast asleep. She was scared of flying and managed to pour not only several whiskey sours down her throat before they took off, but a couple of sleeping pills too. Mulder hoped he would be able to wake her when they got to DC.
He had everything all planned out. First they would swing by the hotel and drop off their bags and they would head over to the FBI Building where he would make his triumphant return. Married or not, he knew that Scully would not appreciate finding out about his return during their meeting with the Director the following day.
He couldn't wait.
April 8th 4:30 PM FBI Headquarters, Washington DC
Walter Skinner opened his office door and smiled at Scully. "Thank you for making the trip all the way down here Dana."
"It was my pleasure Walter. I was just thinking to myself that it is has been too long since we have seen each other." Scully said standing back as Skinner walked past her.
"Perhaps after the meeting tomorrow we can grab a bite to eat." Skinner said motioning for Scully to follow him.
"I would like that. What exactly is this meeting about?" Scully said as they began their way towards the elevator.
"I am not too sure. All I know is that the Director wants to see both of us in his office first thing tomorrow morning and that he wants us to bring everything we have on colonization." Skinner said "I thought we could head down to the basement and dig through the X-files."
"Colonization? As in aliens?" Scully said "Why would they want that?"
Skinner was about to answer when the sound of approaching footsteps stopped him. He glanced up to see who was approaching and did a quick double-take. Beside him he heard Scully gasp as she recognized the man who approached them.
She grew paler with each footstep bringing them closer together and Skinner thought she would faint when the man stopped his conversation with his female companion and noticed them standing by the elevator.
"Scully is that you?" Mulder asked breaking into a slow jog.
Scully gasped again and began to frantically push the elevator button holding her breath until the doors had shut and she was safe inside.
"What's with her?" Mulder said to an equally pale Skinner.
"I think you surprised her." Skinner said so softly that Mulder had to strain to hear him. "I think you should go after her."
"Me, Sir? Don't you think you should? After all, you are her husband." Mulder said still surprised at the reception he was getting. He was expecting hugs and tears not people who looked at him so strangely.
"Husband? What are you talking about Mulder? Agent Scully and I aren't married." Skinner said sounding rather annoyed.
Mulder looked quite puzzled for a moment and then a light went on in his head. "Oh my God, what have they done?" Mulder said under his breath as he pushed the elevator button.
He got on and was on his way down to the lobby before he realized that he had left Alicia all alone with Skinner. He didn't really care.
Alicia, who had watched events unfold with great interest, turned to Skinner. "What's with her, you would think she had just seen a ghost."
Skinner truly noticing her for the first time snorted. "She has." Seeing her confused look he continued. "I am Assistant Director Walter Skinner. I'm Mulder's boss. Come with me, we will wait in my office until they get back."
"How will he know where to find her?" Alicia asked following Skinner back towards his office.
Skinner stopped and smiled down at the smaller woman. "He'll know. He always does."
Mulder burst out of the front door of the FBI lobby and looked quickly from side to side. The sidewalks were relatively quiet and there was no sign of Scully anywhere.
Mulder took a deep breath and forced his mind to concentrate. Where would Scully go? She may have gone down to the garage and driven home, but he didn't think so. When Scully was upset, truly upset, she liked to walk.
Mulder closed his eyes briefly trying to draw upon the memory of their last big fight. It had been a bad one and Scully had stormed out of the office. He had found her hour later walking down near the river close to the bench where they sometimes ate their lunch.
He would look for her there.
He spotted her pacing back and forth between two clumps of trees. He paused a moment just to watch her. He had thought about her everyday day and she had often filled his dreams, but here in person she seemed even more beautiful and she stomped back and forth with her fists clenched by her sides.
Mulder began to walk over to her hoping that she would refrain from using her weapon on him. He wasn't sure what he had done, but it must have been pretty bad.
"Scully" he said softly as he approached her from behind.
She whirled to face him her eyes full of rage. Before he knew what happened, he felt the force of her slap on his face. "You son of a bitch. You let me think you were dead." She turned and stormed away from him.
Mulder regained his senses enough to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. She took a step backward and he stepped forward to close the space between them. This continued until Scully found herself trapped between him and a large clump of trees.
Instead of backing down, she resumed her assault.
"You bastard. You were stayed away all this time knowing that I thought you were dead." She said giving him a hard shove to emphasize her point. Mulder opened his mouth to speak but then thought better of it.
"You let me bury your body. Pick out your tombstone. Settle your affairs while all this time you are probably shacked up with that bombshell." Her shoves were getting weaker and she just kept repeating "I thought you were dead." over and over again until she finally collapsed against him.
Mulder wrapped his arms around her then and held her while all the tears she had held in for the last year and a half came tumbling out. He stroked her back, kissed her head and whispered words of comfort into her ear until the tears stopped and she looked up at him as if seeing him for the first time.
The pain and longing in her eyes were matched by his own and before he knew it he was kissing her. Kissing her as if their very lives depended on it.
Finally, she broke the kiss and pushed him back away from her.
"Scully." he said trying to reach for her. She raised one hand to stop him.
"Not now Mulder. I need time." She reached up and touched his cheek tenderly where the red mark of her handprint showed.
And then she walked away.
Ten minutes later Mulder was sitting in front of Skinner's desk trying to make sense of everything.
"Judging by the mark on your face, I assume you found Agent Scully." Skinner said walking around to the front of his desk and leaning against it. "Were you able to explain everything to her?"
Mulder shook his head. "No, she was far too emotional for explanations, especially since I am not sure myself what happened." He looked first at Alicia who was sitting next to him and then to Skinner. "Before I was dragged off to Nebraska, I was told that Scully would be informed of my departure. That she would be told that I hadn't ditched her again."
"Oh she was told all right. The first either of us heard of your departure was when the Director notified us of your death the Monday after you left."
"Monday? I left Friday. So are you telling me that Scully was left wondering all weekend where I was only to find out that I was dead?"
"In a nutshell, yes." Skinner said. "They went to great pains to make sure that Scully didn't question your death. They even sent her all her personal items that they had removed from your body. After seeing the conditions of those items and the burned body, she really had no choice but to believe you were gone."
Mulder nodded slowly and then abruptly turned to Alicia. "Did you know about all of this?" he asked looking at her accusingly.
"Not about faking your death. All I was told was that I was to keep you under for as long as possible and when you woke up try to keep you too distracted to think about returning back here."
"So far, this makes sense Mulder, but where did you come up with the idea that Scully and I were married?" Skinner asked shifting a bit uncomfortably when he realized that sooner or later Mulder would find out the truth about him and Scully.
"From this." Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Folded up inside was a small piece of newspaper. He opened it up and handed it to Skinner.
Skinner looked at it and frowned. "This is a fake."
"I can see that now Sir." Mulder said smiling at his boss. "Unfortunately I didn't have enough sense to question it when it was presented to me then."
"Why would they want you to think that we were married? It doesn't make any sense?"
"Yes it does." Alicia interrupted. "In my weekly reports to General Elliott I told him of how Mulder still yelled out to Scully in his sleep practically every night. Apparently the General was worried that Mulder would find a way to return to her because a week later he sent me the article to show Mulder."
Mulder got up and began to walk around the room. "The article more or less gave me permission to explore other relationships without feeling guilty about Scully." He looked at Alicia and raised an eyebrow at her. "Very clever."
"I am sorry Fox." Alicia said looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Mulder walked over to her and squatted down next to her. "You have nothing to feel sorry for. You were a pawn in this just as much as I was. I have no regrets when it comes to our time together in that house. You shouldn't either."
Alicia smiled and wiped away a tear. "If you'll excuse me I think I will go freshen my face and then head back to the hotel. I am sure you two have plenty more to talk about. I will see you both in the General's office tomorrow morning."
Mulder watched Alicia leave and then went to stand in front of Skinner. "Sir, there is one more thing I need to know." Skinner looked him straight in the eye. "What is that Mulder?"
Mulder paused a minute before continuing. "When I was walking down the hall today, before you and Scully looked up, you two, well, you two looked like a couple."
Skinner swallowed hard but did not drop his eyes as Mulder went on. "What I want to know Sir is if my unannounced arrival is throwing a monkey wrench into your relationship with Scully?"
Skinner relaxed a bit and got up and walked over to his window. He looked outside for a moment or two before answering. "Mulder, I will not lie to you. I have feelings for Dana, very strong feelings and for a while I thought that they were strong enough for the both of us." He turned and Mulder could see the sadness in his eyes. "Unfortunately I was wrong. We were together for a while and I know she loves me."
He walked over to Mulder and put his hand on his shoulder. "It is just that she doesn't love me the way she loves you." He smiled when he saw the look of confusion flash across Mulder's face. "I don't understand why you two don't see it. Together you are a perfect example of the whole being greater than its two pieces. You complete each other."
Mulder looked at Skinner. "I am sorry Walter."
"I know Mulder." Skinner took a deep breath. "Dana needs to know about all of this."
"You are right, she does and I think you are just the man for the job." Mulder said patting Skinner on the shoulder.
"Me?"
"Yes you. She trusts you Walter. She will listen to you. If I went over there now," Mulder pointed to his still slightly red face "I don't know if I would get out alive."
Skinner snorted at this comment. "Okay, I'll go but only if you promise me that you will take advantage of this second chance you two are getting."
"I promise Sir."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of part four - do you like it?