Visitor in the Desert: Chapter Two

Summary: Something inside compelled me to continue this story. Also, Jinxd n Cursed (also known as Caitlin) told me I should do so. I have no idea where it's going, so let's see where my muse takes me.

Disclaimer: C'mon now, we know who owns Mulder and Scully, and it's certainly not a seventeen year-old who has $22 to her name…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two months later

            Mulder sat in Scully's living room, bouncing Will on his knee as they watched a Blue's Clues tape. He heard the sound of a key in the lock, and turned to see Scully come through the door, carrying bags of groceries. He set Will on the floor and got up to help her, taking two bags out of her arms.

            "Thank you," she said, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. They both stood in her kitchen putting away the groceries, and Scully laughed quietly.

            "What is it?" Mulder asked, stopping what he was doing to look at her.

            "You're not going to believe this," she said, looking up at him. "But I'm pregnant." Mulder's face broke into a huge smile.

            "You're kidding?" he asked, pushing a strand of her long hair behind her ear. Scully shook her head, and smiled herself.

            "Nope. I'm two months along," she replied. "We're having another baby." Awed, Mulder wrapped his arms around Scully and lifted her off the floor in a bear hug. They heard Will's babbling noises, and both looked toward the doorway to see him tottering in their direction.

            "Look at him, Scully! Will's walking!" Mulder exclaimed, setting her down on the floor. She knelt down and opened her arms.

            "Come to Mommy, Will! Look at my big boy!" He stumbled and tottered and fell down a few feet from her, but then hoisted himself to his feet and started walking again. He reached Scully's arms and she hugged him, lifting him off the floor.

            "Yay for Will!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together. He did the same, muttering incoherent, nonsensical baby-talk. Mulder hugged the two of them and kissed Scully on the temple, and Will on the forehead.

            "That's my boy," he whispered. "That's my son."

Two months later

            Mulder woke and sat straight up in bed. A shiver went down his spine. Something was wrong. Beside him, Scully stirred.

            "Mulder? What is it?" she mumbled sleepily.

            "Nothing, Scully, go back to sleep," he replied, getting up out of bed and retrieving his gun. She sat up.

            "Where the hell are you going?" she asked, throwing the covers back. Mulder walked back over to her and said,

            "No, Scully, you're not going anywhere. Stay here with Will." She crossed her arms.

            "Mulder.." she protested. He shook his head.

            "Stay here." Gun drawn, he walked out into the living room. There was a light coming from the kitchen, and he moved forward, listening to the sounds of a quiet conversation. He had just reached the doorway and was ready to jump out and catch the intruders by surprise when Gibson said,

            "It's just me, Mulder." He jumped, and withdrew his gun.

            "Jesus, Gibson, don't do that!" he exclaimed. When he entered the kitchen, he was surprised again to find Rhiannon sitting at the table, having tea with Gibson. His jaw dropped.

            "Rhiannon?" The girl rose out of her chair, and turned to face him. She was wearing the black pants, combat boots, and tank top she'd had on before, but she also wore a long black trench coat. Her long brown hair was down, and Mulder could see that it hung past her shoulders in loose curls.

            "Hi," she said. He raised his eyebrows.

            "You're back?" he asked. She nodded.

            "So now, you know --- who I am---" she said, quietly, looking embarrassed. He grinned.

            "Yeah. You can call me Dad, if you want," he replied.

            "Mulder?" He turned around to see Scully standing behind him, with Will on her hip. "What's going on?"

            "What're you doing out here? I told you to stay in the bedroom," he said, gently. She rolled her eyes.

            "Well, I didn't hear any screams or gunshots, so I determined it must be safe to come out, and Will's hungry. Who's this?" she asked, nodding toward Rhiannon.

            "Don't you recognize that nose, Dana? Those eyes?" Mulder joked. Scully looked at him perplexedly. "Scully, this is Rhiannon, our daughter."

            "Hi, Mom," Rhiannon said quietly, stepping forward. Mulder didn't believe that her eyebrow could go any higher than it was at that point.

            "Our daughter?" she asked. He nodded.

            "The one who came to me to stop you from giving Will up for adoption," he supplemented. "She gave me the dog tags I showed you, remember?" Scully pulled out a chair and sank into it, studying Mulder and their daughter as she bounced Will on her knee.

            "But your dog tags said you were born December 22 of this year. That day hasn't come yet," Scully said to Rhiannon, still confused. "How are you here?"

            "I came from the future to give you a message, just as I came to see dad four months ago. As confusing as it seems right now, the child you're carrying is me," Rhiannon said, pointing to Scully's noticeably swollen abdomen. Daunted, Scully simply stared at Rhiannon as she continued to bounce Will on her knee. Mulder smiled. What an odd situation.

            "This is Will, right?" Rhiannon asked, stroking Will's hair as he sucked on his thumb. Grinning, she turned to Mulder and said,

            "You should really try to stop him from doing that. He had braces for five years to correct his teeth because he sucked his thumb." Mulder shook his head.

            "So in the future… are you and Will the only two?" Scully asked, beginning to lose her fear and gain greater curiosity. Rhiannon grinned.

            "No, there are five of us all together," she replied. Both Mulder and Scully's eyebrows shot up. "Will, myself, Jack, James, and Leyla," she replied. "Jack and James are twins."

            "So why were you the one to come to us? Why not the future version of Will, or any of the others?" Mulder asked, taking Will from Scully. Rhiannon smiled at the child, and touched his cheek, saying,

            "Hey big brother." She paused and then looked up at her father, and said, "Well, Will was not able to come see you. You see, because he is already born in your present time, he cannot come from the future. It would disrupt the time/space continuum, and we cannot interact with our former selves. As for Jack, James or Leyla, they decided that I should come since I'm the eldest. I think they were just too lazy," she said with a grin. Scully was struck by her expression; Mulder had that smile. She jumped in her chair and said,

            "Mulder! Mulder, feel this!" She grabbed his hand, and held it to her belly.

            "That's the baby?" he asked. Scully nodded. Rhiannon watched, and Scully looked to Gibson, who had been a quiet observer the entire time, and said,

            "Would you like to feel, Gibson?"

            "Okay," he said, quietly, walking over to Scully and offering his hand. She placed it, open-palmed, where the baby's feet were hitting. He smiled. "Oh wow." Both Mulder and Scully looked over to Rhiannon.

            "Rhi," Scully said. "Would you like to feel this?" Her daughter smiled.

            "You called me Rhi. That's what you and Dad call me in my time," she said, and offered her hand to her mother.

            "How weird is this?" Scully said, smiling at Rhiannon. "To feel yourself kicking inside your mother's womb…"

            "It's very weird," Rhiannon said. "To be seventeen and standing in the kitchen, speaking to my parents, but at the same time, I'm in there too," she nodded toward her mother's abdomen, on which her hand still rested. "And I'm kicking for the first time." Mulder's joyful expression sobered and he said,

            "But Rhi, you're here to give us a message. What is it? Is something wrong?" She straightened up, and looked into his eyes.

            "You can't stay here. In three days' time, men will come in the dead of the night, in an attempt to take Will from you, to use him for their evil purposes. They don't know that you're pregnant, Mom, but if they find out, your life will be in as great a danger as Will's is." Scully looked at Mulder, clearly terrified, and kept a protective hand over her abdomen as she rose out of her chair.

            "Where do we go?" Scully asked, quietly.

            "There's a project out in New Mexico," she began. "A group of people working to stop the alien invasion. The group if called the Underground. They're the polar opposite of the Syndicate group which is now aiding the alien colonization plan. If you go to them, they will protect you all, and anyone else you bring, like Grandma Maggie."

            "What about Charlie and Bill, and their families?"

            "They're a part of the Underground, and have been for almost a year now. They're all safe. You need to join them," Rhiannon said.

            "We're supposed to just leave?" Scully said, quietly. "We have to run from everything we have here?" Mulder kissed the top of her head.

            "It'll be okay, Scully. We'll be okay," he replied, hugging her with his free arm. She sighed, and looked up at Rhiannon, with tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, and said,

            "How do we get there?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Notes: I hope you like this story! I'm not sure where I'm going with it, but there's going to be some conspiracy, and some romance. The perfect mix of fluff and drama! LOL. Well, feel free to send some comments my way! (Either hit the little button, or email me! xxilovedavidduchovnyxx@yahoo.com)