Mulder and Scully sat together on the sofa for a long time. Skinner was sitting in the kitchen on Gibson watch duty. He was still out cold. Scully couldn't look at him. She still couldn't accept that the Gibson in her kitchen was the same boy she had helped to take care of for so many years. She lay with her head on Mulder shoulder; he was holding her hand and stroking her hair. It was oddly the most relaxed she had been in a long time. But things needed to be said, this needed to be over.
After an hour Skinner could be heard standing from his chair and Mulder turned to look at him and then at Gibson, he was waking up. He lifted up Scully softly from him, she had fallen asleep. It pained him to see how exhausted she was, she was pregnant and he was putting her through this, he was a jerk. But he was a jerk who was trying to make amends. Resting Scully's head back down onto the couch he stood up and walked over to Gibson and Skinner. Gibson was fully awake, and he was pissed.
"So, what? I'm your prisoner now? You gonna keep me here forever?"
"No. For now at least."
"You can't keep me here, I'm just a kid."
"With nowhere to go and no one to miss him, isn't that right?" Mulder was not going to take any crap this time, no emotional heartstrings were to be pulled, he'd end this for his family.
"I don't care what you think you can do to me, I'll win this, you know I will."
"Why'd you do it?" Skinner was as shocked by this as anyone, he wanted answers too.
"Why?"
"The hospital bomb, Monica's shooting, pursuing William? What on earth happened to you?"
"My life was screwed over by all of you. You made me the key to the entire conspiracy, they want me every time, no matter who else is involved, it was always me who they came back to. You think I wanted my life to be that way? I wanted to be a regular kid; I wanted to have everything that all the other boys my age had. But I couldn't because you wouldn't stop trying to protect me. Your protection only placed me constantly in more danger! So I figured it was time for a change. The last five years of my life have been miserable, it ends now."
"You still haven't explained what Monica has to do with this? Or why you blew up the hospital?" Gibson laughed and Mulder had to fight the urge to hit him, this was his sister, his family, and Gibson found the whole thing amusing, it made him feel sick.
"There is a connection between all of you, Doggett, Reyes, Mulder, Scully, the four of you have always come together. In your past lives, everything you've ever done, the four have you have always been allies. There is a spiritual connection between you. The only way I can eliminate that is by killing Monica first, she's the conduit between you all. She has never died first, if she does, it's over. This life will be your last. The only threat to me is your son, and your unborn daughter. I can't hear what they're thinking, but they can communicate with each other in a way I don't know of. I can't win this with William or his sister alive, and I can't kill your daughter until Monica is dead. She is the only other female blood Mulder, she is connected to the baby and so long as she lives, the baby will live."
Scully had been listening to all of this. And at the news of her baby being completely safe despite her best friend lying in a coma, she stood up to join the conversation in the kitchen. Mulder took her hand and Gibson again laughed.
"You two are so predictable. You're the ones who always end up becoming romantically involved, not always Doggett and Reyes, but you two, you can never stop yourselves. And you screw it up every time, without fail. It's ironic really that you always fall in love, but you never managed to really love each other, there are too many things that have happened to you both to let it go and just love one another. Well, I'm ready for this, I will win, I can take over the whole damn planet, I just gotta get all of you out of my way. It's payback time."
Monica woke up with a jolt. It was the first time she had fallen asleep since arriving here, she had never slept at the park, but something about the dark enclosure of the forest had lulled her into a nap. It was Emily that had woken her now, with a serious and startled look on her face.
"Monica you mustn't sleep, it will make the baby vulnerable."
"What are you talking about? I'm tired..."
"If you sleep your connection with the baby is weakened." Monica sighed and stood up. She was fed up of this; she didn't care who she was supposed to be looking after, spiritually or not.
"You know I'm not sure that I can take much more of this, I still don't understand what I'm doing here or what you're telling me! How can I be protecting an unborn child when she is safely tucked away in her mother's womb and I'm here, from all accounts knocking on death's door!"
"You don't understand do you?"
"Understand what!"
"The connection between you, your partner, your brother and... and my mother. You are connected to this child in a spiritual way. You don't see it, but you feel it, I know you do. You can feel the energy of the baby, not yet grown, not yet ready to be alone."
"But the baby is no where near me, I don't understand."
"I told you, you don't exist on the physical plane, well neither does the baby, not yet, your body is here, talking to me now, but your spirit, your soul and your passion is with her, she is holding onto it, and I can sense that it won't be long now."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's almost over. And when it is I'll be gone."
"You're gonna leave me?"
"My job was to protect you so that you could protect the baby, when the threat to you is gone I can leave you to protect the baby alone. To concentrate your energy on her."
"But you can't just leave me here until the baby's born, it's months away! You can't leave me alone."
"Think about what I've said to you Monica. You won't be." Emily sat down and looked up at Monica as she watched her.
"Why don't you take a look around, there's no one else here, and the sooner you're ready to move around here without me to guide you the better. But no more sleeping." Monica looked around her and sighed heavily. Maybe this did make sense after all. It's the kind of thing she'd have believed in a heartbeat if she were able to talk about it with someone, but being asked to believe it herself had seemed completely unrealistic.
The more she thought about it the more it seemed feasible. And he more it seemed feasible the more certain she became that she could feel a connection back to her body and to a place where a tiny life was growing and would continue to need her support for now and always.