By a little after noon the house was removed of all of our personal belongings. I sat on the bottom of the steps – the only seat left – as Mulder packed my car with our suitcases. Mulder's four by four was already on its way in a truck to our new home while the mustang was sold back to the dealership so it could be purchased by someone who wouldn't be a father in three months. I know he missed it, but it wasn't practical at this time in our lives. Not that anything about our lives was practical.

"Just got off the phone with Skinner." Mulder said walking into the house – his voice echoing due to the empty space – "He'll meet us at the Barnside Diner off the Little River Turnpike. We should make it there in about thirty minutes depending on traffic."

Nodding my acceptance, I got up from the stairs and looked around the house, just taking it all in, "I haven't seen this house this empty in over ten years."

"The family who bought it moves in tomorrow. We just have to drop the keys off at the realtor."

"You know what I mean." I replied, quickly wiping away the tears that fell without warning, "This was our first home."

Mulder nodded as well and reached his hand out to me, "And it's theirs now."

I wanted to take in the memories, Mulder wanted to forget everything. Taking his hand, I let him lead me out the door, down the stairs and to the car where he opened the passenger door and helped me in before closing the door and returning to the house to lock up. After returning to the car he quickly got into the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition. Everything about his actions made it look like he was fleeing a crime scene and at that moment I understood. Grabbing his right hand from the steering wheel I forced him to look at me. His eyes were wet, but he wasn't crying. I moved my hand to his and interlocked our fingers, squeezing tightly.

"I'm not going anywhere." I said in defiant tone, "Not without you."

Mulder nodded and bit his lower lip, "I know…I know that now…but…"

I shook my head and squeezed harder, "No buts. I know moving two thousand miles doesn't change what happened, but it's a fresh start we desperately need. All of us."

He smiled and nodded again, "Would you be offended if I handcuffed you to the car door?"

"Yes, and you don't have handcuffs anymore."

Letting go of me he put his hand on the gear shift and smirked, "That's what you think."

The Waze estimate of thirty minutes was incorrect. Very incorrect. Nearly an hour after we left the realtor's office, we arrived at the Barnside Diner. The hostess directing us to where the bald man with glasses sat in a booth in the back waiting for the rest of his party.

"When you have a cane, they let you sit down before your party is complete." He chuckled as we approached the booth, his eyes instantly going to what was causing my sleeveless black shirt to bellow "Wow." He said in what seemed to be utter amazement.

"I told you months ago." I replied.

"I know, but I thought I imagined it…" he replied

"Me too." Mulder replied before motioning for me to get into the booth before him, forgetting how often I needed to use the restroom. My eyes alone told him this and he simply nodded and quickly got into the booth and I did the same.

"That's new as well." Skinner said looking at my left hand as I picked up the menu in front of me.

Furrowing my brow, I turned to my husband, "You didn't tell him?"

"Guess it slipped my mind." Mulder replied grabbing a menu as well.

"And no invite?" Skinner sounded hurt and insulted.

"No one was invited." I added, "Simple ceremony in front of a judge two months ago. I don't even remember the day."

"July 27th. Two fifteen pm." Mulder replied looking over the menu.

"Show off." I replied wondering if I wanted anything other than pancakes ever again.

"Well, you look happy." Skinner replied taking in a deep sigh, "Even if it took this long to get there."

"Are you saying more people should retire, get married and have a baby in their mid to late fifties?" Mulder joked.

"You two have always been the exception to every rule." He replied picking up a menu.

"How's the physical therapy?" I asked needing to change the subject.

"Painful." Skinner replied, "Much harder when you're in your sixties and I saw it as a sign to retire as well. Pretty sure Kersh is happy to never see any of us again."

"I've never seen him sign a document so fast in my life." Mulder replied, "Well, except that time he fired me. I think it's the first time I saw him smile."

"Luckily that didn't affect your pension." I replied, "Or mine."

"He's not as bad as he comes off. I think in the end he wanted what was best for everyone, especially you." He said looking directly at me, "Did you tell him about the pregnancy?"

I shook my head. "No. It was still early enough. I really only wanted Mulder to know, but he let it slip to you at the hospital. I was just too scared to tell much of anyone really."

"Scared of what?" Skinner asked just as the waitress came to take our orders.

After opting for Waffles – changing things up – with strawberries and whipped cream and a water I waited for Rachel to leave before answering Skinner's question.

"Scared of everything. I didn't know what to think. If this was going to happen to me, why now? Why not so many years earlier when I was younger. Nothing made sense. I thought it was a mistake. After the blood test confirmed it I still didn't believe it. After a week of taking other tests, and telling Mulder, and leaving the FBI and selling my condo…every day I just believed it wasn't true. It couldn't be true. I didn't feel pregnant. Then I had my first ultrasound at eighteen weeks and I heard the heartbeat and I knew."

"How do you feel?" Skinner asked taking a sip of his iced tea.

"Fine. I don't feel pregnant, I mean I clearly look it, but I don't have any of the issues I had before. I get scared something's wrong and then she'll move or kick and remind me that everything is ok…"

"So, you know it's a girl?"

"It's a girl." Mulder said as Rachel returned bringing our two waters with lemon.

"We don't know for sure." I said taking the lemon and squeezing the juice into my water glass, "He's just assuming."

"I know." He replied, "I know things."

"I will say, it's much easier having him around this time. The move has been hard, and stressful, but once we're settled in I'm sure everything will be fine."

Skinner nodded, "I'm glad." He smiled, but I could tell something else was on his mind.

"You didn't just want to meet us for lunch to say goodbye…" I confronted him.

"Not exactly…" he added, "But now.."

"Now what?"

"I don't want to upset you. I didn't remember that you were expecting."

"I've pretty much reached the point where I can handle anything regardless of my condition." I replied picking up my water glass, "Anything."

"If this is about our pensions." Mulder piped in, "I still have my inheritance. I used some for the house, but still have most earning a very nice interest rate so we'll be ok." He said taking my left hand as if that could protect me from any and all bad news.

"No, your pensions are fine. Well, on the condition that you never step foot in the FBI ever again."

"No problem there." Mulder replied.

"As I assumed, but no…a body surfaced on the beach in Norfolk. It had been badly decomposed, but it had multiple gunshot wounds. They were able to do a DNA test and it came up with a match in the bureau."

"To whom…"I asked fearing the answer.

"Mulder." Skinner replied.

I still felt ill, "Just...Mulder?"

Skinner eyed me and nodded, "Yes. Why…who did you think it was?"

I shook my head, "No one."

Mulder sighed, "It wasn't him, Scully."

He finally called me Scully again.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because he only shot William once." Mulder looked to Skinner, "Which is why I shot my father a lot more than that."

Silence fell over the table as we then realized Rachel was standing next to the booth with our meals, "Waffles?" she said her voice cracking a bit.

I looked up and faked the best smile I could muster, "Video games."

Rachel nodded and placed the waffles in front of me, Mulder's avocado sandwich and Skinner's roast beef sandwich in front of them before walking away quickly.

"Good save." Mulder replied looking back at Skinner, "In short they found a body, matched it to me, it was my father and now he's really dead and we can go on with our lives."

Skinner nodded, "Yes, but what were you saying about William?."

I picked at my whipped cream, "He's gone."

"Oh." Skinner replied, "I'm so sorry Dana."

Mulder continued to hold onto my left hand, now as if he needed the protection, "The fact his body hasn't been found is a good thing. Remember that."

I nodded while taking a fresh cut strawberry off my waffle pile and popping it in my mouth. My appetite was all but gone, yet I still felt compelled to at least enjoy a tiny bit of fruit.

"You didn't tell him?" Skinner looked at me and then at Mulder. "About William…"

"She told me." Mulder replied in a tone between annoyed and angry "what you told her."

"And now I'll tell you what I didn't get a chance to tell you then. It's a lie. All of it. Yes, I may not remember exactly what happened that night with…him…but I do know I think I'd feel something directly after given the circumstances. No drug is that strong. The fact you even believed him at all is what I find incredibly insulting" I said as my appetite began to return. Rapidly "and do you really think I wouldn't have William's DNA tested? Me!?" I shook my head as I began to cut into my waffle "it's like you don't even know me."

Stabbing a piece of the doughy goodness I shoved it in my mouth and started to chew angrily. The anger I had felt for months finally spilling out. That this man I had known for so many years would believe a psychotic's ramblings. That he would question the paternity of my child. Yes, I had many questions on how William came to be, but that was one fact I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant. I focused on my appetite; not the four eyes staring at me from across the table and the two right next to me.

"I'm sorry, Dana." Skinner finally broke the silence as I nearly finished my waffle in a matter of minutes.

I nodded and swallowed, "If you thought in the end that's why I gave him up, you're mistaken."

Skinner shook his head, "I never questioned anything…but he sounded so convincing."

"That's his gift." I replied.

"And he's dead now so can we just move on?" Mulder picked up his sandwich and took a hard bite while sighing and looking out the window. What was supposed to be a pleasant farewell lunch turned into an airing of grievances followed by silence.

After quickly grabbing the check once Rachel placed it on the table, Skinner paid for our meals and walked with us out to the car where the uncomfortable silence became too much.

"This didn't end like I wanted it to." Skinner said looking at both of us and then the ground as he adjusted his weight on the cane. "I don't want you two to drive away resenting me in some way."

"We don't resent you…" Mulder nudged me, "It's ok now. Everything is good now." He nudged me again.

I nodded and took his free hand, squeezing it a bit, "I said what I had to say. The slate is clear. There's no bad blood or any other cliché I cannot think of at the moment."

He smiled a bit and nodded, "Well, you have a long drive and I don't want to keep you."

We said our goodbyes, exchanged some gentle hugs and watched Skinner walk back to his car before getting into our own. I knew it really wasn't the last time we would see him, but it felt like it.

As we got into the car the events of the night before began to gnaw at me. Mulder's "dream" and the fact that he seemed to be more than certain that William's body wouldn't turn up. I didn't want to necessarily confront him, I just wanted to get going and say goodbye to everything here. But I had to know.

I waited until we were on the interstate to say what was on my mind.

"It wasn't a dream." I basically said to the windshield.

"What are you talking about?" Mulder replied as he searched for a radio station that didn't annoy him.

"I thought it was a dream at first as well, when I first saw what he wanted me to see, but then the seizures started."

"What on earth are you talking about?" he replied shutting off the radio.

"William." I replied looking directly at him, "You said he came to you in a dream – but you met him. Told him you were his father and somehow he found a way to speak to you through your mind."

Mulder didn't reply. He stayed silent and kept his eyes on the road ahead.

"I'm right, aren't I?" I continued to press him.

"It was a dream." He said with his attention still focused on the interstate.

"That's what he wanted you to think." I then thought back to when he came to me previously, "Maybe I should drive."

"No." Mulder quickly shot back, still looking at the road ahead, "If it is what you said it is, then he came to me for a reason. To prove his identity and that is all."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am. If he wanted to hurt me he would have made me implode like the others, but he didn't. He just wanted to be left alone like you said." He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at me, "We weren't parents to him." He said repeating my words from that fateful night.

"I know what I said." I replied, "And I know what I saw." As much as I wanted to get the image of a bullet going into my husband's forehead out of my brain, it was there. It would always be there. "After watching you pump six bullets into your own father I wasn't sure what to say or do. I thought it would be easier, for you, if you didn't believe William was your child."

"But now that you know he's alive…" Mulder said before moving to the left lane due to the red Toyota Prius going much too slowly for his current mood.

"I don't know what to think." I said before checking the speedometer which was clocking at a good seventy-two miles per hour. Maybe I shouldn't have started this conversation while he was driving. I placed my hands on my belly and sighed deeply.

Obviously sensing impending road rage, Mulder pulled onto the shoulder of I-270. "What are we doing here?"

"I thought we were driving to Colorado."

"Two months earlier you told me the boy I believed to be my son wasn't. That he was an idea; an experiment. That even though you carried him and birthed him, you were never a mother to him. What are you saying now?"

As if on cue, the tears started. I just shook my head and let them fall. Tears I cried that night for myself were now for my son. Thinking that by denying his birthright, his identity, that I could let him go when I knew now that would and could never be the case. All I wanted to do was protect him, protect Mulder and protect my unborn child. Now, all I wanted to do was hold him and tell him I loved him. Maybe it would have been better if he was dead; and I hated myself even more for letting that thought enter my mind.

Mulder turned off the ignition "We need to be in Lexington tonight. So, let's make a deal. If he comes to either one of us – in a dream or whatever other form he may take – we will turn around and go to Norfolk and do whatever we can to find him. To make sure he's ok. If he doesn't, then it's clear he wants to be left alone and we *as his parents* need to respect that. He's seventeen and can clearly handle himself, but I believe if he needs us in any way he will let us know. Somehow."

Unable to speak I simply nodded and kept my hands on my belly as the tears streamed my face. Mulder turned on the ignition and merged back onto the interstate.

Moving on. That's what he wanted us to do.

We arrived in Lexington after nine. The only choices for dinner were the usual fast food fare and even though I really didn't have much of an appetite I got a large Styrofoam bowl of mashed potatoes without gravy from KFC as Mulder picked at a biscuit to go with his green beans.

"I know you want us to BOTH eat better." I replied drowning the instant potatoes in liquid butter, "But the options are limited when you drive across the country."

"I'm good with this." He replied, "Your last checkup was fine."

"I have the body of a thirty-year-old." I smirked, "And you blood pressure was a bit high."

He nodded, "I'm hoping mountain living will change that." He replied while fighting to keep a bean on his spork. "I have a lot of books I'd like to read."

"Do you have anything else on the horizon?" I couldn't help but think back to how he got when he didn't have a job to go to every day.

"I'm not going to go crazy." He was clearly reading my mind, "I looked at getting into teaching, but sadly the nearest college is fifty miles away from our home and I don't really want that kind of commute."

"Maybe we should have investigated more when it came to finding a new place to live."

He shook his head and took a bite of biscuit, "No. I'll think of something to do. I saw that house and I knew it was right."

All I could do was nod and eat my butter flavored starch, "We'll be pretty busy anyway."

He smiled, "I can't wait."

I missed baths. Even though you can take them while pregnant, it's recommended that the bath water not be too hot and given I didn't want to risk anything I had spent the last two months taking very luke warm showers. Which were great in the summer, but as we approached the end of September I very much missed the feeling of relaxing in a hot tub with lots of heavenly scented bubbles.

She was due December 15th. That was a very rough estimate based on her size and development and even though I didn't exactly know the gender, I went with my gut and Mulder's gut and went with saying she and her instead of it. I had an appointment with a new OBGYN on October 3rd where I would then have the gender confirmed. The doctor's name was Jessica Harper and even though we had only talked on the phone she was extremely nice and non-judgmental given my special situation. Pretty soon I would have to start seeing her on a weekly basis and she already made space for me up to my due date which put me at ease. Sometimes after my non-relaxing showers I would just stand in front of the mirror and stare at myself. Not out of vanity, not out of amazement that at my advanced age I was still able to naturally create a child, but of sheer gratefulness that God and my own body gave me a second chance at being a mother.

After putting on my flannel pajamas and brushing my teeth I exited the bathroom to find Mulder sound asleep with an infomercial for hair restoration on the tv. Taking the remote I turned off the annoyance and just looked at him as he lay on the bed, his head propped up on two pillows, his mouth a gap and still in his button downed red and black striped shirt and jeans. At least he got his shoes off before passing out. It had been a long day so I couldn't fault him, but I did find myself just standing there watching his chest move up and down and cursing the fact I was pregnant and he was asleep

"We'll think of something."

The words left my lips as I looked up at the man lying next to me waiting for a response. Nothing. I bit my lip and continued to look up at him as he looked down at me. Had it been so long he was unware of the signs? The seriously obvious invitation I was giving him? Maybe he didn't want to presume. He knew I was scared, he knew I was upset about getting older, but didn't he know in this moment how much I needed him?

Realizing I had to be the initiator I sat up, our eyes within inches of each other. I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating rapidly under the grey tank top. He then placed his hand on top of mine before pushing his fingers between mine and my fingers closing over his. No words needing to be spoken I gently placed my lips on his, the salty familiarly instantly rushing through me as his lips parted and the kiss deepened, my hands now pushing him onto his back as I positioned myself above him. My knees on either side of his hips as my mouth, mind and body melted into familiar territory. Parting from him for just a moment I began to unbutton my top, his eyes focused on the act until the very last button when I pulled the clothing off and tossed it across the room. My lips returned to his as I began the more complicated act of removing the pajama bottoms. His hands gripped my waist as I pulled the intrusive satin off – nearly ripping them in the process. For a split second the fact that I was doing this, that there was no going back there was no way he could see this as a one-time just sex thing did come over me. I could stop now, tell him it was a mistake and run back to my bed in shame, but I also knew I couldn't. I *needed* him. I had always needed him. It could never just be about sex with us. It never was. I just didn't want to hurt him. Again.

He didn't say anything. His hands still gripped to my waist, his eyes on my face as I straddled him naked and confused. Honestly it would have been better if he wasn't looking at me and if the moon didn't make it so bright in here. He wasn't going to force anything. I knew that. I also found myself terrified to open a door I wasn't exactly ready go to through. Again

Then a tiny voice popped into my head.

Fuck it.

Placing my hands on his neck, my lips returned to his as his hands moved to my ass, his nails digging into my flesh causing me to moan in a way I hadn't in so very long. His hands then moved under me, doing his best to rip off his own clothing barriers until I felt what I wanted so badly pressing against my delicate skin. Forgetting everything else and focusing on those two little words and my own selfish needs I took hold of him and ran my fingers up and down the hard shaft as I sat up looking down at him as my nails gently tickled the sensitive skin. It had been some time. Years, sadly, but I knew what he liked. It didn't take long for everything to flow back and as much as I needed this, more than anything I wanted to be desired and as I slowly drew him inside of me and watched his eyes close as his hands moved back to my waist I knew that had been achieved. My own eyes closed as I began to move, my hands moving under his shirt as I ran my fingers over and between his firm nipples. As my body adjusted to him, all of him, my pace began to quicken, his hands moving again to my behind and gripping my skin

as my heart raced and my breathing deepened. As I felt his body stiffen and his grip on my skin tighten, my back arched as I grabbed hold of the sheets and pulled at the fabric as my own release came over me; my own screams of pleasure muting his as I waited for the sensations to stop and let my exhausted body fall on top of his.

"Dana?"

A voice called out and I opened my eyes to see Mulder looking down at me. I blinked until he came into full focus…

"Hi…" I replied licking my very dry lips.

"You were moaning…" he said, "Loudly."

Sitting up I took in my surroundings, a hotel room, and my very swollen abdomen underneath the grey flannel pajamas. I had to chuckle at myself, "Well…" I said placing my hands on the belly, "I guess my mind just wanted to remember how this happened."

"I hope I was there…" he replied.

Narrowing my eyes at him I simply shook my head, "Shut up."

"Was that your only dream?" he asked returning to the previous day's subject.

I nodded, "Yes." I then looked up at him, "And you?"

"I had a dream a bear was chasing me up a mountain." He said shrugging, "I already ordered room service and showered so we can get going as early as possible. I wanted to let you sleep…so you could…finish."

He was not going to embarrass me, "Shut up." I said again before getting out of the bed and walking to my suitcase and pulling out a lavender sundress, "I hope you ordered pancakes."

He nodded, "Of course." He said smiling, "You know… you don't have to just dream…"

It wasn't the first time he had brought it up, and even though I knew it was perfectly safe I didn't want to risk anything so I just replied with the same answer I had since he first brought it up, "See you in 2019."