Disclaimer: I don't own the X Files

Note: Huge thank you to Kyouryoku Senshi for being my beta!

Healing

"They want you to live in their facility," Gibson said simply as they walked away from the shack, "They want to train you and observe and you'd be free to come and go as you please, but they feel that you belong with them rather than here."

Shelly looked at the ground, "Are we somehow better than them? Is that it?"

Gibson squinted at a far off point, "I'm not saying I believe that, but they do."

"What if I say no?"

"Shelly…. You can't say no."

"So it's really not free will then is it?" She crossed her arms and turned from him.

"I guess not."

"Are they going to force the children to live there?"

Gibson looked at his feet, "They say that the kids can stay with Mulder and Scully…"

"Do you believe that?"

"I'm not sure. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they stay put and can have normal lives."

"And if not?"

"If they decide not to listen to me, then there is really not much I can do. My worry is… well if they come for the kids, Mulder, Scully, and Skinner will fight and if they fight- if they fight the colonists will kill them. Without a thought." His eyes were closed tight and he was rubbing his forehead.

"Well, then maybe if I go without a fight it will help win them over. At the very least, I could help convince them to leave the kids alone."

Gibson just nodded.

They began to move Shelly's meager belongings, although Gibson was not sure how much she would actually need.

Scully stood in the main room fidgeting, as they were getting ready to leave. It was getting dark outside and she had instructed Gabby and William to stay inside. The two of them were playing a card game at the kitchen table, trying to stay in their own thoughts. Neither of them were happy that the colonists were taking Shelly. William watched them wearily, "Are you sure these aliens aren't the bad guys? Cause they sure seem like the bad guys."

Gibson just shook his head, "They are immoral at worst."

"That's comforting," William said sounding every inch a teenager.

Mulder smoothed his hand over William's head in an attempt to calm him.

Gibson had been trying to decide if he should tell the adults not to fight if the colonists came for the kids. On one hand, if they were thinking clearly they might decide not to fight, but it also may make them want to run which would also be a death sentence.

He looked at them. Skinner was sitting on his cot with his elbows on his knees looking down at the floor his thoughts were on practical things about his new life on the reservation. Mulder was standing by the kids chewing on sunflower seeds and watching their card game, thinking mostly about what he would do if anyone came after them. Scully watched the children as well, but she seemed nervous. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her thoughts were a mess.

"Gibson where are the Lone Gunmen? And my brothers?" Scully asked.

He met her worried eyes, "The Gunmen are living with some colonists off the reservation right now, but they are safe. If you have a message for them I can deliver it. Your brothers and their families are safe. I know you were writing letters to them, I can deliver those when you are done. If you need me, just call out and I'll come when I can."

Scully just looked down at her shoes while Mulder thought about what message he wanted to send the Gunmen.

The small group watched Gibson and Shelly leave quietly. Shelly hugged the kids and told them she would see them soon.

Mulder broke the silence, "Skinner, Will, I think we need to go get some water."

Skinner nodded and William gave a long-suffering look but got up without complaint.

Gabby seemed especially disturbed by Shelly's departure William made eye contact with Scully and she went over to comfort the little girl.

Mulder and William watched them quietly as Skinner continued to keep to himself.

Scully ran her hands over the child's head, "Are you feeling sleepy?"

Gabby nodded, her face still buried in Scully's waist.

"How about I read to you for a little while?"

She nodded again.

"Ok honey, well how about you change into your pajamas and you can brush your teeth when the guys get back with the water?"

Gabby nodded again and went off to her room.

Scully found herself unable to sleep and was happy that the children were asleep. She'd checked before she went to bed, because she wanted some time for her own thoughts. All day she had been worried about her various thoughts making the kids nervous.

Now the thoughts she had held her captive. Anxiety swirled inside her and she longed for normalcy. She remembered the short time they had at the unremarkable house with William and she wished they could go back in time and freeze it there.

Tears tinged her vision as she heard Mulder's gentle breathing beside her. She slowly turned and curled around him. He responded and pulled her tight to him in his sleep. The months that they were apart scared her. It had been almost twenty years since she'd slept with anyone besides Mulder and she felt violated that she'd been manipulated into sleeping with a stranger.

Mulder felt the slight tremors that followed her tears and he woke up a bit more, "Can't sleep?"

His voice was low and warm against the top of her head, which he then kissed.

"I'm sorry I woke you. I just-I needed to…" she struggled with her words.

"I know." He ran his fingers through her hair gently, "What are you thinking about?"

She gave a small laugh, "Everything. This is crazy, Mulder. We're too old for this."

"Speak for yourself."

She gave him a light punch, "So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around it."

"I know." He whispered into her hair, "All we can do is live one day at a time and do the best we can."

"Have you thought about escaping?"

"Of course. But I don't think we can and even if we could there are apparently super soldiers roaming freely. And we have two kids with us. And I'm honestly kind of tired."

Scully nodded, "Me too."

There was silence for a couple minutes and Mulder wondered if she'd fallen asleep.

"Mulder, when I was in Arizona… They gave me a fake life. I was living with another man who insisted he was my boyfriend. It all felt strange, but they told me it was that way because I'd injured my head in a car accident. They said I was suffering from temporary amnesia." She wiped away a tear; "I had sex with the guy. It was awful, I felt almost violated but I thought it was because of my head injury, that I just felt disconnected. It was around then that I started having visions and dreams of you. I'm sorry. I wish I'd been stronger, that I'd been able to resist whatever they did to me-"

"Scully, stop," Mulder cut her off, "It's not your fault. They manipulated you and stole your memories. You felt violated, because what they did to you is rape. I know what you're doing right now; you're blaming yourself for it. But I blame myself. I wasn't able to do anything to save either of you. You and William were in so much pain, but I was fine. I should have been able to fight them off or at least do something. You saved us Scully. We would probably be dead without you."

Mulder pulled her closer and kissed her head, "You always save me."

She shook her head, but didn't argue, "I love you," she said simply and raised herself to kiss him.

They slowly and quietly made love again and soon after both fell into a deep sleep.