Forbearance Epilogue: Life Comes Anew
As good timing, good luck, and liberal airplane seat availability would have it, Fox Mulder and John Doggett were able to get seats on the next flight from Austin, Texas to Washington, DC. Their flight took roughly 3 hours, but gridlocked traffic in the Washington metropolitan area made any sort of hasty trip in the direction of Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital nearly impossible. However, in another very well-timed stroke of luck, the men happened to come upon an EMS crew who had stopped to refuel their ambulance at a gas station just 4 blocks from the hospital, and they just so happened to be on their way to Our Lady of Sorrows to do a patient transfer run. The crew then very graciously permitted them to follow them through the jam-packed traffic to the hospital once Mulder had told them about their urgent predicament.
Labor and Delivery Unit
Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital
Washington, DC
2:30 AM (Eastern Standard Time)
Mulder and Doggett hustled through the doors leading into the Labor and Delivery floor. Doggett held a nicely wrapped basket of assorted baby gifts he had gotten from the downstairs gift shop, while Mulder held a bouquet of carnations in one hand.
"Excuse me", Mulder asked a young nurse who sat at the nurse's station as he attempted to catch his breath, "Can you point us to Dana Scully's room, please?"
The young blonde twenty-something nurse then visually took note of the carnations. "Are you the father?" she inquired.
A still panting Mulder nodded. "Yes", he replied before gesturing to Doggett with his eyes, "My name is Fox Mulder. And Mister Doggett here is…is…"
"…I'm a family friend", an also panting Doggett interjected, "Miss Scully and I used to work together."
The nurse nodded. "I see", she said before briefly chuckling at the atypical situation. "Well," she continued after regaining her composure, "Congratulations, Mister Mulder. Miss Scully is doing fine and I'm happy to report that your daughter came into the world safely and healthily."
Wide and proud smiles then came across both men's faces. "So, it is a girl after all?" Mulder asked.
The nurse nodded. "Seven pounds, three ounces" she replied with a heartening smile, "She has all her fingers and toes. They're in Room Twelve. It's right around that corner. Miss Scully's brother is in there with them as well." She briefly stood up from her seat and pointed in the direction of Scully's room.
"Thank you", Mulder said before hurriedly walking toward the room with Doggett close behind.
The two men quickly reached Room 12, at which point Mulder gently knocked on the door before opening it. Mulder took an extended beat and just stood there smiling at what he saw.
An exhausted and hospital gown-clad Dana Scully sat up in bed. She very tenderly held her newborn baby daughter, wrapped in a light blue baby blanket, in her arms as very happy tears ran down her face. She looked up to see Mulder and Doggett standing there. Her smile widened as the pair made their way into the room. Charlie Scully, meanwhile, sat in a chair just to the right of the bed with an equally delighted smile on his face as he watched his sister with his new niece.
"Hi", Scully hoarsely greeted before looking to the baby. "Samantha", she said before looking back up at Mulder, "This is your daddy."
Mulder leaned in to take in the beautiful sight of his pink-skinned newborn daughter, who had clearly been blessed with his mother's stunningly gorgeous blue eyes. Baby Samantha cooed cutely as Mulder gave a peck on her little forehead. "Samantha?" Mulder inquired as he realized that she'd named the baby after his late sister.
Scully nodded. "Samantha Margaret Mulder", she replied before trading a look with Charlie, "Your sister, our mother."
The couple then kissed tenderly. "That's perfect", Mulder said after they broke their affectionate embrace.
Charlie got up from his seat and shook Mulder's hand before wrapping him in a hug. "Congratulations, Mulder" he said.
"Thank you, Charlie" Mulder replied, "And thank you so much for being here for Dana in my absence."
"Nothing has made me happier", Charlie very kindly and candidly said, "And it looks like I'll be sticking around here in the States for a while."
"Really?" Mulder asked, "How'd you manage to arrange that?"
"Well," Charlie began to explain, "My girlfriend Achara got word a few days ago that she's been accepted for a job as a coach for a children's tennis program in Virginia. She just got approved for a two-year work Visa and will be eligible for permanent American citizenship after that if all goes well."
"That's neat", Mulder replied, "When's she getting here?"
"Next week", Charlie said, "I figured I could do the 'full-time uncle' thing for you and my sister until I find a fitting enough job for myself."
Mulder then put a hand on Charlie's shoulder out of gratitude. "We could definitely use the help", Mulder replied.
Doggett, meanwhile, went over and kissed Scully on her cheek. "Congrats, Dana" he warmly said before looking down at the baby, "She's absolutely perfect."
"Thank you, John" Scully said, "It's great to see you in person again, even considering the circumstances."
Doggett chuckled in retort. "What better circumstances could there be?" he asked just as his cell phone suddenly vibrated. "Oops", he said as he grabbed his phone off his belt, "Excuse me." He then stepped aside to take the call quietly, and went to Mulder's side once the call finished.
"What's up?" Mulder softly asked.
"Assistant Director Duebner wants to see us in her office at nine a.m." Doggett replied.
Office of Assistant Director Rene Duebner
FBI Headquarters
9:15 AM
Mulder and Doggett sat in the two chairs opposite AD Duebner's desk while the Assistant Director went over the various reports from the Florin Bezna FBI case file. Mulder was dressed in a very professional charcoal wool suit with black leather loafers, while Doggett wore a lighter gray wool suit with gray dress shoes. Duebner, meanwhile, wore a white button-down dress shirt and a medium-length black skirt and black flat heels.
"It has to be said, Agent Mulder" Duebner finally said after removing her bifocal glasses and neatly setting them on her desk, "When you warned me before that supervising the X-Files would be a very unorthodox experience, you sure as hell weren't lying about that."
Mulder briefly chuckled. "Well," he replied, "To put it frankly, ma'am, I've never been one to tell somebody 'I told you so'."
"Nor have I, Assistant Director" Doggett cut in, "My time on the X-Files has truly opened my eyes, especially with what Agent Mulder and I experienced in Texas."
Duebner nodded to both her agents. "No kidding", she said before picking one of the reports out of the file, "It would appear that the remains of both Nikolina Bezna, also known as Kiara McCauley, and her nephew Florin Bezna were recovered from the remnants of the exploded house in Round Rock, Texas. The cause of death for Miss Bezna is listed as 'seven penetrating gunshot wounds to both the lower chest region and the upper abdomen, with the wounds penetrating both the thoracic and abdominal aortas'."
Doggett nodded in acknowledgement. "That's correct", he explained, "Ballistic tests performed by the Crime Lab at the Texas Department of Safety determined the three shots to the lower chest were fired by Chief of Police Jenna Householder, while the remaining four were fired by Commander Dan Michaud. They both have already been cleared of any wrongdoing."
"I see", Duebner said as she retrieved another report and referred to it, "And I see that Florin Bezna's cause of death is 'severe third and fourth degree burn trauma and penetrating shrapnel injuries as a result of exposure to both intense heat and flying debris'. This report makes no mention of his rare genetic condition nor the bizarre physiology resulting from it."
"That omission was done by Doctor Jerritz at the mutual insistence of Agent Doggett and myself", Mulder said, "Neither of us wanted someone from the media getting ahold of that information and causing a public uproar."
"Smart move, gentlemen" Duebner replied before clearing her throat.
"Thank you, ma'am", Doggett said, "I do have one big question. Why didn't that furnace explode when Householder and Michaud opened fire on Florin's aunt? With that leaking propane, I would've thought that we all would've gone up like a dry pine tree in a forest fire."
"I actually asked that question myself, Agent" Duebner explained, "So I had a brief phone conversation with the investigator from the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office earlier this morning. He told me that the sharp-force puncture to the furnace's propane line was only tentative, so the leak was actually much more gradual than Miss McCauley originally intended. She must not have used enough force to poke through the line."
"That's a relief", Doggett said candidly.
"No doubt", Duebner replied before abruptly changing the subject, "Agent Doggett? I actually have something I'd like to address regarding you. After I spoke to that fire marshal, I took a call from Special Agent-in-Charge Bowman in San Antonio. He said that you applied for a transfer back here to Washington. Do I have that right?"
Doggett nodded. "You do", he said, "I'm sorry for not coming to you first, Assistant Director, but I figured that Mulder could still use some help downstairs on the X-Files since Agent Scully won't be back for a few more weeks." With that, a surprised Mulder momentarily shot a look to Doggett before reverting his gaze back to Duebner.
"Well, I very much admire the initiative" Duebner replied before signing Doggett's transfer form and handing it back to him, "Permission granted, John. Welcome back. I'll square everything away with Bowman for you later today. If I may, I think I'd like to sweeten the pot even more for you both."
"Ma'am?" Mulder inquired.
"How would you like to have Agent Doggett on as a member of the X-Files full-time, even after Agent Scully returns?" Duebner asked, "With the budget increase I secured for you, the Bureau can afford to have a third agent downstairs."
Mulder smiled widely before looking to Doggett eagerly, at which point both men shook hands. "I'd love that", he said before addressing Doggett, "Welcome back, Agent Doggett."
"Glad to be back, Agent Mulder" Doggett replied with great pride in his tone.
"Alright then", Duebner said, "How is Baby Samantha doing, Agent Mulder?"
"She's doing good so far, ma'am" Mulder replied, "Thank you for asking. Scully, Charlie, and I had a pretty rough and sleepless night at the hospital, but she's nursing and eating well so far. We can't wait to get her home."
Duebner stood up from her seat and extended a hand to Mulder. "Glad to hear it", she said, Congratulations, Agent."
Mulder firmly returned the handshake. "Thank you, ma'am" he said, "Thank you for everything. You're off to a good start here."
"I look forward to working with you both", Duebner said, "That's all for now."
With that, both Mulder and Doggett left the office together and walked toward the elevator at the end of the hall.
"So", Doggett said, "Looks like we're back to chasing aliens, ghosts, and monsters together, eh?"
"Looks like it", Mulder said as he hit the "DOWN" arrow button to call the elevator.
"Can you do me a favor from now on?" Doggett asked.
"Sure", Mulder replied.
"Stop throwing all those goddamn pencils into the office ceiling", Doggett bluntly said.
[Final Author's Note: And the search for the truth continues! Thanks to all of you, as always, for taking the time to read "Forbearance". As I said in the first A/N way back in Chapter 1, I was very passionate about doing this story as I've been a huge "X-Files" fan for over 20 years now. It remains, even today, as my #1 favorite TV show ever! I just hope I did it justice! As for me, I'm going to take another breather for a bit, but don't worry, I'll be back at this soon enough! Stay tuned, everybody! Thanks again! Peace!]