Chapter 16 (Mulder)

Leaving Scully was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do. I had always hated leaving her; when circumstances forced us apart after eight years together, I felt like a piece of me was missing. And once we were reunited, I vowed never to leave her again. It was a promise I had kept up until our time travel. I had considered transferring to be somewhere closer to her, but when I suggested this option to Scully, she had shot down the idea immediately. She did not want me to sacrifice so much just to be closer to her. I tried to tell her that it was not a sacrifice, that the real sacrifice was being so far away from her, but she would not listen. She simply told me to stay at Oxford, pointing out that it would probably be best if things remained as they were before. And she had a point. If I did not stay at Oxford, I might never be recruited by the FBI, never find the X-files, never find Scully. So despite my reluctance, I remained at Oxford.

As soon as I returned, I immersed myself in basketball and school and any other activity I could dream up, trying to stay busy so that I kept my mind off of Scully. I spent most of my free time with my team and a couple other close friends. I did not date, rarely even gave girls a second glance. Well, okay, I admit, there were a few who I looked at more than once. So sue me, I'm a red-blooded male. Looking never hurt anyone. And I usually found myself comparing them to Scully anyway. None were ever as beautiful. They were too fake with their copious quantities of make-up and tight clothing designed to make guys look again. But Scully, Scully was real. With Scully, you got what you saw. I loved that about her.

I knew that my avoidance of dating raised a number of eyebrows, and I noticed the whispered conversations and pointed looks, but I did not care. I was happy with Scully and my relationship. I did not need anyone else. I had found my soulmate. And if people did not realize this, screw them.

One night in late February, one of my friends, Greg, and I were standing outside one of the chemistry buildings on campus. I was attempting to pick the lock of the building though my mind was not honestly on the task at hand. As usual, I was thinking of Scully. Greg noticed this after a minute or so when I still had not opened the lock. "Having trouble, man?" he questioned.

"Sorry, my mind was just somewhere else," I apologized, refocusing on the task at hand. Carefully, I ran the pick over the pins of the lock, applying a light pressure to the torque wrench. It did not take me long to discover the pin that was binding, and I lifted it slowly, feeling the lock move slightly as it reached the correct height.

"You're thinking about that girl of yours again, aren't you?" Greg inquired.

"Her birthday's tomorrow," I told him.

"Man, I don't see why you're so hung up on her. Like the other night, that girl was totally all over you, and you just brushed her off."

"Look, I don't expect you to understand. Let's just say that Scully and I are solid. We're having a baby, getting married. I don't need a shallow relationship."

"And that's another thing. Baby? Marriage? You're getting yourself saddled up before you're even get a chance to run free for awhile."

"I've run free long enough, Greg. I'm ready for something different. I have a feeling marriage and fatherhood will be an adventure all of its own." I raised the third pin to the correct place before starting to work on the other two.

"Geez, man, what's taking you so long?" Greg asked, growing impatient.

"I've only been really working on it for about a minute now. Give me a break."

"Hey, I picked that lock the other day in thirty seconds."

"Because it was a Masterlock. You can scrub those open in no time. But this lock is considerably harder to scrub. And I think one of the pins is false setting." I moved the pick to the pin in question, feeling the high amount of resistance. Carefully, I released some of the torque, letting the pin fall into place. Unfortunately, another pin also fell as I released the torque. I sighed before setting to work once more.

Two minutes later, I opened the lock, and we entered the building quietly lest a late-night worker hear us. "You got the stuff?" I questioned.

"Yeah." Greg shifted his backpack on his shoulders. "These speakers are heavy."

"You're the one who wouldn't use the smaller ones. Now, who's going up?"

"Rock, paper, scissors. Best two out of three." I nodded, raising my fist in front of me. Unfortunately, I lost the first two rounds, and Greg smirked at me before shedding the backpack and crouching on the floor, his hands clasped together. With a sigh, I placed a foot in his hands, holding onto the wall for support as he lifted me up. When I reached the ceiling, I carefully pushed open one of the tiles before pulling myself up, resting carefully on the cement which backed the wall. Greg passed the backpack up to me, and I lifted it carefully before starting to move along the wall, careful not to put any weight to either side of me so I did not fall through the ceiling. I had crawled through ceilings like this one before, but the weight of the book bag threw off my balance somewhat, so I wobbled precariously as I continued slowly onward.

After moving about twenty feet, I stopped and carefully opened the book bag, extracting the speakers and radio. It took me a few minutes to set up all the electronics; when I finished, I whispered, "Greg, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," his voice replied, slightly distorted by the speakers. I smiled. So far, so good. I fiddled with the volume for a few seconds as Greg continued speaking. Once I was satisfied, I backed away carefully, taking the now-empty book bag with me. Going back was easier since the extra weight was gone, and in no time at all, I was dropping from the ceiling at Greg's feet.

"How'd it go?"

"Just like we planned."

"Good. I can't wait to hear Professor Durbin's reaction tomorrow when he starts to hear the voice of God." We both laughed and high-fived, happy with our successful prank. As we started out of the building, still smiling, I realized that it was moments like these that college was truly about. Sure, it was important to receive and education and things like that, but classes were not the most important thing in college. What was important were the relationships formed and the memories created. When I remembered my college experience, I did not recall classrooms or professors. Rather, I recalled moments like these, scheming with my friends to pull off a prank or relaxing with them after a stressful day. I learned as much outside the classroom as I did in it. It was wonderful to be able to have the college experience again now that I could truly appreciate it.

When I returned to my room, my roommate was already snoring softly in his bed. I tossed my backpack in a corner before sitting at my desk, flipping on the lamp so that I could write. The red numbers on my digital clock proclaimed it to be 12:34, so I started my letter with two simple words. "Happy Birthday." I knew the letter would not reach her until after her birthday, but the words seemed appropriate nonetheless. I had never really celebrated her birthday while we were partners, and once she helped me escape from prison, I became determined to make it up to her. Unfortunately, I had a lot of missed birthdays for which to make amends, so it took some scheming before I came up with the perfect idea.

Our first year on the run had been rather stressful. We were reluctant to settle anywhere for fear that someone might discover us, so we moved around quite often. Scully's birthday happened to fall while we were staying in a small town in Southern Tennessee. I woke her up with breakfast in bed on the morning of her birthday, telling her to wake up, eat, and dress for a hike. She was confused at first before I pointed out the date with a laugh, and she simply nodded in realization. At first I could not believe she had forgotten her own birthday, but I realized that I should have expected as much. We were both so focused on not being caught that we had not paid attention to anything else. The date did not really matter when you had no career and no real responsibilities and were simply traipsing around the country aimlessly, trying to stay one step ahead of the military.

Well, she followed my instructions, and we drove out to the mountains which weren't too far from where we were staying. We hiked to the top of one, and I found a small river with a waterfall which provided a couple hours of entertainment. It was one of the best days we had since we had started running; hell, it was one of the best days we had ever had. There were no conspiracies, no mutants, nobody trying to kill us. It was just the two of us. It was the first time I had seen Scully truly laugh in awhile.

We made love by that river; the cool water and the warmth of our bodies made it different than anything I had ever experienced before. And as I held her in my arms and told her I loved her, I knew that this was forever. We were forever. No matter what happened, we would still be us, Scully and Mulder, partners in every sense of the word. I think I knew then that not even the end of the world would separate us though I certainly did not imagine the circumstances which would surround it.

Since it was still midday, we hiked up another mountain and watched the sunset from the top. We made love again under the stars, and I gave her the present that I had been slowly assembling during our journey. It was a charm bracelet with nine charms, one symbolizing each year of our partnership. Every year after that, we would hike up the nearest mountain on her birthday and simply spend the day lost in each other, forgetting about the rest of the world. It was our one day away from everything, our one day to relax and simply be normal. And at the end of the day, I would always present her with a charm for her bracelet. Of course, the bracelet was lost now as were all our other possessions. Not that it mattered. The bracelet was simply a physical representation of our partnership; the true partnership was in the memories, the laughter and sadness we had shared, the trials we had faced and overcome. The true partnership was the one thing which had remained despite our time travel. Everything else around us had changed, but we were still partners.

I smiled to myself as I sealed a silver bracelet with a single charm depicting an infant into the envelope with the letter. I had written about the mountains, telling her that I was hiking the next day and that I would be thinking about her as I stared off into the night sky from four thousand feet above sea level. And I knew even as I wrote the letter that she would be performing the same ritual because it was our connection with our previous lives. It was a reminder of what we had lost and also what we had gained, our way of reminding ourselves that we should not squander time. Because one never knew when time would run out.

Scully's family had decided to take a vacation over her spring break, so we did not see each other again until early April when I was able to fly to California during my spring break. This time, Scully met me at the airport, having received her driver's license after her sixteenth birthday. As soon as her searching eyes found me in the busy terminal, we were both running toward each other wearing wide grins. Or at least, she was doing as close of an approximation to running as her rounded stomach would allow.

We met in the middle, and I dropped my bags to wrap my arms around her as we shared a searing kiss. Three and a half months was way too long, I decided as I pulled her closer, trying to squeeze all of the air out from in between our bodies. She moaned into the kiss, her tongue coming out to trace my lips. I parted them quickly, giving her full access to my mouth which she took greedily.

Eventually, I pulled away before we got too carried away for a public place. I stepped back slightly to look at her, my eyes sliding over her obviously pregnant stomach. "You're beautiful," I told her honestly. She smiled at me and took my hand, placing it on the curve of her stomach. I only had to wait a couple minutes before feeling the kick of the baby beneath my palm. And it was not just any baby. It was my baby. I still could not quite wrap my head around that.

"He or she knows that Daddy's back," Scully whispered. My grin widened. "Come on, let's get you back to the house. My mother insisted that you stay with us."

"Did you tell her that really wasn't necessary?"

"Of course I did. But she would never listen. Have you met my mother?"

I chuckled. "Good point."

We were quiet on the way back to the Scully residence. Nothing needed to be said; we communicated better without words anyway. Our hands remained clasped and resting on my knee for the entire trip. Our fingers parted briefly when we exited the car, but as soon as we started toward the house, they locked together once more.

Maggie greeted us as soon as we walked into the kitchen. "Hello, Fox, it's nice to see you again," she told me with a genuine smile.

I returned the smile. "It's a pleasure to see you, too, Mrs. Scully. Thank you for letting me stay here again though it's really not necessary-"

"Oh, nonsense." She cut me off with a wave of her hand. "You're practically family. Speaking of which. . ."

"That's actually one of the things I wanted to discuss with Dana while I'm here," I said. I had been trying to remind myself to call Scully Dana around her parents. So far, so good. "Of course, we'd always welcome your opinion."

"I'd just recommend you wait until after the baby is born. It's so hard to find a dress when you don't know what size you're going to be for the wedding."

"We were planning on it," I assured her.

"If you'd excuse us, Mom, I'm going to go help Mulder settle in," Scully said. Maggie nodded, and I followed Scully up to Charlie's room. "Charlie's been asking about you for weeks now," Scully told me as I put my stuff in one corner of the room. "He keeps asking when Mulder is coming back. Seems you have a fan in the Scully house."

"Hopefully I have more than one," I told her, turning so that I could take her into my arms. I leaned forward slowly, but our lips had barely brushed when a voice pulled us apart.

"Mulder! You're here!" Charlie exclaimed, bouncing into the room.

"Yeah, little man, I just got in," I said, wishing he could have better timing. I smiled at Scully. "We'll talk later," I whispered to her. She nodded.

"I'll just let you two catch up," she told us, leaving the room.

"Were you two kissing?" Charlie questioned as the door swung shut behind Scully. I sighed and turned to the enthusiastic boy. As much as I enjoyed Charlie's company, at that moment, I simply wanted to be alone with Scully.

Unfortunately, Charlie had basically attached himself to my hip, so Scully and I did not manage to have some time to ourselves until had gone to bed. Once he was asleep, I slipped quietly into her room to find her sitting in her bed with her back propped against the pillows, reading. She did not hear me come in, so I tiptoed to the bed, leaning over to place a kiss against her lips. She was slightly startled by the sudden contact but quickly began to reciprocate, wrapping her arms around my neck to pull me closer. I moved to the bed, straddling her as we continued to kiss.

"Mulder, you need to stop. My mother's in the next room," she told me as my lips trailed down to her neck.

I grumbled a bit but pulled away from her, knowing she was being reasonable. "I still haven't had a chance to greet you properly," I told her.

"You'll get your chance. Just be patient."

"I'm trying. You're not making it easy."

"You wanted to talk about things," she said.

"Yeah. First, I wanted you to sign something." I left the room to retrieve the paper from my bag. When I returned, she stared at me curiously.

"What is it?" she questioned.

"A document which gives you full access to my bank account. There's not a huge amount of money in there, but there's some. Probably enough to get an apartment for you and the baby when you go to University of Maryland. And when I move back after college, I'll probably stay there with you, too."

Scully glanced at the sum quickly before her eyes returned to me. "Where did you get this money?" she questioned.

I shrugged. "My parents gave me a decently-sized allowance until high school, and after that, I had a job for most of the time. I never really spent that much, so the money just accumulated. I'm working now, too, so I should be able save up a little more before you start next fall."

She shook her head. "It's too much. I can't take it."

I sighed, having expected the reaction. "In a few months, we're going to be married, and then what's mine is yours anyway. I'm just speeding up the process a bit. Besides, I'm not only giving the money to you. It's also for our baby."

"Don't you need it?"

I shook my head. "My grandfather is paying for college and associated expenses like books and plane fares. So this money is ours for the baby."

"Thank you, Mulder," she told me.

"No need to thank me. I'm just doing my duty as a father." I waited until she had signed the paper before tucking it carefully away in the folder I had brought. "Now, onto other matters. Your mother's pushing for a wedding date."

"I was thinking early August. Before you go back to school."

"You sure you want to deal with a newborn and wedding planning?"

"I don't want a big wedding. Just family and close friends. And I'm sure my mother will be more than willing to help with the planning. Probably with the baby, too."

"And I'll be here to help. Don't forget me."

"Mulder, I could never forget you." She kissed me gently before snuggling up to my side as I placed an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, do you mind staying until I fall asleep?" she questioned. "This is actually the first comfortable position I've found in awhile." I glanced down at her sprawled across my chest and chuckled softly.

"Sure, Scully. Whatever you want." And I meant it, too.

We both fell asleep fairly quickly. I was still jet-lagged, and Scully had seemed tired all night. I wondered if her admission of not being able to get comfortable meant that she had had many sleepless nights. We did not even wake when Melissa went to bed; it was not until Scully's alarm went off the following morning that I finally cracked my eyes open. Scully was still lying across my chest, her mouth slightly open, causing a small puddle of drool to form on my shoulder. I grinned down at her before bowing my head to kiss her temple. "Wake up, sleepyhead," I told her. "You need to get to school."

She grunted something unintelligible and buried her face deeper into my chest. I chuckled. "Come on, Scully, you like school."

"Too early," she muttered.

"Your alarm went off."

"Mmm. . . but I'm comfortable."

"Come on, Scully, up and at 'em." I shook her shoulder gently.

"Will you two please stop flirting and get up all ready?" an irritable voice grumbled from the other side of the room. Scully threw a pillow at her sister.

After all the Scully children were gone, I offered to help Mrs. Scully with any chores around the house, but she shooed me away, claiming that she had everything under control. Bored and restless, I decided to go for a run which ended up taking me through most of the area. When I returned over an hour later sweaty and panting, I took a quick shower before setting off again to wander around the city.

I was waiting in the driveway when Melissa and Scully arrived home, trying to pass the time by working on my shooting. When Scully saw me, she smiled, approaching me. I let the basketball fall to the ground as I wrapped my arms around her to kiss her. Melissa made a sound of disgust before turning to go into the house. When we finally separated, I suggested dinner and a movie that night.

"I just need to ask my mother," Scully told me.

"Already done," I assured her. "It's a Friday night, so she says that as long as you're home by curfew, we can go."

"Then I guess it's a date."

"It's a date," I confirmed, grinning.