AN: A bonus chapter this week! I want to get past this section to get back to the present where all the characters are once again involved in the story. For those of you that are more X-Files fans, thank you for your patience as the plot of this story has unfolded.

Chapter 7

The next morning Carolyn and Captain Gregg sat across from one another at the kitchen table. She had put together a reasonable breakfast for the two of them. French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, her secret vice. Also, coffee, orange juice and toast. It was more than she normally ate but Daniel looked like he could eat quite a bit and she knew although he hadn't talked about it, he still wasn't feeling well.

He smiled as he put another forkful of food into his mouth. "This is quite good," he commented once he had finished chewing.

"You sound surprised. Didn't I cook in your delirious little world?"

"Not very well," he chuckled.

"Well, I can, it's just not my favorite thing. I usually don't have time for it. And like anything else if you don't practice…"

"Point taken. It's delicious. My compliments to the chef. And my humble thanks," he bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"You're welcome. We will talk more today?"

"We shall see."

"That will do for a start. It's not an outright no."

She was surprised to hear a doorbell ring around them.

"Are you expecting company?" He asked, suddenly wary.

"No, no one. I have the place to myself until I go home."

"Shall I leave?"

"Nonsense. You are my guest and we are having breakfast. Stay right where you are, and I'll take care of this. Probably some salesman."

"At your back door?"

"They can be very aggressive."

He nodded and went back to eating his breakfast as she went to the door and opened it.

"Bobby? What are you doing here?" The shock in her voice was evident.

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The small group of people in Gull Cottage watched tensely as Mulder and William settled on the bed, side by side.

"We're just about ready to start," Mulder said.

"Do you think you can bring him back this time?" Carolyn asked as she studied her friends.

"Yup, we'll get Uncle Danny," William said, reassuring his adopted aunt.

"If it gets to be too much for you, I'm bringing you back," Scully said. "Will does better, but Mulder you have some serious medical reactions."

"It's fine," he said, trying to shush her with his look.

"It can be that bad."

"What happens to him?" Candy asked.

"Yeah, does he get hurt?" Jonathan asked.

"He can. His heart rate rises drastically, his blood pressure increases to alarming levels, sometimes I'm afraid he's going to have an aneurism."

"Scully, it's not that bad."

"Not yet. Mulder, I know you feel you have to do this, but don't take long. Your body can't stand an extended session."

"It will be fine, Scully."

Carolyn walked over to the side of the bed, took Fox's hand in hers and searched his face. "Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want anything to happen to you, and I know that Daniel doesn't…"

"Then how will you get him back?"

"I don't know." Carolyn's voice was tinged with sadness.

"Carolyn, we'll be fine, just let us do this." He squeezed her hand in encouragement.

"You're sure?"

"Yup, we are Aunt Carolyn. It's okay. Dad and I will bring him back."

Carolyn stepped back to stand with her children as she watched Fox and William look at each other and nod.

"Ready Will?"

"Ready, Dad."

"Let's go get Danny."

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Bobby glared at her.

"I'm here to see you! Where have you been? I've been calling for over a week with no answer. It's not like you to ditch me."

"Who told you? Was it Martha?"

"Martha?" He snorted. "I couldn't get a word out of her."

"Good. Then who?"

"Your father. He thought it was time you spoke with me."

"He's wrong. That is for me to decide, not you." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"Come on, you should be over being mad at me. It was a mistake, that's all."

"Whose mistake?"

"Yours. I've already apologized, now I just need you to accept my apology."

"You're unbelievable! You were kissing another woman."

"She was kissing me! And she means absolutely nothing to me."

"That's not what it looked like to me."

"Then you're wrong. Come on, let me in," he said and stepped past her and into the kitchen. He was surprised to see another man there, a man who stood facing him, linen napkin in hand and an unmistakable air of confidence. "And you are?"

"He's a cousin of my neighbor. Bobby meet Roger, Roger Smith."

"Really? Roger Smith?" He gave Carolyn a skeptical look but stepped forward and offered his hand to Carolyn's guest.

The Captain set his napkin on the table and folded his hands in front of him, not taking the offered hand.

"Oh, like that is it?" Bobby stood taller, taking up the Captain's challenge. "And how is it that you know Carolyn?"

"Just as she said, through her neighbor," the Captain said helpfully

"And which neighbor is that?" Bobby asked turning to face Carolyn.

"The Smith's. They live a few streets over."

"I didn't know that you knew anyone named Smith."

"Umm, yeah. Met them last time I was up here."

"They sound pretty common to me."

"Careful, Bobby, you might get a nosebleed from that height."

The Captain bowed his head unable to keep a chuckle from escaping.

"Funny, huh? Afraid to laugh outright?"

"No, you pup, I was trying to be polite."

"All right. Man to man, why don't you tell me what you're really doing here?" Bobby stepped across the room so that he was a foot away from the Captain.

"I am having breakfast with Miss Williams. Isn't that obvious?" He spoke as if he were talking to a slow child and standing behind Bobby, she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

He spun around and before Carolyn could move, advanced on her and grabbed her arms within his hands in a very tight grip.

"Bobby!" She protested in a harsh whisper.

Before Bobby was aware of movement, her neighbor, Roger Smith, was standing behind Carolyn, an arm draped around her protectively. "Do you need any help Miss Williams?"

"No, I'm fine. Bobby was just letting go of my arms. Weren't you Bobby?"

There were a few moments of hesitation on his part, but then he released her arms and took a step back to regard the two of them. The Captain removed his arm from around Carolyn's shoulders.

"Carolyn, we need to talk."

"All right." She looked at Daniel. "Will you excuse us please?"

"As you wish. I will wait in the living room. If you should need any assistance do not hesitate to call."

"I won't, I promise." They exchanged a warm smile, before the Captain retreated to the living room. Then, crossing her arms in front of her she turned to face Bobby.

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Concerned, Daniel paced back and forth in the living room; trying not to eavesdrop but desperately wanting to, his manners at war with his instincts. Still he promised Carolyn that he would wait until she called, and he was determined to honor his word. He bristled at the thought of Bobby Muir lying a hand on her, and even though he had never met the man before now, he had always believed Carolyn deserved better. And meeting him in person had done nothing to change his mind.

Suddenly he felt dizzy, disoriented and sat heavily on the couch, holding his head in his hands. And then the pain started, and he remembered feeling the same thing when he had been pulled out of his original life.

Was he was leaving again? Had his family figured out some way to retrieve him?

Realizing his time was short he reached for a nearby pen and a napkin and as quickly left a note for Carolyn; he didn't want her to think that he had willingly abandoned her.

He paused to think if there was something to add, or if he had said too much when he doubled over in pain and disappeared. The pen clattered onto the table.

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Back in the kitchen, Bobby glowered at Carolyn, arms folded in front of him, demanding an answer.

"What was that about?" Bobby sniped.

"Nothing. Why do you insist there's more to this?"

"Carolyn! You're having breakfast with the guy! You know what that implies."

She did know what it implied but she wanted to hear him speak the words.

"No, I don't, why don't you tell me?"

"It implies that you slept with him," Bobby said.

"You can accuse me of that after what you did?"

"I kissed that girl I didn't sleep with her."

"You didn't?"

"No, I swear it." He stepped closer. "Carolyn, please."

"Bobby, I just don't know. I need time to think about this."

"You've had time, you should be over it now."

"Why do you think there is a timeline to this?"

"Shouldn't there be? Look, we both made mistakes and you got mad, I understand that. But it's time to be over it."

"No, it's up to me."

He paused for a few moments. "I bet that's not what your parents think. They like me and want us to be together. What do you think they will think if I tell them about your breakfast with Roger?"

"Bobby!"

"They don't know as much about your rebellious side, I'd be more than happy to tell them."

"You wouldn't."

He nodded slowly. "I will; unless you come home with me."

"I can't go home with you. But I will be back when Spring break is over. We'll talk then."

"Promise?"

"Yes, Bobby. I promise."

"Good." He smiled and stepped closer to her. "I do love you, Carolyn. You know that, right?"

"Of course," she offered him a confused smile as he leaned in to kiss her. It was a chaste kiss, that he deepened into a more searching one. She stopped him and gently pushed him away.

"Something wrong?" He regarded her with puzzled eyes.

"No, nothing," she murmured, surprised that she was mentally comparing Bobby's kiss to Daniels. And Bobby was not the winner.

"You'll come home?"

"As soon as I'm done with vacation. It's only a few more days. Okay?"

"All right. You swear there's nothing going on with him?" He couldn't hide his jealousy.

"Nothing. I've just met him. Certainly, you can give me more credit than that?"

He studied her for a moment and then nodded a slow smile coming out of his face. "Of course, you're Carolyn Williams. You would never take a stranger to bed. I should know better than that."

"Yes, you should."

"You sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine. We're just going to have some more coffee and then he'll be on his way."

"Great. I'm sorry if I was an ass," he said and stepped close again and placed a sweet kiss on her lips, one she enjoyed more than his first kiss.

"I'll accept that apology, but I'm still working on the other one."

"We'll talk when you get back, all right?"

"Yeah, now please go. I need to get back to my guest before he thinks I am a poor hostess."

"And we can't have that." He laughed. "Okay, babe, I'll see you soon."

Carolyn stared at the door after Bobby left, then she went to it and locked it because she did not want him returning unannounced. Then she took her cup and went into the living room only to find it empty. Daniel's coffee cup was there, but he was not.

Alarmed, she searched the bedrooms, and then the rest of the rooms in the house but he was gone. Shocked that he would run out on her, she sat down on the couch where he must have been sitting and saw a scribbled note.

Several years from now you will have the opportunity to lease Gull Cottage in Schooner Bay, Maine. To assure our future together you must do so. I will be there but not as you know me know. Please don't be alarmed if I don't know you. It will all work out I promise you…

It was just another thing to add to the strange, mysterious man that Daniel Gregg was, a man she was already falling in love with despite the caution issued by her mind. It would be quite some time before she could accept another man's touch, even Bobby's. So much for starting a relationship with the handsome new man in her life.

Depressed, she sipped her coffee, knowing that she would want something more substantial later.

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The atmosphere in the room shifted and they all looked at Mulder and William as they groaned and then cried out together. There was a sudden noise and the sound of something crashing into the nearby Master Suite. Carolyn raced out of the room followed by the children as they raced to the room and threw open the door.

In the middle of the floor, clearly unconscious, and lying in a heap was the Captain. Not in his usual Captain's clothes but some outdated trousers and dress shirt that Carolyn recognized as belonging to the fifties She ignored the feeling that there was more of a reason that the clothes seemed so familiar to her, but she pushed the thought away determined to deal with it later. Her immediate concern was to make sure he was all right.

"Jonathan, help him onto the bed," she ordered but her son was already helping the barely conscious Captain. With great care he laid him down in a more comfortable position and did a quick check of his pulse. And put a hand over the left side of his chest, before he turned and grinned foolishly at his mother.

"Mom, he has a heartbeat," he said in a hushed voice.

"He what?" Carolyn's world suddenly tilted abruptly, and Jonathan caught her before she hit the ground.

"I'll be fine, really," she said, but Jonathan ignored her and walked her to the other side of the bed where she could sit down until she felt better.

"Stay there," Jonathan ordered. "I'm going to get Dana to look over the two of you, and then I'm going to find where the hell Candy has gotten to. I know she likes to sleep in but with all the noise we've been making this is ridiculous. Plus, she has to hear the good news."

"Yes, do that," Carolyn said, still feeling faint.

The Captain was unconscious but mumbling things that she couldn't make out. She felt his head, and although warm, it seemed to be nothing more than a low-grade fever. Sighing, she placed her hand over his chest and listened to his beating heart.

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AN: Thank you for reading! Remember writers love reviews - honest!