Fifty

by DaniPayson

I wanted to write something in present time celebrating the fiftieth birthday of Dana Scully. This idea came to me yesterday afternoon and I just went with it till the wee hours of the morning. I felt it best to have it stay in the same genre I have with other stories I'm working on where William has been returned to his birth parents and they have a daughter born in late 2008.

3. Saving Ourselves

I wanted to throw up, but the fear coursing through my body wouldn't allow it. Once we sat down with Patricia Jones she explained why she knew me, that she and her husband had contacted me through not so polite ways back in 2002. After a bit I did recall my experience with her, and watching her husband die in front of me among other events that transpired I'd like to erase from my memory. Patty wasn't afraid to talk about this, or anything, because she knew she was safe at home. No TV or working electricity and they ate all meals out of the home. She even kept the curtains drawn and knew there were no recording devices in the house. Four years ago, when packing to move from her home in Maryland, she found a locked storage box in the closet of her residence. Inside were detailed notes her husband had kept. Information he had discovered that he wanted to keep safe just in case. It said that if the alien colonization did not occur at the end of 2012, that the 'merchandise' would be disposed of. All proof of the experiments done to women, all products of those experiments. Men. Women. Children. All would be 'disposed of.'

She didn't know where, but was ready. She was in the tunnels with all of us, holding her scared daughter and waiting. Once they were released like the rest of us she went home and prepared. Prepared to be eliminated. She cancelled cable, sold all electronic equipment and daily checked her house for any kind of recording devices. Her husband told her how, and where. Mostly light fixtures, which she had removed. She didn't trust anyone to ever come into her home and even when she was gone had a special powder/spray and backlight to check for any kind of disturbance. She told us not to trust our home, which even though we had it built to our specifications that even the cable man could have been 'one of them.' I had reasons to believe her, especially after she said her husband was asked to keep a VHS copy of us. Together. From many years earlier. She said she still had it and didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands. For the last year she waited, until after the New Year when the advertising firm she worked for said she had been reassigned to their division in France. Even though the firm did have a division in Paris, she found it hard to believe that she of all people would be sent there. The company would pay her for her move, and pay her handsomely once she arrived. That's when she got suspicious. She was a very good employee, but paid only sixty thousand a year compared to her fellow associates and didn't even receive bad attitude from her co-workers once she was chosen to move overseas. Knowing it was coming she packed up anyway and would be moving the next weekend, which is why the day before she had her blood drawn at her doctor's office stating that the medication he had put her on made her feel anemic. She knew the words to use, that would get her sample flagged and sent to us. Everything was planned out. We were part of the game, and now they were done with us.

Mulder asked her to keep doing what she was doing, to move as intended, and he would make sure nothing happened to her and her daughter. She said she trusted him, that of all people she knew she could trust us, and then before leaving gave us the videotape.

I wanted to believe him as well, but there was a nagging feeling in my stomach that for all the suffering they had put us through that they really were finally ready to put an end to all of it. For good.

We went back to work. Missy went back to her workbooks given she had no true idea what Patty had told us. Mulder noted in the file that the subject had been injected – Patty let us do it to keep our records accurate and prevent any further suspicion on her part. In the car we didn't speak, but I knew what Mulder was thinking anyway. We had to go back to normal, to pretend we knew nothing about what was happening. What was going to happen to all of us. After work we picked up William and drove to my mother's, asking her to watch the kids, that we had to talk in private without them. Mulder didn't trust anyone else with Missy, but for an hour or so he hoped he could trust the woman who raised me.

The sun had set by the time we got to a deserted park where we left the car and walked twenty feet into the woods where streams, birds and other wildlife would keep any kind of true recording devices from hearing us. We didn't know if we were being recorded, we just didn't want to find out the outcome if we were; not that what we were facing was any better.

"What exactly did they tell you?" I asked, my arms crossed due to the cold and the frustration, "You have to tell me now."

Mulder nodded, "They said they were tagging for good reasons. I should have known they were full of shit, but I had to believe them. My job in London was to categorize subjects by age, race, and gender from all over the world. The man they had doing it passed away right before I was transferred there and they didn't have anyone else with enough knowledge. Or at least that's what they told me. You have no idea how many people there are like us all out there, Dana. Like William. Like…Emily."

"You found more girls like Emily. Exactly like Emily?"

He nodded, "Yes." He said bluntly, "All girls, with the exact same DNA profile. By now I basically have it memorized."

"Because it's us."

"Exactly. I knew I wouldn't be in London much longer because I was running out of subjects to categorize and I think they purposely didn't give us specific files because of who we are. Think about it, even Charlie knew us when we met him, even if we didn't specifically remember him, and with Patty today. About the same time Patty said she was told to transfer was when they told me we would be moving to France. They never asked, they just said we would be. When I asked why the simple answer was 'because we said so' when I asked what I would be doing they said 'what we tell you to.' This is not why I came back here and I felt guilty for convincing you to come back as well. If I could I would just pack up the UHall and drive us all back to that little house in Strassburg. Never leave again."

"In the end you know we still wouldn't be safe. I'm starting to wonder if we ever were."

"I realized in those six years they just didn't need to worry. If colonization happened we'd be taken care of that way, if not they'd find a way to deal with us in their own way. I just didn't realize they'd use the most beautiful city in the world to do it."

"But it doesn't make sense. You said you came upon thousands of subjects of people like us. You can't just dispose of thousands of people and get away with it."

"Hitler did. Millions. What do you think all the tagging was for?"

"And we were part of it." I said leaning against a tree, "This cannot be happening."

"But we know. Now, we know. And we can stop it."

"Stop the murder of thousands of people. Us?" I didn't want to laugh, but it came out anyway, "You're not a superhero."

"And this isn't a comic book. This is happening, and we can't let it. I don't know how yet, but I'll think of something; we will just have to go back to normal for the next three weeks. I seriously doubt they will have all of us enter the country at the same time, that in and of itself can look suspicious to the government and the fact that Patty and her daughter are moving this weekend is a sign they are staggering it. We don't have a definite date, and according to Patty their plan was to have it happen slowly as to not draw suspicion. We will just have to be very careful once we get there, never let the kids out of our sight. I think for now, we're safe, but once we step on that plane…"

I nodded. He didn't have to finish the sentence, "I'm not sure I can do this."

"You can do anything." He placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed them gently, "And once it's over, and we're safe, we're getting the hell away from all of this. Find some small town in the corner of nowhere with a population of fifty. You can open some small clinic, I'll teach or write or both and we will never ever look back. The kids will be happy, we will be happy and we never have to be scared again."

"You really believe that?"

"I do. Because I believe in us. What do you think has kept me going the last twenty something years?"

The tears that had been on the surface finally came out. I rested my head against Mulder's chest and just let them come out. I had to be strong. Not just for Mulder and my children, but for myself. I was a fighter. They would not win.

Three weeks went by like three hours. By Tuesday, April 1st, the house was packed up and even though we were only taking a few items with us for the 'move' we knew we were never coming back here. Photo albums and everything that meant something were shipped to my mother. I told her just in case of a house fire or robbery. I couldn't tell her the truth. Even Skinner was in the dark and we had to keep him there for his own protection. Naturally we didn't tell the kids, even though Melissa had been present when Patty told us everything, we knew she didn't understand any of the information being told and left it at that. If the child could read minds – which I still doubted – she would know what was going on anyway. We had a direct flight – that was nice of them at least – first class – an added bonus – and on the flight I sat next to William and Mulder sat next to Melissa. Us on the isle, the children by the window; we were in complete protective mode and no one was getting to them without a fight. Even on Delta flight 5698.

There was a driver waiting for us when we arrived, which is what we expected. He was a nice man, very French, and drove us to yet another gated community a good hour outside of the city. There was a woman waiting for us at the gate of said community, who walked us to a townhouse at the end of a lot of fifteen homes forming a cul-de-sac. In the back of my mind I pictured a gas line exploding and taking out all fifteen homes. Fifteen families. That would be a nice easy accident.

The woman – her name was Celeste and she had no accent – unlocked the front door which opened to a nicely furnished home that even smelled brand new. Mulder held Missy tightly on his hip, but she whined that she wanted down. I'm sure if it wasn't frowned upon, Mulder would put his daughter on a leash.

Celeste was eyeballing him as Missy cried to be let down. I eventually eyeballed him myself and nodded for him to do so. If this woman who looked to be close to sixty tried to take my daughter I'd be able to take her down. Even in four inch heels.

Mulder finally did let the little girl in the pink frilly dress – her choice – down. She then asked where the potty was. Celeste welcomed to show her, but feeling as overprotective as my husband I grabbed her little hand and said I needed to know as well. Celeste didn't seem too taken aback by this, simply walked two feet, opened a door and turned on a light revealing a small half bathroom where I then thanked her and entered the bathroom closing and locking the door behind me.

Don't look too paranoid, Dana. I told myself, and felt my husband saying the same thing to me.

When Missy was finished with her business, we left the bathroom and by then Celeste had left and the front door was locked and Mulder stood by the window with a blue folder.

"Where's William?" I asked unable to let go of my daughter's hand.

"Upstairs, he wanted to see his room."

"What's in the folder?" I asked him.

"Keys to a car in the garage as well as directions to the medical center we are instructed to go to tomorrow. Looks to be about ten kilometers away."

"And the kids?"

"A school next to the medical center. All ages. All nationalities." He said in almost a robotic very monotone way "There's even a uniform."

"I'd throw up if I had anything to throw up."

"Me too." He eyed me given we had to be very careful what we said. "We'll be fine."

"I know." I lied to him, myself and whoever else was listening in.

"UGH!" I heard very loudly from above before what sounded like a heard of elephants coming down the stairs, "What's this?" William asked presenting me with a navy blue blazer with matching pants and white dress shirt on a hanger.

"Uniform." I replied.

"For what!"

"Your new school."

He groaned again, "I'll look like a dweeb!"

"But you won't be the only one." Mulder replied closing the folder and tossing it on the kitchen island, "I know I need to keep my mind sharp, but I could really use a drink."

"Dad!" William continued to whine, "This isn't my style."

"I'm pretty sure that's the point." Mulder looked up at the ceiling, his eyes panning for suspicious looking light fixtures, "Just hang it back up in the closet, we'll go find something for dinner."

The black FIAT in the garage had twenty kilometers on it; twenty. We crammed into it and left the cul-de-sac in search of a market which was supposed to be near the medical center we were directed to go to first thing in the morning. The school was only a few blocks away as well. Everything was conveniently close. Too conveniently close. The nausea was never going to end.

Even as I walked down the isles of the small market I felt eyes upon me. Cameras watching me, listening to me, this was one of those moments when being able to speak telepathically would be beneficial.

There were dozens of people milling around the market, most speaking in French, no one I recognized and by the time we left with four bags of various food items I started to wonder if maybe Patty was being overly paranoid.

I wanted to relax, I needed to relax, if I didn't I'd go insane. Mulder whipped up a quick batch of spaghetti with fresh spinach, onion and garlic – if anything those six years in Strassburg he learned how to cook like a master chef – and fresh garlic bread as I opened a bottle of Merlot and did all I could not to drink the entire bottle. Sharp, like Mulder said.

During dinner the kids asked about their new school, and we couldn't tell them much given we knew nothing. Even though we had to stick to the schedule I was terrified to send them there fearing what could happen. I needed to have faith because right now it's all I had.

By ten pm the kids were in their new beds and I lay in the king size cherrywood behemoth which still smelled like the forest they cut the wood from. Mulder spent far too long in the bathroom and after a good ten minutes I knew what he was doing.

"Did you take everything apart yet?" I asked standing in the doorway watching as he replaced the light fixture above the sink.

"Nothing." He replied pulling me into the small room and closing the door behind me, "There's nothing in here."

"You checked everything?"

"Down to the toothbrush holder."

"Won't that look suspicious?"

"Not if they can't see me doing it. I feared the closet would be the only place we could really talk or…"

He didn't have to finish given a certain video tape I had locked away, "I know" I took in the size of the bathroom – and the tub, "I apologize if I'm not exactly in the mood."

"I didn't expect you to be I just wanted a safe room. I still don't have a plan, but hopefully I'll learn more tomorrow and can start to figure one out."

"I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to sleep much."

"You need to. We need to." Mulder opened the medicine cabinet and handed me a pill bottle, "I got this before we left."

"Ambien?"

"It's worth a shot at least. I know you're not big on drugs, but it's better than staring at the walls fearing the worst."

I nodded and rolled the bottle between my hands, "Maybe we should have just run..."

"Not with two kids.." Mulder leaned against the sink, "Your hands are shaking."

"I know they are." Of course I knew they were. There wasn't a bone in my body that wasn't shaking. Even my toes were shaking. "It's what happens when you're terrified, but for some strange reason you seem calm as a cucumber. Why the hell is that?"

Mulder shrugged, "Maybe because I already took an Ambien, or maybe because after so many years of this I've reached the pinnacle of...fuck it. They're not taking me or those I love without a fight."

"But what about Missy. You didn't want her out of our sight."

Mulder nodded and picked up his glasses, handing them to me, "Put them on."

Confused I did as he asked, "They're just glass.." I said realizing there was no distinct change to my own eyesight.

He then handed me a small beige item that looked like a jellybean, "Put this in your right ear.." then he handed me a small cufflink, "and press this."

I did as he asked, I could hear breathing, "Missy?"

He nodded, "Press it."

I did as he asked and saw the night lighted wall of Melissa's room in the lenses of the glasses, "Mulder..."

"It's amazing what science can do. You know how pissed you were about me getting Missy's ears pierced last week?"

"Very."

"This is why. They're little mics in the casing so we can hear everything around her, the cameras are in her teddy bear, and in a lead choker which can only be removed with a tiny key which I will have her wear tomorrow. It will be under the uniform collar, but with enough visibility to see everything in front of her."

"And this is how you plan on protecting her?"

"It's the best I can do given the circumstances. I think keeping her in my arms every second would draw a bit more suspicion than I want. At least William can defend himself, as he's proven."

"Missy's just so trusting..."

"I know. Tomorrow morning we will discuss, again, that she is not to talk to strangers. Sadly she wants to be best friends with everyone she meets...not sure where the hell she learned that from."

"Not us."

"Then again that innocence is part of what makes her so special. I'd like her to stay that way if possible..."

"Me too."

The clock by my side of the bed informed me that it was a little past midnight and I hadn't slept a wink. Even that bastard pill did nothing for me. My brain was just too frazzled to rest.

I had to be strong. I couldn't let my husband or my children watch me fall apart. I had been strong; not a tear had been shed, not a cry let out, but as I lay in a foreign bed with strange smelling sheets, I broke. The tears came without warning and would not stop. I was full out bawling when I felt an arm slide under my waist and another over.

"Stop crying." Mulder said as he pulled my body against his.

The tears were so out of my control I couldn't even respond. Instead, I closed my eyes as tightly as I could and turned myself over to face him.

"I can't do this." I was finally able to get out, my eyes still closed, "What if we fail?"

"We won't."

"You don't know that."

"If I know one thing in this damn life it's that you and I together do not fail. At anything. It's just not possible. We may have minor bumps in the road, a setback or two and you may curse my name more often than I'd like, but we've never failed and we never will."

I wanted to believe the words he was telling me, but the ache in my heart remained, "I'm just so scared."

"So am I. Admitting it is the first step." he said in a sort of joking manner which did cause a smile to form on my still quivering lips, "I saw that." he noted.

I opened my eyes to see him looking at me. Even in the darkness I could feel him watching me.

"Who is crazy enough to follow a path that could ultimately get them killed?"

"We are. It isn't the first time, and it won't be the last."

"But it's not just about you and me anymore."

Mulder nodded, "Which is why I've taken all precautions to assure their safety. You have to know I would never let anything happen to them."

"A camera in a choker isn't enough."

"Have you ever seen her run?"

Taken a bit aback I shook my head. "She runs like any other five year old runs."

"Not if she's scared. We were at the park a couple weeks back, you were doing something with your mother, and a spider scared her and she screamed and ran. I could hardly catch up to her. It was impressive and terrifying at the same time, and now I know if she gets scared she will run and hide and I'll have enough time to find her."

"But how would we find her?"

"Daughter GPS. The choker also has a tracker I've locked into my phone, but I don't think I'll need it. As horrible as these people are I don't see them hurting kids."

"Emily..."

"That was different. Painful yes, but very different."

He seemed confident in his security system for our five year old track star. He truly believed that he could protect all of us and with all my heart I had to trust him. I forced a small smile, but the tears continued to fall and I knew he was well aware of them. Leaning over he kissed me softly on the lips and leaned back a bit before doing it again, this time a bit harder and my lips parted in encouragement as the kiss deepened and he slowly rolled me over onto my back. As the kissing intensified, hands began to move and clothing pulled away. This was certainly not the time, or the place given the possibility of recording devices all around us, but at this very moment I didn't care and the cry that escaped my lips as he entered me was a much needed release of pain and fear.

I awoke to the sound of water running and a bright morning sun welcoming me to a brand new day in my "new" home.

I got out of the warm bed and grabbed my pajama top off the floor, quickly pulling it over my head as I walked into the bathroom.

Mulder was just getting out of the shower as I entered the room, closing the door behind me.

"Hey." he said grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. "You're up."

I nodded. I really had nothing to say I just stood there staring at the drops of water as they ran down his perfectly toned chest as if I was in a trance I couldn't snap out of.

He just stared back at me, possibly the same deer in headlights expression I was giving him, and before I knew it he had me pressed against the bathroom door, my legs quickly locking around his waist and cries of ecstasy filling the tiny room.

Melissa sat at the table poking at her Cheerios and playing with the chocker around her neck. William fought with the collar of his dress shirt while glaring at his cold cereal. I still felt like a cat in heat, unsure as to why - maybe it was an Ambien side effect - but knowing at this moment there was nothing I could do about it.

After apologizing again for no hot breakfast - not enough time given my feline situation - we left the new house and packed into the tiny car. Mulder looked at the schedule we had been given which stated we had to be at the school by nine. No later, no earlier. Nine. After that - nothing.

Mulder chewed on the inside of his right cheek as he stared at the booklet in front of him.

"We probably shouldn't be late." I said considering the school was four miles away and we had fifteen minutes to get there.

Mulder simply nodded and placed the folder in the door pocket before starting the car and following the GPS directions.

8:59AM we got to the door of the school, where we were greeted by a nice male security guard who took our pictures, then checked our names off a list before directing us to go to room 103 and 109.

103 was a small room with about five other children roughly Melissa's age sitting at desks. There was a nice blonde woman behind a bigger desk at the front of the room who waved us in smiling.

"This must be Melissa." she said with no hint of a French accent.

I held her hand tightly, terrified to let go, but seeing the other children got her excited and she began to pull away.

"Mommy! Let go!"

Those words struck a cord in me, but I couldn't place why...I did, however, let go...and watched her run to the open desk smiling away. My little princess could be happy anywhere.

The nice teacher nudged us off and closed the door.

Room 109 also had five other children, who also looked the same age as William, unfortunately he was not as eager to enter the class with another smiling teacher with no accent. Mulder had to push him a bit to get him walking before the teacher closed the door.

"Now what." I said trying to stop my hands from shaking.

Mulder shook his head, "I don't know."

"If you could both follow me." a new, also non French, voice called out behind us.

An older woman, probably in her late sixties, holding a large binder smiled at us, "Please" she said before turning around.

Doing as we were told we followed her into an office where she shut the door and instructed us to sit in two hard wooden chairs before a desk exactly like the two in the children's classrooms. She closed, and locked the door behind her and I quickly reached for Mulder's hand squeezing it, needing something to hold onto fearing this was it.

"How are you adjusting to the time change?" she asked in a sweet, almost concerned voice.

"Fine..." we both said at the same time.

She chuckled and sat down at the desk before us, "You look pretty terrified, which I guess is to be expected. A lot of people come in wondering 'why have you brought us here?'"

"Pretty much..." Came out of my mouth and I wished I could take it back.

"I don't want you to be concerned, what I'm sure you think is going to happen - isn't."

My eyes slowly turned to Mulder, who did the same to me - both of us not wanting to reply.

She chuckled again and opened her binder, "June 7, 1975 - that day ring a bell for either of you?"

We both shook our heads.

"Didn't think so." she said, then pulled what looked to be an 8x10 photo out of the binder and walked around the desk handing it to me. "Do you recognize either of those people?"

It was a black and white photo of what looked to be a young teenage boy, and a young girl with hair in braids. The young boy was handing the girl a notebook, and the way they were looking at each other was something ...magical...and it was caught on camera...and the more I stared at it the more I recognized the young girl, "How..." I said as Mulder leaned over looking at the photo as well

"Oh my God..." he said "I remember that!"

"Air and Space Museum..." the woman said, "Dana dropped her notebook near Buzz Aldrin's suit and Fox picked it up and followed her all the way to the Wright brother's plane to give it back to her."

"But how is there photographic evidence of this?"

The woman shrugged, "That's the point of what I'm about to tell you, Fox...I'm sure you know by now the man who raised you was not your father."

Mulder nodded, "Very well aware."

"And your actual father knew this, and given he was good friends with the man you believed to be your father, he would go out of his way to plan lavish trips and vacations that your families would go on together and he would take as many photos as he could. If you look, there's a young boy out of focus next to the plane waving - that's Jeffrey, but the camera was focused on you. Both of you. Apparently he saw a connection there and spent some time tracking down who the girl in the photo was."

"I guess that's kind of cute in a creepy sort of way." I said handing the photo back to the woman.

"Keep it." She said returning to her desk, "We have copies."

I nodded and placed the photo on my lap, still at a loss as to what the hell was going on here.

"And the point of telling us we met as children on some random day nearly forty years ago?" Mulder said a hint of annoyance to his voice. More than a hint, actually

She nodded, "I understand, and given we do have limited time before my next appointment I will get to the point. As much as you may have believed, Spender's plan was never to kill either one of you. His goal was for the two of you to be exactly where you are right now, a very happy married couple with children. Unfortunately he planned on this happening a lot sooner than it did which is probably why he did most of the things he did, but he had plans for you from the beginning, Fox. Given your intellect, your strength, traits he saw in himself - in a way he saw the two of you as his own Adam and Eve...his own creators of a new world."

Words failed me, but eventually I could say, "He had no right."

"I know." she said softly, "What the two of you have been through is more than anyone could fathom and the fact you survived it all, and everything you went through for each other proves what he saw on that day in 1975."

"You still haven't explained why we are here." Mulder said, "And why what we think is wrong."

"Yes, I know. The experiments started back in the forties, with the alien DNA, and most of the subjects died. We were well aware of the date of colonization and figured we had plenty of time to do things right. Once Spender found Dana, and was able to get her into the FBI with you, he figured chemistry would happen and he could then start with his superior race...but as you quite know that didn't happen fast enough and he grew impatient, taking Dana and extracting her ova to do the job himself with Fox's genetic material he had 'donated' not many years before. Sadly, the branch DNA failed, and I know the two of you were witness to that failure. He realized then the only way to make it work was to infect Fox with the black oil which he believed would be a better match with the manipulated ova which were re-implanted. When that still lead to - nothing - more experiments continued with the extracted samples which had been altered to prevent what had happened previously..."

"When..." Mulder asked before I could.

"1996."

"Did he succeed..." I asked through the lump in my throat.

She slowly nodded, "Twin girls, now seventeen years old."

Even though Mulder had informed me that he had been able to match our DNA to other samples, he never said those 'samples' belonged to living beings and I felt like my stomach was going to jump into my throat.

"I'm going to be sick.." I said

"I know this is a lot to take in."

"How many children do I have that I don't even know about!" I yelled.

"They're the only ones I promise you." She said, "They were the last remaining samples and they were raised by a nice family in Ohio."

"Where are they now..." I asked.

"They're here..." she said cautiously

"Do they know?" Mulder asked

She shook her head, "No. They don't. They only know they're here because they're special. They both graduated high school at fourteen and completed college this year. Jessica has an IQ of 169 and Abigail has an IQ of 180."

Everything was starting to sound like pig latten as words flew by and all I wanted to do was disappear. Hey mom guess what you have two other grandchildren who I was completely unaware of and are almost old enough to vote.

"And now that you've scared the hell out of us, why are we here?" Mulder asked again

"Colonization didn't happen. As I know you're well aware. Wasted time building underground shelters to protect people like you and your children just to be returned to a world which is basically destroying itself. Beyond mother nature, we have religion killing thousands. Poverty, hunger, one class of people feeling it's better than another - in short the world has become a melting pot of hate and cruelty. We thought in time this world would evolve to a decent planet to live on, but each year things get worse. Now we know why the aliens didn't bother with colonization, they found a better planet to inhabit given this one has turned into a demilitarized zone."

"So now you have to get rid of the 'merchandise" Mulder quoted what Patty had told us, as I continued to think about those two girls and out there somewhere.

"That was one of the plans, then we realized why destroy what we put so much time and money into. Creating super humans. Why don't we just create our own world with those perfect enough to be a part of it."

"No one is perfect." I muttered.

"You are." she replied, "I'm not talking vanity either Dana. I bet you could eat an entire chocolate cake and not gain a pound."

"I wouldn't."

"And that is why you're here." She opened her book to another page, "We've been testing people for over a year. Once they were tagged, they were brought here. If they passed they are sent to the new world, if they failed they are sent home as if nothing happened. You are the last to arrive."

"How do you pass or fail?" Mulder asked.

"Imagine you're given a pristine automobile. You can either give it premium gas, or regular. You can drive safely or recklessly, get tune ups etc. You can either cherish or destroy this gift you were given. You were given the gift of a perfect body, a perfect mind, you can either use it by continuing to learn, to exercise, or you could become a drug addict and morbidly obese. This is how you pass or fail. The same standards are set for your children which is what they are currently doing at this very moment." she looked at her watch, "A thirty minute IQ test, followed by various other mind games, and reading, comprehension and math tests."

"Melissa is five!" I objected.

"The tests are geared towards the child's age. We have toddlers using blocks for spelling tests."

"What about us?" Mulder asked, "Will we be tested the same way?"

"Today, IQ only." she replied, "Which we have scheduled in about twenty minutes in room 112. By the time you finish your children should be done and then you can go home."

"Which home?" I asked in a bit of a sarcastic way.

"The one four miles away." She replied in the same tone, "Tomorrow you will need to be at the hospital by nine am for the physical and mental tests. We're looking for the best people, we can't send someone to the new world and have them go insane killing people. Guns are not permitted, but we can't outlaw knifes and other tools so we need to make sure everyone has mental stability."

Not everyone is married to a husband with anger management issues...then again, if he didn't have anything to be angry about...

"You keep saying this new world, what the hell is it...another planet?" I asked in a factitious manner.

"You can't seriously believe - after all you've seen - that earth is the only planet capable of inhabitation?"

"It's never been proven to me."

"Well, it will be - if you pass all the tests and are worthy of going there. We started calling it Earth 2 until we realized that was the name of an awful TV show from the nineties, so for now it's utopia. It's just like earth, but without the hate."

"How many people are there now?" I asked

"We have room for a population of 5,000. So far we have less than three thousand people who have relocated. You may have seen on the news entire families just vanishing, those are the ones who have gone to the new world. The last ship leaves December 31st."

"What if we don't want to go?" I asked, "What if we're perfectly happy living in our screwed up part of the planet?"

"Then you're perfectly allowed to do so, however...that chip in your neck will stop working. We can't risk anyone finding it and linking it to us. It will just dissolve like the trackers you inserted into the other candidates and you will succumb to whatever your body may do to itself during the normal coarse of life."

Mulder shook his head, "No."

I closed my eyes and sighed, "I'll die."

"Given there's at least one inoperable tumor in your body, that is a possibility, Dana. There's also the fact that the chip does control your immune system, the aging process and your reproductive system. It's what keeps you healthy, and stops the aging process at forty."

That explained a lot, "But what about Mulder, he doesn't have a chip..."

"Mulder..." she flipped through her book, "We don't have anything on Mulder after the year 2000. By all accounts he would have been dead by 2001 if the colonists didn't take care of him themselves. We can't do anything about you, Fox, you're a hybrid and if you choose to go back to your home you will remain the same, as will your children because of your condition. Dana is the only one who will suffer."

Suffer. Great way to put it.

The room became very quiet until an alarm went off.

"You're needed in room 112." She said standing up. "Follow me."

We followed this woman in silence to the room where a man stood at a desk with two desks in front of him.

"We never got your name." I said to her as she walked away.

She turned and gave a small smile, "Gretchen Fowley."

Thirty minutes of timed, mindless questions. Given all the information I was asked to take in and then be given this kind of test was cruelty at it's best. They wanted me to fail, they wanted me to succumb to life without a microchip in my neck

Fuck them

I finished the test in twenty minutes, crossed my arms and leaned back staring at the man at the front of the room scribbling away in a notebook. Most IQ tests were on computers, but we had to actually use a number two pencil like we were back in grade school. Mulder finished a good minute after I did and we both just sat there waiting for the little alarm on the man's desk to go off. Sadly, after all I had been told, all I could focus on was the name Gretchen Fowley.

After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang, the man looked up startled and after a moment got up and collected our papers and told us we were free to leave.

The kids were waiting by the front door of the building looking as confused as we were. It wasn't even noon and we were officially done for the day.

"Now what?" William asked me.

I shrugged, "I guess we go home."

No food or beverages after eight - it was seven-fifty-eight

The bottle of wine taunted me from the fridge.

"It's technically fruit..." I said staring at it.

"No..." Mulder said as he sat at the table scribbling in a notebook, "You want to pass whatever hell they put us through tomorrow don't you?"

I closed my eyes then closed the refrigerator door before turning around and staring at him, "What are you writing?"

"Timelines." he said, "Trying to make sense of all this."

"Good luck." I said sitting down next to him at the table as I heard William moan and Melissa laugh, "At least they're getting along."

"Leave it to Playstation to bring siblings together." He replied before turning the page and continuing to scribble.

The black and white 8x10 photo sat in the middle of the table and I had to pick it up and stare at it, "It's crazy..."

"Crazy that someone saw something nearly forty years ago what we didn't?"

"I'm not saying I never saw it...or felt it...I was just afraid to act on it."

Mulder stopped scribbling and looked up at me, "What?"

I shrugged, "You have to remember I had a lot of failed relationships, and part of the reason I let the FBI recruit me was to escape a bad relationship...I just didn't think I could handle another failure."

"You really think we would have failed?"

"Maybe...if we acted too early..."

"And maybe if we did you wouldn't have a chip in your neck and I wouldn't be a 'hybrid'"

"You really believe all of that..."

"You don't?"

"Now that I've actually had time to think about all she said, no...I don't. Let's say, that we did act on our feelings from the very beginning...per bureau policy they would have immediately found us new partners and who knows what would have happened then."

"You don't think we could have kept it hidden..."

"Not back then. By the time we actually did...act on it...people had already assumed we were sleeping together and by then no one really cared and then..."

Mulder nodded understanding that neither one of us wanted to continue that specific timeline, "I don't believe everything she said, but if the son of a bitch saw something that ultimately brought us together I'm at least thankful for that. Even if we weren't intimate, I couldn't imagine my life without you. Even then."

"Me too." I said softly placing the photo back on the table, "Guess it was fate."

Mulder nodded, "You don't believe there's another planet out there capable of sustaining human life?"

"No one has ever proven such a thing."

"Maybe no one was looking for it. With so much about Mars and the moon...maybe it just got lost."

"Maybe it's Pluto." I chuckled

"Maybe." Mulder smirked at me before going back to the notebook.

The issue which had been weighing on my heart was getting heavier and I finally had to ask, "Who is Gretchen Fowley?"

I watched as his hand stopped moving. His grip on the pen tightened, "Why?"

"The woman who interviewed us this morning. She said her name was Gretchen Fowley. Did you just miss that piece of information?"

"Guess I didn't hear her." His eyes stayed on the paper.

"Who is she?" I asked again, this time in much more serious tone.

Mulder sighed and placed the pen down on the paper and looked up at me, "Diana's mother."

I nodded, "Why was she interviewing us?"

"That I don't know."

"But she knew who we were."

"Clearly."

"She knows who you are."

Mulder nodded, "Yes."

"But you never made the connection yourself? He with the photographic memory."

"Some things, and people, I guess you find a way of making yourself forget."

"And you have no idea why she'd be working for these people?"

"Honestly, no. Diana never mentioned her mother being a part of that group, but it would make sense considering how we met and how her mother tried to keep us apart. She must have known about - his - plan. Also explains why she suddenly found a new job right after we eloped-"

He cut himself off- but not quickly enough. Never had my heart sunk as quickly as it did with one word, "Eloped?" I added with what little voice I could muster as the pain of such a statement paralyzed me, "ELOPED!" it came out louder this time and the other room got suddenly quiet.

Knowing this conversation couldn't continue in the kitchen I pursed my lips and got up from the table, turning towards the stairs, storming up them until I made it to the bedroom where my heart began beating in my skull as I paced back and forth.

Eloped...eloped...

It didn't take long for Mulder to enter the bedroom and close the door.

"Before you..."

"ELOPED!" I now screamed cutting him off, "You were MARRIED TO HER!?"

"For six weeks!" He yelled back, "We were married, she left and we got divorced. As simple as that."

"And you never thought to tell me this...after over twenty years?!"

"I didn't think it was an issue! I don't need to know about every relationship you've been in!"

"I don't need to about every skank you've slept with or had phone sex with, but I'm sorry if I would like to be filled in on how many times my husband has been married!"

"SIX FUCKING WEEKS!"

"IT COULD HAVE BEEN SIX FUCKING HOURS! I deserved to know!" I was at the point where I was even too angry to cry, "After all we've been through...you couldn't share that important piece of your life?"

"In the end, I didn't think it was that important, and maybe because even then I had a feeling this would be your reaction. I didn't want to hurt you." He sounded sincere, but the pain was still present. "Clearly, I did."

I was out of words, "I have to process this..."

"What does it change? Really, Dana? What?"

"What else are you hiding from me?"

"Nothing. I swear."

"I wish I could believe you..." I turned away from him and went to the window, looking down at the empty cul de sac and missing my home. My real home and my life before being punched in the heart.

"What can I do?" he said, his voice almost cracking.

I shook my head, "Nothing." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "I just need time."

"I'll go play with the kids." he said, "Just come down when you're ready to talk."

I didn't respond.

He waited a few more seconds before I heard the door open and then close and once I knew I was alone... I cried.

I never went downstairs. I was even too upset to look at my own children. As hurt as I was I also knew it was stupid to be so upset about something that happened before he even really met me - a childhood meeting we didn't even remember not counting - but I couldn't help it. That woman bothered me the second I saw her...maybe I knew then without knowing.

I never really slept. I just lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling for who knows how many hours. By a little after three there was a knock on the door and I said he could enter.

"Do you still hate me?" Mulder said after closing the door.

"I never hated you." I replied.

"I tried sleeping on the couch, but it's a French couch not made for sleeping..."

"I never said you couldn't sleep in your own bed...well this bed..."

"But you made me pretty afraid to." He said approaching it, "Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

"You can't change the past. That's why it's the past. All I can do is try to accept it and move on."

"Is there a timetable for that?"

"No." I looked up at him, "If she hadn't left, we may have never met..."

"I have a feeling..." he sighed, "We were destined to."

I rolled my eyes, "You can't make me feel better sounding like a cheezy love song."

"That wasn't my intention." He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared down at me in the darkness, "I admit, Diana leaving hurt. It hurt with a pain I never wanted to experience again, but that pain vanished the second I saw you."

"Stop it." I looked away

"It's true." he said taking my left hand and squeezing it, "I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm not even asking you to forgive me for not telling you the truth before now, but as God as my witness I fell in love with you from the very moment we met."

"You practiced that speech didn't you?" I said, my eyes still facing the window and focusing on the moon shining through the panes.

"I had a lot of time on my hands." he replied, "I also don't like when my five year old asks if we're getting a divorce."

"Why would she think that?"

"You tell me. Did the thought cross your mind?"

"She can't read minds, Mulder." I turned to face him, "Stop thinking she can."

"I would if she'd stop proving me wrong."

"I never thought of divorce." she added, "but I can't help feeling upset."

"I know. And I didn't want you to feel this way. She's my past. You're my present and my future."

"Can you just shut up and go to sleep."

"Not if you can't forgive me."

"I forgive you." I lied

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want." I said before rolling over with my back to him and closing my eyes, even though I knew sleep would not happen,

When I fall asleep angry I tend to have horrible dreams. Nightmares actually, and when I awakened the next morning the fact that an evil woman with brown hair and devil eyes was taunting me from the grave yelling 'I was first. I was first' meant I generally didn't want to sleep again.

Could you annul a marriage if one of the parties was deceased?

Given I wasn't exactly 'pure' when I got married, did it really even matter? For some reason it just...did.

The uniforms were not required this morning and as I helped my daughter with the pink leggings and white sweater she had picked out - they said to wear loose clothing, but let her be five - I felt her staring at me as I tied her shoes.

"Who is the devil woman, mommy?" she said as I was looping the bunny ear on her right sneaker.

My fingers froze in place, gripping the pink laces between them, "What?" I asked, then looked directly at her, "Why are you asking me that?"

"You said that devil woman was ruining your life. Who is the devil woman?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did. I heard you."

I let go of the laces and closed my eyes...the next word that popped into my head she sure as hell better not repeat.

Eventually the shoe lace got tied, but I did my best to keep my mind clear as I strapped her into her booster seat and got into the passenger side of the car.

"Never speaking to me again huh?" Mulder said turning the key in the ignition.

"Nope." I replied looking out the window.

"Great." William groaned from the backseat, "Does this mean we can go home now?"

I closed my eyes and thought ...even if we did, it wouldn't feel like home anymore.

I wish we had run. I wish I had never met Gretchen Fowley, and found out the ugly truth about six weeks of my husband's past.

But if we had, would the chip stop working? Would I be on my death bed within months? Or would I have to have faith that my body would continue to fight...

They didn't say we'd be here for three days. At least. They didn't say we'd be separated from each other. Four separate rooms in a large hospital. This wasn't right. My children were on another floor, my husband on the other side of the hospital. Segregation due to age and gender, but in the end it was just pure torture.

Stripped of my jewelry - my cross, my rings...forced to wear a thin white robe that left nothing to the imagination and the only saving grace was it didn't tie in the back.

No books, no telephones, no TV...it was as if they were testing how long it would take to make you crazy. No human contact except for a nurse who took a blood and urine sample before leaving me alone to fear the worst.

That whole telepathy thing would come in handy right now; even if the mornings incident with my five-year-old still scared the hell out of me. Had she been hearing everything since she was born? Or did this 'gift' just slowly develop with age? Only one person would know...and we hadn't seen him in nearly twelve years.

No windows. Probably as a deterrent because someone probably would find a way to break through one after being in this small room for too long.

No clock. I had no idea what time it was. There were cameras, and I could just imagine the life of the poor slob forced to watch us slowly go insane.

I paced...I glared up at the cameras pointed at the bed, and the door. At least there wasn't one in the tiny bathroom I hadn't needed after the sample was taken.

I sat on the bed and stared at my bare toes. Shoes or undergarments weren't even allowed; I guess I could take solace in the fact it wasn't cold.

A light went off and the door opened.

A young woman, possibly in her early thirties, wearing all white - shoes, pants, top, jacket - walked in and locked the door behind her, then shoved the keys into her pocket as she approached me carrying a clipboard.

"What." I said in a very cold and annoyed tone.

"How are you, Dana?"

"Pissed off. How are you?"

She nodded and sat down in the lone chair in the tiny room and pulled a pen out of her coat pocket, "How are you feeling?"

"Same."

She nodded again, "Do you know why you're here?"

"You're seeing how long it takes for me to lose my mind."

She gave a small smirk, "Looks to me like you still have it."

Rolling my eyes, I laid down on the bed, "How long will we be here?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Of course, you can't."

"I do, however, have some questions I need answered."

"Fine." I was sadly thankful for some human interaction.

"When did you last have sexual intercourse?"

That was not the interaction I wanted.

"Why?" I turned my head to her, "Why do you need to know that?"

"Please answer the question."

Sighing I closed my eyes, "over twenty four hours ago."

"Was protection used?"

I groaned, "No."

She scribbled something down which seemed to take far too long

"What are you writing?"

"It's not of your concern."

"And my sex life is not of yours." I said sitting back up on the bed, "Why is that important?"

"When was your last menstrual cycle?"

I shook my head, "I don't remember. It's not exactly regular."

She nodded and went back to scribbling.

"You can at least have the decency to tell me why you're asking me such personal questions while segregating me away from my family and all means of natural light and time?"

"We need to know if you're pregnant."

"I'm not."

"The test was inconclusive." she replied looking up at me, "Which could mean you're not far enough along."

I suddenly felt very ill, "I'm not." I said again.

The woman shrugged, "we have to take certain precautions if you are when it comes to the testing."

"I'm not." I said a third time hoping that time it would stick with her. "Look, we figured out the system and I'm not even 'due' to get pregnant until July."

She wrinkled her forehead, "Due?"

"Yes, we - well my husband..." I felt my voice drift off saying the word, "Mulder, figured out the system. How often I've been programmed to ovulate."

She nodded, "Did he take into calculation the times ovulation wouldn't happen because you were actually pregnant? Eighteen months takes a big chunk out of that, Dana."

And the nausea returned, "No...he didn't."

"Also, yes, the chip can control ovulation, but you're also a normal healthy woman and it is possible to spontaneously ovulate."

"I've heard that...but...I thought with all that was done to me, it wasn't possible."

"Nothing is ever not possible." she scribbled again, "You're fifty, correct?"

I nodded

She scribbled some more. "Your weight is normal; your blood pressure is a bit high. Your cholesterol is normal. Do you eat meat?"

"Fish...sometimes."

"Would it be possible to not have any animal products?"

I shrugged, "Why?"

"On utopia there will be no animals. No fish."

"Cats and dogs?"

"No. We don't want the risk of them being used for anything other than companionship."

"So, you're saying if we go to this new planet my children can't even have a pet?"

"I'm sorry, but no. Maybe in time, but as of now we're still in the developing period. No animals of any kind."

"But cannibalism will be allowed."

"I assume you're joking."

I rolled my eyes, "No milk, eggs, cheese."

"or silk, leather. No insects are allowed."

"You really can't expect to develop a planet without insects and animals."

"We have. We have humans who have been on that planet for the last year, once it was discovered and they've flourished."

"But how do you pollinate flowers without bees?"

"Flowers are a useless plant. The only plants allowed are those intended for nourishment. Each inhabitant grows their own food in a greenhouse-controlled environment. Potatoes, sugar, tomatoes. It may take time to get used to, but in the end it's the best way to live. Off the earth. No chemicals, no preservatives of any kind."

"What about trees which produce carbon dioxide?"

"The eco system there is very different. There is a period of adjustment, but there are no trees."

"I just don't see how it's possible to live in a world without trees and flowers."

The woman sighed and leaned back in her chair, "Why do you question everything?"

"Because I don't believe you. I don't believe any of this. There can not be a perfect planet with perfect people and no wars and nothing other than humans living on it. How is my daughter not being able to have a dog a perfect life? Or flowers to look at. Oh yes, you can grow plants, but only if they're edible."

"You're more than welcomed to stay on this planet, Dana."

"And die."

"If it comes to that." she closed her notebook, "Your husband, however, seems very eager to make the journey."

"Of course he does." I got off the bed and walked to the door, "and I always end up following him anyway."

"But he said he won't go without you." she opened the door, "How about you spend the next hour or two thinking about that." she then left; closing and locking the door behind her.

And with that I was alone. Again

After a bit more pacing my stomach began to object to my situation. No food for ...it had to be close to twenty four hours by now. The fish and chips we had for dinner yesterday were making my mouth water. No fish. Probably no chips either since we would basically be required to make our own oil. What kind of planet was this? One out of the dark ages it seemed.

The door unlocked and another woman entered the room. Different from before, and seemed a bit younger than the previous interrogator.

"Hi Dana." she said before locking the door behind her and placing the keys in her white pants pocket.

"Hi." I said in a much less enthusiastic tone.

"You don't like being here do you?"

Oh yay time for the mental screening. "No, I don't actually. Where are my children?"

"They're just fine. Just so you know they're not being subjected to the same tests. They had some blood tests this morning, which you did consent to, and after those were completed they were treated to a very nice breakfast."

"Of what?"

"Granola, strawberries and orange juice."

"No yogurt or milk..." I was testing her.

"No, Dana, no animal products."

I wanted to roll my eyes so far back in my head, "I get the no meat thing, I do. But cheese? Eggs? Milk?"

"No animal hormones of any kind. It's believed they can lead to irregularities in the human body."

No need to send me off to another planet; I felt like I was already on one.

I just shook my head, "Whatever. Just get on with it so I can get out of here."

"Please sit." she said pulling out one of the chairs at the small useless table by the door.

Doing as she asked I sat down and she sat down across from me. I waited for ink blots or something similar, but the young blonde woman with piercing blue eyes and a Barbie doll like nose just stared at me.

"What?" I finally asked after what felt like a lifetime of visual probing

She sighed and wrote something down in a notebook

"If you're all so developed, why are you all still using pen and paper? With ipads, laptops..."

"We transfer the information to digital media later."

"You're killing trees this way." I said eying her.

"We recycle. Everything used is used again." she didn't even say it in an irritated tone. She was very robotic.

"Fine. Why were you staring at me?"

"I was testing telepathic ability. Clearly you don't have it."

"No one does." I was even lying to myself now.

"Your husband does." she replied in the same flat tone as before.

That was not the answer I was expecting, "No he doesn't." I replied

"Have you ever asked him?"

"I would have known."

"Clearly you don't." she replied back, "It is rare for adults, but your husband is a special case."

"I'm very well aware of that." I replied

"You're a doctor..."

"Not practicing."

"Yes, but what is your specialty?"

"General practice and pediatric neurology."

"and why did you pick that field."

"I wanted to help children."

"With brain disorders."

"Yes."

"Like your son."

Psychoanalyzing time, "Yes, like my son. And others. He wasn't the definitive reason I chose that field of study."

"But your son is fine now."

"Yes. He can't read minds." Which may have come out more insulting than I wanted it to. Not that I really believed what she said about Mulder anyway, it could all be a trick to see how I'd react.

"We haven't tested your children yet. We will need separate consent for that."

"And what if I don't consent." Given my morning incident with Melissa.

"All parties need to be tested Mrs. Mulder."

I didn't get called Mrs. Mulder much. Unless it was a school function, and hearing it now - even after over six years of officially being Mrs. Mulder - it felt odd and made my mind return to the first Mrs. Mulder. "This feels like blackmail. You're making me, and my family, go through all of this using the fact that I could die if we didn't."

"No one said you were going to die."

"I have at least one inoperable tumor and a chip that keeps it from killing me."

"Who told you it was inoperable?"

"Every doctor I went to."

"Maybe twenty years ago, but not now." she crooked her head, "You're letting that tumor control you."

"No I'm not."

"You just said you know you will die because of it. How is that not control?"

"Because it's a tumor. That's what they do."

"You know for a fact it's malignant?"

"I know for a fact it did almost kill me more than once."

"Not the tumor, the doctors. "

"So, you're saying if I choose not to go to this 'utopia', which by all accounts sounds far from 'utopia' I won't necessarily drop dead."

"You could get hit by a car tomorrow. No one is invincible, Dana, but you need to choose to go to utopia based on your own desire. Not based on fear that by not going you've signed your own death certificate."

"If I went, and didn't like it, could I come back?"

She nodded, "It's not a prison, you would, however, not be able to return. There's a quarantine everyone needs to go through before they travel to utopia. Physical and mental stress tests as well...and if you're pregnant..."

"Then the trip is off."

"Not off, delayed. But you would also have to be closely monitored throughout the pregnancy which means a strict diet."

"Vegan diet."

She nodded, "We have two women in gestation now. One is due in three months, another in six. We have another floor where the newborns are kept the first few days to monitor their progress. We have not yet had a case where a strict vegan diet has hurt their development. You're more than welcomed to see them, I believe a couple are being released today."

"You mean I can actually leave this room?"

She smiled, "Once again, you're not in prison. We just need to make sure you can handle being in isolation for fourteen hours."

"That's all it's been?"

"It's been eight."

Which meant it was probably close to seven pm, given how long it took them to strip me of all my belongings and take their samples.

"Feels longer. Why fourteen?"

"That's how long it takes to get to Utopia. Each compartment can hold family of four. Each craft holds twenty passengers and has to go fast enough to penetrate the earth's atmosphere. We can only make the trip once a month and a month long quarantine is in order if you are chosen to go which includes more testing which is why pregnancy tests are crucial. A fetus could never survive the flight, and once delivered the child needs to be at least one month of age before they can make the journey and given the last ship is scheduled to leave December 31st, you would need to deliver the child by November 30th. We have special carriers for infants, and you will be able to feed and change the child while traveling."

"November 30th. So, according to your calculations I would have to be at least two months pregnant to fit into your time plan."

"Yes."

"And what if I'm not. What if I got pregnant...yesterday?"

"Then we would have to speed up gestation." she said in yet another robotic way.

"That's not scientifically possible."

The edges of her lips curled up in an almost snide way, "Yes. It is. You have no idea what can be done with genetics now, Dana. You have to admit, a nine month pregnancy is just...too long. We have a scientist who developed a way to complete a normal healthy pregnancy in less than five months. Nine pounds, ten ounces. Healthy baby boy who is now five."

I found this information fascinating, but really didn't want to be a human guinea pig, "I'm not pregnant. I would know."

She shrugged, "In any event, we have to continue testing to be sure. The only way to be safe is to abstain from intercourse until departure. If you believe you can do that."

"Yes." I crossed my arms, "I'm not an animal." I replied, not counting the uncontrollable animalistic moments from the day before. "But given my age, it really should be a factor."

"We just sent off a sixty year old woman who gave birth to triplets."

"That's just irresponsible."

"With a life expectancy of eighty or ninety if you're lucky, yes, it is. But you have to keep in mind that those numbers don't apply to people like you anymore. Why would we work on creating a superior race, only to have it die out so soon?"

"I could still be hit by a bus tomorrow."

"Yes, you could, but that's not preventable. We've done all we can to stop the aging process; we can't do anything about busses."

"I don't want another child." I said out loud; not really even knowing why I chose to share this information with a total stranger.

The woman looked crestfallen. "You only have two."

"Isn't that enough? I don't feel it's my job to populate the earth."

She smirked, "It kind of is."

Now I smirked, "You're joking."

"Dana, your IQ measured 172, your husbands' just slightly lower." she pulled a tablet out of her bag, "Your children, your five year old, measured at 155 and your son 146" she looked up at me, "The world is overpopulated with people who can't do basic math, and you think it isn't your job to populate the earth?"

"It isn't." I said defiantly, ignoring the IQ scores which meant nothing to me, " What you're saying is you want to start over with a planet full of smart people."

"Beats what we have here. Brainless ignorant people who think the answer to life is football on Sundays and another six pack of beer."

"If it makes them happy."

"But that's the reason the world is in the state it's in. Why the United States is becoming one of the most backwards civilizations; where governors need to enact laws to prevent how much soda someone can drink and why you can't have universal healthcare because people don't want to help others in need. It's deplorable."

"It's the American way."

"And you'd rather live there then in a world where your children can go to school without fear of someone walking in with an automatic weapon."

"When you put it that way..."

"Just think about it Dana. I'll come back later and take you to see the maternity wing if you're interested."

I really wasn't, but I nodded anyway. I didn't want to be pregnant, but I had a terrified feeling I already was.

James Michael born April 1, 2014 weighing in at 7 pounds six ounces. Hair red, eyes blue.

Avery Rebecca born April 1, 2014 weighing in at 8 pounds nine ounces. Hair red, eyes blue

"I'm sensing a pattern." I said from the glass of the maternity wing as nurses with masks and gloves tended to the newborns.

"Yes." Rachel - the woman who psychoanalyzed me actually did have a first name - said holding her clipboard, "The recessive gene is very important to us. Most candidates chosen carry the gene."

"How do you know it's not courtesy of Ms Clairol?"

She smiled, "The hair color you're born with is the one that matters. We all change over time. I've seen babies born with blonde hair who have jet black manes by the time we see them, but the hair your have you first three years is what counts."

"I guess I've never seen hair color as that important."

"We do." she replied, "Your husband should be waiting in my office, we just need to go over a few things then send you home."

I was getting quite sick of hearing that word home...because it sure as hell didn't mean to me what it meant to them.

You know you love someone when, even though you're incredibly angry at them, you still melt seeing their face after a long separation. Mulder was sitting in her office on a couch picking at his nails and looking haggard. We both hadn't slept much the night before and the lack of food, water and sunlight had gotten to both of us. I sat down next to him and waited for Rachel to sit in the chair next to the couch. I still found it funny that we were in France, yet hardly dealt with one person with any discernable French accent.

Quiet filled the small room as Rachel opened a laptop and placed it on a small table next to her then flipped through the notebook she had been scribbling in. I kept my thoughts basic. I was hungry. I wanted to leave. I was hungry

"Are you ok?" Mulder asked me

"Fine. Just tired and hungry."

He nodded, "Ok..."

"Ok." Rachel said closing the notebook, "I know we've put you through a lot today."

"Where are my children?" I asked her directly.

"They are fine. They're having a nice dinner right now and then you are free to leave."

"At ten pm at night?"

"Yes."

"And what fine vegan meal would this be?"

"Spaghetti with marinara sauce."

"Do you have a pasta making press here?"

"As a matter of fact we do. It's made fresh every morning. Would you like to see it?" I could tell she was now getting agitated with me, so I just shook my head.

"Good." She closed the laptop and looked at her watch, "You should be able to leave within the next hour, then I will contact you if there are any results to the additional testing, or if we need you to come in to provide another sample"

"What kind of sample? What testing?" Mulder asked her then turned to me, "What's going on?"

"Nothing." I replied not looking at him.

"Are you sick?" he asked in that all too concerned way of his.

I shook my head and eyed Rachel to keep her mouth shut, which she did.

"I'll leave you two alone. I'll bring the children in when they finish their meals." She gave me a pathetic smile before leaving the office.

More silence. Sure I had been alone - mostly alone - in a room for fourteen hours, but I couldn't even allow myself to think about anything for fear that he would know what was on my mind.

"You accuse me of hiding things..."Mulder's voice cut the silence, "but clearly you're hiding something from me."

So much to say that couldn't be said. We sat in silence until Rachel returned, where I then chose to stand up and demand to see my children.

Rachel seemed a bit startled by my forcefulness, but given I'm sure I looked ready to blow - because I certainly felt like I was going to - she conceded and opened the door, nodding for me, us, to follow her.

We were led to the other side of the building where I could hear children talking and laughing.

"Melissa is over here..." Rachel said upon opening the locked doors into a cafeteria like room with circular tables where six children sat with plates of food. Some finished, some were not, but they seemed pretty upbeat about the situation. "William is on the opposite side." she said pointing to the far end of the room.

Mulder nodded and headed that way, as I went to the little girl in pigtails who was drinking out of a sippy cup. She was too old for a sippy cup. Before I could get two feet away from her she saw me and squealed, jumping out of her chair and running into my awaiting arms. The feel of her warm soft skin, even the smell of her baby shampoo was just what I needed. I closed my eyes as I held her against my chest and just took her in. Took in her innocence. After a moment I opened my eyes and noticed her plate still had a bit of food on it.

"Looks like you need to finish your dinner sweetheart." I said to her as she clung to me.

She turned her head, looked at he plate then shook it, "I'm done mommy."

"Ok." I said standing up, but keeping my hand tightly clenched to hers.

"No, she isn't." Another voice said behind me.

I turned and a woman dressed all in perfectly pressed white, her blonde hair pulled in a very tight pony tail, her eyes devoid of any life was looking straight at me.

"Excuse me?" I said to her.

"The child must finish her meal."

"The child can decide when she is finished." I replied in a stern tone to match her coldness.

"No. There is no waste. Your child must finish what has been given to her."

My teeth began to dig into my lower lip. I was tired, I was hungry, and I was not in the mood for some robotic Barbie to tell me what my child could and could not do.

"I'm her mother. I can say it's ok."

Mulder quickly appeared with William and the room became eerily quiet, "What's going on?" He asked.

"Melissa didn't clean her plate. I'm ok with it, but apparently Broom Hilda here is not."

"Are you full honey?" Mulder asked Melissa.

Melissa nodded, "Yes, daddy."

Mulder shrugged, "She's full."

"Each portion is determined based on the child's size and age. She's perfectly capable of finishing her meal." The robot continued.

"I'll finish it for her." Mulder said

"No." the android was persistent, "The child must."

My teeth were about to draw blood at this rate. "This is ridiculous."

"This is how things work. This is how things will work." It continued, "If you are chosen, rules will be followed."

"Missy." William walked over to us and took his sister's hand, "Just do it." he said in a very defeated tone.

Missy looked up at him, and he down at her; after a moment she nodded, withdrew from my grasp and walked back to the table with her brother as she picked up the fork and sat down. All eyes were upon a five year old girl as she ate five bites of pasta.

Pizza.

All I wanted was pizza

Covered in cheese and vegetables - that I didn't grow myself - and even more cheese on top of that. Mulder didn't question as I picked up the pizza on the way home at Dominos of all places - thankfully it was still open at eleven pm - he even grabbed a piece himself after getting Missy to bed.

By midnight I was alone in the kitchen staring at the wall in a sort of cheese induced waking coma.

"You're pregnant. Aren't you?" He said from the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed as he walked towards me.

I shook my head, "I don't know." I replied.

He pulled out a chair next to me and sat down, "Then what is it? I thought you were going to deck that woman today."

"I wanted to."

"Over spaghetti."

"It's not just the spaghetti, Mulder. It's all their rules. I just have a really bad feeling about this place. I can't do it."

He nodded, "I figured as much."

"I know the idea of it fascinates you, and I understand that and wanted to experience it with you, but after today..." since I was babbling I thought I'd get it out anyway, "Can you read minds?"

"What?" he looked shocked then laughed while saying no. "Why would you think that?"

"They told me you could."

"Why would they say that!?"

"You tell me?"

Mulder continued to shake his head, "No. I mean, when I was sick fourteen years ago yeah, I could, but that was with paralyzing, extreme pain and hallucinations so it wasn't exactly a pleasurable experience."

"But you honestly can't now?"

"No. And I have no idea why they would tell you otherwise."

"But Missy.."

Mulder nodded, "I can't explain that one..."

I leaned back in the chair, "Would you hate me forever if I just wanted to go home. I mean, they said we could."

He nodded, "With one...huge...downside."

I shrugged and took hold of the cross around my neck, "I'm not wearing this as a fashion statement. Without faith in myself, in my own body...what else do I have? And besides...who knows what could be done with modern medicine, which I would rather have done at home. On THIS planet."

Mulder nodded, "But..." his eyes drifted down.

"If I am..I am. And if I'm meant to have another baby I'm having it at home, with my family around me and in the regular amount of time, not sped up to meet some deadline."

"Sped up?"

"They claim they have the ability to speed up gestation. As unpleasant as nine months are, it just feels right that way."

"I really wouldn't know, but I trust your judgment. If you think we should use protection..."

I shook my head and shrugged, "I'm still catholic...just not a perfect one."

"Yes you are."

We decided to leave the next day. We'd go in, tell the committee our decision and pay our own way back home. Whatever else happened would be up to us and God.

I fell asleep content in my decision in my husband's loving arms.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Three loud beeps awoke me, then silence.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up, the room was completely dark. The alarm clock displayed nothing.

"Mommy!" Melissa cried from the other room.

I rushed to her room, scooped her out of her bed and carried her back to our room and into our bed. By now Mulder had awakened and asked what was going on.

"Looks like the power went out." I said as Melissa clung to me.

Mulder got out of bed and went to the windows looking out at the cul de sac, "Just for this house."

"Mommy I'm scared." Melissa cried.

"It's ok." I whispered attempting to soothe her.

"I'll look for a breaker box." Mulder said grabbing his robe which fell out of his hand when banging started below us.

It sounded like someone knocking on the front door, but not a nice friendly knock a 'open the damn door now' knock.

"Now I wish I still had a gun." Mulder said looking for something in the dark room to use as a weapon.

"It could be the power company." I replied

"This fast?" he said

"Don't be paranoid." I said picking up Melissa and holding her on my hip as I made my way downstairs.

I looked out the peephole and saw nothing.

"They must have left." I said as Mulder stood behind me

"Open the door, Dana." A female voice said on the other end.

I handed Melissa over to Mulder then, against my better judgment, did what the voice demanded.

Upon opening the door three slim bodies all in black made their way in and closed and locked the door behind them.

"How long do we have?" One said

"Fifty-seven minutes. Fifty-six." Another with the same voice replied

"What the hell is going on here?" Mulder said, "Who are you people?"

"That doesn't matter now." The first voice said walking into the kitchen and placing a flashlight on the table, "In less than an hour the power will be back on, we have limited time to get you the hell out of here."

"Who the hell are you?"

The time checker walked over to the table with a laptop and opened it, the light of the screen shining on her thin face, a strand of auburn hair peeking out from the right side of the black hood over her head.

"It's them." Mulder said slowly lowering Melissa from his side until she was on her own two feet.

"Them?" I questioned.

"They have your eyes. I'd know those eyes anywhere."

"Fifty-five minutes." the girl focused on the computer, seeming oblivious to what Mulder had said "No activity."

"Good. That's what I hoped for." The first girl took the bag off her back and placed it on the table as well, the third much shorter girl stayed by the door, and I couldn't make her out.

"Who's the other one?" I didn't want to think I had yet a third child I knew nothing about.

"Joy." the computer wizard said, "Come over here."

The girl did as she was told and removed the hooded part of her black sweatshirt, revealing the young girl we had met only weeks earlier, she said nothing only looked down at the floor.

"Fifty two minutes." she barked, "Hurry up Jess."

Clearly the first girl was Jessica, which meant human stopwatch was Abigail. Our children. I ...had no words.

Even in darkness they were gorgeous, their eyes even seemed to glow; they truly were a remarkable product of science

"Why are you here?" I asked as Abigail - I'm assuming - continued to type away.

"Are you deaf? I said to get you the hell out of here." Jessica continued, "Look, we have limited time so you need to do two things. One, pack as fast as possible - only pack what you need, we have a car parked down the hill where we can get to a train station where we then need to take a train into England, it's the closest and given your history I assume you know the area and have ties. Don't pack computers or cell phones, leave those behind. Two..." she opened her bag and pulled out what looked like a giant syringe, "Get that thing out of your neck."

I found myself frozen in fear, "I ...can't"

"Do you want to go to a planet where your every move is controlled? Where you will continue to be used as a human lab rat for as long as your body can sustain?"

"No..."

"Then take it out." she handed the syringe like device to Mulder, "It's very simple. Like a giant magnet. Just place the circular end where the chip is, and it will do the rest with as little pain as possible. Then leave it in this container." She handed him a small vial, "Doesn't matter where you leave it, as long as you leave it in the house."

Mulder looked at the device, the vial, then me, "But..."

"There are no buts here. You have two choices, live by their rules or your own. And with that chip they can and will find you anywhere you go. Even the backwoods of Virginia."

"They said we could just go home."

Jessica cackled, "And you actually believed them. They told Joy and her mother they could just go home, and Joy, tell them what happened."

"They killed my mother." Joy kept her eyes facing the floor.

A young girl saying such a statement caused pain to instantly go to my heart, "No..."

Joy nodded, "I woke up and she was gone."

"That's why we took her. They think she just got scared and ran away. Since not all kids aren't tagged, they can't waste man hours looking for her. You two are different, they see potential. Your children scored the highest on all tests, they see you as their own personal Adam and Eve and if you don't leave now you will never be free of them."

I looked at the device in Mulder's hand, without giving it anymore thought I nodded. "Fine."

"Scul-"

"Forty-five minutes..."Abigail added cutting him off.

I shook my head and headed up the stairs and after far too many moments I felt him behind me. As if in a trance I walked into the bathroom of the master bedroom and grabbed a hair tie from the cupboard.

"I can't do this." Mulder said as I pulled my hair into a bun on top of my head.

"You have to." I replied keeping my eyes forward while opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out the first aid kit, "The pain I can deal with, but I'm sure there will be blood."

"What if they're wrong?"

"What if they're right?" I said into the mirror before turning around, "Between those two girls and the people we dealt with the last two days...I'm betting on the ones we share DNA with."

"Forty minutes!" Screamed from below

I took a deep breath, turned around and closed my eyes.

It didn't hurt

It didn't even feel like a bee sting

There was little blood, and I wouldn't have even believed he got it if I didn't see the tiny little metal chip which had been a part of me for nearly twenty years. It almost felt like a relief to have it out of me.

Mulder quickly applied gauze and a bandage before we grabbed suitcases out of the closet and packed everything we could - which was nearly everything we arrived with. I packed the five stuffed animals Melissa couldn't live without into a large backpack, and changed into all black clothing - per the instructions of the girl's downstairs. William said nothing as he packed all he cared about and with ten minutes to spare we were out the door running as fast as we could to the awaiting 4x4 at the bottom of a hill.

Melissa on my lap, William and Joy between Mulder and I and the twins in the front. Jessica drove, Abigail navigated and no words were exchanged by anyone for the hour-long ride to the train station.

Once we arrived, Jessica parked in the back of the lot, far from any lights, and left the keys in the ignition as we made our way to the station.

"I don't know how prepared you are." Jessica said before we entered the doors, "But we have passports for you."

Mulder shook his head, "No need." He pulled a copy of War & Peace out of his messenger bag and opened it, pulling out four passports, "Like a paranoid Boy Scout, I'm always prepared."

He handed one to me and sure enough there was my face - the picture was a couple of years old and matched the one on my current FBI badge - and the name Sarah Smith."

"Seriously? When did you do this?" I had to ask as we walked into the station

"When I knew we were coming here and we may need to escape."

"You're a lot smarter than I give you credit for."

"Thank you."

Between the time we entered the station, purchased tickets with funds Mulder also had in the Tolstoy book, and got on the train bound for London, I found myself in a complete daze. It wasn't until I saw the sun rising on the horizon that I finally snapped out of it.

I was sitting with a table in front of me, Jessica - I assumed - across from me, and directly on the other side of the train were Mulder - with Missy on his lap - William next to the window and Joy and Abigail across from them playing some kind of card game.

"Jessica..." I said to the girl in front of me.

"Yes?" she replied looking directly at me, the hood now down revealing reddish brown hair and a multitude of freckles.

"How did you know we weren't going?"

"Someone's always watching." She replied, "We don't sleep, so we were put on surveillance. So many people have already come and gone it didn't require as much work as before. You were the only house left."

"Cameras were everywhere." I had already assumed.

She nodded, "Even the bathroom. Medicine cabinet mirror."

"Great." I leaned back in embarrassment.

"Even if you said yes to going we were prepared to change your minds. Utopia my ass."

"Pretty much the conclusion I came to."

"No cars because for those you need oil and oil isn't allowed because it pollutes the air. You're cold? Need a heater? Nope. Put on a freaking sweater. Which you make yourself with yarn you spun yourself - oh wait there are no sheep because no animals are allowed. Guess you can't be cold. Best to wait for the non-existent cotton trees to produce so you can figure out how to make your own linens and clothing oh but wait there is a uniform to prevent anyone from being better than anyone else with actual fashion sense." She rambled on, "Like I said. We don't sleep."

"Maybe you should..." I said concerned.

"Sure." She turned her head, "Hey Abs, when did you last get some shut eye?"

Abigail shrugged, "Bush was president?"

"Sounds about right."

"Six years?"

Jessica shrugged, "It was before all this. When we were twelve we were taken from our 'parents' and put in this special hospital. We weren't sick, they just kept testing us, injecting us...preparing us for some crazy Armageddon that never happened. We haven't slept a day sense."

"I'm sorry..." I didn't know what else to say

"You get used to it." she sighed, "and thanks to not sleeping we had a lot of time to look into things...like finding out who our parents really were."

"We had no idea you existed."

"We knew that. There's no resentment. At least towards you. Guess the only true resentment is towards those who made us. Who treated us like science experiments our entire lives. We never went to school and weren't allowed to have friends...you know we're probably the only two seventeen year olds on the planet without a Facebook account?"

"You definitely have a good attitude considering all you've been through."

"I have to, or else I'd be in a puddle of tears." She sighed and looked over at Mulder, "He said we'll be ok, that we'll be safe."

"He's right." I smiled knowing that with all his faults, the one thing Mulder wasn't was a liar.

Even though I knew where we were going, there was still a feeling of dread all over me. We got through passport control with no issue. Said we were visiting family. Mulder was even able to provide an address of where we were staying and given the countless greeting cards received I knew that address all too well

Apparently when I was asleep - I didn't recall drifting off - Mulder made a phone call on a burner phone the girls had. A car would be waiting for us at the station and sure enough there was a man holding a sign which read Smith as we walked towards the exit and then piled into a black van. The girls in the back, with William and Joy between them, and Mulder and I in the middle with Melissa refusing to let go of either of our hands.

"I knew you kept in touch..." I said in a calm matter, "But..." I couldn't even finish my sentence.

"She married rich. Has a huge house in the countryside; we like each other's kids photos on Facebook and occasionally send actual letters. Aside from how you felt meeting her twenty years ago, she only wants to help. I didn't tell her the complete situation just that we were in danger and needed to hide out for a bit. Honestly I think she was more intrigued than concerned...but that's Phoebe."

"Whatever." I said, trying as hard as I could not to sound annoyed and failing miserably.

After a two-hour uncomfortable van ride we arrived at a large gate. After a moment the gate opened and the van pulled forward, the large iron bars clanking quickly behind us. After a few yards I could make out a large house, which just got larger the closer we got and as the van pulled up, the front doors opened and the woman with the dark red hair and blue eyes of ice came walking out smiling.

I was too tired to fake it.

"Hello Smith family!" she exclaimed much too loudly as we exited the van and the driver carried our many bags into the house.

"Pretty sure you can use our real names now." Mulder replied as she pretty much ran to him and wrapped her skinny arms around him.

"But it's more fun this way!" she continued with that obnoxious accent

"Sarah!" she hollered at me and I almost gagged when she pulled me in for an even tighter hug.

By now the thumb was in Melissa's mouth and she seemed terrified of the crazy lady calling us by weird names.

The exuberance died down quickly when Phoebe got a glimpse of Melissa, "Oh Fox..." not that hearing her utter my husband's name in a soothing way didn't make me want to claw her eyes out, "She's absolutely breathtaking."

"One doesn't generally say that about a five year old." I remarked.

"but she is." she said looking up at me then her eyes bulging, "oh my.."

I turned to see the twins standing by the van, holding their bags seeming lost and confused. Joy stood with William next to them; everyone seemed in a "what now" kind of position.

"Grace is cooking up breakfast. Come in and make yourselves comfortable." she said directly to the ones behind me before turning and walking in the house.

Mulder took Missy's hand and walked her inside, leaving me outside with the lost ones, "You don't honestly think we'd leave you behind." I said to them, including my own son who seemed to have started some alliance with Joy and the big sisters he never knew, "we're family. We stick together."

"I'm not." Joy said.

"You are now." I said reaching out for her hand, which after a moment, she actually took, and I lead her inside. The other three not far behind.

Strawberry crepes, freshly squeezed orange juice, ripe pineapple and the richest English breakfast tea I had ever tasted was how we were welcomed into Phoebe's home. No one really spoke as we all ate our breakfast. Everyone - even the children - had too much on their minds. Even Melissa was not her usual jovial self, which saddened me deeply given her laugh could make me smile no matter how bad a day I may of had. She was always my rainbow on a rainy day.

Phoebe seemed to sense this and didn't try to engage anyone in pointless conversation. When we were finished with our meal, Phoebe took us all upstairs to show us where we would be staying. She called it their 'guest quarters' which consisted of a master bedroom with bath - she didn't have children of her own, but had various games and activities for when her nieces and nephews visited. As well as an indoor pool. There was a game room on the first floor, as well as a library and given her husband was gone nine months out of the year on business, she had plenty to keep her entertained.

"We have a movie theater." She said while taking us on her little tour, "My husband has many connections, so we can get any movie your heart desires."

"I guess if you're going off the grid - again - this is the place to go." I replied.

"I can send out my shopper for anything else you may need. Clothing, shoes, any kind of special toiletries. She has fantastic taste."

"I don't think we'll need anything." I chimed in, "We shouldn't be here for too long."

Phoebe looked perplexed, "Fox told me you needed a place to stay until January."

"January?" I turned and looked at those around me, who didn't look at all shocked, "2015?"

Mulder nodded and looked to the twins who then looked at Phoebe and then at me

"The last flight leaves December 31st." Jessica said, "They will be looking for you until then."

"Even without the chip?" I asked now fearful that I removed something that had essentially kept me alive for seventeen years for...nothing.

Jessica nodded, "They're everywhere and you have a very recognizable face..."

"I removed something that kept me from dying and now you're telling me I'm still not safe...because of my face?"

"You're safer than you were." The other product of my DNA replied

"You knew this?" I asked my very quiet husband

"You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you just to give you more bad news."

"What about my family. My mother, my brothers and their children?"

"They will look for you - they may make a quick census visit... but they won't hurt them. They won't draw more attention to themselves than they need to. They might know though, by now, you're not stupid enough to go there."

"Nine months. We have to stay in this fortress for nine months. If I live that long."

"Don't say that..." Mulder said pitifully

"We don't know. My body could be destroying itself at this very moment and we wouldn't know. Cells could be dying, organs failing as I stand here talking to you. It's not as if I can go to a hospital or even a doctor now."

"I have a private doctor." Phoebe piped in, "If you're really that concerned, I can get you a full examination, but you would have to go to him."

"Well, apparently that's not an option." I said looking directly at the twins.

"If you go alone." Jessica suggested, "They will be less likely to look for you alone since they need both of you to achieve their... mission. Alone you will be less obvious."

Mulder shook his head, "No..."

"My car has tinted windows, and Dr. Rogers' clinic has underground parking. He caters to the rich and famous. You won't be seen."

"She can't go alone." Mulder said, "I have to go with her."

"You have to stay with the children." I replied, "Melissa needs you much more than I do right now." I didn't want to admit that I preferred to be alone at the moment. I didn't want to admit it to him or myself.

"I'll go with her." Phoebe said, "Since he's my doctor I feel it's best. Why don't you rest up and I'll ring him up."

And with that she vanished down the winding staircase. Melissa whined she was tired, so I placed her on one of the beds in one of the three other spare bedrooms. Twins took another, William slammed the door of one and Joy stood alone in the hall.

"If you don't mind sharing a bed with a five-year-old who has a tendency to kick..." I said to her.

Joy just stared at me with a dour expression, "My mom had a chip too."

I nodded, "I would have assumed."

"She never removed it."

"I know Joy..." I wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"I hope you're ok." she said before walking into the bedroom where Melissa was sleeping and closed the door behind her.

I loved my husband. More than I could put into words, but as I sat on the king size bed watching him place our items from the suitcases into the dresser drawers I felt something I had never felt before - resentment. His heart was pure, and his devotion to me was evident from the day we met, but right now...fearing what a strange doctor would soon be telling me, I didn't even want to be in his presence.

"Do you think you need to pack anything? Will it be an overnight stay?"

"I don't know." I replied looking up at the ceiling, not even wanting to share an exchange of eye contact with him right now.

"I guess I'll wait until Phoebe tells us." He said.

I heard him close the dresser drawer and then felt him approach me, "Avoiding eye contact?"

Maybe he did know me too well, sighing I lowered my eyes to meet his and shook my head, "I'm just...I don't even know what I am."

"Scared, terrified, frightened, horrified..."

"What are you a thesaurus?"

"All of the above. Do you feel sick?"

"No. But I didn't feel sick before either. Not until it was almost too late."

Mulder nodded - he looked like he was going to say more then shook it off, "I'll go check with Phoebe."

I nodded and watched him leave the room; doing all I could not to burst into tears.

Dr. Rogers could see me at seven am the next morning. No food or liquids for twelve hours. We had a nice lunch of seared tuna and an early dinner of kale salad before I headed to a much needed bubble bath at my exact ingestion cut off point. Mulder said he would get the already exhausted kids to bed, even the teenage girls were asleep by seven, and after being in the tub for a good five minutes the bathroom door opened and Mulder entered, closing the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked leaning against the double sink facing me in a plethora of lavender and vanilla bubbles.

"Invaded." I replied.

"I mean...feeling?"

"Are you going to ask me every hour?"

"Until I get a straight answer from you, yes."

Sighing I sat up in the water, not caring what he saw given he probably had a mental road map of every inch of my naked body, "Fine. I'm terrified, is that what you want to hear?"

"Physically?"

"Other than in desperate need for a drink I feel fine." I replied, "I don't feel any different than I did forty eight hours ago, but I seriously doubt either of us stressing over it can help me in any way right now."

Mulder came over and sat on the edge of the tub, "Missy isn't herself."

"I noticed that."

"She hasn't said one word. A girl who could start a ten minute conversation about a bug she saw on the sidewalk has said nothing since we left France."

"Other than stating she was tired."

"Do you blame me?"

The water was getting too cold too quickly for this nonsense, "For what?"

"For everything."

"No, I don't."

"I would."

"Well, you're not me. Horrible things happened to both of us, and they're not anyone's fault except the person or persons who did them to us. I don't blame you for anything except your own self hatred."

"I just feel responsible."

"Well don't. Tomorrow I'll go in, get every test I can get to determine if anything is wrong with me and we'll go from there. No reason to start blaming yourself when I could be fine. Unless I am pregnant, and then you can go ahead and blame yourself all you want for that."

I actually got a bit of a smile out of him before he nodded and got up, going to the door and placing his hand on the door handle he took a moment before turning back to look at me, "I love you." he said softly

I nodded and smiled back, "I love you too."

Phoebe and her beamer were waiting for me by five. It was at least a ninety minute drive and she wanted to make sure I got there in time. Mulder was asleep when I awoke at a quarter till, and didn't stir the entire time I got dressed. Maybe it was better this way.

Being in a car with my husbands' ex - whatever - was not on my bucket list of life. Nor was ninety percent of what had happened to me in the last twenty years so I figured I should really stop thinking about it.

The first ten minutes or so were quiet, peaceful. Nothing except the voices in my head making me fear the worst. Watching the sun slowly rise before me as I rested my head against the glass window of the passenger seat on the left side of the car I was very close to drifting off to sleep until a shrill British accent snapped me out of my daze.

"You hate me, don't you?" Phoebe asked.

I sighed, closed my eyes and pondered tucking and rolling, "I have a lot more to think about right now than my feelings regarding you, Phoebe."

"But I'm right."

I sighed, "Can we just not talk?"

"Fine." she replied and thankfully stayed mute long enough for me to get a few winks.

There was a security guard station, an underground parking garage and a special code to get on the elevator. This was not our typical clinic. A nice blonde woman who couldn't be older than 25 greeted us as we exited the elevator. Her name was Betty and she quickly handed me a clipboard and pen to fill out all of my vital information.

"You can use your real name." Phoebe said, "And you don't have to worry about insurance, I'll cover any extra costs."

"You don't have to do it." I said sitting down on a nice leather couch a good ten feet from Betty's station.

"I want to." She smiled as I quickly filled out my name then realized that out of habit I had written down my maiden name.

"We need a new form." Phoebe called out to Betty who quickly rushed over to us with a new form as I handed her the wrong one. "I'm not reading anything into that am I?" Phoebe asked and it actually sounded like she cared.

"No." I replied and proceeded to quickly fill out Mulder under last name, "Don't get any ideas."

"I don't have any. I know his heart belongs to you. I've known that since I met you."

I really had no response for that; instead I finished filling in my age, weight and blood type and got up to hand it to Betty.

"Thank you." Betty said, "Dr. Rogers is just finishing up some paperwork, so if you follow me into the exam room he will be with you momentarily."

I nodded and proceeded to follow Betty into a large exam room with the general white gown on an exam table complete with butcher block paper. It was at this moment I began to shake, to tremble and to genuinely feel terrified that I would never see my family again.

Minutes felt like hours as all fluids were taken from my body, Dr. Rogers basically did what I wouldn't let Robby Williams do in the backseat of his mother's Le Sabre, and I lay in an MRI machine for far too long to be normal. I was still. I was very still, but maybe the rapid beating of my heart was screwing up the results. I had no idea what time it was when I was finally led back to the exam room where I got to sit on the cold paper and wait.

"Dana." Betty said from the door as I stared at my feet.

I looked up at her with tired eyes, "What time is it?" I asked

She looked at her wrist "A little after five pm."

I had been here nearly twelve hours, "Do you have the results."

She nodded, "Dr. Rogers will see you in his office. You may get dressed first."

Exhaustion and hunger had taken over by the time I made my way to his office where Dr. Rogers was examining an x-ray.

"Dr. Rogers..." I said entering.

"Please come in, Dana." He put the X-ray down. "Can you please tell me again what spurned this immediate need for a full examination?"

Dr. Rogers was a very handsome man with dark features and piercing blue eyes that could peer into your soul, but he was looking at me like I was a hypochondriac and it made him less attractive.

I sat down in the hard wooden chair before his desk, "I've had a lot of medial issues in the past and recently had a device removed from my body..." even saying it out loud felt ridiculous, "Not to mention I've had a subconjunctival tumor in my sinus cavity for over twenty years."

"That's why I called you in here." he said handing the x-ray to me, "I checked it several times and there's nothing there."

"What?" I said holding it up to the florescent lights and seeing the outline of my skull, but no tumor

"There's a lightbox to your right if you need to look more closely."

Doing just that I placed the x-ray on the glass, turned on the light and nothing, "It's gone..."

"Are you sure it was there in the first place?" he asked "It could have just been excess cartilage or a spot on the film... twenty years ago we didn't have the equipment we have now."

"It was there..." I began to feel my face and as to be expected, felt nothing. "I was ill for months..."

"Well, I'm sorry you went through that, but I checked everything twice. You are a perfectly healthy woman. Even your cholesterol is perfect."

"At least I'm not pregnant..."I didn't mean to say out loud.

"Well we wouldn't have let you near the x ray or MRI if you were..."

I nodded and turned off the light box, "Now what do I do?"

"Go home Dana. Live your life to the fullest. You're fine. Based on these numbers, it wouldn't surprise me if you made it into the record books."

Dr. Rogers handed me my medical records and escorted me back to the waiting room where Phoebe was texting on her phone.

"We're done here." I said startling her.

"Oh good." She said, "I was just chatting with my husband." she said showing me her phone and the name Philip.

I sighed and shook my head walking ahead of her back to the elevator.

It was dark by the time we retuned to Phoebe Manor. Mulder was in the front room pacing as we entered the front door.

"I'll order pizza." Phoebe said, "I'm too tired to cook or bother the staff."

I nodded, "I just want to sleep."

"Eat first. You've been through a lot." Phoebe patted me on the back, "Lie down in the study, I'll let you know when it's arrived. I assume no meat."

"Yes." I said walking towards the study with a six foot shadow on my tail. " Where are the kids?" I asked sitting down on the couch still clutching the large medical folder

"The twins are glued to the internet, William and Joy are playing video games, and Missy is coloring in the game room." he shoved his hands into his jean's pockets, "What's the verdict?"

I handed him the folder, "See for yourself. No tumor. No cancer. Nothing."

"And no baby."

I nodded, "You know it's for the best."

He nodded and sat down next to me opening the folder and perusing the papers inside, "I don't even know what half of this means."

"All it means is that I'm fine. I'm not sick...and I've spent the last two hours wondering if I really ever was."

"We know they abducted you..."

"I know...but maybe the chip was always just a tracker. Whose to say if it removing it made me ill, or if I was tricked into believing I was."

"Scully I was there...you were ILL."

"I know...but I didn't start to exhibit symptoms until months after the chip was removed...they could have found some other way to make me ill, to make me believe I needed that thing in my neck..." I shook my head, the memories were becoming too much, "Just file it away. We'll go home in January and just never think of it again."

"It's not that simple."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But the data I found, those two girls upstairs..."

"Mulder, stop it. I know what was done to me and I know I can't change any of it. I'm healthy now. Let's just leave it at that." My head began to pound from stress, "Let me rest and wake me when the pizza arrives."

"Fine." He said slamming the file shut and leaving in a huff like manor I was sadly used to by now.

Cheese pizza and a glass of wine were just what I needed to put me into a coma like state. I slept for ten hours and when I awoke I felt like a different person. A healthy person. After getting out of bed I went down to the dining room where my children - all four of them - and Joy, were eating breakfast.

"Where's your father?" I asked the group.

"Sitting by the pool." Abigail said as she took a sip of orange juice, "he hasn't spoken all morning."

Behind the glass doors in front of me I saw the back of his head as he sat in an Adirondack chair by the Olympic size swimming pool.

"Thanks." I said heading to the door, opening it and sitting next to the man who seemed to be staring off into space.

"What's wrong?' I asked looking directly at him

He shook his head, "Nothing."

Sighing, I leaned back in the deck chair and looked up at the bright blue sky through the clear ceiling, "And I know when you're lying."

He didn't reply, simply continued to stare off into space.

"And here I thought you would take my clean bill of health as good news."

"I do." he replied, "I'm very relieved that you're ok. There's just so many questions and I don't know if I'll even get the answers."

"Sometimes you don't need all the answers. Just take solace in knowing we're going to be ok."

Mulder looked down, shook his head, the turned to face me, "I'll try."

Phoebe decided that we needed some alone time. As a reward for my clean bill of health she treated me to a new black dress complete with Manolo Blahnik heels and a night at an expensive hotel in London. The twins didn't think it was a good idea, but I needed some alone time with my husband. Especially now.

The car picked us up around seven pm and drove us to a hotel where we had dinner and then retired to the room by ten. No one was watching us, no one was following us, we were completely alone, but there was a distance in my husband's eyes I'd never seen before. Asking what was wrong was pointless, all I could do was hope he would simply get over whatever was bothering him.

"There's complementary champagne." I noted as Mulder sat on the bed removing his 'too tight' dress shoes.

No reply.

Sighing, I opened the bottle and let the cap hit the ceiling.

No reply

Part of me just wanted to down the entire bottle, but instead I poured some in both glasses and walked over to the bed sitting down next to him, handing him the glass which he thankfully took.

"Can we at least toast to being tumor, implant, and cancer free?"

Mulder gave a small smile and nodded, "I can toast to that."

After the glasses clanked we both took a sip and after a moment passed proceeded to finish the beverage. I stared down at the empty glass and once again wished I had drank the entire bottle. Mulder was running his index finger around the edge looking down as well and I just wanted to shake him out of whatever his beautiful mind was doing to him.

Taking the glass out of his hand I stood up and placed them on the counter with the rest of the bottle - which I did pick up and quickly finish - before turning to see the sad sack still looking at his knees.

If there was anything to snap him out of his current state I knew what it was and if this didn't fix it I wasn't sure what would. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hands on the bottom of the dress, quickly pulled if off over my head and tossed it at him.

The dress landed on his lap and without skipping a beat he picked it up and looked up at me with a confused expression I wasn't used to seeing in these circumstances.

"I'm pretty sure this is why Phoebe sent us away." I said placing my hands on my bare hips.

Mulder nodded and the expression on his face suddenly changed. He stood up and tossed the new dress onto the floor and approached me, placing his hands on my face and smiling, "I know it is." he said softly kissing me before quickly picking me up into his arms - something he hadn't done in years - and carrying me to the bed.

I didn't even know what day it was anymore. Not that it truly mattered. I had nine months until I could go home - even though every day I began to doubt what the twins were fearful of - so I decided I could at least make the most of it. I awoke from a night I hadn't experienced in ages to a bright sun coming in from the windows and Mulder's arm wrapped around my chest holding me tightly against him. I could have stayed here forever, but I knew we had to go back to a homesick teenage boy, twin daughters we hardly knew and a five-year-old that could be happy anywhere.

Joy...I still wasn't sure what to do about her.

But I had plenty of time to figure it out.

My morning begun just as the night before had ended and by the time we actually got out of the bed and got dressed in casual clothing we had packed the night before, I felt content that we were both on the same path. Mulder seemed like his old self and even when we got back to Phoebe's he was playing dolls with Melissa and a video game of zombies and machine guns with William before bed. For the first time in a long time I went to sleep hopeful about our future.

I woke up cold

I woke up alone.

I sat up quickly and called out my husband's name. Nothing. I repeated myself. Nothing again. I tried his first name...no sarcastic response. Honestly worried I got out of bed and felt his side of the bed, cold. Panicking I rushed out of the bedroom and noticing the door to Melissa's room was open, slowly walked into the room as my pulse steadied upon seeing my husband sitting in the chair next to the bed where my daughter slept.

"What are you doing?" I whispered as I approached him.

In the moonlight I watched him sigh and look down, "This isn't the life I promised you."

Taken a back I looked at him confused, "What did you promise me?"

"Not this." He said looking up at me, "Not any of this."

He seemed a little drunk, but mostly depressed. I honestly hadn't seen him in such a state in years. Not since Melissa was born, "I don't regret my life with you. I can't imagine why you would think I did."

"But did you ever think about how your life would be if you never met me?"

Now we had reached the seriously depressed state and I wasn't sure what to do to bring him out of it. I kneeled down on my knees to look up at him as he sat in the chair, his eyes focused on his own lap, "Would you mind filling me in on what spurned this sudden case of melancholy?"

Mulder shook his head and looked over at me, "I just want you to be happy."

"Who said I'm not?"

"Given everything we've been through."

"Yes. We've been through. Mulder, I could have left at any time in the beginning, but I didn't. You know why? Because even then I knew I belonged with you. I didn't exactly understand how or why that was, but at the end of the day I knew my life was not complete without you in it. I don't believe in soulmates, but even so I know we belonged together…. regardless of how long it took me to act on it."

"No regrets?"

I shook my head, "How can I have any with what we created." I said looking over at Melissa, her left thumb shoved in her mouth as she slept away oblivious to what her parents were saying right next to her. "Every day may have not been a great day, but at the end of the day I am happy with my life."

"Even with everything you now know? Everything?"

I nodded, "I don't dwell on the past. I don't think about what could have been, I focus on what I have. It may not be conventional; I was not expecting two seventeen-year-old girls to show up in my life, but just like the five-year-old dreaming about trees made of bubble gum – seriously she told me that – they're ours and there is a reason they came into our lives. Even if we can't see it quite yet."

Taking a very deep sigh Mulder's eyes went back to the cherub sleeping soundly, "I guess I'm just afraid one day you will wake up and realize what a mistake you made in staying around so long."

Reaching the point of annoyance, I grabbed his hand which was resting on the armrest and squeezed it hard, "I won't."

"But in nine months…"

I shrugged, "I've been through so much worse than nine months locked in a castle being waited on hand and foot."

"You know we can't go home…. we can't go back to the FBI."

I nodded, "I realized that the second we said no to Utopia."

"And still no o regrets." He asked again.

"Not one. As far as I see it, anywhere with you is utopia."

"And you accuse me of being the sappy one." He said FINALLY smiling down at me.

"Now." I said standing up, my two hands still firmly locked on his right hand, "Do I have to prove my happiness, again."

"No…" he shook his head, but kept his eyes locked on mine, "But the reminder would be nice."

I can't say the next nine months were perfect. I can't say there weren't fights and disagreements and one of us – Mulder - sleeping on the couch. There were tears, but we always made up. By May Phoebe's husband had returned and the jealousy I still felt for the woman seemed to dissipate; William and Joy had become inseparable and I realized finding a new home for the girl would devastate my son. Like Mulder and myself they had a connection and even as young as they were I had never seen William so happy to have someone he could relate to. Someone his own age who also felt like she never fit in with anyone else. While I was busy reading every book in Phoebe's massive library, Mulder had worked with Patrick – Phoebe's husband – on moving our savings into a trust before purchasing land in Malibu to start building our new home. Between the large salaries we were being paid to essentially hunt and track down people to be sent to this new planet, and the money Mulder had inherited from his parents we honestly wouldn't have to work for the rest of our lives if we didn't want to. Mulder said he chose Malibu to get as far away from DC as possible without crossing an ocean. I watched him as he got up in the middle of the night to doodle out specs of our second dream home. Now with six bedrooms to accommodate all of our children and Joy. We were sent videos on a daily basis of the progress on paradise on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. I watched as Abigail and Jessica's eyes lit up at the views of their future bedrooms. How could watching two girls who never knew a parent's love tear up at watching drywall go up ever be seen as a regret? By December, the house was completed and just waiting for us to occupy. Given we had already packed up the house in Virginia before leaving in April, it was easy to ask my mother – who lectured me for a good hour about why I was finally calling her after eight months of no contact– to get with a real estate agent – this was after promising we would fly her out to the new house in January for a much needed reunion where I then introduce her to my teenage doppelgängers – and work on selling our home. Between the area and the market, the house sold in less than two weeks and for three times what we spent building it and all of our belongings and cars were loaded onto moving vans to make the long drive to California.

William had grown almost six inches and was closer every day to the height of his father, Missy had grown a few inches and by Christmas entirely new wardrobes had been purchased and packed for the one-day flights to LAX at ten am on January 1, 2015.

The night of New Years Eve, Phoebe and Patrick took all the kids to a special firework presentation in London. Leaving Mulder and I alone for the evening. Something that hadn't occurred in quite some time. We had a quiet dinner at Phoebe's home before taking a walk around the property, hand in hand, looking up at the night sky.

"I wonder when that last ship left…" Mulder said looking up at the darkness.

I shook my head, "Sometimes I wonder if it was even real."

He nodded, "It was. They showed me photos. So many happy people and as happy as they were I guess I knew then it wasn't for us. As it is, I'm perfectly happy on this crazy planet." He smiled down at me.

"Me too." I smiled up at him.

Maybe we were destined for more, but sometimes you have to make your own destiny. And as we all walked off the Virgin Atlantic flight and stood in passport control waiting to be given the green light to start our new lives we all knew we were creating our own future.

I never had much of a 'retirement from the FBI dream' and they really didn't seem to notice that we never came back, but not long after moving to Malibu had we purchased a recently closed clinic in a low income area of Los Angeles and I had gotten together with various doctors in all fields to start up a low to no cost medical clinic for those who couldn't afford to go to a doctor. I would work in the clinic three days a week, and the twins worked the reception desk. Sadly, as smart as they were, they never received a formal education after the age of twelve – something my husband's former mother in law lied about – so they were really unsure what to do in terms of their future, but they seemed pretty content just to be part of a family again. I did, however, enroll them in a sleep study hoping they would actually be able to sleep again, unfortunately months of treatment and dozens of medications later and they were still pacing the halls at night. I just wanted five minutes with the monster that turned these beautiful girls into permanent insomniacs.

Missy started the first grade at a private school not far from the house and Mulder gladly drove her to and from every day. She had many friends and had quickly bounced back to the happy girl we had grown so accustomed to before our brief life overseas. William and Joy started the eighth grade and I had yet to receive any discipline notices.

Finally doing what I had been telling him to do for years, Mulder decided to throw all his nervous energy into writing. He had started a series of comically based novels about all the unusual characters we had encountered throughout our history together. Flukeman started strong and ended up being the sympathetic hero of the story, but his latest novel Vampire Pizza Boy was the biggest hit. There was even talk of a movie adaptation.

Every now and then when I would come home from the clinic I would find Mulder sitting out on the deck with a glass of scotch or some other beverage just staring up at the night sky. He never said anything, but I couldn't help but wonder if now he was the one with regrets. Generally, I would let him be, but on one Friday night after the kids had returned to their rooms and the twins had gone to the movies with friends they met online, I grabbed a bottle of already opened red wine out of the fridge, removed my calf killing heels and joined my husband on the deck.

Sitting in the chair next to him I removed the stopper from the bottle and poured some in a glass before placing the bottle on the side table between the chairs.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked taking a sip of the rich beverage and looking over at him.

Mulder shrugged and picked up his own glass taking a drink as well, "My next book."

"Mothman, The Great Mutato, or brain eating mutant?"

"Just a normal guy, who is just going about his every day job when the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes on walks into his life. Changing it forever."

I smiled and took another sip while keeping my eyes on him "How does it end?"

"You tell me." He said turning and looking directly at me.

Nodding I placed the glass down on the table and looked up at the night sky, "They lived happily ever after."