From mason@umr.edu Sat Dec 07 17:20:50 1996
Intro: This is part five of an ongoing saga and the last installment until 
after finals and X-mas.  For those of you just tuning in, this is futuristic 
MSR with splashes of conspiracy and hints of casework.  We're somewhere in the 
year 2001 or later, it's just not now.  Season three did happen and is 
referred to, but nothing after that, although a lot of season four could be 
integrated into this timeline.

Rating: PG-17, I guess.  The language and implied sex is too mild for an R, 
but stronger than a PG-13, at least going by the movie system's ratings.

Disclaimer: I know this will never happen on the TV show.  That's what fanfic 
is all about.  It's also about not owning the characters.  That privilege goes 
to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox.  No harm intended. 

If parts don't make it to your server, e-mail me.  Responding on the newsgroup 
might not make it to me for four or five days.  The whole series is New 
Beginnings.  The sections will be subtitled but should still be considered to 
be under the main title.  So far: 

	NB I = Something New (4 parts) M&S decide to make some changes in 
		their lives.
	NB II = Old Issues (4 parts) I hate the word, but angst can apply to 
		most of the goings on.  It's been a non-tramatic time for M&S 
		until some old friends try to make their reacquaintance.
	NB III = New Fears (4 parts) Issues bought up in the previous story 
		are playing havoc with a new development in M&S's lives.
	NB IV = Old Lies (8 parts) M finds something in the basement that 
		leads him to some old faces with new names.

New Beginnings V -- The Answers Are in There (1/4)
	By Nicole Mason
		(mason@umr.edu)
	10/96-12/5/96

	Mulder passed the security station and flashed his ID with a sense of 
triumph.  He didn't have his gun yet, but he would pick up the new one today. 
He didn't know how Skinner had done it, but he knew that was the person behind 
his stay of execution with the Air Force.  But whatever the terms were, Mulder 
was willing to do his best to follow them.

	Just as he suspected, there was a message for him to call Skinner's 
office the moment he walked in.  He spoke with Skinner's assistant and made an 
appointment for almost an hour later.  He then sat down and started the 
paperwork to get him back on full-time status.  It was a relief when he had to 
leave the forms and head to Skinner's office.

	It was the first time in weeks that Mulder stood poised with one hand 
raised to knock and the other one on the doorknob.  Shooting a glance over his 
shoulder, he was rewarded with a reassuring smile.  He took a deep breath and 
knocked once.  Skinner's voice was neutral as it ordered him to enter.

	"Sir, you wanted to see me?"

	"Have a seat, Agent Mulder."  He did and waited for Skinner to 
continue.  "There are several things we need to discuss.  But first, welcome 
back."

	Mulder relaxed and returned the smile.  "Thank you, sir.  I--"

	"Let's get this over with first," he interrupted.  Mulder nodded in 
agreement and sat back for the duration.  "Officially, all charges have been 
dropped, as you know."  Skinner didn't wait for any signs of assent.  
"Unofficially, there are a few guidelines you have to adhere to."

	Mulder felt his heart lurch.  There hadn't been any mention of this, 
but he had half expected it.  "And they are?"

	"If you are ever detained on a military base again, there will be no 
bargaining.  They have a very long memory on these matters, Agent Mulder, and 
this isn't your first offense."

	"Not to quibble semantics, sir, but what if I am detained for no 
reason?"

	Mulder managed not to wince as Skinner released an exasperated sigh.  
"You better have written clearance to be in that situation, Mulder.  And I 
mean from more than one source.  But I would prefer that the situation never 
arose, Mulder."

	"Understood.  What else, sir?"

	"This isn't a sentencing, Mulder."

	"Sure feels like it."  He mumbled it under his breath, but they both 
knew what he said.

	"That's the main issue.  Nothing else concerns the Bureau."

	"I'm grounded then, Dad?"

	"Until you can prove to me that you are a responsible adult..."

	Mulder groaned.  He really hated it when Skinner started joking back 
with him.  The man had a sense of humor that was almost lethal.  Sobering a 
little, he asked, "Am I getting a new partner?"

	"Not in the foreseeable future.  I don't think I can handle another 
Carrington."

	"Me neither."  And knowing it would go no further and not be taken 
seriously, he said, "In my professional opinion, sir, he was schizo."

	"I'll put that in his file then."  There was the traditional shuffling 
of papers that indicated the meeting was over.

	Mulder stood up with a sense of relief.  This time, he stopped himself 
at the door.  "Sir?"

	"Yes, Agent Mulder?"

	Mulder wanted to tell him about the tape, about Cancerman, about the 
answers that were almost at their fingertips.  But not in the office.  Not 
even a hint of it could be suggested here, at least not until they knew who 
the new shadow was.  He shook his head and said, "Nevermind."

	Skinner nodded in understanding and Mulder returned to the basement.

		* * * * *

	After work, Mulder went to pick up Josh and met up with Scully and 
Nick on the sidewalk outside of TLG's new headquarters.  They exchanged 
children in greeting and Mulder led the way down into the basement and then 
across the street through an underground passage.  Being friends with the guys 
always proved, at least to himself, that he wasn't as paranoid as Scully 
always accused him of being.

	"Where do you guys keep finding these places?" he asked in mild 
annoyance when they were finally let into the inner sanctum.

	"We'd like to keep that confidential, Mulder," Byers said seriously.

	Scully shook her head and looked around for Frohike.  Not seeing him, 
she relaxed just a little.  "How's it going?" she asked.

	Langly looked up from the computer and said, "Not too bad.  We've been 
able to recover almost thirty percent of the information on the tape.  We 
think now that we'll be able to get over fifty when we're done."

	Mulder nodded in acceptance and went to stand over his shoulder to see 
what was going on.  Langly gave a running monologue in Computerese about the 
reclamation process they were using and Mulder followed as best as he could, 
which wasn't much.  He knew how to turn the damn things on and use them, but 
when it came to programming and such he was clueless.  Scully seemed to follow 
what was being said a little better, but he wasn't sure if it was an act or 
not.  She never would give him a straight answer when he asked.

	They were there almost an hour and only another one percent had been 
recovered.  Plus Frohike had returned from whatever secret mission he had 
assigned himself.  Scully saw that as their cue to leave and Mulder had to 
hide his amusement as she hurried him and the boys out of the building.  
Considering the hour, they agreed on pizza instead of cooking and headed home.

	Mulder picked at the toppings and made weird patterns on the side of 
his plate with them.  Finally, he said, "Fifty percent.  That's more than I 
would have thought."

	"I think the thirty they already have is pretty good," she agreed.

	"As long as we get some proper nouns as well as verbs in the jumble.  
If it's all prepositions, it won't do us any good."

	"What about adverbs and adjectives?"

	He glared at her.  "What?  Did you minor in English?"

	"Why would I?  I already know how to speak and read the language.  And 
besides, what could you do with a degree in English?"

	Mulder's face contorted into a grimace.  "Besides teach?  I don't 
know.  Act, maybe?"

	"Yeah, I can see your name headlining now," she snorted.

	"Me?"  He pointed to himself with a pepperoni.  "We were talking about 
you, Scully."

	That was almost as funny.  But she only said, "Quit playing with your 
food and eat your pizza."  He looked up to add his agreement as she corrected 
the boys.  He had to smile as she amended her sentence.  "I mean you, Mulder."

		* * * * *

	Mulder paced back and forth in front of the phone.  Scully looked at 
him over the rim of her glasses.

	"Mulder, sit down, you're making me dizzy."

	"Why haven't they called," he demanded with another glare at the 
silent instrument.

	"They said they would as soon as they're ready to send it off.  You 
pacing isn't going to make it happen any sooner."

	"I know.  I just don't understand why they haven't finished yet.  It's 
not like they don't type on computers all day anyway.  They should be able to 
go faster than a page a day."

	She gave up on trying to read the file.  "I know it's taking some 
time, Mulder, but I bet it's the first time they've ever had to transcribe 
Navaho from one computer to the next without using a copy command.  Give them 
some time."

	Mulder opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut when the phone 
rang.

	"Mulder."

	"You are going to have to pay for my surgery when I get carpel tunnel 
syndrome because of this."

	Frohike, he mouthed at Scully's raised eyebrow.  She quickly stood up 
and went into the other room.  Mulder sat down in relief.  "I'm sure Dana 
would be happy to do the surgery."

	"No offense, Mulder, but I'm not letting your wife near me with a 
knife while I'm unconscious."

	Mulder had the same feelings, but Frohike didn't need to know that.  
"So it's ready?"

	"Yep.  Come by tomorrow morning and we'll get started on the next 
step."

	As soon as he hung up the phone, Scully came out from hiding in the 
kitchen.  "Are you happy now?"

	"Yeah.  Now all we have to do is get the transcripts to Albert and 
back without anyone finding out."

	"Are you going to pace the entire time he has it?"

	"I don't know, Scully.  Will it aggravate you if I do?"

	"I have a feeling I would regret answering that statement."

		* * * * *

	Every morning for the next few weeks, Mulder would wake up with the 
thought that something was going to happen.  Something that was going to tear 
his family apart.  But it didn't happen.  Life went on as usual.

	"No.  Mine!"

	Scully rolled her eyes as Josh screamed.  At least his possessiveness 
had toned down somewhat.  Only occasionally would he act selfish and that was 
usually when there were toys or pizza involved.  "No.  It's for all of us," 
she explained once again.

	"My name.  Mine," he said pointing at the white script.

	Nick sat in his chair and watched the proceeding around him silently. 
 He had a spoon and was happily making a mess.  Scully looked at him and wiped 
the spot of icing off his cheek.  "You aren't going to let Grandma have any?"

	"Gandma coming?" Josh asked as he stood on a chair and leaned across 
the table.

	"Yes, Grandma is coming."

	"Gandma can have some," he said with an imperial nod.

	"Mommy and Daddy can't?"

	"Huh-uh."  He reached for the bowl and spatula that she had set aside.

	Scully looked over at Mulder, who was busy cleaning the icing off the 
beaters and not bothering with water to do it.  "OK.  Mommy and Daddy won't 
eat any."  After the icing and the cake batter, she doubted Mulder would be 
hungry anyway.

	Her agreeing seemed to throw Josh for a loop.  "OK.  You can have 
some."

	Scully smiled as she took the candles out of the box.  There was a 
little twist in her heart as she settled four of them in the icing.  Time was 
standing still in regards to some things, but others were moving at the speed 
of light.

		* * * * *

	Mulder silently groaned as Skinner passed him the file.  "When do I 
need to get there?"

	"They needed you last week, Mulder, but it took them this long to get 
things in order."  Mulder glanced at his watch and Skinner asked, "Am I 
keeping you from something, Agent Mulder?"

	"No, sir," he said with a shake of his head.   /Just my anniversary./

	"That will be all then, Mulder."

	"Yes, sir."  He stood up and left the office.  When he returned to the 
basement, he slumped in his chair.  "Damn," he muttered as he reached for the 
phone to make reservations.  Ten minutes later, he was dialing a different 
number.

	"Dr. Scully's office."

	Mulder's brow furrowed into a frown at the sound of her assistant, 
Sheila's, voice.  "Is she there?"

	"Ah, Agent Mulder.  No, I'm sorry.  She's not.  She was called in to 
help on a priority autopsy.  Would you like to leave a message?"

	"No.  Thanks, Sheila.  I'll just catch her later."

	And it was much later when he spoke to her for no more than two 
minutes.  She called to ask him to pick up Nick from the daycare and that it 
was going to be awhile before she got home.  It was almost midnight before she 
stumbled into the apartment.  Mulder stopped pretending he was working and set 
his glasses on the coffee table.

	"Everything OK?"

	"Yeah.  It was a madhouse.  Two of my people were on vacation and 
another one had to have an emergency tonsillectomy.  How are the boys?" she 
asked as she slowly collapsed next to him.

	"Sound asleep."  He sat forward and pulled her feet up onto his lap.  
"I have to leave town tomorrow on a case."

	Her groan of pleasure turned to one of dismay.  "I guess it's a good 
thing we don't make a big deal out of these things."

	"We can have our celebration when I get back."

	"How long?"

	"I don't know.  They have a serial killer that they think is 
escalating, but they can't find any of the victims."

	"How do they know he's escalating then?"

	"That's part of why they want me.  They want me to rework the 
profile."

	"Just the thing you love the most."

	"Absolutely, Scully," he agreed absently; he was too busy leaning 
forward as his hands moved up her calves to her thighs.

	"Mulder?"

	"Hmm?"

	"What do you think you're doing?"

	"Helping you relax," he said with a nod, his lips grazing her throat 
in the process.

	"You're going to have to do better than that, Mulder," she said around 
a grin.

	"I'll give it my best shot, Scully."

		* * end * *

End NB V -- The Answers Are in There (1/4)

From mason@umr.edu Sat Dec 07 17:25:38 1996
Intro: This is part five of an ongoing saga and the last installment until 
after finals and X-mas.  For those of you just tuning in, this is futuristic 
MSR with splashes of conspiracy and hints of casework.  We're somewhere in the 
year 2001 or later, it's just not now.  Season three did happen and is 
referred to, but nothing after that, although a lot of season four could be 
integrated into this timeline.

Rating: PG-17, I guess.  The language and implied sex is too mild for an R, 
but stronger than a PG-13, at least going by the movie system's ratings.

Disclaimer: I know this will never happen on the TV show.  That's what fanfic 
is all about.  It's also about not owning the characters.  That privilege goes 
to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox.  No harm intended. 

If parts don't make it to your server, e-mail me.  Responding on the newsgroup 
might not make it to me for four or five days.  The whole series is New 
Beginnings.  The sections will be subtitled but should still be considered to 
be under the main title.  So far: 

	NB I = Something New (4 parts) M&S decide to make some changes in 
		their lives.
	NB II = Old Issues (4 parts) I hate the word, but angst can apply to 
		most of the goings on.  It's been a non-tramatic time for M&S 
		until some old friends try to make their reacquaintance.
	NB III = New Fears (4 parts) Issues bought up in the previous story 
		are playing havoc with a new development in M&S's lives.
	NB IV = Old Lies (8 parts) M finds something in the basement that 
		leads him to some old faces with new names.

New Beginnings V --The Answers Are in There (2/4)
	By Nicole Mason
		(mason@umr.edu)
	10/96-12/5/96


	"Is it over?"

	"I'm not sure.  I feel pretty numb.  I think I'm in shock."

	"Either my hearing's shot, or it is over.  It's too quiet for all of 
them to still be here."

	Scully managed to raise her head from the back of the couch and peered 
around the room.  "I don't see any signs of them.  Why don't you go check out 
the other rooms and I'll keep an eye out in here."

	"I think we should call for backup."

	"Mulder, it's only our children we're talking about."

	"I can handle our kids.  It's their friends that scare me.  God, 
Scully there were five two year olds."

	"And a four year old, and my eight year old nephew."

	"Josh's party wasn't this bad."

	"Josh's party had four year olds, not two year olds."

	"Thanks for pointing that out, Scully."

	They both fell silent as they tried to regroup.  Mulder finally pulled 
himself out of the chair and looked around the living room.

	"We have to clean this up."

	She stared at the cake that had been ground into the carpet, the ice 
cream that was a sticky puddle on the table, the handprint on the TV.  There 
was wrapping paper, toys, and trash contributing to the abstract modern art 
that was now their living room.  "Can we just move?"

	He laughed weakly.  "I think it would be more work trying to find 
another place to live.  Unless you want to move into the place Frohike and the 
guys are vacating?"

	"They're moving again?"

	"Yeah.  And I told them we would help."

	"What's this "we" business, Mulder?"

	"For better or worse, Scully."

	"In "sickness", Mulder.  I don't think it referred to dealing with 
your friends."

	He walked into the kitchen and returned with a trash bag and a damp 
towel.  Scully went to work on the old food and Mulder started on the trash.

	"What time did Mom say she would be back?"

	"Around six.  She said she wanted to take them to get something to 
eat, too."

	"Scully, do you think my mother is suicidal?"

	"Why do you say that?"

	"It's been a few years since she's dealt with kids for any length of 
time.  And she took both Josh and Nick."

	"Mulder, our children are not evil.  They do know how to behave 
themselves."  As she scraped the ice cream off the table and then used the 
carpet cleaner on the cake, she rethought that statement.

	"I'm imagining the worst?"

	"You're imagining the worst," she agreed.

	"OK.  But if she's not back by seven, I'm going to call Skinner.  She 
probably could use the reinforcements."

	She silently thought that was a good idea.  Her children weren't evil, 
but there were half Mulder.  God only knew what kind of trouble they could get 
into, even at their young age.

		* * * * *

	"Sir?  I was just on my way up to your office."

	"It's OK, Mulder.  Just have a seat."

	Mulder thought it was humorous that Skinner was the one issuing the 
invitation to sit.  "Thank you, sir."

	Skinner smiled at the sardonic tone.  "I just came down to tell you, 
you can return to your normal investigative methods."

	"Sir?"

	"Was I not clear?  As long as you don't get arrested, the X-Files are 
being returned to your autonomy."

	"Damn, and here I was looking forward to being in jail again."

	"You know Mulder, you'll never make AD with that attitude."

	"I knew there was a reason to go on living.  And speaking of which, 
that matter I mentioned to you ..."  Mulder waited for the nod of 
understanding from Skinner as he motioned like he was smoking.  "It's been 
taken care of."

	The guys had e-mailed him last night.  According to hospital records, 
Carson Richards had died yesterday afternoon.  Not trusting anyone or 
anything, Frohike was on his way to check it out in person.

	"Umm," he said noncommittally.  "And the other matter?"

	Mulder shrugged.  "The investigation is at a standstill," he said 
referring to the on-going search for the new person that was going to make his 
life difficult.

	"Will you be stepping up your efforts?"

	Mulder shook his head.  "Not at this time, sir.  There are no other 
leads, but I would like to keep the file open."

	"I don't see why not, Mulder.  It's not interfering with your assigned 
caseload."

	"Now isn't that a twist."

	"You'll let me know of any new developments?  That case has piqued my 
interest as well."

	"As soon as I have something of significance to report, sir," Mulder 
agreed with a nod.

	"Thank you, Agent Mulder.  That will be all," Skinner said in 
dismissal, but then realized where he was.

	Mulder almost laughed as Skinner looked like he wanted to blush.  "Are 
we switching offices then, Skinner?"

	"I'm currently using some powerful cold medicine, Mulder," he said as 
he reached the door.

	"Good excuse, sir.  I may try using it sometime, if you don't mind."

	"That would be a reasonable explanation for your actions, Mulder.  And 
therefore completely unbelievable."  Skinner quickly closed the door behind 
him before Mulder could get in a parting shot.

		* * * * *

	It wasn't long after that Mulder received an anonymous e-mail, telling 
him his package had arrived.  He knew who had sent it and what it was 
referring to by the complete lack of any other information in the message.  He 
was glad Josh was at the babysitter instead of the daycare and took off work 
early.  His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking as Byers handed him 
the large packet.  Taking a deep breath, he started to unveil the grand prize.

	There was a short note from Albert, and Mulder forced himself to read 
it before he started on the other pages included in the bundle.  Albert 
apologized for the illogical and inconsistent translation in some parts.  He 
understood it was part of the way the data had been retrieved and he had tried 
to make as much sense as he could out of it.

	Mulder really didn't pay attention to what he read when he flipped 
through the large document.  He was just scanning for anything he already 
recognized.  There were references to locations that he knew also corresponded 
to reports of UFO's.  The co-ordinates for the site of the downed WWII bomber 
were in there, too.  Klemper and Ishimaru's names and a few others were 
scattered throughout the document.  He found the spot that Scully had 
mentioned so long ago.  Her name and Duane Barry's and something about tests.

	He didn't read the details.  He just wanted to see if it had been 
worth it.  If he had risked everything for a bunch of garbage.

	It didn't seem that way.

	"Thanks, guys.  I'll talk to you later," Mulder said and turned to 
leave.

	Frohike stared at him.  "Aren't you going to read it?"

	"Yes."

	"Well, there's a chair right there.  Have a seat and tell us what's in 
it."

	Mulder shook his head.  "I'll talk to you later," he repeated and 
walked out the door.

	Mulder pushed the words from the pages to the back of his mind.  
Crossing town again, he picked up Josh just a little earlier than usual and 
headed home.  He was surprised to see that Scully had beat him there.

	"What's wrong?"

	She usually didn't leave work early.  Not without a reason.

	Her smile didn't alleviate his suspicions.  "Nothing.  I just left an 
hour early."

	"What's wrong, Scully?"

	She crossed the room and reached up to soothe away the frown.  
"Nothing, Mulder.  I had a meeting scheduled and they canceled."

	He still wasn't convinced.  "Why didn't you start on something?  Work 
out the schedules, go over reports, or do whatever else it is division heads 
with real people in the division do?"

	She headed into the kitchen, shaking her head.  "I give them ten to 
fifteen hours overtime a week.  I think I can head out an hour early every 
once in a while, Mulder.  Besides, I brought a few things home to work on."

	Mulder was barely aware of the little things that were going on in the 
house, like Josh and Nick arguing in the living room about which movie to 
watch.  He followed her and leaned against the counter.

	"Why are you home early?" she asked as she checked on dinner.

	"I stopped by to see the guys."

	"And?"

	"Albert sends his regards."

	"It's here?"

	He nodded.  "Yes."

	"Goddammit, Mulder.  Where is it?"  She headed into the living room 
and went directly to his briefcase.

	"I only scanned it.  I wanted to wait until I got home so we could go 
over it together."  He frowned again as she looked over her shoulder at him, 
her expression undefinable.  "What?" he asked in confusion.

	"You've just changed a lot over the years, Mulder."

	He almost blushed.  He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks.  
"Yeah, well, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions."

	"But that's half the fun, Mulder.  If I can't shoot down your 
theories, why should I even bother with reading the stuff?"

	He glared at her again and went to settle the argument between the two 
boys that was getting a little out of hand.  When they were both happy again, 
he turned back to face Scully.  He knew what she was reading by the expression 
on her face.  "Dana," he said and he covered her hand, "let's get dinner ready 
first."

	"It's right here."

	He nodded.  "Your name was the first thing I looked for," he agreed.  
"That information alone would have been enough."

	She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand.  Putting the papers back 
in Mulder's case, she said, "OK.  Dinner first.  And then they'll watch 
*another* Disney movie while we start sorting the information."

	He felt the urge to smile at her tone.  "Could be worse, Scully."  Her 
eyebrow asked "how?"  "Could be the fuchsia, prehistoric lizard," he answered. 
He didn't dare say anything that might be recognizable as the purple nuisance.

	She shuddered in horror.  "Thanks, Mulder.  You always know how to 
take my mind off the unpleasant things in life."

	He looped his arm around her shoulder and leaned down to whisper, 
"It's *always* my pleasure."

	Before she could respond, a little voice popped up.  "Mine!"

	Scully bent to detach the small body that had attached itself to her 
leg.  She smiled as Mulder groaned.

	"Were you as possessive as a child, Scully?  They don't get it from 
me," he stated.

	"Possessive... Obsessive ... There's not much of a difference."  She 
set Nick on his feet again after tickling his belly with her nose.  "Besides, 
I think it's contagious.  He got it at the daycare."

	"No, he got it from Josh.  And --"

	"And Josh got it from you.  Admit it and we can get past it."

	"Scully, I feel like we're in the office again with these two around," 
he complained.

	To help him over that feeling, she patted his butt and gave him a look 
that made him forget what he had even been thinking about.

		* * * * *

	She laid on her side and stared out the window.  The reassuring heat 
and the gentle snoring told her Mulder was nearby and still sleeping.  She 
could feel her defenses crumbling and carefully got out of bed before they 
fell completely.

	Besty Hagopian's name had been in the document along with several 
other women from the Allentown MUFON chapter.  One of the names even matched 
the list that had been given to them when Josh was kidnaped.

	Scully stared at the silent TV with her arms wrapped around her 
middle.

	Mulder's name had been in there, too.  There was an account of the 
time in Idaho when he had been missing for those incredibly long 24 hours.  
The things that they had done to him were referred to in project names and 
numbers.  No chemical names or references that they could understand had been 
used.  There was also an addendum about his exposure to the bounty hunter and 
retro-virus.

	One of the procedures done to him was found in the listing under her 
name.  And under the woman's from Allentown whose child had died at three 
months.

	She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. 
Her gaze now rested on the coffee table and Josh's Marvin the Martian.  She 
was surprised that he had gone to sleep without it.  Thinking about her son 
led her back to the original topic that was keeping her awake.

	Tomorrow they were going to give the guys a list of the project names 
and numbers to see what they could find.

	A change in the air around her told her Mulder had noticed her 
absence.  Turning her head, she rested her cheek on her knees and smiled at 
him as he stood in the doorway.  "I didn't mean to wake you," she apologized.

	"I wasn't sleeping," he said.

	She nodded at the lie and stood up, grabbing the stuffed toy.

	"Are you OK?" he asked as she approached.

	"I'm fine.  I was just thinking."

	"Dana?"

	She felt her lips twist.  Extremely personal, highly sensitive subject 
in the immediate vicinity.  He always gave himself away when he used her first 
name like that.  The only exceptions were when Frohike was around or when they 
were making love.  And since he had fallen into an exhausted sleep from the 
latter earlier, she doubted he had sex in mind.

	She took hold of his hand and led the way back to the bedrooms.  She 
softly opened the boys' door and quietly placed the valued toy within the 
little boy's reach.  Just to be sure, she also peeked under the covers that 
were covering Nick's head.  He moved at the disturbance of his cocoon and she 
quickly covered him back up.

	She lay back down on her side of the bed and waited as Mulder curled 
around her.  Trailing patterns on his fingers, she said, "I'm OK."

	"I know how disappointed you are.  So am I.  We didn't get any 
straight answers."

	"No.  Just the usual mess of half-answers.  And I'm not disappointed. 
I'm resigned," she confessed.

	His arms tightened around her for a second.  "At least we have some 
more leads."

	"And you'll be able to tell when they're yanking your chain."

	"You know you're the only one that can yank my chain."

	She rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to lighten her mood.  "And 
it better stay that way," she ordered.

	"Did I ever tell you about the time I tried out for a game show?"

	She twisted at the conspicuous subject change so she could see his 
face.  "No, Mulder.  You haven't.  Did you get stage fright?"

	"Puked my guts all over one of the stagehands," he said with a nod.

	Closing her eyes, she shifted into a more comfortable position.  
"You're going to tell me all about it, aren't you?"

	"I'll leave out some of the more smelly details," he promised.

		* * end* *

End NB V -- The Answers Are in There (2/4)

From mason@umr.edu Sat Dec 07 17:28:49 1996
Intro: This is part five of an ongoing saga and the last installment until 
after finals and X-mas.  For those of you just tuning in, this is futuristic 
MSR with splashes of conspiracy and hints of casework.  We're somewhere in the 
year 2001 or later, it's just not now.  Season three did happen and is 
referred to, but nothing after that, although a lot of season four could be 
integrated into this timeline.

Rating: PG-17, I guess.  The language and implied sex is too mild for an R, 
but stronger than a PG-13, at least going by the movie system's ratings.

Disclaimer: I know this will never happen on the TV show.  That's what fanfic 
is all about.  It's also about not owning the characters.  That privilege goes 
to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox.  No harm intended. 

If parts don't make it to your server, e-mail me.  Responding on the newsgroup 
might not make it to me for four or five days.  The whole series is New 
Beginnings.  The sections will be subtitled but should still be considered to 
be under the main title.  So far: 

	NB I = Something New (4 parts) M&S decide to make some changes in 
		their lives.
	NB II = Old Issues (4 parts) I hate the word, but angst can apply to 
		most of the goings on.  It's been a non-tramatic time for M&S 
		until some old friends try to make their reacquaintance.
	NB III = New Fears (4 parts) Issues bought up in the previous story 
		are playing havoc with a new development in M&S's lives.
	NB IV = Old Lies (8 parts) M finds something in the basement that 
		leads him to some old faces with new names.

New Beginnings V --The Answers Are in There (3/4)
	By Nicole Mason
		(mason@umr.edu)
	10/96-12/5/96


	She knew what was coming.  She had been waiting for it for almost a 
week now.  Trying not to rush him, she kept her attention focused away from 
the man standing in the doorway.

	"I want to check out the Denver thing."

	She looked up from the stack of reports spread out on the kitchen 
table.  Mulder was still standing in the doorway, looking defiant and 
resigned.  "I won't be able to get away anytime soon," she said.  She had been 
trying to juggle things all week, knowing he would want to check at least one 
of the things out, and it was going to be impossible for her to get away 
without arousing suspicion.  "You'll have to go by yourself."  She smiled 
slightly.  "Just don't get arrested again.  I don't think Skinner can handle 
it again so soon."

	"I don't think he can handle it again in this lifetime," he agreed as 
he crossed the room and crouched down next to her.

	"So when are you going?"

	"Within the month.  I'm hoping this will flush the new watchdog out." 
Carefully, he removed her glasses.

	"You're not going to use a cover story?"

	"Nope."

	"Our insurance is paid up, isn't it?" she asked to hide her concern.

	"Ha.  Ha.  Scully.  I think I liked it better when you hid your sense 
of humor."

	"I never hid it, Mulder.  I just chose prime moments to zap you."

	He flexed his hands where they rested on her thighs.  "Zap me?"

	"Admit it.  It always shuts you up for awhile when I have you at my 
mercy."

	His eyebrow raised and she groaned mentally as she saw him give her 
words a sexual twist.  But then again, she could use that to her advantage.  
She stood up and laced her fingers with his.  Slowly she used her hold on him 
to bring him to his feet.

	"Mulder?"

	"Hmm?"

	"Are the boys asleep?"

	He looped their arms around her waist and rested their hands at the 
small of her back.  "Out like a light.  And it only took three stories to do 
it," he said and leaned down to find her ear.

	She loosened her hands from his and started to work on the buttons of 
his shirt.  "Mulder?"

	"Hmm?" he asked against her throat.

	She had to fight to find her previous train of thought.  "Just don't 
make so much noise this time."

	"I'll try, Scully."

	Somehow she didn't quite believe him.

		* * * * *

	Mulder unlocked the door to the rental car after quickly scanning the 
area for anything out of the ordinary.  Dusk had lengthened the shadows, but 
not enough to conceal anything larger than a trash can.  Adjusting the seat 
and mirrors, he started the car and headed into the heart of Denver.

	Once he had checked into the motel room, he made a quick call.

	"I'm here."

	"Any sign of ‘em?"

	He shook his head.  "I don't expect to pick anything up until tomorrow 
night.  I have to check in with the regional field office at 8:00.  I probably 
won't get to the site until late tomorrow."

	"How long before I should start to panic?"

	"Give me until about three."

	"So if you don't call by the time I leave for work on Thursday?"

	"Be prepared to ID the body."

	"That's not funny, Mulder."

	"I know.  I'm sorry.  You know how warped my sense of humor can get." 
He unknotted his tie and tossed it on the bed.  "I should let you go so you 
can get to sleep."  He was reluctant to hang up, but it was after midnight in 
DC.

	"Actually, I'm wide awake."

	"Can't sleep without me, huh?"

	"More like I don't know what to do with all the space and blankets I 
have now."

	"Just pretend I pulled another disappearing act," he said with another 
hint of his sense of humor.

	"Ooh, yeah.  That means I get to sleep with the phone on the pillow 
next to me."  There was a small moment of silence and he pictured her getting 
more comfortable.  "You know, you never did tell me how you got Skinner to let 
you go."

	"I just told him the truth."

	"You're kidding."

	"You know, Scully, he's really not that bad."

	"Whatever, Mulder."  There was another pause and he was unsettled 
about it.  "I gotta go, Mulder.  Josh just woke up."

	"Scully," he called a little loudly.

	"Yeah?"

	"I love you."

	He could almost feel her smile.  "I love you, too.  And be careful."

	"I will, Scully.  Kiss the boys for me."

	They both hung up without saying good-bye and Mulder pulled his 
briefcase toward him.  Arranging the pillows behind him, he took out the 
sheets of paper pertaining to the "Denver location" and the West Virginia one.

	The project names were different for each one, but Mulder could tell 
the same person had come up with the names.  At least they weren't as obvious 
as some of the code words and project names he had encountered before.

	Mulder spent the next several hours trying to concentrate on the 
lecture he was supposed to give.  Sure, Skinner had let him go west, but there 
had been a price.  A small one, but it involved doing something he enjoyed 
almost as much as paperwork.  All he had to do was make it through the lecture 
and then the luncheon.  After that, the time was all his.

	Then he would head up into the mountains, following train tracks that 
weren't recorded on any recent land surveys, but had somehow managed to make 
it into the guys' database.

		* * * * *

	Mulder pulled the car onto the side of the road and stared out at the 
shadows left by the retreating sunlight.  There was a small dirt road that 
followed the train tracks into the woods and according to the map, the 
compound should be three miles up that road.  Making up his mind, he drove 
another mile away from the sight and pulled the car off the side of the road 
onto the shoulder.  He got out and retrieved a bag from the trunk.  
Shouldering it, he looked around and memorized the sight.  Taking one deep 
breath, he headed into the woods and prayed he wasn't headed for a trap.

	Staying in the trees, he followed the tracks up to the compound.  By 
the looks of things it was deserted and had been for some time.  Breathing a 
little easier, he crossed the open space into the large warehouse.  The place 
was too far away from the nearest town to be a local site for the kids, but it 
looked like some had been there in the last few months.  There were a few beer 
cans and a pile of trash that proclaimed the age group of the trespassers.

	The place reminded him a lot of the site in West Virginia.  With that 
thought, he headed up the rusting stairs to the second floor and hopefully the 
vault area.  He paused as he studied one of the six doors he could see.

	Something wasn't right about it.  It wasn't a solid shape with an 
electronic lock, like the other one.  The doors were all older looking, but 
they weren't aged like the rest of the structure.  It looked more like the 
original doors had been removed and these put in their place.  Just in case 
someone came looking.  Yes.  The hinges connected to the wall were older than 
the ones connected to the door.  Both were rusting, but the ones on the door 
weren't nearly as bad as the ones in the frame.

	Mulder carefully opened the door and scanned the area with his 
flashlight.  Filing cabinets filled the room, but there were only about twenty 
or so.  He checked the labels and sucked in his breath.  The years on the 
drawers were much more recent.  They started with 1990.  He quickly started 
opening drawers, looking for the medical files, but they were all empty.  They 
had planned this evacuation and had time to make sure they hadn't missed 
anything.  He went into the other rooms, just to make sure.

	They each held a year and it looked like they had started to expand 
into another room as well as further into the mountain side, but construction 
hadn't been completed on it.  The 1995 room didn't look like it had been 
filled either, not like the other ones.  Some of the cabinets still had the 
manufactures seal across the drawers that prevented opening while shipping.

	They had moved everything around June of 1995.

	"Right after they killed my father, me, Melissa, and Victor Klemper," 
he said out loud to the shadows.  Mulder's lips twisted into a grim smile.  At 
least the shadows hadn't answered him.

	He wondered if there was a new vault hidden away in some mountain and 
if there was a file with his childrens' names in it.  Not liking the flash of 
paranoia and sense of reality that came with the thought, he closed the last 
door and headed back towards the stairs to leave.

	A crash of metal and a shriek of anger had him diving for cover.

	When his heart started to return to its normal position in his chest 
instead of in his throat, he recognized the sound of racoons.  Lord knows 
after the incident during a stakeout in the woods with Scully, he would never 
forget the sound of the little bandits rooting for food.  It was also the last 
time he had ever needed to be told to close the cooler all the way again.

	Carefully he stood up and groaned at the sound of leather tearing.  
And here he had begun to believe he would come away from this trip without any 
mishaps.  So much for thinking optimistically.

		* * * * *

	Without looking up from the file he was reading, Mulder reached for 
the ringing phone.  "Mulder."

	"Agent Mulder, Assistant Director Skinner would like to see you in his 
office this afternoon."

	Mulder silently groaned at the extremely polite tone of Skinner's 
assistant.  "Any specific time?"

	"He just requested that you meet with him today."

	/Requested.  Yeah.  Right./   "I'll be up in a minute,"

	Mulder glared at the phone as he hung up.  He hoped Skinner didn't 
expect him to recount what had happened in Colorado in his office.  Besides, 
there really wasn't that much to tell.  He had a nice empty warehouse that had 
a nice respectable background that went with the nice respectable "For Sale" 
sign he had seen on the way back to the car.  Mulder looked around, like he 
was forgetting something, and pulled on his jacket as he left the office.  
When he reached Skinner's office, he was sent in without having to wait to be 
announced.

	"Sir, you wanted to see me?"  There hadn't been a report to file, so 
Skinner couldn't be upset by a turn of phrase or a lack of suspect.

	"Have a seat, Mulder."

	He took heart that Skinner appeared to be peeved, but not with him.  
There was a moment in which Skinner looked like he was silently counting and 
then he passed a folder to Mulder.

	"Accounting just sent this up.  Someone is questioning the validity of 
some of your claims."

	"What is it this time?" he asked.  He wondered if anybody else had to 
re-justify ALL of their claims.

	"Dry-cleaning and repairs on a leather jacket.  Car rental.  Motel 
room."

	"What?  I ripped my jacket on duty and someone is upset that I'm 
claiming it?"

	"The official paperwork has something to the effect of how could Agent 
Mulder rip a leather jacket on a metal staircase, use a car for two days, and 
rent a room while he was giving a two hour lecture in a building with concrete 
stairs."

	Mulder looked up at that with dawning suspicion.  "That detailed, 
sir?"

	Skinner nodded.  "Since there is not a report to go with the claims, 
they are denying it."

	Mulder flipped through the rest of the paperwork and eyed the name on 
the sheet of paper with the denied claim.  His memory sought all the other 
times he had seen that signature on his paperwork.  The frequency of that one 
name had increased drastically ever since a certain smoking chimney's presence 
had decreased.  Mulder looked up at Skinner with a relieved smile.

	He finally had a clue who his new watchdog was.

	"Mulder?"  Skinner was uneasy about the other man's delight in the 
added paperwork.

	"Why didn't they just send it back to me?"

	"I don't know, Agent Mulder.  Why don't you tell me?  Could it be that 
your explanations are usually more complicated and off-the-wall than your 
reports?"

	Mulder almost grinned at the exasperated tone.  "I've gotten better."

	The grin did surface as Skinner rolled his eyes in a good imitation of 
Scully's most put upon expression.  "Mulder..."

	"I must have included the receipts without thinking, sir.  I'll get 
the mess straightened out and it won't happen again."

	"See to it, Mr. Mulder."

	Mulder went down to the basement and tried to balance the trepidation 
he felt with the excitement of the hunt.  He hit the file with the complaints 
and the claims against his thigh and formulated the next plan of attack.  Or 
non-attack in this case.  He debated whether he should call the extension 
listed in the file or just go down to the accounting department to see the 
person face to face.

	It would be imminently less suspicious if he just called, like he 
would with any other snafu in paperwork.

	"Karen Markley."  The voice was perky and not what he was expecting.  
But there was also a thread of steel behind it that set off his "spooky 
sense."

	"This is Agent Fox Mulder.  I received a message that there was a 
problem with some claims from a recent trip."

	"Yes, Agent Mulder.  I have the file right in front of me.  If we 
could set up a meeting, I would like to clear up the situation."

	"Of course.  My schedule is pretty flexible the next couple of days 
.."

	"Tomorrow morning at eight."

	Mulder thought the only way she could have been more obvious was to 
suggest sometime that afternoon.  "That should be fine.  I've been working on 
something, but if I get called out of town, we may have to handle it over the 
phone."

	"As long as this is cleared up, Agent Mulder."

	"Tomorrow at eight."

	He hung up and tried not to smirk at the phone.  He knew who his new 
watchdog was and this person wouldn't be able to give arbitrary orders to his 
superior that he would be expected to follow.  This person wouldn't be able to 
demand explanations in front of an OPC board and order his head on a platter 
with garnish on the side.

	He picked up the phone again and propped his feet up on the desk as he 
waited for her to answer.

	"Scully."

	"Let's celebrate."

	"Mulder?"

	"Yeah, it's me.  Who else would it be?"

	"I don't know.  Someone that would be willing to do ALL the 
housework?"

	"That wouldn't be me," he said quite seriously.  Even when he had 
stayed home with Josh, he hadn't done all of the work.

	"So what are we going to celebrate, Mulder?"

	"It's a surprise."

	"Sure, Mulder.  Whatever.  And what are we going to do with the boys?"

	Snag in the plan.  He had had visions of the two of them at some quiet 
restaurant.  "Take them to your mother's?"

	"Nope.  She's out of town."

	"Again?  Scully, don't most grandmothers stay at home and wait for 
their kids to dump the grandkids off?"

	"What century are you living in, Mulder?  If you want to celebrate, we 
can still do it at home."

	"With Disney, Micky D's, and an on-going debate on who stole whose 
toy?  Sounds like a plan, Scully."

	He could hear the smile in her voice.  "We could have Chinese instead 
of hamburgers," she suggested.

	"As long as I don't have to clean up," he agreed.  The cooking he 
didn't mind.  It was the dishes afterwards that made the task unpleasant.

	"Well, I have some news, too.  We'll just have to see whose 
information is more unexpected."  With that, she hung up.

	Mulder stared at the buzzing instrument in utter disbelief.

	She didn't mean... 

	She couldn't mean... 

	Dammit.  One time and they get caught.

		* * end * *

End NB V -- The Answers Are in There (3/4)

From mason@umr.edu Sat Dec 07 17:34:33 1996
Intro: This is part five of an ongoing saga and the last installment until 
after finals and X-mas.  For those of you just tuning in, this is futuristic 
MSR with splashes of conspiracy and hints of casework.  We're somewhere in the 
year 2001 or later, it's just not now.  Season three did happen and is 
referred to, but nothing after that, although a lot of season four could be 
integrated into this timeline.

Rating: PG-17, I guess.  The language and implied sex is too mild for an R, 
but stronger than a PG-13, at least going by the movie system's ratings.

Disclaimer: I know this will never happen on the TV show.  That's what fanfic 
is all about.  It's also about not owning the characters.  That privilege goes 
to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox.  No harm intended. 

If parts don't make it to your server, e-mail me.  Responding on the newsgroup 
might not make it to me for four or five days.  The whole series is New 
Beginnings.  The sections will be subtitled but should still be considered to 
be under the main title.  So far: 

	NB I = Something New (4 parts) M&S decide to make some changes in 
		their lives.
	NB II = Old Issues (4 parts) I hate the word, but angst can apply to 
		most of the goings on.  It's been a non-tramatic time for M&S 
		until some old friends try to make their reacquaintance.
	NB III = New Fears (4 parts) Issues bought up in the previous story 
		are playing havoc with a new development in M&S's lives.
	NB IV = Old Lies (8 parts) M finds something in the basement that 
		leads him to some old faces with new names.

New Beginnings V --The Answers Are in There (4/4)
	By Nicole Mason
		(mason@umr.edu)
	10/96-12/5/96

	Mulder's mood to celebrate fluctuated during the remaining time he was 
at the office.  By the time he could leave, he did and didn't want to.  But 
there wasn't anything to justify staying really late this time.

	He got home to the warm chaos of two small children, and it did lift 
his mood.  Scully was on the phone, ordering their dinner, and wearing a 
rather large grin.  Mulder tried to return her greeting and knew it fell 
short.  The boys were excited to see their father and the chaos increased just 
a little as they shared the news of the day.  Apparently Scully was on hold 
and motioned him over next to her as both Josh and Nick lost interest in their 
parents.

	When she hung up, Mulder said, "OK.  Tell me."

	"What?"

	"Your news.  Tell me."

	"Mulder, what's wrong?"  She frowned at the change in his attitude 
from earlier.

	"We're going to have to get a bigger apartment, aren't we?  Or a 
house."  Now that they were talking about it, he was starting to get used to 
the idea, maybe even looking forward to it.

	"Mulder, what are you babbling about?"  She went into the kitchen to 
get something to drink.

	"You're not pregnant?" he asked as she opened the refrigerator and 
reached for a bottle of wine.

	"God, Mulder, is that all you ever think about anymore?  No.  I am not 
pregnant.  There is no reason to even suspect it.  You know, I did go to med 
school."  Her smile was a little weak, but amused, as she remembered saying 
something similar a couple of years ago.

	"Well you said you had some news that might be unexpected."  Now he 
was confused at the disappointment he felt.

	"I was referring to some of those projects we were looking into."

	"Oh.  Could you pour me some of that, too?"  He motioned to the wine 
bottle that was sitting on the counter.

	Scully reached up and grabbed another glass from the cabinet and 
watched as he downed the contents in one swallow.  "Mulder?"

	"I'm OK.  Sorry about that.  So what did you find out?"

	"The WR-748 project," she said, referring to the project that was 
listed under both of their names.  "Byers thinks he's tracked down the cross 
reference.  And you?  What's your news?"

	"I found out who the watchdog is."

	"Nobody died, nobody was shot, no evidence was found or stolen, so how 
did you find out?"

	Mulder poured himself another glass of wine and took a sip of the 
contents this time.  "I accidentally filed those receipts from the trip.  
Accounting put up a stink."

	"Mulder, they always put up a stink with your reports."

	"That's why it was so obvious.  Usually they just throw the thing back 
at me with non-creative death threats attached.  This time they went to 
Skinner first and made a big deal out of it.  I'll meet her face to face 
tomorrow."

	"You have a name?"

	"Yep.  It's probably completely bogus, but I still want to check it 
out.  And they won't be as able to censor the cases, not where they have this 
person positioned.  In fact, it's more of a after-the-fact report she'll be 
able to give her superiors."  He was feeling much more relaxed and propped his 
feet up on the coffee table.  "So tell me about the project."

	She sat down next to him on the couch and stared at the boys as they 
stared at the TV for a minute.  "He's not certain, but he thinks it may be 
referring to a project involving the immune system."

	"OK.  And?"

	"There is a condition in some women where their bodies view an embryo 
as a foreign object."

	"And how does this effect the immune system?"  She seemed to be 
carefully searching for the right words, and he had to wait for his answer as 
the door bell rang.  The conversation was stalled as dinner was started.  
Trying to get the two picky eaters fed took all of their concentration, 
leaving little room for anything other than "Don't throw your food," "Stop 
playing with the noodles," and "Mulder, you're teaching them bad habits."  The 
leftovers were stored when Mulder repeated the question and Scully finally 
answered.

	"Our bodies may still have antibodies from whatever they did to us.  
Those antibodies could be the thing causing the miscarriages."

	"OK.  But how did that effect the two men that were on the list.  The 
antibodies wouldn't have been present that long would they?  And are 
antibodies transferred in semen?"

	"If the DNA of the male is effected, then the woman's body might still 
see the fetus as foreign and abort it."

	"So is it due to the immune system or DNA?"  He was still confused on 
that point.

	"I don't know.  Unless we can get specific chemicals used or case 
study results, I just don't know.  It could be either and then again it could 
be something completely different."

	"But if they messed with our DNA, wouldn't we have found out about it 
already?  I mean with all those tests we had run on us and Nick before he was 
born, wouldn't something have shown up?"  As his voice echoed in his head, he 
recalled that sometimes the effects were long reaching and undetectable, 
sometimes for two or three generations.  Mulder now had this very strong urge 
to gather his family in his arms.

	"Not everything can be detected yet through the current tests.  Human 
genetics is still not completely understood.  Who knows how somethings will 
affect the offspring," she finished.

	He was angry with her distance from the situation.  He stood up and 
paced back and forth a few times.  Josh and Nick looked up with curious eyes, 
but Scully's eyes remained focused on some distant point.  "Offspring?" he bit 
out.  "They have names, Scully."

	"I want all of us to go for some more tests.  Our mothers, too."

	"And what will that do, Dr. Scully?  Besides scare the "offspring"?"

	"Stop it, Mulder."  Her eyes blazed as she swung her gaze to meet his. 
"I'm just as worried about this as you are.  But just because I don't do 
hysterics, does not mean I don't get worried.  Or scared.  I'm terrified right 
now, but jumping to conclusions or burying my head in the sand won't do us any 
good.  It won't get us answers."

	He stopped his pacing and sat back down on the couch.  Nick got out of 
his recliner and crawled up into the space between them.  The little boy 
started playing with his socks and then grinned up at his parents.  Mulder 
looked over at Scully and saw her gaze focused on Nick.  She smoothed her palm 
over the baby's head.

	"I don't want to be taken by surprise, Mulder," she said softly.

	"How's this for paranoid, Scully?  They didn't do anything to either 
one of us.  They just planted the information in case we got our hands on the 
documents."

	"I don't buy that and neither do you."

	"Hey, it was worth a shot."

	Silence descended between the adults.  The children, on the other 
hand, became more animated after the movie was over and started dragging their 
toys into the living room.  They were getting the boys ready for bed, before 
someone spoke.

	"So when do you want to go for the testing?"

	"Soon.  But I have to find someone we can trust.  And maybe Byers can 
track down some more information."

	"You know, Scully, I remember a time when you didn't like those guys."

	"I, too, recall my first encounter with them, Mulder.  It was 
definitely one of life's more memorable moments."

	"And the others?" he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

	"Any memory with you in it is memorable, Mulder," she said with a roll 
of her eyes.

	Mulder leaned down to kiss her, while Josh giggled and Nick buried his 
head under his covers.  He smiled slightly at their antics and reached for a 
book off of the shelf behind him.  "I love you, too.  And I left off on 
chapter three," he said as he passed her the book.

	She saw the title and groaned.  "This one again?"

	"Your mother's the one that bought it for them."

	"At your suggestion, Mulder."

	"It's not my fault she took me seriously, Scully.  And I think she did 
it to annoy you.  And me."

	She glared at the copy of Jose Chung's "From Outer Space" and opened 
the book.  They had tried getting rid of it after her mother had first started 
reading the book to them, but the boys would keep asking about Reynard and 
Diana.  Their memories were well above average and they wouldn't let the 
subject drop even days later.

	"Wouldn't you rather hear "Where the Wild Things Are"?"

	Josh shook his head and Nick demanded, "Ouwerspay."

	Knowing she was defeated, she sat down and opened the book.

		* * * * *

	"I found someone I can trust."

	"Scully, are you leaving me?"

	She sent him an exasperated glare out of the corner of her eye.  "I'm 
serious, Mulder."

	"You saying you trust someone is almost like admitting you're having 
an affair."  He was still only half joking.

	"That's you you're thinking about, Mulder.  I've been known to trust a 
person or two in the past."

	"Hmm," he said and leaned back on his elbows, keeping his eyes on the 
two tumbling bodies a few feet away.  "So what are we going to do?"

	"Blood and tissue samples will be taken from each of us.  Since our 
fathers aren't alive, the history won't be complete, but we will be able to 
see if there might be problems down the line."

	"You know, my mother kept a lock of my hair in a scrapbook.  Can't we 
just compare that to now?"

	"It doesn't work that way.  This isn't the Enterprise with its filters 
they use for transporting."

	"Damn.  I knew there was a reason I stopped watching the show."

	"ANYWAY, he can do it sometime next week."

	"How about Tuesday at nine?"

	She was immediately suspicious.  "Why then?"

	"Well, it's in the middle of the morning, making going into work a 
little unrealistic."

	"So you want to skip half a day."

	"Yeah.  I have a meeting."

	"With Skinner?"

	"No.  With Blevins."

	"He's not dead yet?"

	"The last attempt on his life failed," he said, shaking his head.  "He 
only got an upset stomach for all my trouble."

	"You know, Mulder, ulcers can be lethal as well as extremely painful."

	"Hmm.  That's something to think about."  He was silent for a moment. 
"We're not every really going to know exactly what was done to us, are we?  
They couldn't be good bad guys and give us a convenient explanation on the 
tape."

	"I don't think so.  And maybe they did explain the codes on the tape. 
Maybe it's part of the information that was erased.  But with these tests, 
we'll be able to rule out some of the more obvious things."

	"I'll call Mom and see if she can come down then."

	"Tell her to come the night before, that way she won't have to fight 
morning traffic."

	"And where is she going to sleep, Scully?"

	"You're right.  Maybe we should start looking for a bigger place.  The 
boys are going to need their own rooms soon.  And it's hard keeping the 
kitchen clean when we use it as our home office more than we use it as a 
kitchen."

	"Again with the house thing.  Scully, I'm not ready to move to the 
suburbs yet," he whined.

	"And here I had this image of you subscribing to Bob Vila and Time 
Life Books instead of The Lone Gunman."

	"I really don't think that's going to happen in this lifetime, 
Scully," he said with an exaggerated shudder.

	"Good.  I think that would definitely be grounds for divorce."

		* * * * *

	"Mulder."

	"It's me."

	"Scully, what is it?"  Her voice had sounded shaky and he didn't like 
it.

	"Can you get away?"

	He looked at the computer screen with its blinking cursor as it waited 
for him to continue typing the report.  "Sure.  You want me to come down 
there?"

	"No.  I'm almost at the Bureau now.  I'll meet you out front."

	He hung up the phone and reached for his jacket.  Going by the level 
of tension in her voice, the results were in from the tests.

	He stepped outside just as her car came into view.  Hurrying, he 
crossed the concrete expanse to the street and jumped into the car.  He wanted 
to find the words to reassure her, but he knew anything he would say would 
sound pathetically optimistic.  So he just sat there as the silence weighed 
heavily on them.  Thankfully they didn't have to wait that long in the 
doctor's waiting room.

	She didn't wait for him to explain anything, she just said, "May I see 
the results."  The steel in her tone left no room for denial of her request.

	He passed the clear plastic sheets without a word.  As she stared at 
the black marks on them, Mulder watched her for any signs of what she was 
seeing.  Mulder's heart started to race as Scully's hand started to tremble.  
He shot wild eyes to the doctor and opened his mouth to demand explanations.

	The doctor beat him to it.  "Genetically, there is nothing for you to 
worry about.  From what we can tell, both of you have a fine genetic 
background and there is no evidence of any latent mutations in your children. 
Dr. Scully, I fail to see why you were worried to begin with.  Neither you nor 
your husband were carriers for some of the diseases, and some of the tests you 
wanted run were futile and uninformative."

	Mulder wanted to hit the man at the condescending tone.  "Due to our 
work, we were exposed to some unknown agents.  I thought we'd already told you 
that."

	"Well, yes, you did.  But you never said exactly what.  Or even what 
you thought it might be."

	Scully glared at him.  "It's classified."  She may have trusted the 
guy to not fudge the test results, but she sure didn't like him.  "Thank you." 
She stood up and headed for the door.

	"Dr. Scully, I need those back," he said, indicating the test results.

	"No you don't."

	Mulder quickly followed her out of the office and down the hall.  
"Scully?"  When she didn't answer, he tried again.  "Scully."  He had to step 
in front of her to get her to stop and even then she walked into him first.  
He raised his hands to rest on her shoulders.  "Scully, look at me."  She 
shook her head against his shoulder.  He could feel her starting to shake and 
wrapped his arms around her.  "Hey, Scully.  It's OK.  Ssshhh.  They're OK, 
Dana."  He knew he had said the wrong thing when she started to shake harder 
and he heard a soft sob escape.  He held her in silence until she was ready to 
move away from him.

	"I thought I had poisoned them, Mulder.  I thought for sure my 
selfishness in wanting a baby had somehow poisoned our children."

	The tide was turned from so long ago.  It was his turn now to be the 
rational one.  "I never thought that and you weren't being selfish in wanting 
children."

	"Yes, I was."

	"How?"

	"I wanted something of me to live on.  And then when you offered to be 
the father of my children, it was an offer I couldn't refuse."

	His lips quirked against her temple at the sudden image of him as 
Marlon Brando.  "So Scully, does this mean you want another one?"  He had been 
teasing, but he could tell she was seriously thinking about the question.

	He hoped it wasn't too obvious when he sagged in disappointment as she 
shook her head.  Apparently it had been at least noticable because he could 
hear the smile in her voice.  "Not just yet, Mulder.  I'll think about it in 
another year or two."

	"Here's a vision that will detour you: Me in my boxers --"

	"Pleasant thought.  Go on."

	"With a beer belly, a dirty undershirt, and a football game playing 
while I complain about the neighbors."

	"If anything, I see you as Tom Hanks in the "‘Burbs"."

	As he recalled correctly, the character ended up needing a long 
"vacation" AFTER his vacation because of mysterious goings on with the 
neighbors that involved dead bodies buried in the backyard and urban myths.  
"Oh, please.  Anything but that."

	She stepped out of his arms and pulled her professional persona around 
herself once again.

	"Come on, Mulder.  We should get back to work."

	"Yes.  There are conspiracies to uncover, mutants to reveal, and 
aliens to prove exist."

	"Hey, Mulder, I've been thinking about the one portion of the 
document.  The one with all those lists of names," she said as they reached 
their car.

	"The names Albert says MIGHT be aliases, judging be the fragmented 
sentence before the list starts?"

	"That's the one."  She started the car and waited until they were on 
their way.  "I was thinking we should look into the backgrounds of those 
women."

	"Why?"  There hadn't been any mention of projects around their names, 
but there had been a mention of years he and Scully thought referred to the 
years the women were born.  "Do you think one of those names could be 
Samantha?"  He hadn't allowed himself to even start down that path.

	"Yes, I do."

	"You take the first part of the list and I'll take the second," he 
said and rapidly went through a dozen possibilities in as many seconds.

	"And we'll meet half way?"

	"That seems to be the story of our lives, doesn't it?"

	She kept her gaze straight ahead, but he could see the half smile on 
her lips.  "Yes, it does, doesn't it."

		* * end * *

End NB V -- The Answers Are in There (4/4)