From: McKab Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 21:42:44 -0500 Subject: Camp Hero by McKab Source: direct Part 20 Mulder didn't know how to respond to that, so he chose confusion. It was an easy choice. "What do you mean, Susan showed you?" Scully sighed, suddenly weary. "You know what I'm talking about." Her voice sounded as if she was trying to control herself. "She took my hand and showed me our baby." "How?" he asked, truly interested. "How do you know what you saw isn't what you wanted it to be?" Scully's face turned hard. "Since when have you become the skeptic?" She took a step closer to him. "Why are you all of a sudden not willing to see what's in front of you?" She lifted her shirt to show him the slight rounding of her belly. Mulder eyes fell to the ghostly white of her stomach then returned to her face. He shook his head. "Scully, I have never seen you take anything at face value, why this?" She let her shirt drop and Mulder could see her disappointment in him rise in her eyes. "Because I want to believe." Mulder's mouth closed; he had nothing to say to that. Michael, who was listening outside the door thought this would be a good time to knock. By her posture, Mulder could see that she was waiting for a response, but he didn't have one. "Yeah," he said, sitting on the bed. He scrubbed a palm over his face, looking down. God, he needed a shave. He would love to if not for the puncture wounds there. Michael pushed the door open, his apprehension obvious. "Ah, Dana," he said looking from Mulder's slouched body on the bed to Scully's erect form across from him. "Dinner's ready if you still want it." Scully stared at Mulder for a moment longer before she turned to him. "Sure," she said, trying to smile. "I'll be right there." Michael pursed his lips and nodded. He started to leave, but Mulder's voice stopped him. "How's the arm?" he asked, not looking up from his inspection of the floor. Michael nodded. "Good. Never better. I think Susan even cured an old rotator cuff injury I got in college." He smiled. "How's she doing?" Mulder asked. Michael glanced at Scully out of the corner of his eye. "She's all right, it seems," he said nodding. "She's sound asleep, even snoring." He finished with a rueful smile. Mulder snorted, but didn't sound amused. His face remained pointed toward the floor, his eyes unfocused as if he was having trouble thinking. "Sleep," he said getting under the covers slowly. "That sounds like a good idea," he mumbled wincing in pain. Michael watched Scully's eyes narrow; knowing she'd been dismissed. *** 8:21 PM After an almost silent dinner with Michael, Scully excused herself to check on Mulder. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find, but seeing Mulder sound asleep wasn't it. Yes, she was overjoyed to have him there, but she couldn't shake the sadness that plagued her as a result of his reaction. But, as she thought about it, it made sense. What did she expect? Mulder to fall down on his knees and thank God? No. Mulder to weep and take her into his arms and say they were the luckest people in the world? Not really. For him to smile and say that's great news, I can't wait to be a father? Maybe. Scully sighed, closing the door and headed up on deck to where Michael was. He had taken two folding chairs out of storage and set them up facing the sunset. There was a beer bottle on the deck next to him and a bottle of water next to the empty chair. Scully smiled at his thoughtfulness and joined him. He nodded his beer towards her before taking a long, deep swig of it. "Susan's still sleeping?" Scully asked, looking out toward the ocean. Michael nodded, but she didn't see it. "Yeah, I must have worn her out." Scully chuckled. "That's probably true." "Mmmm," was his response. They sat quietly for many minutes watching the sun go down; niether of them having the urge to speak. Michael turned to her, the color of the sky setting off her hair. She truly was a beautiful woman, even while she was frowning. "Dana," he said softly. She looked at him, an eyebrow raised in question. He hesitated. "About Mulder." She looked down at the water bottle in her hands. He reached to to lay a hand over hers. "Mike," she started. "Dana," he said squeezing her hand. "Give `im some time." "Time," she sighed, looking back toward the ocean. "He's been gone for over two months, and has had horrible things done to him. He needs some time to adjust to being safe again." "Don't you think I know that?" she asked harshly. "Don't you think I've been telling myself that?" Michael pulled his hand away. "I'm sure you have, but sometimes you need to hear it from someone else." Scully closed her eyes briefly before answering. "I'm just afraid that he doesn't want this." She placed her hands over her stomach. Michael smiled at her insecurity. When he didn't say anything she turned to look at him. "What?" she asked. He shook his head. "Dana," he said softly. "I don't think there is a man out there that wouldn't be proud to know that you were carrying his child." She looked at him. "Mulder loves you, very much, and will love your baby." He turned his attention back to the sea. "When I found out that Susie was pregnant, it made me the happiest man on earth," he said quietly. "Believe me." He looked at her again. "Believe me, he will be ecstatic, just give `im time." He rose slowly out of his chair, an expression of loss darkening his features. "I think I'm going to call it a night," he said. "I'm just going to make sure everything's OK with the boat first." Scully watched him leave, not saying a word. *** 8:15 AM July 6 Michael woke to a soft knocking on the door. Scully peeked her head inside and smiled. "Good, you're awake," she said pushing the door open, revealing a plate of eggs in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other. "I woke up with an overwhelming urge for eggs and thought I'd make you some." Michael smiled his thanks and sat up. The movement caused Susan to stir. She blinked her eyes open and turned to see two sets of eyes staring at her. She looked down to make sure she was dressed, which she was, then saw the eggs. Her stomach growled. Scully's eyebrows shot up. "Hungry?" she asked amused. Susan nodded vigorously. Michael chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Help yourself." Susan pushed herself up into a sitting position and took the plate of eggs Scully offered in one hand and the orange juice in the other. Scully set down a knife and fork on the nightstand. Susan downed the OJ in three large gulps and practically inhaled the eggs. In two minutes flat, she was licking her fingers and mopping up the remaining yoke with a piece of bread. She looked up to see Michael and Scully watching her. She looked sheepishly down at the empty plate then back to Scully. "You don't by chance have anymore, do you?" Scully grinned. "Yeah, I'll be right back." Mulder was lifting a fork up to his lips when Scully took the plate out from in front of him. "Hey," he protested as she dumped her plate of eggs onto his and picked up her glass of untouched juice. As she passed him on her way back to Susan's stateroom, she said over her shoulder. "I'll make more, relax." Mulder mutely ate what was on his fork. *** 12:32 PM July 6 None of them had dicussed the events of the previous night or Mulder's rescue. They were all keeping apart from each other and the boat was eerily quiet because of it. After she had eaten, Michael, Scully and Mulder's breakfast, Susan jumped into the shower and brushed her wooly teeth. She then decided to maneuver the ship a little further north before dropping anchor again. Before their little trip to Camp Hero, they agreed to hang out at sea for a few days before venturing to the cabin in Maine. They thought it would be a good way to lay low for awhile and out in the open sea, even though it didn't provide them much protection, they would know right away if anyone was approaching. Now, while Michael was out on deck ignoring her warnings of putting on a shirt or wearing sun screen, and attempting to catch lunch, Susan was stretched out on a towel in a white one piece bathing suit, reading a book on the bow of the boat, her favorite perch. She heard Mulder making his way up to her, bumping and cursing along the way. She marked her page and watched him walk towards her. "Jesus, Mulder. You look like a cross between a consentration camp refugee and a cancer patient." He gave her a sarcastic smile. "Thank God I'm wearing glasses or the glare from your legs would blind me." "Shut up," he said sitting down next to her. He was wearing a white t-shirt and denim shorts. He was extremely pale and had dark circles under his eyes. Susan shurgged and picked up her book again, intending to act as if she didn't care that she had no idea why he decided to join her on the bow. After a few moments, he spoke. "Scully told me she's pregnant." He wasn't looking at her. Susan put her book back down and waited for him to continue. After another long pause he did. "She also told me that she didn't have any tests done to verify it and to make sure the fetus was ok." Susan noted that he said fetus, not baby. "Mmm, humm." He looked at her. "She said it was because you told her everything was fine," he said accusingly. Susan frowned. "Why don't you just cut to the chase and forget the bullshit, Mulder. Say what you mean." She sat up. He rubbed a hand over the wounds on his face, trying not to wince. "How can you know that everything is all right?" Susan shook her head. "Susan! Scully's not supposed to be able to get pregnant! She had some missing time when she went off with Spender a few months ago. Isn't it more plausible that he did something to her than that she got pregnant the old fashioned way?" Now, more than ever, Susan wished that she could sense him. But, she didn't need her gift to see that he wasn't refusing to belive that his partner was pregnant, he was afraid They did something to her. "Oh, Mulder," she sighed. "For someone who readily accepts the unknown, you can be pretty thick." He blinked at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" She shook her head at him. "Mulder, I can sense if there are any kinds of abnormalities. I know if a baby is going to be born with birth defects. You should have seen me at the OB/GYN! My first time there, I had to have Michael reschedule my appointment because I couldn't stay." Mulder frowned. "Why?" "Because the woman next to me had a baby with an extreme birth defect that was going to cause the baby to be stillborn. When I asked her if she ever considered having an abortion, she freaked out and moved away from me. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to explain why I asked that question, and I was so hormonal at the time I broke out in tears. Michael had to practically carry me out of the room." "How do you know this? How can you be sure?" he asked emphatically. Susan gave him a sad smile. "I had exposure to people with developemental disorders while I was getting my Psy.D. I have seen physical mutations and gentic disorders, I know what they feel like." He looked at her with such openness. "What does it feel like?" Susan studied him before she answered. "Wrong," she stated bluntly. "And how does Scully's baby feel?" She smiled. "Perfect." Part 21 "Perfect," Mulder whispered. He looked at her for a few moments. "What does that mean?" he asked timidly. Susan smiled. "It means that there is nothing wrong; everything, is right. Perfect." He nodded. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked. The hope in his voice softened her smile. She reached across the deck and lifted his hand in both of hers. "I am as sure of this as I am of anything," she said in a strong whisper. She intended to show him what she felt, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't sense him, but Mulder got the gist of it anyway. He didn't need to feel what she was feeling, he could see it in her eyes. "Thank you Susan," he said, his voice cracking. "For so many things." Susan slowly withdrew her hand and shrugged self- consciously. "I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done." He nodded. "But I still owe you one." She waved her hand in the air. "So," Mulder said, changing the subject. "Now, along with sensing emotions and practically reading minds, you can heal." Susan looked at him sharply. "I can't read minds," she said pointedly. He snorted. "I said practically. But you can read Michael's and I'm sure with more practice, you'd be able to read others." She shrugged. "You have almost all the powers of the alien bounty hunter." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Can you change shape, too?" She gave him a humorless smile. "If I could change shape, I'd have bigger boobs." Mulder barked out a laugh. "Your boobs are fine the way they are." "Yeah, but they could be better." He shook his head. "I like your boobs, and I'm sure Mike does, too." "He seems to, he can't keep his hand off 'em." "But I like Scully's better," Mulder said at the same time. They both looked at each other, then laughed. "I should hope so!" Susan said still laughing. Without warning, Mulder quieted. Susan sobered quickly. "What is it?" Mulder looked away, out across the water. They could hear Michael struggling with whatever he just caught. He definitely cursed like an Irishman. "Do you have a camera?" Susan slowly nodded. "Yeah, we always keep one on board. You should see some of the sunsets out at sea." He nodded. "What about a tape recorder?" he asked, turning his head to look at her. "I think, so, but I'd have to ask Mike. Why?" Mulder struggled to his feet, momentarily losing his balance. "I need you and Scully to do something for me." Susan rose as well. "What?" she asked suspiciously. He took her hand and pulled her along with him. "Let's get Scully and then I'll tell you." Susan had no other choice but to let herself be dragged into whatever he had planned. *** "Mulder, I don't feel comfortable doing this," Susan said. Scully didn't say anything, just stared at Mulder. "And I don't think Dana is either." "Mul..." Scully started, but he interrupted her. "Please, I need you two to do this for me." Susan crossed her arms over her chest. "Scully," he said turning to her, taking each of her hands in his own. "Please, we need documentation. You, of all people, should understand this. Just act like I'm a faceless guy who got the shit kicked out of him and you need to catalog his wounds." She stepped closer to him and released one of her hands so she could run it across his cheek. "You aren't just some guy, Mulder. You're my,...my." He smiled. "I know, you're mine too, but you know we have to do this," he said, taking her hand again. Scully let her head drop and looked at the floor. It was a gesture of resignation. Mulder looked up at Susan. "I need you on this, too." Susan tighten her arms around her body and clenched her jaw before she mumbled, "fine." *** "I'll, uh, I'll, um, just be outside if you need me," Michael stumbled. Susan squeezed his elbow and gave him a tight smile. "Thanks, love," she said before she kissed him quickly. He nodded and backed away. "I'll, just be, um, makin' dinner." He closed the door, leaving them alone. Susan turned to see Mulder carefully removing his shirt, revealing the ropy scar. Susan winced and looked away, her hand unconsciously going to her chest. God, she remembered what that felt like. She closed her eyes briefly, steeling herself for what she was about to do. She shook her head, took a deep breath and turned around to find Mulder watching Scully intensely. He had finished removing his clothes and was sitting on the bed with a towel draped across his groin. Scully was trying to act busy while she was setting up the recorder, but Susan could feel her apprehension and fear rolling off of her like hurricane force winds. It added to her own tension, causing her hands to tremble. Susan crossed the room to the dresser and picked up her camera. It was a gift from Michael after she had mentioned that she had always wanted a single lens reflex camera. For the first time, she regretted buying the zoom lens with the marco feature; Mulder wanted close-ups. Mulder looked from one woman to the other, taking in their drawn lips and erect postures. Out of all of them, he wanted to do this the least, but knew he needed to have photographic evidence of what They did to him. Scully taught him that. "Hey," he said trying to lighten the mood. "You know, when I fantasized about being naked with the two of you, I never envisioned it to be this way." He gave them a half smile. Scully shook her head, she knew what he was doing, but it wasn't working. Susan, knew what he was doing as well, but had to respond to that. "You know," she said cocking her head. "What is it about men that they like seeing women together in a sexual way? Mike had the same thought." Mulder shrugged and sat up higher on the bed, clutching the towel as it started to slide down his legs. "Must be testosterone." Susan smirked. "Sure, I think it's more like a deficiency. You do, after all, have one complete and one broken X." "Broken, my ass," he mumbled under his breath. This was a debate he and Susan used to have all the time while they were dating. They just loved to get each other riled up. "What was that?" Susan asked. "Can we just get started?" Scully asked from the other side of the bed. Susan nodded. "Yeah, sorry." Mulder laid back on the bed, straightening the towel. "Mulder, lose the towel," Susan said. "It's not like either of us haven't seen whatcha got." Mulder closed his eyes. "Yeah, but you haven't seen it recently and after having my privacy ripped from me, I would like to have some control over the situation. Besides, they didn't play with my jewels, at least from what I can remember. Thank God," he added. Susan nodded, understanding and raised the camera as Scully brought the recorder to her lips, her hand shaking so violently that she had to hold the recorder with two hands. Mulder clenched is eyes tightly as he said over and over in his mind, "you're safe, you're fine, you're with Scully, everything is OK. You're safe, you're fine, you're with Scully, everything is OK." Scully licked her lips ignoring the flashing of the camera. "This is Special Agent Dana Scully. The subject is Special Agent Fox Mulder, age 39." She had to distance herself, so she fell back on years of practice and pretended she was doing an external exam, something she had done millions of times before. She just hoped she could pull it off. Not for the first time, she wished Susan couldn't sense her. Susan, for her part, just took the photos and blocked out Scully's emotions as well as her own. Profiling had taught her that. Sometimes, she could sit for hours staring at a murder weapon seeing in her mind's eye the last few moments of a victim's death play over and over. She had to learn to block out that part of herself otherwise she'd go insane. She sometimes questioned whether she was truly successful. "Agent Mulder was held for approximately two months at a medical facility located under the grounds of Camp Hero in Montauk, New York. During his imprisonment, Agent Mulder was subjected to unknown experimentation resulting in numerous scaring on his face, torso and extremities. I am assisted by Special Agent in Charge of the Melville Field Office, Susan Halloway, in cataloging his injuries." Susan looked up at the mention of her name. Scully was staring down at Mulder, her face ashen. Susan could see her body quaking under the strain of the moment. Scully looked up, noticing the flashing had stopped. The two women exchanged a silent glance, each giving the other comfort and strength. They both nodded and went back to their duties. "Agent Mulder has a large, long scar down his torso, starting at his clavicle and ending just below his navel caused by an unknown cutting instrument. There are four round puncture wounds on both sides of his face. Again, the instrument used to cause these wounds is unknown at this time. On each inner forearm, there are diamond shaped scars and on each wrist there are puncture wounds going clear through on both sides." Scully paused to take a breath. Her hands still shook badly. "Subject also has puncture wounds going through each ankle and there are..." Scully stopped, her voice wavering. "Mulder," she said. He opened his eyes. "I can't do this." Scully dropped the tape recorder on the night stand and took a step back. I thought I could, but it's just... I can't" Mulder nodded and sat up, leaning back on his hands. "It's OK, Scully. I think what you've done is enough. Besides, I think the photos will speak for themselves." Scully nodded, her eyes filled with tears. One escaped and drew a path down her cheek. She shook herself and took a deep breath. Mulder recognized the action. She was drawing into herself. Mulder tried to convey with his eyes what his voice could not. Scully gave him a soft smile. Susan stood quietly off to the side, not moving. She didn't want to interrupt whatever silent conversation they were having. But the spell was broken when a sharp wind rocked the boat. Mulder took a deep breath and turned to Susan. "I need you to do me one more favor" She placed the camera on the dresser. "Anything," she said softly. He smiled gently. "I know you can't sense me." Scully drew in a sharp breath. She hadn't known that. God, what else have They done to him? "But, I know you can sense differences." Susan frowned, not understanding where he was going. "Please, with your gift, see if you can sense anything that isn't supposed to be there." Susan shook her head, still not understanding. Scully approached Susan and laid a hand on her arm. "He wants you to see if you can sense any implants." Susan's eyes widened. "What?" she asked incredulously. She hadn't even thought of that. That's what happens when you're new to this whole conspiracy thing. "Implants, how the hell am I supposed to pick up implants?" Mulder shrugged. "Just do that thing you do." "Mulder," Susan implored. He gave her a look of desperation. "Please," he whispered. "Please." Susan felt like she was going to cry. She couldn't deny him, but she was terrified of what she was going to see and feel when she searched him. She clenched her hands into a fist and stepped towards him. "Lay back," she said in a deep, but surprisingly steady voice. Mulder did as she requested. She stood next to the bed, her hands over him. She looked like a healer from some B-movie. She closed her eyes and wiggled her fingers before she brought them down onto his chest. Nothing, she felt nothing, just warmth and the texture of flesh. She slid her hands over his pectorals moving toward his shoulders in a circular motion. Nothing. Up and around his neck she continued, over his face and around his head. Nothing. She ran her hands down his body, over his groin and down each leg. Nothing. Susan leaned over him and slid her hands from his shoulders to his wrists. Nothing... wait, what was that? Susan cocked her head to the side and moved her hand back up his left forearm. She frowned. "What? What is it?" Scully asked. Susan shook her head, not wanting to break her concentration. She ran her hand over the diamond shaped scar to the upper point. There! There was something different there! Susan opened her eyes and looked up at Scully who had come beside her. "Here," she said in a breathy voice. "Something is here that shouldn't be." "What?" Mulder asked, the fear rising in his voice. "I don't know, but do you have a knife or something?" she asked Scully. Scully looked alarmed but didn't say anything. She just went to her black bag that was stashed in the closet on the far side of the room. She returned carrying a scalpel, a pair of tweezers and a bottle of alcohol. "You sterilize the area, I'll do the rest," she said, pouring some alcohol on a tissue, then made her way into the bathroom. Mulder didn't protest, didn't say anything, didn't even move. His fear had him completely immobilized. Scully came back carrying the scalpel away from her body. "Show me where." Susan shook her head. "No, I'll do it." "You've never done anything like this before." "You'll teach me," Susan said taking the scalpel. "Um," Mulder said. "I don't mean to interrupt, but you don't by any chance have some thing to numb the area?" "There's no time," Susan said, extending her left hand to Scully. "Give me your hand, Dana." Scully gave her her right hand. "What are you going to do?" "Learn how to do this," Susan stated. Scully could feel Susan rifling through her mind. Flashes of medical school appeared before her. She saw an image of herself leaning over a cadaver, her teacher explaining the technique. "You can do that?" Scully asked in awe. Susan smiled at her. "How do you think I learned how to play the piano? You don't think I actually have the patience for that, do you?" Scully didn't respond, just continued to watch a younger version of herself timidly cut into a cadaver. Susan leaned over Mulder. "Hold your arm as still as you can, OK?" Mulder nodded and gritted his teeth as the blade cut into his skin. It was nothing compared to the pain in his recent past, but it still hurt like a sonofabitch. "Give me the tweezers," Susan said, putting the scalpel down. Scully handed her the instrument and watched as Susan parted the quarter of an inch incision. Susan closed her eyes, allowing her mind to guide her hand. She chewed on her bottom lip. A little to the right, a little higher. THERE! "I got it," Susan said. As soon as she closed the tweezers around the implant and pulled it out of his arm, her awareness of Mulder came flooding back to her. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. Releasing her hand from Scully's powerful grip, she cupped Mulder's jaw. "Hey there. Nice to have you back." "You can sense me again?" Scully quickly began wrapping the open wound. "Yeah, and I hate to say I missed ya." Mulder's face broke into a smile that vanished as quickly as it formed. "What is that?" he asked nodding his head in the direction of the tweezers. Susan looked at the implant, an expression of disgust on her face. "I'm guessing whatever it is was placed in you so I couldn't find you." Mulder nodded. "Makes sense, but you did." Susan shook her head. "I didn't do it, Dana did." Scully looked up. "How?" Mulder asked. Scully didn't answer. She reached out, took the bloody tweezers out of Susan's hand and dropped the implant into her open palm. "I think we should destroy this." "No, it's the only real hard evidence we have," Mulder said, sitting up. The abrupt movement caused his head to swim. Scully shook her head. "I don't care. For all we know, it's a tracking device." "But." Mulder injected. Scully ignored him as she placed the implant on the dresser, picked up a shoe and smashed the tiny object. Mulder just stared at her. "It's no good to us if we're dead." July 6 9:02 PM After that, they all decided that Mulder should try to get some rest while Susan maneuvered the boat further north, taking them that much closer to their destination. Mulder readily agreed and slept through most of the day. Michael made them a small dinner from his catch earlier. They picked at it, not because of it's lack of taste, which was quite the contrary, but because of their lack of appetite. For some reason, Mulder and Scully avoided each other's eyes during dinner and when Mulder announced he was going back to bed. About an hour later, Scully followed him. Susan refused to get involved in this one. She knew they would eventually work it out. From their new position, as the sun descended into the ocean, Susan could just make out the light from the lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard as she leaned on the starboard railing. "See anything good?" Michael asked, coming up behind her. "Just a lighthouse," she said. "MMmm... Martha's Vineyard. Ever been there?" "Yeah, a long time ago." Michael nodded, but she couldn't see it. He leaned into her and wrapped his arms around her, one arm above her breasts, the other around her stomach. "You're avoiding me." "No, I'm not," Susan said frowning. "Yes, you are." "No, I'm." Susan stopped and turned around to face him. He was smiling. "Yes, you are," he stated. Her shoulders dropped. "OK, maybe I am." "Why?" he asked softly, brushing her hair out of her face. A breeze whipped it back. She shrugged. "I don't know." He gave her a look of annoyance. "Yes, you do." Susan wouldn't look at him, instead rested her hand on his shoulder, where the bullet wound should be. "I guess you make me think and I don't feel like thinking right now." "About what?" he asked wrapping his arms around her once again. "Me, I guess. What this new development means." "Susie," he said. "Why does it scare you so much that you can heal?" Susan took in a deep breath and looked up into those beautiful, loving, blue eyes. "I'm starting to question what I really am." He frowned, not understanding. Susan snorted. "It's stupid really, but Mulder mentioned something earlier." "What?" he breathed. She looked at him. "Mulder said I have almost all the powers of the shape shifters, what if I'm not truly human." "Susie," Michael sighed. "No, Mike, really. Maybe that's why I lost the baby. We're not compatible." Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. He cupped her cheek. "Susie, you have more humanity than anyone I have ever met. You bleed red, you cry tears." He wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek with his thumb. "I truly believe you are the next step in our evolution." "Mike..." "Susan," he stressed. "You use 90% of your brain. An average person uses 10%. Maybe the cause for your gifts is that you and your heritage have touched upon something that no other human up to this point has been able to do." Susan looked down at the deck. "But what about the baby?" "Oh, Susie, love. You're the one who believes in fate, that all things happen for a reason." She looked up at him. "It just wasn't meant to be." "I'm just, I don't know. I hope you're right." He smiled slightly. "I am right. Now come on. Stop this." She gave her a small shake. She returned his smile. "I love you," she blurted out. He grinned. "I know and I love you too." Susan cupped the back of his head to draw him into a kiss. "Take me to bed, lover. Make me feel better." Michael released her from his embrace and laughed. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure I can do that." *** July 7 7:02 AM Mulder startled awake, feeling confined, a warmth draped across his chest, keeping him in place. He looked down to see it was not a harness designed to immobilize him so They could do with him as they pleased, but Scully's arm. He sighed loudly and relaxed into the mattress. Mulder's movements caused Scully to mumble something in her sleep and roll onto her back, the blankets down around her hips. He took this as an opportunity to study her; get a really good look at her. He propped himself up on his hand, the action forcing the pain in his chest to flare, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it. He didn't remember Scully coming to bed the night before, but that didn't surprise him. Since his 'rescue' he'd been sleeping like a dead man. His eyes roamed over her fuller face, rounder breasts, to her swelling stomach. There was a baby in there, Mulder reminded himself. His baby. Unexpected feelings of pride, possession, fear, and love washed through him. He reached out to lay his hand on her belly and looked up at her face to see her watching him. They exchanged silent words of love and longing in a span of seconds. "Mine?" he whispered. Her lips turned up. "Yours." "Mine," he said leaning in, his lips brushing against her. "Mine," he said again. Scully wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him down on top of her while she savored the tastes and textures of his mouth. It has been so long, too long since they've done this, but it was as if they had never stopped. "Love you," Mulder said in between kisses. "Missed you." "Mmmm," Scully agreed. "My prayers have been answered." Mulder pulled away. "In more ways than one." Scully flashed him a full faced grin. "I never gave up on you, Mulder, I knew I would find you." She picked up his hand and placed it on her abdomen. "I had to." "Scully," he sighed. "I want to feel it, I want to feel our child." Scully pulled him back down to her. "You will. We'll talk to Susan, but not right now. Right now, I want to feel you." "Scully, I don't think I can." She gazed at him fondly. She didn't see the scars on his face, the remnants of torture in his eyes. All she saw was the man she needed more than air, loved more than life itself. All she saw was Mulder. "It's OK, I just want to feel you around me. I missed that." He caressed her cheek. "It's so good to be home," he said in a broken voice. "So good." Part 22 July 7 7:02 AM Susan woke up alone and groggy. For a moment, she wasn't sure where she was, but then she felt the boat and the sounds of Michael puttering around in the galley. How he got up without waking her confused her, but then again, after how tired she was when she finally passed out last night might explain some things. She smiled a wolfish grin and quickly got dressed. Susan sauntered into the galley to see Michael standing with his back to her, cooking breakfast. He had a whisk his hand, making blueberry pancakes. Suddenly, she felt as if she had been transported back four years. During one of their fist cases together, she and Mike had gone out to dinner after a long day of paperwork. He asked and she was more than pleased to accept. They had a very comfortable evening, laughing and talking about anything other that work. To an outside observer, it looked as if they were on a date. Afterwards, he drove her home, seeing that they left her car at the office, but she didn't want the evening to end, so she asked him in, with no intent other than having a few drinks and sharing each other's company What was only supposed to be an hour turned into four. He had a few glasses of wine and she knew it wouldn't be wise for him to drive home, so she offered him her couch, and much to her delight, he quickly accepted. The next morning, she came stumbling out of her bedroom with her robe tied loosely around her waist to find Michael standing in her kitchen, wearing gray wrinkled pants, the belt undone, a white tank style T-shirt and a towel around his hips. He was whisking eggs in a bowl and she could see the muscles in his back flexing with the movements of his arm. It had been a long time since she woke to a handsome man in her kitchen. Especially one as good looking as her partner. She could literally feel all the saliva dry in her mouth. He must have heard her come in the room, because he turned to her with a huge grin on his face. Susan did not fail to notice his eyes slowly scan her body and the color rise on his cheeks. Even though her senses were not as honed as they were now, she couldn't miss his emotional reaction to seeing her standing barefoot before him with tousled hair and in a robe that left little to the imagination. "Mornin' Susie," he said still smiling. She nervously brushed her hair out of her face and did her best not to blush. "Hi," she said shyly. "Whatcha doin'?" Michael's grin widened. "I'm making you breakfast." Susan's eyebrows rose. He shrugged. "Thought I would repay you for lending me your couch last night." She smiled. "Whatcha makin'?" Michael turned around to finish his task. "Blueberry pancakes," he said spilling the mix into a pan on the stove. How did he know that was her favorite, she thought, then frowned as she sat down at the kitchen table. "I had the ingredients for blueberry pancakes?" she asked, surprised. He looked at her over his shoulder. "Well, no," he said. "I went out to that small shop around the block." Susan nodded. "I did check through your cabinets, though, if you don't mind." Susan shook her head, you can check through my cabinets anytime, she thought, trying not to smile. "The only thing edible I found was a can of dog food." She was surprised. "I have a can of dog food?" He turned around with a plate loaded with the most delicious looking blueberry pancakes. "Yeah," he said placing the plate in front of her and sitting down. "Do you have a dog?" "No," she replied picking up a fork. Michael let out an amused chuckle. "Oh," he said getting up, returning with a glass of orange juice. "I know you don't drink coffee, so I got you some OJ." Susan smiled her thanks. "I thought I had some in the fridge." "Yeah, but it expired last year." She grimaced. "No wonder it tasted funny," she said ruefully. "Come on." He gestured with his hands. "Eat up." Susan started to cut into the pancakes but paused to look up at him. He was watching her intently. "Aren't you having any?" He shook his head. "Nah, I made `em for you." Susan looked down, her hair hiding her reaction to his thoughtfulness. She loaded her fork and brought it to her lips. Her eyes closed as the taste exploded in her mouth and she couldn't help a moan of delight. "Mmm, Mike, this is fantastic." He smiled triumphantly. Susan dug in greedily. "You're just going to have to spend the night more often." He gave her a sly smile. "To make pancakes of course," she added with her own smile. "Of, course," he said. "But I can do many more things." Her eyes twinkled. "I'm sure you can." Six months later, he was making her breakfast almost daily. And he wasn't sleeping on the couch. Susan was snapped out of her reverie when Michael turned around to face her. "Mornin' Susie," he said, echoing what he had said a few years ago. She grinned. "Hi." He looked at her queerly, cocking his head to the side. "You OK?" Her grin expanded. "Great, you?" He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "Ooookkkk," he drew out. She just puckered her lips and nodded. "Good." He looked a her like she had six heads before he turned around to finish mixing the eggs. Susan smiled. He was almost wearing the same outfit from years ago, but instead of gray pants, he was wearing tight blue jeans that hugged his ass perfectly. Two eggs in a hanky, was how it was described. She licked her lips and decided she was going to do what she wanted to do that morning. She slowly approached him and slid her palms down his back to cup his ass. He jumped. "Susan?" "Mmm," she responding, kissing the back and side of his neck. He could practically feel the essence of sex radiating off of her, but he had no idea what she had in mind. "Um," he hummed. "What are you doing?" He knew Mulder and Scully were just in the next room. "What does it look like I'm doing?" she purred as she placed her hands on his shoulders and forced him to turn around. "Well," he started, but was interrupted by her tongue in his mouth. She kissed him hard and aggressively while she untied the towel around his waist. She released his mouth and took a step back, dropping the towel to the floor. He stared at her speechless. She smiled seductively and got down on her knees, folding the towel so that it was under her. "Susie," he croaked. "Mulder and Dana could come in here any moment." She looked up at him. "They're kinda busy right now," she responded and traced the shape of him through his jeans. Even though he was putting up a fight, he loved this. He was hard the moment she touched him. The only sound in the room was Michael's heavy breathing and the sound of a button popping open and the zzzzzzzzzzz of a zipper going down. "Oh, God," he groaned, bracing his hands on the counter behind him, his knuckles white. "Oh, God." *** July 7 8:03 AM Mulder stumbled into the galley, followed closely by Scully. Michael was talking to Susan in hushed tones while she sat across from him at the table. He turned when she looked over his shoulder at the pair. Michael's color was high on his cheeks and his eyes were bright. Susan, on the other hand looked refreshed and a bit giddy. He turned back to Susan said something then looked again at them. "I was, ah, making breakfast, but I, ah, didn't." Mulder and Scully exchanged glances. "I'm going to go do something," he said before he rushed out of the room. Mulder looked at Susan who looked like the cat who ate the canary, so to speak. "You guys hungry?" she asked merrily. They nodded. "You're making breakfast?" Mulder asked. She never cooked. Susan came around the table and opened a few closets. "Yeah, go sit down." "What are you making?" Mulder asked, sitting down. A box appeared before him. "Cereal," Susan stated. "Bowls are in the closet and milk is in the fridge. Now if you'll excuse me," she said chasing after Michael. Mulder and Scully didn't move, just stared at the box of Cheerios. *** "Hey!" Susan shouted when she was out on deck. Michael turned around, eyes squinting in the blaring sunlight. Susan slowed her steps as she approached him. "Where do you think you're going?" she said in a sing-song voice. He leaned into her when she was close enough. "We almost got caught," he said in a harsh whisper. She grinned. "But we didn't." "Yeah, by like two seconds."' Susan chuckled merrily and traced a finger down his chest to circle his still erect nipple. "Thank God we know what buttons to push for each other, hummm?" Michael enclosed her in his arms, lifted her off her feet and leaned back against the railing. "Yeah, thank God," he said before he kissed her. Michael carefully loosened his hold from around Susan and she slid slowly down his body. Not until her feet were back on the deck did they release their kiss. "This is shaping up to be a really nice day," Michael murmured. "Hmm," Susan hummed, her faced buried in his neck. "I would have to agree with you partner." "Too bad we don't have the ship to ourselves," Michael said, thinking out loud. Susan stepped back and looked up at his face. "Yeah," she sighed. She leaned over the railing, the ocean before her so calm it looked like one large sheet of glass. "If we were in Bali right now, we'd probably be screwing like bunnies on the beach." "Yeah," he agreed, a smile spreading on his face. "That'd be nice." Susan chuckled. "Well, babe. We can't always have the things we want." "Yeah," he pouted. Susan patted him on the ass. "We will have tonight, though." Michael grabbed her waist and yanked her to him. Susan let out a yelp of surprise that was quickly cut off by his lips. *** 3:04 PM July 7th Scully took one more look at Mulder before she closed the door. He had feigned exhaustion and went back to bed around noon. Before she let him sleep, though, Scully took his temperature. He was running a little high, but nothing to be upset about. He was taking the antibiotics she was giving him as a precautionary measure and admitted he was in a little pain, but didn't need anything more than a few Tylenol. Scully doubted the validity of that statement not for the first time when he winced as he laid down on the bed. Mulder knew he was caught. "I'm OK, Scully, really." "Mulder." He reached across the bed to pull the covers over himself and settled back down. "Yes, Scully, I hurt, but who wouldn't?" Scully sat down next to him, hip to hip. "I have stronger stuff." Mulder shook his head. "It's not that bad and the Tylenol seems to be doing the job. Besides, you know I don't really like taking pain medication." Scully pulled the covers up to his neck. "I know, but I don't like to see you in pain when I know I can stop it or at least lessen it." Mulder gave her a lopsided grin. "I know, but I'm really fine." Scully caressed his jaw, his stubble like sandpaper on her palm. "You need a shave." He pulled his arm from under the sheets to hold her wrist. "I know, but I'm afraid to because of the puncture holes there." Scully looked into his eyes. "Do they hurt?" Mulder looked away, a gesture not lost on Scully. He was going to lie. "Not really," he said. He looked back at her. "I can deal with it." Scully let her hand drop and stood. "All right then, I guess I should let you get the rest you seem to need." Her voice expressed her disbelief, but Mulder chose to ignore it. He smiled falsely. "Thanks, Scully." She gave him a tight smile in return. "Sleep well." Mulder watched her walk away then turn back one more time before closing the door. He waited, forcing himself to count to one hundred before he threw the covers back and slowly got out of bed. His chest and arms exploded in a rage of pain and fire causing him double over half way across the room. He took two gulping breaths then continued his way to the closet. Slowly, hoping to hide the soft squeak it made, he slid the closet door open. On the floor was Scully's black bag. Crouching down and losing his balance on the way, Mulder opened the bag. He moved things carefully aside, knowing Scully would notice if things were out of order. He took out a bottle of pills and turned it to read the label: Vicodin. He popped the top; Scully hated the child proof bottles, and dry swallowed two pills. She cut open dead bodies for a living, had pin point accuracy with a gun, could force any man's balls into his abdomen with a look, but couldn't open those damn tops. Mulder had to smile in spite of the fact that the movement of those muscles sparked a pain in his face. He quickly put the bottle back and closed the closet door. He hated lying to her, but he just couldn't tell her how much pain he was in. She had too much on her plate right now and he didn't need to add anymore. Besides, what she didn't know couldn't hurt her, right? *** Scully ventured outside to find Susan lounging on the deck reading a book. She was wearing the ever present Mets hat, her trusty raybans, a red bikini top and obscenely short jeans shorts. Scully knew it was going to be awhile before she could even think about wearing something like that again. She looked forlornly down at her tank top and loose shorts. She could see her belly beginning to puff out. She felt like a buffalo. "You're not fat, so cut it out," Susan said not looking up from her book. Scully hated when she did that. Susan marked her page and put the book aside. "Mulder sleeping?" Scully nodded. "Yeah," she said looking around, her eyes squinting in the sun. "Where's Mike?" "Inside working on some culinary delight. He does that when he's bored." "But it's only a quarter after three," Scully said. Susan shrugged, getting up and leaning against the railing. "He said he was feeling twitchy and needed to do something with his hands." "Ahh," Scully said, understanding. "That has something to do with what Mulder and I walked in on this morning," she said grinning. "Or almost walked in on." Susan put her hand to her chest and made a `who me?' face. "Are you talking about Michael and me?" Scully's smile widened. "We would never do such a thing." Scully laughed. "Yeah, right, like Mulder and I wouldn't make out on your kitchen counters," she said, speaking of the time Susan walked in on them. Susan smiled at the memory. "Yeah, something like that." Scully joined her at the railing. "Where's Ruffus?" she asked. "Up on the bridge. He doesn't really like being on the boat and feels safer in the enclosed area." "What about when he has to." She waved her hand in the air. "You know." "He usually lets us know. We trained him to do his deed off the edge of the boat." Scully grimaced. "That's gross." She shrugged. "You asked." Susan turned to look out at the water, she saw a dark object move just under the surface. "Hey, you want to go for a swim?" "Nah, not really." Susan cuffed her shoulder. "Yeah you do, come on," she said tossing her hat aside and unbuttoning her shorts revealing a matching bottom to her bikini. "I'd have to go put on my suit and I'd wake, Mulder." Susan put her sunglasses on the deck chair. "No you don't, you could just swim in your bra and underwear." Scully just looked at her. "Well, when you make up your mind I'll be below." "Susan, there could be sharks," she said watching her climb up on the railing. "Nope, don't detect any." And with that, she dove over the side. Scully looked around. There was nothing in sight except the ocean and blue skies. "Awe hell," Scully mumbled and pulled her shirt over her head. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she said as she stepped out of her shorts then joined Susan over the side. "Knew you'd do it," Susan said swimming up to her when Scully surfaced. "Well, don't you just know everything," Scully said, treading water, slightly out of breath. Susan just laughed. "I expected the water to be colder," Scully commented. "Nah, it never is this time of year." Scully nodded then nearly jumped out of her skin when something brushed up against her leg. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" "What was what?" Susan asked, a face of pure innocence. She felt it again. "THAT!" She started to swim back to the boat when Susan shouted out to her. "That is the reason why I wanted to swim." Scully turned to see Susan pointing to something a few yards away from them. Scully's chin hit the water when a dolphin flew from the sea and landed with a spectacular splash. Two others joined in the display. "Oh, my God," Scully said in awe. "It's something else, isn't it?" Susan asked swimming along next to her. "I was struck dumb the first time I saw them up close." "You've done this before?" "Yeah, it seems dolphins like me," Susan said. "I guess it's one good thing about my gift." Scully stared at her. "They can sense you," she stated. Susan grinned. "For years now, scientists have been trying to figure out how dolphins communicate, but failed to explore the notion of a language of sensation." "They communicate empathicly, kind of like what you do." She sounded as if she had unlocked the key to the universe. "Yeah, kinda," Susan agreed. Scully looked out at the beautiful animals playing in the sea. "Can you understand them?" Susan shook her head. "No, they have an entirely different language than what I know." Scully didn't know how to respond except by saying, "Wow." Her arms continued to move about her, keeping her afloat. "Wow is a good way to describe it." Scully and Susan tread water silently watching the majestic creatures swim about. Occasionally one would venture close to them and they would reach their hands out, getting a brief feel of their silky skins. "Thank you, Susan," Scully said. "Thank you for sharing this with me." Susan shrugged self-consciously. "Don't mention it." After about a half hour, Scully and Susan decided to climb back aboard via a robe ladder that was slung over the side. Susan went up first to be greeted by Michael holding two towels. "I was wondering when you'd come back up," he said handing her a towel. "Mad I didn't ask you to join us?" she asked drying her face. "Nah, I knew you'd want to show Dana by yourself." Susan smiled. "Thanks love," she said leaning in to kiss him. Scully reached her hand over the railing pulling herself up when she saw Michael holding a towel out to her. Michael's eyes flicked downward then back to her face; they were round as saucers. He turned his back quickly, holding the towel out behind him. Scully's eyes went to her chest. That was when she realized she was wearing a white underwear set, which was currently transparent. She blushed crimson and pulled herself all the way aboard. She quickly grabbed the towel and mumbled a thank you as she wrapped it around her body. Susan chuckled. "I'm going to go rinse off the salt. If you want, Dana, you can use our shower when I'm done so you don't wake Mulder." Scully nodded, looking down at the deck, her face still hot. "Yeah, thanks." *** 7:34 PM July 7 "He did too have buck teeth!" Mulder said laughing. "Mulder!" Scully said, smiling. "I don't want to have this discussion any more. "HE. DID. NOT. HAVE. BUCK. TEETH!" Mulder sat back, his right hand covering his chest. He was trying not to wheeze, but the pain medication he had sneaked earlier was starting to wear off and he knew that Susan had to be picking up on his pain. Michael and Susan exchanged a bemused look, before they each took a sip of their beers. They were enjoying the different perspectives of the case they were explaining, but their arguing was the most entertaining aspect. As for Mulder's pain, Susan was aware of it, but it was centered more in the back of her mind. She was too busy watching them and maintaining a running radar of their surroundings. If she wanted to, she could focus on Mulder, but she was having too much fun and Mulder was such a good actor that Susan wasn't really paying attention to his feelings. Michael sat forward, his hands clasped around his bottle. "Here," he said, getting the bickering partner's attention. "I have a funny story." Susan looked at him. "You." She put on being surprised. "Have a funny story?" Michael grinned at her. "Fuck you." Susan chuckled and chugged down half her beer. "Now," he said leaning back, his arm behind Susan's shoulder the other still clenching the bottle. "If I may continue." Mulder gave a go ahead gesture with his hands. Scully nodded. "Sure, Mike, I'd love to hear a funny story." She looked pointedly at Mulder. "That has some truth to it." Mulder didn't take the bait and only grunted in response. "OK," Michael started. "I was still working in the Boston PD at the time, I think my third year in." Michael nodded, his addition was correct. "Eddie and I, my partner Eddie McDonnell and I were doin' a midnight. We'd just gotten off dinner and were in a sector car headin' over to one of the projects when we got a 1013 over the radio; officer needs assistance." Susan was watching him fondly, sipping her beer quietly. She'd never heard this story before and was enjoying the feelings it was conjuring up inside him; a sense of nostalgia, amusement and a longing for the days of his youth. "Of course, when a cop calls a 1013, every car in the city responds." Scully nodded. "Sure, I can understand that." "Well, apparently this guy just knocked over a convenience store and when the cop who called the 1013, tried to pick up a guy who resembled the description, he fired shots at the cop and took off." Michael rubbed his chin, thinking. "When Eddie and I showed up, they were chasing the guy down one of the alleys. We decided to try to head `im off and got back in the car. Just as we got to where we wanted, we saw the guy shoot out in front of us. So, Eddie and I took off after him in a foot chase." Michael grinned suddenly, his beer forgotten. "What?" Susan asked. He looked at her. "I was just remembering Eddie." He turned back to Mulder and Scully. "Eddie was no taller than you," he said nodding his head toward Scully. "But out weighed you by like a hundred pounds." Scully's eyes widened. "Was he fat or built?" Michael's grin grew. "Well, let me just say that Eddie's favorite meal was four Big Macs." "Ooohh," Scully said. "Ouch," Mulder winced. "Even I can't down four, three maybe, but not four." Susan laughed. "Hey Mulder, sounds like Rodger." Mulder joined in her laughter. "Yeah, he does." Scully looked at them, confused. "Who's Rodger?" Susan groaned, remembering. "Rodger," Mulder answered for her. "Was Susan's partner before Mike." He smiled at Susan. "She hated him." Susan snorted. "Hate is too kind of a word. More like despised." "ANYWAY!" Michael interrupted. Despite his tone, he was smiling. Susan put on a serious face. "Sorry," she said trying not to smile. Michael patted her thigh. "Eddie and I were chasin' the perp with about four other guys behind us, when suddenly, next to me, I hear barking." "Barking?" Scully asked. Michael let out a laugh. "Yeah, Eddie was barking! Whooph! Whooph!" He had to stop for a minute, he was laughing so hard. "He looks at me, as we're running, still barking and I get the idea. I yell out to the perp `IF YOU STOP NOW I'LL CALL OFF THE DOG!!'" Susan guffawed, while Mulder and Scully chuckled quietly. "And the perp," Michael said between laughs, wiping at his eyes. "Believed us! He actually stopped and fell to his knees, his hands up, yelling `JUST CALL OFF THE DOG! PLEASE MAN! I DIDN'T DO NOTHIN' WRONG! CALL OFF THE DOG!!'" They erupted in laughter. Michael continued, barely able to contain himself. "We tackled `im and it took us nearly ten minutes to handcuff the guy because we were all laughing so hard." Susan leaned over and kissed Michael on the cheek. "Good story, Mike." He smiled, happy he pleased her. "Thanks, I can't tell you how many times I used to tell that story at parties while I was still on The Job." "Why haven't you told me that before?" Susan asked, getting up and finishing her beer. He shrugged. "I don't know." "Well," Susan said putting down her beer. "I'm going to go up to the bridge and." She suddenly let out a huge belch. "Check things out," she finished and headed up the stairs. Mulder laughed, watching her leave. Michael was grinning. "I taught her well," he said, standing. Mulder turned to Scully. "Well, she's definitely comfortable around you." Scully just shook her head. *** 9:52 July 7 Susan was looking up at the stars when Scully joined her on the deck. "Where's Mulder?" she asked. Scully looked behind her toward the cabins. "He's going through your video collection. He says it's too quiet out here and he can't sleep." Susan smiled. "I forgot he liked to have the TV on when he went to bed." Scully nodded. "It took me awhile to get used to it; around the time he was taken I finally didn't hear it anymore." "Mmm," was Susan's answer. The night was quiet, with a gentle breeze. The only sounds were that of the ocean and the clanging of a bell in the distance. "What's that?" Scully asked. "The bell? It's the channel marker." Scully nodded, a frown forming on her face, she heard a new sound. "What's that?" Susan's attention was drawn to a roaring a distance away. "I don't know," she whispered. The roaring grew loader. "SHIT!" Susan swore. "What?" Scully asked in alarm. "THAT'S A BOAT APPROACHING!" she yelled running toward the cabin. "Why didn't the ship's radar pick it up?" Scully said running after her. "I don't know," Susan answered, yanking open the door. "But I can detect them, meaning they're less than a mile and a half away." Scully's heart started to pound. "What are you getting?" she asked following her inside. "They're here for us." Part 23 Michael jumped to his feet, the book he was reading fell unnoticed to the floor with a loud thud. "What's going on?" he asked. "Someone's approaching," Susan said as she made her way to the storage room. Michael started to follow her, but she turned around, halting him. "No!" Susan barked. "I want you up on the bridge. Raise the anchor and be ready to go when I tell you. I want to be in Maine by daybreak. No more of this sitting around shit!" Michael resisted the urge to salute, choosing to nod instead and took off up the stairs. Susan tore open the gun cabinet and took out one of the Sniper Rifles with the night vision scope and one semiautomatic rifle. She tossed the semiautomatic to Scully who attended to it like a pro.; checking to make sure it was loaded, which it was and doing a once-over to familiarize herself with it. Mulder came up behind them, reaching between them to pick up another one of the rifles. Susan snatched it out of his hand, pausing for a moment while he still held it. The sounds of the anchor being raised went unheard as Mulder and Susan stared at each other. Mulder knew he had been found out; he was in tremendous pain. Susan's eyes widened and a look of betrayal crossed her face. "You.," she whispered. "Susan," Mulder started but she had closed herself off to him. "Forget it, Mulder," she said turning away from him and putting the gun back. "Susan," Mulder said again. "You get your ass below," she said before she pushed him aside. "I can help!" he stated, following her. "Bullshit!" she spat. "You can hardly stand." "But.," "Mulder! You do as I say or I swear to God you will never walk again!" Like a wounded puppy, Mulder tucked his tail between his legs and headed toward the forward cabin. Scully wrenched open the door to the deck and suddenly was pushed to the floor by Susan. A loud crack was heard and pieces of the hull behind them rained down on them. Looking over her shoulder, the hole was in the exact spot Scully's head was seconds ago. She gave Susan a silent look of thanks. Crawling on their bellies commando style, the women slithered across the deck to the port side of the boat. "It's darker than a witch's ass out here," Susan murmured. "I can't see a damn thing," Scully agreed. Susan poked her head above the railing and saw absolutely nothing, but heard the boat not too far off. Scully raised herself up on her knees and aimed the semiautomatic rifle in the general direction of the sound of the boat. She let off a quick burst of shots then dropped back down. It was answered by bullets hitting the side of the hull. "God damn son of a bitch!" Susan growled. "First my car, now my boat!" She shot up, her left eye scanning the area through the night vision scope. She caught the image of a speed boat racing past. Her reflexes weren't quick enough to respond as she shot at air. "Fuck!" "We're sitting ducks out here," Scully said, panting. Her heart was pounding in her chest and the adrenaline was pumping through her system. Again, she had a fleeting thought of how this was affecting her unborn child. Susan sat up again, her head and shoulders vulnerable to assault. Scully watched as Susan closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Bullets whizzed through the air around her, but she did not waver. She moved her rifle slowly to the left and fired. A cry of pain filled the air. Susan hunkered down and gave Scully a triumphant smile. "One down, one to go." "There are only two?" Scully asked, surprised. She was expecting more. "Yeah," Susan said sitting up again. "No more playing around. This ends now," Susan said, leveling her rifle for the last time. She knelt motionless, barely breathing while she waited for the boat to pass by again. Susan screwed her eyes shut, silently asking God for strength before she squeezed the trigger. "Go," she whispered. The boat rocked forward as Michael gunned the engine just as an explosion erupted. The speedboat slammed into the channel marker making the night light up with a fireball. They were safe, for now. *** Woodland, Maine The next morning. True to form, they had made it to Maine by daybreak. Michael navigated the Anam Cara around South Lubec, Maine, past Pleasant Point and into the Passamaquoddy Bay. Then, they traveled further north past Red beach then northwest to Woodland. He did this all on no sleep, while Susan and Scully loaded their packs. Mulder stood on the boardwalk waiting for the rest of the group to join him. Neither Susan nor Scully were talking to him. After the attack, the three of them had a rip roaring fight. Scully accused him of lying to her and Susan couldn't believe that he was expecting her to keep quiet about it (he spoke to her alone a few minutes after she came inside). Scully had taken the two rifles and was in the process of securing them when Mulder pulled Susan aside. "Mulder, don't even say it," Susan said brushing past him. "But you don't even know what I'm going to say." She spun around. "Yes I do and there ain't no way in hell I'm not telling Dana what condition you're in." "I'm fine, Susan," Mulder pleaded. "I'm just in some pain." "Some pain?" Susan squeaked. "Some pain? Mulder, you are jeopardizing all our lives by not letting us know that you can hardly stay on your feet!" "How the hell am I doing that?" he asked, the anger raising in his voice. Susan grabbed the front of his shirt. "Mulder, now that I'm aware of it, the amount of pain you are in is almost staggering. By your not telling us, we are in the position of not being prepared. We could meet some unknown obstacle and expect you to be able to carry at least some of your weight, and doing so, we are vulnerable. When we get up to Hedgehog Mountain, we have about a three hour hike. Are you up to it?" Mulder started to nod. "Bullshit! You and I both know one of us is practically going to have to carry you!" "What's going on?" Scully asked as she walked into the room. Mulder looked down at the floor, running a hand through his hair. Susan leaned back against the hall. "Go ahead, Mulder, why don't you tell her what's going on. You seem to have all the answers." He gave her a sharp look. "Mulder?" Scully asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Nothing, nothing is the matter." Susan snorted and looked away. "It sure as hell doesn't sound that way," Scully said, taking a step closer to Mulder. "It's nothing, Scully," he said softly, turning to her. "Susan and I are just having a difference of opinion." He looked at Susan over his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Susan?" Susan shook her head. "I don't know, Mulder. Neither of us seem to be qualified to give any opinion. Why not ask the doctor." And with that, Susan took hold of Mulder's upper arm with one hand and Scully's hand with the other. "Would you classify this as fine?" Scully's head exploded in white light as what felt like an ice pick stabbed into her temples. Her vision became blurry and her equilibrium was thrown off balance. Pain ran down her chest in a searing fire from clavicle to pubic bone, leaving behind a burning sensation equivalent to standing on the sun. Her stomach heaved in response and Susan let go before any damage could be done to her child. "Susan, damn it!" He shoved her away, her back making contact with the hull. "Leave her out of it!" She gave him a look that was dripping with venom. "You brought her into it the second you lied to her." She turned on her heels and walked away. Scully was doubled over, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "Scully, are you all right?" Mulder said, reaching out to help her straighten up. She slapped his hand away. "You know?" she said breathlessly. "I was wondering why everything was a little out of order in my bag, thought I was imagining it. Then I noticed some of the Vicodin was missing." "Scully," he started. "How much?" He frowned. "How much have you taken." "Scully." "HOW MUCH!" Mulder looked down at the floor. "I don't know. About ten." "TEN?" Scully looked away from him, her eyes turned up, centered on the ceiling. She shook her head. "Ten," she mouthed. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a weak voice. "I didn't want to give you more to worry about." She gave him a humorless smile. "Mulder, worrying about how much pain you're in is the least of my problems. At least that I know I can fix." He didn't know how to respond. "You lied to me, Mulder, and that is something you should have worried about. You know how I would react, but you did it anyway. I don't know what to say to that." "Scully, it's not as bad as you think. You just had it all at once. It's a lot more gradual than that. I think I'm actually getting used to it." Scully shook her head sadly. "Mulder, that's not the point and you know it. She turned and started toward the main room. "Scully where are you going?" "I need to do something." She looked at him over her shoulder. "If you need anymore Vicodin, you obviously know where it is." Mulder watched her walk away. Scully was fuming. Yes, she was concerned about how he was feeling, but right now that was overshadowed by her anger. How dare he lie to her like that? Did he really think he was protecting her by not telling her how much pain he was in? She could have helped him, done something for him. Hell, she could ask Susan if she could help him. She stopped stuffing things in the backpack she was holding. Susan healed Michael, could she do it again? She shook her head, there was no time for that right now. They had to get to the cabin by nightfall otherwise they were in the position of being caught and they certainly didn't need that. But, damn it! Had he told them sooner, they might have been able to do something. Now, they were faced with a three hour drive and a three hour hike with a man who could barely walk from the bed to the toilet without getting out of breath. They had faced tougher odds, but was their luck running out. *** 7:02 AM "Which one?" Susan asked. Michael scanned the parking lot. "That one," he said, pointing. "That one?" Susan asked, looking at him like he'd lost his mind. "Yeah, it's inconspicuous and it should be able to make it the entire way. Susan let out a huff. "Maybe if you got out and pushed it." Michael smiled at her. "Trust me babe, it'll work." Susan rolled her eyes. "Fine." The group made its way toward a beat up station wagon that was made around the time God was in diapers. "Are you sure?" Susan asked one more time. "Positive." Mulder looked around. "What are you going to do? Steal it?" Susan gave him an annoyed glance. "No, we are not going to steal it," she said as if he was mentally retarded. "We're going to buy it." She laid her hand on the hood, trying to get a sense of the person who owned it. She would make a great party guest. Give the lady an item and she'll tell you who owns it. After that, she'll tell your fortune. "Anything?" Scully asked. Susan removed her hand. "Yeah, he's a tall man about six feet tall. I'd say he weights about 200 pounds. He has a beard, and is wearing jeans, a dirty white tee shirt and a baseball cap." "You can get all that?" Scully asked incredulously. Susan grinned at her. "No, just a sense of him." Scully frowned. "Then how do you know how he looks?" Michael let out a chuckle. "Because he's walking towards us, look." Scully turned to see a man just as Susan described heading towards them, probably wondering why they were gathered around his car. "Can I help you folks?" he asked. "You're up, Luke," Michael mumbled, a grin plastered on his face. Susan ignored him as she stepped forward. "Hello," she said. "We were just looking at your station wagon." The man didn't respond. "How much do you want for it?" she asked. "It ain't for sale," he said crossing his arms over his chest. Susan nodded. "Sure it's not," she said moving closer to him. "But I'll bet three thousand dollars I can change your mind." "Three thousand dollars?" The man's arms fell to his side, his eyes bulging out of his head. Susan sighed. "Oh, OK, three thousand, five hundred dollars, cash, but that's my final offer." The man stared at her, speechless. Susan smiled and extended her hand. "Deal?" He automatically took her hand and winced as her grip tightened. A tingling sensation traveled up his arm into his shoulder, crawling across his neck to the back of his skull where it changed into a rush of heat. Mike already had the money in his hand, waiting for Susan's go ahead. "Deal," the man said. Susan grinned. "Thank you, Nathan. That's very kind of you. By the way, when asked, you can't remember how many of us there were or what we looked like." He nodded. "All you can say is that you were too busy thinking about what you're going to do with the money." He nodded again. "May I suggest you talk to your wife about that pain she's been getting. You may want to have it looked at." "Here you go, sir," Michael said, holding out the cash. Susan dropped Nathan's hand. He blinked a few times then turned to Michael. "Thank you kindly, sir." Michael nodded. "I'm sure this money will come in handy," Nathan said, stuffing the money in his front pocket, not bothering to count it. He then reached into his other pocket and handed Michael the keys. "I'm sure it will," Michael agreed. Nathan regarded him for a moment longer before he turned on his heels and walked away as if nothing had taken place. "Wonder how he'll get home," Scully pondered. Susan shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it, he's got tons of friends who work around here." Mulder just shook his head, taken aback by how overtly Susan's been using her gift. "Come on, gang," Susan said watching Michael unlock the doors. They made a loud groaning noise as they opened. "Let's get this show on the road." Part 24 8:42 AM Route 1 Northern Maine After packing everything they thought they needed into the back of the station wagon, along with Ruffus who was more than happy to be on dry land, they headed north. Mulder watched the countryside go by from the back seat. They had been driving for about an hour and a half now, and his butt was starting to go numb. Scully sat beside him looking out the window as well, the space between them couldn't be larger than the Grand Canyon. Yes, he could reach out and touch her, but she had never been farther away from him. Susan was sitting in front of him, in the shotgun position, while Michael drove. He saw Michael hide a yawn behind his hand and Susan looked at him behind sunglass covered eyes. "Love, if you're tired, I'll drive for a while," Mulder heard her whisper. Michael shook his head. "Nah, I'll be fine, besides, you had as much sleep as I did." She smiled at him. "Yeah, but I'm used to it more than you are," she said, reaching a hand out toward him. He grabbed it with his right hand and laid it on his thigh. "Don't worry about me, Susie, I'm fine." Mulder shifted, the Vicodin he took a few hours ago was starting to wear off, but he'd be damned if he took any in front of Scully. It would just add more fuel to her fire. He looked over at Scully again. She had to know he was looking at her, she always did, but she refused to acknowledge him. Every now and then he would see her brush a hand across her cheek. Nothing made him feel worse than seeing Scully cry and knowing he had caused it. He said her name softly, but she wouldn't look at him. He ran a hand over his face, wincing as his callused hands slid over the weeping scabs there. God, he felt like a shit. It was obvious she had almost gone insane to find him; all of them had, and he was being dishonest and distant. Scully needed him now and he was doing nothing but driving her away. But if she had any idea of what They did to him. He shook his head. He didn't want her to know, he didn't ever want her to know how he screamed her name and begged them to stop. He didn't want her to know that he offered to give them anything they wanted if they would just leave him alone. He didn't want her to know that he cried every day and every night, cursing her God and everything that would do this to him and wondering why she wasn't coming for him, and hating her for it. He saw Susan out of the corner of his eye looking at him from the mirror in her sun visor. He couldn't see her eyes, but he knew she was looking into him and could see his very soul. He stared out the window again, forcing his mind to go blank. He knew she had already seen what she needed to see, but the act of trying to think of nothing gave him something to keep himself occupied. *** 10:52 AM Just South of Sheridan, Route 11 They drove north for awhile on Route 1, then west on Route 163. Everyone was starting to feel a little antsy so they decided to made a quick stop to refuel and get some snacks as well as use the facilities. As much as she hated roadside restrooms, Scully had to pee so badly that she was practically dancing by the time they stopped. As tradition states, Susan followed her. Mulder got out to stretch his legs, but didn't say anything about the two women going together to the bathroom. Just another sign that he wasn't himself. He just watched Michael lead Ruffus over to some trees. Susan was washing her hands when Scully emerged from the stall, feeling much better. She smiled at her in the mirror. "Things are only going to get worse," Susan said. Scully groaned as she bent down to wash her hands. "Don't remind me." Susan turned around and leaned against the sink, crossing her arms in front of her. Scully recognized her posture. She had seen herself do it on a number of occasions. She met Susan's unyielding gaze. "I am not in the mood for a lecture right now, Susan." Susan let her arms drop to her sides and sighed. "I'm not going to lecture you, Dana. But I thought I should tell you something." Now it was Scully's turn to cross her arms over her chest. "Which is what?" Susan broke eye contact to look at the closed door of the cramped bathroom. It was typical of many women's restrooms on the road: filthy. This was one thing she never understood; how can women be so gross? "Susan?" Scully prompted. She returned her attention to the woman across from her. "I'm going to do something I vowed to myself I would never do." Scully frowned. "I'm going to betray a confidence." She took a deep breath. "Mulder's not doing too well." "You don't think I know that?" "No, I'm sure you're aware of it, but you're choosing to ignore it. I think we were a little harsh on him." Scully started to say something but Susan held up her hand. "I'm not saying he didn't deserve it, but." She took a deep breath. "I think we need to cut the silent treatment with him." "I don't know if I can do that right now," Scully stated. Susan nodded. "I know how you feel," she said with a smile. Scully allowed a small smile to cross her lips. "And I guess it's safe to say that I know you better than you know yourself." Scully wasn't sure if she liked that. "And I know you don't like that," she said as if she were reading Scully's mind. "I know your reasons for being angry with Mulder, but." "There's that but, again," Scully said. Susan shook her head. "You and I need to give Mulder a break. He's been through more than you'd ever imagine." Scully took a step toward her, her voice a dangerous whisper. "You don't think I know what he's going through? Can you honestly say that I, me, the one who has nightmares about what they did to me? That I can't imagine what he's going through?" Susan matched her stance and leaned down so that they were eye to eye. "Do you? You seem to have closed yourself off. The minute he didn't start jumping up and down with happiness about your being pregnant, you closed yourself off from him, you're afraid of being hurt." Scully's eyes sparked. "You have no idea what you're talking about." Her voice was strangely calm even though Susan drew blood with that remark. "Don't I?" Susan took another step closer to her, now they were almost nose to nose. "That man out there, is the father of your child. He has been tortured, beaten and abused. You say you know what he's been going through, but you have no idea because you won't let yourself." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Scully asked. Susan looked away, shaking her head. "You remember bits and pieces of what happened to you." She looked back at her. "The nightmares you have are nothing compared to the reality he faced and is facing. He didn't have the luxury of having his memories come back to him slowly or not at all. He remembers all of it because he was conscious the whole time." Scully's eyes registered shock. Susan nodded sharply. "You didn't know this because you were too afraid to ask. You know each other so well, but you never talk. And you wonder why it took you eight years to get to where you are now." Susan was about to walk away, but Scully placed her hand on her forearm. "He was awake the whole time?" she asked, her voice trembled. "Oh, Dana," Susan said, softly. "I, I didn't know that. He gave no indication." Scully pulled her hand away from Susan to cover her mouth. Her eyes betrayed her horror. "Dana," Susan said taking her hand in hers. "I know he hasn't, he's been trying to lessen your burden. He was afraid it would put too much on you." "God, Susan." "Dana," Susan said. "You've been so wrapped up in your pregnancy and his reaction to it that you haven't even given a thought as to what he's been through. And Dana, I've got news for you, you're not the first woman in the world to get pregnant. I know you weren't supposed to be able to, but you're not the first woman to do that either. You've got to put things into perspective." "He said he was happy," Scully said, her eyes brimming with tears. "But I was afraid he wasn't being sincere." Susan took her other hand and gripped them tightly. "He is, BELIEVE me he is." Scully pulled away, turning her back to Susan. They were both quiet for a moment. When Scully turned to face her, there were tears streaming down her face. Susan immediately took a step towards her, but Scully backed up, her hands out in front her in a warning gesture. "Dana, what is it?" Scully didn't answer right away, but when she did, it was in a childlike whisper. "I'm, I'm afraid. "What, what are you afraid of?" Susan asked. Scully placed her hand over her abdomen, her eyes on her hand. "I'm afraid I'm going to lose it." Susan closed her eyes. Why the hell hadn't she realized this earlier? Damnit, she's supposed to be a Psychologist. When she opened her eyes, Scully was looking at her, her eyes begging for reassurance. "Dana, all I can say is trust me. Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing wrong with your baby and trust me that I would say something if there was." Scully pulled in a shaky breath and nodded. "Ok, Ok." Susan smiled. "How about this. When we get ourselves settled, we'll all have a little baby session. I'm sure Mulder would love to see what the baby feels like." Scully gave her a watery smile. "All right?" Scully nodded. "Thank you." Susan returned the nod. "Good, come on," she said cocking her head toward the door. "The guys must think we ran away from them or something." Scully wiped her face quickly and followed Susan out the door. Outside, they found Michael leaning against the wall next to the bathroom, studying his feet. He looked up when they emerged, squinting at them in the brightness. "Hey," he said. "Hey," the women replied in unison. "I, ah, thought you would want to pick out what you wanted to snack on," he said to Susan. Susan nodded. "Sure," she said. "Want something, Dana?" Scully nodded, but she wasn't really paying attention. She was looking past Michael toward Mulder who was sitting on the tailgate petting Ruffus, looking like a lost child. "You know what I would want," she said, training her eyes on Susan. "If you'll excuse me." Susan nodded, watching her walk away. "Everything all right?" Michael asked. Susan smiled at him. "Yeah, thanks. And what is this thing about me picking out what I want to eat?" she said, her arms crossed over her chest. Her posture showed one thing, but her grin showed another. Michael shrugged. "I could kinda sense what you two were talking about, and thought they might need a minute." Susan shook her head. "Where did you come from and why aren't all men like you?" Michael smiled shyly. "Guess you just got lucky." Susan moved closer to him and hooked her fingers in his belt loops. "Very lucky," she said as she reached up on tip toes to kiss him. "Very lucky indeed." *** Mulder looked up at the sounds of someone approaching in the gravel parking lot. He should have recognized the sounds of Scully's footsteps, but she wasn't walking the way she used to. Nothing was the way it used to be. "Hi," Scully said softly. "Hi," he returned, wary of what she was going to say, he eyes focused on his hand going across Ruffus' silky coat. Scully reached out to scratch Ruffus behind an ear. He was panting in the summer heat. It was hot, but nowhere near what it would be in the nation's capital. Mulder and Scully avoided each other's eyes, feeling awkward and unsettled. Scully sighed and looked at him. His eyes were focused on the ground. He looked as if he was half the man he used to be. Now that she was really paying attention, she noticed how thin he was. He was pale and sickly looking. The marks on his face stood out against his white skin. Stubble marred his drawn features, making him look like a vagabond. He was barely recognizable as the man she once knew. "Mulder," Scully started. "I'm sorry." He looked up startled. "You're sorry, sorry for what? I'm the one who should be apologizing." Scully shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I, I." Mulder interrupted her. "Scully don't. You don't have to say anything. I should have told you what was going on with me." Scully placed her hand over Mulder's hand that was resting on Ruffus. "I should have asked." They stared at each other, neither wanting to continue. "Scully," Mulder sighed, turning his hand around so he could lace his fingers with hers. "I just, I'm having a hard time knowing where I fit in right now." "Mulder," Scully said. "Scully, please let me say this." She took a deep breath, nodding her head. "I feel like a third wheel, just following the leader. You, Michael and Susan are getting along so well, I often wonder where I come in." "Mulder, you belong right beside me." Mulder sighed. "You don't get it, do you?" Scully took a step forward and took both of his hands. She shook them as she spoke. "Then tell me, tell me what's going on. Please." "You and Michael are getting along like old friends. You and my ex-girlfriend are closer than I could ever imagine. I guess I'm just feeling like a third wheel. "Mulder." "Scully, who was the first person you told you were pregnant?" Scully frowned, hesitating. "Skinner," she whispered. He winced. "Our boss was the first person to know." "Mulder, I had to tell him." "I know you did, but that should have been me. I should have been there, not on an alien ship." "But you didn't go willingly." "Didn't I?" he asked, tears streaming down his face. "I left you in Washington, when I knew you weren't feeling well to investigate a downed alien aircraft. I LEFT YOU! Why you don't hate me is a wonder." "Mulder, I could never hate you, I love you," Scully said, her voice wavering. "You gave me this miracle." She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Without you I would never have this." Mulder closed his eyes, defeated. He had no more energy to do this, so he gave in and leaned forward, his forehead coming to rest on her shoulder. She felt his body shake as she heard a sob escape from him. From next to him, Ruffus whined and tried to burrow his nose into Mulder's side. Scully wrapped her arms around his shoulders holding him as he cried, tears streamed down her face unnoticed. Susan and Michael exchanged a look. "Maybe we should give them a few more minutes," Michael said. Susan chewed on her lip then looked down at her watch. "I don't know, we wanted to get there by sundown, we're already racing against the clock and it's going to be a longer hike with Mulder not up to par." Michael sighed. "I know, but I hate to interrupt them." She shrugged. "Well, we gotta get going." *** 1:05 PM Rest area, just south of Hedgehog Mountain "Here Mulder," Michael said tossing a shirt to him. "Put this on." "What's this for?" he asked looking down at the fabric he held in his hand. "Where we're going, there really isn't a trail, you're going to need to cover up so you don't get scratched all to hell," Susan said before she pulled her T-shirt over her head, not feeling self-conscious at all in her bra and jeans nor caring who could see her considering they were in a public picnic area. "But it's hot," he whined. His breakdown in the parking lot and the quiet ride had made him feel one hundred percent better. Susan said something, but it was muffled by the shirt she was putting on over her head. Scully was already dressed and ready to go with Ruffus panting excitedly next to her. It seemed as if he knew where they were going and couldn't wait to get moving. Mulder took off the T-shirt he was wearing, revealing the evidence of his torture. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, Scully turn away, pretending to find something interesting in the grass, but when he looked toward Susan, she was staring at him with a critical eye. She softened, but he could see a steelness settle over her as her eyes went hard. They stowed the car in a pile of brush off the side of the road after they unpacked all their gear. Michael was going to carry the brunt of the load with Susan carrying the rest. Scully was to carry their water and food while Mulder was to carry himself. He protested, but Scully silenced him with a look. One thing each did have was a gun. Michael and Susan lugged shotguns while Mulder and Scully each had a rifle. Just in case. Ruffus led the way as they started into the forest toward McKeen Lake, about twenty miles south of the Canadian border. *** The agents were about two hours into the hike when they decided to stop. Mulder was making a good effort, but you didn't need Susan's extra sense to see that he wasn't faring too well. "Mulder, do you think you're going to be able to make it?" Scully asked. He was huffing and puffing as if he had just run ten miles. "I don't know, but I have to, don't I?" Scully furrowed her brows, looking away toward Ruffus. He was impatient and annoyed that they had stopped. "Mulder," she said looking back at him. "We can stop now and go back, if that's what you want." She smiled. "I mean, I wouldn't want you to feel left out of the decision process." He cracked a tired smile. "No, you guys seem to know what you're doing, I'll go along for now. You'll know when I don't agree." She snorted. "I'm sure we will." He grinned. Yeah, they were going to make it. Now, he just had to play his part, as well. Susan swiped a hand over her forehead She was soaking wet and loving it. She hadn't been out for a run in weeks and her body was begging for it. She could feel her muscles screaming for use, but she had to maintain a steady pace for the rest of the group. Michael should try running, but he hated it. Only Ruffus, who jogged with her every day knew how she was feeling. She looked up when he half howled half barked at them to get a move on. "Thirsty?" Michael asked, coming to sit next to her on a log. She took the water bottle he offered, took a brief swig then whistled for Ruffus. She poured it out while he drank from the stream. "Ready to get going again?" she asked. "I am, but I don't know how Mulder's going to make it. We have a few hours ahead of us." "Mmm," Susan answered. "We thought of every scenario, but didn't take into consideration Mulder's state when we found him." They were watching Mulder and Scully sitting a few yards away sharing a bottle of water and eating a cereal bar. "How're they doing?" Michael asked with a bump of his shoulder against hers. "They're on their way to recovery," Susan responded fondly. "Things'll get better when we get to the cabin. Everyone will get a chance to relax a bit." Susan let out a huff. "What?" he asked turning to her. "I doubt I'll be able to really relax, I have to keep a constant surveillance of the area," she stated. He shrugged. "You can do that and relax at the same time." Susan leaned against him, a smile on her face. "Yeah, but I'm really looking forward to taking a dip in the lake." She wiped her hand over her forehead again. He unconsciously did the same. "Yeah, it's hotter'en hell, eh?" "And us with no air conditioning at the cabin." "You mean no electricity, don't you?" "God, why did we put this place in the middle of nowhere?" Susan asked. "Because of your paranoia and your concerns over this so called invasion that's supposed to take place," Michael said. Susan turned her body to look at him, to find him smiling at her. His hair was soaking wet causing it to curl on the ends. It appeared darker than it really was and a sheen of sweat covered his handsome face. God, if they were alone, she'd tackle him right here in the woods. It's not as if they hadn't done that before. Michael, who could sense her growing arousal, purposefully thought about previous encounters. A slow flush rose over Susan's face and Michael smiled devilishly. "God, you do not fight fair," she said in a husky voice. Michael's grin widened. "What, you don't think I want to take you right now and." "How much farther do we have to go?" Scully asked. Michael and Susan jumped. "What?" Scully asked. "Nothing," Susan mumbled. "We have about another two to three hours of hiking left if we keep up this pace," Michael said, looking up at her. Mulder groaned behind them. Scully half turned to look behind her. "Well, if we expect to get there before sundown, we'd better get going, but I don't know how much longer Mulder will last." While she spoke, he came up behind her. "I'll make it, don't worry about me." Michael and Susan studied him for a moment before they both stood. "Mulder," Scully sighed. "Scully really, I'm not faking it. I'm worn out, but I'm doing all right." She looked at him for almost a full minute before she nodded. "Fine, let's go then." *** 5:30 PM One and one half mile east of McKeen Lake Mulder tripped over a root, but Michael grabbed his elbow before he had a chance to go down. "You all right, man?" Michael asked as he helped right him. "Yeah," he breathed out, shaking Michael's hand loose. Leaning over, his hands on his knees, he let his head hang down. "Mulder?" Scully asked. "What's the matter?" "My, my," he said, out of breath. "My chest hurts." "What's going on?" Susan asked, coming up besides him. "He says his chest hurts," Michael stated. "Mulder, tell me what it feels like," Scully said. "Like," he said. "Like I was running at top speed in zero degree weather." "Is your mouth watering?" Scully asked. "Yeah," he said. "And I think I'm wheezing." "He's having an asthma attack?" Michael asked. "I don't have asthma." Susan knelt down in front of him. "We only have a little more to go, do you think you can make it?" He looked at her, still doubled over. The redness of his eyes and the flush of his face answered his question. She could feel his pain and the burning in his chest. "All right, Mulder, this is what I'm going to do." She looked up at Michael then over to Scully; her fear and helplessness was radiating off of her so much that she was sure Michael could pick it up, too. "Michael obviously can't carry you the rest of the way, so I'm going to try something." Scully gave her a sharp look. "I didn't try it earlier, because I don't know how long I can hold it." "What, what are you going to do?" he asked. His breathing hadn't gotten any better. "I've only done this once and it was with Michael. My link with him is strong, and I no longer have one with you, so I think it's going to be a lot harder to hold." "Susan," Michael said. "Are you sure you should do this?" "Don't worry love, I wouldn't try it if I wasn't sure." "What are you going to do?" Scully asked this time. She looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "Mulder, I'm going to try to share some of your pain. It should lessen your burden making it easier for you to finish the hike." "How are you going to do that?" he asked. He still couldn't believe how strong she had become in such a short period of time. "But, Susan, aren't your afraid it's going to slow you down, too?" Scully asked. She wasn't sure she liked this scenario. She wanted to be the one to help him. She didn't like the idea of being on the sidelines when it came to helping Mulder. "No," Susan answered. "I'm a hell of a lot stronger than Mulder right now and my endurance has always been stronger than his." "Now you rub it in my face," he said with a weak laugh. "When I can't defend myself." She smiled. "Mulder, I want you to look at me, center all your attention on my eyes, OK?" He nodded. She reached out to cup his face, the scabs were starting to blend in with his stubble. "Take a deep breath and release it slowly. When you do, you should notice that it's a lot easier to breath." Mulder did as she asked and found the tightness and burning starting to recede. It wasn't all gone, but it was tolerable, almost non-existent. Scully saw Susan wince and lose her balance before she quickly righted herself. "Better?" Susan asked, her voice sounding slightly strained. "Yeah," Mulder said. Susan's hand fell away as he stood up straight. "I feel pretty good, actually. "Good, come on then, let's get going," Susan said, standing, acting as if nothing was wrong. "Are you Ok?" Scully asked. "Yeah, don't worry about me, I could probably run the rest of the way and be Ok." Scully gave her doubtful look. "Really, I'm fine." She looked at Michael who was watching her with his hands crossed over his chest. "Jesus, Susan," Mulder said. "Scully and I should keep you around for all the times she hurts herself." "Me?" Scully almost shouted. "You're the one who's been winding up in the hospital after almost every case this year!" Mulder smiled at her. "Those don't count." "Don't count, what world do you live on?" "Don't even get me started, Scully. I don't want to remind you of all the times you've been knocked on the head." He started to walk away with an almost spring in his step. "Mulder," Scully said, chasing after him. "Need I count all the times I had to sit next to you in a hospital bed. Do tobacco beetles ring a bell?" Their voices started to fade as they headed away from Michael and Susan. Susan started to follow them, but Michael stopped her with a hand on her arm. "I thought you were going to share his pain, not take almost all of it." He did not look pleased. "Mike, relax. It's not that bad once you get used to it." He frowned. "You know you can't lie to me." Susan licked her lips. "Fine, yes it does hurt and yes I feel like I'm having a very hard time breathing, but I know that it's only in my head. I'm not really in pain," she explained. "I just have to keep reminding myself of that." Michael did not like this one bit and she knew it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Arguing with her was a waste of time. "Fine, but don't even think about going at the same pace you were before. We can lag behind. Ruffus knows the way, he can lead them." Any energy she had the last time they stopped was gone and she was in no shape to argue with time. "All right, love. We'll stroll if that will make you happy." He nodded. "But, I don't think we should slow our pace too much." "Why's that?" "Because we have a visitor at the cabin. Part 25 Michael frowned at her. "Who's at the cabin?" he asked. She gave him a toothy grin. "Who else knows about this place?" His frown deepened. "Who else knows about this..." Michael let his head roll back on his shoulders. "Awe man!" He practically stamped his feet. "What's he doing here?" Mulder and Scully, noticing that Michael and Susan weren't with them turned around and headed back toward them. Ruffus yelped his disapproval. "I don't know what he's doing here. I can't get a good lock on him, maintain a hold on Mulder's pain and keep a surveillance of the area without dropping something." "Somebody's at the cabin?" Mulder asked coming up beside Michael. He ignored her. "Then stop surveying the area for a minute and focus on him" "WHO?" Mulder asked. They turned to him, as if they hadn't realized he was there. "Who's at the cabin?" Scully asked. Michael sighed. "My brother, Ryan." "And this is a problem?" Susan nodded. "Yeah, he's a nosy sonofabitch. No offense, Mike." He nodded. "And he's going to want to know basically every detail about why we're here." "So, tell him the truth," Mulder offered. "I was abducted by aliens, turned over to a covert faction of our government that is attempting to make super soldiers who have empathic abilities like you." Scully raised her eyebrows at him. "Super soldiers?" she asked. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" He shrugged. "They want someone who is tough like Xena." Susan and Scully just stared at him. "But I know you two can kick her ass." Susan and Scully exchanged grins, then turned back to Mulder. "Damn straight!" they agreed. "Excuse me," Michael interjected. "Can we get back to the point?" Still smiling, Susan turned to him. "Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. Michael shook his head at her. "So what are we going to tell him?" Susan was looking in the direction of a plume of smoke. "He's cooking," she stated. The agents turned in that direction. They all heard Mulder's stomach growl and chuckled. "Hey, I'm hungry," he said defensively. Scully smiled at him fondly. "You know," Susan said squinting. "From what I'm getting, I don't think he'll really care why we're here." Michael touched her arm. "You got `im?" "Yeah, just for a moment, I don't like not knowing what's around us, but yeah, I got a pretty good focus on him." "What are you getting?" Scully asked. Mulder was watching the action, still not believing Scully was so accepting of Susan's gift. Skeptic turned believer? Was it possible? "He is not very happy." "Why?" Michael asked. "Molly threw him out," she said. "Who's Molly?" Scully asked. She looked at her, a sad expression on his face. "His wife." *** 7:20 PM "HEY STRANGER!" Michael shouted toward the figure at a brick barbecue. He turned around in surprise, nearly sacrificing his burger to the hamburger gods. "Mikey?" Scully and Mulder turned to each other. "Mikey?" he asked. Scully just gave him an amused upturn of her lips. Susan leaned into them. "I know, I had the same reaction the first time I heard it, too." The brothers embraced in the fashion only known to `manly men'. Crotches were a specific distance apart so that only their upper bodies touched. They gave each other the customary three pats on the back before they moved away. Michael could smell alcohol on his breath. "Susan?" Ryan asked as he stepped aside. If one didn't know that Ryan was Michael's brother, they would have sworn he was an older twin. He looked almost exactly like Michael, except that Ryan had gray hair at his temples and his eyes weren't as bright as Michael's. As a matter of fact, at closer inspection, they didn't really look that alike. Ryan's face was slightly flushed and puffy and his eyes were a dull blue and red rimmed. His hands trembled at his sides as if he wasn't sure what to do with them. He had all the tell tale signs of a life long drinker. She smiled. "Good to see you again," she said. "Yeah," he said without much enthusiasm. "Who are your friends?" Mulder and Scully stepped forward, introducing themselves. Releasing Mulder's handshake he asked. "What happened to your face?" Mulder glanced at Scully then back to Ryan. "So, I have a big nose, I was born this way." Susan smiled, shaking her head. Ryan was about to respond, but Michael stepped in. "So, Ryan, what'cha cookin'?" "Huh?" he asked. "What are you cooking? Got enough for the rest of us?" "Yeah, I got more back in the cabin. Why don't you guys stow away your gear and I'll put more burgers on the grill." They all nodded and followed Ryan toward the cabin. The cabin was just that, a cabin. Nothing fancy, just a wooden structure. Now, the view, that was something altogether different. The cabin sat in a valley surrounded by white capped mountains, high enough to maintain their snow covered peaked throughout the summer. About 30 yards from the front porch was a deck and lake McKeen. "How long you been here?" Michael asked. Ryan didn't look at him. "About two days. I've got the room in the back," he said. "I'll move out if you want." Susan and Michael looked at each other as if to ask `what is going on?' "No, that's all right," Michael said. "Dana, why don't you guys take the other room, Susie and I'll take the bed in the back." "It's back this way," Ryan said, leading them. The cabin had two bedrooms, each with a full size bed, a living room with a full size bed off toward the back of the cabin, and a kitchen. The `facilities' were out in an outhouse, which Susan despised. There was an outdoor shower for the summer and a large bathtub for the winter. Supplies and canned food were kept under the cabin in a crawl space along with enough weaponry and ammunition to keep any invaders back. The supplies were flown in via helicopter by a friend of a friend who doesn't ask questions as long as you've got the cash. Water came from a pump in the back and heat was provided by a wood burning stove in the kitchen (also serving as their stove in the winter) and a fireplace in the living room. Nothing fancy, just practical. "What's this?" Michael asked Ryan as he came into the kitchen. Michael was holding up an empty whiskey bottle. "Fuck off," Ryan told him. Michael just nodded. "So what, she throw you out. again?" Ryan looked at him through his eyebrows. "I said Fuck off." "Jesus Christ, Ryan, you were just about to hit your two year anniversary of sobriety! What the hell's the matter with you?" Ryan just looked at him. "God man, if you were having trouble, you coulda called me." Ryan snorted. "I did, but you weren't home." Michael ran a hand over his face. Of course he wasn't home, he was out hunting for Mulder. "Well, you coulda called my cell phone." He huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I guess I coulda done that, I musta forgot." "What happened?" Ryan shook his head. "Down sizing." Michael tisked. "Ryan, you know Susie and I would do anything to help you with Molly and the kids." "I don't want your fuckin' help supporting my family." "What's the smell?" Scully asked coming into the room. "Is something burning?" "Shit!" Ryan swore, taking off outside where his burgers were cooking. Michael picked up the rest of the package that was sitting in a cooler beside the kitchen table and followed him out. Susan didn't really do anything with their packs, but throw them on the bed. She'd let Michael take care of it later. He'd only rearrange everything, anyway. With a deep breath, she allowed herself to fall back on the couch. A cloud of dust puffed out causing her to cough, worsening the ache in her chest. Mulder and Scully watched Michael and Ryan argue out by the barbecue. They were almost to the point of pushing each other around. "Do you think one of us should go out there?" Scully asked Susan. "No," Susan sighed, sitting up. "Michael knows that if he got into a fight with his brother I would make him sleep on the couch." Mulder laughed. "That would make me do anything you wanted." Susan laughed weakly. "Yeah, I remember that," she said, rubbing her temples. Great, she was getting a headache. "Susan, are you all right?" Scully asked, sitting beside her. She nodded. "I think everything is just getting to me." Mulder sighed. "Can you just give me a few minutes to take something before you release what ever you have over me?" "I don't like the idea of knowing you are in so much pain," she said. "Well, right now, we need your expertise and you're no help if your senses are dulled." She nodded reluctantly. "Go take something. We'll eat and then I'll release you to go on your merry way." He watched her lay back again, throwing a hand over her eyes. *** 8:23 PM Dinner consisted of hamburgers and beans. Not really a culinary delight, but Mulder was loving it. It felt like eternity since the last time he ate without being nauseous. The only thing that dampened his joy was watching Susan push her food around her plate and hand Ruffus her half eaten burger. "Well," Mulder said, putting his fork down. "I think I'll get ready for bed." Everyone looked at him. The table had been quiet throughout the meal and Mulder's sudden speech surprised them. "I'm not used to hiking so far and I'm bushed. Besides, I don't want to waste the candles and I know I'll probably be up at dawn anyway." He knew he was babbling, but didn't know how to stop. "Susan can I talk to you for a minute?" He walked out of the room, not waiting for an answer. Ryan watched them suspiciously. Susan closed the bedroom door behind her. "The vicodin taking affect yet?" she asked sounding very tired herself. He nodded. "What do you want me to do?" She licked her lips. "Why don't you just lay down, get ready for bed. You may pass out." He nodded again. "Sounds like a fun way to end an evening." He pulled his shirt over his head and Susan closed her eyes briefly when she saw the ropy scars. She opened them just as he was reaching to undo the top button of his jeans. He looked up at her, expectantly. Her mind was not that sharp, so she didn't get his silent request. "I didn't know you still liked to watch." She frowned then rolled her eyes. "It's not like I get turned on by you anymore." He gave her a puppy dog pout. "Really? And here I thought you were going to dump Michael so we could run away together." "As if. Dana would kick my ass." He smiled and dropped his drawers. Beneath his jeans were red and white poka dotted boxers. He didn't like the fact that she chuckled. "You would think Scully would have picked out sexier underwear for me." Susan grinned. "Sorry, we couldn't find any edible underwear." He smiled. "Too bad." "Shut up and lay down." He leered at her. "You were always one to get down to business." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Me? Why do we have different memories about this?" He shook his head innocently as he pulled down the blankets, getting under the top sheet. It was hot and he doubted either he or Scully were going to want the blankets. "Probably because I couldn't seem to make it through the foreplay." She laughed. "Oh and that's my fault?" He made himself comfortable. "Of course it is." She just nodded. He took a deep breath. "I'm ready whenever you are." When Scully entered the room, about five minutes later, Susan was leaning over him, her lips on his forehead, eyes closed. Mulder was sound asleep. Scully wondered if she was supposed to be jealous, but wasn't surprised that she wasn't. Susan took a deep breath and moved away. She sat on the bed at Mulder's hip. "His whole life is such pain," Susan murmured. Scully leaned against the door jamb, her arms crossed over her chest. "I wanted nothing more for him than to be happy." Scully pushed herself off the wall to stand next to bed. "I would like to think he is." Susan looked up at her, a small smile on her face. "He is," she said, reaching up to touch Scully's belly. She looked down at Susan's hand, the sounds of crickets filling the air. "Well, I guess I should go, let you get some sleep," she said, standing. Scully nodded. After Susan closed the door behind her, Scully looked down at the sleeping man before her. She found comfort in the fact that Susan cared for him as much as she did. She no longer felt afraid of what would happen to him if he lost her. She knew he would be taken care of, along with her baby. She rested her hand on her belly, the same place Susan had touched before. She finally trusted someone other than Mulder. Scully shook herself out of her reverie and got ready for bed. She wanted to wash up, but was just too tired. The only strength she could muster was to venture out to the outhouse. She hadn't realized she was so tired. She removed her clothes and put on a shirt she borrowed from Michael. It seemed that both she and Mulder would be being wearing Michael's clothes for awhile. She smiled at the image of Mulder in one of Michael's tank tops. He had lost a lot of the muscle tone he had earlier and would be swimming in one of his shirts. She knew that once he was feeling better he'd be doing everything in his power to get that look back. One thing was for sure, Mulder was vain. With a soft sigh, Scully positioned herself alongside Mulder so that the front of her entire body was touching his. It was warm, but she needed to feel him. She placed her hand on his chest, watching for a moment as it rose and fell with his breathing before she turned to snuff out the candle Susan had brought in with her. The only light was from the moon streaming in through the window at the foot of the bed. For the first time in months, Scully allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep. *** Susan closed the door behind her to find the living room dark. She looked toward the back of the cabin to the only light in the room, a small candle beside the full size bed. Michael turned to her as he pulled off the blankets. "I guess we're going to bed?" Susan asked, walking over to him. He smiled while he folded the blankets, dropping them on the foot of the bed, leaving the top sheet for them. "Do you have anything else you'd rather do?" She smiled at him. "Actually, yes." He raised his eyebrows. "I'm starving." He snorted. "Gee, I wonder why. Could it be because Ruffus ate most of your dinner?" The dog in question laying against the front door, lifted his head at the sound of his name then realized he wasn't being called and dropped it back down on his paws. "Could be," Susan said. "I think there's some leftovers on the counter. I was going to give it to Ruffus in the morning, but I don't think he'll mind sharing," Michael said, indicating the food with a lift of his chin. Susan ate quickly as she watched Michael get ready for bed and shave by candle light. She smiled to himself. `He was shaving before he went to bed,' she thought. `I wonder what he's hoping to get tonight.' Michael knew with her fair skin, Susan got chafed pretty easily. They learned the hard way. He turned to look at her. "What?" She just shook her head and put away the rest of the food before she joined him in bed. Both were lying on their backs looking up at the ceiling, the sheet up to their chests. Watching out of the corner of his eye as she hid a yawn behind her hand, Michael asked the obvious question, "Tired?" "Mmmm," Susan hummed. "Mulder took a lot out of me today." He nodded. "Why?" He shook his head, innocently. "No reason." She chuckled. "Yeah, right." Michael rolled onto his side and rested his head on his hand. "I didn't mean anything solicitous by that remark." She turned on her side, too, so she could see his face clearly. "Solicitous?" He grinned. "Sooooo," Susan drew out as she ran a finger along his jaw. "What do you want to do, alone, in the dark?" The flickering light from the candle made her smile look that more seductive. "Actually," Michael said, taking her hand. "I was wondering if you wanted to do any of our mental exercises." He looked at her hopefully. She pouted. "But I'm tired." "I know," Michael said. "But I thought it might be good, considering you've been using your gift a lot. It might do you some good to flex your mental muscles." She groaned. "Oh, come on," he begged. She sighed. "Why do you like to do this so much?" Michael shrugged. "Because it's fun." "Fine." "Great," Michael said, moving closer to her. "How about I block you and you try to make me lose my block and tell me what word I'm thinking of." She looked at him for a beat. "Fine," she said placing a hand on his bare chest. "Do I get to touch you?" Michael nodded. "The first time around. Then let's see if you can do it without touching me." "Tell me when," Susan said. Michael took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Susan immediately felt him leave her extra senses. She hated that. One thing she loved more than anything in the word was feeling Michael, really feeling him. He opened his eyes and said, "Go." Susan stared into his eyes, concentrating. She could feel her body tighten as all her focus turned toward the man laying beside her. "You're fighting me," she said in a strained voice. "I am," he whispered. "I taught you well, young jedi." Michael smiled and felt his block slip. "Hey, that's cheating. No fair distracting me." She didn't respond. That small slip allowed her to get her mental fingers under the wall he erected and as soon as she got a good hold, it was easily pushed aside. "Fungus." She frowned. "That's the word you were thinking of? Fungus?" He bobbed his head up and down. "I was trying to think of a word that you couldn't just guess." She leaned back, giving him a dubious look. "Fungus." He rolled his eyes at her. "OK, let's do it again. That was too simple." "How do you want to do it?" "You." He pointed at her. "Have to do it without touching me." She stuck out her lower lip. "But I like to touch you when we do IT." He didn't dignify that with a response. Susan huffed out a breath. "Fine, just say go." Michael licked his lips, moved his neck from side to side and said, "GO." Again, Susan focused her attention on his eyes. It was like the saying goes: The eyes are windows to the soul. All her muscles flexed and she could see that Michael was working hard to fight her. She gritted her teeth, scrunching up her face in the process. A tear was forming in his wall and she felt it. Just a little bit more. "Pffftt." Her eyes widened. Whatever Michael was using to maintain his hold was forgotten as he looked at her with a incredulous grin. "Did you just?" She put a hand over her mouth, her shoulders starting to shake. Michael barked out a laugh. "Oh my God. I can't believe you just did that!!" Laughed erupted out of Susan in an uncontrolled fit of giggles. "YOU FARTED!" Susan nodded, her face full of mirth. "OH MY GOD!" Both of them were laughing hysterically, unable to keep any of their chuckles inside. Michael tried to rein in his guffaws, but with little effect. "Snort!" Susan let out with a very uncharacteristic hackle. "YOU JUST SNORTED!!" Michael couldn't respond verbally, so he just nodded. Suddenly, they heard a thumping on the wall. "HEY YOU TWO SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" That was Ryan. His outburst just caused the couple to laugh harder and louder. Susan put both hands over her mouth in an attempt to shut herself up, but all it did was cause her to find the situation more absurd. In response, she pounded her feet on the bed. "Must have been the beans," Michael said, causing them both to lose it all over again. *** Dawn, the next morning. Scully woke to the sounds of birds and a warmth on her cheek. She also had the painful feeling of numbness in her left hand where it had fallen asleep. She started to reach with her right hand to move her left, when she realized her pillow was moving. Mulder. She was laying with her head on Mulder's chest. She lifted her head slightly to see him looking down at her, a small smile on her face. "Hey," he said softly. "Hey." "You feeling OK?" She nodded. "Yeah, I didn't really have morning sickness, except for a few times." "What about the dizziness?" he asked, stroking her hair. She shook her head. "Not anymore." His only answer was to nod. Scully pushed herself up so she could see his face better. "What?" Mulder shrugged. "I just wish I could have been there." She sighed. "Mulder, we've been through this." "I know, but." "You would have liked to hold my hair back while I tossed my cookies?" He looked at her. "Tossed your cookies?" he asked. "Is that the scientific term for that?" She sat up, facing him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes," she said simply. He started to chuckle, but it turned into a wince. Scully gave him a pointed look. "Your chest still hurts?" He nodded. "Yeah, I don't know how long it's going to be before I start to feel like a human again." Scully chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I wish we could have gotten some x-rays done before we got up here." "And how were we supposed to get that done?" She shrugged. "We could have used Susan's powers of persuasion." "Maybe, but we still may have drawn unneeded attention to ourselves." "I guess you're right," Scully agreed. Mulder slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "Of course I'm right, I'm always right," he said tossing the sheet aside before he stood. "Where are you going?" Scully asked. Mulder paused at the door. "I have to use the latrine." Scully watched him leave and close the door behind him. The few mornings they awoke together, he always kissed her good morning. She ran a finger over her lips. Maybe he was still a little unsure of things, she guessed. Well, she'd have to put an end to that. *** 11:03 AM 85 degrees Susan and Scully were lying on the deck, each wearing a bathing suit and dark sunglasses. At the edge of the deck, were the `MEN' who were trying to fish. The emphasis is on the word trying. Michael and Ryan had fished before, but Mulder hadn't done it in years and was a little rusty. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't feeling up to par and Ryan and Michael kept bickering. "It's not supposed to go like that," Ryan said for about the four hundredth time. "I don't give a rat's ass how it's supposed to go," Michael said, tossing out his line. "This is how I like to do it." "Fine," Ryan said, gruffly. "But if you don't catch anything, don't blame me." Scully and Susan glanced at each and rolled their eyes. From their position, they could see and hear the guys perfectly without actually being close enough to get involved. Michael had mentioned earlier that Scully and Susan were going to get mean sunburns if they let themselves sit and bake, but Susan shut him up by holding up a bottle of SPF30. "What's the point of sunbathing if you're not going to get a tan?" Mulder asked. Scully answered for both the women. "We aren't tanning because it's bad for you, but it's a nice hot day and we thought it might be nice to just sit and relax in the sun." Susan nodded. "Yeah, what she said." Scully looked up to see Susan opening a bag of cheese puffs. "Oh, no." Susan looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "What?" "Why did you have to get those?" Susan gave her an evil grin. "What, you want some?" she asked, holding the bag and swinging it from side to side. "You truly are the devil, you know that?" Scully said reaching for the bag. "Mmmm," was all Susan could say because her mouth was full. In a matter of minutes, both their fingers were covered in yellow cheese. "WATCH OUT!! GET IT!!" One of the men shouted. It was followed by the sound of thumping and a mad scramble. "What the hell?" Susan asked. The woman sat up to see Michael and Mulder frantically trying to catch a fish that was flopping around on the deck. Would Mulder be Curly or Moe? Ryan came from the side diving to catch the poor creature. Mulder and Michael jumped to the side causing them to slam into each other. Mulder teetered on the edge of the deck, desperately grabbing at Michael, but it was too late, he started to fall back. Michael's arm shot out, getting a hand on the front of his shirt, but Mulder's backward momentum was too far along and he fell overboard, pulling Michael with him. For half a moment there was no other sound than birds, which was quickly joined by Susan and Scully's laughter. "Oh, my, God," Scully groaned. "Jesus, such grace," Susan said. Scully shook her head. "And to think I'm carrying a child with one of their genes." Susan chuckled. "Hopefully, your child will inherit your sense of balance." "One can only hope." Susan nodded. "I hope my child won't get Michael's knack to hurt himself." Scully agreed. "Yeah, but let's hope he or she can cook like Mike." Susan smiled. "Yeah. Oh shit!" Scully frowned. "What?" She ran a hand over her eyes. "Susan? What's the matter?" "I just realized something." Susan dropped her hand to look at Scully. "What?" "I forgot to ask you to refill my birth control pills." Scully's eyes widened. "Are you?" Susan shook her head. "No." "Are you sure?" She pursed her lips. "No, I can't be positive, but I'm pretty sure I'm not." Scully unconsciously rested a hand on her belly. "Would that be a problem?" Susan took in a deep breath. "No, but I was hoping that the next time I got pregnant, I'd be married." Scully frowned. "No offense, but I got pregnant by mistake last time and it didn't end well. I was just hoping that by the next time I got pregnant, I'd be married." Scully sighed, then looked back toward the deck. Mulder, chuckling, was being pulled out of the water by a soaking wet Michael, who was having a problem bringing him up because he was laughing so hard. Ryan was leaning against a pole, his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing a very disapproving looking on his face. Clearly, he didn't see what was so funny about the situation. The fish had gotten away and now Mulder and Michael were wet and going to have to change. "Have you set a date?" Scully asked, returning her attention to Susan. Susan rolled a shoulder. "Kinda, we agreed that when we get home, we're going to fly to Vegas." Scully's eyes widened in horror. "Vegas?" Susan grinned. "Yeah, we just have to decide whether we want to be married by Elvis or Elvira." "Oh, God. Please don't let Mulder know about this." Susan's grin widened and held up her hand, her index and middle finger in the boy scout way. "I'll keep my mouth shut." Scully leaned back on her hands so she could see the men clearly. Michael had removed his shirt and was trying to rebait his hook. Mulder just plopped himself down on the deck saying he was just going to watch, waving off Michael's concern. "He's going to get a sunburn," Susan said. "But man, doesn't he look good without a shirt?" She looked at Scully for confirmation. "Huh?" Scully gave her a lopsided smile. "What?" Susan asked. Scully had gone from joyful to melancholy faster than she could say shit. "How did he propose?" Scully asked suddenly. "Who?" Susan asked, confused. Scully's eyebrows formed that crease between them. "Michael, who else would I be asking about?" Susan licked her lips. "No, of course I knew you meant Michael. Why do you want to know?" Scully studied her for a moment before she spoke. "Curious." Susan nodded thoughtfully. "Well," she said, leaning back to reach for her bottle of water. "It was very sweet." Scully watched her intently. "Who would have known Michael was such a romantic." Scully gave her an incredulous look. "Oh, I could tell that right off the bat. All you have to do is see the way he looks at you." "Really?" she almost squealed. Scully laughed. "Yeah, really." Susan grinned. "It was about six months after we got together... Part 26 Susan grinned. "It was about six months after we got together." She glanced over to the man she was discussing, the smile fading into a look of fond of remembrance. She laid back down, but turned on her side so she could see Scully clearly. Her head was supported by her hand. "We had just made love and were basking in the afterglow," she said with a bit of sarcasm. For some reason, unlike a lot of women she had known in college, she was never comfortable talking about her sex life, it was always considered a private matter. Scully made herself comfortable, laying in pretty much the same manor as Susan. She had a feeling this was going to be a long story. Susan watched Scully straighten her towel before she continued. "We were at his apartment, we hadn't found out about the house and money yet." She smiled. "God, I loved his apartment. He had pretty good taste for a guy and his bed was so inviting." Scully grinned, she could imagine how inviting Susan saw it. "Any way," Susan said, picking up on Scully's feelings about her and Michael's bed. "We were lying facing each other, kinda like we are now." She indicated the space between them with a flick of her hand. "But we were a lot closer, a lot sweatier and a lot more out of breath. And were a lot less dressed." Scully shook her head, smiling. "I still don't know how he managed to plan everything without me having some idea of what he had in mind," she pondered. "We weren't doing any of our mental exercises yet, so he didn't know how to block me. So, he's lying there, with a goofy smile on his face when he reaches under his pillow and pulls out something." Susan brushed her hair out of her face. She really should have put it up, it was so hot out, that the hair on the nape of her neck was all wet due to her sweating. "He holds his fist out towards me," she says, holding her hand out to Scully. "I gave him a look, and he just shrugged. When I didn't do anything, he told me to hold my hand out. I still hesitated for a minute, but did as he asked. Then, he opens his hand and something drops out and lands in my opened palm." Susan does what she just described Michael doing. "I look down at my hand and low and behold a ring is sitting there. I give him a look, asking what's going on when suddenly, I get a flash." Scully frowned. "A flash?" she asked. Susan grinned. "Yeah, he knew I would get an impression of the ring, so he purposely imprinted a scene on the ring." "How'd he do that?" Susan ran a hand through her hair. "He remembered and thought hard as he held the ring before he gave it to me." Scully shifted her weight so that not all of it was resting on her hip. "What did you see?" Susan looked a her for a moment before she closed her eyes, remembering. >A small dark haired boy and a round gray haired woman are standing in front of a bureau, the boy only coming up to the top drawer. He puts his small hands on the surface, hoping to pull himself up to see more. The woman opens a small chest atop the mahogany furniture and takes out a small piece of jewelry. "What's zat, Gamma?" the boy asks, starting to pull himself up for a better look. The woman smiles a sad smile at the object before she directs her attention to the boy. Her speech is laced with the accent of a land centuries old. "Michael, my dear boy," she says, her voice soft and melodic. "When I was a young girl, many years ago, your Grandfather gave this to me." The boy's blue eyes widen at the mention of his father's father who left to go with God that past winter. "Granda gave that to you?" he asks with wonder. It must be very special if Granda gave that to Gamma. The woman smiles at the boy, ruffling his hair before she steps back to lean against the bed, the only other furniture in the room. "It was the day your Granda and I got married." The boys nods, turning to face his Gamma. He knows what married means. It means that you get to fight and not agree but still know that you love each other and can be together forever. "What is it?" "It's a ring," she says simply. "It's supposed to go to the oldest boy in the family." The boy frowns, his lip sticking out. "That's Ryan." It's not fair, just because he's older, he gets to do everything. The boy feels like he wants to cry. Not only does he get to go to the arcade with his friends, but he's gonna get the ring too. The boy's Gamma senses his disappointment, and smile endearingly. He's such a sweet boy, she hopes he never changes. She looks toward the door, hoping no one is coming and leans down so that she is closer to him, her voice a whisper. "I have a secret to tell you, do you promise not to tell?" The boy nods vigorously. He can keep a secret. He never told anyone that Katie didn't go to the mall with her friends, but to the roller rink with Tommy. He knows, he saw her. "Yeah, Gamma, I won't tell nobody." The woman nods. "Good, because this is very important." "I promise," he says holding up his hand. "Cross my heart and hope to die." He makes a cross sign on his chest above his heart. "Stick a needle in my eye." "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that, Michael." "Yes, Gamma." She again, looks toward the door then back to the boy. "I'm not going to give this to Ryan." "You're not?" he breaths in disbelief. She shakes her head. "No, I'm going to give it to you." His mouth drops open and his eyes widen for the second time that night. "Me?" The woman nods. "Yes, you, Michael. But you must promise me something before I give it to you." "Anything, Gamma. I promise." She smiles at her dear sweet grandson who reminds her so much of his father when he was that age. "You must promise not to tell anyone I gave this to you and you must promise to only give this to the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, the woman you want to marry." The boy looks at her in confusion, his brows knitting together. "But Gamma, how will I know who that is?" Michael's Gamma can only answer two words, "You'll know." The scene flashes forward many years later to show Michael dressed in a dark charcoal gray suit, the one he wore the day he met Susan. He's standing before his dresser, holding the ring between the thumbs and forefingers of his hands. He looks up into the mirror atop the dresser and whispers, "You were right, Gamma, I know."< Susan opened her eyes to see Scully wiping a tear away. Scully gave her a lopsided smile. "It must be the hormones." Susan chuckled. "Sure, that's what it is." "That's beautiful, Susan," Scully said. "How did you react?" "Well," Susan said. "Before or after I jumped him?" Scully laughed. "Before." "I burst into tears." Later that evening "And he just disappeared? Poof, just like that?" Mulder stated leaning back in his seat at the kitchen table. They had finished their dinner made up of the fish the MEN eventually caught. Ryan had retired to his room, feeling a little out of place among the bickering agents. Susan was perturbed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "No, Mulder, not just like that," she said. "I turned away, looked back, and he was gone." Mulder glanced at Scully who was quiet during this discussion. She wouldn't meet his eyes. He returned his attention to Susan. "So, what? You think this Gabe, is what? An angel?" Susan didn't answer him. Michael slung his arm behind Susan, his hand resting on her shoulder. She was grateful for his comfort and his unquestioning support. Mulder turned to Scully. "And you believe this? Gabe was actually Gabriel, the Archangel?" Scully gave him a blank look. It always bothered her that he could believe the most outlandish stories and come up with the most bizarre theories, but when it came to anything religious, he was an stubborn skeptic. "Susan?" Mulder asked. Susan was getting tired of this conversation. "Yes, Mulder that is what I believe." Mulder looked incredulous. "How can you believe that?" Susan leaned forward. "I sensed something different about him," she stated matter of factly. Mulder shook his head, confused. "How do you know that's not just something They did to him at the facility? You said so yourself that he said that he was the first success they had." "He saved my life. He died for me!" Susan said slamming her palms on the table top. "And I don't need any documented proof that he is what I believe his is. You take almost everything at face value, but you can't accept this. Well you know what? You can just kiss my ass." The room was suddenly eerily quiet. "Susan," Michael whispered. "No, Mike. I'm not going to back down on this." She looked Mulder in the eyes. "I believe that Gabe is what I said he is." Mulder crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree." Susan gave him a hardened look. "Fine, Mulder," she said, standing. "But just remember, he saved your life, too." And with that, she left the room. The rest of the agents avoided eye contact as they cleared the dishes off the table. *** Scully rested her hand on her belly as she looked down at herself. Her stomach was slowly staring to swell and she knew that she was going to start getting uncomfortable soon. She was wondering when she was going to start feeling the baby. She knew that many times women didn't feel their first child until well into their fourth month. She wasn't sure she could last that long. Aside from the night Susan showed her the baby, she was still having a hard time believing it was all real. Maybe when she felt it, it would be real for her. She was still standing there when Mulder came into the room. She didn't turn around to acknowledge him. If he wanted to say something, he would. Mulder was never known for keeping him mouth shut. Pausing at the door, Mulder took in the woman standing before him. On the surface, she appeared to be giving off a maternal glow, whether that was from the candle on the dresser or his imagination, he didn't know. All he knew was that she was beautiful and he had no idea what to do. Almost every waking moment since he got back was filled with thoughts of how he failed her. He should have been there when she found out. He shouldn't have gone to Oregon when he knew she wasn't feeling well. What was more important? An alien spaceship or Scully? Hindsight was always twenty/twenty. Then there were his memories of his time away. He shook his head and crossed the room to the bed. Scully had already turned down the sheets and he just stood there looking at it as if he wasn't sure what it was. He looked up to see Scully watching him. She was standing at the other side of the bed wearing an oversized tee shirt. The idea that he had no strength or current desire to remove that shirt and see what was under it upset him more. Scully must have seen the change in his demeanor, but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure how to approach him on any subject matter and after the conversation at the dinner table and her lack of responses she wasn't sure she wanted to talk to him right now. Would they get past this? She really did not know. Mulder looked away first and climbed into bed. He had just taken some Vicodin and hoped it would do what it had done the previous nights - knock him into a drug induced sleep devoid of nightmares. He wasn't sure he could face them right now. Scully sighed, following Mulder into bed. She wasn't used to sharing a bed with a man without touching him. Both of them stayed to their sides of the bed not crossing the space between. One of them would break soon. She was sure it was going to be messy. She didn't want to talk to him now, seeing that he looked so pathetic and felt like proverbial shit. He was looking like half the man she knew and seemed to have none of the fight left in him. She wasn't sure what scared her more his diminished health or his diminished spirit. Scully blew out the candle. It would be a long time before she fell asleep. *** Susan opened her eyes, not sure what woke her. She was laying spread out on Michael's chest, her head on his shoulder. She could feel Michael's heart racing under her hand. She sensed great distress coming from him and was suddenly bombarded with flashes of explosions and sounds of screaming. Michael moaned in his sleep, his head turning from side to side. Susan slowly sat up, her hand cupping his face. "Mike, wake up," she said softly. "Come on, love, it's only a dream." After shaking him a bit and few more words, Michael's eyes popped open. He breathed in sharply, the world was not yet real to him. "It's OK, it was just a dream," Susan whispered. She could feel the anxiety fading in him, but the sweat caused by his nightmare remained. Pushing Susan away, Michael sat up slowly, his head in his hands. Susan sat next to him, running a hand up and down his back waiting for him to come around. He didn't have many nightmares, but when he did, he would talk to her when he was ready. He dropped his hands into his lap, staring straight ahead. "That was horrible," he murmured. "What was?" she murmured back. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I don't even know if I can explain it." He shook his head. "It was as if I was seeing the future, but it was like something out of The Terminator." Susan continued to rub her hand up and down his back, not saying anything. "And you know how you keep switching points of view in your dreams? I kept doing that. I would see it from my view then it was as if I was watching it from outside myself. There was destruction everywhere; everything was destroyed, on fire, or completely decimated." His voice took on a monotone as he related his dream, devoid of any emotion. "Then I saw her." Susan cocked her head at him. "Who?" "Our daughter." She gulped. A small smile graced his lips. "She looked like you, exactly, but she had my hair. My God, she was beautiful. She was leading a group of men dressed in commando gear. And she had your gift, I could feel it radiating off of her. God, she was so powerful and everyone knew it," he said in a voice filled with awe. "Next to her was a man with dark reddish hair and the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. They were talking to each other, but they weren't." He shook his head. "I can't explain it. They just knew what the other was going to do, you know?" Susan didn't respond, only nodded. "And he called her Shannon and she called him William." "Shannon?" Susan asked. He nodded. "Yeah, and she was beautiful, Susie." He smiled a full fledged grin at her. "And the man, William, he loved her so much it almost hurt. And he had a gift, too. But it wasn't the same as Shannon's" She furrowed her brows. "You got all that from your dream?" "I know it sounds strange, but yeah. That was the impression I got." Susan leaned back against the wall. "Wow, Mike. That was some dream." He turned around to face her, the bottom sheet rumbled around his hips, his chest bare. "I know and it seemed so real." Susan looked down at her hands, a thoughtful expression on her face. "What is it, Susan?" She looked up at him. "What if it wasn't a dream?" He frowned. "What else could it be?" "A premonition." A look of horror crossed his face. "I, I can't imagine a future like that." "Then maybe it was a premonition because you can't imagine it." He shook his head. "No, I refuse to believe a future like that could happen. Besides, I've never had a premonition before." Susan's shoulder's slumped. It's true, he hadn't. "You're right," she said. But how did he know that Mulder and Dana were having a boy? She hadn't told anyone that she knew the sex and she was purposefully keeping that information from Michael. She knew Dana didn't want to know yet and didn't want anyone else to know. Michael couldn't have known. And he couldn't have known that William was the name Dana wanted to name a boy, right? Michael could sense her confusion but didn't know what to make of it. "Susie, come on, talk." She took a deep breath and said, "I haven't been on the pill since my last period." Michael's eyes widened. "Are you..." She shook her head. "No, I'm positive. But I doubt that we're not going to have sex before we get back. And we don't have condoms." He smiled at her. "That's great!" He enveloped her in a breath taking hug. It was breath taking because she couldn't breathe he was holding her so tightly. When he pulled back, he was still grinning. "You know how much I want a baby." She gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, I do." All his joy flew out of him at her less then exuberant response. "You don't want a baby?" She quickly shook her head, reaching a hand out to rest on his chest. "No, it's not that. I would give anything to have your baby, but." She dropped her hand. He frowned. "But what?" "She, he or whatever I have is going to have my gift, you dreamed it yourself. I don't know if I would wish that on my worst enemy." He sighed. They had been through this before again and again. "Susie," he said. "You'll be there for her. You'll teach her," he said. These were words he had said many times in the past. She gave him a smirk. "Her?" "Yeah, you know how much I want a little girl, not that I wouldn't mind having a boy, but a little girl." He shrugged. "I've always wanted to be a Daddy, you know? And have..." Susan cut him off. "Daddy's little girl." He grinned. "Yeah." She shook her head, smiling fondly at him. "And she would look like me but have your dark hair." He bobbed his head up and down, grinning like a fool. "Yeah." "And we'd name her Shannon." He nodded more vigorously. "Yeah! Shannon O'Sullivan has a nice ring to it." She snorted. "Gee, do you think they'll know she's Irish?" He laughed. "You think?" She just shook her head again. He suddenly became serious. "So we're doing this?" She licked her lips before she responded. "Yeah, I think we're going to do this." Michael let out a whoop as he wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't wait to get started. Mulder didn't know how lucky he truly was. *** When Susan woke again, it was still dark out and extremely warm. As awareness came over her, she discovered why she was so warm. After a bought of strenuous lovemaking, Michael practically collapsed on her. Thankfully, he had moved over so he wasn't completely on top of her, but his entire torso still covered her and she was getting warmer by the second. With a little wiggling and more than a little sliding she finally was freed from his two hundred plus pounds and was standing stark naked next to the bed. He was so excited about the prospects of making a baby he practically attacked her. She smiled at the thought of his excitement. He wanted a baby so badly that she was getting caught up in his momentum. Still, she would do whatever she could to make it so her child didn't go through what she did. She took a deep breath. Yeah, she could do this. Getting dressed quickly, but leaving herself barefoot, she headed for the door. Ruffus looked at her expectantly, but she shook her head at him. "Sorry, boy," she whispered. "I'm just going to the bathroom." He cocked his head at her. Sometimes she swore he knew what she was saying. After a beat, he put his head back down on his paws and went back to dreams only known to dogs. On her way to the outhouse, that she despised, a flash of lightning scared the shit out her. It hit several miles away, but the thunder that accompanied it almost made her jump out her skin. A few seconds later another flash illuminated the night sky and thunder rumbled. As a kid she was told to count the space between the flashes and thunder to know how far away the storm was, but they were almost simultaneous, meaning the storm was close. She rushed toward the outhouse. When she got there, she quickly did her thing and started running toward the cabin as the thunder and lighting picked up. Then without warning, the sky opened up. Susan was drenched immediately and she stopped, not seeing the point now in running. It was dark and she knew that she could kill herself if she tripped over something. Another flash broke the night and Susan swore she saw a man at the tree break, but she only saw him out of the corner of her eye. She trained her attention on that area, but didn't sense anything. When another flash came, she saw him clearly. It was Gabe. She was rooted in place, not knowing what to do. The light came again and she saw him turn and walk into the woods. She did the first thing that came into her mind. She took off after him.