From: "Aeryn Delenn" Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 13:50:42 -0400 Subject: story submission Source: direct Title: Here With Me Author: Aeryn Delenn Classification: SR (Mulder/Scully Romance) Rating: PG Spoilers: Requiem; Per Manum Disclaimers: Most characters used belong to 1013 Productions and Chris Carter. They are used without permission, but it was not intended for profit, just for my own enjoyment and hopefully that of others. Summary: A year after Mulder disappeared, Scully is assigned a new case and it turns out to be the last person in the world she expected to have to help. Note: This story does not follow directly with "The X-Files" show storyline. I wrote it before 'This is not Happening' aired and did want to change it because of the emotions and situations that the story explores. The title comes from the Dido song. Every time I hear that song, I can't help thinking about how the words fit the current X-Files storyline. Malen Phillips is a character that seems to find her way into a lot of my stories. She is just another way I have of linking Mulder and Scully, as she knew them both when they were younger. It also gives Scully a female friend her own age, something I think that she needs. Feedback: I would very much like to know that you thought of this story -- good, bad, or indifferent. Input from others is the only way I can grow as a writer. Please send all feedback to writerbabe1013@hotmail.com Archive: Anywhere. Please just notify me and keep all forwarding information intact. Here With Me Special Agent Dana Scully was sitting in her apartment going over files when her phone rang. Reaching over to the end table, she picked up the cordless phone that laid there and hit the button to activate it. "Scully," she said distractedly. "Agent Scully," the voice on the other end replied and Scully at once recognized the deep voice of her current partner, Special Agent John Doggett. "Assistant Director Skinner just called. It seems we have a new case. He wants us to meet him at National Hospital as soon as possible." Scully looked out the window at the heavy rain that was falling. She honestly did not want to go out on a night like this. "Did Skinner say that he absolutely needs both of us there?" "Yes," came the simple reply. "I'll be there as soon as I can," Scully said, sighing internally. She turned off the phone, then turned it back on and quickly dialed a number. It was answered after a few seconds. "Hello," a soft, female voice said. "Malen, John just called with a case. Skinner needs both of us there, so I was wondering . . ." "If I would mind watching Will," Malen finished. "No problem. I'll be right there." "Thank you, Malen. I'll see you when you get here." Scully hung up the phone again, and then got off the couch. Quietly, she crossed the room and headed into the spare room she had converted into a nursery when Will was born. She stood by the crib and looked down at the miracle she thought would never happen. Scully's former partner, Special Agent Fox Mulder, had been the one who had told her not to give up hope. He had even been willing to help her conceive a child through in vitro fertilization before they had gotten romantically involved. But science, where Scully had always placed her faith, had failed. Then somehow, someway, she was granted a miracle and she found herself hearing the news she thought she never would, and on one of the worst days of her life. She found it bitterly ironic that she had found out she was pregnant on the very same day that Mulder had been taken from her. She often wondered if it had been at the same time as well. It was almost like fate, knowing what was going to happen, had given her a way to hold on to Mulder, to give her a visual reminder of her need to find him. But it was not like she needed one. The emptiness was enough. Now the only thing that brought her any joy was Will. She had decided to name her son William Fox because she had wanted to honor his father, as well as her's and Mulder's who had both been named William. William was also Mulder's middle name. She knew that Mulder would dislike her using his despised first name as their son's middle name, but she had not once considered using anything else. She had also listed Will's last name as Mulder, another issue she refused to compromise on. Mulder had been the last one in his direct family line, so she wanted to make sure that his son would carry on the Mulder name. Scully reached out and ran a hand gently over Will's head, being careful not to wake him. She had been grateful that Will had gotten Mulder's dark hair. From the first day she had met Mulder, she had been attracted to his dark good looks, although it had taken her a long time to admit it. Will had also inherited Mulder's hazel eyes, but Will's had a touch of blue that he had gotten from her. It was also obvious that Will had gotten more than his fair share of his parent's intellect. Scully had been worried at first when Will had begun to display signs of intelligence higher than normally shown by other babies his own age -- four months -- but then she remembered that Mulder had a genius level I.Q. and she was only a few points from that herself. Every test had been done on Will since before he was born and they had all shown that he was a healthy, normal, completely human child. Despite her happiness, in the back of her mind she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Still lost in thought, Scully did not hear the knock on the door at first. As it got a little louder, she moved to the front door and pulled it open. Malen Phillips stood on the other side. "I hope I didn't interrupt you feeding Will," Malen said as she walked through the front door. "No, I was just watching him sleep," Scully said, sighing deeply as she wished for the millionth time that Mulder was here with her. Malen reached out and laid a hand on Scully's arm. "We'll find him, Dana. Please don't give up hope. I know we are going to find him." Scully looked at Malen and wondered how Malen had known what she was thinking about. "I know, but it has been almost a year now. I try to keep up hope, but some days it is just harder than others." Squeezing Scully's arm, Malen replied, "I know, but you have to keep in mind that Mulder is probably trying his hardest to get back to you. He is not going to give up until he does. Don't give up on him." "I won't. And thank you. Not only for the kick in the pants, but for watching Will." "Like I said before, no problem. Whatever this case is, it must be really important for Walter to bring both you and John in on it." Scully smiled internally. Ever since she had introduced Malen and A.D. Skinner several months earlier, they had taken to each other. Hearing the assistant director being called "Walter" still threw her as she was so used to her boss being addressed in a formal manner. "Hopefully this won't take very long. If it's going to be more than a couple of hours, I'll call you. You already know where everything is, so I should be going. I'm just going to say good-bye to Will," Scully said as she headed back into Will's room. She lowered the side railing on the crib, then bent over and placed a soft kiss on Will's head. "Sleep tight, my love. I'll be home as soon as I can." She lifted the railing into place and then went back into the living room. "I'll see you later, Malen." Malen smiled. "Don't worry, Dana. I'll take good care of him." "I know. Next to Mulder, you are one of the few people I have always trusted," Scully responded as she grabbed her keys and walked out the door. ******************* Scully walked quickly down the corridor of National Hospital, wondering again what could possibly be so important that Skinner was requiring both her and Doggett's presence. Since Will's birth, both Skinner and Doggett had gone out of their way to give her as much time off as she needed. At first she had resented it, feeling that they were treating her this way because she was a woman. She soon realized that they were respecting her need to be with her son despite the fact that she was a single, working mother and her anger turned into gratitude. She also realized that she should expect nothing less from either man. Skinner had become her strongest ally over the past year, and, despite her initial misgivings, Scully had soon realized that Doggett was not only a good agent, but also a good man and a good partner. With bittersweet amusement she had come to see that although there might be a new face in the X-Files office, the balance of beliefs remained. She herself had gone from skeptic to believer, though sometimes a reluctant one, and Doggett had taken over her old role. It did not escape her that it was only after Mulder had disappeared did she truly begin to believe what he had always longed for her to. She often wondered if it was because she and Mulder were now linked through their son. In case the worst happened and Mulder was not returned to her, she wanted their son to know all about his father. She had chosen to adapt the truths she had always believed in to include the ones that Mulder had held on to and to combine his views with hers. Doggett sometimes got as frustrated with her as she had gotten with Mulder, but she knew no other way to cope. As she continued down the corridor, she spotted both Skinner and Doggett standing in the waiting room area. She hurried over to them and at once turned toward Skinner. "All right, what is so important that required me to venture out on a night like this?" Doggett glanced over at Skinner and opened his mouth to say something, but Skinner cut him off. "Agent Scully, why don't you sit down." A wave of impatience overtook Scully and she said shortly, "I don't want to sit down, I want to know what's going on." Skinner and Doggett looked at each other again and this time Doggett spoke up. "Mulder's back, Agent Scully." Scully immediately felt her impatience drain away only to be replaced with about a thousand other emotions. Questions filled her mind and she sank down into one of the nearby chairs under the weight of them. She closed her eyes for a moment and then asked the question that was foremost important to her. "Is he . . .?" she started, and then found she could not continue. "The doctors assured me he is in good health," Skinner replied. Jumping out of her chair, Scully started to head toward the nurses' station with the intent of finding out where Mulder was. As she headed out of the waiting room, she felt a hand grip her arm. Whipping around, she demanded, "What?" Skinner tightened his grip on Scully's arm. "He doesn't remember anything, Scully." "Neither did I when I first came back," Scully countered as she felt her impatience returning. She just wanted to see Mulder. She did not need Skinner telling her something that she had already figured would happen. "No, Scully, when I say anything, I mean anything -- who he is, who I am, even who you are," Skinner said softly, sympathy evident in his voice. "And there's more, I'm afraid." "More?" Scully responded, her impatience quickly turning into anger. Was it not enough that the man she loved was finally returned to her, but without any memory of all they had shared? Skinner took a deep breath and nodded. "From what we have been able to determine, he has been back for at least a month." "A month?" Scully said almost in a whisper. The situation indeed just kept getting worse. "He says that he was admitted to the hospital about a month ago with minor injuries, then was released. He claims is name is Davis Carter and that he is an accountant for a firm here in D.C." Despite what was happening, Scully had to laugh at that. "Mulder doesn't even like to balance his checkbook." Then a thought occurred to her. "How do we know it's really him?" "I had that confirmed before I called you. Every test has come back conclusive," Skinner assured Scully, moving his hand to her shoulder. "Why didn't the hospital contact us a month ago when Mulder was admitted the first time? They were supposed to be on watch for him," Scully inquired. Doggett moved closer and said, "I'm going to have that looked into. It is kind of a mystery why the FBI was contacted this time, but not the last." Scully just shook her head in disbelief and tried to gather her thoughts. No matter if he recognized her or not, she had to see Mulder with her own eyes. It was the only way she could truly believe he was back. She turned toward Skinner again. "I still want to see him." Skinner gave Scully's shoulder a quick squeeze, and then dropped his arm. "I figured you would. He was admitted for a gunshot wound to the arm. It's just a surface wound, but thankfully the paramedics brought him to the hospital anyway or we would not have known that Mulder had been returned," he said as he started to walk down the hallway to the right of the waiting room. Scully followed silently behind Skinner trying to brace herself for seeing Mulder after almost a year. Despite the fact that Skinner had told her that Mulder was in good health, she wanted to be ready for the worst. Skinner stopped in front of a door that was being guarded be an agent that Scully was unfamiliar with. Nodding to the agent, Skinner turned to Scully. Knowing he was asking if she was ready, Scully nodded in return and Skinner pushed the door open, letting her step in ahead of him. Scully's attention was at once drawn to the figure sitting on the bed. As the sound of the door, the person turned and Scully that it was indeed Mulder. Stopping herself from running over to him and enveloping him in a hug, she quickly made a visual assessment. She noticed that he did appear to be healthy, just as Skinner had said, but that he had lost a little weight. She doubted that anyone else would probably have been aware of that fact, but she knew him so well that she noticed the change at once. She saw that Mulder had a bandage sticking out from under the sleeve of the dark blue t-shirt he wore, but no other signs of injury could be seen on his arms or neck. She had avoided more than a glance at his face, but she moved her gaze to it now and her eyes at once locked with Mulder's. As she had a million times before, she found herself becoming lost in the intense, greenish-brown color and she searched them for any hint of recognition. When she found none, it hurt even worse than she thought it would. Then from behind her, she felt Skinner step forward. "Mr. Carter, this is Special Agent Dana Scully. She is the agent that I'm assigning to you for the next 24 hours," Skinner said. At Skinner's words, Scully tore her gaze away from Mulder and fixed it on Skinner. What the hell was he talking about? Why would she need to guard Mulder? Her focus returned to Mulder as he stood up. Scully was momentarily distracted when she noticed that he was wearing jeans and they were quite snug. Mulder had always worn jeans that fit him really well, in all the correct places, and that had always driven her crazy. She found she was still affected by it. Mentally shaking herself, she heard Mulder say, "I don't understand why I need FBI protection." At the sound of Mulder's voice, any lingering doubts that Scully had were completely obliterated. She knew the sound of his voice as well as she knew her own and no one could have been able to imitate the deep timbre of his voice or the inflections he used. "We just want to take all necessary precautions to protect your safety," Skinner replied. "So, I'm stuck here in the hospital for the next 24 hours?" Mulder inquired, his annoyance evident in his voice. "No. You will be taken to a safe house and guarded there." "Where exactly will that be?" "Agent's Scully's home," Skinner responded, then started to head out the door. "I'll go get your doctor to sign your release papers, then you two can be off." Scully stood there for a moment, stunned. How could Skinner not even ask here about all of this and how dare he just assume that she would be willing to do it. "I'll be right back," she muttered. "No problem, Agent Scully." At the sound of Mulder calling her 'Agent Scully', Scully stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. She had heard Mulder say her name so many ways, but never without any feeling behind it. It was unnerving to hear it said that way, especially after not hearing him say it for so long. She nodded and then opened the door. She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Taking Skinner by the arm, she walked down the hallway a little so they were out of earshot of the agent guarding Mulder's room. She turned angrily toward Skinner, "All right, what the hell was that all about?" Skinner gave Scully a sheepish look. "I'm sorry I didn't run this by you, but I just assumed that you would want to have Mulder close by. Someone shot at him and, although he might not be in any further danger, I used that as an opportunity to keep an eye on him. If something does happen, I figured you would be the one who could offer him the most protection. Now that he's home, I'm willing to bet that you'll do whatever it takes to make sure he stays here." Scully closed her eyes again. She knew Skinner was right. She would do anything to keep Mulder back home, but she now had someone else to worry about keeping safe. There was no way she wanted Will to be in any danger. She knew Malen would watch him, but she did not know if she could be away from her son for even one night. Standing there, she felt torn between the two people she loved most in the world. Then a thought occurred to her. Despite the fact that it would tear her up to be away from Will, he had other people to make sure he was loved and cared for. Mulder had no one but her. Skinner or Doggett could watch over him, but they could not love him like she did and that was what he needed the most. Sighing softly, she said, "You're right, I will. And speaking of Will, Malen has him . . ." "I'll go over there as soon as I am done here. Don't worry, Scully. I'll make sure that nothing happens to him. You have my word on that," Skinner said. Looking into his eyes, Scully knew Skinner meant what he said. She knew how badly he had felt when Mulder had been taken since he had been with Mulder at the time. "I know you do. Thank you. Now if you will please excuse me, I need to call Malen." She started to move away when she heard Skinner call her name. "Yes?" "For the time being, let's keep Mulder being back to ourselves. I trust Malen explicitly, but we don't know how secure the hospital lines are." Skinner watched Scully nod, then added, "Also, it might be a good idea to address Mulder as Davis Carter, since that is who he thinks he is. Who knows what might happen if we dump the information on him that he is really someone else, especially after being shot at." Scully started at Skinner for a moment. "It might be the right thing to do, but it doesn't make it any less painful." With that, she turned and walked down the hallway. ******************* Davis Carter woke up with a start and for a moment was disoriented. Looking around the neat and organized living room, he remembered he was currently in the home of Special Agent Dana Scully, the FBI agent who had been assigned to guard him. He thought it was strange that the FBI was taking such an interest in him. True he had been shot, but normally that was a matter for the local police. Although he was confused by the FBI's interest in his case, he had to admit that he did not mind being guarded by the agent they had chosen. There was something about Dana Scully that captured his attention and it was not just her beauty. She radiated an inner strength and decency and, despite that fact he had never seen her before, he knew he could trust her. But it was also more than that. She was the first woman since he had woken up in the hospital a month ago that had captured his attention in a sexual manner and, to be honest, he was more attracted to her than he could ever remember being to another woman. In fact, that was what has caused him to wake up. He had been having a rather explicit and erotic dream about her. The weird thing was that it did not feel like a dream at all. It felt more like a memory. And, even stranger, in the dream she had been calling him Mulder and he had called her by her last name. Where that came from he had no idea. They had also not been in this apartment or in his. They had been making love on a dark, leather sofa and he did not own a leather sofa, nor was the couch he was currently on leather. Getting up, Davis went into the kitchen to get a drink of water, hoping that would help to clear his head. Walking over to the row of cupboards, he immediately opened one and grabbed a glass from inside. Then a thought hit him. How had he known exactly where the glasses were? Maybe he had seen Agent Scully get into the cupboard? No, she had offered him some coffee earlier, but she had opened a different cupboard door to get the mugs. Slightly thrown, Davis put the glass down on the counter and walked back into the living room. He wandered around and occasionally picked up some of the items that were displayed, trying to get a feel for the woman that lived there. As he stopped in front of Agent Scully's desk, he noticed a large photo album sitting there. With his curiosity getting the better of him, he reached out and opened the album. The first couple of pages were of a little red-haired girl that Davis figured was Agent Scully due to the age of the photos. The photos of her as a child made him smile, but for some reason, they also made him sad. He continued to flip through the book and watched Agent Scully grow up before his eyes. Many of the photos showed her with two boys, one that looked a little older and one a little younger, and another red-haired girl that also looked a little older than Agent Scully. He figured they must be her siblings because of the resemblance. There were also several photos of her with an older couple Davis assumed were her parents. He noticed that she had inherited her mother's beauty and, from the set of his face, her father's strength. Other photos showed Agent Scully at several graduations, with friends, and at family celebrations. Then, when he was almost at the end of the book, he came across a photo that made him catch his breath. There on the page in front of him was a photo of Agent Scully standing beside a man dressed in a long, black trench coat. The man was him. How had he ended up in a photo with an FBI agent? Shaking slightly, he reached down and removed the photo from the fasteners that held it in place. Turning it over, he received a second blow. On the back of the photo in a neat and precise handwriting were the words 'Me and Mulder, 1995, The Modell Case'. Mulder -- that was the name Agent Scully had called him in his dream and now here it was again. Could this just be a coincidence? Surely not. He quickly flipped through the last few pages and found several more photos, some that contained Agent Scully and the man that looked like him and some of just the man alone. Davis closed the photo album and stared at the single photo still in his hand. The evidence pointed to the fact that this was him, but why then did he have no memory of it? He was Davis Carter. That was who he had told the doctors he was a month ago. He even has the driver's license to prove it. He had worked in the accounting firm he was employed at for 15 years. He had lived in his apartment for ten. He remembered growing up in New York with his family -- his parents, his brother, and his sister. And the cross necklace he always wore had been given to him on his 15th birthday by his mother. How could all those memories be wrong? He looked at the photo again and a thought came to mind. Maybe this man was the reason the FBI was so interested in him. They had probably mistaken him for this Mulder person and so had the people who had shot him. Everyone was supposed to have a look- alike in the world and his just happened to live in the same city he did. That had to be the explanation. It all made sense, except for one thing. He had the dream of Agent Scully calling him Mulder before he found the photo. That was the one thing he could not explain. ******************* Scully lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. Since Will's birth she had become a really light sleeper, not that she had gotten much sleep before Will's birth. And now the reason for all of her sleepless nights was in her living room. In the countless ways she had thought about Mulder's return, this had not been one of them. To make matters worse, she had been forced to make up an excuse so Will could stay with Malen. She had so badly wanted to tell Malen that she had been right about not giving up on Mulder's returning alive, but now she also wished that Malen had given her advice on what to do if Mulder had returned with no memory. It was taking everything she had not to run into the living room and demand that Mulder remember something. She knew it would not work, but the need to feel his arms around her was almost overwhelming. All she wanted to do was grab onto him and never let go. Having him so close and yet still so far away was almost worse that when he was actually missing. Turning onto her side, Scully tried in vain to get comfortable. She had offered to take the couch, but Mulder had refused. That had caused her to think about how Mulder used to sleep on his own couch before he had been gotten a set of bedroom furniture, although he claimed he did not know where it had come from. Sighing, she sat up and tried to push the thought of the nights she had spent in Mulder's bed out of her mind. Getting out of bed, she grabbed her robe and headed for the kitchen, telling herself it was only to get a drink of water. Deep down she knew it was really to check on Mulder. As she entered the living room, she spotted him by her desk. Curious as to what he was doing, she walked over to join him. Just as she neared him, he suddenly turned and handed her a photo. "Would you care to explain this, please," he said. Taking the photo and looking at it, Scully's heart sped up. Mulder had obviously been going through her photo album because he had just handed her a photo from it. It was one of the two of them that had been taken during the Modell case, the first one that is. Now she was faced with a dilemma. Did she follow Skinner's advice and play into Mulder's belief that he was an accountant named Davis Carter or did she tell him the truth? Suddenly she knew exactly what Mulder would have wanted her to do. "It's a picture of me and my partner." "Is that why the FBI is so interested in me, because I look like this man?" Scully took a deep breath and said, "No, we are interested because you are this man." At Mulder's look of disbelief, she continued, "Your name is Fox Mulder and you are a Special Agent with the FBI. You run a division called the X-Files that handles unsolved cases. You and I were partners for seven years when you were abducted during a case. That was almost a year ago. The FBI has been searching for you since then and we had all the hospitals put on alert in case you were returned there. They were supposed to contact Assistant Director Skinner or me if that happened, but for some reason National Hospital did not do so when you were admitted a month ago. This time they did." She knew she was babbling like an idiot, but she had to get it all out or she knew she would lose her nerve. Mulder just stood there and continued to stare at her. Finally, he said, "You expect me to believe that's the truth? I have no memory of any of that. I do have memories of being Davis Carter. That is who I am. I'm sorry for the loss of your partner, but I am not him." "I know it's hard to believe, but what I am telling you is true. After all you and I have shared, I would never lie to you," Scully said softly. She had no idea what else to say, and then she noticed what Mulder had on around his neck. It was her cross necklace that she had given him to wear when he left for Oregon as a way for him to take part of her with him. "What if I can prove it?" "How?" Mulder demanded. Grabbing the photo album off the desk, Scully flipped through several pages until she came to the one she was looking for. "The necklace you have on is mine. I gave it to you to wear right before you were taken. See, I'm wearing it in this photo." Turning the album around, Scully showed Mulder a photo of her on her sixteenth birthday. The necklace could clearly been seen around her neck. Mulder just shrugged. "That doesn't mean anything. I'm sure hundreds, if not thousands, were made and you just happened to have one as well." As she put the album back on the desk, Scully tried to curb her frustration. She briefly wondered if this was how Mulder felt every time she touted another rational explanation at him. Yet she still had more proof. "On the back of the necklace is engraved two dates -- November 1994 and June 1998." Mulder took off the necklace, turned it over, and then he looked at her. "November 1994 and June 1998," he repeated. "How did . . .?" "I know," Scully finished. "I had those dates engraved on it because they signify two very important times in my life when I needed you the most and you came to my aid." "This can't be happening," Mulder said as he ran a hand through his hair. "None of this makes any sense." Scully started to answer when she heard a noise outside her front door. She reached for her gun and at once realized she had left it in the other room. As the door opened, she shoved Mulder out of the way. Seconds later, she felt a sharp pain in her side and then she answered the welcome call of darkness. ******************* Davis had been standing there trying to absorb what Agent Scully had just told him when a noise outside the apartment startled him. He saw the agent reach for her gun and then heard her swear softly under her breath. The next thing he knew he was being shoved out of the way. He saw a man enter the apartment and raise a gun. Before Davis could react, the man pointed the gun and fired. Agent Scully recoiled a bit and then slumped to the floor. "Scully, no!" he heard someone shout. He realized he had been the one who had shouted. Immediately he dropped to his knees beside the fallen agent and, as he did, he looked around for the gunman, but the man was gone. Turning his attention to Agent Scully, he saw her eyes were closed and blood was steadily flowing from the wound in her side. She was breathing, although a bit shallowly. Not knowing what else to do, Davis quickly removed the robe Agent Scully was wearing and pressed a part of it against the wound to slow the bleeding. He hated to leave her for even one second, but he knew he had to call 911. Standing up, he practically ran to the end table and grabbed the cordless phone that lay there. He punched in the emergency number and when the dispatcher answered, he said frantically, "This is Special Agent Fox Mulder. I have an agent down." As the words came out of his mouth without a second thought, it all came back to him. Everything that Scully had told him was correct -- he was indeed Fox Mulder and the woman lying there injured was not just another human being, but the woman her loved. He barely heard what the dispatcher's reply was before he hung up the phone and rushed back to Scully's side. He gathered her gently into his arms and once again applied pressure to her gunshot wound. Looking down at the face her had not seen for nearly a year, he said, "Come on, Scully, you have to hold on. I'm here now and I didn't come back just to lose you again." He pulled her closer and held her until the ambulance arrived. ******************* Doggett stopped for a moment and leaned against the wall of the hospital corridor, rubbing his fingers against his temples to relieve some of the tension he was feeling. He had been trying for the past several hours to find out why the hospital had not contacted the FBI the first time Mulder had been admitted, but so far nothing had come of his inquires. All the departments he had gone to either did not have access to the information he needed or the person who could get it was not in. It was now close to three a.m. and Doggett knew that he was not going to get anywhere else until morning. He pushed himself off the wall and just started to head out the double doors of the emergency room exit when several EMT's rushed in pushing a gurney. He did not think anything of it until he saw that Fox Mulder was following them. Taking a second look at the gurney, Doggett noticed that Scully was the one lying there. As he, too, started to follow the EMT's, he noticed that Mulder was giving orders to the hospital staff. Doggett stood back and watched for a moment, then it hit him. It appeared Mulder's memory had returned, because he was addressing Scully by just her last name and calling her his partner. Doggett had heard about Mulder's devout dedication to Scully - after all, it was a FBI legend -- but to see it in action was another thing entirely. Mulder was not acting like a man concerned about someone who was just he partner; he was acting like a man concerned about his wife. Doggett knew that Mulder was the father of Scully's child and that she loved Mulder deeply. That had become obvious to him as he watched how focused she had been on finding Mulder. What he was now realizing was that Mulder returned that love and it appeared to run just as deep. Doggett continued to stand there for a moment, in slight awe of his revelation. He looked at Mulder and knew that he had control of the situation. Now was not the time for introductions. Turning, Doggett walked back into the hospital and got his cell phone out of his pocket. He had to call Skinner and let him know that Agent Scully was now the one in the hospital. ******************* Slowly opening her eyes, Scully found herself staring up at an unfamiliar tiled ceiling. Turning her head, she noticed that there was an I.V. drip beside her bed and it was hooked up to her arm. Suddenly she remembered a man breaking into her apartment and she gathered that she had been shot when she had pushed Mulder out of the way. He must have called 911. Wondering if he was all right, she turned her head to the other side and was surprised to see Mulder sitting in a chair beside the bed. When he noticed her looking at him, he smiled softly. "I see that Sleeping Beauty decided to wake up." Scully closed her eyes for a moment at the teasing tone in Mulder's voice. He sounded so much like his old self that it hurt. She opened her eyes again and said, "I guess I should thank you for calling 911." "No problem, Scully. I mean what else was I supposed to do, leave you there?" Mulder asked as he stood up. Once again, Scully was struck be how much Mulder sounded like he usually did. She had not gotten that feeling all evening. He had not cracked one joke and had been rather serious during the entire time. Then something else dawned on her. "You just called me Scully, not Agent Scully." Mulder moved closer to the bed and leaned over it a bit. "Well, you know that I usually use your title only when introducing you. And I use your first name when we are in certain situations that I'm sure the hospital would not be too pleased if we recreate right here in this bed." Shock filled Scully's entire body. Had she just heard what she though she did? Only Mulder would have known that when they had finally gotten together romantically he occasionally called her Dana, but only when they were making love. "Mulder?" she inquired softly and a bit hesitantly. "Is it really you?" "Yes," Mulder answered as he reached out and ran his hand down Scully's face. "It's really me." Not able to contain herself, Scully grabbed Mulder into a hug. As she felt his arms go around her, she could not hold back the tears she had kept inside for the past year and burst into sobs. Mulder gently pulled her into a sitting position and lightly ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. He whispered softly in her ear, but Scully was crying too hard to hear what he was saying. After a few minutes, her crying stopped and she leaned back a little. Normally she hated to cry in front of Mulder, but the only thing that was on her mind at the moment was the fact that he was really back with her. "I can't believe you are really here." Mulder reached up to Scully's face again and dried her tears with his thumb. "Don't go all skeptical on me, Scully." For some unknown reason, a wave of shyness overcame Scully and she lowered her eyes to the bed. "I missed you so much." Putting his finger under Scully's chin, Mulder raised her head so he could look into her eyes. "I missed you, too. Until I was returned, my every thought was about you and about finding a way to get back to you. I'm sorry that I went to Oregon . . ." Scully laid a finger on Mulder's lips to quiet him. "That's not important now. You did what you thought was right. The only thing that is important is that you are here with me once more. But know this. I'm not going to let you go again. I can't risk losing you a second time." She watched Mulder nod, and then he leaned closer and captured her lips with his. The kiss started off gentle at first, and then a year of separation caused them both to deepen it. Scully found herself becoming lost in the sensations that she had been denied for so long. Ever since Mulder had been taken, she had felt incomplete. Now she felt all the pieces that had been missing being returned to her. She pulled Mulder closer just as he began to kiss a path down her neck. He stayed there for a few moments, but then pulled away. Scully was dazed for a second, wondering why he had stopped. "What's wrong?" she asked, breathlessly. "Not one damn thing except for the fact that it's been a year since I last tasted you and if we don't stop now, this is going to lead to one of those situations I mentioned earlier that the hospital would frown on happening in one of their beds," Mulder replied, just as out of breath. Blushing slightly, Scully laughed and was amazed at how good it felt to do so. It was one more thing that had returned with Mulder. "It's good to know that you haven't lost your libido." Mulder leaned in close again and whispered in her ear, "Where you are concerned, never. Even when we are in our nineties, I will still desire you, even if you are old and wrinkled." After Scully rolled her eyes at him, he continued, "I can't believe that I forget you even for one millisecond. You are as necessary to me as breathing. I love you and that is never going to change." Scully was about ready to break down into tears again when the sound of the door opening startled her. Mulder, too, appeared to be surprised because he jumped slightly and let her go. They both looked at each other as Skinner walked through the door. "How are you feeling, Scully?" Skinner asked as he came to stand by the bed. "Fine, sir, considering," Scully answered. "It appears that the bullet did not penetrate that deeply, so no internal organs were damaged. She will probably be sore for a couple of days, but the wound did not require more than a few stitches," Mulder added as he got off the bed. Skinner nodded, then sighed, "That's good. Agent Scully is one of our best agents and we would hate to lose her." "You aren't the only one," Mulder replied as he looked down at Scully. Squinting a bit, Skinner looked closer at Mulder, then he moved around to the same side of the bed that Mulder stood on. "Mulder?" he asked. "Skinman?" Mulder countered. Skinner just stood there for a moment with a shocked expression on his face and then he grabbed Mulder into a hug. Scully had to contain the laughter she could feel coming on at the look of surprise on Mulder's face. Skinner released him and said, "God, it's good to see you." "Thank you, sir," Mulder responded in a strangely subdued voice. "I thought that you could not remember anything?" Skinner questioned. "I couldn't. Then when I saw Scully get shot, everything came back." "I'm sure this must all be a bit overwhelming for you. I don't know how I would react to finding out . . .," Skinner started. A feeling of panic overcame Scully when she realized what Skinner's next words were going to be. "Sir," she interrupted, "is Malen here?" Nodding again, Skinner looked at Scully with a curious expression on his face. When Scully raised her eyebrows at him, a look of understanding replaced the confusion. "She's outside with Will. I'll go get her." Scully sat there nervously as Skinner left the room. She heard Mulder clear his throat and looked over at him. "What was Skinner going to say?" he asked. Before Scully could answer, the door opened again and Skinner walked back in, this time followed by Malen. Malen was carrying Will and when she spotted Mulder, she gently handed Will to Scully and went over to hug Mulder. Scully tuned out Malen's reunion with Mulder and concentrated on her son. He was awake and he smiled up at her. She smiled back and ran a hand over his dark hair. Glancing up from Will to look at Mulder, Scully felt a wave of pride and contentment come over her. She hoped with all her heart that Will would grow up to be the type of man that his father was -- honest, loyal, sensitive, compassionate, and loving. She was still looking at Mulder when she noticed that Malen was moving toward the door. "I think we should leave you alone now," Malen said with a smile. "Come on, Walter, let's go get a cup of coffee." As Malen and Skinner left the room once more, Mulder turned to Scully. "Walter?" "Malen and Skinner are the latest item," Scully replied. Mulder moved back to stand beside Scully. "I'll say that they have been busy," he said, pointing to Will. "But didn't Malen forget something, or rather someone?" Taking a deep breath, Scully shook her head. The time had come to introduce father and son. "He's not Malen's, he's mine. No, actually, he's ours." ******************* "He's not Malen's, he's mine. No, actually, he's ours." With those words, Mulder felt his world go out of focus. This was the last thing he expected Scully to tell him. That she had fallen in love with someone else, maybe. That he was a father, no way. He sat down heavily on the bed. "That was what Skinner was going to say, wasn't it?" He watched Scully nod, then said, "I thought the doctors had used all the samples we gave them and that the in vitro hadn't worked?" "They did and it didn't," Scully confirmed. "Then how?" "Well, if you recall, we never used any protection because we never thought we needed to," Scully replied. "You mean?" Mulder knew he was not being real articulate, but two words sentences was all he was able to manage at the moment. Scully nodded once more. "It would appear that the miracle you told me never to give up on happened." Mulder just sat there for a moment and looked at the image before him. Before Scully had asked him to be the donor when she had decided to try in vitro fertilization, he had never thought about or wanted to be a father. The only two relationships that he had before Scully were with Phoebe Green and Diana Fowley. Being a father had not fit into the plans he had for his life. Besides he would not have wanted to have a child with either woman, even if he had wanted children at the time. He had thought he had feelings for them, but looking back he realized that he had not. He only found out what love was after he had met Scully. When Scully had asked him to help her with the in vitro fertilization, he realized after he said yes that he had not done it just to help her, although that had been a major part of it. He had wanted to be the father of Scully's child, to have something of him that was something of her as well. When the in vitro had failed, he had been so disappointed, but he had tried to hide it because it was one of the few times that Scully had allowed him to comfort her, to be strong for her. He and Scully had not been together romantically at the time and he had seen the failure of the in vitro as a loss of a chance to have a permanent connection with the woman he loved. Now here he was finding out that all the dreams of having a family with her had come true. "How old is he?" he inquired, wanting to know everything about this child he had helped to create. Looking down at the baby, Scully answered, "Four months." Quickly doing the math in his head, Mulder realized something. "The reason you were so sick in Oregon was because you were pregnant." Not even waiting for Scully's confirmation, he felt the guilt wash over him. "Oh God, Scully, if I had known . . ." Scully reached out and laid her hand on Mulder's arm. "I know. Don't feel guilty about something you had no control over. You didn't choose to leave; you were taken. True, I would have liked to have had you here, but it's not your fault. And you're here now." "Yes, I am," Mulder responded as he reached out and ran his hand down Scully's face. Smiling at him, Scully said softly, "Would you like to hold your son?" Mulder nodded in return. Scully slowly moved closer, obviously trying not to disturb either her injury or the baby in her arms. She gently laid the baby, his son, in his waiting arms. Mulder just sat there and took his first good look at the child he helped to create. The baby was awake and stared up at him with hazel eyes that Mulder recognized as his own. His son also had his dark hair. Aside from that, he looked like Scully. With that thought still in his head, he looked over at Scully and noticed she had tears in her eyes. "He is so beautiful, Scully." Scully moved even closer and ran her hand over their son's head and then raised her head to meet Mulder's gaze. "Just like his father. And in honor of his father, I named him William Fox." A wave of pleasure overcame Mulder. He was touched that Scully has wanted to name their son after him, despite the fact that she had used his first name as their son's middle name. Somehow it did not seem quite so bad when used in that manner. "William Fox Scully, I like it." "Mulder," Scully said. "Yes," Mulder replied. Scully shook her head. "No, I meant not Scully. I gave Will you last name." Mulder was surprised that Scully had given Will his last name. He was honored that she had done so, but he honestly would not have minded if she had chosen to go with Scully. In fact, he had expected her to. When they had gotten romantically involved, Scully had been the one who had insisted that they do everything they could to keep their true relationship a secret. The Bureau had a policy against partners fraternizing and she not wanted to give their supervisors any reason to reassign them both. "I'm honored that you wanted Will to have my last name, but what about not doing anything to let the Bureau know about our relationship?" Scully just shrugged. "It is well known that I spent most of my time with you, so who else would be the father of my child? I thought about it and I decided I didn't care who knew. You mean so much to me and I didn't want you to be the last in your family's line." Mulder felt tears well up in his eyes. What had he ever done to deserve this woman? No one had ever said anything like that to him. Most people who knew him would have been happy to have the Mulder clan end with him. Yet here was the one person who had the most reason to hate him telling him that she did not want that, that she wanted his family line to continue. "Thank you," he said. Then he felt something grip his finger and looked down. He watched in fascination as Will wrapped his tiny fingers around his much larger one. Laughing softly, Scully said, "It looks like your son agrees." She reached out and took Mulder's other hand in hers. "I love you." Mulder smiled at the words and was touched by the emotion in Scully's voice. "I love you, too. Both of you." He felt Scully squeeze his hand and knew in that moment his was truly home. ******************* Both Mulder and Scully were so wrapped up in each other and their son that they did not hear the door to Scully's hospital room opening and then closing again a few moments later. ******************* Doggett quietly closed the door to Scully's hospital room. He had gone there with the intent of checking on how she was doing, but had been greeted by a sight that had made him turn right back around. Mulder had been sitting on the bed beside Scully, holding his son. The sight had made Doggett's heart ache for those very things, things that had been ripped away from him so long ago. He did not begrudge either Mulder or Scully a chance at happiness, but that did not mean he did not envy it. But, deep down, he doubted that he would ever find what Mulder and Scully had. He knew what they had was rare and did not come around every day. Their love had survived a year of separation and appeared to still be quite strong. Sighing deeply, Doggett started to walk down the hall. He would visit Agent Scully in the morning. Right now he was sure that she only wanted to be with two people she loved most. At the end of the hall, he turned and said softly, "Good night, Agent Scully. I'm glad your search is finally over." ******************* Author's notes: I want to apologize for any confusion caused by switching from calling Mulder by the name we all know and love to suddenly calling him Davis. It was to show which persona he was in at the time. I had chosen the name William Fox for Mulder and Scully's son before 'Existence' aired, as did many other fan fic writers. The name seemed to be appropriate and something Scully would chose, as she is a big believer in family connections. It looks like, for once, Chris Carter agreed with the fans. I would also like to thank Chris for finally, finally getting our two most beloved agents together. I hoped you liked this story and I would like to know what you thought of it -- good or bad. Please send all feedback to writerbabe1013@hotmail.com