The Smoking Gun; The Bug Part 5/7
The Bug
The semester had ended, leaving for Scully, all the time in the
world to be with her husband.  They planned earlier in the year
to go to a  tropical island, to enjoy the colorful scenery of
exotic flowers, lush green vegetation, humid temperature, and the
monstrous, infamous waves of Hawaii.    Mulder had  always wanted
to try his hand at surfing after watching ESPN2, and Hawaii was
the place to do it.  Although he had never surfed in his entire
life, he made it a goal of his to ride a wave through, without
wiping out once.  He convinces Scully to take the trip  by
telling her he wants to recreate the honeymoon, of which, he
conveniently has no recollection.

His mind was elsewhere, Scully notices as they walk through the
airport  gates and asks what the matter was
"What's on your mind?"
"I hope they don't mess up the car"  he admits, unsure of their
decision to turn the corvette into a Shop to have it refurbished.
"And I hope that Spooky doesn't give Mrs. Trudeau a hard time,"
he adds.
"Spooky will be good company for her during this time"  Scully
says consolingly.
Scully smirks to see Mulder concerned about leaving his two
babies behind.  "They're both in good hands.  You'll be pleased
to return and be able to drive your vette without having it die
out on you."
Her words, what she said or how she said it, always had a
powerful comforting effect on him.  She could have given him an
"I told you so" lecture about the car, but didn't, he thought.
"North Shore, here we come!"  he exclaims, easily forgetting his
worries.
An announcement had just come in that their flight had been
delayed.  Mulder stands, impatient to get out of the stuffy
terminal.  He looks out of the glass window and sees an airplane
being taxied to a jetway.  Their plane had arrived.  He takes a
seat beside Scully, who is reading a newspaper. The doors open
and passengers from the airplane make their way out.  Mulder
observes them and comments,
 "It's a shame these people have no choice, but to spend their
Christmas in this cold town, just to be with their  family."
Scully not paying attention to him, intensely reads an article
about an FBI investigation conducted right in their town.  It
reads that numerous people had seen light illuminating a huge
area of the nearby forest.  A couple of scientists from the
university had visited the sight to find high radiation levels on
the ground, without a clue as to how it got there.  The team had
made their way out of the forest before noticing that one member
was missing.  They attempted to go back and find him, but feared
an attempt after they were blinded by the bright light
surrounding them in the forest.  Instead they contacted the
authorities who conducted a search for the missing scientist.
After finding no results, they contacted the FBI ruling  it as a
possible kidnapping.  Special Agent Danvers headed the on-going
investigation.  Just then, a group  of similarly dark dressed men
in suits walk out of the jetway.  They followed behind a man
issuing out orders.  Mulder chuckled and mutters, "Here comes the
bride and her lovely entourage"  making  Scully look towards the
spectacle.
"I recognize that guy"  he admits.  Scully paying close attention
to the men, automatically drawing to the conclusion that they
were FBI agents.
"What do you mean you recognize him?"  Scully shocked, asks.
Wondering if a memory is coming back.
"I saw him in the woods when I went to get the tree"  he
responds.
"What do you mean you saw him in the woods, why was he there?"
Scully's questions begin to sound  urgent.
"He was with a bunch of cops and guys investigating on something.
I don't know"  he answers.
 "Did he talk to you?"  she continues her interrogation.
"What for?  Spooky got lost in the forest so I went after her.  I
didn't talk to anyone but an officer who chased me out"  he
explains.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"  she asks.
Mulder surprised to find her so concerned about that incident.
"Why are you-
She cuts him off as she sees the "men" pass by, quickly shoving
the newspaper in front of Mulder and her face.  Doing so, to
prevent eye contact with them, and to divert Mulder's attention
on to the article.  "Is this what you're talking about?"  she
asks.
Meanwhile, Agent Danvers is met by another agent who tells him
about their latest findings.  "Sir, they just found the man, he's
at the hospital--.   Danvers immediately picks up his speed and
orders an agent in tow to have police officers guard the man's
room.  Scully overhears the conversation while Mulder reads the
article.  "Yeah, this is it.
What's it to you?"  he asks.
Scully speechless, feeling the adrenaline rush of Agent Danvers,
as she had felt several times before, during a breakthrough in a
case.  "Huh?...I  uh....I--
Just then, the announcement to board the plane was heard, and she
quickly picks her bags up.  "C'mon, let's get out of this town,"
she says avoiding his question.  She was extremely relieved to
board the plane, escaping from the men that might have recognized
both her and Mulder.  Mulder still unsuspecting of the actual
cause of Scully's agitation thought that her  nervousness was
from the anticipation of the plane taking off.  He hands her a
stick of gum.  "Have one of these, they'll help your ears adjust
to the pressure, and when you get scared hold on to my hand,"
he says tenderly.
"I'm fine, Max.  I just can't wait to get out of this cold place
as soon as possible"  she says feeling the plane begin its course
on the runway.

 Back in Annapolis, Bill confronts his brother Charlie about the
man claiming to have knowledge of their sister's existence.
"He said that they had their bodies cremated to prevent the
spread of contamination, can you believe that?"  Bill says.
"But you said he thinks they are still alive?"  Charlie asks.
"He said he saw someone who looks like Mulder in a town in
Pennsylvania.   But before I can believe that they are alive I
have to go to Washington D. C. and find out for myself what is
going on here,"  Bill states.
"What makes him think Dana is with Mulder?"  Charlie asks.
"He didn't say, but I know if she is alive and hiding somewhere,
it's because of him,"  Bill expresses.
"What I think is that if Dana and her partner  are still alive,
they're probably running from the FBI or someone threatening
their lives.  I don't think you should go directly to the FBI
telling them you have been told about their whereabouts.  Don't
start something you don't know enough about,"  Charlie protests.
"That's exactly why I'm going there.  I want answers from them.
I want to know what they were investigating on that got them
supposedly killed.  I want to know why they didn't honor her last
request.  I want to know-for Mom's sake, I want to know why Dana
can't be here with us,"  Bill confesses.
"I hope you know what you're doing Bill because if you don't, you
could jeopardize Dana and Fox Mulder's current position. Who
knows? They might be in a safe place and you might lead the wrong
people right to them,"  Charlie surmises.
"This doesn't make sense,"  Bill says frustrated.  "I hope to God
Dana is alive,"  he adds, wiping his reddening eyes.

Scully bends over the bathroom toilet, spewing out her breakfast.
She had spent most of her vacation anxious about returning home
to find the FBI still there.  Mulder had gone out early to meet
the tide, while she stayed in  telling him that she caught a
stomach bug.  Scully had let her paranoia take over her,
physically.  "Why did he have to be there?"  she asked herself.
She recalled several cases of past alien abductions and how
victims were lured into forests.  "Could Mulder be an abductee?"
she wonders.  "No, that's ridiculous, he was there by accident,
mere coincidence, or not?"  she contemplates.  Then she ran to
the bathroom again to let out the rest of her breakfast.  She
finally decided to go to a local doctor to alleviate the extreme
case of anxiety she was experiencing.  Also for Mulder's sake who
wanted to tour the island before returning home.  Scully couldn't
even stomach the ride to the clinic, which was only ten minutes
away.
The doctor had finished examining her and started to tell her his
findings.
"You don't show any sign of the stomach flu, but I think you
might be experiencing a change in weather and pressure.  A few
tourists suffer from heat exhaustion after coming from cold
climates.  For the nausea, you might want to take a pregnancy
test, just to be safe,"  The doctor remarks.
Scully looks at her fingers as she fidgets and says, "I don't
think that's necessary."
"Oh it's just my advice," he apologetically says.
"Thank you, but my uterus received extensive damage after a
severe accident, unabling me to ever conceive a child,"  she
mutters.
"I'm sorry," the doctor responds.
One evening, she forced herself to ask Mulder the question, or
else suffer, the last week in Hawaii, nauseous.  "Out of all the
places, why did you choose to find the Christmas tree there?" she
asks expecting Mulder to question her concern back at her.
"I wasn't in those woods looking for the tree.  I was several
miles down and came across a road block as I was heading back
home.  Like I told you, Spooky got restless and wandered off into
the woods while I was talking to a state trooper.  When I found
her she was by the investigating team already walking out.  I
didn't see anything strange,"  he answers.  "I know you were
rattled by those FBI guys storming through the airport, but I can
assure you there's no way I'm involved.  Unless it's illegal to
chop trees there,"  he jokes.
She mentally gave a huge sigh of relief.  He wasn't lured into
the forest by telepathic aliens, just by their "Spooky" dog,
rightfully named so.
They returned from their vacation.  Mulder satisfied with his
accomplishment, brought home the surfboard, he used to ride a
four foot wave with, as a souvenir.   Scully, glad to be feeling
much better again, fell back into her neurotic state to hear the
news of the FBI still conducting their investigation in town.
A golden-tanned Mulder immediately runs over to visit the
Bradley's bringing along with him, edible souvenirs from Hawaii.
He rang the doorbell, also planning on reminding Ted about the
Super Bowl game appearing in a couple of days.  A middle-aged man
opens the door.  Mulder asks, "Is Ted here, I'd like to give him
something my wife and I brought from Hawaii."
The man apologizes.  "I'm sorry Ted Bradley does not live here
anymore.  He and his family moved back to the West Coast."
"What?"  Mulder asks, "They never said they were moving out so
soon."
"Yes, well from what I hear, he was replaced here and needed
there,"  the man states.  "And you are?" he asks Mulder.
"Max, Max Forrester"  he says lifting his hand to shake.
The man's eyes brighten, "Ah yes, Forrester, you say?"  he says
tightly gripping Mulder's hand.
"Yup.  Uh, it was nice meeting you.  Oh, here's a box of candy.
Take it as a house warming present,"  Mulder says feeling strange
about the man's behavior.  He walks across the street, to Mrs.
Trudeau's house to fetch Spooky, and to ask her about the
Bradley's abrupt departure.
"Why'd they leave in such a rush?"  he asks her.
"That's how it goes around here.  They find a better job, or fall
victim to a company's down-sizing plan, and they leave just like
that.  Like the owners before you, somehow became bankrupt and
had to sell the house,"  she explains.

Mulder returns home with Spooky.  Scully again notices a
disturbed look on his face.  "Did the Bradley's enjoy your
treats?"  she asks.
"No, they weren't there.  They don't live there anymore,"  he
mutters.
"You're not serious?"   she insists, but Mulder's look answers
her.  "They didn't even say goodbye.  Hmm, that's odd,"  she
adds.
"Yeah, I was kind of looking forward to watching the Super Bowl
in that big screen TV,"  Mulder says as he leans on the kitchen
sink.
"I'll watch the game with you, if you don't mind.  I've been a
Packers fan, and Favre is looking pretty good this year,"  Scully
says, attempting to sound genuinely interested, to cheer him up.
It worked.  Mulder answers with a smile,  "Ah, a girl after my
heart."

Spooky retrieved the Thursday newspaper, placing it into Mulder's
lap as he sat eating breakfast.  "That's my girl."  Mulder groans
rubbing Spooky's neck.  He read the paper and called Scully over
who was pouring herself a cup of coffee.  "Look what we got here.
An investigation on the death of an investigator,"  he quips.
 Scully takes a closer look to find that Agent Danvers had been
found dead in his motel room.  Investigators  found his body
hanging on his belt on the shower head, ruling it as a suicide.
The news article also mentioned the beefing up of  security with
local law enforcement and another team of FBI agents arriving in
to continue the investigative efforts Danver's started.  Scully's
body becomes paralyzed with terror and drops the coffee mug to
the ground.  It cracks and Mulder quickly stands to avoid the hot
liquid from burning his  feet.  'Great' she thought, 'more FBI
agents to scour this place.  Someone is bound to recognize me and
Mulder.'
"Are you okay, honey?" he asks picking up the broken pieces of
glass.
"Yes, I'm fine.  The mug was a little too hot, that's all"  she
lies.

Scully paces back and forth in the bathroom thinking, 'Something
is not right here...No maybe I'm taking this a little too far.  I
should get the facts straight before jumping the gun here,'  she
tells herself.  'Okay, Danvers is from the FBI here to
investigate the disappearance of a scientist. ' The light' she
thought.  ''The light that blinded the other scientists.  Could
it be an alien abduction?  Is Danvers now handling those type of
cases,'  she asks herself.  Scully was convinced that Danvers did
not commit suicide, especially in the middle of an on-going case.
There was no mention of a suicide note left behind.  It was a
classic set-up she had seen numerous times before.
 "He must have come across information that could have very well
gotten him killed."  The information felt too close to home for
her.  "I have to find out what's going on here before Mulder and
my identity is revealed,"  she resolves.  How does Scully access
the information without compromising her anonymity?  She would
have to see the scientists.

It was no trouble at all for her to find the scientists since
they worked in the same department of the same university.  The
trouble was in getting them to talk about the incident and to do
it tactfully.  The reporters had beaten her to them.  They were
asking two men, walking towards a building, about the current
condition of the previously missing scientist.  "He is fine!"
one man said. "Did you find the source of the light you claim
illuminated the forest?"  A reporter asks.  The other man
nervously answers, "It was lightning.  It struck a tree and
ricocheted light all around us."
"Does the FBI have any leads on who kidnapped your colleague?"
Another reporter asks.
"You should ask them yourselves, we haven't been informed about
any suspects,"  The first man answers.
"Do you have a clue as to who might want to kidnap your
colleague?"  The same reporter asks.
The two men pause to look at each other, and the second man
answers, "No we have no idea," and took his colleague by the arm
and proceeded into the building.  Campus security blocked the
reporters from entering the building, while Scully managed to
squeeze pass them, flashing her ID card. She enters the building
to find the two men huddling closely at a corner of the hallway.
She passed by them earnestly listening to what they were saying.
She had given up the eavesdropping after something had caught her
eye.  An office door was ajar and from the outside, she could see
a poster on the wall with the letters SETI on it, and  a collage
of photos of sky scenery beside it.  Photos of space craft
sightings.  Then, she hears one man mention "the FBI"  and other
words like "keep our mouths shut", and "Danvers" in the same
sentence with "they got to him".
At least one question was answered.  Danvers did come to
investigate on a possible UFO sighting.  The other question still
needed to be answered.  What information did Danvers have about
the UFO that got him killed?

Mulder took Spooky out for her daily walk and passed by the
Bradley's former home.  A car passed by him and turned into the
Bradley's former drive way.  A woman stepped out of the car,
quickly catching Mulder's look.  He waved a friendly 'Hello' as
she continued to stare at him. Then Spooky found her spot at Mrs.
Trudeau's lawn.  As Mulder waits for her to finish, he watches
the lady at the door.  The old man answers the door, welcoming
her in.  The woman directs the man's attention towards Mulder.
He waves to the man and the woman again.  Just as Mulder picks
Spooky's waste into the plastic bag, he hears the man calling for
him.  "Mr. Forrester?  Mr. Forrester?"  He says waving at him to
come over.
Mulder tosses the bag into Mrs. Trudeau's garbage can, and makes
his way across the street.  The man continuing to say, "I trust
you are a football fan?  My daughter and I would appreciate it if
you would join us for a Super Bowl brunch at our house on
Sunday."
"That's nice"  Mulder replies glancing at the man's daughter,
"I'll be sure to tell my wife about it."
"Yes, bring her too,"  the man responds.
  He makes his way back across the street, continuing Spooky's
daily walk, while his two new neighbors closely observe him.  The
woman enters the house as the man, giving one last glance at
Mulder, shuts the door in front of him.

As Scully walks out of the building she finds herself becoming
too aware of men and women in fixed stations of the yard.  One
man standing by a tree another standing by the fountain, a woman,
carrying a bag and books settles herself on a bench underneath
the shade of a tree.  Is it paranoia taking over her?  No, she is
perfectly sane, noticing the men near the fountain and tree,
subtly leaning to one side, ventrilloquistically, talking into
their coats.  The FBI had placed a surveillance team on the
scientists.  Now, her anxiety turned into terror.  She convinces
herself to take sick-leave and have Mulder out of town, until the
FBI leave--for good.

She makes it to her office, ready to file papers for sick-leave,
and notices a letter on her desk.  She opens it and it reads.
Dr. Forrester,
The Black Hole on Earth, at 12:00 noon.
                                                         JC

She broke the code instantly.  She recalled students jokingly
referring to a group of boring astronomy professors, as the Black
Hole of the university, mentioning  "Their classes were so
boring, that it could literally suck matter out of the brains of
students into the nothingness-into the black hole, of their
mouths."  And Earth was the name of the college caf.

She walks into the cafeteria, proceeding to the cashier to order
a cup of coffee.  As she holds her coffee cup to her mouth, she
slowly lets her eyes scan the room for the infamous professors,
but realizes she has never seen them.  She decides to walk to an
empty table.  Before she sits, a voice hollers, "Dr. Forrester!
Come join us."  A man sitting three tables down with a group of
people waves at her.   The man introduces her to the group.
"This is Dr. Strauch," he says as he points to a bearded,  old
man.  "Professor Miller" he says referring to the man in a yellow
bow tie.  "This is"  pointing to his right, "Professor Lipton."
A woman wearing thick glasses, and a green, wool, turtle-neck
sweater.  "And to my left is Stephen Kirkenbaum, a student
majoring in astrophysics.  He and I are Professor Casey's
assistant.   Oh! And I'm Jake Callahan."  The two men were the
youngest out of the serious, stone- eyed group.  Before Scully
could utter a word, Dr. Strauch spoke,  "I gather we are here to
talk about the spectacle displayed by some of our colleagues,
such as you're esteemed Professor Casey."  He glares at the two
young men, who started to exhibit fear in their eyes for Dr.
Strauch as he continues saying, "We have a serious problem here,
and I want to find immediate solutions.  The department's
endowment fund will seriously be affected by these hooligans, who
have abused their positions  to satisfy their childish hobby,
making a mockery of this institution's science department."
"By George! I don't want my research to all go down the drain, if
grants become scarce.  I don't want to take that chance.  I've
come so far and-  Professor Miller utters before Dr. Strauch
butts in to say,
"That's why we have to take action immediately.  To show the
community that this fine institution will not tolerate any
unbecoming conduct of any faculty member."
Jake cuts into the conversation saying, "You're saying you want
to get rid of these men--?"
And Dr. Strauch butts in again to say,  "No, to put them under
suspension until the university board members can decide on a
proper course of action-- chance be, their termination.  It is
proper nonetheless.  The university's reputation will not be
criticized or jeopardized."
Kirkenbaum asks, "Don't you think that's a bit harsh?  They're
not on trial for murder here?"
Professor Lipton answers, with her eyes above the rims of her
glasses, "But there are criminal implications.  They used
unauthorized school equipment for their personal purpose.  I
heard the FBI confiscated the equipment worth about several
hundred thousand dollars."
Scully quickly asks, "Why did the FBI confiscate the equipment?
Unless-"    Dr. Strauch cuts her off.
"That is irrelevant.  Let the FBI do their job and let us
concentrate on how we can continue to do ours."
Scully, controlling her annoyance looks over to Jake Callahan,
who shows the same expression.  Then she boldly says, "With all
due respect, I understand your concern on the negative publicity,
but I think we should leave this matter to the personnel
department.  I believe these men went out there in the interest
of the community after hearing numerous reports of strange
occurrences in that area.  They possess the capacity to conduct
that type of test-
Dr. Strauch cuts her off again saying, "Dr. Forrester, are you
giving credence to their alien chasing organization?"
She answers, "They found evidence of high radiation levels on the
forest floor-
"The FBI confirmed that there were no such evidence.  What we
have here is a bunch of restless scientists making a claim to
justify their actions,"  Strauch counters.
Suddenly the three old timers simultaneously look at their
watches.  Professor Lipton gathers her mess on the table, and the
two other men prepare to stand  then Dr. Strauch makes one more
statement.  "I've been here for thirty years working on my life's
work, and I'm not going to sit around and allow these immature
men to take that away from me.  I don't expect you youngsters to
understand that now, but several years from now, you'll know
exactly what I'm talking about." The three Black Hole members
simultaneously stand and excuse themselves.
"That went well."  Scully mutters sarcastically.
"We're glad you came.  I believe that's the first time anyone has
ever told off the tyrant, Strauch.  He's doing exactly what the
FBI wants the people in this town to do,"  says Jake Callahan.
"Yeah, discredit those men, making the public think it was just a
publicity stunt, when we know for a fact, that there's a cover-up
going on,"  Kirkenbaum adds.
"The real reason why we called you is because we need your help,"
Jake states.
"My help, what do you mean?"  Scully asks.
"We do?"  Kirkenbaum asks, looking at Jake, confused.
"I don't follow-Scully starts as Jake cuts in.
"Dr. Forrester, Steve and I are both students of yours and I've
heard you refer to life out there numerous times-
"But that doesn't mean--"  she counters and Jake interrupts her
saying,  "You acknowledge their existence."
She felt cornered, and didn't want to discuss the topic any
further.  "You said earlier, that you knew for sure that the FBI
was covering something up.  What proof do you have?"  she
inquires.
Kirkenbaum looks at Jake with reluctance.  "I don't think we
should do this Jake."  He pulls him up to talk to him privately.
Jake, this is sensitive stuff that could get us killed like
Danvers.  I don't think we should involve this lady. She's just a
physics professor.  What can she do to help us out?"  Kirkenbaum
asks.
"She can help us with our research.  We need someone with her
expertise to conduct another investigation on the alien crash
site,"  Jake explains.
"We have to let the organization know about this, so they can do
a background check on her,"  Kirkenbaum states.
"We don't have time to discuss this any further.  If we don't act
now, that crash site is going to be sanitized, and we'll never
find out what was really out there."  Jake replies.
Kirkenbaum still not convinced says, "Get someone else."
Jake pleading with Kirkenbaum, "No one will do it.  They're
terrified of Strauch.  Look at how she stood up to him.  She will
do whatever she believes is right."
Scully gets up, and the men turn to her attention.  "I would like
to know what evidence you have. And I will help you.  If you will
help me."  she says thinking that she's made a breakthrough
getting closer to the truth about the FBI investigation.
The men's eyes widen as they turn to look at each other and turn
back to look at Scully.

Jake had instructed Kirkenbaum to get their so called 'evidence',
meanwhile elaborating, to Scully, the details that transpired
that evening.  "Professor Casey, the guy in the hospital, has no
recollection of that evening.  The police found him, two weeks
later walking on the side of the road. What's funny is that
Professor King swore that Casey was behind him the whole time.
He said he kept hearing him panting.  They realized he wasn't
with them when they asked him to call Kirkenbaum to come and get
them as they were making their way out of the forest.  Kirkenbaum
and I were stationed at a ridge, an area where people claimed to
see the glowing forest, hoping to time the occurrence.  We never
received the call, but saw the huge beam of light shine through
the top of the trees at 11:21 P.M.  We decided to hot tail it
back to the guys, and by the time we got there, cops were
everywhere, and helicopters.  The FBI were there already
investigating the scene.  The men couldn't have made the call,
except for Casey who was the only one with a communication
source.  King and the others were there and signaled us to leave
the scene immediately.  Now the FBI have been constantly
following them thinking that they might leak the information they
just saw, to people who know what they're saying is true.
"Agent Danvers?" Scully asks.
"You've been doing your homework,"  Jake states.
Kirkenbaum returns, "Jake you better take a look at this real
quick."
Jake stands and tells Scully not to follow him.  He tells her
that he will contact her soon and leaves the cafeteria.

The hall was crowded as students head to their classrooms.  She
walked into her classroom and found a lab report on her desk with
a "post- it" label message reading,  "Professor Forrester, this
is the assignment due today.  I won't be in class.  Something
pressing has turned up.  I hope its what you expect, Stephen
Kirkenbaum".   Scully was confused at first because she didn't
give out any assignments that were due today.  She tucked it in
her folder and proceeded to lecture the class.
She read the essay in her office.  The paper appeared to be more
of a creative writing class essay than a physics report.  He
mentions the FBI covering up a UFO crash site.  However, he does
not believe it is a crash site, but more of a landing site.  He
recovered Professor Casey's eyeglass from one of the scientists
who stumbled across it as they headed back to look for him.  The
glasses, only Casey and Kirkenbaum knew, had a miniature camera
lens.  The video footage of what Casey saw was located in the van
that was broken into today.  Kirkenbaum was able to watch the
footage before the tape was stolen, however, could not make out
the source of the light.  He was preparing to take it to the
computer center, where Jake worked, to have the video frames
scanned and fine tuned.  Then, he mentions, in the essay,
something that perplexes Scully.  Agent Danvers approached him
and, in secrecy, gave him a key.  Agent Danvers requested for
Kirkenbaum to give it to a Dr. Katherine Forrester, and within an
hour, police had found him dead in his room.  Kirkenbaum wrote in
the letter where she was to obtain the key, and will explain the
details of his involvement at a given time.

She picks up the phone to call Mulder and tell him that a meeting
with the Science department will keep her for a few hours into
the evening.  She sits in her office dreading the impending
realization that Danvers somehow had found out about Mulder and
Scully's situation.  She remembers the CSM mentioning a death
warrant against them.  He managed to protect them this far, but
what went wrong?  'The truth will always resurface', she thought.
Danvers, where does he fit into this?

Back at home, Mulder readies himself to take an evening jog to
pass the time, before Scully returned home.  He starts a pace as
soon as he steps onto the sidewalk.  There is no breeze tonight,
but the air is cold.  He exhales, blowing the cold smoky vapors
out of his mouth.  He notices a bright light in his new
neighbor's living room as he approaches the house.  As he runs
by, he glances into the home and finds a couple kissing on the
couch.  He notices, at once that its the daughter sitting on the
lap of a man.  "It couldn't be", Mulder thought.  She was dressed
in a silky white robe and the man had his tie undone, his shirt
unbuttoned past his chest exposing the curly gray hair.  He
picked up his pace and wiped the thought of the lady kissing a
man, who had an uncanny resemblance of her father, out of his
mind..

She enters a restroom, and walks into the last stall.  After
securing the door, she pulls out from her pocket, Kirkenbaum's
essay, all torn into shreds.  She throws it into the bowl water,
flushing it down the toilet.  She steps out and heads to the sink
to wash her hands.  Before drying them she sticks a hand into the
nozzle of the hand dryer.  She barely was able to fit her hand
into the hole, but managed to feel for the key lying,  right
beside the entrance.  She quickly placed it in her pocket and
activated the hand dryer.  The loudness of the machine had
prevented her from hearing the bathroom door opening.  A figure
stood behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.  She jumped and
turns immediately to find Jake Callahan standing there, dressed
in a janitor outfit.  "What are you doing here?" she breathlessly
asks.  They carry on a conversation under the noise of the hand
dryer.
"You understand what to do now?"  Jake mutters.
"Yes," she says still shaken.
"Do you have it?" he asks nodding his head towards the loud
machine.  She nods.
"You know what it's for?"  he asks.
"I think it looks like a key for a safe deposit  box,"  she
answers.
"That's all you need to know right now.  I better go, there's a
guy out there who thinks I'm still in the boy's room.
Okay, meet you there 9:00 A.M. sharp," he says backing away from
her, reaching for the door.
"But, but-" she started to say.
"I know this is dangerous for you, but you have to do it.  The
FBI is looking for that key, if we don't get the evidence first,
we'll never know what's in it, and how you're involved."
"Okay", she says reluctantly.  He shuts the door.
She stomps into the computer center searching for Kirkenbaum,
wanting answers from him.  She spots him helping out a student
sitting in front of a computer monitor.  He looks up and sees
her.  "Be right with you Dr. Forrester"  he says before resuming
with his assistance.  Scully finds an empty terminal and sits to
wait for him.  Suddenly she feels a familiar tap on the back.
It was Jake Callahan again, this time dressed in regular
clothing.  He leans over and says to her, "Why don't you head on
home and get some rest.  I'll tell Kirkenbaum about tomorrow,"
he says, lifting her from the chair.  Jake walks over to
Kirkenbaum and whispers a few words to him. They both turn to her
to wave goodbye as she exits the computer center.

She finds the living room light still on, thinking that Mulder
was up waiting for her. Her bag falls on the couch beside Mulder
who has fallen asleep with a book faced down on his chest.  She
kisses him and he awakens, "How was your meeting?"  he asks,
Scully stopping to think about the question.  "Oh yes", she
remembers the excuse she gave him over the phone.  "I was
thinking about you the whole time", she says wrapping her arms
around his neck, "while I was trapped in a room full of stuffy,
old professors.  I couldn't wait to come home and,"  she pecks
his lips, "and kiss you."  He chuckles and decides to tell Scully
about his evening jog.  "I saw something strange this evening."
"Oh really."  Scully says eagerly listening.  "I think our new
neighbor has a thing going on with his daughter,"  he says
playfully.
She laughs entertained by his story.  "He has a daughter?  Have
you met her?"
"Yeah, we met today, and they invited us to a Sunday Brunch as a
matter of fact", he mentions.
"He must be the new president of the bank,"  she surmises.  "And
probably does not want news about him shacking up with a much
younger woman as public knowledge."
"So are we on for Sunday?"  he asks.
"Sure, I would like to meet the new neighbors"  she says gamely.
He lifts her off  the couch and carries his tired little wife
into the dark, awaiting bedroom.

Mulder may re-gain his memory with the help of double agents. Only to
his horror will it be if they are successful.  Scully will finally
realize what all she has done to protect him will actually mean to him.
The Smoking Gun; One Heaadlight Part 6/7
"One Headlight"
The sun's rays broke through the thick clouds overcastting the
sky.  It crept above the horizon to give the neighborhood a
taste of  the sunshine it hadn't felt for a week.  Scully pats
Spooky, who sees her out the door, before leaving for the
morning.  She drives through the street seeing the new neighbor
stepping into his car.  They meet up again as his car pulls up
behind her in traffic.  He was probably heading to the bank as
she will, after a pit stop to a fast food restaurant.  The whole
ordeal had worked up an appetite for Scully.  When she was done
she hated herself for bingeing on  the fatty food, and blamed it
as the cause of her nausea, and headache.

She parked her car across the street.  A man, who was in fact
Jake Callahan, saw the car and continued reading a newspaper
beside a tree near the entrance of the bank.  She passes him,
pretending not to notice him and he follows right behind her as
she enters the building.

A woman escorts her into a room filled with rows of safe deposit
boxes.  They both simultaneously turn their keys and Scully pulls
out her box setting it on the retractable shelf.  The woman steps
out and sits behind a desk in the outer room.  Scully glances at
the woman before removing the costume jewelry from her bag
placing it into the box containing her ruby and diamond set.  Her
eyes roam around the room to find the other key's matching
number.  She looked for the numbers 71139, and found it. She
glanced at the woman, then at the keys, on the desk, beside a
pair of eyeglasses.  As strange luck would have it, the woman was
lured out of her desk to take a look at a commotion  occurring in
the bank.  Scully heard  loud voices from outside, like an
argument.  She didn't waste the opportunity before her and ran
out to grab the keys on the desk.  She took the key from her
pocket and simultaneously turned them on box 71139.  The box slid
right out.  She set it down , and took the other box in one hand
and slid it back into its space.  She quickly ran back to the
desk to return the key, carefully placing it beside the eyeglass.
The box contained a bulky manila envelope.  She wanted to open it
and see its contents, but heard the lady's footsteps walking
towards the outer room.  Scully shoved the envelope into her bag,
and slid the deposit box back into its place.  As she walked out,
she gave a courteous smile to the woman and exited the room into
the rotunda of the bank.  Jake was being escorted out by security
and Scully realizes that he must have been the one causing the
commotion.  She pauses and planned to resume walking as soon as
he was out of sight.  From the corner of her eye she catches a
glimpse of the new president, who also noticed her while engaged
in a conversation with an employee.  Within a second, she started
walking out of the bank, nauseous to the realization that she has
now committed a federal offense, stashing a stolen envelope, from
the bank, into her bag.  As she yields on the curb, a car turns
out of a nearby intersection, speeding up to her.  The car comes
to a screeching halt and Scully sees Jake in the driver's seat.
She bends over to see that there is desperation in his eyes.
SGive me the envelope!"  he commands.
"Not until you tell me what's going on!"  she shouts back.
Jake leans over  the passengers seat and grabs hold of the
shoulder straps of Scully's bag.  She struggles for a second
mustering out, "What are you doing?"  but before she finishes,
Jake drives off snatching the bag from her.

Kirkenbaum sits in his office, using the phone.  He waits but
there is no answer and hangs it up.  He nervously picks up a
coffee cup to take a sip.  Just then, Scully barges in all shaken
and breathless.  "You better tell me what the hell is going on
here. I want an explanation why I was sent to get that envelope
only to have, your friend Jake Callahan snatch it from me.  I'm
putting everything on the line, by stealing from an institution
with federal jurisdiction--.  she exclaims.  Kirkenbaum jumps to
her and grabs her arms.
"What do you mean Jake Callahan grabbed it from you?  What did
you steal?"
"An envelope, a manila envelope from a safe deposit box in my
bank,"  she replies.
He releases his clutch and walks toward the wall, running his
hands through his hair and asks, "How did you get the key?"
Scully looks confused and starts to explain, "I obtained the key
as you told me to, in your report."
"What report?"  he asks.
"The report you submitted on my desk in class yesterday,"  she
answers, with a weird feeling in her stomach.
"What did it say?"  he asks, moving closer to her.
"That Danvers gave you a key to give  me, and when I retrieved
it, Jake gave me further instructions to go to my bank and take
the files from a safe deposit box.  Why do I get a strange
feeling that you don't know what's going on here?"
"Because I don't,"  he says looking at her with hopelessness.
"Dana Scully we're screwed, they screwed us over!"  he mutters.
"What did you call me?"  she asks, shocked to hear her name for
the first time in several months.
He takes her arm and pulls her outside of the office escorting
her to the entrance of the building.  All the while, she demands
to know what is going on.  He tells her to remain quiet until
they step out of the building.  As they exit, he walks toward a
drinking fountain and takes a sip, and wipes his mouth as he
finishes.  He walks back to her with his arms in front of him,
bent at the elbow, "Those were the files that got Danvers killed.
He figured out you and Mulder were alive all this time.  Jake was
under my nose all this time, and I didn't suspect a thing,"  he
says grabbing the side of her arms.
"Why was I sent to get them?"  she asks.
"You weren't suppose to get them," he answers.
"You're the one who is supposed to return it, aren't you? " she
asks.
"No, I was sent to destroy it."
Scully looks at him with her eyes demanding to know the truth.
"I shouldn't be telling you this, but hell, I think I'm already a
dead man.  There is this huge secret global alliance,  powerful
men influencing nations in technology, science, and medicine.
Anything you think is purely science fiction or imagination, they
have already turned into reality.  Soon humane and ethical
boundaries were crossed and conflicts arose amongst them. They
became divided, creating a new group, to restore order within
that alliance.  This new order is comprised of hundreds of people
working as double agents within our government,"  he utters.
"All for the purpose of fighting our own government's injustices
from within."
"The FBI,"  she adds.
"And the CIA, NSA, DEA, FDA, NATO, NASA, OSHA.  All the acronyms
you can think of."
"How do you know so much of this?"  Scully asks.
"I'm CIA, by the way,"  he mentions, and simply answers, "You're
chosen."
"So you must have an idea of what is in those files,"  she
surmises.
"Mulder's induction to the alliance,"  he flatly says.


Mulder finishes touching up his corvette, after retrieving it
from the Shop, gearing it up for a stroll in the nice cool, sunny
day.  It seems that the car needed, more than  new tail and
headlights.  It needed a major overhaul.  Among the numerous
repairs were the replacement of the fuses that were causing the
short circuiting, explaining why the car stopped dead on its
tracks, that night near the forest. He sees a car speed by the
residential area, veering into the new neighbor's house.  A man
and a woman quickly step out of the car and hurry into the house.
Mulder trying not to be a nosy neighbor, turns his attention on
getting the stubborn Spooky into the car.  He rolls the vette
down the drive way, slides his sunglasses down from his scalp,
and shifts to first, burning tire marks into the street.  He
blasts the music, feeling the vibration of the monstrous engine
and of the booming speakers.  Spooky sits timid in the passenger
seat looking at her master tapping on the steering wheel to the
beat of a peculiar song, "One Headlight" by the Wallflowers.  The
song stirred up inexplicable feelings in him, about how he was
able to relate to its words, his life in this mundane town and
his wife, thinking of her as a fairy tale come true-his
Cinderella, as the song mentions.  He wishes she could be
enjoying the day with him, feeling the sunlight warm his skin.
He conjures up the scent of the flowery fragrance of her creamy
skin, and the fruity smell of her hair.  It reminded him of an
exotic tropical island paradise.  He thought, "Even if Spring
never came, I'll always be able to experience it."  He couldn't
get her out of his mind.  He remembers their first rendezvous in
the vette when she expressed her deep love and the priceless
value of his.  He knew exactly how much she felt that night, and
knew he felt the same.  'Much more', he thought.  He drove into
town and stopped by a flower shop, buying a dozen lipstick red
tulips carefully wrapped in cellophane, ready to take to the
university.

Scully called in sick from Kirkenbaum's office.  Her head kept
spinning with questions about the chaos created by the recent
events.  Kirkenbaum had explained to her how he became involved.
"I was sent to find out exactly what Danvers was up to.  He had
been with Scotland Yard for fifteen years, and our agency had
discovered that he had contacted several of his former
associates.  From what I gathered, he was considered to be the
"Spooky Mulder" back in England.  His reputation dwindled back
there so he decided to embark on a mission with the DEA since he
had helped bring down a huge drug ring in London.  My assignment
started when he had received numerous documents through an
unknown source from Scotland Yard, without the Bureau's
knowledge. They had given him information about a private
organization located in the U.S. involved in military weapons
trade and that lead him to you and Mulder's last case. Someone
had leaked the information that you and Mulder were still alive,
and that finding the two of you would perhaps solve the case.
However, he was able to retrieve information from another
anonymous source that revealed that another organization was
planing to resurrect him from the dead for the sole purpose of
joining the alliance.  Instead, his work lead the people you were
protected from right to you, and the hope of Mulder joining the
alliance is gone.  This was not his appointed time."
"What went wrong?" Scully asked overwhelmed.
"As usual, we had counter-intelligence," Kirekenbaum responded.
"I arrived a month ago, to become a member of the LOTTO, The
"Life Out There Organization".  They often visited the computer
center to talk about their experiences on the net, and that's
where they met me.  I showed them my ability to hack into the FBI
database about Danver's past and they opened up to me.  They
mentioned that Danvers had determined the UFO crash site to
actually be a weapon's testing field.  Danver's had instructed
them in secrecy to investigate the supposed alien spacecraft
crash site, and when they learned the truth, someone killed him,
before he could make it known.  Jake became interested and
immediately offered to help Danver's with the investigation. Our
van had been broken into yesterday.   The video and camera were
stolen, and nothing else. Jake must have killed Danvers.  He knew
where the files were, and must have known I had the key all this
time."
"Why didn't you remove the files?"  she asks.
"My superior hadn't contacted me with further instruction on what
to do with the files, until today, and I really thought that it
was in the safest place it could be in,"  he replies.  "Miss
Scully, you'll have to sit down.  I have a gut feeling we're
being set up.  I think Danvers was set up, and targeted to take
the fall."
"I don't follow, my head, it's spinning,"  she says as she rubs
her forehead.
Kirkenbaum stands to fetch her a glass of water, continuing his
theory.  "Danvers acted on his own free will to find out if you
and Mulder were still alive.  I believe those files were
information on the syndicate you and Mulder had encountered
through your assignment with the X-Files, and he discovered
information to help solve the case you and Mulder never
completed.  Unfortunately, Jake Callahan was sent to intercept
the files.
Scully takes a sip of the  water that momentarily relieved her
nausea.
"It was a set-up,"  she agreed.  "I was placed in situations
today that afforded me the opportunity to retrieve the files.
The security happened to walk out leaving the keys and enough
time for me to accomplish the task," she recalls.  Her thoughts
replayed the morning's events.  She remembered Jake being
escorted out, the security maintaining eye contact with her, the
president of the bank, noticing her.  "The president" she thought
out  loud.
"What?"  Kirkenbaum asks.
"I have to find out the name of Central City Bank's new
president.  There might be some kind of connection here,"  Scully
says.
 She immediately picks up the phone, as Kirkenbaum utilizes his
computer search engine.
"How can you tap into the FBI database?"  she asks, dropping the
phone.
"You're in luck,"  he utters as he presses the enter button.  "I
have access and the guy you're looking for,"  a name appears on
the screen, "is Alfred Fitzgerald."
"I want to know his current and previous addresses," she demands.
Scully leans against the wall as her head continues to spin
influencing her stomach to do the same.  Meanwhile, Kirkenbaum
feverishly taps onto the computer keyboards. "Bingo!"  he
exclaims.
The screen contained a brief bio-data of  the man, including a
photo and his past addresses, residential and commercial.
Kirkenbaum reads to Scully, "He is a retired Navy Rear Admiral,
owned a business named OmniComm.  manufacturing computer parts
catering mainly to the military,  then he opened a restaurant
business that went bankrupt.  However, by that time, his computer
company boomed so he decides to expand  his horizons venturing
into the Steel Industry manufacturing Titanium metal, again,
catering to the military."
"This man is a billionaire, why would he demote himself and
become president of a local bank?"  she wonders.
"He's probably not the billionaire, his investors are.  They hide
behind his name.  Most of the things he owns, are not  actually
his.  My guess is, his investors have something on him that'll
put him away for a long time.  He's protecting them so they can
protect him,"  Kirkenbaum explains.

 Below the bio-data were the addresses.  Scully moves forward to
take a better look.  He owned numerous homes, penthouses and
commercial buildings; however, three immediately caught Scully's
attention.  His current address at Magazine St. three houses down
from Scully's.  Then, an address of an industrial complex titled,
Admiral Storage.  The warehouses Mulder and Scully had
investigated.  She hears tires screeching, the revving of the
engine, sirens screaming and Mulder shouting into the telephone,
the address that appeared on the screen, "The Park Hotel
Penthouse, 220 Pennsylvania Street!"  It echoed in her head until
the screen went blank, realizing that her neighbor was part of
the evil alliance Kirkenbaum was talking about.
"Times up,"  Kirkenbaum says.
He sees Scully's eyes filled with terror as she says, "Mulder!"

Mulder returns home, after finding out that Scully had called in
sick for the day.  He does not see her car and looks at Spooky
wondering if she had gone to the doctor instead.  He turns to
close the garage door, but finds a man standing underneath it.
It was the man who stepped out of the car with his neighbor's
daughter--Jake Callahan holding the envelope.
"I have a package for you,"  he utters.  Mulder walks over to
take it from him.  "From who?  Mulder asks.
"Read it." Jake says and walks away.  Mulder slowly follows after
him, but pauses deciding to close the garage door, instead.
"Within minutes, he knocks at Fitzgerald's door.  The woman
answers.  "Come in," and he complies after spotting the man who
had given him the envelope.  He walks over to Jake, eating a meal
with Fitzgerald on the dining table.
"Is this some kind of sick joke?"   he asks repulsed.
Then the older man, dabs the corners of his mouth with a napkin,
stands and walks towards Mulder.  He stops right in front of him
and extends his hand to a chair.  Mulder sits on a sofa and
Fitzgerald begins to speak, "The amnesia hasn't worn off, yet, I
see.  Well, then we just have to tell you ourselves."
"Who are you people? What are you trying to do?" an agitated
Mulder asks.
"Help you to remember."  Fitzgerald utters.  "Mackenzie" he
addresses the woman.
 She walks by him and sits on the edge of the coffee table
directly across Mulder.  Her eyes look into Mulder making it
uncomfortable for him to sit easily in the sofa.  She bends over
with her elbows on her thighs, all the while, keeping an intense
gaze into his eyes.  Mulder somehow, begins to feel relax.  His
eyes blink profusely feeling its weight.  He stares into the
woman's dangling necklace.  She had on a black onyx pendant
connected to a long silver chain, and it twirled in half circles,
between the space of her arms and head.  His sight becomes blurry
as he continues to stare into the pendant, transforming before
his eyes, into Scully's diamond studded ruby.  He looks harder
into it, unsure of it being an illusion, and falls deeper into
its alluring sedation.
"We're here to help you remember Mulder,"  she whispers.
His eyes close and he repeats her words,  "Help me remember."
He sees an image behind a cloud of smoke, then of a man behind a
flowing curtain, that transformed into an intense bright light.
He shields his eyes from the blinding rays with his forearm.  He
hears a woman's voice calling him from a far distance.  The
sounds echo, "Mulder! Mulder! He turns around to escape the light
and finds the woman in front of him, the wind whipping her red
hair across her face.  He calls for her, walking to her.  Then
she lifts her arm to him with her fingers curled around a gun.
He sees her eyes full of anger and she sees his full of fear.
The gun's loud implosion echoes in his ear.  Her eyes peering
above the smoky barrel.

He awakens, and finds himself, sweating and panting.  Fitzgerald
still standing in the same spot, now with his arms folded. "It's
over, Mulder.  The charade is over."
Mulder still trying to catch his breath.
"Your partner, Agent Dana Scully has sold you out,"  Fitzgerald
says.
"No, she would never,"  he mutters, still shaken from his dream.
"She authorized them to proceed with the implantation of memories
unto you, Mr. Mulder."
"No,"  he kept repeating, nodding his head.
"To take you away from your work, to accomplish her given task."
"No, no , no."
"To discredit your work in the X-Files," continued Fitzgerald.
"That's not true!" he protests and starts to rise from his chair.
 "To give way to a new cause in her life, to appease the
syndicate you both pursued in the past.  She has collaborated
with them for her benefit, and to your deterioration."
"She would never-
"Ahh, but Mulder, you do remember everything now don't you?  That
you are Max Forrester and Agent Scully has become your wife. That
as Max, you weren't able to recall details of your past, and now
you can recall them including the fabricated memories.  That as
Max, you gained a huge fortune never needing to work another day
in your life."  Mulder stops and starts to hear his words.
"Agent Scully was given the order to assume her current role,  by
a man you deeply detest.  She accepted his offer to terminate
your existence, and your trek to find the truth.   Now she has
taken this matter into her own hands.
Fitzgerald looks over to Jake sitting at the dining table.  Jake
quickly gets up and picks another manila envelope, throwing it at
Mulder.  He catches it, and proceeds to open it.  The envelope
contained black and white photos of Scully taking a key from a
desk.  Then another photo of  her placing the key into one of the
safe deposit boxes.
Then another, of  her shoving a bulky manila envelope into her
bag.  Mulder not knowing what to make of it.
"These pictures were taken today, at my bank, by a hidden video
camera hooked to the lens of a pair of eyeglasses."  He points at
the photos as Mulder holds them up.  "These are the files you had
just read.  An agent Danvers honest- heartedly spear-headed and
investigation into the mysterious deaths of fellow Agents Mulder
and Scully.  He stole files to gather information that lead him
to the conclusion that your deaths were staged, and that a grand
plan was in the works.  He uncovered an elaborate cover-up, that
not even, the Bureau had knowledge of, and when they did,
information fell into the hands of the wrong people.  Once Scully
received word that the files were making its way to you, with the
help of believers of your work, such as us," he looks at
Mackenzie and then to Jake, "she devised, with the help of other
double agents, a plan to intercept the files.  So that you may
never regain your memory."
"What makes you think I believe this crock of shit?"  he asks
with a tinge of uncertainty in his voice.
Fitzgerald walks over to the window staring into the direction of
Mulder's house.  He turns his head to him, "She knows that you
know, and she is attempting to escape, taking everything in your
savings and leaving you behind."
Mulder walks to the window to take a look.  He looks over to his
house seeing Scully's car parked at their driveway.

 He walks over, building uncertainty, and insecurity in his
heart.  He cannot deny the magnitude of  the betrayal that had
been presented to him.  "Why?" he asked himself.  "Why did she do
it?  Why?"
He opens the door, and searches the house for her.  He makes his
way upstairs and stops at the entrance of their bedroom door.
His heart drops to the floor, and hears Fitzgerald's voice in his
head, as he sees Scully packing clothes into a bag.  He just
stands there, devastated.  Scully turns around and jumps.
"You scared me!"  she says continuing to pack.
He spots two airline tickets on the bed besides Scully's  bag.
"You sold me out.  How could you do that to me?" he says walking
towards her, grabbing her arms.
"I trusted you with all my heart and you sold me out!"  he shouts
shaking her.
"Ouch! You're hurting me!"  she pleads.
"Scully," he says, making her eyes widen, "Why did you do it?"
Her eyes swell with tears, overcome by the thrill of the return
of Mulder's memories, and by the increasing pain felt in her
arms.  He was squeezing them tight indicating to her that
something was wrong.  There came a noise from the stairs.
Kirkenbaum walked into the room saying, "I checked the back yard
and-."  He stops as he sees the two in their moment.  Mulder
abruptly releases her.
"You destroyed every thread of hope in my life.  You played me
like a fool all this time, and I trusted you" he points at
Scully,  "and you signed my life away to my worst enemy!"  Mulder
exclaims.
"Oh my God, they got to him,"  Kirkenbaum figures out.
 "But all along,  you were my worst enemy,"  Mulder mutters.
A shocked Scully stood there, disbelieving the words coming out
of his mouth.  She could not find anything to say.  Her heart was
numb realizing that although his memory returned, Scully could
now see his sentiments on being placed into a protection program.
No, he would've never allowed it.  'He'd rather die than be
reduced to a life, sheltered and confined without ever being able
to confirm his beliefs,'  She thought.  They came so close and
she blew it all away.
"I didn't have a choice, Mulder.  They would've killed us,"  she
sobs, pleading with him.  "I would never betray your trust.  You
know that."  Tears flooding her eyes, and streaming down her
face.  The love she had built for him, like a solid mountain, was
now crumbling down in her chest, collapsing on her heart.  Her
greatest fear materialized at that moment.  She didn't know how
to cope with it, letting it physically weaken her.
"Mulder please listen to me,"  she pleaded.
Kirkenbaum felt for Scully's pleas and intervenes, "Mulder, they
set us up to make you think, that we were against you."  His mind
racing to get something through to him. "You're playing into
their game--  Mulder comes after him, grabbing his neck.
Kirkenbaum struggles to break his clutch.
"They must want me to kill you then,"  Mulder mutters squeezing
Kirkenbaum's neck.
Scully runs behind him and grabs on to his arms to break the
clutch.
"Mulder please,"  She begs.
He releases his grip on Kirkenbaum's neck and swings his arms to
fend off Scully's, knocking  the wind out of her as she fell to
the floor.  He looks closely into Kirkenbaum's eyes, grabbing him
by the collars of his shirt.  "You can take the money and
continue to live in anonymity, but I won't live another day like
this.  No one will ever  compromise my beliefs, or hide me from
that control-freak bastard responsible for this.  You tell him
that I am willing to die, in the fuckin' line of duty,  for what
I believe in, as FBI Agent Fox Mulder!"  he declares and throws
Kirkenbaum to the ground beside Scully.  They lay on the bedroom
floor catching their breaths, hearing Mulder stomp down the
stairs  cracking the vase that held Scully's tulips. Kirkenbaum
gets up and tries to lift Scully with him as they hear Mulder's
car peel out of the garage and into the road.  She stands
momentarily, then her eyes widen, and mouth opens, as she falls
back to the ground, holding on to her stomach.  She cries out
feeling a sudden excruciating pain in her belly.
Mulder shows his sentiments on being put into a protection program to
those who sent him there, while Scully experiences what feels worst than
the stomach flu.  An operation is the only remedy to relieve the pain, a
pain she doesn't want to let go off, knowing that its the only way she
can hold on to Mulder.
Longevity
The two silver doors, with the words Emergency Room, abruptly
swing open as paramedics push a stretcher through it.  Kirkenbaum
runs alongside the stretcher while Scully lays on it curled in a
fetal position still holding on to her stomach.  The EMS team
carry her over to another stretcher, making Scully let out a
painful moan.  Kirkenbaum has no idea what has come over her.  As
soon as he steps out of the room, he heads to the nearest phone.
He notifies the receiver, on the other end, of the current
situation from the time the files were stolen to the present
where Scully is hospitalized. He returns to Scully's side
relieved to see that the pain had subsided.  The doctor pulls
Kirkenbaum out of the room and fills him in on Scully's current
condition.  The expression on his face tells Scully that
something is wrong.  She assumes its her cancer reemerging, this
time spreading all over her body.  That would explain the dizzy
and nausea spells.  She resigned herself to the thought of
succumbing to the cancer.  The meaning of her life was lost  and
she was too tired to find it.  Even if it was Mulder, for she had
lost the love that shouldn't have happened, that was built on
the lies she kept from him, to protect him, and that devastated
him. She wished the piercing pain in her belly return to overtake
the pain in her heart.

Kirkenbaum receives a phone call from the nurse's station.  He
listens to the instruction given him, and runs to Scully's room
to tell her the news.  She is going to be medi-vaced to
Washington, DC Mercy Hospital, where her mother and brother Bill
await her.  The pain had recurred from the pressure of the
flight, and also from the anxiety of being reunited with her
family.  She asks Kirkenbaum about Mulder's whereabouts, and he
assures her that they were going to find him. "Concentrate on
getting better, okay,"  he encourages.  She is rolled into a room
and before long, her mother and brother enter.  It was a tearful
reunion, from the moment they stepped in and saw Dana, alive and
in the flesh.  The three held on to each other tightly, no one,
wanting to let go.

  Scully had a glow in her face that slightly alleviated her
mother's anxiety.  They hadn't been informed of her present
condition, and Mrs. Scully thought that Dana had been living like
a fugitive on the run.  Scully found some source of comfort  with
the presence of her big brother, sitting around, filling a spot
she had reserved for Mulder.  She would occasionally feel the
sharp pain of her belly in an instant, and be perfectly fine in
the next.  She demanded that they tell her what was wrong with
her, and they reassured they would when the results were ready.
However, the result were there, they just weren't ready to tell
her.  The doctor calls her family members out to explain the
situation.

Kirkenbaum watches them exit the room  from the other end of the
hallway.  He is accompanied by another man who asks, "What is her
prognosis?"
Kirkenbaum turns to the CSM and answers, "It doesn't look good.
The doctors are saying that a D and C is imperative, even without
complications. "
CSM in disbelief says, "There has to be another way, this sort of
thing happens, and is repairable."
"It's a tubal pegnancy,"  Kirkenbaum explains.  "She does not
have a properly functioning uterus to support the fetus. It is
disrupting her fallopian tube lining causing the discomfort."
"It's growing," The CSM mutters as he looks at the end of the
hallway to see the doctors informing Bill and Mrs. Scully about
the troubling news.
He becomes overcome with emotion.  His mind desperately searching
for a solution, as his somber eyes fill with tears.  "This is
undeniably a miracle,"  he says, knowing full well the cause of
her previous infertile state.
"Dana had no chance of ever conceiving a child, but she beat the
odds, just as she has, numerous times before."  He does not care
to hide his admiration for the duo with respect to their zeal to
fight for their cause.
"Her and Mulder have indeed beat the odds."  His friend observes
him as his mind is far away thinking about all those 'times, he's
seen Mulder and Scully narrowly escape death.
"Why should it stop now?" he rhetorically asks Kirkenbaum.   He
smiles with glassy red eyes as the thought enters his mind,
"Mulder's child."  Then all of a sudden, his face transforms
immediately back into the calm and collected shady figure facade,
and instructs Kirkenbaum to, "get Scanlon here now."  He
immediately complies and the CSM adds,  "Find Mulder, and don't
come back without him."  Kirkenbaum nods and promptly carries out
his orders.

"Let's not tell her Bill, she's been through enough-- with  the
falling out between her and Fox, we should wait for a while,
until she's emotionally better."  Mrs. Scully pleads, torn inside
her heart.
Bill staring at the floor, with his hands on his hips.
"Mom, she has the right to know,"  he mutters.
"I don't want to see her in any more pain than she already is.  I
can't handle the pain of watching Dana lose the only chance of
experiencing a life growing in her, not being able to do a damn
thing as it slips away,"  she explains.
"That's why we have to let her know, Mom.  This could be the only
chance she'll ever get to feel a life inside her,
to know she was able to conceive, to let her mourn, Mom," Bill
pleads.
"For God's sake she lost Fox, and now she has to go through
losing his child. I don't know if she can take it.  I don't know
if I can take it,"  she sobs as Bill pulls her to him.  He breaks
down saying, "We're here for her, and we're going to take care of
her."

They walk back into the room after regaining their composure.
Scully inclined on the hospital bed in tears.  "Bill, if I have
cancer again, it's okay to tell me,"  she says, while Bill holds
on to her hand.  He bends his head down as he fights to keep his
composure. He stopped himself as soon as he spoke, choking on his
words.  His grip on her hand tightens as tears squeeze through
his closed eyelids.  It was so difficult for him.  Mrs. Scully
had already walked out of the room, unable to silence her
heaving.  Bill mustered up all his strength to make sure he would
tell her gently, with tenderness and care.  "Dana, you are", he
sniffs, you're pregnant,"  he finally says and looks into her
eyes hoping he could draw out of himself, hope, and bring it into
hers.  She sobs uncontrollably, hugging him tight.  She wipes the
tears out of her eyes, and releases him, to lean back and feel
her stomach.   Her cheeks full of tears rise as a smile creeps up
her face.  "Are you sure, Bill?"  Her face and eyes lit up, and
gave off a fantastic glow.  For a minute he was happy sharing
with her the joy, the joy that was to inevitably  turn into
agony.  Bill didn't care to tell her the rest.  He wanted her to
experience the thrill of being pregnant for as long as she could,
as short as the time was.

He sparked a match stick by scraping it against the cement
railings of the hospital balcony.  His eyes squint as the wind
blows the cigarette's smoke to it.  Using his free hand, he
brushes back the hair on his forehead. Against the advice of his
doctors, he toked the fumes into his artificial lung.  The
cigarette helped him calm his nerves, thinking about the unborn
child in Scully.  For the fist time in his life, he had let his
emotions take over.  This was a divine sign, he thought, from God
guiding him to his destiny.  For so long, he never thought he'd
pay for the consequences of his actions.  He thrived in a power
struggle to restore order, to control the fate of people's lives,
and  yet never realizing that everything he had done would
someday back fire. His near death experience had prompted him to
see the true meaning of his cause, and that all he wanted was to
leave a legacy, not about his life's work but what he desired the
most, but didn't have, until now.  This unanticipated event
opened his heart, making him yearn to be part of what he
destroyed.  He felt a presence beside him and turns to find the
WMM standing there.  The WMM leans onto the railings beside him
speaking while looking outward.
 "It's over," the WMM flatly says.
The CSM pinching his cigarette, gestures with his eyes to
elaborate.
"Mulder has been resurrected from the dead,"  the WMM notifies
him.
"I heard" he says, blowing out the smoke in the same breath
before turning to his side to face him.  "Do you want me to kill
him again?"  he asks sarcastically."
The WMM does not answer quickly as he grins at the CSM, who turns
back to rest his arms on the rail.  "Not unless he kills you
first,"  the WMM utters.
There is tension rising in the air above them, but being men of
high diplomacy, they automatically plaster on their genuinely
fake smiles, maintaining their civility.  The CSM was not phased
by the WMM's warning.
"He will never be on your side," the WMM says.  "As of this
moment, he is back at his old job, planning a way to avenge the
severed relationship between him and his former partner, and to
persecute the man who took him away from his life's work.  So you
see my friend.  Mulder is on our side, keeping you in check."
 As he starts to turn and walk away, the CSM watching him go,
utters, "This is far from over."
The man turns to say, "I have Mulder exactly where I want him,
you don't."  His eyes roll away from the CSM, as he turns around
to exit the balcony.

The Hoover Building in Washington D. C. was at that moment being
haunted by Mulder's ghost as he passed through the halls.  Agents
running away or to him enchanted by the apparition, drawing their
minds to imagine the possibility of one of the morbid X-File
cases coming to life.  He barged into Skinner's office in the
middle of a meeting.  Skinner, standing dumbfounded to see Mulder
at the door, so real, so alive.  The other agents seated, look on
and marvel  at the grand entrance of the notorious "Spooky"
Mulder. "I want Cancer Man, and I want him dead!" he demands.
Skinner still in shock, paid no attention to his demand. He
quickly dismisses the other agents.  "Is it really you?"  he asks
observing closely, Mulder's movements.
"You know damn well what happened to me and Scully, and you know
who's responsible for this outrageous crime!"
Mulder retorts.
"I don't Mulder.  I honestly believe the two of you died.  What
happened to the two of you?"  Skinner wonders.
"He used Scully against me, and she so graciously obliged.
Throwing away everything we worked so hard on, for so many years,
including the relationship I thought we had.  She covered it up
so that I may never learn the truth, about my sister, about my
father, about the source of all the corruption and deception, I,
and the world have fallen victim to,"  Mulder, in agony says.
Skinner's face expresses disbelief and sympathy for him.  "Where
is she now?"  he asks.
Mulder's red eyes widens as the very question boils in his mind.
"Hiding back into the hole like a rat, afraid of the truth she
never wanted to find-.  Mulder whimpers, hurting inside
remembering the love they pretended to have.
Skinner sits him down and consoles him, "You have to relax and
think about what you're saying.  Do you honestly believe what
you're saying?"  he asks.  He buries his head between his legs,
wanting to climb out of his body to escape the pain felt all
over.  He remembers every moment of their marriage. It was bliss,
there was peace, there was love, but the thought of it being
planted into his mind streamed through his thoughts.  He
disregarded his emotions, clearing his head and resolved to
thinking only about finding the CSM.
"I want to find that subhuman friend of yours even if it means
throwing what little is left of my life into hell."
Skinner's phone rings.  He answers and Mulder stands ready to
leave his office.  Skinner lifts his hands to gesture him to
wait.
"Mulder, wait.  Someone has an important message for you.  He's
from the CIA,"  Skinner says as he drops the phone.
Into the office, enters Kirkenbaum, who introduces himself as,
"Agent Mitchell".  Mulder instantly recognizes him, and shouts,
"You're working for that son of a b---h! Where is he? That
fuckin' son of a b---h!"
Skinner runs from behind his desk to restrain Mulder from
assaulting the agent.
 "Skinner he's in it with Scully.  He's a double agent working
for the s-."
The agent cuts him off.  "Mulder, I don't care what you say or do
to me.  You just calm down and get the story straight.  You're
acting like an overheated asshole, while Scully is in the
hospital, and only God knows how much pain she's going through,
for you and for holding on to your unborn child!"  he protests.

Skinner feels Mulder's tense body loosen and let's him go.  His
eyes were red with rage and now they are red with obscurity.  He
could physically see the red boiling heat of the anger in his
eyes fade, and hear and feel the blood rushing in him, cool down
into a tranquil flowing stream.  He felt as if he was drowning
emotionally. He didn't know what to think, to say or feel.
His mouth was dry and he whispers, "That's impossible."
Mitchell says carefully, "It was very unlikely and still is.
She's going to lose the baby."


In the bright, white room, Scully holds on to her belly relishing
on the possibility of Mulder and her being a family together
again.  She feels the exhilaration of the gestational experience
then agonizes over the increasing pain  coming from under her
belly.  She refused to let the pain bother her, placing happy
thoughts into her mind.  Visions, like a walk in the park with a
carriage and Mulder by her side, or visions of a little girl, a
lot like Emily, calling for her Daddy as Mulder opens his arms to
embrace the toddler running to him.  She knew that  Mulder would
instantly take her and his baby into his heart.  He would make a
great father, the same way he made out to be a great husband.
She emotionally ached for him to be there for her, in her hour of
need.  In need of his hope, inspiring love.  As she took a deep
breath, the aching turned into a strong surge of what felt like a
thousand bolts of electricity, flaring in her lower abdomen.  She
lets out a deep gutted cry, tightly contracting her stomach, as
she cringes in tremendous pain.  She thrusts herself back,
bringing her knees up as her legs straddles, then rising back up
as the pressure of the pain wrenches into her abdomen again, and
again.  Mrs. Scully runs to her bedside, trying to calm her down.
Dana, in extreme agony, holds on to the bedsheets, fiercely
pulling it as the pain drives into her.  She breaks into tears
knowing that her body cannot handle her pregnant condition.  That
she might lose the one chance she has in creating a life she
thought she was never able to do. The one chance to give herself
new meaning in life, and to Mulder too.  She yearned for him to
be here and feel their baby fighting to stay alive in it's
mother's ravaged womb.  Fighting just like it's Daddy, to
survive.  She cries in the midst of the paralyzing pain , "Mom,
I, I need him here. Oh God,.... I don't think I c-c-can  t-take it
much m-more."
The doctors rush in to prepare Scully for an emergency operation.
They inject Demerol into her to lessen the pain.  She rests her
head on the flat gurney, falling in and out of unconsciousness.
Nurses and doctors hovering above her, touching and poking her
numb body  with needles.  Scully wondering if the baby had given
up its fight, for she couldn't feel the kicking, wanting it to,
to reassure her that it wanted to make its way into this world.
She looks straight into the light above the doctor, whose face is
familiar.  A comfort she finds before succumbing into the effects
of the anesthesia.


Mrs. Scully sits in the waiting room, holding a rosary as she
prays to God, for hope, for the survival of the baby and Dana.
The elevator car reaches the third floor and the bell rings to
announce it's arrival.  Mrs. Scully anticipates the doors to
slide open as it did, with Mulder and Mitchell inside.  Mulder
had a look of torment in his eyes, seeing past her as he rushed
towards the nurse's station .
"Fox!" Mrs. Scully calls to him.  He turns to her.
"Where is she?"  he asks.
"She's in there,"  she says, pointing to the doors leading to the
operating rooms.
"No!" he shouts, lifting his arms to his head, pulling on his
hair. "My baby," he mutters, then starts staggering towards the
doors. Mitchell grabs him by the arm, to stop  him.  He struggles
to brake free.  Then, from no where, Mitchell sees Bill's fists
press into Mulder's cheek, creating a smacking sound.  Blood
gushes from Mulder's mouth as his face snaps to the right.  The
impact was so strong that Mulder flew from Mitchell's hold.  He
held onto his jaw with one hand while the other supported the
weight of his body  on the floor.  When he looked up, he could
see Bill standing there with his fist still clinched.  The petite
Mrs. Scully had her arms wrapped around her son attempting to
hold him back, talking to him, telling him to calm down as she
started to brake down again.
Bill looks down at his mother who rests her head on his chest.
She can feel his heart pounding hard from the adrenaline of the
punch.  "You think you can come here after deserting her, and put
her through more pain an heartache again.  I'm not going to let
you do it.  You've ruined her life enough as it is, and I'm not
going to stand around anymore to let you do it to my sister!"  he
threatens him.
"Please, Bill,"  his mother begs sobbing.  "Please stop it, stop
this anger you have in you.  It's not going to help."
"I don't want him here.  He's only trouble--"  he starts to
explain.
"Dana needs him here.  Please Bill,"  she continues to beg.  Bill
looks at Mulder who slowly gets up from the ground, knowing he
could easily finish him off, but looks at his tormented mother,
and walks out, instead, deciding to take his rage elsewhere.

The double doors swing open with Scully in the stretcher still
unconscious.  Mulder jumps from his chair to her.  He walks
alongside the stretcher grabbing hold of her hand.  "I'm here
Scully" he whispers, but she doesn't respond, still  in a state
of deep sleep, free from pain--for now.  It would be long before
Scully awakens, and Mulder did not know how to face her, to tell
her that they had lost the baby.  He recalled the day's events,
especially the incident when he knocked her to the floor.  A
tremendous wave of guilt overcame him, after realizing that he
must've triggered the miscarriage.  He couldn't understand why he
felt so angry this morning at her, accusing her of plotting
against him and betraying him.  But he still hated the CSM with a
passion, and was now, more determined to persecute the most
hideous man on Earth.  He got up from the floor outside Scully's
room to look for Mitchell to help him make sense of everything
that has happened.  Once outside, he noticed the day had ended
and the cold night was creeping  around the hospital.  From a
distance, he could see Mitchell talking to someone at the end of
the building, a man smoking a cigarette.  'Could it be the CSM?'
Mulder thought, but as he quickens his pace, Mrs. Scully opens
the door and calls for him,
"She's awake" she says.
He stops dead on his tracks wanting to run to Scully's room, but
he turned to Mitchell and the smoking man, then back to Mrs.
Scully who was still waiting for him.  He looks back at the men,
certain that one of them was the CSM, but Dana was waiting. He
didn't want to deny her the emotional sustenance she desperately
needed, that only he could provide.  Her eyes were heavy from the
drugs, and swollen from the crying.  Mulder was given the task to
tell her about the loss, when he felt she was ready for it,
knowing in fact that she never will be.  He sits on the edge of
her bed, taking her hands and bringing it to his face.  He needed
comfort too.  She knew, by the look in his eyes that there wasn't
going to be that walk in the park with the carriage.  Her hands
gently held his face, catching his hot tears in her palms, as he
let himself go releasing his agonizing grief.  He took her hands
and kissed it, taking the stand in issuing the comfort, so she
can see that he was sorry, that he never wanted to hurt her, and
that he was not going to leave her.  He kisses her knuckles and
feels the diamond ring  rub against his face.  Scully still weak
couldn't find enough strength to tell him that there was nothing
he could do, nor anyone else. She lay listless, and so weak. Her
skin pale and cold.  He embraces her frail body, bringing himself
to her chest.  Wanting to squeeze her so tight to revive her with
his warmth.  He panicked when he felt no response from her.  He
cradles her in his arms, trying to see life in her eyes.  The
strong medication made it difficult to see the face in front of
hers.  She wanted to so much it made her head hurt.  Mulder was
terrified at the thought of her dying in his arms, no longer able
to endure the emasculating operation and painful heartbrake she
has suffered.   Her eyes close as Mulder sobs uncontrollably
beside her. "What have I done?" he sobs,  "What have I done?"

The next few days were the hardest for Scully and Mulder.  He
left the hospital, without anyone knowing, and headed to his
mother's.  Spooky waited for him at the door, a welcoming face
that reminds him of a beautiful relationship he could only dream
about now. One that he shared with Scully.  He did not leave the
house.  His mother would urge him to stay with Scully, but he
just cried saying that she didn't want him there, that he was the
reason they lost the baby.  He spent most of the days sulking on
the couch, staring at the wall.  His mother started to get very
concerned and decided to go to the hospital to see Dana and offer
her what  she couldn't give Mulder.

 She lay in the bed, oblivious to her surroundings.  Mrs. Scully
had told Mulder's mother that Dana had lapsed into a state of
shock when Mulder stopped coming.  Bill couldn't even comfort
her.  She did not respond to the doctors or anyone-- she wanted
Mulder.  At night, she would wake up crying looking for her baby
and Mulder, telling the nurse that they had been kidnapped.  She
would pull the tubes out of her skin trying to get up, but she
didn't even have the strength to sit up.  Today, she just lay
there crying, momentarily looking at Mrs. Mulder to see if Mulder
was behind her.  She turned to the other side realizing he had
not come.
"Her condition is worsening.  She's had a fever since the day of
the operation. She's hardly eaten, and they've been giving her
all sorts of pills making her an emotional roller coaster."  Mrs.
Scully told Mulder's mother, then she asks,  "How is Fox?" hoping
to lighten the mood.  It didn't.
Mrs. Mulder answers, "He's lost.  He blames himself for the death
of the baby, saying that he hurt Dana and it caused the
miscarriage. That, he's afraid to face your family knowing  he is
the cause of all her injuries."
"Poor Fox," Mrs. Scully sympathizes.  "There was no way the child
could've survived.  It was in her  fallopian tube and they could
not transfer the egg into her damaged uterus.  You think that
with all this technology, there'd be a way," Mrs. Scully ponders.
Mrs.  Mulder looked at Mrs. Scully knowing exactly what she
meant.

Mrs. Mulder returns home to find Mulder sitting out on the porch
in a T-shirt and sweat pants,  sporting an untidy five o'clock
shadow.  Spooky sitting beside him letting him rub her back.  She
was going to ignore him, but paused as she opened the door.  "I
went to see Dana,"  she mentions, Mulder responding to her,
leaning over.
"She needs you desperately," she pleads shutting the door to sit
beside him.  Mulder sinks his head down, "I can't give her what
she needs, Mom."
"Fox, don't keep blaming yourself.  There was nothing you could
do.  The baby could never survive due to the extraordinary
circumstance,"  she explains.
"Mom, I did something so horrible.  I physically hurt her."  She
was surprise to hear that.  " I pushed her down and that, I'm
sure triggered the abdominal pain,"  he confesses.
 "Mulder, even if you hadn't done that, she wouldn't have still
been able to keep the baby,"  she pleads with him.  "She doesn't
blame you.  She's been calling out for you, scared to death that
someone has taken you away from her."  Mrs. Mulder grasps her
son's chin and turns his head to her.  "Son, this tragedy will
come to pass.  Lord knows, I've been through a similar situation-
-we both have, losing Samantha.  But there is nothing worse than
mourning alone, not being able to give and receive comfort from
loved ones.  I knew you were hurting, but I was angry with your
father, and I didn't give you that source of comfort you needed.
I've always looked back with painful regret,   considering myself
as an awful mother to the only child I had left.
Mulder hugs his mother consoling her, "No Mom--.
She urges on,   "Maybe you would have gotten the answers you are
now looking for if we just kept the lines of communication open
in this family, and your work might have never consumed you the
way it has."
"That's not true" he denies.  "I spent the best months of my life
doing absolutely nothing, while Scully went off to work
everyday,"  he quips.  She lifts his left arm and brings it to
her lap, noticing the wedding band on his finger.  "What are you
going to do now?" she asks, giving reference to the ring.

His mother was right.  He harbored a lot of resentment towards
his parents throughout the years, knowing it affected the way he
thought about life.  The way he was going to live his life,
always wanting to find the answers that his parents wouldn't
give.  There was an even larger void in his heart, growing by the
minute.  The love he had never felt before for anyone, that he
knew he could only feel for her was escaping his heart to leave
only a familiar emptiness as its occupant.  Before her and after,
he couldn't imagine another.  He knew that Scully would never
betray him.  She even gave herself, completely to him, to protect
him.  Mulder finally admitted to himself that he played too
easily into the games of his opposers.   He looked at everything
differently now, through the eyes of a woman who's cause was him.
How she willingly relinquished a life free of persecution,
choosing to be with him, knowing that she will never see the
family, who loves her so much, ever again.  He couldn't fathom
the depth of her conviction to him.  It was an incredible feeling
to be loved that way-the way Scully loved him.  She was more than
a blessing in his life.  A miracle making miracles happen.  Could
he be worthy to receive that kind of love?  He thought not, but
knew that she was more than entitled to receive it from him.  "We
can continue with the crusade to find the truth, with a stronger
force within us,"  he said to himself sure of his future in the
Bureau with Scully by his side.

Her eyes stared aimlessly out the hospital's hallway window.  She
leaned to one side of the wheelchair propping her elbow on the
arm rest so she could rest her face on her hand. She wondered
what was she going to do with her life now that Mulder didn't
want to be in it.  She didn't want to think, she just wanted to
drift into oblivion, forgetting about the beautiful past that
could never be relived.  If only time could stand still, she
thought,  'I'd still want to be married to Mulder, to have him
touch me, just once, when our creation dwelled in me-to feel the
fruit of our love growing in me.'

  Her dreams vanished all in an instant, leaving her vulnerable
to the fears she thought she overcame.  Fears of feeling so
strongly for someone and that abandonment was inevitable.  She
let her guard down and her fear immediately invaded her heart.
She remembers how hard it was to fight her feelings for him in
the beginning because she respected the status quo of the
relationship. But it was a battle her mind would lose and heart
would win because his love was so inviting, and she had no idea
it would ever come to this.  Her mind replays the happiest
moments in their short-lived love affair;  the time he carried
her  through the threshold of their new home;  when he helped her
pick the papers he knocked over in her office after a heated
sexual tryst;  when he carefully lifted her to place the angel on
top of the most beautiful Christmas tree she has ever seen;  when
he presented the most endearing and extravagant token of his
love, the ruby necklace, he said was a symbol of the beautiful
creation that wore it;  when they recklessly drove through the
town, like two over-grown drunken teen-agers, feeling invincible
and youthful, teasing death with their laughs resonating in the
wind, ending that evening making love on the slippery vinyl seats
of the vette, wet from their sweat and the heat they generated in
the stuffy garage;  when she realized her greatest fear was to
lose Mulder's love.  'He promised he'd never leave,'  she
recalled.  'He promised.'
Then suddenly she feels a tap on the shoulder, and looks up to
behold Mulder's face, clean shaven with a bruise on his left
cheek, smiling at her.
"I swear, this is like dejavu,"  he says taking Scully's hand to
kiss it.
"I've come to take you home,"  he continues, as Scully stares at
him open mouthed. He reaches into his pocket and pulls something
from inside.
 "You might want to put this on,"  he says taking her hand to
drop a tiny object into it.  She picked it up and lifted the ring
to her eyes, looking back at Mulder to explain to her what is
going on.
"Here, let me have this."
He pulls off the wedding band already on her finger, and tells
her to read the inscription on the inner circle of the new ring.
 It read, "My partner for life, love Mulder."
He kneels down to face her, noticing her tired eyes as he slips
on the ring.  No words come out of her mouth.  She just caresses
the bruised cheek on his face, with the back of her hand, runs
her fingers through his hair,  feels his forehead, traces the
outline of his face, as Mulder sighs to the touch of her soft
delicate hands.  Her fingers softly slide down his cheek, then
onto the soft, moist skin of his bottom lip.  She makes an effort
to absorb the sensation of  his firm face, and the tender look in
his eyes, all back into her emotionally detached heart. He looks
compassionately at the eyes, once intense with feeling, now
hollow and fragile, earnestly emanating his strong and sure love
for her into them. They never needed words to know what the other
was feeling, and when Scully looked harder into his eyes, she saw
the validation of his commitment to his promise.
"Let's make new memories, Scully," he softly whispers.
 "The power is in our hands,"  she softly adds, remembering those
exact words said to her, one day, by a man whose  past was taken
away, left behind with the present in his control to make new
memories, and who found his future in a woman he remembers in his
yesterdays and sees in his tomorrows.
Mrs. Scully looks on from the door of the room.  A kindling
warmth streams through her body as she witnesses Mulder proposing
to her daughter.  Her heart cheers wildly knowing Scully's
response as she sees the couple's silhouette in front of the
sunlit window meet and melt into one.

Farther down the hall, the CSM indulges himself, also observing
the inevitable fate of the best of partners, of friends, and of
heroes.  He steps into the room of a comatosed woman, who has
just undergone a highly experimental procedure, one, sure to
affect certain lives in the hospital.  He looks at Mitchell and
Dr. Scanlon and announces.  "The legacy lives on."

THE END.................FOR NOW