From: the_lady_disdain@mailcity.com (Lady Disdain)
Date: 2000/07/04
Subject: xfc: COMPLETE: Thy Summer's Play - Time Has Told Me - 1 of 10
Source: atxc


Title - Thy Summer's Play - Time Has Told Me - Part 1 
of 10
Author - Lady Disdain
E-mail - The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com
Rating - G
Category - Requiem fic
Description - Vignette
Summary - Mulder reflects on Scully while holding 
her.
Spoilers - Requiem
Disclaimer - I do not own these characters, Fox does
and I'm just borrowing them. I also do not own Nick
Drake's lyrics. 
Author's notes - Please give me feedback I would 
*really* appreciate it. Yes, I do realize that this
header stuff is actually longer than the fic.
*shrug* It was my first try at fanfic, what can I
say?
-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 1 of 10
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
Time Has Told Me by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"Time has told me
You're a rare rare find
A troubled cure
For a troubled mind

And time has told me
Not to ask for more
Someday our ocean
Will find its shore"
- Nick Drake "Time Has Told Me"

 I wanted to tell her so many things tonight but the 
words just didn't come. I wanted to tell her that I 
love her. That she has been saving me since the day I 
met her. The day before she first set foot in the 
basement I was seriously considering ending it all. 
Now I don't ever want to stop, I want to find the 
truth with her and only her. She's sacrificed so 
much, I told her that tonight and I know she will 
sacrifice more. I know my words can only begin to 
repair the wounds that have been inflicted on her but 
it is a start.

I shift a little in the bed because my arm is falling 
asleep under her. Immediately after taking it away my 
arm feels cold and almost lonely. So I wrap it back 
around. While doing so I get a glimpse of her pale 
beautiful face. Around her neck I can see the gold 
chain of her necklace, the necklace that I wore when 
she was gone for those months. I admire her faith 
although I do not understand it. I do not understand 
a religion based on the impossible, a child born to a 
virgin mother.

I look at the necklace and I realize that it rests 
exactly on the scare from her implant. I wince at the 
thought of all the pain that must have gone along 
with the scar. I can not begin to imagine the 
horrible terror she must have felt while they were 
doing their tests on her. I wasn't able to protect 
her then just as I wasn't able to protect Samantha so 
many years ago. I hold Scully a little tighter and as 
I do this I see there is a single perfect tear below 
her eye. I kiss the tear away and then settle in the 
bed with my arms around Scully. I let the darkness of 
the night carry me away.

"Your tears they tell me
There's really no way 
Of ending your troubles
With things you can say

And time will tell you
To stay by my side
To keep on trying
'til there's no more to hide"
 - Nick Drake "Time Has Told Me"

Thy Summer's Play, Part 2
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
- William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------------------------
"A Place In The Cloud" by Lady Disdain 
&lt;The_Lady_Disdai@mailcity.com&gt;

"Strange face, with your eyes
So pale and sincere.
Underneath you know well
You have nothing to fear.
For the dreams that came to you when so young
Told of a life
Where spring is sprung

You would seem so frail
In the cold of the night
When the armies of emotion
Go out to fight
But while the earth sinks to its grave
You sail to the sky
On the crest of a wave"
- Nick Drake "Cello Song"

As I sit here in this hospital bed I tell Walter 
Skinner the impossible, that I am pregnant. With a 
questioning look on his face he asks, "What is your 
relationship with Mulder?" I lie and tell him we are 
just friends. Mulder and I have a deeper relationship 
than just friends, we got even closer that night in 
the motel room. But Skinner looks relieved at the 
sound of my false reply and then asks who the father 
is. I tell him, "Mulder." Walter shakes his head as 
he 
walks out the door. I know he is not disgusted with 
me, just merely confused. He is the Assistant 
Director after all, not an investigator of The X-
Files.

Skinner came to my room today to tell me what I 
already know, that they have taken Mulder. But unlike 
all the other times my partner has gone missing, I 
make no frantic calls to his cell phone. I let him 
go. I know that he wants to go as much as they want 
to take him. That realization is what made me so 
shaken that night. It is what caused me to knock on 
his motel room door.

While I slept next to Mulder that night a voice came 
to me and told me not to be afraid. It was at that 
point that I realized the voice belonged to Melissa. 
She said his abduction would be peaceful and not full 
of the terror and pain like mine. Melissa told me 
they would not hurt him because he is partly one of 
them. 

"Mulder is both a child of the stars and the earth." 
She said. "The earth has had him for nearly 
forty years, it is time for the stars to claim him." 

She told me that I would not be left alone 
here, I would miraculously conceive and bear Mulder's 
daughter and name her Samantha. Our daughter would be 
the Truth, the endpoint of the search.

After the voice left me I felt more at peace than I 
ever have in my life. It was then that I began to 
hear Mulder's thoughts as he lay next to me. He is 
thinking about how he much he loves me. He questions 
my faith which based on the immaculate conception. He 
laments on how he couldn't protect me from being 
abducted. I cry in my sleep for him, for the fact 
that the earth can no longer be the home of this 
sweet man that I love so dearly. I cry because this 
will be my last time in his arms for a long while.

Later when he tells me to leave Oregon for my own 
safety, I go with a silent protest in my heart even 
though I know it is what is right. I feel it when 
they take him, the feeling is so strong that I pass 
out.

Now I lay in my hospital bed with a perturbed Skinner 
outside my door and Mulder in the clouds. I know that 
someday he will return to take Samantha and me with 
him. The people of this earth will not be able to 
accept me as her mother or her that matter. She too, 
is a child of the stars.

So I close my eyes and rest my head on the pillow and 
concentrate, I want to send a message to Mulder up 
there. I tell him, "I believe."

"So forget this cruel world
Where I belong
I'll just sit and wait
And sing my song.
And if one day you should see me in the crowd
Lend a hand and lift me
To your place in the cloud."
- Nick Drake "Cello Song"

-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 3

"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
Way To Blue by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"Don't you have a word to show what may be done
Have you never heard a way to find the sun
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?

Have you seen the land living by the breeze
Can you understand the light among the trees
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Tell us all today
If you know the way to blue?"
- Nick Drake "Way To Blue" 

I feel it as soon as I step into the woods. It is as 
though I have felt it for my whole life but have 
kept pushed down. I now realize things that I never 
let myself know before. This earth is not my 
home. All my life I have never belonged anywhere, I 
have kept everyone except Scully from getting 
close to me. Standing here under the trees, I realize 
that is because I was not meant to stay. The 
intuition that earned me the nickname Spooky I got 
from my father. Neither Bill Mulder nor the 
Cancerman were my father. It does not matter now, 
they are both dead killed by the same man. I feel 
that I will finally meet my father tonight. I do not 
know how I know these things I just know.

The feeling gets stronger as I walk through the 
forest, I begin to hear a voice. Immediately I 
realize it belongs to Samantha. She tells me to not 
be afraid, she says they will not hurt me. 
Samantha tells me not to worry about Scully, she 
already knows and is allowing me to go. Samantha 
says that they let Scully listen to my thoughts the 
other night, she know that I love her and she 
loves me. That bit of information makes me awash with 
happiness. Samantha says she has much to tell 
me but that we are running out of time, the ship is 
almost done. 

Samantha's voice fades away as I step into the blue. 
I hear Skinner calling me but I don't turn back. 
In the blue I see the others. They too are children 
of the earth and the stars, it is also their time 
to go. We all give each other silent nods. Then the 
ship is ready and I look up into the blue as it's 
warm light engulfs me.
 
I am going home.  


"Look through time and find your rhyme
Tell us what you find
We will wait
At your gate
Hoping like the blind

Can you now recall all that you have know?
Will you never fall
When the light has flown?
Tell me all that you may know
Show me what you have to show
Won't you come and say
If you know the way to blue?"
- Nick Drake "Way to Blue"

-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 4
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
Things Behind The Sun by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to see you while
Your time away
And once you've seen what they have been
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day
Who'll hear what I say
Look around you find the ground
Is not so far from where you are
Don't Do wise
For down below they never grow
They're always tired on charms are hired
From out of their eyes" 
- Nick Drake "Things Behind The Sun" 

The board director closed the file with a sigh as she 
brushed a stray blonde hair away from her pale face. 
A most unfortunate case, she had once held high 
expectations for Dana Scully. Agent Scully's original 
aberration from the expected career path 
was...forgivable. At a young age a woman could make 
such a mistake. There were more than just a handful 
of women in the FBI that wouldn't mind being Agent 
Mulder's "partner". But this, this was most certainly 
*not* understandable. The case was this, Agent Mulder 
is missing and Agent Scully is claiming that she is 
having Agent Mulder's child. The catch is Agent 
Scully is also claiming rather fervently that there 
was no improper conduct between herself and her 
partner. The board director began the feel a migraine 
coming on. She turned to the Agent Wicks and sternly 
told the young man to bring Agent Scully in.
*****************************************************
Agent Scully sat on the bench outside the boardroom 
door with her head in her hands and her stomach full 
of butterflies, it was not the first time she had 
been under administrative fire. But before she was 
not alone and it was not like this. This time it was 
not the validity of her work in The X-Files that they 
were questioning, it was her own ethics. The rational 
part of her brain said "Why not? You're going to go 
in there and try to explain how you're having your 
partner's baby *but* you didn't have sex with him. 
Doesn't that just kind of go against everything they 
taught you at medical school?" Before the other half 
of her could reply, a kid who looked just out of his 
teens stuck his head out of the door, smile and said 
softly, "Agent Scully? The board is ready to see you 
now."
*****************************************************
As the young woman walked into the room the director 
sat a little straighter in her chair, this was not 
going to be easy. Agent Scully walked into the room 
with her head held high and an air of calm and poise 
about her. 

The older woman took a deep breath and asked her 
first question, "Agent Scully do you have an idea why 
you have been called before this board?"

Agent Scully straightened her shoulders and hoped 
they couldn't see her knees shaking, she should have 
known they were going to do this, they were going to 
make her say it. "I believe that I have been called 
before you today because of some circumstances which 
I can neither deny nor fully explain. These 
circumstances are causing my ethics to come into 
question."

The director locked eyes with Agent Scully and pursed 
her lips, "Good Agent Scully, I'm glad you 
understand. We are hoping you can shed some light 
onto this report. The other board members and I are 
having trouble..." the director paused for a moment 
to find the right word, "...comprehending it."

"May I please have permission to speak freely for a 
moment?" Scully asked.

"You may."

Scully crossed her arms behind her back and slowly 
took a step forward, "In the seven years I have spent 
with the division called The X-Files I have seen many 
cases that neither my scientific knowledge nor my 
medical training can explain, the report which you 
all have in your hands also falls in this category. A 
few weeks ago it was thought that my cancer had 
ridden me barren, that I could never have children. 
But now, somehow I am pregnant. I can not explain how 
this is possible just as much as I can not explain 
how I know the baby is my partners. Because this is 
my claim, you and your superiors are concerned that I 
have had an improper relationship with my partner, a 
very popular rumor I might add but a rumor 
nonetheless."

The director propped an elbow on the desk and rested 
a hand under her cheek, "Agent Scully, I see you are 
not going to be forthcoming with these matters so we 
will have to proceed with questioning you." She 
turned to the older man sitting next to her, "A.D. 
Clarkson you may commence questioning."

The white hared man shifted in his chair, "Agent 
Scully, how would you describe your relationship with 
your partner?"

"I would say we have a very close and understanding 
relationship."

"Friends?"

"More than that sir. Although Agent Mulder cannot be 
here to testify to this, I would say we are best-
friends."

"Agent Scully, has your partner ever made any sexual 
advances toward you?"

Suddenly there was a flash of memories in Scully's 
mind, Eddie Van Blunt nearly kissing her, the near 
kiss in the Mulder's hallway, laying together in the 
motel room...
"No sir, Agent Mulder has never made any advances 
toward me. He cannot attest to this but I think we 
love each other very much but we both know not to 
cross that line."

Agent Clarkson said with a sneer "Its very nice, 
Agent Scully, that you are defending your partner 
since he could not be present today. I must ask, have 
you ever kissed your partner?"

"Yes sir but not romantically just a New Year's Eve 
kiss."

"I want you to think about this next question and 
carefully consider your answer, Agent Scully. Did you 
ever have improper relations with your partner?"

Scully stood there and thought of all of the times 
they held each other in their arms, one or both 
crying about something. She crossed her arms and 
said, "No Sir."

A.D Clarkson's face began to get red and his brow 
furrowed. "Agent Scully, I am not going to sit here 
and baby you any longer. You can most certainly may 
not come before this board claiming that you are 
pregnant with your partner's baby and say that your 
are very close to your partner but your never had sex 
with him. Agent Scully, babies are not just made 
without the knowledge of the parents!"

Scully, thinking about little Emily, tried hard to 
hold back the tears.

"Agent Scully, I want you to answer this question 
truthfully. Did you ever have sex with your partner?"

She took in a deep breath and raised her voice a 
little louder than she should have, "Have you ever 
been so close to a person, have you ever *loved* them 
*so* much that a physical relationship with them 
would be a step *down*?" By the end of that sentence 
Scully's voice was shaking, the entire boardroom was 
silent.

The board director leaned over the desk and into her 
mike as she stared coldly at the agent, "The board 
sees that you will not be forthcoming on these 
matters. As a last resort, Agent Scully, when you 
child is born it will undergo DNA testing. *That* 
should settle these matters. Understood?"

Agent Scully shook her head, "No m'am, I'd like to 
know how you have possession of Agent Mulder's DNA."

The director crossed her arms and rested them on the 
table and looked straight at Scully, "I suggest you 
not question our resources, Agent Scully, we have our 
ways. Until Agent Mulder comes back from *where-ever* 
he has gone, I am assigning you a new partner." The 
young agent sitting in the corner smiled and nodded 
in Scully's direction, "Agent Wicks you may introduce 
yourself later. Agent Scully, FBI policy states that 
you may take maternity leave as soon as you and your 
doctor deem it necessary. With some luck, Agent 
Scully, you will not have to appear in front of this 
board until after the testing of your child. Agent 
Scully, Agent Wicks, you may return to your work 
now."
***************************************************** 
Scully walked out the door as Agent Wicks held it 
open for her. After shutting the door behind him he 
turned to her and smiled. "Hi, I'm Agent Wicks, I'll 
be your new partner."

Scully sized up the man, no, boy as she shook his 
hand. He could be no more than three inches taller 
than herself. His black hair was cut close to his 
head making the agent look even younger. There was 
not even a single line on his face. She somehow 
mustered a weak smile back at him. "Please to meet 
you, let me show to my office." Scully did not bother 
to correct herself and say 'our office'.

Wicks smiled again, he was always smiling, "Great! 
Let me go get my stuff, wait right here." 

So once again Scully sat on the bench outside the 
boardroom with her head in her hands but this time 
but this time she softly began to cry. 

"And open wide the hymns you hide
You find renown while people frown
At things that you say
But say what you'll say
About the farmers and the fun
And the things behind the sun
And the people round your head
Who say everything's been said
And the movement in your brain
Sends you out into the rain"
- Nick Drake "Things Behind The Sun"

---------------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 5
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
- William Blake "Little Fly"
---------------------------------
Home by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"Angels need an assumed body, not for themselves, but 
on our account." 
- Thomas Aquinas
 
"And when the day arrives
I'll become the sky
And I'll become the sea" 
- Nine Inch Nails "La Mer" 

When the blue light takes Mulder he is still. He 
cannot move, just like when they took Samantha. But 
this time fear does not chill him. Instead the warmth 
of happiness resonates throughout his body, 
belonging. Mulder begins to feel his feet lift off 
the ground as he loses conscious. 
*****************************************************
White. The room is so white it makes his eyes hurt. 
In a far-off corner there is a mechanical beeping. 
Dark splotches begin to appear in his vision. The 
memory of the white room in the insane asylum sends 
his body tense. A hand reaches out and lightly rests 
on his shoulder.

A soothing voice says, "Relax, Mulder, the answers 
will come."

And then he eyes give in to the white and the 
darkness and close slowly.
*****************************************************
Mulder woke up wearing his favorite clothes, a black 
T-shirt and jeans with his worn boots. He is in a 
living room sitting on a green couch that is behind a 
light brown coffee table and to the left of a blue 
armchair. There are white flowers in a vase on the 
table and a ceiling fan above. It is the kind of cozy 
living room that he would expect a shaken wife to 
walk into the room with his ice tea at hand, ready to 
answer his questions about her missing husband. 
Instead a short round middle-aged man walks in from 
the doorway. He stops suddenly on his way to the 
armchair because he has just realized that Mulder is 
awake.

"Well it sure takes a lot to keep you down!" He says 
with a smile as he sits down.  "All the better. I 
guess I've got some explaining to do."

Mulder begins to speak but he can't seem to get his 
thoughts to convert to sentences properly. He manages 
to blurt out hoarsely "...you look...I feel...seen 
you..."

The man puts his slightly pudgy index finger up, "I 
was getting to that. It seems that your kind, for all 
of the time spent imagining what we look like, have a 
hard time actually conversing and interacting with 
us in our regular form. So to counter-act your 
astoundment, we shift into people you see everyday, 
yet never commit to memory. Right now I'm 
in the form of Frank P. Roseth who is usually in 
front of you in the check out line at the super-
market. He never tries to sneek in more than twelve 
items in the express lane, very efficient shopper. 
The same as for why we are in this living room, 
Frank's living room I might add. Your people just 
can't relax in the normal surroundings of our ship. I 
don't know why, I think they are *very* comfortable. 
Oh well, to each his own I guess." "Frank" finished 
with a shrug.

For some reason these words make an insane sort of 
sense in Mulder's mind. He tries to speak again, 
"white...Frank...what tests...doing." He 
finishes with his hands raised with his palms up 
towards the ceiling, he gives up.

Frank sat back in his chair; "You are a very smart 
man, Mulder. In the white room, as you were trying to 
describe it, we were taking care of any previous, 
existing, and future medical problems. The knee which 
has never been the same since you landed on it funny 
in that spring pick-up basketball game? Fixed. You'll 
notice that you no longer have any scars from the 
*many* times you have been shot. We fixed your left 
shoulder so it won't dislocate anymore. And we got 
rid of the early stages of lung cancer left over from 
your early smoking days, among other things. All in 
all you should feel better than you ever have in your 
life. Your mind will uncloud itself and your voice 
will return in a few minutes, those are the only side 
effects. This is the standard treatment for any 
of our returning children although the others who 
came with you needed some assistance in the mental 
department. You most certainly did not. You have 
already reached your highest capacity for learning 
and are maintaining it quite well. We want to give 
you every advantage possible before you embark on 
this odyssey of sorts. Come follow me. Although I 
may have answered some of your questions, I know you 
have many more questions that I alone cannot answer."

As Frank rises from the chair, Mulder gets up and 
follows him through the doorway.
*****************************************************
They enter a dark auditorium and Frank shows Mulder 
to his seat. The house lights come on and Mulder 
looks around the room. He sees the same faces he saw 
in the blue. But they look different, relaxed 
somehow, at peace. Mulder begins to wonder if they 
are thinking the same thing about him. He can't 
wonder for long before the house lights dims the 
stage lights come on and a woman steps up on the 
stage.

"If you are wondering why this room looks so 
familiar," She begins, "It is because you all saw a 
production of Peter Pan in here when you were younger 
and for some of you that was not so long ago." The 
woman paused.

Mulder instantly remembers. He was eight and Samantha 
was four, the local high school was putting a 
production of Peter Pan and they begged their mom to 
take them. It was magical, he and Samantha were both 
awed at the children flying across the auditorium to 
a place far far away. On the way home, in between 
fighting, they agreed that they both wanted to live 
in Never Land forever.

The short blonde haired woman began to speak again, 
"The easiest way to explain things is to start from 
the beginning. On the far edge of this universe there 
were twin stars with twin planets. It seems as though 
this universe favors this form of intelligent life, 
human. So these two planets co-existed for eons, 
their inhabitants blissfully unaware of each other. 
Eventually contact was made and we lived in peaceful 
harmony. Together we evolved." The woman paused and 
turned into her original form, a short little gray 
alien. Quickly she returned back into the blonde 
haired woman she was imitating and resumed her 
speech. "The habitants of the sister planet we will 
call Morte for reasons which will become obvious 
became restless. They had visited your planet 
early on and didn't find much. They left a few 
colonists to keep guard and to help if they were to 
return later. Soon they became restless 
again. The restlessness quickly turned into 
bitterness and then anger. They were not happy with 
ruling only their own planet. There were 
several attempts to take over our planet, Vite, all 
failed. So they moved on, unfortunately, to your 
planet again. We Vitians have come to help your 
people. If they take over and populate your planet 
they will soon be able to overpower us. This is where 
the children of the stars come into play. Since the 
late 1950's we have been making hybrids." The woman 
gestured toward the audience. "You. You were created 
as such, genetically you are still half of your 
mother and half your father. But half of your 
essence, your being, is us. We have found that you 
children generally feel as though you don't belong on 
Earth. You tend to shut others out, a few of you have 
let an occasional non-hybrid in but more or less you 
are loners. A few of you have some of our powers 
of intuition. We are very proud of all of you 
children and now your help is in demand. We need your 
knowledge of your Earth, your people. Together we can 
destroy the Mortians who want to destroy your race. 
Tomorrow we will introduce you to the other hybrids 
and begin discussion of tactics. For now all of you 
need rest. Your guide will take you to your room."

Frank was suddenly standing next to Mulder with a 
smile he said "Come on Mulder you need rest."

Mulder had no idea how tired he really was until he 
tried to walk. The past day (or was it days? Mulder 
wasn't sure) and it's events had taken their toll on 
him. He sleepily let Frank guide him to his room 
which looked exactly like his living room right down 
to his couch.

Mulder laid down on the couch and before sleep took 
him he realized something. He thought, "I am neither 
on Earth nor on Vite. I am in between. I am home." 

"And the sea will come to kiss me
For I am going
Home


Nothing can stop me now"
- Nine Inch Nails "La Mer"

-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 6
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
Time Of No Reply by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"Summer was gone and the heat died down,
And Autumn reached for her golden crown,
I looked behind as I heard a sigh,
But this was the time of no reply

The sun went down and the crowd went home,
I was left by the roadside all alone,
I turned to speak as they went by,
But this was the time of no reply.

The time of no reply is calling me to stay,
There's no hello, and no goodbye,
To leave there is no way." 
- Nick Drake "Time Of No Reply" 

Scully let out a breath she did not know she was 
holding as she stepped into Mulder's apartment. 
Somehow a part her had hoped to find him asleep and 
sprawled out on the couch with the TV still on. But 
the sun shone through the blinds and the rays hit the 
empty couch.

She was feeding the fish like she did every morning 
when the Lone Gunmen walked in.

"Sorry we're late, Frohike here thought he stumbled 
on to something big but..." Byers shrugged. "We uh, 
brought the truck so we could move his...belongings 
to...where ever."

Scully stooped as she sprinkled some more food in the 
direction of George, her favorite fish. "Yeah I don't 
know what I'm exactly going to do with it all yet. I 
mean, I know he's not coming back but part me wants 
to keep everything just in case..." Scully shook her 
head, she knew she was being silly. It had been over 
a month and a half since she'd seen her partner and 
she knew why. "Um why don't we just clean the place 
up before we decide. I'll start on the desk." She 
gestured toward the mound of paper that she assumed 
had a desk under it. 

As she walked towards the desk to begin cleaning she 
saw it, the key, a ray of sunlight just happened to 
land on it and illuminate it. Scully bent down to 
pick it up and saw that it sat directly above a 
drawer with a lock on it. Almost instinctively she 
grabbed to key and shoved it into the lock and 
turned. Scully felt as though she was the Wart and 
was taking the sword from the stone. Scully gasped as 
she felt the lock click and pulled the drawer open. 
There was a single envelope in the drawer. The 
envelope had her name written on it in Mulder's 
handwriting. With her finger she tore on the envelope 
and unfolded the letter inside.

"Scully

 All of a sudden I feel compelled to do this, like 
this will be important soon. You're probably at my 
place to make sure the fish aren't dead yet. For some 
reason I know I will be gone forever when you read 
this. I know (I don't know how) that you will be 
carrying a burden I have left on you. Now that mom is 
dead there is no one else to contend for what I am 
giving you. When my dad died he left me a large sum 
of money. I want you to have it. I've created an 
account with all of the money ready for you to 
access. Enclosed is the bank statement with the 
account number and the password. Notify the landlady 
that the place in vacant now, I paid the rent 
already. As for the rest of the stuff, let the Gunmen 
take whatever they need and give the rest to 
Goodwill. I know you'll take good care of the fish. 

Mulder"

Scully blinked back the tears as she stood up and sat 
down on the couch. Langly walked in "Hey Scully what 
do you want us to do with..." His voice dropped off 
when he saw her eyes. He swallowed "Hey guys get in 
here."

Byers was quickly kneeling at her side, gripping her 
hand. He softly said, "Scully what is it? What did 
you find?"

She cleared her throat and hoped they couldn't hear 
her voice shaking.  "I found this note from Mulder 
saying he expected us to be doing this and...that you 
guys can have whatever you want and the rest goes to 
Goodwill."

She stood up and stuffed the letter in her pocket. 
Scully felt her confidence resume, "I just need one 
or two you to help me put the fish tank in my car." 
Byers and Frohike offered to carry it for her. On her 
way out she saw two pictures on the bookshelf, one of 
young Mulder and Samantha and the other was a recent 
photo of Mulder. The latter looked as though it had 
been Teena Mulder's originally. She grabbed them both 
before following Frohike and Byers out the door.
*****************************************************
The blonde haired assistant smiled at Scully, "The 
Assistant Director is taking a call right now but he 
will see you in a moment."

Scully thanked the woman and sat down on the navy 
couch. The cushion next to her felt empty. 

Mulder had once said to her that he didn't want to do 
this alone, that he didn't even know if he could. 
That if he quit now, they win.

She had come to Skinner's office to resign. She was 
quitting and taking a job teaching at Quantico. For 
now they would win. But somehow she knew that in the 
end, they would lose, that her resignation was the 
beginning of the end.

The door opened and Scully was jarred out of her 
reverie. Skinner stepped out, "Agent Scully."

She followed him into his office and took a seat 
across from the desk. Skinner sat down and laced his 
fingers on the desk. "Agent Scully I would like you 
to shed some light on your request."

Scully sat back in her chair, "Well Sir, I feel I 
have come to a point in my life where I can no longer 
work in the X-Files. I would like to be transferred 
to Quantico to resume a professorship."

Skinner asked, "Is this because of Agent Wicks?"

She shook her head, "No, Agent Wicks is a wonderful 
partner but he's..." As she let the sentence drop off 
she realized they both knew what she meant. That no 
matter how good a partner Agent Wicks was he wasn't 
Mulder.

"Agent Scully, I understand that you want to provide 
what is best for your child. Settling down to a 
professorship sounds like a good choice. I am 
approving your transfer request and hope you know 
that because of this you will be able to forgo the 
paternity test requested by the board."

"Thank you sir." And Scully began get up but 
Skinner's words stopped her.

"Dana wait. I want to talk to off the record."

"Yes sir."

"Just call me Walter, Dana. I want to know how you've 
been holding up."

Scully held up the facade. "Oh I'm fine. Last weekend 
I just took care of Mulder's personal affects and 
have started getting ready for the big move to 
Virginia." 

She took in a deep breath and the facade crumbled 
"The X-Files have been a whole lot harder than I had 
expected they would be. Now, because of what I know 
its like I have two people inside me. A skeptic *and* 
a believer, you know?" She smiled weakly at Walter.

"I understand, Dana. I was there when they took him 
and..." He sighed, "it's been hard to go back to 
business as usual...I hope you enjoy teaching at 
Quantico and let me know if you ever need any help."

She knew Skinner was being truly sincere, "Thank you. 
For everything." She gave him a hug before she left. 

Over the years they had grown from thinking Skinner 
the enemy to a friend. He had helped them out many 
times in the past and she was sure that today was not 
the last time.
*****************************************************
She sighed as she sat down for thanksgiving diner. 
Her mom had really out done herself considering that 
it would be just the two of them. "Well, three of 
them." she thought as she patted her stomach. Bill 
was away on duty and his wife was staying with her 
parents. Charles was also celebrating with his wife's 
family.

While her mom did the last minute preparations Scully 
reflected all that had passed since the last 
thanksgiving. It had been almost five months since 
she said goodbye to the bureau. She enjoyed teaching 
and had some very bright students but...there was 
something missing. Of course that had gone from her 
the day she realized Mulder would have to leave but 
somehow the time had only amplified it instead of 
diminish it. 

The baby was due in late December or early January. 
The nursery was all ready. She had paid one of her 
more artistic students to paint the sky on the 
ceiling and the forest on the walls. She hadn't 
needed to use the account Mulder had setup for her 
yet. 

George the fish and all his friends were alive and 
well. (As well as fish get.) 

Bill had finally calmed down after learning of his 
sister's pregnancy. It had taken a few weeks for the 
fact that he couldn't find Mulder to beat him up to 
sink in. 

Mom had accepted the news with relative ease. 
Margaret Scully knew that Dana believed what she told 
her and so there was no other possible explanation. 
Mom was going to move in with her to help take care 
of the baby after it was born. 

It was almost funny. She had spent the last seven 
years dreaming about how nice it would be to work 
eight-hour days and actually stay home on the 
weekends. Now that she had all that it felt as though 
she should always be somewhere else, chasing after 
something. Scully knew it was futile to work on the 
X-Files. Mulder was gone and he had taken the search 
with him. There was nothing left to find here. A 
little kick from her stomach made her smile and 
think, "Well maybe one thing."

Her mom appeared in the dinning room carrying a large 
turkey.

"Oh mom, you shouldn't have! It's just the two of 
us." Scully exclaimed with a smile.

Margaret Scully smiled back, raised her glass and 
said "To the both of you." as their glasses clinked.

At that moment Scully realized that it was going to 
be just her daughter and herself for a long time. For 
eight years. 


"The trees on the hill had nothing to say,
They would keep their dreams till another day,
So they stood and thought, and wondered why,
For this was the time of no reply.

Time goes by from year to year,
And no one asks why I am standing here,
But I have my answer as I look to the sky
This is the time of no reply.

The time of no reply is calling me to stay,
There's no hello and no goodbye.
To leave there is no way."
- Nick Drake "Time Of No Reply"

-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 7
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
Discovery of Innocence by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen 
and thinking what nobody has thought."
- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

Karen hurriedly unlocked the door to her apartment 
and quickly dialed Rob's number. After couple rings 
he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Rob, you'll never guess what happened today."

"Yeah where were you? I had to do all of the friggin 
paperwork."

Karen frowned, "I'm sorry, I thought you were just in 
meetings all day."

"Forgiven. So what's the big news?"
Karen walked from the kitchen to her couch, "You know 
my godson Davy?"

Rob thought for a moment, "Oh yeah, yeah, I met him 
at that picnic thing before we started the Fitzgerald 
case."

"Well he asked me to come to career day for his 
second grade class..."
*****************************************************
--Earlier That Day--

Karen walked into the classroom and took a seat in 
the little people chairs amongst the doctors, lawyers 
and politicians. The teacher had meant well and it 
was a nice idea but it resulted in thirty squirming 
second-graders being forced to listen to the finer 
points of traffic law. 

When it was Karen's turn the fidgeting hadn't gotten 
any better. She stood up and began to explain what a 
FBI profiler does. (Skipping over all of the darker 
parts of course.) She glanced around the room looking 
at the failing arms and legs of thirty eight-year-
olds. Only one was keeping still. In fact she was 
listening so intently that Karen was surprised to 
find that the child was not taking notes. The child 
had brown hair, blue eyes and looked young for the 
class. The little girl was paying attention with such 
intensity that Karen was sure she would later 
remember exactly what Karen said. Something tugged on 
the back of Karen's brain, that look, that attitude 
was...familiar. Karen wrapped up the speech and asked 
if anyone had any questions. Several hands shot up. A 
couple kids asked some odd and completely random 
questions that Karen was sure they had gotten from 
some stupid movie or TV show. 

Finally the brown haired girl raised her hand and 
Karen nodded in her direction. The child spoke with 
the kind of composure and clarity usually unknown to 
second graders, "I think you know my mom," she said, 
"she used to be a special agent."

Karen smiled and thought, "So that's why you're so 
familiar looking." as she asked the girl what her 
mother's name was. She was completely unprepared for 
the answer.

"Dana Scully."

Karen tried to hide her shock. The Ice Queen got 
married and has a kid? Inconceivable! 

Karen smiled weakly and asked the girl her name, 
figuring that Scully had kept her maiden name and let 
the child take the fathers.

"Samantha Scully."

The words rung in Karen's ears and suddenly the 
connection was made. Karen stared at the girl. The 
brown hair, the blue eyes, the pale skin, the 
composure, it all made sense now.

Karen managed to quickly get, "Nice to meet you 
Samantha. Tell your mom I said hi." out before making 
up some excuse and quickly walking out of the school 
and to her car.
*****************************************************
Rob fell silent.

"Don't you think that's completely insane?" Karen 
asked.

"I don't get it, Karen. Scully had a kid and named 
her Samantha. So what? What's the big connection?"

Karen sighed teasingly, "God Rob, I didn't think I 
was going to have to spell it out for you. It's so 
obvious."

Rob shook his head and gave in, "Ok, so tell me your 
grand theory."

"A few years back I heard that Spooky had gone MIA 
and that shortly after the Ice Queen left the bureau 
to teach. Now she has a kid named Samantha and no 
husband. What must've happened was she got pregnant, 
Spooky freaked and ran out on her and she couldn't 
take working the X-Files without him."

Rob paused for a moment, "How do you know that the 
girl you met was his? There are plenty of handsome 
brown haired guys like myself walking around, how do 
you know she didn't have a kid one of them?"

"I've never told anyone this before but..." Karen 
paused, she didn't mind making the occasional joke 
about Spooky but bringing his midnight demons to 
light was a completely different thing. "I was on the 
same case with him when he was still in VCS, I think 
it was the Sunday Murders and we had a adjoining 
rooms. He kept me up practically half the night 
because he wouldn't stop working and it drove me 
crazy. Anyway I drifted off to sleep for a little 
while only to wake up to him screaming bloody murder. 
I got my gun and approached the adjoining doors. It 
was unlocked and I slowly went inside expecting to 
find him being attacked or something. Instead I found 
him lying on the bed with the covers strewn 
everywhere. His arms and legs were flailing in all 
directions. He was having a nightmare or something 
and was screaming, "No, no, no, Samantha don't go, 
come back!" I couldn't wake him up so I just put my 
hand on his shoulder and said some reassuring stuff 
and that seemed to quiet him down. Its obvious that 
Scully named their kid after whoever the hell 
Samantha was. I swear. I have been on plenty of cases 
with him and that girl was listening to me exactly 
how he listened to the people we were interviewing. 
It had to be Mulder's daughter."

Rob laughed, "Ok fine. I believe you. The burning 
question is though, who wins the office pool?" 

Karen smiled, "I dunno I was about to call Chuck to 
find out."
*****************************************************
Over diner that night Samantha told her mom about the 
FBI profiler who visited her class. In less that two 
years Samantha, like her namesake, would have to 
learn and accept her origins at the ripe age of 
eight.

"The innocent and the beautiful
Have no enemy but time."
- W.B. Yeats

-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Part 8
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
Even So Far Away by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"staring at the sea
will she come?
is there hope for me
after all is said and done
anything at any price
all of this for you
all the spoils of a wasted life
all of this for you
all the world has closed her eye
tired faith all worn and thin
for all that we could have done
and all that could have been" 
- Nine Inch Nails "The Great Below" 

Mulder stood by his desk and looked out the window of 
his apartment. Of course it wasn't really his 
apartment, just the alien's replica and instead of a 
view of the streets below he saw the stars. He wasn't 
sure how long he had been asleep; time seemed to pass 
differently here.

He turned as he heard the door open. Nurse Owens was 
standing there. She smiled kindly and told him that 
the other children were being briefed in the 
auditorium now but he was a special case and she had 
been asked to talk with him.

Mulder smiled as he wondered how many times in his 
life he had been considered a special case. He sat 
down at his desk and she on his couch.

The Nurse crossed her legs and folded her hands in 
her lap. She a deep breath before she began, "We're 
not actually sure when the first contact with your 
government was made but the Morte's message was 
clear, help us or no one survives. They told your 
government a lie. They said your people would only 
become slaves when they colonize. You learned a 
couple years ago how untrue that was. They want to 
wipe out your race and use your peoples bodies to 
gestate. But the government did not know that at the 
time and accepted the conditions, one human for every 
alien fetus. The aliens wanted to perfect their 
virus. The government wanted to create hybrids immune 
to the virus." 

She looked directly at Mulder, "The Mortes soon found 
out about our Star Children and demanded that the 
government catalogue the population to seek out the 
children. Your father did not want to that to go on 
and argued with the Morte. So the Morte demanded one 
family member from each member of the Syndicate as 
punishment. Imagine the Mortes surprise when they 
found out one of their helpers from earth had a Star 
Child." 

Nurse Owens sighed and looked apologetically at 
Mulder, "They did do tests on your sister and cloned 
her. They were trying to find out how we made her so 
that they could identify and make a specific virus to 
kill all the Star Children. The Morte returned her 
and she was kept in the custody of the Spenders. Soon 
the Morte wanted Samantha back; they wanted to do 
more tests. They had found an anomaly in her not 
normally found in Star Children. The tests would 
probably have killed her. So she became a Child Of 
The Starlight and was converted into pure energy."

She smiled enigmatically at Mulder, "But you see 
that's the magic of our children...they can convert 
back."

Mulder opened his mouth to speak but the Nurse 
silenced him, "Not now Mulder, you must know of 
everything else first. The Morte suspected that you 
too were a Star Child and they knew that because of 
your sister you would come to them on you own. And 
you did. They found the anomaly in you and in a 
greater amount. Your genes would produce a child who 
could undo the Morte and all of their plans. The 
Morte were patient, they waited a year or so and then 
ordered your government to take your partner. They 
somehow sensed that she would bear the chosen child."

Nurse Owens paused and watched her words take effect.
Mulder now knew better than to try to speak but his 
mind swarmed with questions. Scully? Bearing the 
"chosen child"? His child?

She continued, "They harvested her ova and made Emily 
out of the ova and your sperm. The Morte thought that 
if they created a child between the two of you it 
could only be the chosen child. They tested the poor 
girl to death. They thought that Emily's death would 
be the end to the resistance. Just to make sure they 
gave your partner cancer and rid her infertile." 
There were tears in the Nurses eyes, "I was sent to 
make sure she didn't die; that she saw the hope but 
did not understand it."

The woman stopped and asked for a drink of water. In 
a daze Mulder got up and went into the kitchen and 
got it for her. She thanked him and took a long sip.

Nurse Owens recrossed her legs and put the glass down 
and smiled sympathetically at Mulder, this wasn't 
going to be easy, "When you left Mulder, Scully was 
pregnant." She saw the look of awe and disbelief 
cross Mulder's face and continued, "Now she's about 
four months along with a little baby girl named 
Samantha. She will give birth at about three am, New 
Years Day. It's your child, Mulder. In eight years 
and five months young Samantha and her mother will 
join us. By that time your daughter will have all of 
her powers. She will be a true Child Of The Stars. 
And together with the help of you and Scully," The 
Nurse paused trying to find a better way to say it 
but found none, "as cliche as it sounds, she will 
save the world." 

Mulder sat frozen in the chair. He didn't hear Nurse 
Owens get up. He didn't hear her put her glass in the 
sink. He didn't hear her shut the door. But very 
slowly he turned around in the chair and looked out 
the window. The ship had rotated while Nurse Owens 
had been talking to him and he could now see the 
earth. He could see the white of the clouds, the blue 
of the sea, and the green of the ground.

Mulder slowly closed his eyes and listened. He heard 
it, it was very faint but he could hear it. The dual 
heartbeat of a mother and daughter.

"ocean pulls me close
and whispers in my ear
the destiny i've chose
all becoming clear

i can still feel you
even so far away"
- Nine Inch Nails "The Great Below"
-----------------------------

Thy Summer's Play, Part 9
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
The Fragile by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"she shines
in a world full of ugliness
she matters
when everything is meaningless

fragile
she doesn't see her beauty
she tries to get away
sometimes
it's just that nothing seems worth saving
i can't watch her slip away

i won't let you fall apart" 
- Nine Inch Nails "The Fragile" 

Mrs. Slevin shook her head as she put her red grading 
pen down. Samantha Scully was a very smart girl. At 
the age of seven she had already skipped a grade. In 
fact the principal had told Mrs. Slevin if Samantha's 
grades kept on skyrocketing they would have her 
tested and then send Samantha to a gifted school.

The third grade teacher looked down at the paper with 
a red 92 marked on the top. It was if Samantha had 
peaked at age seven. Julie knew the child reasonably 
well and that Samantha could easily solve these 
problems. There was no way Samantha could not know 
that 9 X 12 = 108. Yet Samantha put the answer down 
as 97. 

"Maybe the poor girl just doesn't want to stand out 
and have to leave the school." Julie thought. But 
that was impossible, Samantha had no way of knowing 
about the plans to move her up...
*****************************************************
Scully sat curled on the couch and listened to the 
light rain softly landing on the living room windows 
with a green blanket pulled over her. She had not 
been looking into the book in her lap for a few 
minutes now. The book was her father's old worn copy 
of "Moby Dick". Scully had read a passage which spoke 
to her. The passage was, "Ignorance is the parent of 
fear,"

Scully was scared for her child. She didn't 
understand the forces that gave Samantha her powers. 
She couldn't even begin to comprehend the reasons for 
Samantha possessing these powers. She knew they were 
running out of time. Something was going to happen 
and soon. The fact that Scully didn't know what 
scared her more than any monster she ever chased. 

As she stared across the room at her child. Samantha 
was wrapped up in a blanket sitting on the loveseat. 
The little girl had an odd reading choice for a third 
grader, Carl Sagan's "Contact". Samantha would read 
anything and everything that was put before her. It 
looked as though the child was determined to garner 
as much knowledge as possible by the age of eight. 
Because she was. Samantha was a quiet reserved child, 
other children in her place would be shouting to the 
heavens or anyone who would listen all that they 
knew. Yet Samantha kept it all in. Samantha didn't 
want to draw attention to herself because she would 
be gone before people could remember...Scully 
shuddered at that thought.

All of a sudden Samantha got up and walked into the 
kitchen, her socked feet skidding alittle along the 
wood floor. Any other mother might assume that their 
child was getting a drink of water or a snack but 
Scully knew better.

The phone had time to ring only once before Samantha 
answered it, "Hi Grandma."

Maggie Scully always assumed that Samantha just 
looked at the caller id and happened to be by the 
phone. She stubbornly refused to think otherwise...
*****************************************************
As Samantha sat huddled under the covers of her bed 
with her flashlight in hand she stared at the last 
sentence of chapter fourteen of "Contact". Palmer 
Joss had just asked Ellie his final question, "What 
is there in the precepts of science that keeps a 
scientist from doing evil?"

Samantha fingered her necklace, a heart shaped locket 
with a picture of the Madonna in it which her mother 
had given it to her for her fifth bithrday. Samantha 
bit her lip in concentration. She supposed that there 
would have to be a scientist's code of ethics 
somewhere. After all doctors had their oath, why not 
scientists? But if there was no code then humanity 
would have to solely rely on the scientist's own morals
and ethics. What if the scientist had no sense of 
morals? Why,the whole world would be at their mercy!

Samantha shuddered inwardly at that thought before 
she turned off the flashlight. She wrapped the 
comforter tightly around her small frame as she laid 
down. But she did not sleep. Instead the young girl 
stared out her bedroom window and into the stars as 
she thought of extreme possibilities...
*****************************************************
Mulder slowly paced the alien's replica of his 
apartment, they promised that today he would see her. 
His days seemed to be only full of explanations 
rather than experiences. But today he would see her. 

He turned as he heard his aparement door open.

He immediately recognized Rose's small frame, she 
gestured for him to follow her into the hall.

As they walked down the hallway of what appeared to 
be a Ramada inn, Rose took a deep breath before she 
began, "Mulder, there's something we need to tell you 
before you see her..."

Mulder hung his head, he should have known, every 
time he thought he was close to finding her there 
would be the invitable string attachted...

Rose tucked a stray blonde hair away, "By the time we 
got to her, well, the physcological damage was 
done..." She stopped by door number 20, "There's no 
way to tell how she'll react to you."

He grimly murmured, "Only one way to find out." as 
Rose opened the door.

The room was bright white and the walls and floor was 
padded. It looked exactly like phsyc ward they held 
him in when he was in the asylum.

He almost overlooked her. She sat in the right corner 
of the room with her arms wrapped tightly around her 
knees as she slowly rocked back in forth. He stared 
at her for what felt like hours. When he finally 
summoned the courage to walk over to the right 
corner, every step seemed like a mile.

She had her back turned to him and didn't seem to 
notice that door had been opened and someone had come 
in. He knelt down next to her and put his hand on her 
shoulder lightly brushing her long brown hair.

She whirled around nearly knocking him over, her wild
brown eyes searching his face. Slowly a light creeped
upon her pale face as she began to remember. The 
recognition registered on her lined face as she pulled
her arms around him.

He cried tears of joy as he said her name, 
"Samantha." 

Suddenly she pulled away and Mulder held his breath 
when he realized she was trying to speak, slowly she 
hoarsely said, "This...is not...the end, 
Fox...Only...the beginning...You must...let her 
go...she has...to go..."

And before his eyes the light drained from her face, 
her bright eyes went dull and her arms were once 
again wrapped around her legs. She had served her 
purpose and the job was done. Her brother sat on the 
floor and cried next to her unresponsive rocking 
frame.
*****************************************************
Dana Scully smiled at her nephew as ran by her, noise 
maker clutched tightly in his grubby little fist. The 
wonders of orange soda at work. Samantha was curled 
in her grandmother's lap as they watched the 
countdown in Bill's basement.

Scully couldn't have refused Bill's invitation to his 
New Year's Eve party. What could she have said, 
"Sorry Bill, I'll have to pass because I have this 
inexplicable feeling that my daughter and I are going 
to visit her father along with some aliens."

Everyone cheered and twirled their noise makers when 
the ball dropped. Champagne glasses clinked as the 
Scully family and friends celebrated the coming of 
the year 2009.

Samantha whispered something in Maggie's Scully and 
straightened her party dress as she stood up. 
Samantha slowly wandered over to the corner where her 
mother was standing and put a cold hand on Scully's 
arm. 

Samantha looked up into her mothers eyes, her own 
mirror image blues eyes widening as she softly spoke, 
"Mom, its time."

"she reads the minds of all the people as they pass 
her by
hoping someone can see
if i could fix myself i'd -
but it's too late for me

i won't let you fall apart
we'll find the perfect place to go where we can run 
and hide
i'll build a wall and we can keep them on the other 
side
...but they keep waiting
...and picking..

it's something i have to do
i was there, too
before everything else 
i was like you"
- Nine Inch Nails "The Fragile"
-----------------------------

Thy Summer's Play, Part 10
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
The Fragile by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"i've become impossible
holding on to when
when everything seemed to matter more
the two of us
all used and beaten up
watching fate as it flows down the path we
have chose

you and me
we're in this together now
none of them can stop us now
we will make it through somehow
you and me
until the very end of me
until the very end of you" 
- Nine Inch Nails "We're In This Together" 

 Mulder stood before the screen watching. He had now known for 
several days (or what seemed like several days) that he had a 
daughter. A little girl named Samantha. Today, the rebels had allowed 
him to watch the "highlights" of his daughter's life, so far. Her 
birth, her first word was 'mommy', her first steps, her first day of 
school...The stream of images seemed endless. She was an amazing 
little girl.

 The Vitians thought this would help him deal with the shock that he 
was going to have to deal with in a matter of minutes. He knew better.

 He felt a small hand grasp his. He turned to see Amber Lynn LaPierre 
smiling up at him. He let her lead him down the hall.
*****************************************************
 The procedures were done quickly. When Scully and Samantha woke 
there was no time to explain. Nurse Owens merely put her fingers to 
her lips and led them down the hall.

 The nurse stopped in front of a large wood panel door and smiled. 
She effortlessly pushed it open.

 The room was packed with people milling around a large round table 
but Scully's eyes instantly landed on one. Samantha must've seen him 
too because she yelled, "Daddy!" and ran towards him. Scully watched 
Mulder freeze for a split second and then snatch his daughter up in 
his arms.

 Mulder's eyes were instantly filled with tears so he closed them and 
took a deep breath. His daughter smelled like...sunshine and 
wildflowers. His daughter was light in his arms, her long brown hair 
was soft, her breath was warm against his cheek. His daughter.

 He slowly put her back down and immediately his heart ached. The 
rebels led Samantha over to a small table and gave her a box of 
crayons and a few pieces of paper to keep her busy. 

 But then he saw Scully. His body had only been gone a couple weeks 
but his heart felt the longing of eight years of separation. By 
direction of his heart his arms engulfed her, never wanting to let 
go. They stood there encased in one another for what seemed like an 
eternity. Slowly he straightened and kissed her forehead.

  Through the tears in her eyes she looked up into his face trying to 
tell him...everything. In an instant he understood. They turned and 
took their seats at the round table. Under the table their hands 
sought one another and intertwined.

  Rosie stood and brushed her blonde hair behind her ears before she 
began the briefing, "Today is the product of decades of work. Our 
intelligence tells us that tomorrow is our first and last chance we 
have to stop the Mortian colonization." The screen behind Rosie 
flickered on to show the positioning of the Mothership. "The Mortian 
fleet will converge tomorrow with the Mothership before they attack. 
The Mothership contains all of their leaders, the fleet their best 
fighters. If we destroy them there will be no regrouping. Their earth 
contacts will lose focus and go into hibernation, with any luck it 
will be forever. Then we will add the vaccination into your water 
just for a precautionary measure."

"Pennies from heaven." Mulder muttered.

 Rosie clasped her hands together, "Any questions?"

From off in the corner a small voice spoke up, "I'm done."

 The meeting participant's heads turned to find Samantha standing up 
from her small table. Rosie walked over to the table and gasped, "my 
god...it's so simple..."

 Everyone was quickly up from their seats and gathering around the 
child. Before them sat an entire battle plan mapped out in crayon...
*****************************************************
"No! She's not going!" Mulder yelled as he paced the floor of the 
empty meeting room.

 Nurse Owens sat on the window seat staring out into space. "She has 
to Mulder. You must let her go. She has to go." She spoke softly 
echoing his sister's own words.

 Some people might consider it odd that Mulder and Scully slept 
peacefully the day before the battle for earth began. But then again 
they did have their daughter nestled between them. Nothing ever felt 
to so right again. Nothing.
*****************************************************
 From what Scully could tell this battle began as a sneak attack. The 
Vitians small fleet would hide themselves in cloaking shields until 
the critical moment. What the critical moment was only her daughter 
seemed to really know. Samantha was somewhere in the middle of the 
fleet; all of the surrounding ships guarding her.

 Scully felt hand grasp hers, she knew whose it was and leaned 
against his shoulder.

 The irony of the shortness of the battle for earth was lost on 
Scully.
*****************************************************
 Mulder attempted to keep his eyes trained on the ship his daughter 
was piloting but all the evasive moves it and all the other ships of 
the fleet were doing was making it difficult. The Mortians had just 
spotted the small fleet and they had already lost three maybe four 
Vitian ships.

 And then a flash of light came out from his daughter's ship, it hit 
the Mothership on target and then all hell broke loose.

 The explosion completely engulfed the Mothership; it's fleet, and 
the entire fleet of Vitians. Including his daughter. Oh god, 
including his daughter.

 He felt Scully's arms wrap around his waist and mirrored her motions 
around her shoulders. She rested her cheek against his chest. Scully 
let the tears flow freely as she said, "She was our baby, Mulder."

"you and me we're in this together now
none of them can stop us now
we will make it through  somehow
you and me
if the world should break in two
until the very end of me
until the very end of you

all that we were is gone we have to hold on
all that we were is gone we have to hold on
when all our hope is gone we have to hold on
all that we were is gone but we can hold on"
- Nine Inch Nails "We're In This Together"

THE END!!!!
-----------------------------
 To say that this series has been a learning experience would be an 
understatement. More like 'the re-education of Lady Disdain'! :-) I'd 
like to thank *everyone* who sent me feedback, you guys gave me the 
confidence to continue the story and I am forever in debt to you! A 
great big thanks to my buddie T for all of the encouragement you gave 
me. It means so much to me. Sunshine and lolipops to you! <g>

Send feedback to: 
The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com
:-)

-----------------------------
Thy Summer's Play, Epilogue
"Little fly,
Thy summer's play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing."
 - William Blake "Little Fly"
-----------------------------
The Fragile by Lady Disdain 
<The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com>

"as black as the night can get
everything is safer now
there's always a way to forget
once you learn to find a way how

in the blur of serenity
where did everything get lost?
The flowers of naivete
Buried in a layer of frost

the smell of sunshine
i remember sometimes" 
- Nine Inch Nails "I'm Looking Forward To Joining 
You, Finally" 

 Her eyes snapped open. Light was pouring in from the 
window. She was in a hotel room lying on the coral
comforter. She bolted upright, her cell phone was on 
the dresser. She dialed 555-1121.

"Mulder."

"It's me, Mulder. Where are you?"

"I'm in what appears to be a Day's Inn."

"Me too. Go out into the hall."

 She opened the door and sure enough Mulder was 
there, standing in the hall. For a split second they 
stood and stared at one another but then their arms 
found their way around each other.

 Scully looked up into Mulder's face, "Let's find 
Skinner."

 Hand in hand they walked out the door.
*****************************************************
 Skinner shook his head, "Agents as much as I'd like 
to believe your story, the facts still remain. Ten 
years ago the X-Files shut down not because of alien 
abduction and an unexpected pregnancy. There was some 
sort of rift in your relationship. Mulder, you went 
back to VCS to profile. Scully, you started your own 
practice. Two weeks ago I got a call from the two of 
you saying you wanted to reopen the X-Files and I was 
happy to do so. That's all that I can tell you."

 Scully cleared her throat; "We never went back to 
Oregon?"

"You never went back." Skinner swallowed, "You should 
know that there was a...rumor that went through the 
office, Agent Scully. They said that an old flame of 
yours died and you decided that you had made a 
mistake. And that you also convinced Agent Mulder 
that so had he."

Scully bit her lip; "You never met my daughter?"

"No. You were never even pregnant to my knowledge."

 Agent Scully took something out from her pocket and 
laid it on Skinner desk. "We'll be in for work on 
Monday, Sir." With that she and Mulder left.

 Skinner slowly picked up the silver necklace; it 
shined in the sunbeams coming in from the window 
behind him. With his fingernail he pried open the 
heartshaped locket and stared at what he found. 
Inside on the right there was a picture of the 
Madonna on the left there was a picture of a young 
girl. She was maybe four or five, she had long brown 
hair and her mother's eyes and her father's pouty 
lips...
*****************************************************
 Mulder sat on the leather couch and accepted the tea 
Scully offered. Both of their old apartments just 
happened to be vacant. With their feet propped on the 
coffee table they watched the rain softly hit the 
windowpane. 

 He took another sip of the tea and reached for 
Scully's hand squeezing it softly. "Tell me about our 
daughter, Scully."
*****************************************************
They lay on Mulder's Navaho blanket staring up at the 
night sky and into the wide expanse of space.

 A though struck Scully, "Mulder, did I ever tell you 
I was an amateur astronomer when I was kid?"

 Mulder turned his head and smiled at Scully, it 
didn't surprise him, "No, I don't think you have."

 Scully rested her head on Mulder's shoulder; "Can 
you find the constellation Leo?"

"Yeah, isn't it right there?" Mulder pointed to the 
southern sky.

"That's it. Now look at Leo's tail, that's the star 
Denebola its part of the Virgo Triangle." Scully 
pointed, "To the far left of Denebola is Arcturus and 
the very bright star between the two is Spica, 
Virgo's knee. Do you know the legend of Virgo?"

"Tell me, Scully."

"Astraea, the goddess of justice also known as the 
Maiden or Virgo, moved from town to town in a time of 
unrest. She was hoping to find peace but everywhere 
she went she saw only suffering. So Astraea went to 
live in the heavens and with her she carried a stalk 
of wheat. With one hand she holds the stalks of wheat 
and with the other she waves. On the way up some of 
the wheat broke and scattered grains across the sky. 
The grains of wheat became stars. Legend says that 
only people who love peace and justice can see the 
stars of Virgo. Look Mulder, the star of her waving 
hand is especially bright tonight. Mulder?"

 Scully lifted her head up to look in Mulder's eyes 
and found that they were filling with tears, "What's 
wrong?" she said softly.

 Mulder took a deep breath, "Nothing its just...Nurse 
Owens told me that Starchildren could convert into 
pure energy and back again, that's how I was able to 
meet my sister...What if Samantha before the 
explosion..." 

 They both looked up into the waving hand of Virgo as 
it shined and twinkled at them. Scully said softly, 
"I guess we'll always know where she is, Mulder." As 
Mulder reached his arms around her and hugged her 
tight.

 And from that point on whenever Mulder looked up at 
the constellation Virgo he swore he could smell 
sunshine and wildflowers.

"the smell of sunshine
i remember sometimes

i've done all i can do
could i please come with you?
Sweet smell of sunshine
I remember sometimes"
- Nine Inch Nails "I'm Looking Forward To Joining 
You, Finally"
-----------------------------
Author's Notes: I just love the legend of Virgo and couldn't resist 
putting it in here *somewhere* and so this Epilogue was born. So what 
did you kiddos think? Was this series as much fun to read as it was 
for me to write?
Send feedback to: The_Lady_Disdain@mailcity.com
Author's Random Rant: I think the shit really hit the fan this 
season. The good episodes were few and far between which is why I'm 
playing catch up on the whole mythology thing. 
You should note that this story is *not* categorized as an MSR and 
there's a reason for that. (Sorry for raining on all you shipper's 
parade. Its just not my style.)
My idea is that after this they go back to work on the X-Files, 
sometimes they get along, sometimes they don't, maybe they have a 
physical relationship, maybe they don't but one thing is certain, 
they'll get as close to happily ever after as any of us can.
;-)