Title: Rising Again (1/3)

Author: RocketMan >lebontrager@iname.com<

Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to CC, 1013, and Fox. No fringe is

intended.



SPOILERS::Written after Signs and Wonders--that's as far as it goes.



NOTES:: MSR, alternate reality, somewhat strange



=-=-=-=

Rising Again

=-=-=-=



"Though they go mad they shall be sane, 

though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;

though lovers be lost, love shall not,

and death shall have no dominion."

--Dylan Thomas



=-=-=-=



January 2000



=-=-=-=



There was the scream of a high-pitched drill, she thought, and then the

whiteness again. But it was different from all her other nightmares

because this was real and they kept coming for her, always coming for

her--



And it was just the phone. She leaned over even in her half asleep

frantic panic and picked up the receiver, stating her name as if

awaiting execution.



"It's right here, Scully. It's right here."



His voice over the phone was like a child's--high-pitched, eager, smart

with sunshine and play and unreality. She wanted to caution him, but she

didn't want to crush his hopes either. She wanted to say, be careful on

the playground, the fifth graders are bullies.



"Mulder, where are you?" she said instead and glanced to her clock.



"Fort Dakota. Washington."



"Washington State?"



"Yeah."



She sat up with a jerk in her bed, shivering at the sudden chill, and

scrambled for clothes. He was still whispering to her like he had a

slightly illegal secret and was going to tell her if she would only

promise not to repeat it.



"Mulder?"



"It's here, Scully. I told you. I told you."



"Mulder, I'm coming to get you, okay? Just get out of there, get out of

that Fort and I'll find you."



"Scully, it's right here. Proof of the tests. It's all right here."



"Mulder, please, just get out. Right now."



"No. It took me a lot of trouble to get in--"



There was a breath of silence and she paused with him, waiting for

whatever danger to pass. She could see him in her mind, hunched over and

glancing around with his furtive darting eyes, searching for someone to

stop him. He would be looking at proof or extremely close to it more

likely--it would be just on the other side of the door and he would be

caught before he could look.



"Mulder?" she whispered, anxious at the delay, at the absolute silence.



She was halfway dressed, trembling on the edge of her bed as she waited.



"Mulder--"



There was a scream. A deathly scream that curled her toes and hurt her

heart. She stood even though there was nothing she could do from

thousands of miles away holding on to a cellular phone.



"Mulder?" she whimpered and closed her eyes, breathing loudly as if it

could make up for the silence.



There was that sharp bitter nothing and then the dial tone sounded in

her ear like a death knell.



She noticed that she was staring at a picture of them from a few years

back, when the only thing that mattered was a tape with Navajo

codetalkers' language and the merchandise and his father's death. She

was shocked at how those complicated times were preferable to now, were

looking idealistic and innocent compared with the terror of ennui that

threatened them both.



Was his jaunt to Washington an attempt to dispel that listlessness? She

wished he would have just come over to annoy her for a day and then gone

home to his videos and his silence.



There was still that dial tone and then the annoying click from dead

phone line to the operator, ready to remind her that Mulder was gone.



She thumbed the power button and clutched her cellular to her chest,

feeling shaken.



Mulder. Gone.



Scully shook her head and grabbed her jeans, pushing aside all thoughts,

worries, questions. Whatever the reason for Mulder's expedition, she had

to follow him. She had protected him then, those years ago when he was

delirious and paranoid, and she would protect him now.



=-=-=-=

January 2005

=-=-=-=



The little boy's eyes were wide with the story and he glanced at his

mother, shivering.



"All that?"



She nodded and reached down to pull him into her lap.



"All of that, Will."



His dark hair and dark eyes reminded her of Mulder; in such a way that

sometimes looking at his smile made her hurt. She had not really seen

Mulder smile --not the way Will smiled.



"I'm sorry Mommy."



She hugged him tight and let him curl into her arms, his eyes closing

with the sleep he needed but wouldn't give in to.



"It's not your fault, Will. Not at all."



He nodded and she smoothed his hair with her palm, letting the skin of

his cheek warm her fingers. The winter night was cold with wind and the

curse of snow, but she had placed blankets on the foot of her son's bed

and the heater was humming quietly. She took Will's favorite one, an

orange throw with dark black stitching, and tucked it tightly around

him.



"Sleep now, Will."



"I don't want to sleep, Momma."



"We had a deal. I told you about your father, now you have to sleep."



He frowned furiously at her and she wanted to sigh with the image, with

the pictures of Mulder blooming in her head despite the winter chill. It

had been four years now, all that time. . .



Scully shifted Will in her lap and he sighed and gave up the fight. "All

right," he muttered and shoved his face into her arm.



It took only moments for him to fall asleep; he'd been exhausted from

the trip to the museum with the class and his nightmares kept him from

sleeping well at night. She hated that the horror of those years still

visited her son, still made such a deep and terrific mark upon him. Will

was so frighteningly intelligent, with dark eyes that seemed to contain

an old soul. She used to try to cuddle him, but he had soon stopped

putting up with that. 



He needed his father. She couldn't do anything about that.



=-=-=-=

January 2000

=-=-=-=



The flight was slow and anxious and besieged with turbulence; Scully

hated the rockiness and she threw up twice in the thin tiny airplane

bathrooms. It wasn't so much the fear of flying, wrecking, crashing, but

the fear of not finding Mulder. That was enough to make her sick.



It was strange though. She'd followed after Mulder sure that he was in

worse conditions, dead or tortured, before and this hadn't happened. No

air sickness earlier. She wondered if it was because she loved him so

much more now. Love. . .maybe that wasn't the right connotation for it.



Inseparable. Perhaps that was more correct. But that contained an

element of obsession or dependence. She wasn't dependent on him at all. 



Need and dependence were different things. She thought.



Scully sat back down in her seat and chewed furiously on another breath

mint, the sting of cold heat on her tongue like a thrusting reminder of

Mulder. Mulder disappeared, hurt, on some stupid fort where she couldn't

get in contact with him. 



She had called Skinner first, asking about a case but really fishing for

clues. Their boss had no idea and offered nothing; she said nothing in

return but asked for few days off. He was already wondering about them,

let him wonder.



The plane jerked again and she clutched the sides, ready to rush for the

bathroom again when the seatbelt light went on cheerily. She buried her

head in her hands and forcibly swallowed back the rising urge. Swallow,

swallow, what was wrong with her today?



~~



The ground was wet with a night rain and a morning dew, so predictable

for Washington that she was surprised. Somehow she had expected the

state to be unexpecting. But the fort was right there in front of her

and it stood out like a prison with its barbed wire and no trespassing

signs and soldiers. She drove past it and refused to look overlong.



She glanced in the rearview mirror when she was far enough away, her

tongue unconsciously touching her bottom lip. She idly wished Mulder was

sitting in the front seat, making those salacious comments, and she

almost smiled--then realized it was because Mulder *wasn't* here that

she *was.*



The road ribboned out and she turned into a diner, one of those thick

concrete buildings with a hand painted mural on the white side,

something with hot dogs and French fries and Slurpies. She wanted a corn

dog, like a fetish almost, and parked the car in one of the three spaces

available. She had to think about how she would do this.



Mulder was stuck in there. Maybe the MP's had captured him and he was in

a holding cell. Perhaps if she went up there and said she was looking

for him. She nodded as the door swung open and a suited man walked out.



Thinking the red head had nodded at him he winked back, giving her one

of those grins that nearly reminded her of Mulder. Enough of a grin to

make her sick again and she rushed inside, gulping in the tepid air and

stale smelling corn chips. Corn chips and that chemical smell after

Critter Ridders had come by the apartment. She wondered if their roach

problem was very bad.



The bathroom offered flies and a hand towel, which she medically

abhorred, even the suggestion of such a dirt infested thing like a hand

towel in a public bathroom. It was rather disgusting and seemed to

indicate the whole of her trip out here.



Instead of vomiting she splashed water on her face and dried her hands

off on the edges of her suit jacket. It was one of the stiff black ones

that set off the baby blue of her shirt. She hadn't realized it before,

not until looking up from the sink with her face dripping cold water,

that her shirt dipped low. Low. Mulder had never told her.



She smiled. Mulder had never told her.



She went back out to the main cafe part of the establishment, noting

that it was also a gas station and also a convenience store. She saw a

swarthy looking white woman standing behind the counter with her glare

that said no one had better rob her. Scully didn't plan on it, that was

for sure.



She ordered a corndog and a Diet Coke, perhaps trying to make up for the

fae, and wrapped two of the napkins around the sticked hotdog, wiping

the grease off. She made a face, not believing herself, but ate it

ravenously, forgetting until now that she hadn't eaten since dinner the

night Mulder had called.



She ordered a corndog to go and sipped at the rest of her Diet Coke,

shaking the ice in the bottom as it sputtered. Frowning, she asked for a

refill but they weren't free and she really wasn't sure she had the

money for it.



If she had to post bail for Mulder--you did have to post bail in a

military installation, right? She couldn't remember, couldn't really

pinpoint the last time they'd done this dance. But they had always

called her before. Always. A phone call in the middle of the night and a

harsh voice asking her if she knew one Agent Mulder. Those were the

calls that frightened her to no end; she always assumed it was about his

death.



The car started quickly and she liked the hum and vibration of the

engine, like a good machine and a faithful companion. Like power to get

Mulder back. She would just drive into the fort, the base really, and

ask them for Mulder. He had probably been held in the cell all night

long. He'd hate that, for sure. He'd gripe at her all flight back. She

was smiling now.



She felt a flutter in her belly and pressed her lips tight together. Not

again.



=-=-=-=

January 2005

=-=-=-=



"Mommy?"



Her whisper was small and frightened. Scully felt her heart squeeze at

the girl's fear.



"What is it, sweetie?"



"I had a bad dream."



Scully closed her eyes tightly but sat up to gather her daughter into

the bed with her, the large empty bed that should have had her

daughter's father in it, but didn't. The girl refused to cry but Scully

could feel the shivers.



"It's all right, sweetheart. It's perfectly all right. Sometimes it

feels better to cry when you're frightened."



The sobs seemed to burst from the tiny child's body, like the squeaky

turn of a faucet, and suddenly the tears were free-flowing and flooding.

Scully bit her bottom lip and rocked her daughter back and forth,

praying two prayers as she did: God don't let Will wake up, God don't

let my little girl be plagued by the horror, too.



"Mommy, they just kept coming and coming, and Daddy was there--"



"Shh-shh. It was a bad dream and they're not coming. Daddy made sure of

that; Daddy took care of them for good. . .they'll never come, baby."



"I want Daddy. . ." she wailed.



Scully's heart broke and she could not help the little sob that tore

through her lungs and leaped from her throat. She rocked back and forth

and back and forth, not letting her little girl see her own fear, her

own desperation.



She remembered when the twins were two. Will with his dark solemn eyes

and Katie's vibrant blue ones, the rough and tumble way they had of

running through the place, their smiles and innocence. She remembered

that look of knowing that had passed between them, twins but not.



Katie had asked about Daddy, that day as a two year old. Her red hair

was curly and tended towards brown more than the bright red of her own

hair. She had asked and Scully had shaken her head, saying that her

father would be back soon enough.



"Daddy go bye and not come back."



Those had been her crushing, all-to-true words. From the mouth of babes.

.. .it had taken Katie's confession to push the truth of it into her

heart. Mulder wasn't coming back; he had bargained them away, chosen for

them to be normal rather than the four of them together and tested on.



She hadn't lied to them since that day, that bright sunshine day with

the white bunny clouds and the park swings and them all laughing. She

hadn't laughed after that and hadn't lied. She had told the story

honestly, as best she could to two year olds. She had told them the

story. They hadn't understood, and now, at four, they still didn't

understand.



But somehow. . .what had created them, the horror of that place, was

trapped in them, so terribly imbedded and threaded through their DNA

that it manifested in dreams, nightly things that had started when they

were three. Scully hoped it wasn't because she refused to lie to them. .

.



She loved her twins, completely and without reservation. She had not

known that kind of selfless love before, not even with the short moments

with Mulder after that place. Will and Katie. . .



"It's all right now, Katie. All right."



She shivered in her mother's arms and looked up with her intense blue

eyes. 



<Was this what I looked like as a child?>



"Mommy. . .I want my Daddy."



"I know, sweetheart. I do too."



The admission did not have the devastating effect Scully had always

assumed it would, it only allowed Katie to share in suffering, to

reaffirm that her feelings were just and worthy. She nodded into her

mother's arms and squeezed her tightly.



"Can I sleep with you?"



"Will's still in bed in your room. Are you sure you want to leave him?"



"He'll be here," she said, honestly and peculiarly solemn. 



At times, Scully wondered at the connection between Will and Kate, at

the way they knew each other so completely and without bounds. Kate was

not making predictions but telling truth she knew, without hint of worry

or speculation. Will would be coming.



"When, Katie?"



"Now."



Her bedroom door slammed open and Will came running up, panting with the

wildness in his eyes and in his heart. He stopped at the side of her

bed, blinking with his mussed hair that was spiky and his round brown

hands. He trembled there for a moment.



"Same dream as your sister?" she said softly.



He nodded.



She didn't ask anymore how they knew. She accepted. Mulder would have

been proud.



"Crawl up here, then, Will. We'll all sleep together tonight."



Will gave a sigh of relief and jumped into the bed, landing solidly on

Scully's stomach and knocking the breath from her.



"Sorry, Mommy," he said in a whisper, making an exaggerated grimace.



She took in a deep breath and shook her head. "'S okay, this time Will.

Don't jump again."



He nodded with that soulful look of almost abject humility and guilt, a

feature that was so very much his father that it made her smile--she

could not refuse such a sad and lonely face. She grabbed him about the

waist and tickled him mercilessly, watching Katie grin as she bounced on

the bed.



Will was shrieking and giggling when she finally grew too tired and

Katie collapsed on top of them both, pushing her stubby fingers into her

brother's sides. They proceded to tickle each other at that point and

Scully was trapped beneath them, trying to keep her children from

falling off the bed.



After a few minutes of breathless giggles and Scully corraling them to

the other side of the bed, the twins lay exhausted on the comforter,

letting out spurts of giggles as they pushed at each other. Scully

pulled down the covers and dragged them further up the bed to rest

against the pillows. Their small bodies barely made a dent in the bed

and she snuggled next to Katie, draping her arm over them both, stroking

Will's arm with her fingertips.



"Okay, time to sleep you two," she said softly and kissed Katie's cheek,

then lifted up to kiss Will as well.



"I love you Mommy," Will said softly.



Scully bit down on a choke of tears and smiled. "I love you too,

Willie."



"Do you love me, too, Mommy?"



"Of course my darling, Kate. Of course," she said, nosing into her cheek

and blowing in her ear.



Katie gave one last giggle then turned over to face her mother.



"We don't dream so bad when we sleep with you, Mommy."



"Oh. . .baby."



Scully didn't know what to say to that, didn't know what was the right

thing to decide for her kids, for Mulder's kids. For anyone. She wished

again that Mulder was there, that she could talk to him about this,

about their dreams and their nightmares and how they seemed to just

know. Just know.



She'd always heard that letting the kids sleep in the parent's bed was

not a good thing to do, but if it kept away their nightmares, if it kept

away her *own* nightmares, how bad could she screw this up? She needed

Mulder. . .



Katie patted her cheek and smiled softly.



"Daddy will be back, Momma. Will and I know it."



She smiled through her tears and wanted to believe her with all her

heart.



Her daughter. Her son. And yet. . .so different.



=-=-=-=

January 2000

=-=-=-=



"Your name, ma'am?"



Scully opened her badge wider and laid it on the young soldier's smooth

hand, smiling just a bit but with that hard, cold as steel look in her

eyes that said she would not be fooled or turned aside.



"Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. I have reason to believe that my

partner is being held on these premises. I just want to bail him out."



"And the name of the detainee?"



"Fox Mulder."



The uninterested, careless man suddenly became the alert, sharp-eyed

soldier--a change that Scully felt shock through her like lightning to a

tree, burning away the hope and kindling the fear. She clutched her

hands reflexively on the steering wheel and waited as the guard walked

to his station and spoke into a CB. 



The look on the man's face when she'd said Mulder's name. . .that jerk

from boring job to serious solider. . .it was flashing through her

memory like a loop of film, over and over that utter confidence and

grave seriousness.



It couldn't be so serious. It shouldn't be. Mulder had never been hidden

from her before, and he'd gone to bases like this plenty of times,

calling her up and ranting about proof and aliens and how he could

finally show the world. . .



Why the sudden interest of this soldier, why Mulder's complete removal

from the face of the earth?



"I'm going to have to take your gun, Agent Scully."



She nodded and carefully unsnapped her holster and placed it in his

palm, trying to relax the shaking in her muscles. The boy-soldier nodded

at her and placed it on the metal tray in his free hand, then waved

ahead to the single paved road.



"Ms. Scully, you'll find him in the third building from the right, down

this lane here. Just keep driving straight when I lift the gate for

you."



She glanced up in surprise, then smiled in relief. "Thank you."



He didn't smile with his eyes, and his face was still that portent of

death-grim shade that made her shiver as she rolled the window up and

waited for the gate to lift and the chain-linked fence to be rolled

back. The car smoothed through both and pushed the way through the thick

bushes growing alongside the fence. She was already stopping at the

third building with its dark concrete and thick walls. It was large and

dwarfed the first two little shacks that preceded it. 



Scully got out of the car and slammed her door shut, taking in the

stillness of the air and the quiet of the thickly wooded hills. She

licked her lips in the damp feel of tomorrow's coming rain and shoved

her keys into her jacket pocket. 



The white structure rose three stories high and she could see three

entrances to the basement area and double doors that a broken,

weed-cracked sidewalk led to. She took a step forward and hesitated at

the flagpole, waiting for the wash of fear to slide away.



A man walked out of the building just then and proceded to escort her

inside, his arm tight and muscled against her shoulder. She tried to

walk farther away, but he was right at her instep, so close she began to

feel trapped. 



As soon as the doors opened, she was led to a row of cells where she saw

Mulder lying on the bunk. His face was turned away from her and one arm

was thrown over his eyes. She smiled softly at the soft touches of

sunlight spilling inside.



Before she could react, her arm was grabbed roughly and the door was

swung open and she was shoved inside.



Inside. Locked with a clang of metal and death. She breathed in, her

hands splayed on the floor and her knees now bruised.



She looked up.



"He'll be along shortly."



Scully scooted over to Mulder and pressed her fingers to his pulse, her

fear spiking as she found it thready and shallow, sometimes not even

registering under her skin. Leaning over him, she could feel his in and

out breath against her cheek and it gave her a small measure of comfort.



"Mulder?"



A moan sounded loud through the cell and she heard the clang of the

second jail door, shutting again and locking them in further. She patted

the sides of Mulder's face and looked out at the tiny cell, the concrete

walls and the metal bars. She shivered as she smelled the smoke, the

cigarette smoke like an acid rain corroding the place.

~~~



The room he led them to was dark and tinted with a purple red that

reminded Scully of blood and warmth. Mulder was leaning heavily against

her, his ankle sprained and swelling despite the Tylenol they had

provided. CancerMan was not smiling and not talking to them in that

cheerful and annoying manner he usually had; he had no cigarette between

his lips in this place.



Mulder refused to tell her what was going on, only that he understood

now, and that she had to see things for herself, see to believe. She was

clutching his arm and helping him as they walked into the warm dark

room.



There was a rounded, soft looking membrane positioned in the center of

the small room. It was held up about three feet above the floor,

insulated with a shimmer of pink tissue and something that looked rather

wet. Softly the steady beat of a mechanical muffled drum sounded

throughout the room, and the darkness seemed to throb with it.



She stopped in the room and stared.



Within that small membrane, about the size of her cupped hands was a

baby. A growing moving human embryo. 



"What?" she whispered.



Mulder turned to her with his brows knitted closely together, tightly

together, his eyes darker than the warm red darkness surrounding them.



"Your clone, Ms. Scully," CSM said with nonchalance.



"My clone?"



"And in the room next door, Agent Mulder's clone."



"Why. . .what is this?" she said and turned so fiercely toward him that

Mulder rocked on his heels.



She reached out almost unconsciously for him, steadying his off balance

with a hand. He gripped hers tightly and motioned her away from the old

man.



"Scully, speak softly, all right?"



She glanced to the little fetus moving somewhat sluggishly in the tight

mechanical placenta.



"All right."



"This is what I found. When I came. There are just two. . .there could

be more of them in other places. But it was a set up from the first. He

wanted me to come, to see this, and call you here too. Once I called,

they were sure you would come."



"Why do they want me?" Scully whispered, but couldn't help the harsh

tones of her voice.



"Because. . .because they're dying in there."



She closed her eyes tightly, feeling the surrealism of the place

overcome her. A hint of nausea came to haunt her again and she clapped a

hand over her mouth.



"The sickness, Agent Scully--"



The older man began but Mulder held out a hand, silencing him.



"I need to tell you this, Scully, otherwise I know you wouldn't believe

it. They took you again, Scully. Recently. . .I don't know when--"



"I know," she whispered tersely and looked to the tiny thing shifting in

the warm amniotic fluid.



"You know?"



"Three months ago. I've been having some strange nightmares since then.

.. .and I've been sick."



He nodded. "Me too. They took us both because we have the natural

immunization against the black oil. I got it in Russia and you in

Antarctica. They're desperate to make a race of humans that can survive

this. Desperate enough to start the Project all over again."



"Half of them are dead, aren't they?" Scully said.



"Yes. They needed fresh DNA, resistent strains that can fight the alien

invasion."



"You believe this Mulder?"



She looked at him intently, her eyes clearly indicating that she might

be inclined to consider this if he was so thoroughly convinced.



"I do, Scully. Because he's willing to give them to us."



"Give what to us?"



"The clones. . .our clones."



"For what purpose? As evidence? No, Mulder. You can't do that. This baby

is a person, with a soul, no matter if her DNA matches mine exactly.

People don't realize it, but a twin is exactly the same as having a

clone. Same exact DNA. But that doesn't mean that one twin isn't a real

person."



"I know that, Scully. But they're dying in there."



"And what are we supposed to do about it?"



His eyes lifted to hers with regret but a shining bright hope. His hands

lifted from his sides and drifted to her stomach, resting against her

shirt there.



"They'll be safe here," he whispered and stroked his thumbs across her

belly, his eyes wide and watching her reaction. "They'll live here."



She jerked violently away from him, shaking and trembling all over with

the suggestion, the sensuality of his assault.



"CancerMan. . .he's trying to keep them alive -- no matter if he has

control over them or not. He said that they'd leave the twins alone. Our

twins, Scully, and like you said--they're human beings with souls."



She put a shaky hand to her mouth and managed to keep back the stinging

tears. The way he'd said 'twins' like they were her and Mulder's

children instead of their clones, like he wanted a family with her.



"They're. . .clones Mulder. Part of the Project--how can we ever. .

..ever be certain they'll leave us alone?"



He nodded softly, but would not look in her eyes. "Because. . .after two

years, I'll come back here."



"No!"



He clapped his hand over her mouth and shook his head, eyebrows tight

again. She pulled away from him, afraid how intoxicating his touch could

be, especially in this dark warm room with its primal feel.



"I can look for more, Scully. Look after the ones he's not letting us

have. I feel obligated to the baby here, Scully. To the one like me, the

one like you. But I know they'll be more than that, they'll have

different experiences and hopefully. . .hopefully no stolen sisters."



She blinked and tears cascaded down her cheeks, soft and swift. She

rubbed her eyes and could not imagine letting Mulder go at all.



"I can't. . .I won't have a family without you, Mulder," she said

finally, discovering that honesty would be the only way to make him

understand.



"I'll only be here for awhile. Let them test me a bit, take samples of

my DNA."



"But that's just giving them more of a chance to use your DNA to make

clones again."



"No. The clones were a failure. They're going back to hybrids. They need

the original sample so it will be awhile before they get it again, but

they'll get it."



"You mean the alien fetus?"



He nodded and reached for her waist again.



"Scully. . .I've been looking for a way to give you back what you've

lost. . .being with me. And here's a way to let you. . .I don't know,

Scully. It just seems that I couldn't possibly give this up. For the two

years I'll have with them, and however long afterwards."



She wouldn't look at him, afraid that his eyes would completely melt her

courage and her resolve. She needed to think this out carefully, to do

this for her own reasons, for the moral and right reasons. Two babies to

be impregnated. . .Mulder for two years and the promise from a known

liar that they would not be bothered. Mulder gone for however long. .

..did she have the courage to wait?



Suddenly, without any hint from him, she was being enveloped in his

arms, soft and firm with the courage he was giving her, the love and

support and understanding.



"They took this from us, Scully. I want it back."



She nodded and pushed her face into his shoulder, trying desperately to

keep from breaking down. After a moment of breathlessness, she lifted

her head.



"All right."



His face broke like the sun and his grin delighted her.



"You'll do it?"



"Yes. . .but I think you knew I would all along."



He glanced to the side, then back at her. "I sort of hoped. . ."



"But, Mulder?"



"Yeah?" he asked cocking his head at her, still grinning.



"For the two years. . .please don't change anything, okay? Because you

know you'll be gone, don't quit the X-Files, don't change into a man

that wants to be solid and grounded and conventional. I don't think I

could stand it."



He smirked at her and leaned in so close that his lips were brushing her

cheek.



"You're just afraid I won't tease you any longer. Well, think again,

Scully. You're marrying me as soon as we can get out of here--and then

I'll make good on all those hints."



She gaped at him, then shook her head emphatically. "No way, Mulder. You

don't have to marry me because--"



"I don't have to do anything. I want to marry you, Scully. I want this

to be our family, you understand?"



"With our. . .our clones?"



"Our twins, Scully. They'll really be our twins. In every manner."



He darted in close and brushed his lips lightly over hers, brief and

quick and shocking. She had no time to get used to the pressure of that

mouth before it was gone again, but it sated a deep wellspring within

her.



"So she'll do it?" asked CancerMan, striding over to them. His voice was

low and modulated and she suddenly felt sick at agreeing to this. There

was no guarantee that he would leave them alone, and no guarantee that

Mulder would be allowed to come back. He was sacrificing that for her,

for the twins.



She sighed softly and moved to the center of the room, touching the

placenta very lightly with her fingertips. It was smooth and wet like

water was running from it continually, and the baby shifted at her

presence, moving to see maybe, or feel the vibrations of her feet

walking in her womb-room.



Her twin. Her baby now. 



"Yes. I'll do it."



=-=-=-=



end part one

adios

RM