TITLE: Almost Home (9/?)
AUTHOR: Shoshana
EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Gossamer, Spookys site, Xemplary,
etc.
SPOILER WARNING: Seventh season episodes through Requiem.
RATING: NC-17 (Most of the story is rated R, NC-17 parts will be
clearly marked)
CONTENT STATEMENT: MSR
CLASSIFICATION: SRA
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully Romance
SUMMARY: Post ep for Requiem. Mulder comes back... but he's
missing something.
DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me.
NOTE: Thanks to my great beta readers Keleka, Lisa and Teresa!

Almost Home (9/?)
By Shoshana

February 22nd, 2001
Thursday
1 p.m.

Highway driving was always monotonous and Scully took heart when she
glanced at her watch and noted they were an hour away from their
destination. They'd gotten up at seven, loaded their bags into her
car by eight, and were on the road within minutes of an obligatory
Starbucks visit. They *were* stopping every hour for her to use
whatever facility they could find, but otherwise no obstacles stood
in their way.

Mulder had driven the first three hours of the journey to his
parents' summer house in Rhode Island; Scully was now behind the
wheel, listening to a classical station while her partner slept. Or
at least she thought he was sleeping, his face firmly pressed against
the seat cushion, breathing unfaltering in its regularity.

Eyes held fast by the road before them, she calmly tapped her
forefinger to one of the Brandenburg Concertos. Occasionally she'd
glance over to find Mulder slumbering-- jaw slack, hands
relaxed against his thighs. She still didn't think he was one
hundred per cent recovered and she worried about further headaches
and/or vertigo plaguing him.

Scully's attention was fixed on the highway when he spoke at last,
startling her so profoundly she was grateful both hands were
firmly grasping the steering wheel.

"What?!" she demanded, not sure she comprehended his softly-spoken
words.

Mulder sat up a little straighter in his seat, rubbing at his eyes
with one hand. He paused, then repeated what he'd just said, "I want
you to get out. Out of the X-Files. While we can still find a safe
place for you and the baby."

She glanced over at him quickly, then returned her eyes immediately
to the road ahead of them. He was deadly serious. She'd feared a
conversation like this would unfold sooner or later. She immediately
executed a maneuver more commonly seen on a raceway than a public
highway, pulling over onto the shoulder of the road.

She reined in her anger, attempting to see it from his perspective.
He just wanted to protect her, remove her from the line of fire. He
hadn't included himself in the equation because he knew the only way
they'd be able to continue to fight their opponents was behind the
facade of the X-Files.

Her ire spilled over despite her best efforts to harness its
intensity. She turned to face him directly, "And where exactly are
you going to be, Mulder? Living in the basement of the Hoover
building while we're in the Witness Protection Program? No way! I'm
not leaving you to fend for yourself. Not now. Not ever. You're
still at great risk! You can't work without me. You can't cover
your own back. I'm *not* leaving the X-Files!"

Mulder opened and closed his mouth several times during her angry
response. His efforts to interrupt were tempered by the fire he saw
in her eyes. But he wasn't going to back down so easily.

Coolly, he attempted to explain his reasoning, "You've suffered
enough, Scully. I'm in a unique position to see this whole situation
from a different perspective. If you hadn't been partnered with me
you'd be better off. You'd have a husband and children, and you
wouldn't have to worry about being dragged off in the middle of the
night by men with no names."

"Being a Federal Agent is a dangerous job, Mulder. There are a
hundred other ways I could have *suffered*. I could be dead by now
without you beside me. And I'm pretty sure you'd be long gone if I
hadn't rescued you innumerable times. You can't tell me I'd be any
safer in a safe house. I'd be a sitting duck in one of those
places. And I won't even have you-- isn't that what you're
suggesting? I should cut off my ties to you so I can raise our child
without a father!"

"If that's what it takes to keep you safe-- yes! I'm willing to
sacrifice for your safety, for the baby's safety. And he wouldn't be
without a father. We'd find a way to see each other," he said,
trying to sound conciliatory.

She glared at him furiously. This was too much. When had he taken
it upon himself to plan out her life? The long drive had provided
the perfect environment for a guilt-stricken, already confused Mulder
to invent the ultimate solution to their dilemma. Why not ship
Scully and baby off to some clandestine locale where she could be
bored shitless until the birth? Then let her continue to cower in
some safe house while Mulder took on the Consortium himself and tried
to make the world safe for democracy. She would never accede to this
plan, never let him lock her away while he put his life on the line
for her, for her family.

"You are out of your mind! I'm not going to sit around some dreary
suburban house guarded by Bureau flunkies while you do *our* work
and solve *our* problems. Maybe simply being who you were eight
years ago isn't enough, Mulder!"

"What do you mean, not enough?" he shot back.

"It seems to me-- if we had somehow gotten involved when we first
started working together-- if I'd gotten pregnant, for whatever
reason... I might have been easier to convince of the validity of
this stupid scheme. But I'm not that green anymore, and I'm not
willing to allow you to orchestrate my life. You may have lost eight
years, but I haven't! I won't allow your *lack* of perspective
to influence how we handle our lives!" she roared.

"Scully, you were twenty-nine years old in 1993! I hardly think I
could have forced you into into any 'stupid scheme.' I'm sure I
would have encountered the same resistance you're giving me right
now. I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm asking you to do
it-- for you, for the baby, for my peace of mind," he pleaded.

"It sure doesn't sound like a request, Mulder! It sounds like an
ultimatum to me. 'I want you to get out. Out of the X-Files.' And
don't tell me your tone of voice didn't convey your resolve. You
think you can coax me into going along with this madness. I can spot
a psychologist's ploy a mile away," she reminded him.

Mulder heaved a sigh and shook his head in disbelief. This was
ridiculous. Scully would never accept his motives for asking her to
leave the X-Files, if only for a brief period of time. He felt
powerless-- she had years of experience debating his theories and
opinions-- he had zilch. Eight years had been stolen from him by
some unknown entity, including his ability to counter her arguments
successfully.

The only difference between this disagreement and those they may
have bickered over during a case (and he could only imagine those
squabbles from second hand information) was its very personal nature.
Well, that was slightly incorrect, he thought-- they were both
central figures in several cases they'd worked on.

Scully had once said personal involvement was all she had without
the X-Files. When he'd read those words yesterday, in the context in
which they were spoken, he'd been ashamed he disbelieved her at the
time. He also could appreciate why he didn't validate her suspicions
immediately. Diana had left him, but she'd never tried to harm
him.

How wrong he'd been-- blinding trusting Diana. Her treachery was
revealed much later-- and Mulder could only hope she'd betrayed him
out of a desperate hope for survival, not because of ill will toward
himself and Scully.

When he didn't respond to her remark, Scully added, "You don't have
a good comeback for that, do you, Mulder? I know you'll use those
profiling skills any way you can. You'd like to whittle down *my*
resolve, but you're sadly mistaken if you think I can. I'd rather
have you pissed off at me than deny my child his father. I will not
live like a fugitive. I will not live without you or any of my
relatives or our friends around. Live with it. Because I won't be
changing my mind. Ever."

She crossed her arms, resting them firmly on her chest. Her
brothers had often teased her for being stubborn to a fault. The
most rational arguments couldn't sway her when she decided she was
right, and they were wrong. She could only be swayed by proof.
Proof she couldn't climb as high as they could. Proof she couldn't
convince Mom and Dad to let her go out on a school night. There had
to be a verifiable reason why she couldn't accomplish something.

Scully's attitude served her well in school, as she constantly faced
barriers and tore them down. Her family had been proud of her, but
by no means surprised when she graduated top of her class or when she
entered medical school after graduating magna cum laude. Her
willfulness paid off in any arena she entered.

This might have been what shocked her parents so much when she
announced she was going to join the FBI. There was no reason for her
to challenge herself this way, no reason for her to fight so hard
anymore. All she had to do was make it through her residency and
she'd have a successful medical practice. However, there would have
been nothing left to prove. It would have been so easy to take the
path of least resistance, to leap into a medical career.

She never was one to take the easy way out. She became interested
in forensic medicine because it was such a challenge for her,
physically and mentally. She wouldn't settle for a comfortable
coroner's job, either. She wanted demands made of her-- stimulating
discussion, intriguing cases.

After passing all the entrance exams, all the rigorous tests, to
become a field agent, she'd found herself teaching at Quantico. It
had been interesting initially, teaching fledgling agents the
peculiarities of her field. Ultimately, it was disappointing. She'd
been able to apply her knowledge in the morgue or laboratory, but
she never was called out to a crime scene, never experienced the
excitement of a stakeout.

Being assigned to Mulder as a field agent had been the best thing to
happen to her since she'd joined the FBI. They were on the road,
investigating, in the thick of things-- and the excitement, the sense
of accomplishment she'd yearned for was satisfied by their work.

Scully's intellect was stimulated by Mulder's outrageous, sometimes
brilliant deductions. He was the perfect match for her; she required
the use of all her abilities and personal resources to keep up with
his sharp mind. In spite of some initial distrust on his part (well-
founded, considering who'd handpicked her to debunk him) he'd
demonstrated himself to be fairminded and honorable in all respects.

So asking her to hide from the world, from the power their
relationship gave to both of them, was ludicrous. If he didn't
realize this-- it was only because he'd lost so much, been through so
much, the last few months. She looked over at her frustrating,
defiant partner, his body language a reflection of her own.

She started to laugh. She laughed so hard, she doubled over as far
as her pregnancy would allow, and tears of joy streamed down her
face. She started to hiccup, an unfortunate side effect of all the
indigestion her hormonally-charged body experienced daily. This
provoked her into hysterical giggles and was the final undoing of
Mulder.

He was almost offended she wasn't taking the discussion seriously
enough, when he realized how pigheaded he'd been. There was no black
and white solution to their problem. He should have known better.
Frankly, even a few days away from Scully at this point would be to
his detriment. He needed her. He loved her. They'd have to stay
together, no matter what they decided to do about the baby or the X-
Files.

He grinned back at her, then slipped across the seat so he could pat
her gently on the back, trying to ease her hiccups. When that remedy
didn't work, he practiced the only other surefire cure he knew of--
he started to kiss her, molding his mouth to hers until her
respirations were even, and she was clinging to him like a vine
around a trellis.

She left his mouth reluctantly, lowering her eyes as she pulled
away. His hands swept over her cheeks, mopping up the wet tears
she'd shed.

"I'm sorry, Scully. I guess I've been saying that a lot lately, but
I really am sorry I underestimated you. I shouldn't ask you to do
something I wouldn't be able to do myself. We'll get through this
somehow. I promise to be less of an asshole if you forgive me," he
proffered.

"Oh, Mulder," she said, grasping his hand tightly to give him some
physical sign of absolution. "Of course, I forgive you."

"Not the first time you've been this pissed at me, huh?" he asked.

"No, not the first time, nor the last time. But at least we're
together now. I thank God for that every day, Mulder. You have no
idea--"

"I do, Scully. I don't think I could stand to be without you for a day,
much less five months worth of days."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, then said, "I'm so proud of you.
I want to show you to the world. I don't want you to hide away until
the baby's born."

"Well, we'll be going to Mom's on Sunday. I'll be showing you off
in a way. If you can survive my family--"

"I know, Scully. I read about Bill. It's easy to understand how
he'd feel about me. I had a little sister, too. We fought all the
time, but I was her big brother, her protector. I can only imagine
the crap I would have given someone I felt was unworthy of her."

"He'll behave. You have my word on it," she said, straightening the
wayward cuff on his jacket.

"I can believe that, if you're there," he quipped.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mulder. But, I'm afraid we won't
be getting to the house any faster if you don't let me get back to
driving," she advised.

"Was this our first official fight as an expectant couple?" he asked
with a grin.

"Yeah. Our first knock-down, drag out. There'll be more where this
one came from if we don't get going! The pregnant lady needs to
visit the first gas station on the way."

"Those woods look pretty deep over there," he jested.

"Shut up, Mulder," she responded, punching him playfully in the arm.

fin

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