Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2001 3:17 PM

Maturity Chapter 9: Homecoming By Merlin

Category: MSR, Alternate Universe
Keywords: S, MSR, Alternate Universe
Spoilers: off and on, everything up to and including the
Movie, Season 6 never happened.
Rating: PG,
Archive: Anywhere, just let me know.
Summary: Mulder and Scully make a surprising discovery and
Mulder along with AD Skinner are almost taken out of the
Game.
Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer. Fox Mulder, Dana Scully,
Walter Skinner, Maggie Scully, and the other
regulars belong to 1013. I am just borrowing them for a
short adventure. Ben Hawkins, Johnny Nokamura, Angel Stevens
and Sabrina McKay are mine.
Special thanks go to Shiv for her Beta Reading, and to my
Editor XochiLuvr for his help with this chapter.
Merlin's Notes: A promotion and new responsibilities have
kept me from getting this out as soon as I wanted to. Sorry
for the delays.

Maturity Chapter 9: Homecoming

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Thursday March. 9, 2000, 6:45 p.m.
Mulder and Scully had just gotten home from work when
Mulder's cell phone rang.
"Mulder."
He listened for a moment, signaling to Scully that it was
important.
"So how reliable was this rancher who made the report,
Frohike?"
"Nah, I think I'll pass on this one, sounds flaky to me, but
thanks anyway. Yeah, we'll stop by this weekend. Thanks."
Mulder set the phone down and followed his wife upstairs.
"They think they've found a good lead on Melissa; he's
sending the file encrypted to your computer."
Scully shrugged out of her suit coat, entered her home
office, tossed her coat on the couch, and logged onto the
network. The file was waiting, so she opened it and quickly
skimmed the contents. Mulder, now dressed in jeans and
cotton shirt, entered her office quietly.
"Well?" he asked, not unkindly.
"I think it's her, Mulder," came the soft reply, a catch in
her voice.
"Let me see," he said, leaning over her shoulder.
The first clipping, from a small town newspaper, was about
an unidentified woman found in a wrecked car at the bottom
of a ravine. The car was registered to a local man who had
died a few weeks prior to the 'accident.' A small follow-up
article some time later mentioned that she still had not
been identified, and included a description.
Another newspaper, a year later, featured a story about the
new dance and yoga instructor at the local YWCA who was
drawing a large crowd of young girls to her classes. The
article also confirmed that she had been the unidentified
woman in the accident. All the newspapers were from Yakima,
Washington, and a quick bit of research revealed Yakima to
be a medium-sized town east of Seattle. Frohike had also
included medical reports from the hospital and notes from
the psychologist who had originally interviewed her.
A photo from the article about the dance instructor showed a
woman standing next to a young girl, helping with her
stance. One look and Mulder had no doubts. The woman in the
photo was Melissa Scully.
When he turned to look at his wife, Mulder saw the tears in
her eyes as she stared at the photo.
"Let's go get her Scully; let's bring her home."
Mulder called Skinner and Hawk and got the okay to take a
couple days off. Next he called the airport and booked a
flight to Seattle, then arranged to rent an SUV when they
arrived.
He had managed a 7pm flight out of Dulles, so they decided
to pack immediately and leave from work.
Scully called her mom and asked her to watch the house for
them while they were gone. Thunder and Lightning did not
warm up to many people; Maggie Scully, Skinner and the Lone
Gunmen were about the only outsiders the dogs allowed to
take care of them. Mulder let the LGM know what was going
on, then followed Scully to retrieve the suitcases.

The Scully/Stevens Home
Bowie, Maryland
Friday March. 10, 2000, 6:45 a.m.
Angel rolled over in bed and looked up at Charlie. He
leaned down and kissed her.
"Sorry to rush off so soon, Angel, but I have to be at the
staff meeting at 0900, and have my report ready to present.
Then we go out on a deployment, but I'll only be gone for
about 3 days. I'm really sorry for leaving you with this
mess, honey, but there's nothing I can do about it."
"Thass okay," she slurred, sleepily. "Jus' hurry home."
"I will. There's fresh coffee in the kitchen."
He kissed her again and left.
Angel stayed in bed for a few more minutes, just relaxing.
She started to stretch, and winced as a soreness in her
muscles made itself known.
When she'd first found out that Charlie was being reassigned
to Annapolis, her heart had dropped. She'd never felt about
anyone the way that she had about him; in just a few months
he'd become the center of her world. They'd talked about
the transfer for several hours, barely restraining
themselves from just screaming all their frustrations at
each other.
Charlie finally just blurted, "Dammit, Angel, why don't we
just get married and you come with me?"
Angel stopped what she was saying, her mouth open, looking
like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. Charlie
had a stunned look on his face as well, as if he couldn't
believe he'd said it either.
She sat and stared at him for a few minutes, tears in her
eyes. Eventually she spoke: "I may marry you in the future,
Charlie, if you still want me, but for right now, I'll just
go with you. If you really are willing to have me."
After a long round of kissing, the planning began in
earnest. Charlie managed ten days off to move, and convinced
several friends to help. Angel got her friends to help as
well, and both were packed and ready in just two days, so
they set off early, driving to the East Coast. Angel's
mother was naturally unhappy about her daughter living with
someone 'out of wedlock', but had noticed the positive
influence Charlie had on her daughter and kept silent.
Angel knew her mom and dad didn't approve of the
arrangement, but loved them all the more for their
understanding.
The weeklong drive across the country was scenic, if
uneventful, and they learned a lot more about each other.
Charlie had arranged the rental home and, when they arrived,
Angel was happily surprised. In front of her stood a
beautiful three bedroom, two-story townhouse in a little
community called Bowie. It wasn't far from Annapolis, where
Charlie would be stationed, or Washington D.C., where
Angel's employers were located.
She had just finished getting dressed, having pulled her
clothes right from the cardboard box, when her cell phone
chimed.
"Hello, this is Angel. Oh, hi mom. Mom. Mom, what's wrong?
Oh, God, no. Okay, mom, okay, I'll be there as soon as I
can catch a plane. Bye."
She hit number one on speed dial and waited for Charlie to
answer.
"Charlie, I'm sorry to bother you right now, but my mom just
called--my dad had a heart attack last night. He's in the
hospital. I have to go. Yes, I've got enough money. Okay,
I will. Talk to you later. I love you, too. Bye."
Her next call was to the airline, where she got a seat on a
flight leaving in three hours. She quickly packed a suitcase
and called a cab.
Dulles International Airport
Washington D.C.
Friday March. 10, 2000, 6:45 p.m.
Mulder and Scully were seated in the cabin of the jumbo jet,
waiting impatiently for takeoff. Mulder had splurged for
first class seats this time, knowing from years of
experience that the seats would be more comfortable for the
late night trip across country.
As the plane rolled down the runway, Scully gripped his
hand, hard. She always did on takeoffs, but this time he
could feel the additional fear. Once they were airborne,
she relaxed slightly and they talked shop, steering clear of
emotional topics.
After eating they reclined their seats and tried to sleep.
Mulder watched her as she slept, knowing that with the time
difference they would arrive at 9:45, although they were in
the air for nearly 6 hours. His only hope was that it really
was Melissa, and that she would remember her sister.
The next thing he knew, Scully was shaking him awake.
"Come on, Mulder, wake up and get your seatbelt on. We're
landing in a few minutes."
The landing at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport was
uneventful, and they managed to retrieve their luggage
without any problems. Even the SUV Mulder had reserved was
ready on time. The only problem was that Mulder was wide
awake at 10 p.m. thanks to his nap on the plane, so they
decided to head over the mountains and drive to Yakima now,
rather than grabbing a hotel for the night.
The one hundred and fifty mile drive took about three hours,
and the couple got a room at the Yakima Holiday Inn. They
turned in, planning on visiting Yakima Valley Memorial
Hospital first thing in the morning.
Holiday Inn
Yakima, Washington
Saturday March. 11, 2000, 8:45 a.m.
After breakfast at the Denny's next to the hotel, they drove
over to the hospital. They had decided the night before to
not contact the woman first, in case she was not who they
hoped. At worst, they would lose a few hours time with the
woman, but potentially, if they weren't careful, they could
cause additional emotional and psychological trauma.
It was a nice change presenting their credentials to a
hospital administrator who, for once, was actually happy to
see them. He called in the psychologist who had worked the
case, and the interview began.
They talked about how she had been found unconscious, found
in a wrecked car in a ravine, without identification. About
how she had remained in a coma for over a month.
Scully discussed the methods of treatment that she had
undergone, and any results. After an hour, the psychologist
finally suggested they simply visit her at the YWCA, where
she was most likely teaching a dance class.
They drove, the psychologist, Dr. Adams, giving directions.
It was only a short trip, no more than five miles.
The trio entered the building and walked toward the gym. As
they neared the windows looking over the gym floor, Dr.
Adams made a suggestion.
"It might be better if Agent Scully approached her alone, to
avoid any feelings of being crowded."
Scully looked at Mulder and saw the understanding and
agreement in them. She opened the door, then crossed the
gym floor toward the woman she suspected was her sister.
The other woman was walking a little girl through a
complicated dance move and didn't hear her until she was
close.
"Can I help you?" she asked, turning toward Scully.
She stared directly in Dana's face and looked as if she was
seeing someone she should recognize but could not remember.
That look turned into puzzlement, then in an instant was
changed into startled recognition.
The two sisters hugged fiercely and slid down to the floor;
startled dance students and both Mulder and Dr. Adams moved
forward slowly.
"Dana. Oh my God! Dana! I remember, I remember!" cried
Melissa.
They got up from the floor and Melissa instructed her
students to take a break.
They walked over to the bleachers and sat down, still
holding each other.
"Oh God, Missy, I have missed you so much."
"What happened, Dana?" asked a tearful Melissa. "What
happened to me? I remembered going into your apartment and
then nothing.... But then I was here in the hospital, and I
couldn't remember who I was or how I got here. How could
this happen?"
Scully sat holding her sister's hands, trying to come up
with some sort of answer for her.
"Oh my God, Dana you're married!" cried Melissa, looking at
Dana's rings. "Was it Mulder?"
"Yes it was, Missy, we got married about four months ago, on
Halloween."
Melissa looked down at her hands.
"I missed it; I missed my sister's wedding."
Scully looked into her sister's eyes and started sobbing,
feeling extremely guilty. Mulder recognized what was
happening and walked up to her, putting his hand on her
shoulder for support.
"Oh Missy, you've been gone for almost five years. I'm so
sorry; we never searched for you. We thought you were dead.
We found a woman, your identical duplicate, shot in the head
in my apartment. She lived for almost a week and then died.
We... I thought it was you Missy, I never looked for you."
With that Scully burst into tears and cried on Melissa's
shoulder, releasing all of the emotions of finding a sister
who was gone from her life. With a start Mulder wondered if
he would react similarly if they found Samantha. Mulder and
Dr. Adams explained what was going on to the YWCA staff and
let Scully and Melissa have some privacy.
"They did this to you because of me Missy, my being part of
Mulder's crusade--my crusade. I am so sorry, you don't know
how much. I wish...." Her voice trailed off.
Melissa didn't say anything; she just looked at her sister
sadly, realizing how much guilt she carried.
"Dana, stop blaming yourself; I don't. It was...fated to
happen. You found me, and that's what's important. How's
everyone at home?"
"Mom is fine, so are Bill and Charlie. Charlie got divorced
3 years ago, caught his wife in bed with another man, but he
just started seeing some one a few months ago. They're
moving in together and he was just reassigned back to
Annapolis. Mom is seeing someone as well; Admiral
Gunderson. There have been a few hectic times but things
have worked out pretty well overall."
"Dana, I have to see mom and the others, when can we go?"
"Well, I'd like your doctor to look you over and give you a
release; then we can fly back together. You can stay with
us until things get settled."
"Where are you living now?"
"We're in McLean; Mulder has a house there. It's beautiful;
6 bedrooms, hot tub, you'll love it."
Mulder and the Doctor walked over to the two women when
Scully waved to them. He was just getting ready to ask
Scully something when Melissa stood up and wrapped her arms
around him.
"Mulder, I knew you would finally get around to admitting
it. Remember I told you that you loved her and that it was
just a matter of time."
"Yeah you did, Melissa, but it took a while for me to admit
it--even longer to admit it to her."
"But you finally did."
"Yes, I did."
Fort Benton Hospital
Fort Benton Montana
Saturday March. 11, 2000, 9:30 a.m.
Carolyn Stevens looked down at her adopted daughter with
affection. She was curled up as much as she could in the
easy chair in the corner of the hospital room where her
adopted father lay recovering from a quadruple bypass. She
had told Angel that it was not all that serious, that a
bypass was not a big deal anymore, but she would hear none
of it and had decided to stay all night.
She sat a cup of coffee down on the table by her daughter,
then sat herself. It had been twenty-six years since she
and Frank had been asked to be foster parents to a scared,
amnesiac 9 year-old. They adopted her two years later.
Angel had never regained her memory and no relatives had
ever been discovered. She'd grown up with five brothers and
three sisters in the big ranch and had worked on it like the
rest of the family. The horses raised by the Stevens were
some of the most sought-after saddle horses in the country,
and the entire family was proud of that reputation.
Angel attended school with her brothers and sisters and was
close to them, but had also always been apart from them.
She'd gone to college at the University of Montana at
Bozeman, getting high marks, and yet Carolyn knew she wasn't
happy. She worked in the computing department of an
engineering firm for a short time, keeping their computer
system up and running, until one day she came home mad,
packed her things and left.
It was four months before they heard from her. She'd gotten
an apartment in San Diego and was working at a store of some
kind. Frank had sent Angel's older sister Lisa to bring her
home. Lisa had returned a week later, alone. She told her
parents that Angel had become a Goth, wearing only black
makeup and clothing, that she was extremely depressed, and
just wanted to be alone. She had promised to stay in touch,
and to not do "anything drastic."
They had visited her as often as they could, and found it
hard to identify the pale young woman with the black makeup
as their daughter. Although they enjoyed being with her,
her depression was overwhelming. She and Frank had wondered
if they'd made a mistake by not getting Angel counseling
when she started having the nightmares and calling out to
someone in her sleep.
Angel had started changing last fall. When she and Frank
had visited her right after Thanksgiving they had found her
wearing hardly any makeup, jeans, and a bright blue US Navy
T-shirt. She also fairly bubbled. Angel had never bubbled.
That was when Carolyn knew that Angel had met someone,
someone who was extremely special to her. Someone she was
in love with. They'd spent a wonderful weekend with her and
had met Charlie, the tall, handsome, husky sailor who had
stolen their daughter's heart.
Her husband had warmed up to Charlie right away, and she had
found herself liking him rather quickly. He had something
that most young men did not--respect for others. He called
her ma'am, and Frank sir; and she could tell that he was
deeply in love with Angel. That weekend had been wonderful,
and had healed almost the entire rift between them.
Angel stirred and opened her eyes.
"Morning, sleepy head," said Carolyn.
"Mornin', mom," replied Angel, stretching.
Angel went and used the restroom, then came back and sipped
at her coffee.
"Mom," she started. "Tell me about my real parents."
This was the conversation that Carolyn had been expecting
for years, and had dreaded.
"I really don't know what to tell you Angel. The children's
services people in Bozeman, who had asked if we could take
you in as a foster child, contacted us. We were told that
your parents were killed in a car accident a few months
before they contacted us, and that you had spent quite some
time in the hospital recovering from a coma. They told us
that they had been unable to locate any relatives of your
parents.
"A year later they informed us that there were no relatives
anywhere, and we asked if we wanted to adopt you. You had
become such a part of the family by then."
"They didn't tell you any more about my parents?"
"No, sweetie, they didn't. All we were told was that they
were from the East Coast and were traveling west in a car
towing a U-Haul trailer when the accident occurred."
"Well I guess I could check with them to see if I can get
any information. It's nothing against either you or dad, but
I've always wondered about my real parents and why I can't
remember anything about them. I have dreams about a life
that I know nothing about, about someone who I feel is
important to me, and I cannot remember anything at all."
Carolyn had nothing that she could say to help Angel through
this, so she did the next best thing and hugged her close.
Holiday Inn
Yakima Washington
Saturday March. 11, 2000, 7:45 p.m.
Mulder sat at the bar watching Scully and Melissa in the
mirror. He was giving them some space and time to catch up.
Now all he had to do was keep them safe.
Earlier they had cleaned out her room at the Y, and packed
all she owned into two large suitcases and a steamer trunk.
She had found time to say goodbye to her dance class with
sadness and a pep talk to them.
The bartender asked him if he needed another glass of ice
tea. He agreed. When the glass was set in front of him the
bartender spoke to him.
"Notice that you've been watching those two. Think you'd
have a chance with one of them?"
Mulder smiled to himself. "Yeah. Yeah I do."
"I don't know. That one on the left, she seems to be
closed-off from men. I think they're probably lesbians."
"Think so?" Mulder asked with a smirk."
"Yep. When they first came in they had two or three guys
stop at the table; they didn't give any of them the time of
day."
"Bet you I can get both of them to leave with me."
"Yeah, right."
Mulder finished his tea then tossed a couple of bills on the
bar.
"Watch me," he challenged.
He went over to the table and leaned on it.
"Hey babe, the bartender thinks that you two are a 'couple'.
I bet him I could get both of you to leave with me. It's
time to go anyway, so how 'bout we make his day?" grinned
Mulder.
Scully flashed a thousand-watt smile at him, as did Melissa.
Both women stood up and each took an arm. Mulder grinned at
the bartender as they left together.
As they crossed the parking lot, Mulder hung back as they
went into the room. He pulled out his cell phone and hit
one of the speed dial buttons and waited.
"Hello sir, just wanted to check in," he said, motioning for
the women to go on without him.
"Yes, we did find her. Yes, Scully thinks that she's real.
She did a blood test at the hospital here, and it fits. She
took samples for a DNA test and shipped them to the lab at
Quantico.
"We're going to be leaving here in the morning. Scully
wants to take the next week off, to spend with her family.
"Yeah, I know. Yes, sir. We will, sir. Okay, I'll be back
Monday for the conference. Figure on Scully being gone all
week though. Okay, thank you. sir. Bye."
Mulder stood for a few minutes watching the outline of the
mountains through the clear night sky. He was so relieved
that they had found Melissa; at least one of Scully's losses
had been redeemed. He couldn't make up the time they'd lost
together, but she was back. Now he had to get some
protection for her... maybe that private security firm that
Skinner had mentioned.
He entered the large double room to find Scully and Melissa
sitting and talking. He grabbed a clean T-shirt and some
sweats and went in to get a shower.
Melissa watched her baby sister follow Mulder with her eyes.
"You two are so in love it's almost sickening. So what did
it take to get you together?"
Scully's face darkened for a minute as she remembered the
shooting.
"We were on a case in Anaheim and after the suspect was
captured he broke loose and tried to kill me. Mulder took
the bullets meant for me. He stood in the path of those
bullets wearing a bulletproof vest, thinking he was safe.
The gun, however, was loaded with cop killer bullets, and he
was shot three times in the back. He thought he was going
to die and said that he couldn't until he told me he loved
me. Well, he survived and proposed to me when he got out of
intensive care."
Scully's eyes filled with tears as she related the story and
Melissa was sorry for asking, but it was something she had
to know. So much had happened while she was gone and she
was starving for news.
Mulder came out of the shower and sat near the two women.
"Scully, I think we need to consider what Krycek suggested
last Christmas."
"You mean about the bodyguards?"
"Yeah, I think when we get back I will give the outfit
Skinner suggested a call. We should cover our mothers,
Melissa, Bill and Tara, the Gunmen, but I'm not sure who
else."
"Krycek suggested Sabrina as well. Mulder, what is this
going to cost? Can we afford it?"
"Well babe, I've been doing a lot of day trading lately and
have done very well. I bought a stock in January for $22 a
share, it was $385 a share last week and did a 4 for 1
split, then climbed to over $200 a share. I sold it
Wednesday for $224. Right now we have a little over fifty
million scattered here and there. So, yeah, I guess we can
afford it," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Jeez, Mulder, and I worry about using premium gas in the
Porsche," she laughed as she turned to Melissa. "Mulder
bought me an '81 Porsche Turbo Carerra for Christmas--you
remember, my dream car. Well, it seems he took an
inheritance and is turning it into an empire."
"Not really. Anyway, I'm backing out of the market; I don't
want to have our money tied up now. I want to keep it handy
and available."
They sat and talked for a couple hours about what Melissa
had missed over the five years she had been 'gone' before
turning in.
Holiday Inn
Yakima Washington
Sunday March. 12, 2000, 8:15 a.m.
The three had just left the Denny's next to the Holiday Inn.
The rented SUV was packed up and they were ready to head
home. Dana and Melissa were arguing about how to best tell
their mother about Melissa's return to the living.
Dana wanted to warn her first, Melissa wanted to just walk
in. Finally they agreed to allow Dana to at least talk to
her first.
They arrived at the airport a little before noon; their
flight home was set for 2:12 p.m., so they had a leisurely
lunch and did some shopping. Dana was paying for some
salmon that she was having shipped to her mother's house and
mused at how easily it came to her to pay for everything
with one of her credit cards. They were always paid for in
full when the bills came due, so she hardly ever carried any
cash with her.
Melissa too marveled at how much her sister had changed.
Dana had grown more beautiful as she matured, and now
sported a more confident, secure attitude compared to the
insecure, cautious person she was before. "Mulder's
influence," she decided. Dana had always tried to be in the
background of things in school, and she suspected in real
life, so something had changed her. For the better though,
much better.
They boarded the plane without trouble and enjoyed pleasant
conversation on the flight to Dulles International. Mulder
napped some, but the two sisters talked most of the flight
about family, friends and what had happened during Melissa's
absence.
They landed and retrieved the luggage without problem.
During the drive home, Scully was quiet. She was trying to
come up with a way to explain to her mother about Melissa.
Fort Benton Municipal Airport
Fort Benton Montana
Sunday March. 12, 2000, 2:30 p.m.
Carolyn Stevens and the rest of the family had shown up to
see Angel off. She didn't want to leave so soon but she was
starting a new job, and the rest of the family assured that
they would take care of their father. Everyone was glad to
see that she had returned to her 'old self', and all her
sisters were dying for details of Charlie. Angel had told
them the truth, explaining about the attempted rape and
Charlie's role in her rescue. She had promised to try to
bring him out to meet her family later in the year.
Finally though, she had to board the plane for her flight to
Helena, where there was a layover. Her flight to DC would
not get her home until just before noon.
The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Sunday March. 12, 2000, 10:45 p.m.
Mulder pulled up to the gate and punched the security code
in. The gate opened and he drove slowly up the driveway,
opening the garage door with the remote control. He pulled
in the garage and shut the truck off. As the garage door
closed, Scully got out and asked Mulder and Melissa to wait
for her to come back.
She opened up the door to the house and went through it.
"Fox, Dana is that you?" called her mother. "It has to be,
the dogs aren't making any noise."
"Yes mom, I'm in the kitchen," called Scully, who was busy
greeting the two dogs.
Maggie came into the kitchen in a bathrobe.
"Where is Fox?" she asked.
"He's unloading the truck; he'll be in in a sec. Mom, sit
down. There's something I have to explain."
"What is it Dana? Is something wrong with Fox?"
"No, mom, nothing is wrong; this is something else. It's
not easy to explain, but I'll try. You know I have told you
that there are a bunch of people who are out to control the
country?"
"Yes. What is it Dana? Just get to the point." Maggie was
beginning to get nervous.
"Okay mom, here it is. When Melissa was shot in the head,
it wasn't really her, it was a double who was made to look
exactly like her. Melissa was somehow given amnesia and
hidden in a small town on the West Coast." Dana paused
noticing the excited look on her mother's face. "Mom. We
found her. We brought her home!" She then walked over to the
door to the garage and opened it, Mulder's cue to bring
Melissa in.
Mother and daughter rushed together, holding each other and
crying tears of joy. Mulder hugged his wife, then urged her
to join in. He returned to the garage and carried the bags
in leaving the mother and daughters time to talk.
He got their stuff unpacked and put away and checked the
clock. 11:15 p.m.. Time to think about going to bed; he
had a conference to attend tomorrow.
He turned on the shower, stripped, and stepped in. The hot
water and the familiarity of being home felt great, and he
enjoyed the feeling. He was just finishing washing his hair
when the door to the shower stall opened.
He felt soft hands on his back and smiled to himself.
"Hey babe, shouldn't you be with your mom and Melissa?" he
asked.
"No Mulder, she is here mainly because you believed. I had
a hard time believing that a clone was killed in her place.
You believed enough that we looked for and found her. I
wanted to thank you, and show you how much I love you." She
pushed him against the shower wall and started kissing him.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 6:45 a.m.
Mulder went downstairs after dressing and was greeted by the
smell of fresh coffee and muffins. Maggie was already
sitting in the kitchen looking tired, but happier than he
had seen her in a while.
"Morning, Fox," she said as he poured himself some coffee.
"Morning, mom," he replied. "How did you sleep?"
"Wonderfully, Fox. We talked way too late, but I slept
well."
"You didn't have to get up so early this morning, you know."
"I know, Fox, but I wanted to make sure you had something to
eat before you left, and to thank you."
"There is no need to thank me, it was my fault this happe--"
"Hush, Fox. This is not your fault. Dana has been
explaining to me what is going on, and you are right, they
have to be stopped. And to answer you, yes, I do believe in
the existence of aliens--I always have. Don't know why, but
I just do. Anyway, thank you for returning my daughter to
me," and she stood up and kissed him.
"You're welcome, mom," he answered, slightly choked up.
"But please do me a favor. Stay here for a while. We are
close to exposing these people, and I want all of you safe.
This week I'll be getting bodyguards for all of you--even
Bill."
Maggie looked stunned.
"I realize this is a shock to you, mom, but you must realize
that things are going to get really tense here. I don't
want anyone to get hurt, and they might try to come after
our families to try and stop us."
Maggie thought for a moment.
"Okay, Fox, if you think that's best, you do what you have
to do," she said determinedly.
"Glad to hear it," answered Mulder, relieved. "Dana is
taking this week off, so she can help you with whatever you
need."
With that he stood up and kissed her on the cheek, then left
to get his jacket on. Maggie put several muffins in a bag
and took them to the door and handed them to him. As he
left she mused 'He is such a wonderful man, but he has such
lousy taste in ties.'
In an Office in the Department of Defense.
"Melissa Scully is gone."
"Gone where?"
"Mulder and Scully found her; she regained her memory, and
left with them yesterday."
"Have you located her yet?"
"No, we just started looking. I would guess she's at their
place."
"Make sure, and have a recovery team ready."
Hotel Inter-Continental
Washington DC
Monday March. 13, 2000, 11:37 a.m.
Special Agent Paul Jenkins from the Houston office had just
finished giving his intelligence briefing to the group and
everyone was taking a break. Mulder was standing by the
window of the conference room listening to Hawk and Skinner
arguing about some agent assignments. He glanced out the
window and saw a driver jump out of a produce truck and
start running; the passenger also did the same.
He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he
recognized the passenger. It was thought that he was
involved with several of the more extreme of the militia
groups from the South.
He grabbed both Skinner and Hawk.
"Look, I just saw two men jump out of a produce truck in the
alley and take off running. One of them was Hank Jefferson.
We need to get out of here. Now! Head to the opposite side
of the building and take the stairs. Someone call the front
desk and let them know what's going on." They started
getting the agents out of the conference room and sent
others to check the rest of the floor.
Hawk went to the lobby to get started clearing the rest of
the hotel, and try to get the surrounding area cleared.
Skinner stood at the stairwell door and herded people down
the stairs. Mulder had just left the conference room and
was putting his phone away as he headed to the stairs.
"Hurry up, Mulder, we don't know how much time we have,"
urged Skinner.
"On my way," he called.
He glanced behind him one more time before he went down the
stairs, just in time to see two waitresses exit the service
elevator.
"Shit," he said.
He started toward them pulling out his ID and holding it in
front of him.
"Excuse me, this is an emergency. I am with the FBI, and we
are evacuating this building. You need to go down the
stairs right now!"
He steered them toward the stairwell and followed closely.
They were only a short distance away from the stairwell when
the shorter girl stumbled and fell. Mulder helped her to
her feet as the first girl started down the stairs. Twenty
five feet to go, and Skinner was holding the doorway open
when it happened.
It started with a rumble and quickly turned to a crashing
roar. Mulder felt an impact on his lower back and was
knocked to the floor. Skinner was thrown against the back
wall by the door slamming closed.
The explosion of the produce truck was almost equal to the
one at the Murrah building in Oklahoma City. The truck was
parked in the alley behind the convention center and
restaurants; the back half of the building was devastated.
All six floors were laid open and partially collapsed.
The office building on the other side of the alley, being
older, suffered worse damage. Most of the building was
destroyed and several hundred people killed. Hundreds more
were trapped in the rubble.
When Skinner regained consciousness, he tried to open the
door to find that it would not budge. He stumbled down the
stairs slowly, finding stairs sprung and some rubble lay in
the way. When he got to the main floor and out into the
lobby his steps were steadier and he was fully alert.
Police and fire crews were just beginning to respond to the
scene; it was obvious to them that Skinner had been
unconscious for some time.
Hawk entered the lobby and pulled Skinner outside.
"Where's Mulder?"
Skinner shook his head as he spoke. "I don't know. The
blast caught him before he could get in the stairwell. I
couldn't open the door there. I don't know if he is dead or
trapped."
"Shit. All of us got out but Mulder then. Thompkins caught
some glass and got cut up a bit, but everyone else is fine.
I think we got most of the hotel staff out, but the office
building on the other side of the alley was hit hard." He
shook his head sadly. "What am I going to tell Dana?" he
asked.
"I'll call her, Hawk. I was the last to see him, and
somehow I feel he is alive up there. Let's see what we can
help with."
They identified themselves to the emergency crews setting up
the command post and informed them of what they knew. They
tried to give a good description of where Mulder and the
missing room service waitress were located.
Hotel Inter-Continental
Washington DC
Monday March. 13, 2000, 1:22 p.m.
Preliminary search crews had not been able to locate Mulder
or the missing young woman. Access to the area where they
were last seen was blocked completely. They were waiting
for some specially trained people and equipment before
trying anymore.
Walter Skinner stepped away from the noise and pulled out
his cell phone and hit the autodial.

The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 1:26 p.m.
"Hello. Oh hi, Walter," said Scully.
"Hello Dana, have you been watching the news?"
"No I haven't. What's up? Is something wrong?" she asked
sensing trouble.
"Dana, I hate to tell you this but...."
"It's Mulder, isn't it? What happened?" she interrupted.
"Dana, there was a bomb, just like in Oklahoma City. Mulder
saw it being set and got the hotel cleared, but as we were
leaving, two waitresses left the service elevator. Mulder
went to get them and was almost safe when the bomb went
off."
Scully ran into the living room and turned on the TV to
views of the bombing. She gasped when she saw the
devastation.
"How bad was he hurt, Walter?"
"Dana... he didn't get out; he's still trapped inside
somewhere. I am so sorry, he was just a few feet from me,
but I couldn't get back through the door to find him."
"Walter, I know you, if you could have done something, you
would have. Don't worry about it. I'm on my way; I'll be
there as soon as possible."
She stood looking at the views of the damage on the TV when
she felt a touch on her shoulder.
"Dana? What's wrong?"
"Oh mom, Mulder's trapped in there somewhere," she said,
pointing to the TV. " I have to go to him."
"Yes, go. We'll be all right. Call when you know
something. We'll pray for him.
Melissa hugged her sister, feeling the sadness and fear in
her.
"Dana, call the police for a ride, don't try to drive."
"Good idea, Melissa," she said as she picked up the phone.
She called the highway patrol who agreed to send a car for
her. It was there in minutes.
Maggie watched as her daughter stopped pacing, unlocked her
desk and took out the handgun in its holster and put it in
the waistband at her back. She took a couple of extra
magazines and dropped them into her coat pocket. It was
really so...unnatural watching her little girl with a gun.
She threw on a jacket and rushed out the door to the patrol
car without saying goodbye. She knew where her daughter's
thoughts were and understood.

Feedback welcome merlin@hpointe.com

Maturity Chapter 9: Homecoming By Merlin (2/2)

The Scully/Stevens Home
Bowie, Maryland
Monday March. 13, 2000, 1:45 p.m.
The cab pulled up in the driveway of the townhouse and let
Angel out. She paid him and carried her bag to the door,
where she was instantly on the alert when she found it
unlocked. She was just about ready to go to the neighbors'
when the door opened and there stood Charlie. Angel's eyes
got wide when she saw that his arm was in a sling.
"Charlie. What happened?
He grabbed her around the waist with his good arm and kissed
her before speaking.
"Don't worry Angel, it' not bad."
"What happened Charlie?"
"I can't tell you all of the details, but it was just an
incident on the deployment."
"What kind of incident? And what happened to your
shoulder--or is it the arm?"
"Angel, I can't tell you. It is related to the mission and
is secret. As far as what happened, I was shot in the
shoulder, it's very minor and will be fine. Now come in,
something has happened to Dana's husband."
He carried her bag in and set it in the bedroom. He took
her into the living room and pointed to the TV.
"There was a bomb, similar to the one in Oklahoma City that
went off in downtown DC. Mulder was in the hotel when it
went off. Mom just called and told me about it."
Hotel Inter-Continental
Washington DC
Monday March. 13, 2000, 2:08 p.m.
As he pulled himself out of the darkness, Mulder became
aware of two things. A heavy pressure on his back holding
him to the floor and the sound of a woman crying. He
coughed slightly, then heard the woman talking to him.
"Mister, are you okay?"
"Don't know" he grunted.
Mulder's mind raced, trying to remember where he was and
what was happening. He remembered! He was heading for the
stairwell when the young woman tripped and he helped her up.
When they were almost there, the bomb went off and something
hit his back.
He tried to move his legs, but he could feel nothing below
his chest. Panic started to set in, but he forced that to
the back of his mind and spoke to the girl.
"Are you alright?"
"I think so, just some scratches and bruises from falling
stuff."
"Can you see what is on me?"
"Yes, it looks like the whole wall or something, I can only
see your head and shoulders."
"Does it look like things are stable?"
"I don't know, things keep falling, but not big stuff."
"Are you trapped?"
"No. I tried to see if there was any way out, but
everything is blocked."
"I can see some light, where is it coming from?"
"One of those red emergency light things on the wall; one
bulb is broken but the other one is on."
"Okay, what's your name?"
"Jaime, Jaime Fargo."
"Okay, Jaime, you can call me Mulder, I'm with the FBI. I'm
sure there are search teams looking for us, so we'll just
have to hang on till they get to us. Are you bleeding
anywhere?"
"No, just some scrapes. You?"
"I don't know, Jaime. I can't feel my legs, so I don't even
know if they're there. Can you look at my watch to see what
time it is?"
He heard her crawl over to him and pull back the sleeve of
his jacket.
"It says two fifteen." She paused to brush his hair back
out of his face. "Are you okay, Mulder?"
"I guess, for someone who can't move and can't feel their
legs," he tried to joke, coughing slightly. "Well, they
should be searching for survivors, so it's just a matter of
time now."

Outside at the Command Post.
Walter Skinner stood at the edge of the main group,
listening for information on anyone found inside the
wreckage.
He was heading to the FBI command post when a Highway Patrol
car pulled up and a small redhead got out of it.
"Walter, have you heard anything?" she asked.
"Nothing yet, Scully. They're not looking as hard in the
hotel; they suspect that Mulder and the waitress are the
only missing victims."
"Have you tried calling him?"
"No, I haven't. Never even thought about it."
Scully whipped out her cell phone and hit the auto dial
number 1.
"It's ringing," she said.
After a minute or so, the message came back that the phone
was not being answered.
Inside the wrecked Hotel.
Mulder would have jumped when his cell phone rang if he'd
been able to move. He tried to move his arm to reach it,
but wasn't even able to get close.
"Jaime, can you try to reach my phone?"
"I can try. Where is it?"
"My right outside jacket pocket."
Jaime crawled down under the concrete slab that was lying on
Mulder's back. By pushing things out of the way, she pulled
it out but not before it stopped ringing.
"Okay, I got it!"
"Okay, go ahead and hit memory one to call out; you should
get my wife, Scully. She's probably here unless I'm totally
off the mark. Tell her what the deal is here and then I'll
try to talk to her."
The young woman hit the keys and dialed out.
"Scully."
"Hello, this is Jaime Fargo; I'm calling for Mulder. Is
this his wife?"
"Yes it is. Where are you? Is he alright?"
"We're trapped somewhere in the hotel. We were on the fifth
floor, near the stairwell at the front. Mulder's trapped
under a cement slab and can hardly move. He also can't feel
his legs."
There was a choked off sob at the other end of the phone.
"Is he able to talk to me?"
"Yeah, let me get the phone down to him."
Several FBI agents crowded around Scully as she waited for
news from her husband.
Jaime knelt by Mulder and got the phone near his head where
he could hold it.
"Hey, Scully."
"Mulder. How are you?"
"Don't know, Scully; got this big ass chunk of concrete on
my back. Can't feel my legs or move very much at all."
"Oh, Mulder.... Are you bleeding anywhere?"
"Not that I can see, but it's kind of hard to tell without
moving."
"Okay, Mulder, give the phone to the girl in a minute. I
want to give her some instructions and then go pass the
information to the rescue crew. Remember this: I love you
very much, so no matter what, don't forget that! Now give
the phone to the girl."
"Love you too, babe," he wheezed, and then handed the phone
to Jaime.
"Yes," she answered.
"It's Jaime, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, Jaime, can you describe how he's trapped and how he's
lying?"
"Well, he's lying on his stomach, face turned to his left.
He has a little movement of his right arm and hand, and more
on his left. The slab of cement is on his back, the edge
just below his neck. I can't see anything under it, but
when I went after the phone I felt a bunch of stuff under
it."
"Okay, Jaime. I'm going to hang up now. Keep the phone with
you and call if something happens. I don't want to wear the
battery out, but I'll call you back in a little bit. Okay?"
"Okay," she answered in a small voice.
"Bye."
Jaime closed the connection and sat near Mulder.
"She's nice, Mulder."
"She's everything," he answered.
Jaime sat back and hoped that someday she would find someone
who loved her that much.
Outside at the Command Post.
Scully and Skinner had cornered one of the commanders of the
rescue crews.
"I just got in touch with my husband. He and a girl named
Jaime are alive but trapped. He has a large slab of
concrete lying on his back. They aren't bleeding, or at
least he doesn't think he is. However, he can't feel his
legs, nor can he move more than his head and arms."
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Near the door to the stairwell on the fifth floor. They
said everything seems stable at this time."
The fire commander started issuing orders and looking over
the blueprints to find the best way to approach the rescue.
Skinner pulled Scully out of the command post and took her
back to the FBI communications truck. He handed her his
cell phone.
"Scully, you need to tell your mom and Mrs. Mulder the news.
I left Simkins over at the command post with instructions to
call us with any news."
Scully took the phone and thanked Skinner.
"Sir! Sir, they caught them!" cried out Special Agent Les
McCullough as he ran up to the command truck. "Mulder's
description was right on. They were caught just as they
were heading out of town. Highway patrol spotted the driver
and recognized him from the bulletin we sent out."
"Any trouble?"
"They had to chase them down. The suspects lost control and
crashed; both of them were stunned, so I don't think they
were able to put up much of a fight."
"Where are they now?"
"In transit back here. They were put under close watch for
the trip."
Scully talked to both her mom and Mrs. Mulder as she watched
the entrance to the hotel. Several minutes had gone by and
no one had entered the hotel. The crew she had watched
getting ready was nowhere to be seen.
She headed back toward the command post. Once there, she
found the battalion commander addressing a group of the
press.
"At this point we are not recovering the dead; we're in full
rescue mode only. There are many people who are trapped in
the office building and we are searching for them with all
possible haste. Additional rescue crews have been called in
from Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia. We have also
requested help from the military. I will be keeping you up
to date on what is going on. Thank you."
With that Battalion Commander Max Travis stepped away from
the reporters. Max was the poster boy for the DC Fire
Department-tall, blond and rugged-looking. With 20 years
service he was the perfect choice to be spokesman. He spoke
with authority, and no one ever challenged him. That was
until a petite, red-haired woman strode up and started
questioning him.
"Where the hell is the rescue crew that was going after my
husband in the hotel?" He stood looking down at her and
frowned. Two of the reporters were moving closer to them.
"Ma'am, right now all of our attention needs to be focused
on helping the greatest number of people, and that is in the
office building. We just can't spare the people to be
searching around in the wreckage of that hotel for two
people."
"What searching? I've been in contact with them and know
exactly where they are. He has a wall on top of him and
can't feel his legs! He's finding it harder to breathe over
time, so there is a chance that the wreckage is settling on
him. He needs to be in a hospital, ASAP."
He was contemplating how to handle the situation when his
radio squawked at him.
"Travis." He listened for a moment, then replied. "Good,
have them meet." He peered at her ID card. "Agent Scully,
at the door to the hotel. She has information on where two
victims are located." Then he turned to her.
"The Navy has sent a Marine Corps disaster recovery team
over to assist. They'll be going after the two victims for
you. Happy?"
"Yes I am. You don't have to act like such a pompous
jackass, though."
With that Scully stalked away, leaving Max Travis with a
stunned look on his face.
She met the Marine rescue crew at the hotel entrance and
found them being briefed by Skinner.
"He was on the fifth floor when the bomb went off, right
near the front stairwell. His wife has been in touch with
him by cell phone. Either a wall or some other section of
concrete has fallen on him, leaving only his shoulders and
head uncovered. He has no feeling in his legs. The young
woman with him is not injured."
"Okay, sir, ma'am, we'll get him out," replied their
commander before the team entered the hotel.
Scully stepped back from them and pulled out her cell phone.
"Jaime, this is Dana. There's a rescue crew on their way to
you right now. Please watch and listen for them."
She heard a sound in the background then Mulder's voice.
"Dane," he whispered. "Hard to breath." Jaime pressed the
phone to his ear.
"I know, Mulder. Just hold on; there's a rescue team on the
way."
"Who's with your mom and Melissa?" he asked.
"No one. Should there be?"
"They know she's gone by now, good time, to try to get her
back," he wheezed.
"Okay Mulder, I'll get someone out there."
She said goodbye and looked for Skinner. When she found
him, she passed Mulder's fears onto him. He agreed with
Mulder and sent four agents from the local office out there
to watch the place.
In an Office in the Department of Defense.
"The fools managed to get themselves caught," stated a tall,
silver-haired man in the uniform of a Lieutenant General.
"No matter, they don't know anything. I am more concerned
about Melissa Scully being located and returned," answered
the Smoking man.
"Why? She was only a distraction."
"Yes, but they should never have been able to locate her.
Someone messed up."
"So what do we do about it?"
"Well, Mulder is out of commission for right now, which
means Scully is out of it as well. Send a team out to
Mulder's place to pick up Melissa and bring her to the
sanitarium."
"Okay, anything else?"
"Yes, send out a cleanup team to handle those militia
idiots. I'll check in later," replied the smoker.
Outside at the Command Post.
Scully stood in front of the hotel watching and waiting to
hear that they'd found Mulder. She was still standing there
when she felt a touch on her shoulder.
"Dana."
It was Bill, with Charlie and his girlfriend.
"Mom called and told us what happened. I came out with the
team and was able to get Charlie and Angel through with my
credentials. Is there any news yet?"
"No, they just went in. Mulder and the girl are still
alive, although he's pinned down by a large chunk of
concrete," she said, noticing Charlie for the first time.
"Charlie. What happened?"
"Nothing, Dana, I just pulled it during a training
deployment. It'll be fine."
She looked back toward the building.
"It's funny. All he had was a meeting today, domestic
terrorism. You know, like the Montana Freemen stuff, no
X-File or anything. He looks out in the alley and sees a
known terrorist running away from a truck left parked in the
alley. They evacuate the hotel and a lot of the office
building across the alley, but he goes back to help two
waitresses who were in the service elevator. One of them
falls down and he couldn't leave her, so instead of making
it out, he's trapped. Funny, huh?"
"Did you want him to leave her, Dana?" asked Charlie.
"No, he wouldn't be able to do that. If he had, he wouldn't
be him. I just wish that sometimes things would go our
way."
They'd stood there silently for almost an hour when the
rescue crew called for a full-length backboard. Scully
moved closer but had to wait another half an hour until they
came out the door with a pretty teenage girl walking on her
own and an unconscious Mulder on a board. Scully rushed to
his side.
"How is he?" she demanded.
"His vitals are good. When we raised the wall off of him,
he screamed that it hurt and passed out. My guess is that
the pressure of the wall bruised him severely underneath the
weapon he carried at his back. I've seen it before; when
the swelling goes down and the pressure is relieved, he
should be fine."
"Thank you. I'll be riding with you," she told the medics
when they arrived.
They checked Mulder again and started to load him up.
"Bill, Charlie," she called. "Go see mom out at our house.
It's important."
They watched as she climbed into the ambulance, then left.
George Washington University Hospital
Washington DC
As the E.M.T.s rushed Mulder into a trauma room, a nurse
moved to intercept Scully, but was grabbed by another nurse.
"That is Special Agent Dana Scully. If she has that look on
her face it means the one on the gurney is her partner and
husband, Fox Mulder. Let her go; she's a doctor and she'll
refuse to be left out here to wait."
Scully followed them into the room unmolested.
He was face down on a full-length backboard and the trauma
team moved him onto the bed the way he was. They started
releasing the straps and cutting his clothes off. When he
was naked, the massive bruise where his weapon had been
carried became visible. It was an ugly red-black and was
full of blood. They quickly wheeled an x-ray machine over
and took some pictures.
When that was completed and they were waiting for the film
to be ready to view, the trauma team quickly looked over
Mulder. He had bruises all over his back and legs, along
with the bad one at the small of his back. There didn't
seem to be any broken bones or cuts, just bruising.
When the x-rays came in, the doctor looked at the films and
turned to Scully.
"Looks like things are going our way. Nothing's broken, but
we'll have to do a detailed MRI to see if there is any soft
tissue damage. Things look good so far, though. I'd like
to start draining the hematoma here before we send him for
the MRI."
Scully nodded quietly, then moved to Mulder's head when he
started to wake up. She grabbed his hands when they started
to flail around.
"Mulder, I'm here, stop struggling. You're at GWU--you're
okay, you're going to be fine."
"Jaime?"
"She's okay too. You were both brought out okay."
"Itches, Scully, itches real bad."
"What itches, Mulder?"
"My legs and feet."
She smiled at that and tears ran down her cheeks. "That's
good, Mulder. That means you can feel them."
He turned his face slightly and grinned at her.
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"
They smiled at each other as the doctor explained what he
was going to do. Things were going to be just fine.
The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 5:26 p.m.
Maggie hung up the phone after getting word from Walter
about Mulder's rescue. She had turned and started
explaining to Melissa when she heard a car drive in.
Peering out the window she saw Bill, Charlie and his
girlfriend getting out. Scully must not have remembered to
close the gate on her way to the hotel.
"Melissa, it's Bill and Charlie! Go upstairs so we can
surprise them!"
Melissa dashed up the stairs as Maggie waited to open the
door.
When she did they greeted each other like most families do
with hugs and kisses, but there was some sadness as well.
Charlie asked about Mulder, and Maggie replied that there
was no news yet. She got all of them coffee and they sat in
the living room quietly. She was sitting where she could
see the stairs and nodded slightly to Melissa, who was
waiting. Melissa in turn walked down the stairs and through
the living room.
"Hi Bill, Charlie," she said calmly.
"Melissa?" Charlie cried out as he leapt to his feet.
Bill stood quickly, his mouth open.
Melissa rushed to Charlie and hugged him, tears running down
her face.
"'Lissa, how? What's going on?"
"I can't tell you, Charlie, I don't really know either.
Mulder found me and he and Dana came and brought me home."
"But I identified the body. I saw you in the hospital.
Mel, what the hell is going on?" Asked Bill.
"I don't know, Billy," she replied, hugging him as well. "I
woke up in a hospital in a small town in Washington. I
couldn't remember who I was or anything. I lived there for
almost five years not knowing who I was or if I had a family
or anything. Then Dana showed up." She coughed quietly.
"Then suddenly it was like a dam had burst. I remembered
who I was, who she was."
"Bill, I don't know how or why, but Dana proved that the
Melissa we buried was a double of our Melissa,' said Mrs.
Scully. "I don't know who took her, or why, but I'm just
grateful that Fox and Dana found her and brought her back."
They sat talking until the phone rang again. It was
Skinner, telling them that Mulder was fine. He explained
about his injuries, and then asked Mrs. Scully if there was
a car outside the driveway watching the house. She walked
over to the window and peered out.
"Why yes, Walter, there is," she told him.
He explained that they were FBI agents there to make sure
that, in the confusion, no one would try to grab Melissa
again.
She watched the car as a jogger ran up the street and past
the car. He stopped suddenly and pulled a machine gun out
from under his sweatshirt. With a sudden motion but very
little noise, the rear window shattered and the men in the
car slumped down.
"Oh my God! Walter, someone just shot those men!" she
cried.
At that very moment the power in the house went out. A
second later it came back on as the emergency generators
kicked in, but the phone went dead.
On hearing their mother say what she did, both Charlie and
Bill rushed over to the window. They watched as armed men
came over the wall. Charlie counted six, but figured at
least four more would be out there. It seemed like a
classic hit.
"Bill, remember how to use one of these?" asked Charlie,
pulling a Colt .45 out from under his shirt.
"I just re-qualified."
Charlie had pulled his arm out of the sling and was flexing
his shoulder.
" Good, Billy boy, because unless I miss my guess, someone
is pissed that Melissa is here instead of where they had her
and wants her back."
"What makes you think that?"
"Why else would someone gun down two FBI agents and send in
an armed combat team? Look, Mom, Melissa, Angel, go
upstairs and hide. Bill and I will try to keep them down
here. Use your cell phone and call the cops."
The women ran up the stairs, Maggie going into her room and
Angel and Melissa going into one of the guest rooms. Maggie
pulled a cell phone out of her purse and dialed 911.
She explained what was going on and warned the woman that
they were armed and going to protect themselves. The 911
operator informed her that officers were already on the way,
along with ambulances and additional FBI agents.
She kept the phone in her hand but opened the nightstand
drawer and pulled out a nickel-plated Colt .38 automatic.
Her husband had given it to her shortly after they married
and he shipped out to sea for the first time. She hadn't
used it in years, but when Melissa had been shot, she'd dug
it out of the dresser and took shooting lessons at a local
gun club. She was a very good shot with it.
Melissa and Angel stood looking at each other in the guest
room.
"Welcome to the family," grinned Melissa.
"Is it always this exciting?" asked Angel.
"God I hope not, but I have been out of touch for five
years."
"Sorry, I didn't think...."
"Hey, don't worry about it," answered Melissa.
Angel looked around and found a duffel bag full of baseball
equipment. She opened it up and selected a well-used
aluminum bat. Melissa looked over Angel's shoulder and
pulled out Dana's old softball bat. The two women took
places on each side of the door and waited quietly.
Downstairs Bill and Charlie had each taken positions to
defend the home. Bill was in the kitchen where he could
hide behind the refrigerator and stove. Charlie was in the
alcove off the front hallway.
Upstairs, Mrs. Scully smiled as she heard the garage window
break. Both Thunder and Lightning were in the garage; who
ever crawled in there was in for a surprise. She held the
pistol in her hand, still on the phone with the emergency
operator and opened the door a crack so she could see down
the hallway.
The front door slammed open like Charlie expected. What he
didn't expect was the three men rushing in all at once. He
took the first one out with a straight-on punch to the
throat. He took the second one by the hands and spun him
around, dislocating both of the man's shoulders. He grabbed
the third one and was wrestling with him when two more
rushed in past him and headed up the stairs.
George Washington University Hospital
Washington DC
Skinner pushed his way into the trauma room despite the
protests of a nurse. He glanced at the bruises on Mulder's
back and paled.
"Scully," he called to her. "The two men I assigned to
guard your house were just shot, and a group of gunmen are
entering the house. Police and our people are on the way."
Scully gasped and, for the first time that Skinner had ever
seen, seemed at a loss for what to do.
She felt her hand being squeezed and leaned down to hear
what Mulder was saying.
"Scully, go. Go to them, they're family. I'll be fine
here. Walter will probably have guards here, knowing him.
Go to them. Go!"
"I love you, Mulder"
"Love you too, short stuff, go on."
Following Skinner, Scully rushed out to the waiting highway
patrol car.
The Mulder/Scully Home
McLean, Virginia
Monday March. 13, 2000, 5:48 p.m.
Bill Scully saw the men kick in the back door. Two rushed
into the laundry room, while the other two looked out over
the yard. He stood and called to them.
"Freeze."
They made no reply but turned and fired on him. He ducked
behind the stove as gunfire ripped into the appliances.
When they paused, he popped out the side and fired himself.
One went down, but the other fired at him again. He felt
the burn as a bullet grazed his forearm and the smack as
another entered his left bicep.
He fired again and the man dropped like a rock. He fired a
couple of shots at the one on the porch, but was forced to
duck again as they fired at him.
In the hallway upstairs, the two men who'd gotten past
Charlie were checking each room. The first two they'd
checked were empty. One opened another door and stepped in.
The door swung back toward Melissa, who jerked it all the
way open. The poor guy was pulled off balance and was wide
open to Angel, who'd grown up with four older brothers, had
played neighborhood baseball as a matter of habit, and was
on the University of Montana at Bozeman softball team when
they won the women's western division championship. She
swung the bat with a short chopping stroke and caught the
guy in the forehead. He dropped without a sound, except for
the thump when he hit.
When Angel looked up, the other man had her in his sights
and was grinning wickedly as he tightened his finger on the
trigger. Angel stepped back, and he took one step forward,
right into the door as Melissa slammed it shut. He
staggered back, lowering his gun, but started to fire
through the door.
Maggie stepped out, raised the pistol, and fired one shot.
The man fell, curling up in a ball and moaning slightly.
Downstairs, Charlie finally got the guy he was wrestling
with in a chokehold and rendered him unconscious.
Bill was still hiding behind the stove, but was low on ammo,
having only three more shots available. The two remaining
gunmen were occasionally firing at him, but not with any
real determination.
When they heard the sound of sirens, they fired a couple
more bursts at him and took off running. He gave them a few
seconds then stood and looked out the window in time to see
the two men disappear into the woods behind the house.
Cars screeched to a halt in the driveway and Charlie heard
the sound of running feet. He stood out in the open with
his hands in the air. One of the first officers in the
house was Special Agent Jana Timmons, who recognized
Charlie.
"Cool it guys, this is Scully's brother. Where is everyone
else, Charlie?"
He lowered his hands, wincing as his shoulder let him know
that it was not happy with him.
"Bill is in the kitchen, Mom, Angel and Melissa are
upstairs."
That brought a look from Jana, as well as Ed Thornburg,
another special agent.
"Bill, Mom, Angel, Melissa. The cavalry finally got here,
come on down," he called out.
Bill walked into the living room and handed the gun he'd
used to a policeman. He was holding his arm where the
bullet had hit him.
"You'll want this for evidence. I used it on the two you'll
find out on the back porch."
"You'll probably want this one too, then," spoke up Maggie,
handing her pistol to another uniformed officer.
"Might need this bat then," said Angel who handed the bat to
the same cop. She then went to Charlie. "Charlie, your
shoulder's bleeding. Did you pull the stitches open?"
"Must have," he agreed.
Maggie returned from the bathroom with a couple of towels.
She handed one to Angel, then went to Bill and wrapped one
around his arm.
"Are there paramedics on the way?"
"Yes, ma'am," answered Jana. "They're helping the surviving
agent outside."
To the agents, especially Jana, it was almost surreal. This
was a quiet suburban home, yet there were injured and dead
bodies all over the place.
"Both dead back here," called an officer from the back
porch.
"One dead, one gut-shot up here," called an agent from the
upstairs.
"One dead and two out of it here," said another policeman.
"Shit!" said Jana, sitting down. Her radio buzzed to life
and informed her that the other two gunmen had been cornered
and had put up a fight. One was dead, one shot twice, and
one officer was severely injured. "Shit!" she said once
more.
The prisoners and injured had been removed by the time Dana
and Skinner got there. Dana was surprised to find Charlie
and Bill both there, having heard that they'd been hurt.
She surveyed the damage and rushed to her mom.
"Mom, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she asked.
Before Maggie had a chance to speak Bill bullied his way in.
"Of course she's not okay. She had to shoot a man who was
trying to hurt her daughter. AGAIN! I had to kill two men
myself, Charlie killed one and his girlfriend killed a man
too--just because they were visiting YOUR house. Yours and
that looney toon you're married to. How long before we're
all dead or crippled, just because of what you do? When are
you going to GET A CLUE, DANA!? Aaaarrrrgggggghhhhhhh."
He never got a chance to finish because Melissa had punched
him on his injured arm as hard as she could.
"God damn you, Bill Scully! Do you really think this is all
Dana and Mulder's fault? How stupid are you?"
Bill looked at his sister in shock, his eyes full of tears
from the pain in his arm.
"What is so important about me that they would kill people
to kidnap me? What are Dana and Mulder doing that is
important enough for someone to have to have some sort of
control over them? Huh? Why is someone always trying to
stop whatever it is that they are doing, Bill? Why? Well,
I don't know either, but it scares the hell out of me.
Someone goes to the trouble to create a duplicate of me,
kill her, and make me disappear with amnesia, just to mess
with Dana and Mulder? What are they trying to cover up,
Bill? Did you ever think of that?"
"That's what I would like to know, as well. At ease," said
Admiral Gunderson to the two men who were trying to stand at
attention.
"Dick," said Maggie, who walked over and hugged him.
"What the hell happened here?" he asked as he put his arms
around her protectively.
Scully sat on the couch and let her mother and brothers
explain while she petted and stroked the two dogs that
wouldn't leave her side. She smiled to herself, remembering
how the gunman who broke into the garage spilled his guts
after she'd rescued him from the two dogs that had him
cornered on the top of the Jimmy.
To Dana, the events of the past three days were catching up
with her. The emotional roller coaster was about to jump
the tracks. She put her head in her hands and started to
weep. She felt an arm slide around her shoulders and looked
up into a pair of hazel eyes.
"Let it go, Dana, you're among family here," said Angel.
Scully hugged the woman and sobbed on her shoulder, all the
while condemning herself for her weakness.
"Some family you're getting into, huh?" asked Charlie. "All
in one day you get to go to a bombing, a kidnapping and a
shoot-out." And as soon as he said that he regretted it.
He had forgotten that Angel had killed a man a little while
ago.
"Charlie," she said, still holding Dana. "My life was
pretty messed up when you saved me from those two assholes.
While we were having coffee that morning I started to fall
in love with you. As time went on, I fell even deeper in
love and I started to get a new purpose out of life.
Knowing you, not just the fact that I love you, has saved
me. I'm no longer depressed all the time, I no longer dread
waking up every day. I can't wait till you get home every
day, I hate it when you're gone, but I'm happy and this
family is beginning to be important to me as well. They're
important to you, so they're important to me."
Charlie stood looking over the scene, the mess. As he
wandered through the house, he noticed the damage and shook
his head. He'd seen the results of this kind of firefight
before, and it never failed to sadden him. He neared
Skinner at the same time as the other man hung up his phone
and turned to him.
"Preliminary report is in. All the men were former
military, mostly Rangers and Force Recon with some sort of
Black Ops experience. All were members of one Militia
movement or another. One of the men is talking; he said
that they've been funded by a group of European businessmen
and that a tall man who smoked too much approached them.
They were told that this would be a clean snatch, no
resistance would be put up by two women."
Charlie snickered at that.
"Yeah, wonder what they thought hit them when they came
through that door," mused Walter. "Anyway, this time I have
them stashed where they should stay alive."
Charlie cocked a very Scully-like eyebrow at Skinner.
"Mulder and Scully's evidence has a problem of
disappearing," he answered.
"What do you mean, disappear?" asked Bill.
"It vanishes, without a trace," he replied angrily. "I have
hand-carried evidence for them and logged it into the
evidence vault myself. Next morning when I go to retrieve
it, it's gone, every last trace. That's part of the reason
for their reputation, the proof always vanishes."
"Chicken Little," said Bill, thoughtfully.
"Yeah, Chicken little," answered Walter. "Look, I have
rooms at the motel down the street, get some clothes and
let's go. Don't even think about heading home tonight."
They gathered what they needed and left, cleanup crews
arriving as they left. By the next day, most traces of the
free-for-all would be gone from the house, but not from
their minds. It would stay there for a long, long time.
George Washington University Hospital
Washington DC
Tuesday March. 14, 2000, 11:20 a.m.
Mulder lay on a special bed with a strange looking pad on
his back. Machines pumped ice water through tubes in the
pad, keeping the large bruise from swelling any further.
Skinner, Scully, Mrs. Scully, Melissa and Bill stood in
Mulder's room talking about his plan for hiring bodyguards.
"Do what you want to waste your money, Mulder, there's no
conspiracy. No one is going to try to kidnap my family to
stop you. This is all in your imagination. YOU are the
only danger to anyone, so maybe they can keep you away from
the rest of us."
Maggie turned to her son, embarrassment evident in her face.
"I am so ashamed of you Bill, you still think that you're
the head of this family. Well, I'm going to tell you
something--you aren't. I am! Mulder will make sure your
family is safe, but until you learn to respect others, just
stay home." And with that she turned away from him.
He spun on his heel and left the room.
Mulder lay in his bed, tears dripping on the mirror he used
to see the TV. Once more he'd managed to tear the Scully
family apart. If nothing else he would do everything
possible to keep them safe.
Promptly at 11:30, a tall, white-haired man knocked on the
door.
Skinner walked over to him and shook his hand.
"Glad you could make it, Mike. Let me introduce you to
everyone. This is Margaret Scully, her daughters Melissa
and Dana, and this in the bed is Mulder. He's the one who's
interested in your services. Everyone, this is Mike Meyers.
All joking aside, he was a Navy Seal and designed many of
the training plans for the USMC Force Recon. He's been
running a bodyguard service for sixteen years now."
"Are you any good?" asked Mulder.
"The best. I've only lost one customer and they had to shoot
down an airliner to do that. I lost four good men. Before
we get too involved, let me give you some information. I am
very expensive, I control the situation, and I have certain
things that I will require before I take a contract."
"And they are?" asked Dana.
"I may need to move the people to a safer location, I'll
have to control their movements, and they have to be willing
to work with me."
"Fair enough," said Mulder. "I want you to protect Mrs.
Scully, Melissa, her son Bill Scully, his wife Tara and
their son. You'll also need to watch Sabrina McKay, the
Lone Gunmen and my mother. Charles Scully shouldn't need
any protection, but his girlfriend might. Bill will be a
problem; he thinks that all this is in my imagination. But
I will guarantee you it is not."
"Okay, what about the locations?" asked Mike.
"You know where I live?"
Mike nodded.
"Okay, the houses on either side of me have been purchased
by a company I own, as well as the one across the street and
the one in back of the woods behind my place."
Dana gave him the eyebrow look.
"I know, Scully, I forgot to tell you. I didn't want anyone
to get hurt if there was a fire fight," he apologized. "The
Gunmen are in an old warehouse that should be easy to cover.
They never seem to go anywhere and are extremely paranoid,
so I know you've been checked out carefully. Mrs. Scully
and Melissa will be staying with us for a while, and we can
use the extra eyes at night. With Charlie's girlfriend,
you'll have to work with him, he seems to understand," he
glanced at Dana for confirmation. She nodded her agreement
and he continued. "Sabrina has been staying with Skinner
here, so you'll have to work out the details with him."
"I know this is going to be expensive, so can you give me a
rough idea of the cost?" asked Dana.
"Each person I assign to the job is going to cost ten
thousand a month. Going at the very minimum, I'll have to
have about twenty operatives working. Before you say
anything, these men and women are from all over the world.
They've been secret service agents, something equivalent, or
military black ops specialists. I've trained them myself
and I trust them completely."
"Fair enough," said Mulder as he gestured to Scully, who
leaned down so he could whisper. She reached for her purse
and pulled out a piece of paper.
Mulder leaned up as far as he could and looked into Mike's
eyes with all the emotion he could muster.
"Here is a certified cashier's check for two million
dollars. Use all the men you feel you need. These people
are important to me, don't let them get hurt."
"Mr. Mulder, Walt has told me some of what we're up against,
so I won't bullshit you. I can't guarantee anything, but I
will promise you that if something happens to anyone my
people are protecting, it'll be because my people are
already dead."
Mulder raised his arm and shook hands with Mike. Dana gave
him all the addresses he needed and instructions on the best
method of contacting everyone. She also looked into Meyers'
eyes as she spoke to him. "Good luck Mr. Meyers, you're
going to need it."
"I make my own luck," he stated as he turned and shook hands
with Walt. He then strode to the door and opened it. A
large black man and a small Latino woman came in. "Mrs.
Scully, Miss Scully. This is Brick and Maria; they'll drive
you home when you're ready to go. Mrs. Mulder, they will
also drive you if you wish. They'll be right outside the
door."
He nodded to everyone and then the three left the room.
The doctor came in, discussed how things were going with
Dana, and asked everyone to leave for a while. Dana kissed
Mulder goodbye and left with her mother and sister. Mulder
would be coming home tomorrow and she wanted to get
everything ready for him.
In a Private Club in New York City
Thursday March. 16, 2000, 6:00 p.m.
" I see Mulder has made it home safely," said a large man
who spoke with a German accent.
"Yes he did, and he's going to be extremely difficult to
control now," said a man whose head was haloed by smoke.
"Why is that?"
"He has used his genius to play the stock market. He's
turned the rather generous inheritance he got from his
father into a large fortune. We estimate it at over forty
million."
"That's not very much."
"It is when there are no expenses going out. He has
recently turned a lot of it into cash and stashed it away
with the help of his three friends. He has a lot of
property as well, and holdings that can be turned into cash
right away."
"Take care of his friends."
"That would be difficult. He's hired bodyguards to protect
everyone we could use to, let's say, influence them. And
these are not ordinary bodyguards either. They're
specialists; they're better than what we normally use and
cannot be bought. We have to plan our next move carefully."
"Let's not wait too long, my friend. Things are getting
tense as it is right now."
"I'll work on it."
"You'd better."
The end

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