From: Luvthebeez@aol.com
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 14:26:55 EDT
Subject: Story submission - "Equanimity"
Source: direct

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Somewhere in Vermont
November 10, 2000

The next few days were spent in a frustrating attempt to 
cover as much ground as possible.  The weather grew 
colder with each passing day, and they spent the nights 
huddled together against the chill.  It had snowed twice - 
large, wet snowflakes that melted as they hit the ground 
but soaked their clothes, making it impossible to stay 
warm.

Though Scully watched him carefully for any sign of 
illness, Mulder's headaches hadn't returned.  They were 
both exhausted, however, and Scully's fear increased as 
they drew closer to their destination.

The first sign of the compound came five days after 
they'd left the little cabin.  It was the smell that reached 
them first - their view from the top of a rise revealed the 
smoke billowing high into the air.  They were too far 
away to be able to tell if the whole area had been 
destroyed, but the fire appeared enormous. 

It was another day before they reached it, with yet 
another wet snow falling that had nearly managed to put 
the fire out.  It appeared that the entrance had been 
camouflaged with heavy brush, but it had been burned 
completely away. The snowflakes sizzled as they hit the 
still-smoking embers.  The huge metal door stood open, 
and they dropped their packs and brandished their 
weapons before approaching it.

Mulder went first, his flashlight beam revealing a steep 
set of stairs leading underground. Light wisps of smoke 
rose up through the entrance.

He turned to look at Scully.  "It's still pretty smoky.  
Maybe you should wait out here."

She shook her head.  "I'm going with you.  If it's too 
bad, we both come out."

Mulder nodded and turned, placing his foot on the first 
step.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Compound
Vermont - near the Canadian Border
November 10, 2000
4:30 p.m.

Scully counted 150 steps down. It was pitch dark at the 
bottom, their flashlights able to do no more than send a 
small column of light so that they could find their way.  
They walked for a long time down an empty corridor, 
every step sending an echo that seemed to go for miles.

Doors began to appear on each side of the corridor, 
many of them standing open to reveal sleeping quarters 
that had been abandoned in great haste.

They continued along for what seemed like miles.  The 
concrete walls were cracked in spots, and the floor was 
littered with debris.  An endless series of corridors 
branched off from the main one, all of which contained 
what appeared to be more of the small bedrooms. 

"You could accommodate the population of a small city 
down here," Scully said.  "What do you think 
happened?"

Mulder shook his head.  "I don't know.  It looks like 
there might have been an explosion."  He shone his light 
around the next corner, and the flashlight's reflection 
against a large pair of glass doors nearly scared him to 
death. 

Most of the glass lay shattered on the ground in front of 
the doors, which stood slightly ajar.  Their feet crunched 
noisily as they approached, and the remaining glass fell 
out with a huge crash as Mulder pulled one of the doors 
open.

"So much for stealth," he said.

The room they entered was enormous.  Hundreds of 
computer terminals were lined up facing a gigantic 
video screen that had been smashed to bits.  Computer 
equipment was scattered everywhere, and books and 
papers littered the floor.  Jackets and sweaters hung 
from the backs of chairs and cups of coffee, now layered 
with dust, sat abandoned on desks.  The remains of 
small glass-paneled offices sat at the back of the room, 
the desks inside strewn with broken glass and toppled 
computers.

They continued through the room, their footsteps the 
only sound in the huge empty space.  Scully nearly 
tripped over a huge book that had apparently been torn 
from its shelf.  She shoved it away with her foot.

"What do you think happened to them all?" she asked.  
A sudden chill ran down her spine and she shivered. "Do 
you think they were all taken?"  

"Scully, look at this."  Mulder motioned her over to one 
of the few computer consoles still standing upright. His 
flashlight shone on the small desk, and she could see a 
can of Coke lying on its side, the contents spilled across 
the keyboard.

She looked at him.  "Okay, that's interesting, but I 
thought you were an ice-tea man, Mulder."

"Not that," he said, moving his flashlight back a little to 
reveal the chair pushed up tight against the desk.  A 
piece of black fabric lay across the back of the chair and 
she reached to pick it up, gasping as she realized exactly 
what it was.

A Ramones t-shirt.

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It was Scully who saw the tiny letters first, written in 
black ink on the big white letter "R":

M/S:B38

"M/S?"   She looked up at Mulder.  "Mulder and 
Scully?"

"They knew we were on our way here."  He began to 
move his flashlight across the floor.  "And if we can find 
a map, I think we can figure out the rest of it."

"Wait a minute!"  Hurrying over to the large book she'd 
nearly tripped over, she bent down to examine it more 
closely.  It was a huge bound book of topographical 
maps, and it was opened to their current location.  They 
lifted the heavy volume onto a nearby desk.

Mulder's fingers moved quickly across the page.  "It's 
across the border in Canada, near Lake of the Woods.  
Looks to be about 30 miles from here."

Scully sighed.  "I don't suppose they left a set of car 
keys lying around."

"No such luck."  Mulder tore the page from the book 
and folded it up, placing it in his pocket.  "I don't think 
it's safe to stay here much longer.  Let's see if we can 
replenish our food supply and get some distance away 
from here before we find a place to make camp."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Canada - Near the Border
November 14, 2000
12:20 p.m.

Considering the difficult terrain they were traveling, 
they made good progress over the next few days.  The 
weather changed for the better and they were met with 
two days of warmer temperatures.  Stopping only for 
brief breaks and sleeping only during the darkest hours, 
they traversed nearly twenty miles in two days.

Though Scully would never admit it to Mulder, the pace 
they were keeping was taking its toll on her.  She forced 
herself onward by dreaming up fantasies of the 
wonderful things that might be waiting for them at the 
end of their journey.  She didn't dare hope for too many 
comforts, but a comfortable bed, a hot shower and clean 
clothes would be heaven.  She wasn't really much of a 
meat-eater, but she thought a big, juicy steak kept 
popping into her head.

She blamed the meat thing on the pregnancy.

According to the topographical map they carried, the 
steep rise they were climbing would be the most difficult 
part of this last leg of their journey.  They moved at a 
steady pace, one Scully was finding more and more 
difficult to maintain.  She had convinced herself that she 
could keep up, but the heavy pack was agony on her 
back and her legs were aching with the constant uphill 
walk.  By the time they stopped for lunch, she was 
exhausted and the nausea she had thought long since 
gone had returned with a vengeance.

They found a small clearing to stop in, and Mulder 
dropped his pack, opening it to search for something 
they could eat as a quick lunch.

Thinking about lunch, or food in general, was the last 
straw for Scully.  Certain she was about to be sick if she 
moved too quickly, she paused for a moment, one hand 
flat against a tree to steady herself.  She closed her eyes 
and took several deep breaths to try and stay the nausea.

"Scully?"  Mulder moved quickly to her side, concerned.  
Her face was deathly pale and damp with perspiration.  
He unstrapped the pack from around her waist and lifted 
it off her shoulders.  Already feeling unsteady, the loss 
of the pack threw her off balance, and she would have 
fallen if Mulder hadn't caught her around the waist.

"Come on, Scully," he said.  "Let's sit down."

"Give me a second."  Her voice was barely more than a 
whisper.  She closed her eyes again and leaned against 
him as another wave of dizziness passed over her.  
"Damn it.  I'm sorry.  I really need to lie down."

"It's all right," he said, leading her slowly to a large 
rock, where he eased her slowly down.  When he was 
sure she wouldn't topple over, he grabbed the sleeping 
bag from his pack and lay it flat on the ground.  Taking 
her hands, he helped her lie atop the fabric.  She 
immediately turned onto her side, drawing her legs up so 
that she was curled into a little ball.  

Mulder sat down beside her and rubbed her back gently.  
"What can I do, Scully?  Do you want some water?"

"No," she whispered, reaching out for his hand.  "I'll be 
fine.  I just need to rest for a few minutes."

"I'm sorry," he said.  "I should have insisted that we take 
more breaks.  This has been too hard on you."

She didn't open her eyes, but two small lines appeared 
between her eyebrows as she frowned.   "No."  Her 
voice was barely audible.  "I can keep up." 

She was asleep within minutes.

Feeling terribly guilty, Mulder watched her sleep for a 
little while.  He was angry at himself, knowing that he 
should have paid more attention to how she was doing, 
should have noticed that she was having a hard time.  
She had never complained, convincing him that the 
pregnancy wouldn't slow her down, and he was ashamed 
for being so zealous in his daily desire to cover as much 
ground as possible.

Making a decision, he got up and began to set up their 
tent.  They were going to take a little break.  The loss of 
a half-day couldn't possibly mean much in the grand 
scheme of things.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Canada - Near the Border
November 14, 2000
5:05 p.m.

She slept for the better part of four hours, wrapped up 
safe and warm in their sleeping bags.  The sun was 
already disappearing through the trees when she woke 
up, and though she still felt as if she could sleep for a 
month straight, the nausea and dizziness had passed.

She could smell the campfire burning and heard the 
crunch of dried leaves under Mulder's feet as he worked 
to prepare their dinner.  She lay quietly and watched him 
for awhile, grateful beyond words that he was there with 
her.

"Something smells good," she said, her voice heavy with 
sleep.

He started at the sound of her voice, then smiled as he 
moved to sit beside her.  "You look better.  How are you 
feeling?"

"Better," she said.  "Tired."

"Well, just stay where you are.  I'll bring you dinner in 
bed.  Not that the dinner or the bed are anything to write 
home about."  He ran the back of his hand across her 
cheek.  "Think you can stomach some soup?  It's got all 
the vitamins a growing body needs."

Scully placed a hand on her swollen abdomen.  
"Growing body is right."  She stared at the fire for a 
moment.  "I'm sorry, Mulder.  We lost most of a day."

"Don't be sorry.  It was my fault.  I was pushing too 
hard.  We're just taking a little break today, and we'll 
take tomorrow off too if we feel like it."  He looked at 
her, his expression serious.  "We haven't got that much 
further to go now.  We can take it slower and still be 
there before it gets too much colder."

"What happens if we can't find the Gunmen, Mulder?  
We can't keep going like this once winter comes."  She 
shuddered, pulling the sleeping bag up over her 
shoulders.

"We'll worry about that when it happens."  He stroked 
her face.  "Don't worry, Scully.  We're going to be okay.  
All three of us."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Canada - Near the Border
November 15, 2000
4:30 p.m.

Scully was feeling much better the next morning, and it 
was decided that they would proceed, albeit at a much 
slower pace.  She had reluctantly agreed that she had no 
choice but to accommodate the changing needs of her 
body.  Her own health, and the baby's, were more 
important than her deep-seeded need to prove that she 
could keep up the same pace as Mulder.

Before leaving that morning he had nearly emptied her 
backpack, stuffing as much of the contents as he could 
into his own pack.  The lighter load helped considerably, 
and with the extra rest she'd gotten she felt stronger than 
she had in several days. 

Though the sky was a bright blue, the air had turned 
crisp and cold reminding Scully of playing football in 
the park with her brothers and the exciting feeling that 
came when the holidays were about to start.  It was hard 
to believe the horrible things that were going on beyond 
this beautiful, quiet place.  She worried about the stories 
they would hear when they finally came across other 
people.  She worried about her mother and her brothers, 
and about Skinner.

She wondered if Krycek was still alive.

Their first sight of Lake of the Woods came in the late 
afternoon.  Surrounded by mountains, it lay nestled in a 
small valley a mile or so below them.  The sun was in 
just the right spot to send a slight reflection off the 
water, and it sparkled in the late afternoon light.  There 
was no obvious sign of people or structures, but they 
had decided earlier that they would do a little 
surveillance of the situation before making their 
presence known.

The lake was surrounded by a thick expanse of trees, 
and they stopped to conceal themselves behind an 
outcropping of rocks.  Mulder pulled a pair of binoculars 
from his pack and examined the area carefully, 
searching back and forth several times.  He shook his 
head as he passed the binoculars to Scully.

"I don't see any sign of life at all."  He sounded 
disappointed as he reached into his pocket to pull out the 
crumpled map.

"You think we're in the wrong place?"

"No," he lied.  She gave him a look that just dared him 
to continue with the coddling.  "Okay, I'm possibly a 
little concerned that maybe we pulled the wrong map 
and this wasn't where Langly was trying to send us at 
all."

"I don't think so," Scully said, raising the glasses again 
to continue her perusal of the lake, watching for any sign 
of movement.  "That map book was right there where 
we'd trip over it.  And it was open to that page."

His forehead was creased in concentration as he 
examined the map, and she slid down to sit next to him.

"Look at it this way, Mulder.  If this is the right place, 
it's well hidden.  There's no obvious sign of anything."  
She placed a hand on his arm.  "If this is the right place, 
we'll be safe here."

He smiled at her.  "I'm impressed with your optimism, 
Scully.  It's not like you."

"It's part of the new leaf I'm turning over.  If I have to 
believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life, which 
would be a little tough to argue at this point, I may as 
well go all the way..."

"Only if I can join you, Agent Scully."  The sound of the 
strange voice was so unexpected that they both went for 
their guns instinctively.

The small man who'd come up quietly behind them 
raised both hands in the air in mock horror.  "That's no 
way to greet the welcome wagon.  You'll get a bad 
reputation with the neighbors."

Smiling, Mulder lowered his gun.  "Frohike, you're a 
sight for sore eyes."

Scully smiled and rose to give him a big hug.  "I never 
thought I'd say this, Frohike, but I've never been so glad 
to see anybody in my entire life."

He blushed a deep crimson.  "I never thought I'd say this 
to you, but thanks for not blowing my head off just 
now."

Scully patted him on the shoulder.  "You're welcome."

Frohike reached down and lifted her pack up over one 
shoulder.  "Let's go.   Langly and Byers are going to 
freak when they see you."

"Now there's something I'm looking forward to seeing," 
Mulder said, smiling.  "Lead on, Melvin."

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Lake of the Woods
The Village
November 15, 2000

They were not disappointed with the enthusiastic 
welcome they received from the other two Gunmen.  
They had been concerned when they arrived at the 
compound, certain that Mulder and Scully would be 
there waiting for them.  When they still hadn't arrived 
after several more days had passed, they expected the 
worst while hoping for the best.

There were far fewer people here than they expected, 
but they were amazed by the small community that had 
sprung up under the trees.   The attack on the compound 
hadn't been unexpected, and though there had been 
hundreds of people living and working there, only a 
small portion moved on to their current location.  The 
rest scattered in smaller groups to other locations across 
the country.  Everything had been carefully planned 
ahead of time, locations like this one chosen because of 
their isolation and effective camouflage from objects 
flying overhead.

Lake of the Woods had been a small, fashionable resort 
in its day.  From the current state of the buildings, 
however, it appeared to have seen better times, though it 
was quaint and cozy in its own way.  There was a large 
wooden lodge, and several dozen small cabins were 
scattered among the huge pine trees.

The three men, who seemed reluctant to let them out of 
their sight for too long, led Mulder and Scully to one of 
these.  The cabin wasn't large, but it was spotlessly 
clean.  Frohike set to work lighting a fire in the large 
fireplace while Langly and Byers gave them a quick 
tour, opening doors to reveal a comfortable bedroom and 
bath, and a small study which contained a desk and a 
large bookcase lined with dozens of books.  The kitchen 
was small, but a large window made it cheerful and 
sunny.  On top of the small dining table sat a vase with a 
rather lopsided bouquet of fresh flowers.  The sight of it 
brought tears to Scully's eyes.

Hearing muttered curses from the living room, Byers 
and Mulder moved to help Frohike, who was struggling 
with a stubborn fireplace flue.  Langly watched Scully's 
tearful contemplation of the flowers for a moment, then 
stepped into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to 
reveal that it was fully stocked with food.

"You should have everything you need for a few days," 
he said.  "We thought you might like to rest tonight, and 
we'll take you to meet the others tomorrow."

Scully shook her head in amazement.  "Langly, this 
place, and the flowers..." she brushed away a tear that 
had managed to escape.  "It's beautiful.  Thank you."

Langly was immediately embarrassed.  "We're...I'm just 
glad you made it here all right.  We were worried about 
you, with the baby and all..."

Scully smiled.  "We made it, thanks to you."  
Remembering something, she moved toward her pack. 
"Which reminds me.  I have something that belongs to 
you."

Returning to the kitchen, she handed him the Ramones t-
shirt, the tiny handwritten message still visible on the 
front.  Langly grinned, accepting the shirt from her.  

"Thanks," he said, touched.  He held the shirt at arm's 
length, staring at the tiny letters he had written there.  
"That was a hell of a concert."

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Lake of the Woods
The Village
November 15, 2000
7:10 p.m.

Though she eyed the bathtub with longing, Scully felt 
too grubby to sit in a tub of water and opted for a more 
thorough removal of the grime by standing under the 
spray of a hot shower.  Though she'd intended the 
shower to be short so that Mulder could take a turn, she 
couldn't seem to pull herself away and stood for a long 
time with her eyes closed, letting the hot water relax her 
tired muscles.  When she finally stepped out, she could 
hear the comforting crackle of wood burning in the 
living room fireplace.

An occasional clanking of dishes told her that Mulder 
was working in the kitchen.  He'd been like a kid in a 
candy shop as he looked through the refrigerator and the 
various cupboards.  Scully was surprised at how much 
he enjoyed cooking - it was a talent he'd rarely 
displayed before.  She was beginning to realize, though, 
that it was the small, everyday things that sometimes 
meant the most.

She rolled her eyes at the thought, imagining herself in 
one of those sappy greeting card commercials.  Had to 
be the uncontrollable hormones raging through her 
body.

Pulling a towel off the rack, she began to rub her hair 
dry, stopping in mid-rub as she caught sight of herself in 
the mirror.  She stared for a long moment, a small gasp 
of surprise escaping when she turned to see herself in 
profile.  She was suddenly, undeniably, inarguably, 
hugely pregnant.  For the first time, the inevitability of it 
hit her like a ton of bricks.  She was going to give birth, 
probably here in the middle of nowhere, with no hospital 
for hundreds of miles.  There was apparently some sort 
of a doctor here, but she didn't know anything about 
him.  How could she trust anyone?  How could they 
trust that the baby would be safe?  What if the Colonists 
came and they had to leave this place?

What if something happened to Mulder?

"Scully?"  There was a soft knock on the door and she 
realized that she'd been standing there for a long time.  
She was still soaking wet and shivering in the cool air.  
Quickly reaching for a towel, she wrapped it tightly 
around her body.

The bathroom door opened slightly.  "Scully?  Are you 
okay?"

"I'm okay," she said, opening the door wide.  Giving 
Mulder an unconvincing smile, she clutched the towel 
tighter around herself, wishing for the big, comfortable 
white bathrobe that she'd left hanging on her bathroom 
door in Georgetown.

"I knocked several times," he said.  "Is everything all 
right?"

"I'm sorry," she said.  "I know I took too long.  I don't 
think I used up all the hot water."  Trying not to meet his 
eyes, she hurried past him into the bedroom.

Clearly something was wrong, and he stood there for a 
moment, not sure of what to do.  Returning to the 
kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and stared into it for 
a moment, finally reaching for a glass and filling it with 
the frozen lemonade he'd prepared.  Moving back into 
the hallway, he knocked lightly on the door before 
entering the bedroom.

Dressed in a sweater and jeans, Scully sat cross-legged 
at the foot of the bed, tears running down her cheeks.  
Embarrassed, she lowered her head as she brushed them 
away.

Placing the glass of lemonade on the dresser, Mulder 
moved quietly, crouching down in front of her in a futile 
attempt to see her face.  "What's wrong, Scully? Are 
you sick?"

Angrily wiping tears away, she shook her head.

"What, then?"  He sat down next to her.  "Please tell me 
what's wrong."

"It's stupid."  She made a lame attempt to smile at him 
while the tears continued to fall.  "I don't know what's 
wrong with me.  I just had a stupid little freak-out in the 
bathroom, and then..."

"What, Scully?"
 
"I came in here to get dressed.  I had one last pair of 
clean pants..." Standing, she reached down and lifted 
the hem of her oversized sweater.

The jeans fit perfectly up to a point.  The trouble started 
with the zipper, which gaped open, her swollen belly 
now too large to squeeze into the slim-fitting pants.

Mulder stood, reaching for her.  "But, Scully..."

She dropped the hem of her sweater, her hands covering 
her abdomen.  "I'm huge, Mulder.  I've got months to go 
and I'm already out of my clothes."  She sat down on the 
bed again, shaking her head in disbelief.  "How can I 
have a baby out here?"

He sat next to her, close but not quite touching.

"It's okay to be scared, Scully.  Truth be told, I'm 
completely terrified by the whole thing."  He put a hand 
on her belly.  "And you're not huge. You're beautiful.  
You look just like you're supposed to."

With a groan, she lay back on the bed, arms stretched 
overhead.  "God, this is so ridiculous.  I'm just being 
stupid.  I should be happy that I'm pregnant - and I am.  
Truly.  I'm glad that the baby's growing like it should be 
and that I can feel it moving inside me.  I mean it - it's 
amazing."

Stretching out next to her, Mulder supported his head on 
one hand, the other reaching to brush the tears from her 
face.

She sighed deeply.  "But I don't understand how it could 
be.  And I'm afraid to be happy."

"Oh, Scully," Mulder said, his hand cupping her cheek.  
"Maybe we'll never understand.  Maybe it truly is just a 
miracle.  But it's our miracle, Scully.  Yours and mine.  
This baby growing inside you is our child, and I'll die 
before I let anything happen to him.  Or to you."

Scully smiled a little then, and rolled on her side to face 
him.  "You said him.  It could be a girl, you know."

Mulder grinned.  "I could live with that.  Yeah, a girl 
would be very cool."

Scully's face grew serious again.  "But what kind of a 
life will she have?  What if we can never go home?"

"She'll have a wonderful life, with two parents who love 
her more than anything in the world."  He ran his hand 
through the damp strands of her hair, tucking it behind 
her ear.  "We'll make a home for her, and for ourselves.  
It doesn't matter where it is, as long as we're together."

"So everything really could turn out just fine, couldn't 
it?" she asked, some glimmer of her old determination 
returning to her face.  

"Everything really will be fine, Scully," he said, 
reaching out to rub his hand gently over her belly.  "You 
just worry about this.  I'll take care of worrying about 
everything else, okay?"

Nodding, she placed her hand over his.  "Okay."

"In fact," Mulder said, rising from the bed and moving 
to open one of the dresser drawers.  Pulling out a clean 
pair of dark blue sweatpants, he handed them to her.  
"You can borrow these until we find you some new 
clothes."

Scully stood and held the sweatpants up against her 
body.  The waistband hit her just below the shoulders.  
She looked at Mulder questioningly.

"See? A perfect fit," he said, moving toward the door.  
Just before leaving the room, he turned back to face her.  
"Oh, and Scully - try not to get them too stretched out, 
okay?"

The pillow she threw at him missed him by mere inches.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They'd eaten and slept well the night before, finally 
allowing themselves to feel safe for the first time in over 
a month.  The Gunmen called for them early to take 
them on a tour of what they called the "Village".  

They walked slowly around the perimeter first and were 
introduced to several heavily armed men and women 
who were performing sentry duty.

"We all take turns on guard duty," said Byers, leading 
them back toward the lake.  "You'll be expected to take 
a regular shift as well, Mulder.  I expect they'll have 
Agent Scully busy elsewhere."

The large hunting lodge stood at the north end of the 
lake.  They climbed the stairs, stopping for a moment on 
the huge wooden porch that wrapped all the way around 
the building.  Scully walked over and stood close against 
the balcony, looking out at the lake.  She wondered 
about the people who had been here just the previous 
summer, leaving their little vacation cabins to swim in 
the lake or hike in the mountains.  People who never 
knew that just a few months later things would never be 
the same.

Mulder stood watching her for a moment, still a little 
concerned.  She'd seemed better this morning, but was 
still unnaturally thoughtful and quiet.  "You coming, 
Scully?" he asked, motioning toward the big front door.

She turned to see that the others had already gone in, 
and she moved to join him.  He squeezed her shoulder 
reassuringly as they walked inside.

The interior of the lodge was impressive.  Though the 
outside reflected the years of inclement weather it had 
survived, the inside of the building had been lovingly 
cared for.  Vaulted ceilings supported by huge exposed 
wooden beams rose high above the entry hall, and large 
windows framed the forest outside.

An enormous wooden staircase rose in front of them, 
splitting off in the middle to rise to both sides of the 
second floor.  The place was filled with people - busy 
people - who moved quickly up and down the stairs.

"They've set up the control center and main offices up 
on the second floor," said Langly.  "We had some 
warning of the Colonist attack and were able to get quite 
a bit of equipment out."

"How did you do that?" asked Scully.  "How did you get 
everything here?  I didn't see any vehicles."

"The Colonists seem to easily locate cars and trucks," 
said Byers.  "After we unloaded everything here, the 
trucks were taken some distance away and hidden in the 
forest."

"And they were blown to smithereens that first night," 
said Frohike.  "Everyone here was pretty panicked, but 
the Village wasn't attacked."

"The same thing happened at Skinner's cabin," said 
Mulder, shaking his head.  "They destroyed all our cars 
and left the house alone."

They turned at the sound of footsteps to see a tall blond 
man walking toward them.  "They seem to be going for 
the obvious stuff first," he said.  "Structures like this 
one, built from natural materials that blend well into 
their surroundings seem to be harder for them to locate.  
Not to say that they won't figure it out eventually."  He 
held a hand out to Mulder.  "You must be Agents 
Mulder and Scully."

"This is Andrew Wheaton," said Byers by way of 
introduction.  "He's in charge of things here."

"I'm very glad to meet you," Wheaton said, reaching to 
shake Scully's hand.  "I've heard a lot about you both."  
He indicated a grouping of sofas and chairs that were 
arranged in front of a huge fireplace.  "Why don't we sit 
down so we can talk for a moment?"

Mulder sat next to Scully on one of the sofas, while the 
others sat in the chairs that surrounded a big wooden 
coffee table.

"So, Mr. Wheaton," said Mulder.  "What exactly are you 
in charge of?"

Wheaton nodded.  "I don't know how much you've 
already been told, but when the compound was 
destroyed the members of the team were split up and 
sent to various parts of the country.  This place, like the 
others, was chosen carefully as a likely spot for one of 
the Villages.  There are hundreds of these small villages 
across the world, all with their own area of specialty.  
Some are involved in the planning of military actions to 
be taken against the Colonists, some are in charge of 
developing future strategies for the continuing survival 
of the human race.  Here, at Lake of the Woods, our job 
is to work on the development of a vaccine."

"What progress have you made?" asked Scully.

"It's slow going," said Wheaton, his expressive face 
clearly revealing his frustration.  "We're moving ahead, 
but it's taking more time than we'd hoped.  We will 
succeed, though, and when we do the vaccine will be 
manufactured across the country.  Plans are already in 
place to immunize as many people as we can get to, or 
who can get to us.  When the human race becomes 
useless to the Colonists, we're hoping they'll go home."

Scully sighed.  "And if the vaccine doesn't work?"

Wheaton ran a hand through his hair.  "If our efforts fail, 
this may be one of the only safe places left.  There may 
not be anywhere else to go."

"Unless, of course, the Colonists find this place too," 
Scully said quietly.  Mulder reached over to squeeze her 
hand.

"We're going to make every effort not to fail, Dr. Scully.  
That's why we're glad you're here.  You'll be a great help 
to us."

Mulder sat forward on the couch, elbows on his knees.  
"What exactly is your background, Mr. Wheaton?"

"Please, call me Andy," he said, smiling.  "I was DOD, 
actually.  Part of a special task force planning for this 
sort of circumstance."

"So the government knew this was going to happen?" 
Scully's voice was quiet.

Wheaton nodded.  "We knew it would happen.  We just 
had no way of knowing when.  Things happened much 
more quickly than we expected."

Scully was angry now.  "You should have warned 
people."

"So that they could do what, Dr. Scully?  There would 
have been mass panic."

Scully shook her head.  "They could have come to 
places like this.  Places that were safe."

"We were only prepared to accommodate a small 
number of people here and at the other Villages.  If 
people do turn up, they're being welcomed.  Just as you 
have been."  Wheaton sat back in his chair and sighed.  
"There was no time to do anything more."

"What's the latest you've heard?" asked Mulder.  "What's 
happening out there?"

"It's not good news.  The largest cities around the world 
have been wiped out.  Millions have died or have 
disappeared - we still don't know how many have been 
taken to be used by the Colonists as breeders." 

A young woman appeared behind Mulder and Scully, 
motioning toward Wheaton.  He rose from his chair.

"I've got to go.  Why don't you come upstairs after 
you've seen the hospital and we'll show you around up 
there."  He started to walk away, then turned back to 
face them.  "I am grateful that you're here."  Turning 
away, he disappeared quickly up the stairs.

Mulder looked hard at the Gunmen.  "Do you think he 
can be trusted?" he whispered.

"As far as we can trust anyone from the government," 
Byers said, shrugging.  "He seems sincere about wanting 
to find a way to end this."

"It seems that we don't have a lot of options."  Scully 
was solemn as she rose from the couch.  "I'd like to see 
the hospital next."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

At first glance, the number of sick and injured people 
being treated here horrified Scully.  Half of the first 
floor of the lodge had been converted into a small 
hospital, and a single doctor and two medical 
technicians seemed to be the only professionals assigned 
to care for the dozens of ill and injured people. 

The room was quiet, though, and things seemed 
surprisingly under control.  A young woman in scrubs 
rose from the bedside of one of the patients and began 
writing notes in his chart.  Noticing the small group 
enter the room, she moved toward them, smiling.

She took Scully's hand.  "Dr. Scully, I presume?  I'm 
Carol Livingston."

Scully smiled, surprised at herself for assuming that the 
doctor would be a man.  "It's nice to meet you," she said.  
"This is Fox Mulder."

"We're all very glad you're here," she said, shaking his 
hand.  "We can surely use your help."

"I'll be glad to help however I can," said Scully.  "What 
types of injuries are you dealing with here?"

They began to walk slowly through the hospital, past the 
rows of beds.  "Most of the people in this main room are 
suffering from injuries received in the attack on the 
compound.  Mostly broken bones, but we've got some 
burns and a couple of people with severe head injuries.  
Lots of people suffering from exposure and other 
injuries they sustained while trying to make their way 
here."  She stopped and turned to look at Mulder and 
Scully.  "You two seem to have survived all right."

"We've had our moments," said Mulder, smiling.

Carol pointed to a small door in the back of the room.  
"The most serious patients are in the isolation room.  
They've all been exposed to the virus."

Mulder frowned.  "How many are there?"

"There were fourteen.  We've lost six since we got here.  
One died just this morning."

They stopped outside the door.  "I've been told that 
you've both been exposed to the virus?"

Mulder nodded.

"I'll need to draw blood from each of you," she said, 
sounding a little apologetic.  "You may be our best hope 
for finding a cure for this thing."

"We'll do whatever we can to help," Scully said.  "I'd 
also like to help with the patients if you can use me."

"We can definitely use you.  We're really short-handed."  
Carol placed a hand against Scully's belly.  "How far 
along are you?"

"A little over five months," she answered.  "I've 
suddenly gotten enormous."

"Looks like you're right on schedule," Carol said, 
smiling.  "If you'd like, I can examine you this 
afternoon, just to make sure everything's okay."

"That would be great," Scully said, relief clear in her 
voice.  "Thank you."

They agreed that the Gunmen would show Mulder 
around upstairs while Scully was given an in-depth tour 
of the hospital facilities.  Mulder squeezed her hand as 
he walked away, and she had to swallow a momentary 
spark of fear - it was the first time they'd been more 
than a few feet apart in a long time.

After the short tour, Scully had to admit that she was 
impressed with what they'd managed to put together in 
such a short time.  The small hospital was impressively 
organized and equipped with the latest in medical 
technology.  She liked Carol, too.  She seemed to 
genuinely care about her patients and was willing to do 
whatever it took to find a cure for the virus.

When the tour was over, Scully was given a gown and 
shown into a small examining room.  The usual vital 
signs were taken, blood was drawn and urine collected.  
Much to her surprise, the size of her belly was deemed 
perfectly average for the term of her pregnancy.

Carol laughed when she saw the disbelief on Scully's 
face.  "You're not a large person, Dana.  You're going to 
look bigger than a larger woman would."

"I'm horrified imagining how I'm going to look four 
months from now," Scully said.

"I'm not saying you're going to be comfortable, but I 
think we can manage to keep you healthy."  Pulling 
Scully's gown back to cover her stomach, she made a 
few notes in the file.  "I know you had a pretty rough 
time getting here.  In general, how are you feeling 
now?"

"I'm tired," Scully admitted.  "I was really sick at first, 
but that seems to have gotten a lot better.  I wasn't well a 
few days ago, but I think that was more from 
overexertion and fatigue than anything else." 

"Any pain, or bleeding?"

Scully shook her head.  "No.  Nothing like that."

Carol stood, closing the file.  "Well, everything looks 
perfectly normal.  I want to get you on some vitamins, 
and I'd like you to take it slow for a couple of days, at 
least until you get caught up on your sleep."

There was a quiet knock on the door.

Carol stood.  "That's probably the ultrasound equipment.  
I thought you might like to see the baby."

The door was opened to reveal Mulder standing there.  
"I came to give blood, and they told me I should come in 
here."  Carol opened the door wider and he saw Scully 
lying on the examining table.  "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's great," Carol said, allowing him in, then 
opening the door even wider to admit the technician 
with the ultrasound machine.  "Everybody's perfectly 
healthy.  And you're just in time for the first picture for 
the baby book."

Scully reached for his hand and he stood close beside 
her, watching as Carol lifted Scully's gown and slathered 
her belly with gel.

Scully squeezed Mulder's hand tightly as the wand was 
placed against her belly. Instead of being excited about 
seeing the baby for the first time, she felt terribly 
frightened.  There was still some small part of her that 
was afraid of letting her guard down, of letting herself 
be too happy.  Too afraid to look at the screen, she 
looked up at Mulder instead, who was watching the 
sonogram eagerly.

Sensing her gaze, he smiled down at her and squeezed 
her hand.  "Look, Scully," he said, gesturing at the 
machine.

It was the tiny beating heart that she focused on first.  
The picture was fuzzy, but her eyes grew wide as Carol 
pointed out the tiny arms and legs.  The little figure 
kicked then, hard, and Scully felt it at the same moment 
she saw the movement on the screen.

"Did you see that?  It just kicked me," she said, 
laughing.  She looked up at Mulder, whose eyes were 
bright with unshed tears.  "Oh my God, Mulder.  Look at 
it."

Carol smiled at them. "Everything looks perfect.  Do 
you want to know the sex, or would you like it to be a 
surprise?"

Mulder looked down at Scully.  "I don't know about 
you, but I've had enough surprises to last me for a good 
long time."

Scully smiled.  "I agree."  She took another long look at 
the screen, then looked up at Carol.  "Go ahead and tell 
us."

"Well, this is not a 100% guarantee, mind you, but it 
looks to me like you're going to have a daughter."  
Pressing a button, she printed a small photo off the 
sonogram and handed it to Mulder.  "Her first baby 
picture."

Mulder sat down in the chair next to the examining 
table.  Elbows on his knees, he stared hard at the picture.

Using a damp cloth, Carol wiped the gel from Scully's 
stomach.  Helping Scully rise to a sitting position, she 
smiled at her, then indicated Mulder with a nod of her 
head.  Raising one eyebrow in amusement, she left them 
alone in the room.  Scully sat quietly for a moment, 
watching Mulder as he stared at the tiny photograph.

"Are you okay?" she asked, a little frightened by his 
silence.

As if suddenly noticing he was not alone, he smiled at 
her.  Rising from the chair, he moved to sit close to her 
on the exam table and handed her the picture.  "I can't 
believe it, Scully," he whispered, his finger tracing the 
outline of the small, blurry form.  "It's our daughter.  I 
can't believe it."  He smiled at her, and there were tears 
on his cheeks.

They were both crying then, and she reached up to pull 
him close against her.  He buried his face against her 
neck, and she could feel his warm tears on her skin.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lake of the Woods
The Village
December, 2000

The weeks passed slowly, and the inevitable winter 
finally arrived, making them feel even more isolated 
from the outside world.

They were surprisingly happy here.  The little 
community had welcomed them without question.  Most 
of the Village members were part of the original project 
and had been carefully picked to include specialists from 
every walk of life.  There were craftsmen of every kind, 
scientists and astronomers, single people and families.  
A teacher from New York City had set up a small school 
in corner of the lodge, and several children attended 
daily classes.

As they learned more about the project, they were 
impressed by its thoroughness.  Food was plentiful, 
there was easily enough to last them through the next 
year, though some hunting was done to supplement the 
supply of fresh meat.  There were seeds to plant 
vegetables when spring came.

Weekly meetings were held and everyone was 
encouraged to participate in the life of the village.  
Mulder had taken on the responsibility of a sort of 
"village spokesman", and it was his job to begin the 
meetings with an update on the progress of the vaccine.  
This was always followed by a report on the state of the 
world outside their village - news based on information 
gleaned from short-wave radio broadcasts and 
messengers who traveled back and forth between 
villages.  The news he was forced to impart was rarely 
good, but people came to appreciate his honesty and 
humor.

There were happy times too - birthday and anniversary 
parties, baby and wedding showers.  One wedding had 
already been held and another was in the planning 
stages.  Two babies had been born and Scully had 
attended at each birth, both excited and terrified that her 
turn was coming.

Scully had grown extremely close to Carol, and it made 
her realize how long it had been since she'd had a close 
female friend.

Despite their initial reservations, they had grown to like 
and respect Andrew Wheaton.  Stationed on the second 
floor of the Lodge (called "the Office" by the villagers), 
he ran the village with a firm but gentle hand.  Mulder 
spent a lot of time in the Office, working with the 
Gunmen to track the progress of the Colonists as they 
laid waste to the planet.

As time went on, each day brought more devastating 
news.  Some days, it was so bad that Mulder grew 
hopeless, wondering if he and Scully wouldn't have been 
better off staying in Washington.  Everything would 
have been over long ago, and there wouldn't be this 
constant waiting for the inevitable - discovery and 
annihilation, or something even worse than death.  
During times like these, his dreams were filled with 
memories of Antarctica and the horrible sight of Scully 
with the alien tube down her throat.

When he grew so depressed that he was certain he 
couldn't take anymore, he'd go downstairs to Scully, 
watching her as she moved among the patients, or 
joining her in the lab as she worked to perfect a vaccine.  
Just being close to her, touching her, just looking at her 
reaffirmed the fact that he wouldn't give up.  Not while 
she was here with him.

Scully had her own share of pressures. There were no 
survivors among the first victims of the virus.  They had 
died, one by one, as she stood helplessly by.  In addition 
to helping treat the hospital patients, she'd spent 
countless hours working with Carol and the other 
scientists in their attempt to perfect a vaccine.  

The initial hope that their blood would hold an answer 
did not come to fruition, and it was slow, frustrating 
work.  Mulder had come home more than once to find 
her in tears, exhausted and certain that they would never 
find the answer.  Though there was some reluctance to 
mention it specifically, they were both well aware of the 
hope that the baby would be born with a natural 
immunity, providing all the answers they needed.

She had grown to trust these people, but it was hard for 
her to forget the conversation she'd overheard in the 
forest so many months before.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lake of the Woods
The Village
January 18, 2000
2:34 a.m.

The room was black as pitch when Mulder woke up.  
His heart was racing, and he could feel the sweat 
beading on his upper lip.  He lay very still, listening in 
an attempt to determine what had woken him so 
suddenly.  The raised hairs on the back of his neck told 
him something was there, and his eyes were wide as he 
scanned the room's darkness.

All was quiet except for the soft sound of Scully's 
breathing as she slept peacefully beside him.  She was a 
light sleeper, and he allowed himself to relax a little, 
knowing that she would have awakened if there'd been 
any unusual noise.  Another nightmare, most likely.  He 
lay back against his pillow, taking a deep breath to try 
and calm his racing heart.

Even after eight weeks in this place, he still wasn't use to 
the unrelenting darkness of the long winter nights.  The 
Village stayed blacked out as soon as the sun went 
down, no one wanting to take the chance that they might 
be detected.  Candles were allowed inside the cabins if 
the curtains were drawn, but Mulder had enough of a 
phobia about open flames that he used them as little as 
possible, and never while they were sleeping.  Even the 
sentries, standing guard 24 hours a day, relied only on 
moonlight as they carefully made their rounds each 
night.

In addition to his other responsibilities, Mulder had 
spent his share of time on sentry duty, and he hated the 
shifts that kept him out all night.  It was some 
consolation that he could keep an eye on their little 
cabin, but he hated leaving Scully alone in the dark.

She knew he worried about leaving him alone at night, 
but she assured him that he had no reason to be 
concerned.  She had acclimated far better than he had 
and moved gracefully through the darkness on her 
occasional nighttime trips to the bathroom or kitchen.  
He tried to convince her that her pre-natal vitamins were 
providing her with some sort of super-pregnancy vision, 
and she nodded politely at his theory, hoping that it 
made him feel better about his clumsiness.  His 
nocturnal wanderings never failed to result in a stubbed 
toe or a jammed finger as he stumbled from room to 
room.

His life as an insomniac had begun long ago, and though 
he'd slept better since he'd begun wrapping himself 
around Scully each night, he still suffered with 
occasional bouts of sleeplessness.  Back in his old 
apartment, he could read or watch old movies on cable 
to pass the time, but without the luxury of nighttime 
electricity he often spent the time sitting on the living 
room sofa, staring out the window at the moon's 
reflection on the lake.

Sometimes Scully would hear him and would come out 
to sit with him on the couch.  He'd entertain her by 
making up scandalous stories about their neighbors, and 
she'd pretend to be appalled by his wild imagination.  
On the really bad nights when he'd woken suddenly 
from a nightmare, she would lead him back to bed and 
rub his back until he fell asleep.  Though she invited it, 
he never shared his disturbing dreams with her.

Often, they would make love, and on those nights all of 
his worries were forgotten - there was only Scully then, 
and the satisfaction of knowing that she loved him.

His heartrate finally began to slow.  He was well aware 
that he wouldn't get back to sleep until he'd checked for 
intruders, and he managed to make his way through the 
cabin without injury.  In the living room he stood and 
eyed the sofa for a moment, but couldn't stomach the 
thought of sitting here alone in the dark.  It was much 
too depressing.  He returned to climb quietly into bed.  
He lay there for a long time, looking at Scully's face in 
the dimness.

She smiled without opening her eyes.  "I can feel you 
looking at me," she said groggily, finally opening her 
eyes to little slits.  "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine.  Something woke me up, but I think it might 
have been my wild imagination."

He kissed her on the forehead, and she snuggled closer, 
tucking her head under his chin.  "I'm sorry I woke 
you," he said.  "Go back to sleep."

"Do you want to talk?"  

She'd let her hair grow long, nearly to her shoulders 
now, and he ran his fingers through the soft strands.  
"No," he said quietly.  "I just want you to go to sleep."

She reached for his hand, placing it on the mound of her 
belly.  "The baby's got some sort of issues tonight," she 
said sleepily.  "She's either struggling to get out or she's 
going to take on your sleeping habits."

He smiled as he felt the strange little flutters as the baby 
moved and kicked.  "I don't know how you can sleep at 
all with all that going on," he said.

"It's nice, in a way."  She turned over on her back and 
rubbed a hand over her stomach.  "I'm so used to it now 
that it feels strange when she's still."

They were both nearly back to sleep when the sound 
began.  It was too quiet to be close, but as they lay there 
listening, the low droning of the Colonist craft began to 
slowly get louder.  They huddled together under the 
covers, barely daring to breathe, as though their quiet 
would keep them from being discovered.

"Mulder..." Scully whispered, grasping at his hand.

He squeezed her hand, wrapping himself more tightly 
around her.  "It's okay."

The sound grew louder, the strange humming more 
intense as it approached the Village.  Scully imagined all 
the other cottages, all the other members of their small 
community as they lay in their beds, hearts pounding as 
they listened to the ship bearing down on them.  She 
thought about the children, and how afraid they must be.

The ship was directly overhead when the sound 
suddenly changed, turning from a low humming noise to 
a higher, ear-piercing whine.  Scully moved her hands 
up to cover her ears, wincing as the horrible noise 
pierced her skull.  The ship was low, the sound so close 
now that she felt as if she could reach up and touch the 
metallic object it as it passed overhead.

Mulder moved then, grabbing her hand and pulling her 
from the bed.  "Get dressed," he shouted over the din.  
"Hurry, Scully!"  He was at the closet, pulling clothes 
from their hangers and tossing them to her.

"Where are we going?" she shouted, breathless with 
fear, her hands shaking as she quickly pulled on her 
clothes.

"We can't stay in here," he said, pulling on his jacket.  
"We'll go into the woods .  We're sitting ducks here."

She could barely manage the shoelaces on her boots and 
settled for tucking them inside the tops.  Mulder 
wrapped her in her heavy winter coat and they moved 
quickly through the small house to the front door, 
pausing for a moment to look out into the night.  
Opening the door, they stepped out into the icy night air.

Clutching Scully's hand tightly, Mulder rushed from the 
cottage into the cover of the trees.   Heading for the 
protection of a large outcropping of rocks, they nearly 
ran headlong into David Aldridge, the Village's teacher.  
He had apparently pulled sentry duty tonight and was 
currently crouched behind a large rock, his useless 
weapon aimed up at the ship which hovered directly 
overhead.  Mulder and Scully sat next to him on the cold 
ground, staring up at the strange object.  It held its 
location, hovering over the Village, then began to 
wobble from side to side. 

Aldridge pointed up at the ship.  "There's something 
wrong!  The sound, and - look!"

The ship tilted at a strange angle then, the sound of the 
engines whining at an even higher pitch.  The lights on 
the bottom of the round object pulsated more slowly, 
then faster as the whine became louder.  The object sank 
closer to the ground, then rose again, quickly, tilting 
even more crazily.

"It's going to crash right into the Village!" Scully 
shouted, horrified at the sight.

"We're too close!" Mulder shouted, grabbing Scully's 
hand.  "We've got to mover further away!"

Before they could even get to their feet, the ship lurched 
crazily to one side, picking up a sudden burst of speed as 
it moved away from them over the trees.  Out of control, 
it clipped the tops of huge pine trees as it thundered 
another mile through the air before finally crashing to 
the ground.  The explosion was huge, lighting up the 
night sky for miles around, the black plume of smoke 
billowing into the air.

The could see other Villagers leaving their homes now, 
many of them pulling on coats and shoes as they headed 
for the crash site.  Aldridge stood, reaching a hand out to 
pull Scully to her feet, the three of them moving to 
follow the others.

"That hopefully killed a good bunch of the little 
bastards," said Aldridge, draping the gun across his 
shoulder.  He smiled grandly at them.  "I can't wait to 
see the inside of one of those things."

Apologetically, he moved away from them, running at 
full speed toward the crash site.

Scully looked at Mulder excitedly.  "If we can find one 
of the alien bodies intact, it may be the answer we need 
to finish the vaccine."

They had reached their cabin and Mulder stopped short, 
grabbing Scully by the arm.  "You stay here.  I'll go."

She shook her head adamantly.  "No way.  I'm going 
with you.  Just let me get my bag!"

"Scully," he insisted, shaking his head.  "It's at least a 
mile's hike through the snow.  It's too far."

"Listen to me," she said, her eyes burning with 
determination.  "I've been walking at least that far every 
day just for the exercise.  I'll be fine.  I'm going with 
you."

Pulling away from his grasp, she hurried into the house 
to get her bag.  He waited for her reluctantly, knowing 
that going on without her wouldn't stop her from 
walking to the site alone.

When she returned, she allowed him the small 
concession of carrying her medical bag.  Shaking his 
head, he took her hand and they headed out into the 
forest.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The snow was deep among the trees and their pace was 
slow, more due to Mulder's concern than Scully's 
inability to keep up.  Flashlight beams bounced all 
around them as dozens of people ran past.

By the time they reached the scene, there were many 
people already hard at work fighting the small fires that 
had erupted in the brush surrounding the crash site.  The 
ship itself appeared remarkably intact, and though 
smoke wafted from its underside, there was no fire 
coming from the object.  Equipment was being set up 
around the ship, and technicians circled the craft, 
instruments raised as they took readings. 

It wasn't the largest ship they'd seen, but it easily could 
have covered a good portion of a football field.  Scully 
felt a hand on her arm and turned to see the Gunmen 
beside them, all three breathing heavily from their sprint 
through the woods.

"We were worried when we didn't find you at the cabin," 
said Frohike.  "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," answered Mulder, "but we're going to 
have to be careful when we open that thing up.  It's well 
enough intact that there could easily be surviving 
Colonists aboard."

It was less than thirty minutes before the small fires had 
been extinguished, and Andrew Wheaton motioned 
everyone to come together in the center of the clearing.  
Voices quieted as everyone gathered in a circle around 
him. 

"This is the situation," he said.  "From what we can tell, 
there's no sign of movement coming from inside the 
ship.  The main hatch was exposed in the impact.  A 
small group will enter the ship to search for survivors.  
If everything's clear, we'll let those who need to be there 
follow the first group in."

The crowd muttered silently, all curious but many 
reluctant to be among the first group to enter.  In the 
end, it was decided that Mulder's past experience, 
having actually been inside one of the Colonist's ships 
before, made him a perfect candidate to be among those 
in the first group.  Several others were chosen to join 
them, including Carol Livingston.

Mulder turned to Scully.  He could feel the 
disappointment radiating from her.  He placed both 
hands on her shoulders, leaning down to look into her 
eyes.

"I want you to stay back when we open that thing up," 
he said insistently, pointing off at the tree line.  "Move 
back out of sight and stay there until we give the all-
clear.  Promise me, Scully."

"I should be going with you," she said, her eyes bright.

"No, you shouldn't," he said quietly.  "Please, Scully, 
just this once, do as I ask.  Stay here with the guys until 
I come to get you."

She nodded reluctantly, moving close to embrace him 
tightly.  "It won't be easy watching you walk into that 
ship," she said.  "Please promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," he said, leaning down to plant a kiss on the 
top of her head.

She pulled away from him then, and reached up onto her 
toes to give him a proper, passionate kiss on the lips.  It 
was long and slow, and when it was over, Mulder smiled 
contentedly at her.

"May I have another when I come back?" he asked, a 
little breathless.

She raised one eyebrow and smiled.  "You can have 
more than that if it inspires you to come back safely."

Mulder laughed quietly.  "Why, Miss Scully.  I'm 
shocked by your forwardness.  And in your condition, 
too."  He moved to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.  
"I'll be back out before you even have time to miss me."

"Not even remotely possible," she whispered.

Andrew Wheaton came up then, handing a small 
backpack to Mulder.  "There's a radio here, and you'll be 
responsible for radiation readings once we get the door 
open," he said, checking his watch.  "Five minutes."  
Turning to Scully, he gave her a small smile.  "Try not 
to worry.  And yes, you'll be in the second group."  
Giving her a small pat on the arm, he moved away.

"I think he likes you," Mulder whispered.  "He never 
smiles at me like that."

"Very insightful of you," she said.  "We've been having 
a passionate affair ever since we arrived.  I've been 
meaning to tell you."

"Where do you find the time, Agent Scully?"

"Oh, I make time for the important things," she smiled.

Scully turned to look around the small clearing, finally 
finding Carol Livingston who was still packing her 
equipment.  "I'm going to talk to Carol for a minute.  
Don't go anywhere just yet, okay?"

Mulder nodded, threading his arms through the straps of 
the backpack as he walked to where the Gunmen stood.  
"Make sure everyone moves back into the trees before 
we go inside," he instructed.  He motioned to Scully, 
who still stood talking to Carol  "And take care of 
Scully.  If anything happens to her, I'll kill all three of 
you.  Slowly."

"Oh, we know that," said Frohike.  "We wouldn't let 
anything happen to her, Mulder."  Frohike patted him on 
the arm.  "Just be careful in there."

Mulder nodded.  "I will."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

A ladder had been brought in to allow access to what 
appeared to be the main hatch door, which stood 
approximately fifteen feet above ground level.  The 
small group climbed up, stopping to stand on a small 
landing.

They had hoped for the best but expected the worst by 
assuming that they would find cutting through the 
unknown metal extremely difficult.  A few moments 
with a blowtorch had popped the door open as easily as 
opening a can with an electric can opener.

Mulder had a very bad feeling about this.

Wheaton reached over and pulled the door open with a 
great creaking groan.  There was nothing but darkness 
inside the ship, and all four of them turned on their 
flashlights as they readied themselves to enter.  Mulder 
looked out into the forest, but except for a few armed 
men standing within a few feet, he could see no one, 
everyone else having moved into the safety of the trees.  
He could almost feel Scully's presence out there, and 
knew that she was watching him.  With a small wave 
and a deep breath, he followed the others into the ship.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Scully checked her watch for what had to be the 
fifteenth time.  Mulder and the others had been inside 
for nearly 30 minutes now, and there was no sign of any 
of them.  Their radios had stopped transmitting as soon 
as they got a few feet from the door, the metal shell of 
the ship apparently acting as a barrier to the signal.

Sitting on the hard ground was incredibly uncomfortable 
and her legs were beginning to cramp.  Scully struggled 
to her feet, Langly lending a hand to pull her up.  He 
watched as she began to pace, her eyes never leaving the 
metallic object.

"We should have heard something from them by now," 
she said.  She wrapped her arms around herself.  
"Something's wrong."

"It hasn't been that long yet," said Byers, reaching out to 
touch her arm.  "I'm sure they're fine."

"If they're not out in five minutes," she said, looking 
hard at Byers, "I'm going in."

"Agent Scully..." Byers stopped, his words interrupted 
by the sudden murmur of the crowd.

A beam of light appeared at the doorway to the ship, 
shining out into the trees, blinding them so that they 
couldn't see its source.

"Doctor Scully!"

It was Andrew Wheaton's voice shouting, the beam from 
his flashlight moving across the crowd of people as they 
left the cover of the trees and entered the clearing.

Grabbing her medical bag from the ground, Scully 
moved quickly toward Wheaton's voice.  "I'm here," she 
called, moving to meet him at the bottom of the ladder.  
"What's wrong?"

Wheaton looked frightened, sweat covering his face and 
his breathing coming rapidly.  "Mulder asked me to 
bring you inside," he said, his voice shaking.  "It's bad, 
Dana."

Scully felt her heartrate quicken.  "What's happened?  Is 
he hurt?"

"No," he said quickly.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean...he's 
fine.  I'll take you in, you can see for yourself."  He took 
the bag from her hand and led the way up the ladder.

It didn't take more than one step for her to wonder if this 
was a good idea.  Her balance was thrown off by her 
pregnancy, and she had a sudden, nearly paralyzing fear 
that she was about to plunge to the ground in a less than 
graceful heap.  Sensing her distress, Wheaton held 
tightly to the top of the ladder and the Gunmen held the 
bottom, fear in their eyes.  She knew that they'd catch 
her before they'd risk Mulder's wrath at any injury she 
might sustain, and she took a deep breath.  She pitched 
her body slightly sideways and started climbing.  By the 
time she reached the halfway point she was feeling more 
confident and made the rest of the climb with little 
effort.

Once she was safely at the top, Wheaton called down to 
the Gunmen, instructing them to gather more of the 
equipment and biohazard suits and follow them inside.  
Reaching out a hand, he helped Scully onto the small 
landing and shone his flashlight through the hatchway 
into the interior of the ship.  Pulling her own light from 
her bag, she turned it on and aimed it into the gloomy 
darkness.

"It's hard to see much in there - we're trying to locate 
the power source to get some interior lights working 
without turning the damned thing into a beacon."  He 
took her arm, leading her into the darkness.  "Stay close 
to me."

As they stepped into the ship, it was the smell that she 
noticed first, a smell that instantly caused a memory to 
crash through her.  Fear - horrible, paralyzing fear, and 
freezing cold.  She shivered involuntarily, her breath 
coming in little shallow bursts as she started to panic. 

Wheaton stopped and turned to look at her.  "Are you all 
right?"

She nodded, struggling to get her breathing back to 
normal.  "What's that smell?" she asked, her voice 
shaky.

"It's a solution of some kind.  You'll see when we reach 
the others," he said, stepping closer to get a better look 
at her face, apparently not liking what he saw there.  
"Are you sure you're all right?  Maybe we should go 
back outside..."

"No, I'm fine."  Scully shook her head, determined to get 
herself under control.  "Let's go on."

It was impossible to see much outside the narrow beam 
of the flashlights, but Wheaton seemed confident of the 
way as he moved through the long corridors.  In the 
distance she could hear the comforting sound of 
Mulder's voice.

Wheaton made a sharp right turn and she followed close 
behind as they moved down another of the seemingly 
endless corridors.  Finally, she was able to see figures in 
the dimness.  Mulder and Carol stood in front of a large 
metal door, apparently embroiled in a heated discussion.

Hearing their approach, Mulder moved quickly to meet 
them halfway.  He grabbed Scully's arm, turning to look 
at Wheaton.  "Nobody's going in there until we've got 
hazard suits," he said.  "It's too dangerous."

Wheaton nodded.  "I agree, Mulder.  The suits are 
coming."

"What's going on?" asked Scully.  "What have you 
found?"

Carol moved forward to stand with the small group.  
"We've got lots of human casualties, but we've also got 
survivors.  They're in pretty bad shape."

"It's the black oil, Scully," Mulder said.  He pointed 
toward the metal door at the end of the corridor.  "There 
are hundreds of people behind that door, all infected."

There was a click then, and a low hum of electricity as 
the interior lights came on.  The ship's illumination 
wasn't much better than the flashlights, and it managed 
to tint everything with a sickly greenish hue.

Wheaton handed Scully her medical bag, then turned to 
move back down the corridor.  "I'm going to help with 
the equipment."  He hurried off, disappearing quickly 
around the corner.

"What's the plan?" Scully asked.  "We can't remove 
anyone from this ship without risking exposure to 
everyone.  We're going to have to set up a quarantine."

Carol sat down on the floor, frustrated.  "Without a 
vaccine, we've got nothing to treat them with anyway."

Scully turned to Mulder.  "Did you find Colonists on 
board?"

He nodded.  "All apparently killed in the crash."

"Then we can find an answer," said Scully, sliding down 
to sit next to Carol.  "We'll harvest the DNA and find the 
answer to make the vaccine."

Carol didn't respond and Scully placed a hand on her 
friend's arm.  "What is it?"

"There are so many of them in there, Dana," she said, 
sighing deeply.  "Even if we came up with a vaccine 
tomorrow, I don't know if there's time to save them all."

The sound of hurried footsteps heralded the arrival of 
Byers and Langly, each carrying several of the 
biohazard suits.  Wheaton and Frohike followed soon 
after with the rest of the equipment.

Carol and Scully both grabbed suits and started to put 
them on.  Scully resisted the urge to look at Mulder, 
knowing that he wouldn't approve of her going inside.  
Wouldn't approve of her taking the risk.  She knew that 
he understood well enough not to say anything to her 
about it, but he felt strangely responsible for their 
situation here, and she couldn't stand the thought of 
seeing the guilt in his eyes.

There were four suits total, and Mulder and Wheaton 
climbed into the other two.  Mulder finally got Scully's 
attention as he moved to make sure all the seals on her 
suit were closed.  The slick fabric was tight over her 
belly, and he couldn't resist putting his hand there.

"I guess they don't them in maternity sizes."  She took 
his hand, looking into his eyes.  "I'll be careful," she 
whispered, and he ran his finger over the plastic shield 
covering her face.

He smiled a little sadly at her as they moved toward the 
metal door. 

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The room was enormous and was filled with row upon 
row of beds.  They were stacked like bunk beds five 
layers high, small metal ladders running alongside each 
set.   Appreciating the overwhelming task ahead of them 
and the vast numbers of victims, Wheaton sent for 
reinforcements, requesting additional suits and more 
hands.

They split up into pairs, moving as quickly as they could 
from bed to bed as they searched for anyone who might 
still be alive.  Scully checked the lower bunks, Mulder 
the higher ones, more often than not finding that they 
had arrived too late.  They marked the beds of those who 
hadn't survived with a colored marker, and dozens of 
beds were marked in this way before they found a single 
survivor.

More help finally arrived, and a triage was set up.  Dead 
bodies were carefully wrapped for removal from the 
ship.  Cremation to dispose of bodies would have been 
preferable, but there was too much risk involved in 
starting a fire large and hot enough to accomplish the 
job. Once tests were run to confirm that the virus had 
not survived, they would be buried in the forest.

The few survivors were moved to a corner of the large 
room that had been set up as a small hospital ward.  
Scully worked here, moving from bed to bed, horrified 
at the sight of the wriggling strands of black oil moving 
under the victim's skin, the viscous black clouds floating 
in their eyes.  The strange eyes made them look less than 
human.  She thought of Mulder, lying like this in a 
Russian prison, and she wanted to cry.

Everyone still alive was infected in this way, and Scully 
was frustrated by her inability to help them.  The 
Colonist's bodies had already been removed to the lab, 
and she knew that the doctors were already working to 
extract the necessary materials to obtain the needed 
DNA.  With the work they'd already completed it was 
only a matter of time before they would successfully 
manufacture a vaccine.  She hoped there would still be 
someone left to benefit from it.

She'd lost count of how many patients she'd looked at 
when she found him.  Suddenly unable to breathe, she 
sat beside him on the small bed, her shaking fingers 
grasping at his wrist in an effort to find a pulse.  Relief 
washed over her as she felt the strong heartbeat.  Then, 
without warning, she was crying, her sobs strangely 
hollow inside the plastic facemask.

Carol was there suddenly, kneeling beside her, clutching 
at her arm in concern.  "Dana?"

"Get Mulder," she choked, and Carol stood, rushing 
away to find him.

It was only seconds later that he was there, crouching 
down with his hands on her knees.  "Scully, let's go.  I'm 
taking you out of here."

"No," she said, shaking her head.  "I'm fine.  I just..." 
She turned her head to indicate the man whose hand she 
still clutched in hers.  "It's just that...I found Skinner."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lake of the Woods
The Village
January 22, 2001

When the search was finally complete, twenty-three 
critically ill survivors were found.  Over two hundred 
men, women and children's bodies were removed from 
the ship and buried in a mass grave.

The villagers were despondent.

There was great concern that more Colonists would 
arrive, an alien reconnaissance mission sent to find the 
downed ship.  Teams were organized and people worked 
around the clock to cover the craft with foliage in hopes 
of disguising it from anything flying overhead.  
Everyone involved was still reluctant to move the 
survivors out of the ship, but it was finally agreed that 
working there was too dangerous, and they were moved 
to the isolation ward in the main hospital.

Despite their best efforts, several of them were lost each 
day.  Work on the vaccine continued 24 hours a day, but 
it seemed that for every small victory they experienced, 
another setback would quickly follow.

Scully continued to help care for the survivors, keeping 
a special watch over Skinner, who at first had drifted in 
and out of consciousness.  He had seemed to recognize 
her once, smiling at her and reaching for her hand as she 
bathed his face with a cool cloth.

They all suffered from fever, and it was all they could 
do to keep them cool.  The doors were left open several 
hours a day to let the frigid air in.  It seemed to help the 
patients, but it was horrible for those working in the 
hospital.  Scully bundled up in layer upon layer of 
clothing, but the chill was in her bones, and it was hard 
to rid herself of it.  

The sound of a monitor alarm jolted her from her 
thoughts, and she turned to see Carol rush to the side of 
a young woman who'd already had several crises that 
day.

She was no older than Scully herself, and her barely-
swollen belly revealed the beginnings of pregnancy.  
Scully had often wondered about her, wondering if her 
husband was among those who had survived or if he had 
been buried unceremoniously out in the forest.  She and 
Carol had done an ultrasound that first day.  The black 
oil floated in the woman's uterus, seeping into the 
amniotic sac to surround the tiny baby.  It was a 
horrifying sight, and it was the first time since she'd 
arrived that she'd seen Carol break down.

The monitor blared with the news that the young 
woman's heart had stopped.  For forty minutes they tried 
everything at their disposal to save her, finally giving in 
to the inevitable.

Exhausted and disheartened by the failed attempt, Scully 
stood frozen to the spot for what seemed an eternity.  
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

Carol smiled sadly at her.  "You've been here all night.  
Go get some food and some sleep.  Not necessarily in 
that order."

"I'm okay," Scully said, sitting down to complete her 
notes in the dead woman's chart.  "I need to finish up."

Carol took the chart from her.  "I'll do this.  You go."  
She reached for Scully's hand, pulling her up from the 
chair.  "That's an order."

Scully nodded tiredly and moved toward the door.  "I'll 
be back."

"Not until tomorrow morning," Carol said.  "Don't make 
me throw you out of here."

There was a small annex outside the isolation room, and 
she removed the protective suit she wore over the layers 
of her own clothing.  She threw it into a large plastic 
trash bin, then moved slowly through the outer door.  
She stood there for a long time, staring out at the nearly 
empty main room of the hospital.  The walk home 
seemed a million miles.  Leaning up against the cold 
wooden wall, she slid down until she was sitting on the 
floor.  She stretched her aching legs out in front of her 
and stared at her swollen feet.  Shaking her head in 
disgust, she closed her eyes.

When Mulder sat down next to her, she leaned her head 
on his shoulder without even looking up.

"You didn't make it very far," he said.

"I know," she said, finally opening her eyes to look up at 
him.  "Right now it feels like home is a thousand miles 
from here."

"Not so far, after all, since I've come to rescue you," he 
said.  "You can lean on me the whole way.  And, to add 
inspiration, I've got a fire burning in the fireplace and 
dinner on the stove."

She smiled tiredly at him.  "Okay, you win.  You really 
are the best person I know."

He nodded in agreement.  "I knew that."  He reached an 
arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer.  "Do you 
want to tell me what happened?  Is it Skinner?"

"No, he's doing okay," she said.  "The young pregnant 
woman, you remember her?"

"Sure."

"She died just now.  We almost lost her several times 
today, but she kept fighting so hard."  A small tear ran 
down her cheek and Mulder reached over to brush it 
away.  "What's the point of trying?  Without a vaccine 
there's nothing we can do for any of them."

"Scully, you can't give up now.  All your hard work has 
kept those people alive, probably long enough to benefit 
from the vaccine."  He kissed her forehead.  "I heard that 
things are going well.  There should be good news soon, 
I think."

"I hope so," she said.  "I'm so damned tired.  And look at 
my feet."

"Ouch," he said, grimacing.  He stood and reached for 
her hand.  "Let's go home so you can put them up."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The only light in the room came from the fireplace and 
Scully could barely see the flakes of snow as they 
drifted lazily past the window.

She felt wonderfully pampered - Mulder had drawn a 
hot bath for her, rousing her from the cooling water in 
time to serve her an impressive dinner.  She had not 
been allowed to help with the clean-up, and she had not 
insisted.  Instead, she sat on the sofa with her 
enormously puffy feet propped up on pillows.  Eyes 
squinted into little slits, she stared at them angrily, 
willing the swelling to go down.  

They disappeared suddenly behind a steaming mug.  
"Hot chocolate," Mulder announced, handing her the 
cup.  "With the last of the marshmallows."

"Mulder," she purred, taking a sip of the fragrant liquid.  
"You're spoiling me with chocolate.  You're the best."

"You deserve a little spoiling," he said.  Plopping down 
on the couch, he moved her feet to his lap and began 
massaging them.  "I won't pretend I'm not worried about 
you, Scully.  You're working too hard."

"Mulder..."

"I know what you're going to say, and I know you're not 
going to listen to me, but I insist upon being allowed to 
worry."

She groaned with pleasure as he dug his thumbs into her 
instep.  "Actually, I like that you worry about me.  It's 
nice.  But I'm really okay.  Swollen feet aren't unusual at 
this stage of the game, and I'm not going to do anything 
that would risk the baby.  Besides, if what you say about 
the vaccine is true, maybe this will all be over soon."

"I hope so."  Dropping her foot, he stretched out, 
moving to lay behind her and tucking her tightly against 
him, one hand rubbing slowly back and forth over her 
swollen belly.  "Look at you, Scully."

"I'm horrifying," she sighed.  "I can barely get the 
isolation suit zipped up.  And try wearing that thing 
when you have to pee every five minutes."

"It won't be long before the baby comes, and you'll have 
your girlish figure back."  He ran his hand over her 
breasts, smiling at the sounds she made as he ran his 
thumb over the sensitive nipples.  "Though I admit I'm 
going to miss these."

"Me too," she sighed, moving her hips back into his lap 
and grinding against him, feeling the hardness that was 
already there.  "I think you'd better make love to me, 
Mulder."

His hand still on her breast, he pressed kisses against the 
back of her neck.  "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice 
barely a whisper.  "I thought you wanted to go to sleep."

Scully smiled, gasping as his hand moved down under 
the curve of her belly to lift the waist of her sweatpants.  
"I'm getting my second wind."  She already felt ready to 
explode - every part of her body so sensitive that his 
touch was like fire on her skin.  She'd reached that 
immensely hormonal stage of late pregnancy where she 
wanted him all the time.  She fantasized constantly 
about making love to him.

And he was more than happy to oblige.

His hand moved in slow circles, down into the wet curls, 
back up to the caress the lower curve of her belly.  

She moaned, biting her bottom lip as continued to tease 
her.  "Mulder..."

"What, Scully?" he whispered, his own arousal 
increasing at her reaction to his touch.  Scully in the 
throes of sexual passion was a beautiful thing.  "Tell me 
what you want me to do," he whispered, moving his 
fingers down again, dipping them into her wetness, then 
pulling away.  She gasped, pressing her pelvis against 
his fingers, making small moaning sounds that almost 
sent him over the edge.

"Tell me," he whispered, licking her ear.

Her breath was coming fast now, and she thrust up to 
meet his fingers as they caressed her again.  "Touch me, 
Mulder.  Please."  She grabbed his hand then, directing 
it upward, letting go as he finally took pity on her and 
pressed down on her swollen clit.

"Oh, yeah, there," she groaned, and they were moving 
together then, his fingers moving in circles around the 
tiny swelling, still not touching it, finally using two 
fingers to press just where she liked it, a move that made 
her whimper and crush hard against him.  As the spasms 
of her orgasm began, she murmured his name, and the 
sound of her voice and the blissful look on her face 
made him feel ridiculously happy.

He was quiet for a moment, watching her as her 
breathing slowly returned to normal.  Finally, she 
focused on him, and the smile she offered was worth 
waiting for.

"I never want you to tell me where you learned how to 
do that," she said.

He nodded.  "Deal."  He pulled the afghan from the back 
of the couch and covered them both.

Scully turned in his arms, her face close to his.  "We're 
not done, are we?"

"Agent Scully," he scolded.  "I'm shocked.  You're 
incorrigible."

Blushing a little, she smiled as she pulled the afghan 
from them, letting it pool on the floor.  "Come with me," 
she said, grabbing his hand to pull him from the couch.  
"I've grown too large for the sofa."

"Just what do you have in mind that you need space for, 
Doctor?"

She wiggled her eyebrows at him as she pulled him 
toward the bedroom.  "You'll see..."

Their thoughts were a million miles away from the 
outside world, and they both jumped at the sudden loud 
pounding on their front door.  Scully stopped and turned 
to look up at him and he was saddened by the quick 
change from her happy, playful expression to one of 
apprehension and fear.  He squeezed her hand and 
moved to the door.

Langly stood on the front step, so out of breath that he 
was barely able to speak.  "It's Skinner," he gasped.  
"They're losing him."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lake of the Woods
The Village
Six Hours later

Never taking her eyes off Skinner's face, Scully stood 
and stretched her aching back.  He was pale and on a 
respirator, but he was alive and if she had anything to 
say about it he'd stay that way.  It had been a long night, 
and she'd been certain on more than one occasion that he 
was not going to make it.  It was still touch and go, and 
without a vaccine there was no hope of a cure, but she 
forced herself to get over the notion that it was her 
presence that was keeping him alive.  With one last 
squeeze of his hand she allowed herself to give in to her 
body's insistent need for a bathroom break.

There'd been some murmuring in the small hospital 
about progress on the vaccine, and Mulder had run off to 
the lab to see what the real story was.  He'd been gone 
for hours, and she prayed that his long absence was good 
news - surely there was no need for him to wait if the 
news was bad.

She wanted to get back to the hospital as soon as 
possible, but after relieving herself she took a moment to 
splash cold water on her face - a futile attempt to shock 
a little energy back into her body.  She stared hard at her 
reflection in the mirror, watching as the droplets of 
water slid down her pale face.

She looked like shit.  She had gotten used to not wearing 
makeup, but that actually made her look younger.  No 
big problem with that.  The pallor of her skin and the 
dark circles under her eyes, however, were a clear 
indication of her desperate need for rest.  She 
understood why Mulder's expression was always one of 
concern when he looked at her.

Intellectually, she knew that the end stages of pregnancy 
were difficult and uncomfortable, but the lack of sleep 
and constant tension of life here was taking its toll.  Her 
feet hurt, her back hurt, and she had a pounding 
headache she was certain was caused by lack of sleep.  
There was so much work still to be done, but she was 
near the point of serious exhaustion.

Something was going to have to give.

The baby interrupted her contemplation with a swift 
kick to the spine.  She leaned over the sink to stretch her 
aching back.  She was not built for carrying large babies, 
and looking down at her protruding stomach she 
imagined her daughter curled up tightly inside her, limbs 
flailing in an attempt to find more room.  Placing a hand 
on her belly, the baby kicked again, and she felt the 
movement against her fingers.  She smiled, knowing as 
sure as anything she'd every known before that this was 
what it was really all about - this child growing inside 
her would make all the misery and fear worthwhile.

The bathroom door flew open and she reached for a 
paper towel to dry off her still-dripping face.  Peeking 
out from behind the towel, she saw Mulder, relief 
spreading across his face as he saw her.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said, 
grinning.  He moved quickly to her, pulling her into his 
arms.

"Mulder, you do realize that you're in the ladies room, 
right?"

"Scully," he said, taking a step back so he could look 
into her face.  "We've got a vaccine."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

They stood by Skinner's bedside, doctors, scientists and 
technicians all watching quietly as the vaccine was 
slowly introduced into his I.V.  Currently the most 
critical of the patients, he had been chosen as the 
appropriate subject for the initial dose.  There had been 
no time for the normal protocol of trials and tests.  
Instead, there had been a short discussion wherein 
everyone agreed that there was no choice but to try what 
they believed to be the optimum dosage.  Then, they 
would stand back and hope for the best.  Not the ideal 
way to practice medicine, but necessary under the 
circumstances.

Scully reached up to rub at her aching forehead as it 
pounded along with the too-fast beat of her heart.  She 
watched as Carol emptied the last of the vial into the 
I.V., then stepped back with a heavy sigh.  There was 
nothing to do now but wait.

The minutes ticked slowly by.  Unable to stand it any 
longer, Scully reached out a gloved finger to lift 
Skinner's eyelid.  There appeared to be no change - the 
black clouds of oil were still visible.  She looked at the 
others, concerned that there was still no reaction.

"Maybe we should increase the -"

When Skinner grabbed her wrist, it was with such force 
that she could feel the bones grinding together, and she 
waited for the sound they would make as they cracked 
into pieces.  She gasped in pain and surprise - Skinner 
increasing his death grip on her as his body began to 
convulse violently.

Frantic, Mulder reached for her, his fingers scratching at 
her skin as he attempted to pry Skinner's strong hand 
away from her wrist.  Even unconscious, his strength 
was considerable, and Mulder could see the bruises 
already forming on Scully's pale skin.  Her face was an 
unnatural shade of gray, and her knees were beginning 
to buckle as she struggled to pull away.

Finally, there were other hands there to restrain Skinner, 
and they were able to loosen his grip long enough for 
Mulder to pull Scully away from him.  The sudden 
release caused both of them to fall backwards, and they 
landed in a heap on the floor. Scully immediately curled 
up into a ball, clutching her injured arm tight against 
her.

Carol threw herself across Skinner's body, holding him 
down while shouting for restraints.  The quiet room that 
had existed only a few moments before was now chaotic 
as the others tried frantically to restrain him.  It was 
taking six of them just to keep him on the table as he 
flailed and fought. 

Mulder had managed to cushion Scully's fall, the back of 
her head smacking into his forehead as they hit the 
ground.  Confused, he lay watching pretty colors that 
danced across his field of vision for a moment, then 
reached up to wipe away a trickle of blood as it dripped 
into his eye.

Finally able to focus again, he reached out for Scully, 
crawling over to crouch next to her.  He spoke in a low 
voice, one hand on her shoulder.  "Don't move, Scully," 
he said.  "Stay still."  He looked around the room, 
searching for Carol.

With Skinner finally restrained, she was beside him in 
an instant.  She brushed the hair from Scully's face.  
"Dana, where are you hurt?"

Scully shook her head.  "I'm okay.  I just got the wind 
knocked out of me."  She rolled slowly onto her back, 
Carol moving to support her shoulders as she turned.  
"I'm fine now.  How's Skinner?"  Her attempt to sit up 
was met with Carol's hands on her shoulders, pushing 
her back down.

"No, not so fast.  Skinner's fine for the moment.  You 
stay there for a minute while I get my bag."  With a 
meaningful glance at Mulder, she hurried away.

Mulder reached over to brush the hair back from her 
forehead.

"Mulder, your eye!" she cried, grimacing in sympathy.  
She could practically see the lump sprouting as she 
looked at him.

"You have a very hard head, Scully," he said, fingering 
the tender wound.  "How's the rest of you?"

"Fine, I think," she said, looking at him thoughtfully.  
"Would it be really pathetic if I admitted that I'm 
enjoying the chance to lie down for a few minutes?"

Mulder made a pitiful face.  "I do find it a little sad, 
Scully."  He brushed another drop of blood out of his 
eye.

"You should get some ice for that," Scully said.  "Your 
whole eye's going to swell shut."

"Great minds think alike," announced Carol, handing 
Mulder a plastic bag full of ice as she knelt down next to 
Scully.  She looked up at Mulder as he put the ice 
gingerly against his forehead.  "I'll get you cleaned up in 
just a minute."

Pulling the fetal heart monitor from her bag, she placed 
it against Scully's belly.  She found the baby's heartbeat 
immediately, and it was fast and strong.  All three let out 
a collective sigh of relief.

"No cramping, no back or neck pain?"

Scully shook her head.  "No," she said.  "My arm's a 
little sore, but otherwise I feel fine."

She gently lifted Scully's injured arm, carefully checking 
it for fractures.  Scully hissed as she slowly manipulated 
the wrist.

"I don't think anything's broken," Carol pronounced.  
"We should do an x-ray to be sure.  You want to try and 
sit up?"

Scully nodded, and with a little help she managed to get 
into a sitting position.  Mulder crouched close to her, his 
eyes intent on her face.

"Okay?" he asked.

She nodded as Carol moved behind her, checking the 
back of her head.

"You slammed into Mulder pretty nicely.  I don't see any 
bleeding, and there's no lump here.  I think you're fine."

"I told you," said Mulder.  "She's got a head like a 
bowling ball."

Carol laughed.  "Okay, you're next.  Let's get you up on 
the bed and I'll see if you need stitches." 

Scully stood close, holding his hand guiltily as he was 
examined.  No stitches were deemed necessary, and the 
wound was closed with a couple of tiny butterfly 
bandages.

When she was done, Carol moved back to check on 
Skinner.  He was quiet now, and Andrew Wheaton was 
there with dozens of people who surrounded his bed.  
They all seemed to be talking at once, but their voices 
were low.

With a sigh, Scully moved to stand between Mulder's 
knees. She picked the icepack off the bed and placed it 
gently against his bandaged forehead.

"I'm sorry," she said, frowning sadly at him.  "I'm sorry I 
have a head like a bowling ball."

Mulder reached out and pulled her close, his head 
against her breasts.  "Let's just hope the baby doesn't 
take after you."

Grimacing at the thought, Scully turned her attention 
across the room.  She pulled away from Mulder and sat 
next to him on the bed.  "His vitals look better," she 
said, pointing at the monitors. "His heart rate is good, 
and his blood pressure's close to normal." 

Carol turned to them then, and her smile confirmed 
Scully's observations.  "There's no sign of the black oil," 
she said.  "And he seems to be waking up."

Climbing down from the bed, Scully went to Skinner's 
bedside, everyone moving aside to make room for her.  
She took his hand in hers and his eyes fluttered open, 
then closed again.

"Sir?" she said quietly.  "It's Scully.  Open your eyes, 
sir."

His eyelids fluttered again, then stayed open to reveal 
brown eyes which were now clear of the black clouds.  
"Scully?"  His voice was like gravel, barely audible over 
the sounds of the monitors.

"You're going to be okay," she said, squeezing his hand.

He nodded, opening his eyes again to see Mulder 
standing close behind her.  "I knew you'd find me," he 
whispered, and he was asleep again before they could 
react.

Scully leaned back against Mulder, a tear rolling down 
her cheek.  "I think it worked," she said, her voice quiet.  
"I think he's really going to be okay."

Andrew Wheaton smiled happily at the group.  
"Congratulations, everyone."  He had to pause for a 
moment, his voice choked with emotion.  "You may 
well be responsible for saving the human race."
 
XxXxXxXxXxXxX

On doctor's orders, Scully had gone to bed and slept for 
fourteen straight hours after Skinner's recovery, 
returning the following day to find him sitting up and 
looking tired but remarkably healthy.  No one had told 
him how long he'd been missing, and seeing her 
advanced stage of pregnancy had been his first 
indication that he'd been gone for a considerable amount 
of time.

His recovery was quick after that - after a few days of 
regular meals and lots of sleep he'd regained almost all 
of his strength and was anxious to get out of bed and 
find a place in the community.  Like the other survivors, 
he had little memory of where he'd been or what had 
happened to him, and he seemed frustrated at his 
inability to provide answers.

Reports of other crashes were coming in from across the 
world, and news of the discovery of a working vaccine 
renewed the hope and determination of everyone who 
continued to fight.  Couriers had been designated to 
move across the country, delivering samples of the 
vaccine to scientists so that mass production could 
begin.  The Gunmen had been among those to volunteer 
for this duty, and they had been gone for several days 
but promised to return in time for the baby's birth.

There was a new sense of happiness that permeated the 
little village.  Only a few people remained in the hospital 
now, everyone suffering from the virus had responded 
well to the vaccine, and except for the occasional injury 
or common illness, things were fairly quiet.

Scully began to allow herself to contemplate a life here 
with these people.  The Village was a tiny spot of 
tranquility in a shattered world.  Though she still held 
out hope that her family had somehow survived, she 
didn't know if she could bear to see the destruction of 
the world outside this place.  In some deep 
psychological place where she liked to torture herself 
this made her feel guilty, but she brushed the feelings 
away, allowing herself to be content in this little world.  
She had her little home, she had Mulder, and the baby 
would come soon.

She was a walking cliche, and she was just fine about it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lake of the Woods
The Village
February 28, 2001

Scully's labor began rather uneventfully.  Though they 
were still deep in winter, the day was an unusually warm 
one and she had decided to take a walk around the lake.  
The crisp, clean air felt wonderful and she breathed 
deeply of it.

The first contraction started out like a little stitch in her 
side, and she attempted to rub it away, a little startled 
when the pain intensified, moving across her belly and 
back like a belt that was wrapped too tightly.  Though 
she'd had little contractions for several weeks and the 
pain of this one was fairly mild, it was definitely 
different.  Already more than halfway around the lake, 
she continued on her way and returned to the cabin.

Her water broke while she was in the shower, and the 
contraction that followed was a little more intense, a bit 
longer, but still manageable.  She'd been secretly 
worried about her water breaking somewhere public and 
horribly embarrassing, and she applauded herself for 
being so efficient, allowing the water to course over her 
until everything was washed away.  She felt the need to 
give the shower a good scrubbing when she got out, 
which sent her on a two-hour cleaning frenzy around the 
cabin.  The place was immaculate when she was 
finished, and she stepped outside to gather fresh pine 
boughs to cover the small mantelpiece - a Martha 
Stewart attempt to temper the smells of the cleaning 
fluids.

Mulder arrived home soon after dark, walking in to find 
Scully in the kitchen, preparing dinner by candlelight.  
He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her 
belly and nuzzling her neck. "A pregnant woman and 
dinner on the table," he growled.  "What more could a 
red-blooded American man ask for?"

"Don't get used to it," Scully smiled, twisting away from 
him.  "Let's eat.  I'm starving."

Dinner was delicious, though Mulder noticed that Scully 
didn't seem to be eating much.  She was up and down 
constantly, getting things from the kitchen, refilling his 
water glass, refilling her water glass, clearing the dirty 
dishes from the table the moment he was finished.

Brow furrowed, he stopped eating and looked hard at 
her as she sat down after what had to be her four 
millionth trip to the kitchen.  "What's the matter with 
you, Scully?  I thought you said you were starving."

She smiled at him, one hand rubbing at her belly.  "I 
guess I'm just a little keyed-up," she said, taking a long 
sip of water.

"Well," he said, "we'll make an early night of it.  We can 
both use the extra sleep."

"I don't think I'll be doing much sleeping tonight, 
Mulder," she said.  A strange look passed over her face, 
and she stood suddenly, pushing her chair in.  She 
clutched at the top of it, the severity of this contraction 
taking her by surprise.   "Oh, God..."

Mulder was at her side instantly.  "Scully, why didn't 
you tell me?"

She grimaced, breathing heavily as the contraction 
reached its peak, then began to ease.  "I wanted us to 
have a nice dinner - it's the last time we'll be alone, 
Mulder."

He shook his head.  "You're insane.  Do you want me to 
get Carol?"

"No," she said, reaching to clear the rest of the dishes 
from the table.  "That one wasn't very fun, but we've got 
a long time to go yet.  I'd like to wait until they're closer 
together."

"Yeah, okay," Mulder said, hoping he could keep from 
throwing up.  "We'll wait until they're closer together.  
Or I have a heart attack.  Whichever comes first."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next few hours went unbearably slowly.  Scully was 
handling the increasing intensity of the contractions 
well, and Mulder was her hapless companion.  He'd felt 
useful at the beginning - she'd directed him to the spot 
on her lower back where his massage helped to alleviate 
the pain.  As her discomfort increased, she was less 
willing to be touched during the contractions, and he 
was left to stand vainly by and watch her suffer.

Both the cabin and Mulder's well-intentioned hovering 
started to become stifling, and Scully insisted on moving 
outside for air.  Mulder refrained from reminding her 
how many degrees below zero it was outside, settling for 
wrapping her in layers of sweaters and coats.  They 
moved to sit on the porch steps where the air was 
freezing and snowflakes were beginning to fall lightly.  
Scully smiled at him as she took deep breaths of the 
frigid air.  He moved closer, wrapping an arm across her 
back, and she snuggled close to him.

"I wish I could do more to help," he said.  "Seeing you 
hurting, and not being able to do anything..."

"Mulder," she said, placing a hand on his arm as she 
looked up at him.  "I just need you to be here with me.  
That's more than enough."

"Are you sure you don't want to go the clinic, Scully?  
They can give you something for the pain."

"No," she insisted, shaking her head.  "I want the baby 
to be born here, in our house.  And I don't need 
anything.  I can get through this.  No matter how bad it 
gets, it'll all be worth it when she's in my arms."

She grasped at him then, eyes closing in concentration 
as another contraction washed over her.  "Let's walk," 
she groaned, and he pulled her up from the step.  
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he helped her slowly 
down the steps, her breathing punctuated by little 
moans.

"It's too dark to go walking, Scully," Mulder said.

"I don't want to go anywhere, Mulder," she whispered, 
barely able to speak as the pain intensified.  "God, this 
one's really nasty.  Pacing back and forth is all that I'm 
up to at this point."

When the contraction ended, she moved into his arms 
and he held her tightly.  "I think it's time for Carol," she 
said.  "Hurry."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The baby was already crowning when Mulder came 
back with Carol, and she turned to give him an accusing 
look.

Mulder shook his head and pointed at Scully.  "She's the 
one.  If she'd let me, I would have gone for you when I 
first found out she was in labor.  She's very determined, 
if you haven't noticed."

Carol laughed.  "Oh, I've noticed."

Scully groaned.  "I can hear you, you know.  Please, 
Carol, please tell me I can push with the next 
contraction."

"Go for it, Dana," she said, quickly pulling on her gloves 
and reaching for the clean towels that were ready at the 
bedside.

"Mulder," said Scully, reaching for him.  "I need you 
now."

He climbed into the bed behind her, legs on either side 
as she leaned back to relax against him.  "I don't know if 
I can do this," she whispered, and he reached up to brush 
the hair from her face.

"You can definitely do this, Scully.  It won't be much 
longer."  He traced slow, gentle circles on her belly, still 
amazed at how the roundness of it hardened as another 
contraction began.

Scully had long since lost any sense of wonder at the 
uncontrollable workings of her body.  She was getting 
tired of the whole damned thing, and wanted it over.  
She cried out, grabbed her knees, and pushed like a 
woman possessed.

It was a little over an hour before the baby was born, a 
squealing little bundle of sliminess who was already 
reaching out for Scully as she was laid on the deflated 
belly.  After a moment to allow the new parents to stare 
in fear and wonder at this small helpless creature, Carol 
took her for a quick exam, pronounced her abundantly 
healthy and wrapped her up snugly before returning her 
to her parents.

They were still staring at her when Carol packed up to 
leave several hours later, and she stood in the bedroom 
doorway for a moment, smiling indulgently at them.  
She'd grown close to these two and was happy that 
things had gone well and that their daughter had arrived 
safely.

She moved into the room and stood at the foot of the 
bed.  "You," she said, pointing at Mulder.  "Don't let her 
do too much.  And you, Dana.  I want you to rest as 
much as you can."

They both nodded obediently, and Carol smiled as she 
latched her bag.  "Congratulations, guys.  Take good 
care of her."

"Thanks, Carol," Scully said.  "Thanks for everything."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Lake of the Woods
The Village
March 13, 2001

The Gunmen returned in time for what Scully was 
calling a baptism and Mulder was calling a christening, 
which in truth was just an excuse for a party.  There was 
no church in the small village, and the only one with any 
religious education was a man named Arthur who had 
spent two years during college in a monastery in Nepal.  
It was quite the interdenominational event, and the 
whole village was there to celebrate the second happy 
occasion to befall them in the past month.

The baby had been named Meg, after Scully's mother, 
and she was beautiful, with Mulder's dark hair and long 
slender limbs and Scully's bright blue eyes.  She was 
good as gold, rarely cried, and had taken to 
breastfeeding like a champ.
  
Scully had insisted that she be tested for anything and 
everything, still not believing that there wasn't some 
deeper reason for her sudden ability to conceive.  She 
knew the baby was Mulder's, one look at her would 
convince anyone of that, but she wanted the comfort that 
only science could give her.

They'd been to the clinic that morning, and Meg was a 
trooper as she was examined and tested, crying out only 
once when the tiny needle was inserted to draw blood.  
Scully cried with guilt then, certain that she was a 
terrible mother to put her child through this.  The baby 
had appeared to forgive her, however, her cries ceasing 
the instant Scully picked her up.

Mulder watched quietly, amazed at the instant bond that 
Scully and the baby had formed, at Scully's ability to 
quiet the baby immediately with a simple touch or the 
sound of her voice.  Even now, outside her womb, she 
still needed her for sustenance and comfort.

It was hard not to be blindingly jealous, but he loved 
them both so fiercely that it almost hurt to think about it.

A robustly healthy Skinner, one of the baby's four 
godfathers (it had been impossible to choose between 
him and the Gunmen) cradled the baby gently in his 
arms, making ridiculous cooing noises at her as she 
looked at him thoughtfully.  Mulder risked a glance at 
Scully, and they worked hard to contain their laughter.

She moved over to him and wrapped her arms around 
his waist.  "You okay?" she asked.

"I'm very okay," he said.

"Are you mad at me?  About the tests?"  She looked at 
him worriedly.

"No, of course not, Scully."  He held her more tightly, 
pressing a kiss to her forehead.  "I understand why you 
want to be sure.  When everything comes back all right, 
we'll both be able to relax."

Scully smiled, watching her daughter as she was passed 
from one doting godfather to another.  "We're parents 
now, Mulder," she said, sighing.  "I don't think we'll 
ever be relaxed again."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Lake of the Woods
The Village
March 18, 2001
8:18 p.m.

It had taken forever, but Scully had finally gotten Meg 
to sleep when there was a knock at the door.  She 
sprinted toward it, praying that the sound wouldn't wake 
the baby.  She opened the door to reveal the solemn 
faces of Carol and Skinner and her happy greeting was 
cut short.

Carol held a large envelope in her hand.

"You have the results?" Scully asked, her voice shaky.

Carol nodded.  "She's fine, Dana.  She's perfectly 
healthy.  But...there is something I need to show you."

They moved into the dining room and sat down at the 
small table. Scully felt as if her head was about to burst, 
and she watched wide-eyed as Carol pulled the test 
results from the envelope.

Skinner remained standing, his eyes moving around the 
room.  "Where's Mulder?"

"He's up at the lodge," Scully said.  "They're gathering 
statistics tonight -  status reports to gauge the success of 
the vaccine."

"Maybe we should wait for him to get back," he said.  
"So we can talk to both of you."

"Jesus Christ."  Scully nearly shouted, realizing that she 
was skating close to the edge of hysteria.  "Tell me 
what's wrong with Meg."

Carol reached out and grasped Scully's hand.  "I told 
you, she's fine.  It's just the DNA results that I wanted to 
discuss with you."

She handed Scully the reports, watching quietly as 
Scully scanned them.  She read them several times, her 
face going pale.

"My God..." she said, her hand reaching up to rub at the 
sudden ache that sat between her eyes.  "It's the virus..."

"Dana," said Carol, a note of surprise in her voice.  "The 
baby's not infected with the virus, but it's there.  In her 
DNA."

"I told Carol that we've seen this before," said Skinner, 
his voice quiet.

"Yes, we've seen it before."  She stood, hands tight 
around her waist as she looked at Carol.  "In a young 
boy who disappeared a long time ago.  A boy named 
Gibson Praise."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Scully lay curled on the bed, one hand touching the tiny 
cradle as she watched her daughter sleep peacefully.  
She was exhausted - physically, emotionally and 
spiritually.  She'd allowed herself to be happy and life 
had come back and bitten her hard in the ass.

She'd heard Mulder come in half an hour before, and he, 
Skinner and Carol still talked in quiet voices in the other 
room. A few minutes later, the front door opened and 
closed, and then Mulder was in the bedroom doorway.

"Scully?"

"They'll come for her, Mulder," she said, not looking up.  
"They'll come for her just like they did for Gibson."

She felt the dip of the mattress as he lay behind her, 
wrapping his arms around her so that her back was tight 
against his chest.

"You can't know that, Scully.   We don't even know that 
any of them are still alive."

She sighed.  "Of course they're alive.  They're just like 
cockroaches.  They always survive."

"Scully, when I first came back, I told you that I thought 
I'd been brought back for a reason.   To fight the 
Colonists.  After we'd been here for a time, I realized 
that I wasn't contributing anything special, wasn't doing 
anything that any other person could have done.  They 
didn't need me to help with the fight, or to make the 
vaccine."

"But, Mulder -"

"It wasn't until just now, when I was talking to Carol 
and Skinner, that I realized that I was right all along.  I 
really was returned for a reason."

Scully turned in his arms to face him, and he put his 
forehead against hers.

"I'm here for her," he said. "For Meg.  To make sure you 
were safe, so that she could be born.  To make sure that 
she stays safe, because the answer to the salvation of the 
human race is inside her, Scully.  It's in her DNA."

"But why, Mulder?"  Scully was crying now, and she 
moved to tuck her head against his shoulder.  "Why is it 
inside her? Did they do this to her?"

"I don't think so," he said.  "I don't think it's anything 
more than being a result of what happened to us.  My 
being exposed to the black oil and your abduction - 
when you came back you had remnants of junk DNA in 
your blood, but it was inactive.  She has it too, but it's 
turned on.  Just like Gibson.  It's a one in a million 
chance, Scully.  They had no way of knowing that this 
would happen."

"Krycek knew," she said, pulling away from him and 
sitting up.  "When we managed to make the vaccine 
synthetically, I thought she was safe.  I thought he was 
interested in her because of her blood - that they wanted 
to use her to make the vaccine.  But he knew all along 
what she really was."

She was gone then, disappearing into the living room, 
and a startled Mulder followed her, standing in the 
doorway as he watched her grab the envelope of test 
results and throw them into the fireplace.  She fell to her 
knees, watching as they curled up and caught fire.  

Mulder sat down on the couch, staring at the flames.

"I just wanted her to be happy," whispered Scully.  "I 
just wanted us to have a normal life.  I didn't want to 
have to be afraid all the time."

Mulder sat on the floor next to her, taking her hand.  
"This won't stop us from giving her a happy life, Scully.  
She's got lots of people here who will love her and 
protect her."

"I don't ever want to leave here, Mulder."

She leaned against him, and he wrapped her in his arms, 
safe and warm.  "We don't have to.  This is our home 
now.  This is where our family lives."

They watched as the papers continued to burn, finally 
disappearing up the chimney in a shower of sparks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

End.

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