Andraste
by Lolabeegood

Beta: Phanta
E-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com
Distribution: Anywhere as long as my name stays 
attached.
Rating: R
Category: S
Keywords: Mulder, Scully, Reyes, Post-IWTB
Spoilers: The whole series and all movies
Summary: The darkness finds them, again.
Author's Notes:  Written for the 2010 XF Santa 
exchange on LiveJournal. Extra special thanks to 
Phanta for the fabulous Beta work.  Any mistakes 
that remain, belong to me.

I don't own the characters or make any money from 
this.

****************************************

Fox Mulder sat in the booth of an old coffee shop reading 
the paper and drinking piping hot coffee.  The shop bustled 
around him as patrons from the town laughed about old 
stories and told jokes.  It was a lively spot filled with 
boisterous people and Mulder quite liked it.  He came here 
once a week for an hour or so to soak up the atmosphere.  
Most of the patrons were working class people stopping in 
for a break from their jobs or elderly citizens of their 
small town who hung out in the shop for part of the day.  

At first they didn't know what to make of him.  He had just 
appeared from nowhere two months ago, this tan man no one 
had ever laid eyes on before.  He and Scully had just 
returned from the Cayman Islands and he had decided he 
needed to re-integrate himself with the world.  She had 
agreed.  The coffee shop and hardware stores were his first 
steps and they had gone quite well.  Now, he had visited 
the grocery store, the barber, and gone clothing shopping.  
Re-integration was agreeing with him, and the more he made 
himself seen around their small community the less people 
seemed interested in him.  

"Top it up?" a voice asked.

Mulder looked up to see his regular waitress, Shirley, 
hovering over him.

"Uh," he stammered as he looked at his watch.  "Sure."

"You got a date?" she asked with a wink.

"Yeah, I do," Mulder chuckled.  "But, it's a lunch date."

"Oh, you got time," she smiled as she poured more coffee 
into his cup.  

"Thanks, Shirley," he smiled at her.

"No problem, sugar," she said as she turned to leave.

Mulder re-adjusted his paper and looked back at the article 
he was reading on toxins in the home.  A minute later, 
someone slid into the seat across the booth from him.

"Excuse me but..." Mulder started as he looked at the anxious 
stranger before him.  The man looked to be in his 40s and 
seemed nervous but determined.

"You're Fox Mulder, right?" the man asked.

"I think I'm more interested in who the hell you are," 
Mulder said annoyed.

"I'm Agent Havergal of the FBI," he said as he pulled a 
badge from his pocket.  "And I need your help on a case."

Mulder folded his paper haphazardly and reached for his 
coffee.  He took a big gulp and started to stand.  

"The French toast is really good here.  Have a nice day, 
Agent," he said as he turned and reached for his wallet.

"Mr. Mulder, you don't seem to understand..." Havergal 
said as he went to stand as well.

Mulder walked toward the cash register and waited for 
Shirley to arrive.  He ignored the agent following him.

"I need your help on a missing persons case," Havergal 
explained as Shirley reached the register.  

She rang up Mulder's order while looking, quite confused, 
at the situation in front of her.

"I don't work with the FBI anymore; I haven't for a long 
time," Mulder explained to Havergal as he handed Shirley 
a ten dollar bill.  "Thanks, Shirley."

"Have a good one," she responded quietly.

Mulder smiled at her and turned to leave.

"You worked with the FBI three months ago," Havergal said 
a little too loudly.

Mulder faced him and stiffened.  "And that was a mistake."

"It bought you your freedom.  Now you're not interested in 
helping unless there's something in it for you?" Havergal 
asked defiantly.

"Don't you dare..." Mulder started to admonish him, and then, 
looking around at his coffee shop audience that had suddenly 
gone quiet, thought better of it.He walked silently past 
Havergal and stepped through the door, its jingling bells 
contrasting with his ruined mood.  He tromped through the 
spring slush to his car, looking behind him to see that 
Havergal had not followed him.

He sat heavily in the driver's seat and let out all the air 
in his lungs.  While part of him wanted to call Scully and 
cancel their lunch date so he could go back home and not 
emerge for a few months, another part of him knew he 
couldn't.  She would kill him if he went back to being a 
hermit.  After six years of living like they had been, she 
had relished taking a vacation together, going to the movies, 
out to dinner, visiting her family.  He couldn't take that 
away from her.  And, if he wanted to be honest with himself, 
the more he joined the outside world the more he had enjoyed 
it.  He was re-integrating himself slowly and it seemed to 
be working in his favour.  

Mulder started the car and turned on the radio.  It was 
NPR's Science Hour and the droning voices talking about 
quantum physics would calm his rattled nerves. He pulled 
out into traffic and made his way toward Richmond.

************************************************

Dana Scully glanced at the clock on her computer screen for 
the fifth time in the last three minutes.  Time seemed to be 
standing still this morning and no matter how much work she 
accomplished, nothing seemed to move it along any quicker.  
She was excited about seeing Mulder for lunch today.  He drove 
into Richmond once every week or so to meet with her, but 
today she had news she hoped he would find just as exciting 
as she did.

She had been invited to speak at a conference on stem cell 
research in London, England.  It would be in the fall, and 
she hoped Mulder would agree to go with her.  She already 
had plans in her mind.  They would go for a couple of weeks, 
extending their stay in England beyond the 5 day conference 
so he could show her around.  Maybe he could take her to 
Oxford and re-live a bit of his youth with her.  She wanted 
to squeal with excitement, but her practiced image as a 
mature doctor made her refrain from actually making a sound.  

Dana Scully closed her lap top and decided she wasn't going 
to get any more work done right now.  She reached under her 
desk for her purse and, throwing it over her shoulder, 
grabbed her coat and walked from her office, locking the 
door behind her.

When she entered the waiting area she was surprised to see 
Mulder already sitting in a chair. He was not reading a 
magazine, but just sitting and waiting for her.  He seemed 
a little on edge.

"Mulder?" she asked, surprised. "Why didn't you come and 
get me?"

"I figured you were probably busy so I just thought I'd 
wait," he said with a smirk as he walked toward her and 
planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"I came out early," she smiled up at him.  "What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing," he answered too quickly.

She raised an eyebrow at him but decided to drop it for 
the moment.

"Cassie, I'll be back in an hour," Scully called over her 
shoulder to the departmental receptionist.

"No problem, Dr. Scully," Cassie chimed back.  "Have a 
nice lunch."

Mulder placed his hand at the small of Scully's back and 
escorted her from the lobby and out onto the street.  
Once outside she looped an arm through his and he drew 
her close to him.  They meandered their way down the 
street to the French bistro where Scully had made 
reservations.  

The bistro was small and quaint and Scully had eaten 
there once before with a couple of doctors from the 
hospital.  They were escorted to a table at the side of 
the room and given menus.

"So, what gives?" she asked before she opened the menu.

"Huh?" he asked, trying to seem too interested in the 
menu to know what she was talking about.

"Fine, you tell me when you're ready," she said as she 
opened her menu.

They sat in silence looking over their menus while a 
waiter filled their water glasses and gave them the 
specials of the day.

"I think I want the beef," he said as he closed his 
menu.  "What are you going to choose that I get to try?"

"I'm not sure," she murmured.  "I'm thinking of the..."

"Mr. Mulder," a man interrupted, walking up to their 
table.

"Oh, shit," Mulder muttered as he noticed who the 
man was. The tall man with black hair was the same guy 
from the coffee shop.

"I'm sorry, do we know you?" Scully asked, taken aback.

"I'm..." the man started.

"No, we don't," Mulder said as he started to stand.  
"If you wouldn't mind leaving us to our lunch."

"I need your help on a missing persons case," the man 
said as he took a step closer to Scully and Mulder 
stepped in front of him.

"Is there a problem?" a waiter asked from somewhere 
behind them.

"This man was just..." Mulder started

"I'm Agent Havergal of the FBI and it's about a missing 
child," the agent explained to Scully over Mulder's 
shoulder.

"Should I call someone?" the waiter asked to no one 
in particular.

"Have a seat, Agent," Scully invited him with a nod.

"Scully," Mulder cautioned.

"Mulder, please get the man a chair," Scully said as 
she nodded toward the man.

Mulder relented and got a chair, placing it close to his 
seat and far away from Scully at the table.

"Thank you, Dr. Scully," the agent replied as he took 
a seat.

"Don't thank me," she said softly.  "I want to eat here 
again, and I don't want a scene."

"Well," he said softly.  "Whatever the reason, I'm glad 
you agreed to talk with me."

"Why don't you cut to the chase and then you can leave." 
Mulder said impatiently.

"A child, a 4 year old girl, went missing eleven days 
ago under suspicious circumstances," he offered as he 
placed a file on the table, "and your assistance is being 
sought on the case."

Scully took the file and opened it to reveal the picture 
of a beautiful little girl with brown locks and soft 
brown eyes.  

"She's your daughter," Scully said softly as she turned 
the first page.

Mulder looked at the man in a new light.

"She's my Andie and we can't seem to..." he trailed off.

"Oh my god!" Scully exclaimed softly.

"What?" Mulder asked, rising in his seat.

"How is she?" Scully asked, ignoring Mulder's question.

"She's...she's a mess," Havergal answered honestly.

"Who?" Mulder asked annoyed.

"Monica," Scully said as she handed Mulder the file. 
"Monica Reyes."

"My wife," Havergal answered.

******************************************

Six hours later, Mulder and Scully found themselves on a 
plane going to St. Louis to help in the case.  Monica Reyes 
and Philip Havergal's daughter Andraste had gone missing 
from her bed eleven days ago.  There had been no calls for 
ransom, no indications of a break in, no trace evidence at 
the scene, and no suspicious persons around the family. She 
had literally vanished without a trace.  

According to Philip, they had gone to bed as usual and 
Monica had woken in the middle of the night for some reason.  
When she went to check on their daughter, she wasn't in 
her bed.  A search of the house had turned up nothing, police 
were called and the investigation opened.  

"Scully, I don't know what we can do," Mulder said honestly 
as he closed the file on his lap.

"I'm not sure either," she said as she laced her fingers 
through his.  "But, at the very least, we can be her friends.  
She was mine when...through a very difficult time"

"Have you...?"

"I kept meaning to contact her, but with work..."

"It's only been three months," he said as he squeezed her 
hand in assurance.

"I should have called," she said softly as she lowered her 
head.

"Do you see anything in this file that I don't?" he asked, 
trying to change the subject.

"No, but maybe...maybe she can enlighten us," she said as 
she leaned her head back against the seat.

"Go to sleep," he said softly.  "I'll wake you when we 
land."

She smiled weakly at him and leaned on his shoulder, 
closing her eyes.  "What she must be going through." 

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her 
close to him.  "Sleep."

******************************************

The house Monica and Philip lived in was in a historic 
district in St Louis.  It was large by most standards 
but small compared to the others in the area.  It had 
a huge wrap around porch and flower pots littered the 
stairs and the veranda.  Under other circumstances, the 
house would look cheerful, but today it just looked sad.  

Mulder and Scully had both had a fitful night's sleep at 
a downtown hotel and arrived by eight am at Monica's 
house. When they rang the doorbell, Philip answered.

"Thanks for coming," he said as he ushered them inside.  
"She's up in Andie's room."

Scully nodded her head and walked up the stairs quietly 
leaving Mulder with Philip downstairs.

"Agent Havergal, I wanted to apologize for..." Mulder 
began.

"Don't worry about it," Philip said absently as he picked 
up a toy from the floor and handled it as if it was the 
most delicate piece of china.  "I kinda came to you outta 
nowhere but I needed to see you before my flight left to 
come back."

"How did you know?" Mulder asked as he watched the man 
stare at the toy.

"She...she has talked about Dana a lot over the years...
especially since Andie was born.  She told me about 
what happened with your son.  I think that becoming a 
mother helped her understand it more.  When I heard you 
had been investigating again, I thought it was worth 
a shot."

"I hope we can help," Mulder offered quietly.

"You can't hurt," Philip chuckled to himself as he 
carefully placed the toy on the coffee table.  

"Anything new?" Mulder asked hopefully.

"No, but there's something I haven't told you..." Philip 
said hesitantly "something the police and FBI don't know."

"What?"

"I think that Andie was taken...taken like I was" Philip said 
as his eyes met Mulders.

"Taken?" Mulder asked hesitantly.

Philip Havergal released a deep sigh.  "I have been taken 
twice in my life.  Once when I was a teenager, and once just 
before Andie was conceived.  Experiments were...I'm sure 
they had something to do with...no one knows except Monica."

"Okay," Mulder said as he placed a hand on the other man's 
shoulder.  "Why don't you start from the beginning."

***************************************

"Monica?" Scully called from the doorway to Andie's room.

She heard a sniffle and caught a glimpse of Monica Reyes 
attempting to re-make the bed she had been lying in. The 
room was a beautiful teal blue with sea creatures painted all 
over the walls, white furniture, and things dangling and 
glittering from the ceiling.

"Dana, is that you?" she asked softly.

"Yeah...yeah it's me," Scully said as she entered the dark 
room.

She walked to Monica and threw her arms around her.  Monica 
folded into her and, buckling at her knees, started to cry 
uncontrollably.  Scully whispered words of encouragement as
the two women lowered to the floor and Monica curled up in 
a ball in her embrace.  Scully found herself swaying and 
rocking Monica like a child as Monica shook in her arms and 
mumbled incoherently next to her.  They stayed like that for 
a long time before Scully noticed Mulder and Philip at the 
doorway.  Monica wiped her nose with her sleeve and turned 
to look at Philip from the floor.

"Are the police back?" she croaked.

"No, they will be soon...but not yet," he said softly.

"I should...I need to get some more pictures of Andie 
together..." she mumbled.

"I told Mulder," he said hesitantly.

She nodded her head and Scully looked around at the people 
in the room for an explanation.  She caught Mulder's eye and 
saw that he would explain things to her later.  

"Let me get you something to eat," Scully said as she looked 
into Monica's tired, red face.

"Her mother's been cooking like crazy," Philip said.  "There's 
enough food in our fridge for the entire investigative team."

"Have you eaten today?" Scully asked her as she moved hair from 
her face.

Monica shook her head and Scully tried to help them both stand.  
Mulder and Philip reached for their arms and helped both women 
up.

"Nice to see you back in the world," Monica commented as she 
patted Mulder on the chest.

"I hope we can help," Mulder said with a smile as he took her 
hand in his.

"I hope so too," she choked as she walked past him and into 
the hallway.

***********************************

"Taken?" Scully asked as she and Mulder made their way through 
St Louis traffic.

"When he was seventeen he was missing for six days.  He came 
back with no memory of the time, no external injuries and local 
police wrote it off as a runaway case where the kid decided to 
return home.  He was a teenager and didn't want to be labelled 
as a freak, so he went with the story and tried to forget the 
incident."

"And then another time?"

"About five years ago.  He and Monica had been trying to have 
a baby for a few years with no luck.  She had a couple of 
miscarriages and fertility testing had indicated that they 
were incompatible...whatever that means."

"It means her body saw his sperm as something that must be 
destroyed and not absorbed.  It's called cervical hostility 
and it can be treated with estrogen but usually it means the 
couple has to conceive through IVF." She said.

"So five years ago," he continued as he drove through the 
streets.  "He went missing for three days.  When he returned 
he had their family doctor run a battery of tests on him.  
According to Philip, nothing abnormal came up.  But then one 
month later, Monica was pregnant with Andraste."

"Well, it's not impossible, but it's certainly improbable it 
just happened," she said as she looked out the window.  "But 
it was her cervix that was hostile, so I don't know how they 
could..."

"Monica went missing for one night a week before he did."

"What?" she asked astonished.

"They didn't report it, just like they didn't report his lost 
time, but she insisted on no tests.  He said she was really 
shaken up when he found her in their backyard and he didn't 
want to push the issue."

"Oh my god," Scully sighed to herself.

"We're here," Mulder said as he indicated the couple's doctor's 
office.

Dr. Max Millar was a welcoming man, eager to present 
information about Monica and Philip that would help them find 
Andraste.  He informed them he had been given permission 
earlier to divulge any and all information they found 
pertinent.

"Doctor, what do you think about the conception of their 
daughter?" Scully asked.

"I must say, it was surprising, given their medical 
background.  Between her age, her history of endometriosis, 
the cervical hostility, the three miscarriages, and his low 
sperm count...it was a miracle. A real miracle."

"So you were of the belief that IVF was the only answer?" 
Mulder asked.

"I didn't think there was any chance for them outside of 
IVF.  And, even IVF was a long shot," he said definitively.

"But then he went missing..." Mulder broached.

"He was very upset, days were missing.  I ran neurological 
and biophysical tests and didn't find any answers for him."

"So you believe his story?" Mulder asked as Scully 
shifted in her seat.

"He doesn't seem like the type of man to step out on his 
wife and claim memory loss but...aliens?" Dr. Millar chuckled.  
"I did the tests he asked for, and saw no sign of any 
damage."

"Can I get a copy of this?" Scully asked as she lifted the 
file.

"I'll get Paola to print one off for you," he said, 
standing to shake their hands.

"Thank you for your time doctor," Mulder said as they 
shook hands.

"They're the nicest family, and they treated that little girl 
like the miracle she was," Dr. Millar sighed.  "I hope you 
find her."

"We hope so too," Scully smiled faintly at him as she shook 
his hand.

*****************************************

"Anything?" Mulder asked as he hauled himself up on their 
bed next to her. It was early evening and they had been 
with Monica and Philip most of the day.  

"Well...I wouldn't concur that there were no abnormalities in 
his testing," she said as she read some notes.

"What abnormalities?" he asked interested.

"The plasma levels in his blood were low, by almost 20% 
which is usually an indicator of space travel...also..."

He waited a few moments for her to continue, but, when she 
didn't, he pushed forward. "And?"

"Oh, sorry." She looked up at him and smiled.  "His 
lymphocytes showed high levels of chromosomal aberrations 
which are usually induced by high levels of radiation."

"Which means?"

"Unless Philip was on board a mission to the moon around 
the same time as this physical, his body was, 
unexplainably, showing signs of space travel."

"God, I love you," Mulder said as he snuggled in close 
to her.

"To what do I owe this?" She looked down at him.

"Scully, today...today you were a really good friend to Monica.  
She is going through the worst possible thing a parent can 
imagine and you made today a little easier for her.  You 
are a really great person."

"I don't know what you mean, Mulder.  I've been a good 
friend, but I haven't been much of a help. But she was a 
great help to me when...when William had to leave.  I owe 
her at least that much."

"We'll help them find her," he said as he wrapped himself 
around her leg.

She smiled down at him as he bent toward her.  

"You know, Monica says Andie has never been sick-not one 
sniffle."

"Humph," he replied.

"Mulder, why do you think they picked the name Andraste? 
It's very unusual."

"It's Celtic for invincible," he said matter-of-factly.

"I guess after all their problems having a child, they 
would want her to be invincible, huh?"

He contemplated the thought for a moment.  "Let's hope 
she lives up to her name."

***************************************

They were awakened by the phone ringing in their room.  
Mulder felt Scully's arm whack against his bare chest 
like it did almost every morning when she reached to 
turn off the alarm clock.  He pulled her arm off him 
and turned to grab the phone.

"Hello?" he asked groggily as he noticed it was 3:46 
am.

"You need to go to the corner of Hempstead and Pine," 
the voice on the phone said cryptically.

"Mulder, who's on the phone?" Scully asked as she 
raised herself in bed.

"Who...who is this?" he asked, still trying to get his 
bearings.

"No FBI," the voice said in a whisper.

"Where?" he asked.

"Mulder, what is...?"

"Shhhh!" he quieted her.

"Hempstead and Pine," the voice said just before Mulder 
heard a dial-tone.

He slumped in their bed and his head fell to his chest.  
"Hempstead and Pine, remember that Scully, Hempstead 
and Pine."

"Okay, okay," she said as she rubbed his back "Hempstead 
and Pine...why?"

"Because we need to go there," he said as he threw back 
the bedding.  He crossed the room, dressed  only in his 
boxers, and continued "I think it has something to do with 
Andie."

"What?" she exclaimed.  "Tell me exactly what happened 
just now."

"The voice on the phone said to go to the corner of 
Hempstead and Pine and not to involve the FBI, that's 
it." He said as he faced her and pulled on some pants.

"Mulder, I think we better at least tell Philip and 
Monica about the call," she said as she rose from 
their bed.

"If that was my daughter, and someone got a call like 
this...I'd be there in five minutes flat, FBI or no FBI.  
We can't tell them Scully...they are the FBI."

"Give me two minutes," she said as she walked toward 
the washroom.

Ten minutes later they were in their car and doing a 
GPS search for Hempstead and Pine as Mulder navigated 
the streets of St Louis at four am.

**********************************************

The small coffee shop was surprisingly populated for 
four am.  Mulder and Scully parked their car and walked 
towards the entrance.  Sad 70's country music played on 
the radio as diners sat in their booths drinking and 
eating with little fanfare.  

"Sit where you like," a large bald man said from behind 
the counter as he flipped something on his griddle.

Mulder motioned for Scully to slide into a booth in the 
back as he surveyed the customers.  No one stood out as 
anything but ordinary.  

A tall thin young woman sidled up to their table.  
Mulder immediately leaned forward, blocking Scully from 
her.

"Do you want menus?" she asked as she snapped her gum.

"Two coffees, please," Mulder relaxed and sat back 
slightly.

"Okay," she said as she walked back toward the counter.

"You said the voice could have been a woman's?" Scully 
asked as she leaned toward him.

"It was someone trying to disguise their voice," he 
whispered back.  "I was still half asleep...it sounded 
like it could have been female."

"Besides our waitress, there's only one other woman in 
here," Scully said as she nodded toward a booth.  
"She's doing a crossword."

"Then, we wait," Mulder said as the waitress walked back 
to their table and dropped down napkins along with two 
cups of piping hot coffee.

"Thanks," Scully said to her as she turned to leave.

Mulder went to pick up his mug when he noticed something 
written on the napkin.

"Scully," he gestured toward the paper.  It read, 'Go 
to the men's washroom in 1 minute'.

"I guess we've been spotted and they want to speak 
with you, alone," Scully said as she looked back at 
their waitress, who gave no indication of her part in 
the plan.

Mulder took a drink of his coffee and looked at his 
watch.  "Close enough."

"I'll keep watch," she said nervously.

He rose from his seat and touched Scully on the hand.  
"Be right back."

Mulder walked the short distance to the men's washroom 
and went inside.  

He looked in all the stalls and found no one inside.  

Suddenly the door opened and a young man walked in.  
Mulder moved toward him and the man held out his hand, 
indicating that Mulder should stay put.

"Are you going to tell me why you hauled me out of bed 
at four am?" Mulder asked.

"I have Andie, but...I don't know how to return her," he 
said as his eyes darted around.

"Where is she?!" Mulder demanded as he walked toward him.

"Stop right there," the man called as he pulled a gun 
from his pocket.

Mulder stopped and raised his hands.  "Okay.  You don't 
need to point that at me, I won't come any closer."

"You have to understand why I took her," the man said, 
his voice wavering.

"Is she okay?  Is she safe?" Mulder asked calmly.

"I didn't...I wouldn't hurt her," he said quickly.

"Okay, so why don't you tell me where she is. No one has 
to know you were involved," Mulder negotiated.

"You're not listening to me!" the man snapped.

"I'm listening," Mulder said softly.

"She was going to be taken...I had to stop it from 
happening," he explained.  

"Who was going to take her?" Mulder asked calmly.

"The scientists.  The same ones who have taken me time and 
time again my entire life...they were going to take her and 
I had to stop it."

"Good," Mulder assured him. "You kept her safe from them."

"I...I did," he smiled.  "She'll be safe from now on."

"She'll be safest with her parents," Mulder commented.

"They don't know.  They have no idea how special she is."

"What makes her special?" 

"She was created under the perfect conditions, just like 
your son.  She's the next level of the experiment."

"I don't understand," Mulder admitted.

"All the mothers are taken and given special genes, all 
the fathers are taken and given specific DNA, then 
nature takes its course and the next level is born."

"And Andie is part of this 'next level'?"

"Her children will be perfect," the man noted.  "She's 
almost perfect, but what they really want are her kids."

Mulder hesitated.  "How are you sure she'll be safe 
from now on?"

"I've injected her with iron deposits.  She won't have 
any children, just like your son."

"You've sterilized a child?!" Mulder yelled.

"No, but by the time she reaches puberty the iron will 
have sterilized her.  It was a side effect discovered 
in early experiments with kids on their level."

"You bastard!" Mulder lunged at him.

The man raised his gun again and pointed it at Mulder.  
"Don't mourn her lost children Mr. Mulder.  I've saved 
that girl a lifetime of abductions and experiments, of 
drug abuse to deal with the gaps in her life, self-
harming...shall I go on?"

"So you should be thanked?" Mulder spat at him.

"My job is thankless, but in time, you will understand 
the selfless nature of my act."

"Where is she?" Mulder asked through gritted teeth.

"Andie?  Oh, she's sitting with your Dr. Scully right 
now," he said.  "But, if you leave this washroom or 
call the police in the next ten minutes I have this 
coffee shop wired for a bomb to explode. I'm sure you 
don't want your lovely lady or poor Andie to die."

"Ten minutes gives you time to crawl back to where you 
came from?"

"Tell her parents I'm sorry they won't have grandchildren, 
but their daughter will be much happier like this.  She 
is of no use to the experiment anymore."

"They'll find you," Mulder muttered as the man opened 
the door.

"No, Mr. Mulder.  No, they won't," he said as he 
walked out.

**********************************

Dana Scully had done a cursory exam of Andie in the 
back of the car on the way to Monica's house.  Mulder 
had called from the road and told them they had 
their daughter.  The happiness on the other end of 
the phone was profound and he was sure Monica and 
Philip would be waiting on the lawn when they got 
there.  

"It's okay, sweetie," Scully said softly as she held 
Andie close. "You'll be with your mommy soon."

"Andie, have you had anything to eat recently?" Mulder 
asked from the front seat.

The little girl shook her head and buried her face in 
Scully's chest.

"I think I have a granola bar in my purse. Do you like 
those?" Scully asked.

Andie smiled up at her and Scully immediately started 
to dig through her bag for the coveted bar.  She 
unwrapped it and handed it to the child.  

Andraste greedily ate it, as if she had not seen a bite 
of food all day.  Scully's eyes met Mulder's in the rear 
view mirror and her thoughts about the little girl's 
treatment were perfectly clear to him. 

"Did the man hurt you?" Scully asked her calmly.

Andie nodded her head handing Scully the empty granola 
bar wrapper.

"How did he hurt you sweetie?" She asked cautiously.

Andie rolled up the sleeve of her hoodie and showed 
Scully the puncture wound in her arm.  It looked red 
and slightly infected.  

"He gave you a needle?" Scully asked as she leaned in 
to look at the site.

Andie nodded and lowered her sleeve.

"Did he hurt you any other way?" Scully asked as she 
patted her hair.

Andie shook her head and started to play with a button 
on Scully's coat.

"Did he give you food?  Someplace to sleep?"

"I...I slept in a crib like a baby," Andie said.  

"Oh, and you aren't a baby anymore, are you?" Scully 
asked softly.

Andie smiled at her in agreement.

"I know it was scary being away from your mommy and 
daddy but you'll be back with them in just a few minutes 
and then you don't ever have to leave them again."

The little girl snuggled into Scully further and she 
wrapped her arms around her tiny form, trying to will 
her to forget the last week two weeks. 

As they rounded the corner onto Monica's street Mulder 
spotted the couple standing on the road outside their 
house, waiting for the car.  He pulled up close to them 
and Monica ran toward the car with Philip following 
close behind.  The back door swung open and Andie leapt 
into her mother's open arms.  The family clung to each 
other and lowered to the ground hugging, kissing and 
crying as  Scully and Mulder slowly exited the vehicle.  

**************************************

"Monica, you should have her tested," Scully advised as 
they sat in the living room with Andraste asleep in 
Monica's lap.

"If what you are saying is true, nothing will show up 
for years anyways," Monica said as she stroked her 
daughter's hair.

"But if her iron levels are high..."

"It doesn't tell us anything right now," Monica 
interrupted.  "I would rather cross that bridge when, 
and if, we get there."

"Sounds fair," Mulder interjected as he placed a hand 
on Scully's.

"Right now, I'm just happy to have my baby back," Monica 
said softly as a lone tear ran down her cheek.  "Thank 
you both for your help."

"Monica, it was nothing, really," Mulder said quietly.  
"She's a beautiful little girl and we're just glad she's 
back with you."

"She is," Monica said reflectively as she looked at her 
daughter's sleeping form.

"I just got off the phone with the Bureau," Philip said 
as he entered the room.  "Two agents are on their way 
over to interview us all and get our statements.  They 
think we should..."

"Shhhh, Philip," Monica quieted him.  "Come and sit with 
our baby."

Philip Havergal walked over to look at his daughter's 
angelic face as she drooled on her mother's lap.  He 
placed one hand on her slowly rising and falling back 
and sat watching her in awe of her presence.

*******************************************

Fox Mulder sat in the coffee shop drinking his steaming 
cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.  

"Top up?" Shirley asked as she moved next to him.

"That'd be great, Shirley." He smiled up at her.

Bells clanged on the door behind him as a cool fall breeze 
blew in.  

"Ellloo love," Scully chirped as she leaned in to kiss his 
cheek.

"You're not going to be doing that the whole time we're 
gone are you?" he smiled at her.

"Maybe," she smiled back as she took a seat across the 
table from him.

"And maybe you'll find yourself without a tour guide on 
the white cliffs of Dover," he snickered.

Shirley came over and poured Scully a cup of coffee and 
silently handed her a menu.

"Bags all in the car?" Scully inquired.

"Yep," Mulder replied as he read the paper and shoved an 
envelope towards her. "We got some mail."

Scully greedily reached for the envelope and opened it 
to reveal a new picture of Andraste.  She was dressed for 
her first day of school and looking very proud with her 
backpack and lunch pail.  She flipped the picture around 
to show Mulder, who looked up from his paper and smiled 
at the image.  

"She looks really happy until she figures out she has to 
keep going back there for the next fourteen years." He 
laughed at his own joke.

"She's gorgeous," Scully said as she put the picture in 
her purse.

"Yes, she is," he agreed.

"Have you heard anything from..."

"Skinner said four other abductions fit the MO of Andie's.  
All kids have been returned and none of the parents have 
had any testing done."

"Why wouldn't they want to know?" Scully asked.

"I guess they are cutting their losses, so to speak.  
They have their child back, were told there wouldn't be
 any further abductions...I guess they are just trying to 
fly low."

"I wonder how many...?"

"Who knows," Mulder said as he took her hand.  "All the 
abductees groups have been notified and there's no sign 
of the man from the restroom.  The most the FBI can do is 
keep an eye on it."

She sighed and looked into his beautiful hazel eyes for 
a couple of minutes. She wondered if there would be more 
children taken, more sterilized to stop the program.  
She wondered if William too would have no children 
because of his injection.  Shaking the morbid thoughts 
from her head, she tried to focus on what she could 
control, their vacation.

"House locked up?" she asked as she sipped her coffee.

"Tight as a drum," he said as he folded the paper and 
tossed it to the side.  "Are you ready for four weeks 
without work?"

"Technically the conference is..."

"Okay, Ms. Precise.  Are you ready for three weeks and 
two days without work?" he joked.

"Three weeks and two days with just you, England, Ireland, 
and Scotland?  I think I can manage it," she smiled at 
him.

"I think we can manage it just fine." He smiled across the 
table at her as he took both her hands in his.

***************************************

The End.