Condoms (13/18) by Lola e-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com Time: Set during and post-The Truth. Spoilers: Everything up to the end of the series and IWTB Summary: Mulder hates condoms for more than the obvious reasons. Overall Rating: NC-17 Author's Notes: It's looking like it'll be wrapped around part 18 or 20 so hang in there as I finish it off. I have really enjoyed this WIP and love all the comments people have been sending--keep them coming! I really wanted to explore Mulder and Scully's life after The Truth and wanted to tie some of my thoughts to the earlier series--thus the flashbacks to other episodes. I am trying to make everything fit together nicely (but even CC couldn't hold true to that always!). So, if you notice any issues with the original storyline please let me know so I can fix it. I do not own the characters. I do not make any money from this. Enjoy! *** Scully had spent the better part of a half hour placing calls to several pharmacies in Georgia and North Carolina while Mulder sweated next to her in the hot sun. Unfortunately, they were limited in who they could contact because of walking distances. After calling 4 pharmacies and having no success she hung up the phone in disgust. "Not good?" Mulder asked as he leaned against the trailer office wall. "No, not good at all" Scully replied as she wiped sweat from her forehead. "What's the problem? I heard you talking about more legal issues than medical issues." "Mulder, it's really complicated." she said, sounding exasperated. "There aren't any Planned Parenthood clinics close by so we are relying on pharmacies carrying an emergency contraceptive pill but the laws around it are controversial. In Georgia, pharmacists can refuse to carry and dispense it. That is the case in the two pharmacies I called in this state. In North Carolina they just tend to not carry it to avoid the issue entirely, which is the case in the other two pharmacies I called." "So, we are out of luck?" "If I could get a prescription for the pill I could give myself a high dose which would act like an emergency contraceptive but..." "There aren't any Planned Parenthood clinics around." "Right." "And any doctor you see would require ID." "Yep." "What about expanding our search area? There must be a pharmacy that has this pill for you?" "Mulder, our search area has been expanded to over 15 miles. If it gets any farther it will take too long to walk there. The pills need to be taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse." Mulder harshly rubbed his eyes and groaned. "What do you want to do Scully?" "I don't know Mulder. I've been trying to think, but really, I don't know" she leaned against the wall next to him and sweat began to drip off her nose. "This heat is turning both our brains to mush but I have to ask, the chance of you being pregnant is probably slim, right?" "Mulder," she began "I am still not sure what exactly was done to my body to make me fertile. That is why I can't rely on the birth control pill or any other type of birth control besides the barrier method. I at least know, when I see a condom on you, nothing is getting through. Well, usually." "But the emergency contraceptive you used last time worked." "It worked because there was almost no chance I was pregnant. I was due to get my period that day and it arrived the next one. Fertility was not really an issue, but this time, I think it is." "Do you want to wait and see? If you are pregnant we could always..." "No, I'd rather assure I wasn't going to be pregnant then making the decision to no longer be pregnant" she answered swiftly. "Ok" he said as he put an arm around her shoulder "let's think outside the box." They stood for several long sweaty minutes trying to come up with a solution. "You could go into Blairsville and maybe find a sympathetic doctor that wouldn't require ID" Mulder offered. "No, that is too risky but I think I do have an idea" she said while deep in concentration. "There is a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Asheville, North Carolina. If I hike up to Murphy I can hop on a Greyhound and be there by tonight. I can then get to the Planned Parenthood Clinic in the morning and hopefully see someone right away. That's still within the 72 hour window and then I'll come back here." "You're not going alone." "We can't travel together Mulder, you know that as well as I do." "You're not going alone and you're not coming back here." "Excuse me?" she said turning toward him. "We're leaving today. After Asheville we're going to Virginia and that's it. No more time on the road. I'm done and so are you." "But we have the trailer for..." "Who cares? We are going to be part way to Virginia by the time we get to Asheville anyways, it's pointless to come back." "What do you mean 'we'?" "I'm coming with you as far as Asheville, at least. After you're done at the clinic we'll take separate routes to Virginia. Sound fair?" "I'm still not sure." "Well, get sure Scully, because I'm going back to pack up and we're leaving together." Mulder walked away with confidence and purpose. He was going to get them out of this trailer park and get Scully to a clinic as quickly as possible. He didn't want this to be more difficult for her than it already was. Within two hours they were packed and hiking away from the trailer park. It was a 3 hour walk to Murphy and the bus they needed wasn't leaving until evening. There was no rush but anxiousness kept them moving at a quick pace and they found themselves on the 7:26 bus to Asheville North Carolina. The next morning after a restless night sleeping in a cheap motel Mulder found himself hanging out in a coffee shop waiting for Scully to return from the clinic. What he was not prepared for was seeing Scully walk in with another man. He immediately straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. "This is Dr. James Blythe. A childhood friend of my brother Bill" Scully said anxiously. Mulder immediately stood and tentatively reached out a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you." "I wish it were under better circumstances" James nervously chuckled. "James was my doctor at the clinic." "Oh" was all Mulder responded. He had no idea how much Scully had told this man or how much he still kept in contact with the Scully's. Mulder kept his eyes locked on Scully and the man and, sensing his uncomfortableness, Scully quickly gave him the background information she knew he needed. "James understands the circumstances we find ourselves in. He also assures me this meeting will only be shared with my mother, just to reassure her we are fine." she said looking straight at Mulder. "Okay." "And James," she continued "I trust my medical reason for the visit will not be shared." Scully smiled in his direction. "Oh, of course Dana, I would never..." "I know James. I'm just teasing" she said as she rested a hand on his arm. Scully's ease with the man immediately put Mulder at ease. If she trusted him, he would as well. "I'm just glad to see that you are okay" James offered. "We're fine" Scully countered "we just ran into a bit of a...snag." "Where are you staying?" Both Mulder and Scully shifted in their seats, neither was used to providing details of their location. James noticed this immediately. "It's just that...that if you don't have a place, you are more then welcome to stay at my cabin if you need a private place for a day or two. Melanie and I just came back from it and it's available if... if...if you need something." "That's very nice of you James..." Mulder began. "...but we can't implicate you anymore than this" Scully finished. "I understand, but, it looks like things have not been easy for you two." With that comment they both took in their rough, sweaty, appearance. Scully smiled, embarrassed for the first time of their situation. "I just wanted to help." he started again "The cabin isn't locked, so I could say I really had no idea. If, you were to go there." "But there are medical records linking Dana to you" Mulder offered. "What records?" James grinned as he leaned in "Look, I practically grew up with you. I think of you like my kid sister. I would do anything for you Dana. I really mean that." "That's awfully nice of you James. We'll think about it" Scully offered as she rose to use the bathroom. "That's one great girl you've got there" James said as he looked across at Mulder. "Don't I know it, don't I know it" Mulder said with a bowed head. "Uh, you mind me asking how you two are managing?" "We're fine, really we are. I know it doesn't look like it, but you can assure Mrs. Scully that after this last trip I've got things taken care of and Dana won't be on the road much longer. We'll be very comfortable. It's just that right now, when unexpected things like...this...happen that we're sort of thrown off course, if you know what I mean." "Yeah, she was really upset about it. I could tell." "We...we...can't have anymore kids James, not with the way things are." Mulder divulged, trying to make the man understand "I really hate what this is doing to her. And Scully, well, she won't completely trust anything unless it's permanent and that's going to be a while." "You mean you're going to have a ....?" "Yeah, once things get a bit more settled she's going to take care of... things." "I could do it." "What?" "I could do it tomorrow. I can get the equipment from the office and meet you at my cabin. I've done quite a few at my office, it'll be nothing. Well, for me at least," he quipped "Then you can at least rest easy you won't have to find another Planned Parenthood clinic again." Mulder chuckled "I wasn't planning on having sex again until things were permanently fixed," James laughed "I can see that." The laughter quickly died and Mulder looked at James in all seriousness. "James, I can't continue to risk this possibility with her. It'll destroy her. In some ways I think it has a little already." "Then, why don't we take care of...things...tomorrow. I think, if I were in your shoes, I'd rather have someone else do...it. Having your girlfriend perform this type of procedure on you is just a little twisted." "You're right about the twisted part, but we didn't think we had a choice. I don't know James. You're really getting involved with us if you were to do that..." "Who has to know? The cabin is remote, Melanie works evenings tomorrow, and it'll take a half hour. You would have to rest for a couple of days though to avoid any strain. Then you two can be off to wherever you plan on going, and no one is any the wiser. At least you two can relax about the accidental pregnancy part." "Thanks for the offer James, I really mean that. Let me talk with Scully and we'll see." "I just want her to be happy. And despite what Bill has said about you in the past, I know you do make her happy, I can see it." "Can see what?" Scully asked upon her return. "How happy he makes you, despite all the intrigue" James said as he rose "I made Mulder an offer you two need to discuss. Right now I'm late for my next appointment. Call me on my cell if you want to take me up on it. If so, I'll be there after work tomorrow. If not, it was great to see you and I'll share some news with your mother when I'm up visiting in a couple of weeks." James handed Scully a folded up piece of paper with a map to his cabin and cell number on it, he gave her a quick hug and quietly left the coffee shop. "What offer?" she asked. "To perform that procedure we've been talking about" Mulder said as he took a drink of his coffee. "Oh." "Hey, you mind telling me what the hell just happened here?" "I'm sorry. There was no time for cloak and dagger. He was already behind on his schedule because of his appointment with me and then had only a half hour before the next one. So, I just brought him with me." "Wait a second, start from the beginning." "Okay. I went to the clinic and was called in for my appointment. I met with a nurse for a while and then she said I had to be seen by a doctor to get the pills. I used the same drunk, unprotected, sex story from last time and got the same lecture as last time." she said with embarrassment "Then, in walked James and I froze. He must have noticed something was wrong because he didn't call me Dana or acknowledge we knew each other until the nurse left the room." "Good man." "Definitely. So, he immediately wanted to know what was going on. I didn't want to involve him in this so I went to leave, thinking I had to get you out of town as quickly as possible. He then hugged me and wouldn't let go. He said he was so happy I was safe. I knew then he wasn't going to turn us in. So, I told him a condensed version of what was going on, although, he'd already heard most of it from his mother. He knew we were felons on the run and he immediately reassured me he was not going to involve the police. Honestly, he's the salt of the earth." "That's reassuring." "I then told him about the condom breaking and how I was unsure the pills may even work after my history of...fertility. He gave me 3 doses of the pills. I have to take them at intervals over the next few days. It should guarantee nothing fertilizes." "That's good to know but, are you okay with that?" he asked as he grabbed her hand. "Well, it's going to make me really nauseous, but I'm more confident overcompensating." "Okay." "He's a great guy and I am really sorry he's now involved in all of this." "I know. We'll get out of here as quickly as possible and hopefully we can minimize his role if we do get caught and they trace a path back to him." "I don't see how they can, he's safe." "Well, we still should get out of here so he's not compromised." "Maybe we shouldn't." "What?" "Why don't we take him up on the offer he made you? Listen, as a GP he does these things pretty regularly. I haven't done one since I was an intern. He has the equipment and the experience. I'd trust him more than I'd trust myself." "I'm not sure Scully." "I'll be right there, but I'll let him do the procedure." "Well, it is just a little enticing to have it over with, and to not have you do it. That was going to be a little weird. I'm sure psychoanalysts could write volumes about that one." "You think?" she grinned. "We can trust him?" "I'm sure we can. I grew up with him and he was always honest and trustworthy, which made me wonder why he was friends with Bill" she chuckled. "Opposites do attract." "Apparently he hasn't seen or spoken with Bill in a few years. He knows what's up with the Scully's from his mom. She is part of the same church group as mine." "Oh." "He moved out here about 6 years ago because his wife, Melanie, is from the area. He has a practice but volunteers 2 days a month at Planned Parenthood. I just happened to show up one of those days." "I guess we lucked into this one." "We did. How about I call him and then we head to the cabin with some supplies for a few days." "If you want to do this Scully, I'm up for it." "Sounds good." Scully rose from the table and went to the payphone near the exit. Mulder finished his coffee and dropped a bill on the table. He was happy they were finding a permanent solution to the birth control situation. Their minds would be at ease after this. Once they got to Virginia they could take some time to just 'be'. **************** Continued in Part 14