The Truth is Out There--Scene 7 from XF3
by Lolabeegood

E-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com
Distribution: Archive freely with my name attached.

Rating: R
Categories: S, R
Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance, Post-IWTB
Spoilers: IWTB
Summary:  The truth is something Mulder & Scully may have to pay 
a steep price for.

Author's Notes: 

Ever since I watched IWTB I have thought of the ideal way to start 
and storyline a third movie.  So, after much thought and 
deliberation I have a series of scenes that I have written for the 
third XF movie.  The scenes will not necessarily run right after 
each other but they are in sequence.  They are more like scenes I 
would like to see in the XF3 that develop character, tie loose 
ends, and add plot interest.  

I do not own the characters and I don't make any money from this.

Enjoy!

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

Mulder sat on the bus starring out the window at the houses that 
blurred past as the bus sped down the street.  Scully's behavior 
had genuinely unnerved him.  His heart raced and his palms were 
sweaty as he gripped the handle of the seat in front of him tightly 
with his fist.  He had a backpack with him and it sat stuffed on 
the seat next to him.  He was sure they were on the run again, 
why, and who from, he did not know.  One thing he did know for 
sure, was that Scully would not say what she said to him lightly.  

The time that they had spent on the road before settling in their 
little house had been unpleasant for both of them, her especially.  
Mulder had been used to a sparse existence from the time after 
William was born. Scully was not used to living without the 
comforts of home, the conversations with her mother, the loss of 
a daily timetable on which to orient herself.  She had struggled 
for quite some time to get her bearings as they traveled from place 
to place, attempting to establish a routine of sorts, whenever they 
landed somewhere.  

She compensated for her feelings of disorientation with an 
unyielding orientation towards the one thing she did know--him.  
She would notice the slightest smirk on his face, the barest of 
whispers he let escape his lips, the most miniscule of eyebrow 
raises and ask him about them.  He felt, for a while, as if she 
was cataloging him and all the information she could gather about 
him.  

What she was doing, was holding on desperately to some semblance 
of order in her life.  He had not realized how deeply upsetting 
the disorder was to her until one night he woke at 3 am to find 
her trying desperately to glue a missing tile back into the shower 
stall with a paste concoction she had mixed herself.  They bought 
the house one week later and have lived there ever since.  

He thought back to the wild, happy look in her eyes at the book 
store when she kissed his passionately after his reading.  Those 
were looks and kisses she did not share while under public 
scrutiny.  She seemed both scared and thrilled at the same 
time and Mulder didn't know what to make of it.  He shifted in 
his seat and glanced down at his watch.  It was 1:47, his 
morning had taken longer than expected.  

He managed to get out of the signing just after 11:30 and had 
walked quickly back to the hotel telling Jeremy that Scully was 
waiting for him so they could hit the town together.  He went to 
their room and packed their toiletries and some of his clothes 
into a small black backpack.  He dumped Scully's bag on their 
freshly made bed and rummaged through her things trying to decide 
what she would want to bring.  He picked out jeans and two sweaters, 
some underwear and a bra.  He also noticed that, had he wanted to 
pack pajamas, he couldn't, she hadn't brought any for the weekend.  
He donned the backpack and set out using the back exit of the hotel 
to leave.

First, he went to his bank and took out a thousand dollars, then 
took a cab to Scully's and took out the same.  They both had cards 
and access to each other's accounts and he hoped Scully had not 
taken out a large amount of money as well because that would pop 
up like a flashing red light.  A few thousand dollars would keep 
them with funds for a while and then, when they needed it, he had 
another account and safety deposit box under an alias they could 
access.  

As he exited the bank in the posh area of Chicago he thought of 
another way to get even more money under the radar.  He walked into 
the Hermes store across the street and started to look at their 
expensive items. Scarves were 600 dollars, hair clips were 200 
dollars.  Mulder knew he had found the right place.

"Can I help you, sir?" the nicely dressed and coiffed woman asked

"Yes, I'm looking for something for my wife...It's our anniversary."

"Well, we have some lovely hair clips" the woman gestured to a 
display cabinet.

Mulder realized that this woman was trying to help him find 
something inexpensive as she sized him up in his jeans and leather 
jacket.  He was looking for the exact opposite.

"What about your scarves?" he asked looking at another display 
cabinet. 

"They start at $600" she said looking him in the eye.

"Oh, that's not bad" he said looking at his watch and pretending 
to be in a hurry. "Look, I've got to decide this quick, she'll be 
back from the spa any minute."

"Okay, would you like to look at some?"

"That would be great.  Hey, do you do cash back as well?  I'm 
taking her out for the day and my bank is across town."

"Yes, we'll match whatever the purchase is up to $2000."

"Great" said Mulder smiling. 

"These are the classic Hermes design" she said gesturing to the 
gold scarf.

"Do you have anything in the same pattern but maybe bigger so she 
can wrap it around herself?" he asked.

"Well, sir we do.  But...the shawls are about a thousand dollars."

"Fifteen years of putting up with me?  I think the least she 
deserves is a shawl" he quipped.

"I'll bring some over" she smiled and seemed to realize Mulder had 
money to spend.

Ten minutes later Mulder exited the store with a shawl, a pendant to 
hold it closed and fifteen hundred dollars in cash.  He walked over 
to Tiffany's and did the same routine, it was their fifteen year 
anniversary and he needed to get her a gift while she was at the 
spa.  He bought a $3000 cultured pearl necklace and walked out of 
the store with another $1500 in cash in his wallet.  Then he hoped 
on a bus and took it out of the downtown core.  

Two bus transfers later he was in Melrose Park and looking for 
the nearest stop to Wyle E Coyote's house.  He pulled the chord 
to indicate he wanted to get off and grabbed his backpack to make 
his exit.  Once off the bus he looked around to see if there 
was anyone following him.  The neighborhood was quiet and 
Mulder felt oddly at ease for the first time since Scully had 
left him. 

His heart rate, although quick, no longer felt like it was going 
to burst from his chest as he walked up the street and toward 
Henry Weems' old apartment building.  He remembered the case they 
had worked on many years ago.  A young boy was in danger of dying 
and Henry Weems was trying to use his luck to save him.  It was 
a very good time in their new and budding relationship.  He and 
Scully had flirted with each other relentlessly the entire case, 
and made love up against the door once they were inside her hotel 
room.  It was the first time she had told him she loved him.  He 
knew it already, but it was really nice to hear.

Mulder rounded the corner and saw the apartment building before 
him.  It looked like it had been re-done, it had stucco covering 
some of the brick and all the trim had been painted a soft cream 
color.   But, Mulder knew this was where he was to meet Scully.  
He glanced around the road in front of the building and noticed 
there were no cars or people.  He decided to approach the 
building from the back.    He walked up the back driveway and 
spotted a Jeep sitting in one of the spots.  He walked up to 
the window and saw a note sitting inconspicuously on the 
driver's seat.  It read "Roadrunner".  He looked in all the 
other windows and saw nothing but a backpack in the back seat.  
He looked around him and up at the building.  There was no sign 
of her anywhere.  

He stopped to think for a minute.  What could roadrunner mean?  
The road runner ran down roads, he outsmarted the Coyote, he was 
fast.  None of this information helped Mulder decide what to do.  
Should he just wait by the Jeep?  Would a neighbor think he was 
some sort of peeping tom?  He walked down the driveway to the 
other side and looked up and down it. 

A car passed him and a woman walked by with a buggy.  She smiled 
at him and started to cross the street to go to the park.  At the 
park a few kids were running around, taking in one of the last 
nice fall afternoons.  Then he caught it.  A flash of red hair.  
She was struggling on the other side of a small wall near the 
play structure.  All he could see was her back as she grabbing 
at something, or trying to pull herself away.  The partial wall 
was obstructing his view but he knew, without a doubt it was 
Scully, and she was in trouble.  

He took off in a sprint across the street and jumped like a 
hurdler over the small garden that surrounded the entire play 
structure.  He ran directly to her and without thinking grabbed 
the back of her leather jacket and pulled her away from her 
assailant and placed his body between them.

"Mulder!" she yelled as he pushed her back. 

Her assailant fell onto his hands and knees in front of Mulder, 
pulled by the force of his separation from Scully.  Mulder was 
just about to grab him by the back of his coat when Scully pulled 
him back by the shoulders.

"Mulder!" she yelled again as she threw him back against the 
partial wall and fell beside the person wiping the sand from 
his face.

It was then that Mulder looked for the first time at the person 
he has pulled from Scully.  It appeared to be a young boy and Scully 
knew him.  She was calling him Patrick as she cooed to him and 
asked if he was okay.

"Scully, what the hell is going on?" he snapped unsure of what 
had just happened, the adrenaline was still coursing through 
his veins.

She ignored his question and helped the young boy get up from 
the sand brushing his pants as he straightened himself out.  She 
looked up at Mulder nervously and then back down at the boy.  It 
was the first time she had looked at him since the incident, and 
Mulder was sure he had done the wrong thing.  

"Is he okay Scully?" he asked more gently as he shifted his feet 
"I thought you were in danger.  All I could see was you strug..."

He stopped mid-sentence as the young boy looked up at him.  He 
looked strikingly familiar, someone Mulder had known a long time 
ago, on a case possibly.  He scanned his face to figure out the 
connection as names and pictures flew through his mind and he 
dismissed each and every one of them.  

"Do I know you?" Mulder finally asked as he glanced furtively 
at Scully.

"He's...uh..." Scully started and then stammered as tears filled 
her eyes.

"I'm William" the little boy said as he looked straight at 
Mulder.


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

The End