The Truth is Out There--Scene 23 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!

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

Scully had been hesitant to leave Patrick alone with Mulder 
softly snoring on one of the double beds.  She had to go out 
and buy a few things and realized that a sleeping Mulder was 
still more effective at protecting Patrick than half the male 
population.  She had been out and back within the hour finding 
Patrick entranced with the children's movie Nim's Island when 
she returned.  She had died and cut her hair and his.  She now 
had a very short crop and he had hair so short it looked like 
a buzz cut.  She knew from experience that in just a week 
Mulder would be wearing a full beard and she felt confident 
they didn't look much like their former selves.  

'We are now the dark brown family' she thought as she looked at 
her reflection in the mirror.

"It looks nice on you" Patrick said from behind her as she 
scowled in the mirror.

"Thank you" she smiled back at him in the reflection.

Silence fell over them for a moment and Scully was unsure how 
to start up a conversation they had began earlier.

"Patrick" she started hesitantly "back when I was cutting your 
hair you started to tell me about that night...I need to hear 
the rest."

He matched her serious expression and took a seat on the covered 
toilet.  "We left off after the video game challenge right?"

"That's right." 

"So my mom put me to bed and kissed me good night" he started 
hesitantly "and then a while later, I wish I'd thought to 
look at the clock, I heard a 'bang' like something falling 
over."

"Go on" Scully encouraged as she crouched in front of him 
and placed a hand on his knee.

"I heard all these thoughts flowing through my brain, so 
fast I couldn't make sense of them, I don't know what they 
were or who they were coming from but I was so freaked out 
by it I couldn't move."

She nodded for him to continue hen he was ready.

"Then I heard someone walking down the hallway toward my room.  
The thoughts got louder and flowed quicker the closer the 
person got to me and I couldn't even move a finger, it was 
like I was paralyzed or something" he said taking deep 
breaths and re-living the moment.

"Patrick" she interrupted "remember you're here with me, and 
you're safe" she said as she patted his leg.

"I know" he nodded and paused to relax "and then I felt 
something move on my pillow, I felt my pillow bear some weight, 
and then I knew someone was standing over me, looking at me."

"Oh Patrick" she sighed, obviously upset by her son's terror.

"Then the person walked away and the thoughts got quieter and 
less fast until they just stopped." He said looking at her 
"it was then that I could move again and when I turned my 
head I saw a knife covered with blood lying on my pillow."

Scully reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand.

"I grabbed at it, scared someone was still holding it, but 
then, when I realized no one was there I dropped it and blood 
splashed on my pillow.  I went to my mom and dad's room but 
they weren't there. I was really worried and I ran downstairs."

"Patrick" she inhaled quickly "if this is too difficult right 
now..."

"No" he said surely "I need to tell you, so you understand, 
so you know what they did to my mom and dad."

"Okay" she sighed and moved a bit closer.

"My mom was lying on the carpet near the couch." He said 
escaping back to the scene in his mind "She had all these 
lines all over her back.  Then I realized the lines were stab 
marks and she was bleeding all over the floor.  I went to 
her and touched her cheek, but when I did that, I realized 
there was no breath coming from her.  She was dead.  Then I 
looked over at my dad and he was lying near the TV and there 
were lines all over him.  His eyes were still open..." 
Patrick drifted off as he started to cry.

Scully leaned forward and hugged him to her chest.  He cried 
for a while and she wished the whole time that she could 
bear this burden for him.  That she hurt instead of him.  
Patrick said muffled things into her hair and Scully wasn't 
sure what he was trying to tell her.

"What is it, Patrick?"

"I didn't go check him" he cried as the snot ran down his 
face "what if he was still...and I didn't check him."

"Oh, sweetie, if he had those lines all over him there was 
no way he was alive" she reassured him "you couldn't have 
done anything for your dad."

"I hope that's true" he sobbed loudly.

"I know it is.  I know it is" she repeated to him as she 
rocked him back and forth"How...how did you know to leave?"

"I've read a lot of mystery books and the guy found with the 
weapon is usually locked away" he murmured amid tears"That, 
and the fact that I knew those thoughts I heard in my head 
were not from a good person.  I don't know how I knew...
maybe it's because it felt different from your thoughts."

"How so?"

"I know this sounds strange" he said as he wiped his nose 
on his sleeve "but your thoughts come with colors like pink 
and orange and teal blue."

"That sounds nice" Scully smiled at him.

"Those thoughts, that night, they came with black."

"Oh, that is different" she agreed.

"So I did what everyone in my stories does, I grabbed the 
stash of money my dad keeps in his sock drawer and a few 
personal things and I took off.  I could hear the sirens 
when I was leaving my house." He paused again "How did they 
know to come?" he asked.

"I don't know Patrick" she answered "but that is one thing 
we need to find out."

"Okay" he smiled at her through bloodshot eyes and a red 
face. 

"I'm so sorry you had to..." 

"I know you are" he interrupted her.

"What did you bring with you?" she asked hoping to focus 
him on a better subject.

Patrick rose from his seat and went into the other room, 
and to his backpack.

"Oh, Patrick" she started "you don't have to..."

"I want to" he said as he sniffled.

"These are my parents" he said proudly as he passed the 
picture to Scully.  

She studied the picture for a moment, "they look like really 
nice people.  People who loved you" she smiled as she 
offered back the picture.

"They were great" he smiled "my mom told me everyday that 
she loved me.  Corny, huh?"

"No, Patrick, nice" she smiled at him through teary eyes.

"And dad...dad didn't really say it, but he hugged me a 
lot, and always listened to me when I was talking, he 
really listened."

"That reminds me of my dad" Scully said meeting his eyes.

"I also brought this" he said pulling out his raggedy teddy 
bear "I know it's for babies but..." 

"It's nice to have an old friend with you when you're all 
alone" she smiled and squeezed the bear.

"Yeah, something like that" he smiled to himself.

"And I brought this book" he said bringing out a copy from 
his backpack "it's really heavy, and I should have left 
it at home but it's my favorite."

Scully looked down at the copy of 'Moby Dick' she held in 
her hands.  It was the same book she had sent with William's 
things when he was adopted.  She had written a quotation 
from Saint Augustine  inside the cover.  She caught her 
breath and looked at him with tears running down her face.

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this 
faith is to see what you believe" she said to him through 
tears.

"That's what it says on the inside...how do you know that?"

"I wrote it" she stammered "I...I gave you this book."

"My mom said she got it at a garage sale."

"It was...with your things when you left" she caressed 
the inside cover of the book where her handwriting was 
"you like it?"

"It's my favorite" he smiled at her and placed his hand 
over hers, over the words she had left him with "Thank 
you."

"You're welcome" she sniffled.

They heard an audible groan from the bed outside the 
washroom.

"I think the monster has awoken" she chuckled at Patrick 
trying to lighten the mood.

"You go ahead.  I'm gonna take a bath" he smiled as he 
removed his hand from hers.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm okay" he answered truthfully.

Scully rose and shut the door softly behind her.  She 
looked over at Mulder as he lay on the bed and rubbed 
his eyes.

"Feel better?" she smiled at him as she crossed the 
room.

"Where's Patrick?" he asked as he sat up and looked 
around.

"Running a bath" she smiled as she sat next to him.

"You've been crying" he said as he cupped her cheek.

"Good crying" she smiled at him.

"I haven't known you to do much 'good crying' over the 
years" he noted.

She lifted up the book to show him "I packed this with him 
when I gave him up" she explained as Mulder thumbed the 
book open. 

"You wrote this" he said pointing to the quotation, and 
knowing her so well.

"I did" she smiled "and it was one of only a few things 
he thought to bring with him when he left his house.  
It's his favorite book, Mulder" she sobbed.

He hugged her against him "Shhh" he whispered into her 
hair.  Her newly short, brown, hair he noted.

"Mulder" she said into his shoulder after a few minutes 
had passed "about earlier..."

"What?" he asked.

"I hope you don't think that I...I took your suggestion 
of getting married as a forgettable act."

He laughed at her "Scully" he smiled.

"It's not that I was rejecting you..." she started "it's 
just that I was so worried..."

"Shhh" he hushed her with a finger over her lips "Scully, 
that afternoon you said the nicest thing anyone has ever 
said to me, it was much better than 'yes'".

She smiled at the remembrance "I said that the only 
people that mattered to me were in this bed."

"That you did" he smiled back at her "and, in the end, 
that response was much better than any 'I do' in front 
of a preacher."

"So you didn't feel rejected?" she asked for 
clarification, this conversation had been waiting almost 
9 years and she wanted to make sure everything was on 
the table.

"Exactly the opposite." He grinned at her "I married you 
that day Scully, in that bed.  I didn't need a ring or 
a ceremony.  I had you."

"And I had you" she said as she leaned in for a kiss.

She kissed him passionately as she wrapped her arms 
around his neck. Her body leaned into his and he 
moaned against her.

"Whoa there" he said, suddenly pulling her off him 
"Patrick, knows your thoughts." 

"I forgot" she giggled very uncharacteristically, 
knowing her thoughts had bordered on the smutty.

He smiled at her.  She was buoyant, almost floating 
off the bed.  She had her son back, and as dire as the 
situation was, on the run from god knows who, she was 
the happiest he had seen her since William was born.  
He felt unbelievably fortunate to see her this way 
again.  

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End of Scene 23