The Truth is Out There--Scene 44 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!

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

The shower ran full-force in the hotel washroom and Patrick 
sat on the bed starring at his father's book.  He wasn't sure 
if he was allowed to read it, but it was just laying there 
on the bed, tempting him with stories of his parent's past.  
His mom was in town meeting up with her FBI friends and 
pretty soon there wouldn't be enough quiet to read.  He 
started on chapter one.  

There was a cargo train speeding along tracks with unmarked 
cylinders on it.  A hit squad pulled up next to the train 
and opened fire on the engineer and the scientists who were 
operating in one of the cars.  Someone jumped on board and 
brought the train to a stop.  A HAZ-MAT team swooped in on 
the operating room car and quickly bundled and removed the 
person being operated on.  The car was set on fire and the 
cylinders loaded onto tanker trucks.  The operation was 
carried out in a remote field where no one would see what 
was happening.  A lone man, smoking a Cuban cigar oversaw 
the entire operation, climbed into a waiting helicopter and 
flew off to destinations unknown.  

Patrick loved the novel so far.  He was a sucker for spy 
stories and thought that the descriptions were amazing.  He 
thought it was a little more descriptive and violent then 
he was used to but overall it was amazing--his father had 
talent.  

The shower stopped and Patrick immediately threw the book 
back where he had found it and picked up his Transformers.  

Fox Mulder stepped out of the shower and dried off his wet 
body with the plump hotel towel.  The spacious bathroom was 
filled with nice smelling toiletries and all the amenities 
for travel.  He wondered if maybe he and Scully had gotten 
soft as they aged.  

When they were partners they happily stayed in every cheap 
motel across the country.  He barely noticed where they stayed, 
as long as it was close to the crime scene.  When they were on 
the run, they stayed in every dive motel across the country. 
As he toweled off his back he remembered the time they had 
slept in a place that had bed bugs.  They had bites all over 
their bodies and Scully scratched at phantom itches on her 
body for weeks afterwards.  

Mulder peered around the bathroom door and saw William playing 
with his Transformers.  He watched his son for a moment, 
enjoying the sight of a regular 8 year old boy talking in 
various voices as he marched his figurines across the bed.  
His son was, for the most part, still a child that needed to 
be shielded from life, even as life barreled toward him.  

They had reasoned that they needed a hotel with WiFi and room 
for an 8 year old to move around and play.  The fact that 
there was a pool, and plush beds was just an added bonus.  
Mulder brushed his teeth and admired the few days growth that 
was creeping across his face.  Scully hated facial hair. 

Once, before he had been brought back into the FBI fold, they 
had placed a bet about his ability to cook a gourmet vegetarian 
meal.  If he won, he could grow a beard for the first time, if 
she won he had to cook with at least 3 different kinds of 
vegetables for every meal after that.   In the end, she had 
to admit his Pumpkin, Corn and Lemongrass soup and the savory 
Farro Tart was as good as restaurant quality.  He had grown 
the beard but she hadn't let him touch her for 2 weeks.   He 
called her a sore loser on a couple of occasions which did 
not endear her toward him either.  In the end, he shaved the 
beard and pretended it was just to prove a point.

"Are you having fun?" Mulder smiled as he waltzed across the 
room in the hotel bathrobe to retrieve some clothes.

"Yeah" Patrick said self-consciously.

"Can I play too, when I get dressed?"

"Uh,. Sure.  Do you know the characters?"

"No, but you can teach me.  I'm a quick study" Mulder smiled 
as he threw his book away from the duffle bag in search of 
socks.

"So this is your book?" Patrick said picking up the copy.

"Yeah, that's my book" Mulder said pre-occupied with his 
search for socks.

Patrick studied the cover and flipped it over to read the back 
"They were making a big deal about you at the bookstore, huh?"

Mulder stopped sifting through their things and looked at 
his son "Yeah, they were."

"And it's about your adventures with my mom when you worked 
for the FBI?"

"It is" 

"So you're some big author, huh?"

"Well, I'm not that big" Mulder smirked as he pulled a 
rolled up pair of socks from the bag, victorious "I've only 
got one book out, but it's part of a series that the publisher 
thinks will go places.  They have my second book for editing 
right now.  The third one is due in March."

"Will you be able to work on it, while we're...you know, on 
the run?"

"I don't know" Mulder said with all sincerity "but right now, 
my book is the least of my concerns."

"But it's important to you"

"Not as important as you and your mom.  I'd give up all the 
books to keep the two of you safe.  I'd work as a hotdog 
street vendor for the rest of my life if you two were okay."

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do, son" he smiled at Patrick "I'm just going to 
get changed and I'll be right back so you can give me a 
detailed history of the Transformer universe."

"Okay" Patrick smiled and watched Mulder walk towards the 
bathroom "Thanks, dad" he said quietly.

Mulder just turned his head and smiled at the young man.  
He had heard the term of endearment and didn't want to 
embarrass the boy by making a big deal about it.

When the door shut Patrick immediately reached for the book 
again.  Like a moth to flame he wanted to get in another 
page or two while his dad was in the washroom.

The next chapter started with a phone call that a young 
FBI agent received in his basement office.  He was being 
called out to the scene of a crime in DC and his new partner 
would be meeting him there.  At the scene he spotted her 
immediately, hunched over a corpse and examining what used 
to be its face.  

Patrick thought the description of the decomposing body 
was good, so good he felt a little queasy.

The hero, Agent Shepherd made a joke about latex to his 
new partner, Agent Celina Murphy, that Patrick didn't get.   
Celina Murphy was un-amused by her new partner and he 
immediately thought of ways he could get her re-assigned.  
He went into great detail describing the colour of her 
hair and her eyes, the way her mouth pouted, and how 
her eyebrows arched,  the way her body seemed...

"Patrick" Mulder snapped as he lunged for the book and 
grabbed it from his hands.

"I...uh, it was there" Patrick said looking guiltily at 
his father.

"Patrick, this book...this book is not meant for eight 
year olds" Mulder said running a hand through his 
hair.  "How far did you get, what chapter were you on?"

"I was just starting chapter 2" Patrick confessed.

"You hadn't got to chapter 3?" Mulder sighed as he sat 
on the bed.

"No" Patrick answered honestly.

"Thank god" Mulder groaned.

"What's in chapter 3?" Patrick asked, inquisitively.

"A lot of stuff you are too young to know about" Mulder 
murmured and stared at the book in his hands.

"You'd be surprised what I know" Patrick said defending 
himself.

"I'm not saying that, son" Mulder said leaning toward 
him "I'm saying that there are things kids should not 
ever read about their parents."

"But you wrote them for other people to read, and you're 
okay with strangers reading your book."

"I'm okay with mature adults, who don't know me or your 
mother reading the book.  I'm even okay with some people 
we know reading the book.  I'm not okay with my son 
reading the book."

"But I want to learn your story" Patrick said picking 
at a stray thread on the bed cover.

"You can ask us about it" Mulder offered.

"You won't have time to tell me once mom gets here with 
all those people."

"I'll make time."

"That's what everyone always says."

"How about I read you an edited version of the story?  
Every morning I'll read you a chapter that is 8-year 
old appropriate?"

"That sounds okay" Patrick conceded.

"But you have to promise me, Patrick, promise me you 
won't read any of this book on your own, even if it's 
left lying around somewhere by accident."

"I promise" Patrick said sincerely.

Mulder put out his hand for Patrick to shake.  The two 
of them shook hands to seal the deal and Mulder pulled 
him into a hug.   When he wrote the book, he never, not 
in his wildest dreams, thought he would have to protect 
his son from it. 

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

The end scene 44