The Truth is Out There--Scene 68 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!

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Fox Mulder sat in a quiet corner of the Amtrak station in 
St Louis.  His journey from Colt Arkansas to Peabody Kansas, 
where the Kite facility was located, was going to take him 
over one day in travel time.  He had already been travelling 
for 16 hours and the second last leg of his journey was 
departing in 49 minutes.  The plan was that Doggett would 
get there first, do some surveillance on the place and have 
some more information for Mulder when he arrived.  Doggett 
had wanted them to travel together but Mulder knew that 
Doggett needed to keep his distance as much as possible so 
he could deny involvement and Mulder wouldn't be as easy a 
target if they didn't travel together.

An old man dressed in a suit that no longer fit him properly 
was sitting across from him.  He shook his head as he read 
the paper and strained to read some fine print on the page.  
Mulder looked up at him curiously and the old man caught his 
eye.  

"Says here" he said gesturing towards the paper "they've found 
some scrolls in Africa that people are claiming are magical"

"Really?" Mulder asked.

"If you ask me, they're made up" the old man said folding his 
paper.

"Why do you think that?" Mulder asked, happy for the 
conversation.

"Everyone has been everywhere on this earth, for someone to 
just trip over these old scrolls, well...that's quite the 
discovery, don't you think?"

"I'd have to agree" Mulder smiled at him.

"Even the picture doesn't look real" the old man said, turning 
the paper for Mulder to see.

Mulder had to agree, the photo seemed blurry in just the right 
places.  "It does look fake." 

"Anyone can see that, but the US is sending a team of scientists 
to investigate this, investigate what?  A hoax, I say."

"Well, you know scientists, they love to go and investigate 
things."

"I think scientists just like to go to Africa" he said as he 
got up from his seat.

"Yeah" Mulder smiled, "scientists do like to go to Africa."

"You want this paper son?  I'm done with it" he said as he 
grabbed his bag.

"Thanks" Mulder said as he took it "Have a safe journey."

"You too" the old man smiled as he walked toward the train 
platform.

"Scientists like to go to Africa" Mulder mumbled to himself as 
he thought back to the time Scully returned from Africa to save 
him.

He had been recovering for a week since the hospital had cleared 
him.  Apparently some type of brain surgery had been performed on 
him, but he had no recollection of that event.  In some ways he 
was quite happy he didn't remember much.  The things he did 
remember scared him. 

Cancerman was his father.  His mother wished he would just give 
up his quest and settle down before he got killed.  Diana loved 
him, but she also hated him for reasons he couldn't remember.  
Skinner wanted to help but was compromised, he owed people.  
Scully's heart was bursting with love for him but she was as 
scared of him as she was in love with him.  

Mulder didn't know how to make sense of any of it.  It was like 
being given a few choice details about a story without any 
explanation.  He didn't know if Cancerman just believed he was 
his father or he knew he was his father.  He didn't know why 
Diana hated him, or what he had done to deserve that hate.  
He didn't know if Scully's fear of him was greater than her 
love of him.  In the end, reading people's thoughts wasn't 
all that it's cracked up to be.  

After one week of discussing safe topics like his health, what 
she found in Africa, the people she worked with there, and 
everything in-between he had decided to take a risk and tell 
Scully that she was the only thing that was true in his life.  
That she was his person, that there wasn't anyone else for 
him.  She took the news rather well he thought.  She kissed 
him on the forehead, hugged him, and stayed with him through 
the day watching stupid comedies on the Classic Movie 
Channel.  But, she didn't mention one thing about 'them' nor 
did she kiss him goodbye when she left.  

He returned to work a few days later and things went back to 
normal.  He found odd cases and she stopped them from travelling 
to parts unknown while he was still recuperating.  The 
conversation they had had under an oak tree in the summer seemed 
like a distant memory and he was starting to get the distinct 
impression she wanted to forget the whole thing.  That his 
latest brush with death had solidified in her the final reason 
why they should not get involved.  

Then, out of nowhere, she invited him to her bed.  There was 
more to it than that of course, but essentially that was the 
story.  

They had went on their first case out of town investigating a 
Southern Baptist Minister that had suddenly started to speak 
Arabic and talk about aliens.  He knew that Scully was 
patronizing his need to escape DC and he didn't care.  As it 
turned out, the Minister had stopped taking his meds and, the 
symptoms of his mental disorder that no one in his parish knew 
about, had cropped up.  It was a 2 day trip out of town and it 
made Mulder feel alive again, which, he suspected, was why 
Scully gave in so quickly and filled out the travel proposal 
herself.  

He had pulled up in front of her apartment with the intention 
of dropping her off and then swinging by the Lone Gunman's place 
for the latest conspiracy theory when she told him she wanted 
him to come upstairs, that she had something for him.  When they 
got into her apartment she had taken his coat and told him to 
have a seat.  He heard glassware being gathered in the kitchen 
and was surprised to find Scully walking toward him with a 
bottle of red wine and two glasses.

"You can drink now that you're off your medication" she said 
as if that explained what she was doing.

He just smiled at her and wondered what was really going on.  
Was she going to give him a copy of her letter of resignation?  
Was she going to tell him that she was going to adopt a child 
since their failed IVF attempt? Was the glass of wine what she 
had to give him in celebration of his not being dead?  The 
longer it took her to open the bottle and pour the wine the 
more nervous Mulder found himself.  

"You and me, Mulder" she said as she handed him the glass of 
wine.

"You and me, what?" he smiled back at her. 

"It will always be you and me" she said simply, looking him in 
the eyes the entire time "and I wouldn't want it any other way"

It took him a second to realize what she was alluding to.  What 
he thought was a distant memory, suddenly came to life before 
his eyes.  She was quietly sitting on the couch next to him 
sipping her wine when he put his glass down and turned toward 
her.  He noticed in that moment there was no uneasiness in her 
posture, no unknown element in her eyes, no tension in her 
forehead.  She had made a decision to be with him and was both 
happy and comfortable with her choice.  She was calmly waiting 
for him to get up to speed.  

He removed the glass from her hand, took a drink from it, and 
placed it on the table next to his.  Without a word exchanged 
he moved in to kiss her full lips and she accepted him with equal 
force.  They explored each other's mouths and bodies on the couch 
for quite a long time.  He ran his hands up and down her back, 
marveling in the soft skin that housed gorgeous muscles.  She 
nipped along his neck and shoulders finding the most perfect 
spot to plant a kiss and make his toes curl.  He pushed her body 
into the billowy cushions and heard her breath hitch as he ran 
his hand slowly up her thigh.  Her kisses were long and slow and 
filled with purpose.  He discovered that, even in her love life, 
Scully attacked all new endeavors with commitment.  

"Come to bed" she whispered into his ear as she started to pull 
herself out from underneath him.

Mulder allowed her to remove herself from below him only to catch 
her by the waist as soon as she stood and plant a solid kiss on 
her lips that caused his own knees to buckle.  She turned in his 
embrace and walked toward her bedroom while holding his hand 
behind her.  He admired the view of her un-tucked shirt, her 
wrinkled pants and her tousled hair.  When they got to her bed 
she immediately started to undress him, taking her time to undo 
each button on his shirt when all he wanted to do was rip it off.  
He forced himself to be patient as he took off her clothes but 
he once he got her shirt open, her bra was unceremoniously 
pulled from her body and her pants were quickly tossed aside.  

In bed that night, Mulder would like to remember himself as the 
perfect lover but in reality they had both been a little awkward.  
Neither had not been sexually active for a long time, and although 
it is like riding a bike, when there are so many emotions and 
expectations tied to your experience one cannot help but feel a 
little overwhelmed.  

It had been beautiful though.  He remembered distinctly the 
feeling of Scully reaching orgasm in his arms as he cradled her 
close to his body.  He remembered the feel of her hair tickling 
his chest as they lay tired and tangled in sheets.  He remembered 
waking up to her staring down at his face as he slept and smiling 
at him the moment his eyes opened.  He remembered making slow 
love to her after waking that morning and feeling like that was 
the way he would want to wake up for the rest of his life.  

And, he had spent more nights with her than without her since 
then.  They made love some mornings but not like in those early 
days of their budding relationship.  In those days he and Scully 
had spent a lot of time in bed, and in the shower, and on the 
couch.  He had a theory at one point that they were making up for 
the years they had not been having sex.  

"Train 313 The Missouri River Runner to Kansas City boarding on 
track 14" an overhead voice chirped.

Mulder was pulled from his walk down memory lane back to the 
reality of his situation.  He needed to find out who was hunting 
Patrick but do it in such a way that he was not caught.  As he 
thought about all the mornings these past 7 years he should have 
woken Scully up and made slow love to her, he wanted the opportunity 
to correct those past wrongs.  He wanted to spend the rest of his 
life with his family, and not in some lonely existence without 
them.  Those thoughts almost caused Mulder to turn back, to return 
to the comfort and safety of her arms, to say 'the hell with it' 
and take off with his family to another country and never look 
back.  But he couldn't do it.  He needed to assure Patrick's 
safety and he couldn't do that if he turned around now.

"Train 313, The Missouri River Runner to Kansas City boarding on 
track 14" the overhead voice called to him again.  

Mulder reached down and grabbed his NASCAR duffle bag and walked 
toward track 14.

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

The end of part 68