The Truth is Out There--Scene 77 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! ********************************** Dana Scully sat in the parking lot of the Kentucky Fried Chicken and thought about what her life had come to--always on the run, Mulder miles away risking his life, it seemed so wrong somehow. Patrick sat in the back seat of her Corolla amicably playing video games while she scanned oncoming traffic for Monica's truck. Monica's aunt had a specialist appointment this morning that Monica needed to take her to and they had decided to meet at I-40 to save her the travel time. 'He'll be fine' a voice in her head said nicely. "Let's hope so" she huffed. Monica's middle-of-the-night call had unnerved her and she wanted to see Skinner as soon as possible. He had travelled through the night to get to Monica in hopes she would know where they were. It was not like Skinner, and that was what bothered her most; his desperation. She hoped that he was not bringing her news about Mulder walking into a trap because that would fill her with regret. Regret that she had not fought to get him to stay with them, that she had not pulled out all the stops to get him to take off with them to live the rest of their lives in relative obscurity. 'You couldn't have convinced him, anyways' Patrick's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I can be pretty convincing" Scully said as she turned to face him. "Yeah, but he needs to do this" Patrick said as he glanced up from his video game. When she turned to face forward again, she spotted Monica's truck pulling into the parking lot. Skinner sat in the passenger seat and looked uncomfortable. The truck came to a stop. Dana watched as Monica and Skinner hopped from the vehicle and walked toward her car. Skinner walked toward the passenger side and Monica leaned down to look in her window. "Hi Patrick!" Monica said to the young boy. "Hi Monica" he said back, although distracted by his game. Skinner opened the passenger door and folded himself into the car. "How are you holding up?" Monica asked. Dana just arched an eyebrow upwards and turned to look at her former boss. "Walter" she said looking at him. "Dana" he said back as he turned to look in the back seat "Patrick, I presume." "Hey" called Patrick as he glanced up at the man "I know you." "Walter was around when you were younger" Dana answered the question she knew was coming. 'You called him Skinner' the voice in her head said. Dana nodded to let him know he was right. "I gotta go" Monica said as she stood up "Doctor's and old aunts aren't the most appreciative of tardiness." "Thanks for bringing me Monica" Skinner offered. "You're welcome" she smiled back "and I hope you can help them." She turned and walked toward her truck. "Are we going somewhere?" Skinner asked "Someplace where we can talk?" "We have a motel room about 40 minutes from here" Dana offered as she pulled from the parking lot. Monica waved to them from her truck and then they were off down the Inter-state. The car was silent most of the journey, broken only by questions about Dinah, Mulder's books, and Dana's work at the hospital. Somehow Dana knew that Walter wanted to wait until she was no longer driving a vehicle to tell her what he had come to say. That scared her the most. When they arrived at her room Dana couldn't wait one second more. As soon as she shut the door she turned to face him. "Tell me" she said authoritatively. "Dana, it's a long story...I don't even know where to begin..." "Tell me what will upset me the most" she said, not wavering from her path. Walter looked at the young boy standing by her side holding her hand and then looked up at Dana. "He can hear everything I think. So, you might as well just say it in front of him because he'll know it as soon as I do anyways" she said standing her ground. "Your mother was kidnapped" he blurted. "Oh, god" she said as her knees buckled slightly. "Mom!" Patrick called as he held her elbow. "I'm fine" she said shaking it off "has she been found?" "Yes, she's alive" he said answering the next question before she could ask it "but...she's been injured." "Injured how?" Patrick asked. "Uh, the man who kidnapped her was former FBI and he was looked for you, Mulder and Wil...I mean Patrick" Skinner started "Why don't you take a seat?" He gestured toward the bed and went to sit on a nearby chair. Dana sat next to Patrick and the young boy held her hand. "He asked her questions, questions about her contact with you and Mulder." "We didn't tell her anything" Scully jumped to say "Nothing about Patrick, or leaving, or..." "He figured that out but..." "But, what?" "But not after breaking a few of her fingers." "He what?!" "He tied her up, questioned her, frightened the crap out of her, and broke some fingers" Skinner summarized "She's shaken up but fine, I've spoken with her." "Where is she now?" Scully asked. "She's gone to stay with your brother Bill for a bit." "Was she treated for any other injuries, examined by..." "She was treated at Baltimore Memorial and released" he interrupted "I had Baltimore PD escort her to a plane and she arrived safely on the other end. I got confirmation from Bill." "You spoke with my brother?" "I, uh...did." "I'm sure that conversation was insightful" she murmured "but she's fine?" "She is" he assured her. "Thank you" she said as she gave him a tight-lipped smile. "You're welcome." He returned the smile "But that's not everything." "What else?" Scully asked as her eyes widened. "Two FBI agents were following Dinah around Boston; convinced that she was your contact person." "Oh god, tell me she's okay" Dana said as she leaned toward Skinner. "She's fine." He reassured her "in fact, she's being guarded by Boston's finest as we speak." "That gives me some comfort" Dana said relaxing a bit. "I caught and questioned the two agents, Dana." "Yes." "And one of them, a Franz Lutman, has been involved with Kite for years. He has been tracking Patrick since he was a baby." "I know that name. It came up in some files on the flash drive. He was following Dinah?" "Yeah, but he's gone rogue. Him and his partner are now working against Kite." "How can you be sure?" "The FBI was drawing up orders to list them as terrorists to be taken dead or alive just before I left Boston." "Who is issuing these orders?" "AD Strickland" he offered. "Who's that?" Patrick asked. "He's Kite's high-ranking person inside the agency." "How do you...?" "He was this Dylan Izzo's supervisor when he was with the Bureau and continued to be his supervisor when he was transferred to Secret Service." "An inter-agency transfer?" "I know" Skinner said "that was what sealed the deal for me." "What do you know about Strickland?" "I know he's an SOB who likes to drink and play golf. He rose among the ranks by taking credit for everyone else's hard work and he'll rat you out the first chance he gets." "Sounds peachy," she sighed."Where are these two rogue agents now?" "My bet is they are on their way to Kite's plant in Kansas." "Where Mulder and Agent Doggett are" Dana murmured. "I think they are going to try and help shed some light on what's going on at this facility," he offered. "At this point they've got nothing to lose." "But not much to gain, either" she added. "I'm going to call Agent Doggett. He and Mulder need to know what to expect." Dana walked across the room to a cell phone and placed a call. She was quite engrossed in the conversation and Walter took the opportunity to talk with Patrick. "How are you doing?" he asked the young man. "Okay, I guess" he shrugged. "You taking good care of your mom?" "She's taking care of me" he offered. "I guess you're taking care of each other, with Mulder gone." "He'll be back" Patrick said quickly. "I'm sure he will, son" Skinner said to reassure the boy. "How do you uh, like your parents?" "They're pretty good." Patrick said "Dad likes Transformers and video games and Mom, she likes to read to me." "Sounds like things are going quite well." Skinner smiled "I haven't seen you since you were spitting up all over yourself." "I don't do that anymore" Patrick smiled. "I should hope not" Skinner chuckled. "Do you have any kids?" "Uh, no." "Yours die like John's son?" "No," Skinner said looking at his hands "I've never been lucky enough to have a son, or daughter." "But now you're too old" Patrick commented. "Yeah, something like that" Skinner smiled at him. "Too bad" Patrick said back "I remember you were really nervous with me at first, but then you were fine." "Thanks, Patrick" Skinner smiled. "You feel like doing something while she's on the phone?" "Wanna throw the ball around? I have two gloves" he offered. "Let's go" Skinner said rising from his chair. The two of them wet outside and had some fun tossing the ball around until Dana appeared several minutes later. She smiled at the scene in front of her and gestured for them to come inside. "How's dad?" Patrick asked. "Getting some well-deserved sleep" she smiled at him "I talked with John." "And?" Skinner asked. "There have been some interesting developments." She said grabbing a seat "They are testing human tissue from live specimens at the facility. Apparently lower level scientists have been told a contagion is involved but..." "But they've been lied to" Skinner interrupted. "Yeah" she nodded. "They've been keeping the children alive and gathering samples for months, possibly years" she said softly. "Holy shit" Skinner said under his breath. "I can't let them get Patrick" she said as she looked toward her son "but I need to go there...they need my expertise to figure this out." 'Send me away with Walter' the voice inside her head said softly 'he seems like a good guy and I know he'd keep me safe.' Dana smiled at her son and patted him softly on the head. "Walter, would you be willing..." her voice broke "Yes" he interrupted "but we'll need to leave the country so I can assure his safety." "Thank you" she sighed. "Can you put up with me for a bit while your parents work this out?" Skinner asked turning toward Patrick. "I think I could manage" Patrick smiled up at him. "I know where to go" Skinner said definitively. "Maybe you shouldn't tell me" Dana cautioned him. "I'll let you know when we get there mom, and when you're safe I'll tell you where to go." "I'd like that" she smiled and touched her son's cheek. "Uh, I need to call and make some arrangements" Skinner said as he cleared his throat. "Patrick and I'll go for a short walk" Dana said rising to grab her son's jacket and her own. She shut the door and placed an arm around her son's shoulder, "I hate this" she said quietly as she leaned into his ear. Patrick looked up at her and saw the moisture in her eyes "I know you do, but it has to be this way." "Why do I have to keep leaving you?" she asked herself as much as him. "You won't have to leave me ever again." "I'll make sure of that" she said as they walked along a dirt path "It's just that no one is safe as long as this facility is operational...you, Mulder, my mother, my brothers, Skinner, John, Monica...everyone is vulnerable." "I know" he said kicking some dirt. "I really want to leave with you" she said softly "but I can't." "Then we would have to pack up everyone else and bring them along too." "That would be some trip" she laughed. "Your brother Bill?" Patrick asked, curious. "Yeah" she answered tersely "I just thought about how much fun he'd be on the trip." "You didn't think he'd be any fun" Patrick replied, confused. "He wouldn't be." "So, why'd..." "He and I aren't really speaking. He...he never forgave me for giving you up." "Oh" Patrick looked at her thoughtfully, "but you have me now." "And...and I might be giving you up again" she gasped as she reached for her son and held him tightly. "Patrick, I just can't risk you becoming part of an experiment." "I know" he said as he grabbed her harder and started to cry "you beat yourself up all the time, but, you have always made the best decisions for me and, you have to believe that. I love you mom." "I love you too, William" she said as tears streamed down her face and she fiercely gripped her son. She held him for several long minutes not saying a word as she cried her eyes out and thought of all the wonderful memories she would always carry with her, all the thoughts she wanted her son to know. She thought of the feel of Mulder's strong arms around her as he kissed her for the first time, she thought of the fluttery feeling of excitement and disbelief when the doctor first told her she was pregnant, she thought of her beautiful son suckling from her breast when he was one day old, she thought of his giggles and gurgles as she shoveled baby cereal into his awaiting mouth, and finally she thought of the three of them--her family--standing under a tree hugging and crying just a few days ago. She wiped the tears from her eyes and walked her son back towards the motel. Skinner was waiting with Patrick's bag packed. "I'll transfer access to our accounts over to you as soon as you leave" she said handing him a slip of paper. "Dana, I don't need..." "Just in case you end up taking care of my son for much longer" she added. "That won't be the case, you and Mulder..." "I need to know that you and Dinah will..." she started to cry and could not finish. "Dana, that's not necess..." "I need to know" she interrupted. "We would raise him as our son, you know that" he said softly as he touched her face "Thank you" she sighed softly "Thank you for this, for everything." "We'll see you soon" Skinner said as he got into the waiting cab with Patrick She watched as her son waved from the rear window until she couldn't see him anymore. ***************************** The end of scene 77