The Truth is Out There--Scene 84 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!

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

It was 11:47 when Fox Mulder stood from his spot at the table 
and chairs and stretched out the length of his body one last 
time.  

"I'm going to bed Scully, are you coming?"

"Coming?  I thought we were all staying here?" she asked, her 
face rising to look at him.

"Uh, no," Doggett interrupted "Mulder's room is down the hall."

The two men eyed each other and hoped she wouldn't ask any 
more questions.  Mulder had been staying with John but, when 
they found out Scully would be joining them, he discreetly 
recommended they book another room.  Mulder, knowing her quite 
well, suggested they pretend he'd always had the room so she 
wouldn't feel uncomfortable about it.

Scully looked at the two men's faces and knew she wasn't 
getting the whole story but, at almost midnight, and with the 
mission ahead of them, she didn't really care what they were 
hiding.  She resolved to find out what was going on in the 
morning.

"Sorry, John," she apologized "I didn't mean to keep you 
awake."

She gathered her notes and the rough floor plan of the 
facility and walked toward the door.  

"I'll run out and get some coffee and bagels in the morning." 
He smiled at her "We don't want you two walking around and 
getting noticed."

"Thanks, John." Mulder smiled "We'll see you at 5 am." 

"Have a good sleep, John" Scully said as Mulder loped his 
arm over her shoulder and opened the door.

They began to walk quietly through the parking lot.  Scully 
was letting Mulder direct them towards his room when he 
stopped at the edge of the grass.

"Unless we are going some kind of wilderness camping Mulder, 
I know this isn't your room."

"We'll get there in a second Scully," he chuckled "look up."

Her head rose to look at the beautiful and clear night sky.  
They were far enough away from any city lights to see the 
stars in all their glory.

"It's beautiful, Mulder," she commented.

"It's all connected," he answered "just like we are all 
connected, Scully."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him 
to continue.

"Scully, even when William was with his adoptive parents, he 
was still with you.  When he had the largest crisis of his 
life, instead of turning to an aunt or a friend, he travelled 
cross-country to find you.  He knew then, just like he knows 
now, you love him."

A single tear dropped from the corner of her eye as she 
continued to stare at the stars.  

"What we are doing tomorrow...it's for him, for us, for your 
family, for our friends, for those kids that are being held, 
and the future ones they want to hold.  It's all connected."

Another tear carved a pattern down her porcelain skin and 
he caught it with a finger and wiped it across his lips.  

He pulled her body in closer to his and she gasped.  "We 
will always be connected to him, and he with us.  He's our 
son, and nothing changes that fact. We created that beautiful 
boy Scully, and we are about to make sure he'll be safe for 
the rest of his life.  If that isn't love, then I don't know 
what is."  

She folded into his embrace, burying her head in his chest 
and breathed in the scent that was only Mulder.  They stood 
in the empty parking lot, at the edge of the grass for 
another minute just swaying and holding each other as the 
stars twinkled overhead.  

"We need to get some sleep" he said as he kissed the top of 
her head.

He released her from his embrace, loped his arm over her 
shoulders again and guided her towards their room.  He liked 
the feel of her hip rubbing against his leg as they walked 
together, the smell of her shampoo as it wafted into his 
nostrils,   the feel of her little arm as it snaked around 
his waist.  Although they had only been apart for a short 
while, he had grown so accustomed to her presence in his 
life and his space, that it was weird when she wasn't 
there.

"I need to grab a quick shower" she said as they walked in 
the door.

"No problem" he said quietly as he watched her disappear into 
the bathroom.

He heard the shower start up as he changed out his pants and 
hauled his shirt over his head.  He clicked on the TV in the 
corner and watched some sports highlights as he crawled into 
bed in his boxers.  His mind was grateful for the reprieve from 
all the planning they had been doing throughout the evening.  

When he heard the shower shut off he snapped off the television 
and lay back, waiting for her.  Several minutes later she walked 
into the room in a t-shirt and underpants with her brown hair 
dripping down her back.  

"Mulder, I've been thinking about the timeline, and I think 
it'll take 4 minutes not 3 to get to the..."

"Please stop" he interrupted with a moan as he rubbed his hands 
over his eyes.

"What?" she asked surprised as she towel-dried her hair.

"Scully, my brain is frazzled," he admitted.  "Can we talk about 
this in the morning?  I swear I can't process one more thought 
about tomorrow, right now."

"Fine" she said quietly as she walked back into the bathroom 
to hang up her wet towel.

She crawled into bed and reached over to shut off the one light 
that was on in their room.  When she lay down in the darkness 
she distanced herself from him in the bed.  They were both 
tired and needed their sleep.  If Mulder got too close to her, 
neither of them would sleep much.  

"I'm not going to try anything" he grumbled from his side of 
the bed.

"I know it's just that..." she started.

"You thought you'd hang on for dear life on that right edge 
over there," he chuckled.

She let out a sigh and maneuvered herself away from the edge.

"That's better" he smiled to himself, without looking over at 
her.

"Mulder, I know you didn't have this room until tonight" she 
said in the darkness.

He stayed quiet, choosing to neither confirm nor deny the 
truth.

"I know exactly why you booked this room, and so does John 
down the hall."

"Scully, it wasn't..." he started.

"Oh, I know exactly what it was." She grumbled.  "Now I look 
like some sort of...booty call." 

He laughed out loud at her comment "Booty call?"

"You know what I mean." She retorted.

"Scully, never would I think of you as a 'booty call'" he 
laughed harder.

"I'm sure you think it's quite funny." She said as she 
faced away from him.

"Scully," he started, as he rolled to face her back "if John's 
wife or girlfriend had shown up I would have suggested they 
book a separate room, just like he did."

"He did?" she asked rolling to face him slightly.

"Yeah, it wasn't my 'booty call' idea, if that's what you're 
thinking.  John suggested you'd be more comfortable in a 
separate room."

"Oh" she said softly.

"So, yes, we booked another room so you wouldn't have to listen 
to two men snore tonight."

"Oh" she said as she rolled away from him again "I'm sorry 
Mulder."

They lay in silence for several moments before he couldn't 
stand it anymore.  "What gave it away?"

She didn't answer, and for a moment, he thought she may have 
fallen asleep.  "It was too neat, you hadn't unwrapped a soap 
bar, and there weren't any food containers."

"I'll do better next time" he quipped.

He felt a foot snake its way across the bed and touch his calf.  
He smiled and leaned over to kiss her.

"Good night, Scully" he said as he kissed the side of her face 
and nuzzled her hair.

"Good night, Mulder" she said as she turned to face him better 
and plant a kiss on his lips.

He settled into the bed behind her with her one cold foot pressed 
against his leg.  Sleep quickly captured them both.  

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

The end of scene 84