Blue River Valley (2/?)
by Andrea


Rating: R to NC-17

Category: Post IWTB, Story, Scully POV

Disclaimer: This story is an homage, no infringement is 
intended.

Spoilers: Probably

Notes: Thanks to Dan and Karen for beta reading. 
Thanks to Charmaine for unwavering honesty and Tanya 
for her support

Feedback: Yes, please

ardywyn1@gmail.com

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

The following day at work, almost every person I dealt 
with commented on how much better I looked. I was 
told my vacation had done wonders for me. Little did 
they know the real reason for my happiness. I spent 
every spare minute working on my letter of resignation. 

I prayed it wouldn't take Mulder long to find something. 
I'd have absolutely no idea where to even begin looking, 
but I knew if there was something out there, he would 
find it. In my wildest dreams, I never thought he'd find 
something so fast.

When I arrived home from work that Friday evening, 
Mulder was waiting for me on the porch. I knew that 
meant he had news.

"Miss me?" I teased when I got out of the car.

Bounding down the stairs he flashed a grin at me. 
"Always."

"Mmm, me too." I tilted my face up in anticipation of his 
kiss. One thing Mulder could never be accused of was 
being stingy with his affections. Once he'd welcomed me 
home thoroughly, I smiled up at him and asked, "Did you 
find something already?"

"Well, it's up to you," he said, sounding cagey.

Releasing half of his hold on me, he kept one arm 
around my waist as we walked slowly back up the steps.

"You don't think I'll like it?"

"That depends on how far outside the system you're 
willing to work," he replied, being evasive again.

The way he was dodging my questions made me 
immediately suspicious.

"Mulder," I said with a sigh, "Will you just tell me what it 
is? Your reluctance isn't filling me with a lot of 
confidence."
 
As he opened the door for me, I was greeted by the 
wafting aromas of something rich and Italian. I'd grown 
very accustomed to having a wife at home. I completely 
understood the appeal. 

"There's an article I'd like you to read. I clipped it in 
2005. I wasn't sure if this place was still around, so I 
made some calls on Tuesday morning," Mulder 
explained as he ushered me into the house. 

He had to let me go while I unzipped my boots and put 
them on the mat. His running shoes were already sitting 
haphazardly one atop the other before I got my first 
boot off. As soon as I straightened up, his hand went to 
the small of my back.

"It's in the office," he informed me as he gently pushed 
me in that direction.

"All right," I consented, letting him guide me. I liked to 
let him think he had a little bit of control over me.

Once in his office, I took the chair in front of his desk. He 
handed me an article that had been a feature in the 
Lifestyle section of the Denver Rocky Mountain News. 
The headline read; An Experiment in Self-Sufficiency: 
The Community of Blue River Valley.

Perching on the corner of his desk, Mulder watched as I 
began to read. After reading a few sentences, I glanced 
up at him.

"Are you going to hover the whole time I'm reading?"

"Sorry," he muttered and stood up. "Want me to make 
you a cup of tea?"

"Thanks. That would be nice," I nodded. 'And keep you 
occupied for five minutes.' I thought.

Judging by how anxious Mulder was about this article, 
he really wanted me to like this idea, but based on the 
small amount I'd read, I couldn't see how it applied to 
us.

When he got back with the tea; herbal for me, iced for 
him, I still had half of the article to read. To his credit, 
Mulder tried to appear like he was interested in 
something on his monitor, but I could see his eyes 
flicking over at me, obviously trying to gauge my 
reaction. When I finished reading, I set the clipping back 
on his desk.

"So?" he asked eagerly.

"It was fascinating. But truthfully, I'm surprised it 
appeals to you. I have to fight with you to recycle and 
you always leave lights on all over the house. Now all of 
a sudden you're interested in environmentalism?" I 
didn't hide the skepticism in my tone.

"Recycling is false environmentalism, Scully. People 
think they're helping the planet, but the fossil fuels and 
other toxic chemicals required to recycle paper and 
plastic are more harmful to the environment than land-
filling. The only things worth recycling are glass and 
metal, but the bulk of what people recycle is plastic."

"Okay, I'll grant you that." I picked up my tea and took a 
sip. "And you're interested in this 'Back to Basics' idea?"

"Yeah," he nodded excitedly. "Are you?"

"Well, in principle, I guess." Shifting forward a little in 
my chair, I leaned back and crossed my feet, preparing 
for a juicy debate.  After taking another sip of tea, I 
rested the cup on my abdomen. "But I don't understand 
how any of this applies to our situation. I can see how 
you could argue that I want to get back to basics as a 
doctor. Is that what you're getting at?"

"I didn't ask you to read that article as a reference, 
Scully. I want to know if you'd consider moving there."

I looked at him in shock. There wasn't a hint of 
amusement in his eyes. "To that particular community?" 
My voice was an octave higher than the last time I 
spoke.

"Yeah." He tried unsuccessfully to hold back a smile. It 
quivered at the corners of his mouth.

"Are you serious?" I straightened up, making my tea 
slosh precariously in my cup. "It's a community of 
artisans and farmers. It specifically says you have to be 
able to contribute to join. Besides, it said they had 
twenty-two hundred acres of land and 54 houses. With 
pasture land and the land that has to be kept arable 
there isn't room for anyone else."

"That was in 2005. Since then one family has left. The 
wife couldn't hack it." Mulder had adopted my former 
position and was leaning back in his chair; settling 
comfortably into the discussion. 

"You've spoken to them already?" I was incredulous, but 
I kept my tea in control.

"Yup."

"Just in the off chance?" I wondered if there would ever 
be a time when Mulder would stop amazing me.

"Well, after our conversation Monday night, I 
remembered this article. They talked about wanting to 
be self-sufficient, but from what I'd read, there was one 
skill they were lacking." He looked pleased with himself.

"A doctor," I said with a nod, relaxing into my chair 
again. "So you called to see if they might be interested?"

"And they were! They called an emergency meeting last 
night and held a vote. If you want to go, we're in." His 
smile lit up his face.

"That easily?" I asked in amazement. "They didn't want 
references or anything?"

"They did. I spoke to the community manager, Glenn 
Greene on Tuesday. I told him to talk to Skinner and 
Drummy."

"Drummy?" I lifted my tea to stop it from spilling while I 
laughed at him. "He thinks you're certifiable."

"Not a strike against me with these folks, Scully." 
Mulder's eyes had a devilish gleam in them. He'd 
obviously chosen Drummy as a reference for a reason. 
"The people in Blue River Valley are there for a few 
different reasons. A lot of them are environmentalists, 
some are just interested in the back to basics and self-
sufficiency aspects and there are a couple of survivalists. 
My views wouldn't ring any alarm bells."

"What about the charges against you and the fact that 
you were a wanted felon for six years? Did you tell them 
about that?" I knew a thorough background search 
would turn up that information.

"I told them my side and told them to talk to Skinner 
about it. Skinner explained that the charges were a 
farce."

"Have you been talking to him?" A twinge of guilt ran 
through me as I realized I hadn't spoken to our former 
boss since he helped me save Mulder's life.

"He was my first call on Tuesday morning," Mulder said 
with a nod and then laughed softly.

"What?"
 
"He was remarkably unfazed when I told him what I was 
looking into.  He said he hoped it worked out for us."

"After all the shit we put him through, he's still pulling 
for us. He's a remarkable man."

"We had no idea how lucky we were," Mulder chuckled 
wryly.

"Not a clue." I shook my head. We sat in silent reflection 
for a couple of minutes before I continued. "So after 
talking with Skinner and Drummy they're okay with you, 
I take it. What about me?"

"I took the liberty of faxing them your resume and Glenn 
spoke to Skinner and Drummy about you, too. I asked 
them not to contact Our Lady of Sorrows because you 
hadn't told them you wanted to leave."

"I don't imagine they'll be pleased." I widened my eyes 
and confirmed with a nod. 

Mulder waved my concerns aside with a sweep of his 
hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll find a better 
conformist to take your place."

I chuckled. "I always thought of myself as a conformist."

"Did you?" His eyebrows flew up. "My feisty little 
partner who told Skinner to take his head out of his 
ass?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't call me feisty and 
don't call me little."

"Energetic and small?" he offered with a smirk.

"Mulder."

"Determined and petite?"

"How about short-tempered with a dead aim?" I 
continued to glare at him.

"While true, those aren't the characteristics we were 
talking about. What about gutsy and short?" He was 
grinning broadly, openly taunting me.

"Do you enjoy pissing me off?"

"Yup." 

I decided the best course of action would be to get our 
conversation back on track. "What were we talking 
about?"

"About how you aren't a conformist, despite how you 
like to think of yourself," he reminded me, obviously still 
enjoying himself thoroughly.

I stuck my chin out defiantly at him. "I think I'm a rule 
follower."

"Scully, you pick and choose which rules you follow. If 
the rule doesn't make sense to you, you ignore it."

I couldn't argue his point. It was true. So I decided to 
change the subject instead.

"Are you serious about moving to Colorado?"

"Completely, but only if you're interested. This is about 
making you happy." The look in his eyes changed from 
mischievous to serious. 

"Mulder, it can't just be about me. We both have to be 
happy."

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't like the idea. But, 
if this isn't right for you, I'll look for something else we'll 
both like. Okay?" He straightened up in his chair and 
folded his hands on the desk in front of him.

Mulder wasn't just suggesting a change of location or 
job. This was a life choice; like starting over again. 
Everything I'd ever known and worked toward would be 
set aside. I'd have to start thinking about every single 
aspect of our lives from a new perspective. The only 
constant would be each other. That thought calmed me 
instantly. It wasn't like it was the first time I'd changed 
the course of my life. And every time I'd altered my 
direction, it involved the man sitting across the desk 
from me, who sat there regarding me with love and 
patience evident in his expression.

 "I need to think about this. This is miles away from what 
I was expecting," I told him quietly.

Mulder nodded. "I told Glenn you'd want to think about 
it. He sent pictures of the house we'd be getting."

"So we buy the house and we're in?" I wasn't sure how 
one became a part of a community like this.

"It's not like a normal house sale. Think of it more like a 
business venture. We put in capital and your skills as a 
doctor and in exchange we get the house, forty acres of 
land and everything we need to live."

"And if we choose to leave?"

"We forfeit," he informed me calmly.

"Wow," I said in shock. "Then we better be damn sure."

Mulder patted his knee. "Come and look at the 
pictures."

Once I was settled, he moved the cursor to a start 
button on the screen. After flashing to black for a 
second, a slideshow began. The first picture took my 
breath away. It looked as though they'd taken an aerial 
photo of the settlement, but when I looked closely I 
could tell from the angle it wasn't from an aircraft, just a 
high elevation. Judging by the fields, it was taken at the 
height of summer. The array of colors was astounding. 
Surrounding the community like an embrace were the 
Rocky Mountains.  

"Can you pause it?" I asked before the picture 
disappeared. 

With a click of his mouse, Mulder stopped the show. He 
kept one hand possessively on my abdomen. Leaning in, 
I peered more closely at the picture.

"What are those?" I pointed to what looked like an 
antenna in the yard of every house. To me, television 
didn't fit the back to basics lifestyle.

"Windmills. And if you look closely at the roofs, you'll 
see solar panels. The community is completely off-grid. 
Every house has outdoor wood furnaces that supply 
radiant floor heating and the hot water heaters."

"Radiant floor heating; nice."

Mulder laughed. "Yes, it's true. Dana Scully chose to live 
off-grid so her feet would finally be warm."

"You complain about them more than I do," I reminded 
him and rested the soles of my feet against his shins. "I 
thought the windmills were antennae."

"Yeah, no TV here."

I turned to look at him. "And you're okay with that?"

"They have a library," he said nonchalantly.

I had to grin at him. "And I have a few books of my 
own."

"Okay, so the two reasons Scully chose to live self-
sufficiently are warm feet and to get the love of her life 
to read a book now and then." Mulder openly laughed 
at me.

"How many books have you promised me you'd read?"

He shrugged with one shoulder. "It'll definitely give me 
time to catch up on my backlog."

"I dunno." I eyed him suspiciously. "If you couldn't find 
time in the last six years..."

"We have TV," he countered. "There it'll be my only 
option."

I rolled my eyes. "You make it sound like a hardship. I 
love to read."

"So far it sounds like it'll suit you more than me," he 
commented with a wink.

"Those aspects yes, but look," I pointed at the monitor 
again. "Everyone is growing something, Mulder. We 
know nothing about farming."

Letting go of the mouse, Mulder tucked his right hand 
under my left knee and turned me so I was sitting across 
his lap.

"Let me explain how it works. Every family has forty 
acres. Ten acres of that is donated back to the 
community for the school, the recreation center, the 
library, roads, a couple of cottage industry set-ups, the 
mills and a managed forest. But everybody there isn't a 
farmer. In fact, there are more trades people and 
artisans than farmers. But everyone is expected to grow 
their own vegetables and keep chickens."

"We would have to keep chickens?" I repeated warily.

"I was worried about that, too. But Glenn says he can 
teach us how to look after them in less than an hour," 
Mulder said reassuredly.

"Okay," I said, but I was having a hard time imagining 
either of us looking after chickens. But it wouldn't be the 
deciding factor for me; I was sure I could learn.

"We'll only need a couple acres of garden for 
vegetables. The rest of our arable land might be lent 
back to the community for hay or possibly cotton," 
Mulder continued.

"Cotton?" I stopped him with a laugh. "In Colorado?"

Giving me a squeeze, Mulder smiled at me. "You're 
asking all the same questions I did. This valley has its 
own microclimate because of the surrounding 
mountains. Things grow there that normally wouldn't in 
Colorado. The cotton crop did fail once, but on the 
whole it does all right. Probably wouldn't yield enough 
to make an industrial type of grower happy, but it's 
enough for what they need."

"When they mentioned milling cotton in the article, I 
didn't realize they grew it there, too. They're serious 
about being self-sufficient, aren't they?" I asked wide-
eyed.

Mulder nodded. "Very."

"And all we have to contribute is my skills as a doctor?"

"Well, we will be expected to help with planting and 
harvesting the big crops like wheat and barley. And 
everyone has to donate eight hours per week back to 
the community," he clarified.

"Doing what?"

"Whatever needs to be done. Maybe help with sheep 
shearing, volunteering at the library, coaching the 
softball team or planning the kids Christmas party - 
mostly the same kind of things people volunteer to do 
here."

"Makes sense." I paused for a second while I thought 
about it. "And so other than that you get to be a kept 
man?"

"You've been my sugar mama for years now, Scully," he 
said, giving my thigh a little caress. "I kinda like it."

I rolled my eyes at him again. "I bet."

"Seriously, though, I'm assuming I'll be doing the 
gardening and looking after the chickens, in addition to 
what I do now."

Since I started the recertification process, Mulder had 
been responsible for all of the housework and cooking. 
He actually was a fairly good cook when he put his mind 
to it.

"I wouldn't mind helping with the gardening. My mother 
had a garden whenever she could."

 I remembered working in the garden with my mom 
fondly. Melissa hated weeding and the boys had to do 
the heavy work in the spring and fall, so my mother 
never asked them to do anything else. It was one of the 
only activities that was just the two of us.

"I didn't know you had a green thumb," Mulder 
commented as he reached to start the slideshow again.

"I've never gardened on my own, but I did okay when I 
helped my mother. I found it relaxing," I said with a 
shrug.

Turning back to the computer screen, I fell silent as I 
looked at the rest of the pictures. The scenery was 
breathtaking. The houses were all built of squared-off 
logs, but they looked beautiful in a rustic sort of way and 
were all obviously very well maintained. The people 
were predominately white, but I did glimpse a few 
African-American faces. I didn't see any other 
ethnicities, but presumably every person in the 
community hadn't been captured.

When the slideshow ended, Mulder clicked on a file he'd 
saved on his desktop. 

"This would be our house."

"It's huge!" I turned to look at him, mouth agape.

"Yeah, five bedrooms, family room, living room, study. 
The former occupants had three teenagers."

"And it was only the wife that wasn't happy?" I couldn't 
imagine a modern teenager being happy going from a 
world full of malls, video games, computers and 
television to books and helping out on the farm.

"I don't know if the kids factored into the decision," 
Mulder said with a shrug. "The husband was a mechanic, 
but she was an interior designer who had been doing 
fairly well in Phoenix before they opted in. Apparently 
she was miserable. It came down to divorce or 
forfeiting. They chose to forfeit."

"I would always choose us, Mulder."

He smiled softly. "I know. Me, too. That's why we have 
to be positive."

Neither of us spoke as he continued to show me pictures 
of what would be our property. The last picture was of a 
workshop.

"So, I'm replacing a mechanic?" I asked in amusement. 
"Doesn't seem like a straight swap to me."

"According to Glenn most of the guys are handy and 
they help out those who aren't. And some of the other 
trades cross over with mechanic. There are a couple of 
carpenters, a plumber, a guy who specializes in heritage 
farming equipment, an electrician and electrical 
engineer who maintain the windmill and solar panels. 
The millers all know how to repair their equipment."

"How many mills are there?"

"One for cotton, another for grains and a sawmill. They 
don't run all the time. Only as needed," he explained.

"Are those the cottage industries you were talking 
about?" I was having trouble trying to fathom 
everything that might be required to be self-sufficient.

"No, there's the glass-blowing works and the pottery 
cottage and kiln, the blacksmith and tinsmith forges," he 
clarified for me.

"It sounds like a pioneer village," I said with a chuckle.

"Kinda, I guess. But unlike the Amish, these people take 
advantage of some modern conveniences. There are 
flush toilets, showers, and electric lights." Mulder 
searched my eyes as he spoke. He was trying to see if I 
would agree, but I still hadn't reached a decision either 
way.

"So how many people live there?"

"If we join, two hundred and forty-one."

"Hmm." Still looking at the picture of the woodshop on 
the monitor, I leaned back and rested my head on 
Mulder's shoulder.

"What?" He let his hands come to rest on my belly. 

"I can't see two hundred and forty people keeping me 
busy, even if they were all elderly or sickly. The average 
American doctor has a panel of twenty-five hundred 
patients, Mulder. Just from looking at these people, I 
can tell they eat well and get lots of exercise. They aren't 
going to need me much."

"It's not an exclusive contract, Scully. You could still 
work at a clinic in town." His breath warmed my ear. "I 
talked to Glenn about that, as well."

"Okay. So how are they thinking this would work?"

"Glenn said that if you agree, they'll convert that 
workshop into an office for you, to your specs. He 
figures a couple hours a week will probably do, but it 
might take a while to figure what would work best." 

Mulder still hadn't said anything that would be a deal 
breaker for me. The more I learned, the more appealing 
the idea became.

"Well, initially I'd want to meet everyone, do a basic 
physical; height, weight, pulse, blood pressure - just to 
get a baseline; see what they're like when they feel 
healthy. After that, he's right. I'll have to see how many 
hours I'll need to set aside specifically for the 
community. It could be an organic thing, too. I'll 
probably have to be flexible."

Mulder said nothing. I realized I was talking like I'd 
decided to go, but I still needed to do a great deal of 
thinking. The premise sounded idyllic, but there had to 
be drawbacks. So far the only one I could think of was 
that I'd be moving away from my mother. I wondered if 
she'd stay in Baltimore if I moved so far. She probably 
would; Bill or Charlie could end up being posted back on 
the east coast at any time.

"Would we be paying to convert the workshop?"

"Nope. The community has money. It's a bit of a tourist 
attraction. People come on the weekends to buys arts 
and crafts, surplus produce, furniture, stuff like that. 
Fifty percent of the money goes back to the community 
fund and fifty goes to the artisan. Plus there's 
everyone's investment money. I don't know how much 
they have, but it didn't sound like the cost of your office 
was even a consideration. If we opt in, the books will be 
open to us."

Mulder had obviously spent a long time talking to Glenn. 
That brought another question to my mind.

"They have phones?"

"There's a satellite phone and computer in the rec 
center. That's where Glenn's office is. The school has 
computers, too. But I told them you'd need a phone in 
the office in case there was an emergency and someone 
had to be airlifted out or something. And a computer in 
case you needed to look something up or get a second 
opinion."

"Was he okay with that?" I turned in his lap again.

Mulder nodded. "Completely."

"Would I be allowed to see patients from outside the 
community in my office?" 

"Yes, but you'd have to charge them."

"And half would go back to the community." I nodded in 
understanding.

"Yup."

"Fifty percent taxation," I noted, lifting my eyebrows.

"But no cost of living at all," he reminded me with no 
inflection in his voice.

"True."

"But if you set up an office in town, you could keep all of 
the profits." Again, he kept his tone even. He was 
playing devil's advocate.

"It's expensive to set-up and run a private doctor's 
office," I said thoughtfully, tugging at my lip with my 
teeth.

"Mmm hmm."

Mulder was letting me mull over everything he'd told 
me. After fifteen years, he knew he couldn't cajole me 
into this decision. I loved him for not even attempting it.

Smiling up at him, I said, "Thank you."

He cocked his head. "What for?"

"For not pressuring me."

"This is a life-altering decision, Scully. We both have to 
be sure for it to be right for us. I have a lasagna keeping 
warm in the oven and a bottle of your favorite baco 
noir. We can eat and talk some more. You can ask me 
whatever you like. If I don't know the answer, I'll e-mail 
Glenn. Okay?"

Turning further on his lap, I put my arms around his 
neck. "I love you, Mulder," I whispered and then kissed 
him softly.

My heart felt like it was brimming over with 
contentment. I couldn't think of anything that would 
keep me from moving to Colorado with this man. I still 
didn't want do anything rash, so I kept going over and 
over it until Sunday night.

We were doing the dinner dishes. He was washing. I was 
drying. He had picked up a plate when I told him I was 
in. Letting the dish slip back into the water, he turned 
and pulled me against him. After kissing me, he held me 
tightly, probably leaving soapy hand prints on my back.

"You won't regret this, Scully," he whispered into my 
ear.

"It all sounds a little flaky, but I think that's what makes 
it perfect for us. Somewhere Melissa is jumping up and 
down clapping her hands. She would love that I'm taking 
this plunge."

"What about your dad?" Mulder leaned back to ask.

I couldn't help grimacing. "Ahab would say I'm a pinko."

Mulder threw back his head and laughed.

I grinned up at him. "And he'd probably think you 
coerced me."

"And what's Bill going to think?" Mulder pulled me close 
again to hug me tightly.

"Oh, I think Bill would be happier if you told him you 
were taking me out west to bum fuck."

"Really?" Mulder looked genuinely surprised.

"I'm sure he'll think it's some hair-brained, hippie, pot 
smoking, free-loving commune you're dragging me off 
to."

"Then he doesn't know me at all." Mulder paused to kiss 
me. "I might be willing to share a lot of things, Scully, 
but your love isn't one of them. It's mine, mine, mine."

"You've been territorial since day one," I reminded him 
with a small laugh.

"And you weren't?" He laughed louder than I had.

"I guess, I was," I admitted. "But not as early on as you 
were." I poked him in the ribs. "Shall I mention Tom 
Colton?"

"Colton was a dweeb," Mulder said with a smirk and 
then lowered his lips to my neck.

I sighed contentedly at the contact. "Didn't stop you 
from being jealous," I tried to point out cattily, but it 
came out as a murmur.

Lifting his lips from my neck, Mulder took a long slow 
breath, letting me know he was aroused. That made two 
of us.

He looked down at me with hazy eyes. "Let's get these 
dishes finished so we can celebrate." 

I flashed him my most seductive smile. "What do you 
have in mind?"

"There's half a bottle of wine left over from Friday night. 
We can take it upstairs and I'll let you drink it from my 
belly button."

I regarded him warily. "Is it lint free?"

"The wine? I'm pretty sure it is," he said with an impish 
grin.

"Ha ha."

"You can inspect before you pour. Okay?" He lifted his 
eyebrows to entice me.

"You've got yourself a deal, mister." I stood on my 
tiptoes to give him a quick peck. "Let's get these done!"

After releasing me from his grip, Mulder turned to the 
sink. "Oh, that reminds me," he began as he fished a 
plate out of the water. "A few of the women make 
home-brewed ale, but if you want wine, you'll have to 
fork over your own money to buy it."

"I like how you kept that little tidbit to yourself until I 
agreed to go," I said teasingly.

"Don't worry, Scully. I'll make sure we have emergency 
wine rations in case we get snowed in and can't make it 
to a liquor store. I know how to keep my sugar mama 
happy."

"I'm glad you have your priorities straight," I said with a 
shake of my head. "Now get a move on with those 
dishes."

He grinned knowingly at me. "Anxious to start the 
celebration, Scully?"

I returned his grin, unashamedly. "I am."

"Which part are you looking forward to most? The wine 
or my navel?"

Looking him straight in the eye, I answered in my most 
professional tone of voice. "I refuse to answer that 
question on the grounds that it may incriminate me."  

End chapter 2