The Truth is Out There--Scene 27 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!

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

After a quick beer with Chuck and a call to a collogue at 
Quantico, John was on the road and headed to Beaver Falls, 
Pennsylvania.  He was surprised he made it there so quickly, 
and was happy his lead foot did not draw any attention  on 
the I-76.  What should have taken five hours took four, his 
desperation to see why they were contacting him this way, 
overwhelmed his need for personal safety.  

It had been five months since he last saw them, a month since 
he last spoke with her.  Six years in hiding had put a lot of 
distance between them and their conversations were stilted and 
filled with pregnant pauses.  It reminded him a bit of the 
early stages of their partnership when she was just starting 
to trust him.  

He was happy to have them, well really her, back in his life 
again, even in a small capacity.  She had changed over the 
years, softened, and he liked the transformation.  He was glad 
to see her passionate about medicine and content in her life 
with Mulder.  He was also pleased that after the fiasco of a 
case that brought them out of hiding, Mulder had not involved 
himself with the FBI any further.  John wasn't sure if Mulder 
had lost his passion for the chase, or if Dana had given him 
an ultimatum.  Whatever the case, John was satisfied she was 
alive and safe.  

He pulled into the small town of Beaver Falls and parked close 
to the post office.  A few people were milling about in the 
late afternoon, rushing in and out of stores that, like in all 
small towns, would close at 6pm.  John was sure no one had 
followed him here, so he did not hesitate to park close to the 
meeting location.  He looked around and did not spot either of 
them.  If they didn't meet up today he'd have to get a motel 
room for the night and meet them tomorrow.  

John got out of his car and walked toward the local coffee shop, 
needing to top up his caffeine before he got back in the car.  
As he moved toward the shop a familiar figure quickly crossed 
the street and ducked into a pharmacy.  She had short brown 
hair now, but he could recognize her petite form anywhere.  
Without drawing attention to himself John pulled out a piece 
of paper from his pocket and pretended to smack at the list and 
look around for the pharmacy.  He headed toward the small shop 
hoping she was not getting medical supplies for a damaged 
Mulder.  

The bells on the shop door rang as he entered.  There was an 
elderly lady getting a bottle of medication explained to her 
at the pharmacy counter, two young girls were trying on 
make-up, and a young boy, who was supposed to be stocking 
shelves, was leering at them.  The shop was small and probably 
hadn't changed much since the 60's; many small towns had 
pharmacies like this one.  He saw her at the bottom of 
an aisle scanning some shelves as she bent down to take a 
closer look.  John rounded the corner and stood behind her.

"Excuse me, ma'am" he started softly.

She jumped at the sound of his voice and frightened, turned 
to the source.  When she saw it was him, her eyes softened, 
a smile crept over her face, and then her cheeks reddened. 

"My wife sent me here, and I'm not good at picking out these 
sorts of things" he said gesturing to the row of maxi pads 
and tampons in front of them.

"Oh," Dana smiled facing away from him "well, these" she said 
picking up a package of maxi pads "will probably be okay 
until she can get to the store herself."

He took the package from her and smiled "Thanks, this is a 
really...awkward situation to be in."

"Yes, yes, it is" Dana smiled as she looked at her feet.

"You have a good day ma'am" he smiled and left for the 
checkout with his package of maxi pads.

She waited a few minutes after he exited the store and picked 
up some tampons, a package of chocolate bars and some gum for 
Patrick, paid and left the store herself.

He sat in his car waiting to see what her next move would be.  
He expected she would jump in her car and lead him back to 
where she and Mulder were staying.  She did just that.  
Getting into a Jeep she pulled out of her spot and started to 
drive down a lonely stretch of forested road to, he suspected, 
some crappy motel.  

When she veered off the road and drove down an old deserted 
lumber trail John started to get anxious.  If they were this 
far off the beaten path, he wondered what kind of trouble 
they were in.  She suddenly stopped her SUV, got out, and 
walked toward his car.  He got out as well and went to meet 
her between the two vehicles.

"Thank you for coming, John" she said as he approached her 
"we didn't expect you until Monday or Tuesday."

"Chuck is in the lab on Saturdays too" he smiled as he reached 
her.

She hugged him warmly "well then, I guess I should be grateful 
for my emergency visit to the pharmacy."

"From what I know of those emergencies, there is little to be 
grateful for" he laughed as she released him.

She smiled up at him and then seemed to be suddenly lost for 
words.

"So what are we doing here Dana?" he asked looking right at 
her.

She smiled and shook her head "that is a very complicated 
question."

"Start at the beginning" he said softly "is Mulder with you?"

"He's back at the motel" she answered quickly "he...he was on 
his book tour and I met up with him in Chicago."

John nodded for her to continue.

"But, while I was watching him answer some questions at a 
reading, a very familiar song started to play inside my head."

John looked down at her not knowing what to say, but imploring 
her with his eyes to continue.

"I walked toward it and it got louder and louder until it led 
me to this young boy" she stopped speaking and looked up at 
him.

"Dana, who is the boy?"

"He's...he's William" she gasped through tears.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her firmly "Dana, 
how do you know?"

"I just did" she answered looking up at him "but if you're 
asking did we test..."

"That's exactly what I'm asking" he said harshly.

"We had DNA analysis done.  It's him, John, it's really him."

He pulled her toward him in a fierce hug patting her hair and 
softly calming her while she cried.

"You're the first person we've told" she said, muffled.

He pulled her away from him.  Hating the break in contact, but 
needing to look her in the eye "Dana, you are sure?" he asked. 

She nodded her head "yes."

He gasped and ran a hand through his hair, looking around at 
their surroundings.

"How is he?" he asked with a choked voice, trying to keep his 
teary eyes from releasing themselves "he has special 
abilities?"

"He's...he's great" she laughed, 

"That's good, that's good" he laughed back "Dana, I'm soo 
happy for you," he paused "for you, and Mulder."

"Thank you" she smiled back at him, knowing this was hard.  
He didn't get his son back.

"So why all the cloak and dagger?" he asked. 

She took in a deep breath "his adoptive parents are dead and 
they set it up to make it look like William murdered them."

"You want me to clear this up, while you stay out of the way?" 
he asked eager to help.

"We need you to find out some information for us, we want to 
know why they set him up.  Can you reach Skinner and see if 
he knows what's going on?"

"Sure, I can do that.  Do you...do you need anything else?" 

"We have to switch cars, but we don't want to steal one." 

"Do you want me to get you a car?" he asked.

"Can we take yours until we get to one Mulder has in storage 
down south?" 

"No problem" he smiled. 

"Why don't you...come back to the motel?  You are probably 
exhausted and...do you want to see him?" she asked with a 
smile.

"I would...I would" he smiled back "lead the way" he 
gestured toward her SUV.

"Thanks again" she smiled warmly at him. 

"Anytime" he said as he turned to walk toward his car.

They drove for less than 5 minutes before Dana turned into a 
motel parking lot and drove around to the back area.  He saw 
Mulder tossing a ball back and forth with a young boy.  He looked 
about 8.  He was tall for his age and he seemed quite relaxed 
until he noticed John's fleet sedan round the corner after her 
SUV.  He stopped for a second, looked toward his mother and 
smiled at her, a flash or recognition and something else.

John parked his car next to Dana's and exited his vehicle.

"John" Mulder yelled as he walked toward the man "you're here 
already?"

Scully walked over to William and placed an arm around his 
shoulder, guiding him toward John. The boy looked at him and 
smiled.

"Patrick , this is..."

"Your old partner" Patrick interrupted. 

"Yes" she smiled down at him "did you read that?"

"No, I remember him" Patrick revealed as Mulder joined the 
group.

"You remember John Doggett?" he asked a little stunned.

"You were at our house a lot" he smiled at the man "you played 
with me."

"I did" John smiled warmly at him. 

Mulder shuffled his feet and put out his hand "Thanks for 
coming to help, John."

"No problem" he smiled at Patrick as he shook Mulder's hand 
"it's nice to see you again." 

"You too" Patrick said softly.

"So, Patrick?"

"It's...uh, what his adoptive parents named him" Scully 
answered.

"Nice name" he said touching the boy's arm. 

"How about we move inside" Scully said wearily looking 
around.

"Don't forget this" John said handing her the pharmacy bag 
with the maxi pads.

"Thanks" Scully said softly as she took the bag from him.

"Where did you two meet up?" Mulder asked as he opened the 
door.

"It was an accident, actually.  I was going for a coffee 
and I spotted Dana going into the pharmacy.  She helped 
me pick out something my wife needed" he laughed.

"You have a wife now?" Patrick asked.

"No, Patrick I don't.  It was just a lie to cover up the 
fact that your mother and I knew each other."

"Oh" Patrick said as he sat on a bed.

Scully excused herself to the washroom while John and 
Mulder took seats at the table.

"So, your mom says you were framed?" John said leaning 
toward Patrick.

"The crime scene was made to look like Patrick did it.  
The murder weapon was placed on his pillow" Mulder 
interrupted.

"Patrick, do you have any idea why someone would do 
this?"

"No" he said honestly.

"Were your parents in any sort of trouble?"

Patrick laughed "My mom ran the church ladies club and 
my dad only had a beer when he watched football.  
They weren't trouble makers."

"They sound like nice people, Patrick.  Did you have 
a good childhood?"

"It was lots of fun" he smiled at John, relaxed in 
his company.

"Did anything weird or strange happen lately, 
anything that stands out at all?"

"Oh...they came to do some testing at my school a 
month ago.  They tested me and were supposed to come 
back and test this grade 7 girl but they never came 
back.  I remember the teachers were a little mad 
about that."

"What kind of test?" Mulder interrupted.

"Just a lot of word and math questions.  They said 
I was gifted, I thought it meant I got a present."

Both Mulder and John chuckled.

"You should get one" Mulder said as he awkwardly mussed 
his hair.

"Who was the person that tested you?" 

"A doctor...something.  I didn't really pay a lot of 
attention to him.  He was about your age" he said 
gesturing to Mulder "he seemed nice."

"You don't remember anything more about him, or where 
he came from?  Did your parents have to sign a 
permission form?"

"I remember he showed my teacher the signed form but 
I don't remember ever bringing it home from school for 
my parents to sign.  Maybe my doctor gave it to my 
mom?"

"Maybe" John said looking at Mulder.

Scully exited the washroom and walked toward the 
huddled group.

"Anything?" she asked.

"I'd like to look into this testing and see if Skinner 
can grab the crime scene photos and information.  I can 
be back to DC by midnight" he said looking at his watch.

"John, I don't think you should be driving back right 
away" she said resting a hand on his shoulder "you 
need to eat and rest."

"Well, I won't argue with the eating" he smiled up at 
her "but I need to get to Skinner before this gets 
closed and I can't get any access to it."

"I'll go and get us a pizza" Mulder said rising from 
his chair and walking across the room.

"Mulder, I can go" she said walking toward him

"No, John and Patrick need to catch up" he said looking 
over at the two of them in a discussion. 

"I don't know if there is much to catch up on" she said 
softly.

"Patrick remembers him, Scully.  John was there when 
I wasn't. He deserves this time with him" he said 
seriously, as his heart constricted in his chest.

"Mulder..." she sighed.

"It's okay Scully." He said leaning in to give her a 
peck on the cheek.

He grabbed his coat and was out the door in one swift 
movement.

Scully turned to look at the two of them laughing next 
to the bed.  John had spent a lot of time with William 
all those months ago.  She was glad for him William 
remembered, but she also knew that it broke Mulder's 
heart.  


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The End of Scene 27