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W is for Wager
wag-er v. something risked or staked on an uncertain event
Mulder was about to leave his office for the weekend when his cell phone rang. The shrilling sound startled him since the basement was especially quiet now that Colton was no longer working there. So far the only person who had ventured down to the basement was Skinner two days prior, letting him know that a new partner should be assigned to him within a couple of weeks.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Mulder," he answered.
"Be here in an hour," Byers said.
Before Mulder could respond, the line had been disconnected. He figured Gibson must have finished getting the vaccine ready. After turning off the lights, he walked out of the room and made his way to the parking garage. Once he was on the freeway, he called Scully.
"Hello?" she answered.
He heard the rumbling of her car in the background. "Going any place interesting?"
"I'm sure some people would use that word to describe the Gunmen's place. I should be there in about a half hour," she answered.
"Hey!" he protested. "I'm at least twenty minutes behind you. You can't hear the news without me there."
"I make no promises." He could almost hear the grin in her voice.
Mulder spent the next forty-five minutes grumbling under his breath about the traffic. Every driver on the road seemed determined to make his journey that much longer. Finally, he made his way to the Gunmen's building. To his surprise, Scully was still in her car.
As he exited his vehicle, she got out of her own. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" he asked with a leer in his voice.
Her eyebrows rose. "What can I say? I like paranoid men," she said with a smile.
He walked to her side and put his arm around her shoulders. "Really? Because I happen to know someone who happens to fit that description. Plus, he's incredibly handsome," he whispered playfully in her ear.
She pulled away from him with an amused look on her face. "Don’t let Frohike hear you talk about him like that. He might get the wrong impression about you," she teased, walking ahead inside the building.
Mulder shook his head. Scully still surprised him with her sense of humor at times.
They quickly made their way to the Gunmen's suite. Scully knocked on the door loudly while Mulder stared at the security camera. When they walked inside the flat, four nervous faces greeted them. Their trepidation immediately transferred to Mulder. During the entire time he'd known Gibson, he had hardly seen any strong emotion from the boy. Mulder knew whatever was going on, it was huge.
He glanced at Scully who seemed eager to hear any updates on the situation. It was, in fact, she who broke the silence in the room. "Did everything go as planned?"
Gibson, as expected, answered. "Yes, I was able to use all the samples you were able to retrieve."
Mulder knew if the news was as simple as that, there wouldn't be any reason why the four of them would be walking on eggshells. "But..." he prompted.
"There is no 'but', Agent Mulder," replied Gibson.
Then tell me what I want to know, Mulder thought.
For a moment, the boy hesitated. "I need for you to arrange a meeting with me and Agent Fowley," he finally said.
To everyone's surprise, it was Mulder, not Scully, who voiced concern over the idea. "Diana? I don't think it's safe for you to meet with her."
Gibson looked at him disapprovingly. "I have to meet with her. She is my link to the people on the project."
Still not convinced, Mulder responded. "Then let me talk to her for you." He saw Scully frown out of the corner of his eye, but continued, "There is no reason for you to put your life in jeopardy."
Gibson shook his head condescendingly. "Agent Mulder, I know exactly what Agent Fowley's motives are and how to keep myself out of trouble," he said slowly, as if he was afraid Mulder couldn't understand him.
Mulder frowned, not appreciating being put down in front of everyone. He looked to Scully for support. She didn't disappoint him.
"Maybe you can help explain to Mulder and me why the change in plans. We thought that I was going to use the vaccine you are able to create at the clinic. Then once we had vaccinated enough people, we would contact those people who are involved with the project," she said.
"Dana, we both know fifty, even a hundred vaccines wouldn't be enough to cause a blip on their radar. Those people in the clinic don't mean anything to them," argued Gibson, looking slightly uncomfortable.
Tired of being in the dark, Mulder exploded. "Would someone just tell us what the hell is going on here?"
Always the voice of reason, it was Byers who ventured to answer. "After talking to Gibson, we came to a consensus--"
"Without Scully or me," interrupted Mulder.
"Dude, it's not like you are his parents. Gibson knows more about this whole project than any of us," Langley jumped in.
Mulder didn't know what to say. True, they weren't his caretakers but they did feel an obligation to protect Gibson from harm.
Mulder's silence prompted Byers to continue. "We felt like if the right people had the vaccine, those running the project would be more likely to negotiate with Gibson."
Finding his voice, Mulder asked, "And those people would be?"
"We distributed the vaccine to the heads of several government watch groups. Also, we gave a couple of them to the people in charge of NICAP and MUFON. There are other people who have them who are willing to come forward if no one is willing to talk with me," Gibson answered.
Scully frowned. "They are all gone?" She had hoped that you could have at least a vial so she could vaccinate her mother.
Frohike walked over to her. "Don't worry, we still have a few. Gibson wanted us to save some back."
"For your mother and a couple of extra for safe keeping here. Plus all the guys each got a vaccine too," the boy chimed in.
Despite the confidence that Gibson's voice held, Mulder was still concerned with his earlier request. "Why Diana? I'm sure Krycek could help protect you a lot more than she could," Mulder questioned.
A strange look passed over the young man's face. If Mulder didn't know any better, he would have thought it was guilt. "I have my reasons, Mulder. She is the one I want to meet with," he answered.
Mulder looked to Scully for her response. Several seconds passed as they held a silent conversation. Finally, she nodded slowly. "If Mulder arranges a meeting, we can't let you go in there unprotected. One of us will go with you," she answered, her voice leaving no room for an argument.
Gibson shook his head adamantly. "No way. It won't work if there is anyone with me."
There was another standoff between the boy and the adults before Frohike spoke up. "What if we put a wire on you? That way if there were any signs of trouble we could get your butt out of there," offered Frohike.
Gibson considered this for a moment. He knew that there was no way any of them would let them meet with Diana alone. This was a compromise he could live with. "Fine, but only under the condition that you don't come in unless I say a code word, Tunguska."
Grudgingly, Mulder nodded. "Alright. Where should she meet you?"
"The Ballston Commons Mall, right outside the movie theaters on the second floor. 10:30 tomorrow morning."
"How do you know she will be there?" Mulder asked, still not comfortable with the situation.
"Oh she'll be there," he answered with absolute conviction. "Agent Fowley is not a person who walks away from the opportunity of a lifetime."
X is for Xaviera
xa-vi-er-a n. [LATIN] female, savior
Despite the planning the six of them had spent over the past twelve hours, Scully couldn't help but to feel a bit uneasy as they reached the parking lot of the Ballston Commons Mall.
The plan was fairly simple. The Gunmen had hacked into the mall's security short circuit television. Langley was to stay out in the Gunmen's van, watching the monitors for any suspicious activity. Frohike was disguised as a security guard and would be patrolling the area near the movie theater. Byers would be waiting in the nearby restroom, ready to get Gibson out of trouble if it was necessary.
Gibson had insisted that Mulder and Scully be out of any possible line of sight of Diana. He feared if she saw them, she would call off the meeting. They would be on the third floor, with a bird's eye view of the entire exchange between Gibson and Diana. Each of them had a link to Gibson's wire, as Frohike suggested, able to hear everything he and Diana said.
Mulder sensed her apprehension, taking his hand off the steering wheel and grabbing her own. "Don't worry. Gibson will warn us if anything will happen. Plus, the guys have this place covered top to bottom," he reminded her.
"I hope so," she said. She stuck the ear bud in her ear. "It's not on yet. I'm sure they don't want us to hear the things they talk about with him when we're not around."
He grimaced, knowing how his friends, especially Frohike, thought. "Do you know how corrupt his mind has become spending all this time with them?" he asked.
"Not to mention, the hours with you," she replied, with a playful smile.
"I told you, Scully," he said, getting out of the car, "those videos aren't mine."
She allowed herself one brief smile and then turned her focus to the situation that was ahead of them. She walked side by side with Mulder into the mall, leading Mulder to their position in front of the nail salon that allowed them a perfect view of the movie theater. Unable to sit still, she leaned over the railing to try to see Gibson's, or Diana's, arrival.
"Unless you want someone to think you're taking a swan dive, come sit back here," Mulder teased gently.
A blush colored her cheeks. He was right; they needed to maintain a sense of ambiguity. She sat next to him stiffly. Before long, a crackle sounded in her ear. "We're ready to go," Gibson said for their benefit.
Both of them tensed as they waited for the young man to approach his rendezvous point. Within a minute, he appeared in their line of vision. "I hope he knows what he's doing," Mulder muttered.
Scully glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and took hold of his hand. "He's a lot safer than when you go and meet one of your informants," she said quietly.
Gibson stood in front of the theaters, looking bored. He paced around the front of the ticket windows, as if he was impatient with whoever was making him wait. He looked no different than the countless pre-teens Scully had seen waiting for their parents. After a couple of minutes, Gibson whispered, "She's here."
She kept her eyes on Gibson while Mulder looked around for his former wife. "There," he said, a few seconds later, "she's coming out of Hecht's."
Scully turned to watch her walk across to where Gibson stood waiting. When they were next to each other, Scully's ears were filled with the purr of Fowley.
"Gibson, I'm so glad you are safe. There are a lot of people who are worried about you," she said with her sucrose-laden voice.
If Scully looked hard enough, she could almost see Gibson rolling his eyes at her phoniness. "Agent Fowley, I'm sure you know I have decided to meet up with you for a reason."
Scully noticed at immediate change in Diana's stance once she realized that Gibson was not playing around. "I assumed as much. I have to admit I was quite surprised when Fox told me that you wanted to meet me."
"I am able to retrieve the vaccine," Gibson said without preamble.
Even from the hundred feet that separated them, Scully could see Diana's surprise. Fowley recovered quickly. "Well, that's excellent. There will be people who will be pleased to hear such news."
"I'm not going back to them," he warned. "I am willing to work with them to help produce the vaccine, but under my conditions."
She crossed her arms. "I don't think you're in any position to have any 'conditions'. Once I inform my superiors that you have been with Fox this whole time, you'll have no option but to go with them."
Mulder stiffened beside her. She knew he never wanted to be a liability to Gibson's safety. However, the boy was unconcerned with Diana's threat. "Agent Fowley, do you think I would put myself in a situation like this without having a backup plan? If there is one hair out of place on my head, there people are willing to expose the project. Right now, the vaccines I was able to obtain are one step away from getting into the hands of people that your superiors fear: the president of Russia, the president of China, and several others."
Scully couldn't help but a small grin when she saw the wind go out of Fowley's sails.
"All right, what do you want?" she said resignedly.
"A new identity. New name. New social security number. New everything. Attached to that name, I want a trust fund tied to it. I never want money to be a problem in my life," he began.
She nodded. "That sounds acceptable."
The young man put up his hand. "I'm not through. You and I both know that for the next several years, I will need to live with a caretaker of sorts. Whomever I live with will not be harmed. At all."
Scully could hear the smirk in Fowley's voice. "And I suppose you plan on staying with Fox?"
He shook his head. "No, Agent Fowley," he answered, but did not explain any further. "Second, I want Dr. Scully to be reinstated back into the FBI and the X-Files..."
Scully's eyes widened. This was not part of the plan they had discussed earlier. "What?" she whispered. She turned to Mulder who was just as surprised as she was.
"I knew nothing of it."
They both turned their attention back to the conversation that was continuing without them. "...are to be left alone or I will give the go ahead to give the samples to those people in power."
"I can't promise that. Besides, it was Scully herself who resigned from the FBI," Diana argued.
"She's needed on the X-Files. I'm not willing to give up this condition. And finally--" Gibson froze.
Mulder and Scully stood up simultaneously. They had no idea what Gibson had sensed, but they were both ready to go into action at a second's notice.
"You were followed," Gibson told Fowley.
She shook her head adamantly. "There is no way. I made sure no one was watching me."
"Alex Krycek is here," Gibson said, more for the benefit of his friends. "He's coming from the parking garage."
They began their way to the closest escalator. From there, they could see Frohike a floor below, turning the corner to make his way to Krycek. Not wanting to waste time, they ran down the escalator.
Trusting Byers to whisk Gibson out of harm's way, they pursued Frohike, hoping to capture Krycek. When they rounded the corner, they saw Frohike trying to stop Krycek from entering the building about 150 feet away. Though she couldn't hear the conversation, Scully knew they were arguing.
"Who does he think he is, Shaft?" Mulder muttered as they continued running down the hallway.
Before they could get halfway down the hall, they saw Krycek pull out a gun. "Frohike! Gun!" Mulder yelled, trying to save his friend.
Reacting to Mulder's warning, they saw Frohike grab Krycek's arm, trying to get it from him. It did no good however; Krycek managed to get off a shot. The bullet sounded loudly throughout the mostly empty mall. Frohike's body collapsed to the ground. "Oh my God, no," Scully whispered as they continuing running towards their fallen friend.
"I'll take care of Krycek. You just save Fro's life," Mulder said. To her surprise, Krycek started running towards them. For a second all she could feel was the urge to knock him out. "I got him, Scully," Mulder assured her.
She nodded and ran to the side of the double agent. She could see Frohike slowing moving to his side where blood was dripping from his shirt. Somehow she pushed herself to run faster; finally, she made it to his side.
"I hurt," he gasped when he saw Scully.
"I know you do, but it's going to be ok. I'm sure you'd never thought you'd hear me say this, but I'm going to have to take off your shirt," she said lightly, hoping to put him at ease. Her stomach dropped more when he didn't respond with more than a groan.
She carefully unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it away, revealing his wound. Though it was difficult with all the blood, she saw the entrance wound about two inches above his heart. The wound was bleeding heavily. She peeled off her jacket and placed it on the opening, hoping to slow the bleeding.
Seeing the blood pooling on the floor, she said, "I need to look for an exit wound, ok?"
He looked up at her, slightly dazed. "Sure."
"It's going to hurt," she warned as she lifted his back off the ground. His loud groan made Scully nearly drop him. Fortunately, she was able to hold on. She found the exit wound in his back, several inches from where it should have been if it was a clean shot. She knew help needed to arrive soon; the bone fragments resulting from the gunshot could be as deadly as the bullet itself. Carefully, she laid him back down.
Suddenly, she was aware of a person standing next to her. "Is he going to be alright? We saw that man shoot him. Vanessa has already called 911."
Scully looked at the wound on Frohike's chest. Her jacket has already become saturated in his blood. "I'm going to do the best I can. Do you have anything that I could use to put pressure on the wound? Towels?"
The young woman nodded as she ran back in the direction she came. "I'll see what I can find."
As she was holding the tarnished piece of clothing to his chest, he grabbed her with his right hand. "Scully, tell the guys I'm sorry."
Anything less than success was unacceptable to Scully. There was no way that Alex Krycek would kill another person she cared about. "Frohike, you can tell them whatever you think you need to say once you're in a hospital."
He looked at her for a few seconds before barely nodding. "Ok, we'll do things your way."
The woman returned. "My manager said that you could use this."
"Thank you," Scully said without looking at what exactly she was given. As she unfolded the material, she noticed it was see-through. And lacy.
"Um, it was on the clearance rack. She said I could use anything off there. I might be able to find something a little better," she mumbled, walking back into the store she came from.
It wasn't until she left that Scully took the time to look at where she was. In front of Victoria's Secret. Despite the horrific situation she was in, she couldn't help but to shake her head at the irony. Only Frohike would got shot in front of such a place.
He looked at the article of clothing in her hand with interest. "Is that what I think it is?"
How he was able to ask that with such liveliness baffled Scully, but if it helped keep him conscious, she would humor him. "Yes it is."
He smiled faintly. "Boy, what a way to go."
Before Scully could argue with Frohike that he was not going to go anywhere, a different woman came out from the store, holding a terrycloth robe. "Here, this should help. I'm sorry about Courtney. Sometimes I wonder if that child even has a brain."
Scully smiled politely as she removed her stained jacked and pushed terrycloth against Frohike's wound. He groaned in pain. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Several minutes passed, each one passing by more slowly than the one before. Frohike was doing his best to stay lucid, but it was a battle he was losing. Finally, she heard the steady footsteps of several people coming from the parking garage and knew cavalry had come. "Ma'am, please," she heard the paramedic say.
She stepped away from her friend's body and allowed them to take care of him. Quickly, they placed Frohike on a stretcher and began to give him oxygen. "Will you be riding with us?" the man asked as they were preparing to leave for the hospital.
"Um..." She needed to make sure that Gibson was alright, but didn't want Frohike to be alone.
"I'll ride with him, Scully," Byers said, seemingly coming from nowhere. "Mulder can fill you in on what's going on. He should be at the theater."
She squeezed Frohike's hand. "You're going to be fine," she said more for her own benefit then his own. She released his hand and watched them push the stretcher to the waiting ambulance.
When she arrived at the theater, she was surprised to see Mulder standing amidst several Arlington police officers. What shocked her even more was the sight of Krycek in handcuffs.
Mulder, seeing her approach, excused himself from the police officers. "Is Frohike going to be alright?" he asked anxiously.
She shrugged, exhausted with the morning's event. "I think so. He lost a lot of blood, but he was able to stay conscious until the paramedics arrived. Byers rode with him to the hospital. He said you would tell me what's going on."
"Come on, let's go wash your hands," he said, leading her to the women's restroom.
She looked down at her hands, now stained with the blood of their friend who was trying to protect Gibson. "Mulder, last time I checked, you weren't a female."
He waggled his eyebrows. "I guarantee you Scully I am one hundred percent male. You don't need to worry; the police have shut down the whole mall. No one is going to be in there. Besides, we need to talk."
Without further argument, she walked inside the small room. She began washing her hands as Mulder filled her in on the details. "After you ran ahead, Krycek ran right into me, threatened me and tried to push me out of the way. I guess he doesn't realize that no one messes with my friends. I shoved him back and knocked him to the floor. I managed to knock his gun out of his hand. I was tempted to return the favor he paid to Frohike, but there were people watching. The best I could do was to take him into custody."
Putting soap on her hands for the second time, she asked, "Where is Gibson?"
He swallowed. "He's not here."
She turned to face him quickly, splashing water on the front of his shirt. "What?!"
"According to Langley, who was the only one who wasn't too busy to pay attention to what Gibson said during this whole thing, after Krycek shot Frohike, Gibson demanded that Diana go with him so he could protect her," Mulder answered awkwardly.
"What happened with Byers? He was supposed to get him out of there as soon as there was trouble," Scully said.
If it was possible, Mulder looked even more uncomfortable. "They believe Gibson locked him in the bathroom so he could escape with Diana."
"Mulder," she said, drying her hands, "that is crazy."
"Scully the door was locked from the outside when I got here. The best we can guess is that Gibson didn't want a replay of what happened to Diana the last time they were together," Mulder suggested.
"So he felt guilty for the fact that Agent Fowley got shot? Something that he had nothing to do with?" she demanded.
"Maybe. Guilt doesn't always have to make sense," he answered somberly.
She knew he was thinking about the guilt of his sister, her abduction and countless other events that he felt responsible for though he had no direct correlation to. Her anger deflated. "So now what do we do?"
"We wait."
Y is for Yours
yours pron. A form of the second person singular.
Georgetown Medical Center
Three hours later
Mulder started pacing the floor of the waiting room. Again. Five minutes ago, Byers and Scully went with the doctor to talk about Frohike's condition while he and Langley stayed out in the lobby. While Scully was there, she at least could get him to sit down, but without her around, it was a lost cause.
"Dude, you're making me seasick," Langley complained.
The tension from the day made Mulder irritable. "Then go take some Dramamine."
Langley stood up, invading Mulder's personal space. "You think you're miserable? You have no idea how I feel. Frohike is like the brother I never had. He, Byers and I are a team." He crossed his arms. "If something happens to him, I'm holding you responsible," he threatened.
Seeing red, Mulder took a step closer to him. His reflection filled Langley's lenses. He knew Langley was upset that his friend got hurt, but for once, they had actually caught the bad guy. If anything, he thought, Langley should be grateful for what he had done. "Me?!" he asked, dumbfounded. "What the hell did I do? Other than catch the man who shot him."
Mulder's anger didn't dissuade Langley's ire. "You brought Gibson to us. If it wasn't for him, everything would be fine right now," Langley replied, not moving away from Mulder.
"Give it a break," Mulder said, rolling his eyes. "Gibson and the information he knows is the kind of stuff you guys dream of. I don't remember having to twist your arm to let him into your place. In fact, I tend to remember you calling him an early Christmas present."
"Yeah, well, if I would have known what would have happened, I would have never let that kid step foot into our place. Not all of us are willing to sacrifice everything important to us for the sake of the Truth," Langley taunted.
The psychologist in Mulder knew that this was Langley's way of releasing his anxiousness. The red-hot, furious male in Mulder didn't give a damn. He grabbed Langley's Grateful Dead shirt and pushed him against the wall.
"You don't know anything. You sit behind a computer all day looking for conspiracies instead of getting your hands dirty. Don't criticize me for caring about the Truth!" He slammed him against the wall one more time for good measure and stormed out of the room.
*******************
After his argument with Langley, he didn't know what to do other than walk the halls of the hospital. Radiology. Maternity Ward. Pediatrics. Cardiology.
Finally, he made his way to the Cafeteria. It was the only place he could sulk without calling attention to himself. He knew his solitude would not last long and he was glad for it. Talking to Scully about what he had done would alleviate some guilt in his mind.
As he expected, Scully found him brooding over a cup of coffee five minutes later. "Is this seat taken?" she asked.
His eyes barely met hers. "No, but I should warn you that I am experiencing a profound sense of guilt and remorse," admitted Mulder.
"If it makes you feel any better, Langley feels the same way," she replied, sitting on the bench next to him.
This time he did meet her gaze; his eyes widened in surprise. "Why? He didn't push me up against a wall."
She shrugged. "He feels bad for saying what he said. I don't know what the two of you were arguing about, but he wanted me to tell you that he knows that every sacrifice you have made hasn't come easy."
Mulder blew a long breath out of his mouth. He was glad Langley wasn't still angry at him; he doubted he would have moved on so easily. "So he isn't mad at me?"
"No. He seemed to calm down a lot once Byers told him he could see Frohike," answered Scully. "The doctors moved Frohike to the recovery room right now, so he can see a couple of people at a time."
"What's the verdict?" he asked nervously, running a hand through his hair.
She couldn't stop the small frown from crossing her face. "The doctors are cautiously optimistic with his prognosis, but there might be some lasting problems."
"What exactly does that mean?" he demanded, needing to know how much his friend had to sacrifice for Gibson.
"Well, the bullet did pass close to the brachial nerve. They want to do some tests to make sure there was no nerve damage to his arm, but there has been some indication that there might be," she explained. She muffled a yawn behind her hand. "The neurologist will be in later this afternoon."
He looked at her and saw the circles under her eyes. Though it was only two in the afternoon, it felt like it was midnight. He knew she had been busy talking to the hospital staff, getting updates on Frohike before the doctor spoke with them, trying to keep her mind off the fact Gibson was potentially in harm's way and now having to play peacemaker between he and his friend. "How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she answered automatically. Before he could object to her standard answer, she amended herself. "No, I'm not. I'm scared for Gibson. I don't care whose mind he can read, these people are ruthless. But, I know there is nothing we can do to find him. On the other hand, I'm relieved that Frohike will survive, even if there is nerve damage. There was a time this morning that I wasn't even sure he was going to make it to the hospital. It's been an emotional roller coaster this morning."
He nodded his agreement. There was no better way to sum up the past few hours. During Frohike's surgery, Mulder had plenty of opportunity to replay Gibson's conversation with Diana. Now that things seemed settled with Frohike, Mulder thought it would be a good time to bring up the subject that had been foremost on his mind: Scully returning as his partner.
"What do you think about the idea of you coming back to the X-Files?" he asked hopefully. While it was true that he had no previous knowledge of Gibson's request, he hoped Scully would be willing to come back to the FBI. And him.
She paused for a second, allowing herself to collect an answer. Mulder knew this look. Once she spoke, there would be no way he could convince her differently. Briefly, he wondered if crossing his fingers under the table would bring him good luck.
A sense of trepidation filled Mulder as she grabbed his hand. "There are some definite benefits to coming back. I would love the opportunity to be your partner again, Mulder. There have been times over these past months when there was nothing I'd rather be doing than be by your side," she admitted.
He couldn't help the grin that crawled on his face. She missed him as much as he missed her. It was almost unbelievable.
"But," she said before he had a chance to reply, "there are some things which we have both gained and I'm not prepared to lose them. It's been...nice to be able to see you in a light outside of work, Mulder. To add depth to a relationship that had been stagnant for far too long."
"And you think going back to work would change that?" he asked.
Surprised that he would think any differently, her eyebrows went down. "Wouldn't it? Competing with the X-Files directly is a battle that I have lost over the past five years. If things continue developing the way they seem to be, there will come a time when decisions will have to be made. I couldn't handle you choosing work over me," she said.
"Scully, if anything, your time away from the X-files has shown me how compatible we are in and out of the office. Knowing that I will be sleeping on the couch if I ditch you will definitely make me think twice before I blindly follow some informant," he joked.
A small smile passed over her lips. "Moving kind of fast, aren't you? We haven't officially even gone on a date yet."
Her half-smile and playfulness made Mulder nearly forget about everything going on around them. Suddenly, it became very important to him for her to realize how pivotal she was in his life. "Over the years you have become more important than the countless, fruitless quests I have been pursuing for years. You make fighting this fight worthwhile because I want there to come a point in my life when I can focus on the simple idea of growing old with you, Scully."
Her eyes started watering, much like they did outside his apartment when he made another heartfelt confession to her. "I want the same," she admitted.
Her words put to rest any fears Mulder had about the sincerity of her feelings for him. He smiled briefly. "I'm glad to hear you say that," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders.
She leaned into him, allowing him to relieve some of the morning's burdens. Feeling her body so close to his, knowing that he was the only one she trusted enough to let her guard down, made his commitment to her concrete. He was going to be able to have his cake and eat it too.
Z is for Zealous
zeal-ous adj. Ardently active, devoted or diligent
When they walked back to the waiting room, they were worried about what they saw. Byers and Langley were standing next to each other, talking softly with concerned looks on their faces. When neither of them seems to notice the agents presence, Mulder cleared his throat. "Something going on that we should know about?" he asked.
Byers exchanged a glance with Langley before answering. "We just received a call from Gibson. He has assured us that he is safe."
"Where is he?" Scully demanded.
The two men shared an uncomfortable look. "With Agent Fowley. Apparently, he has worked out a deal with the powers that be. In exchange for him developing the vaccine, our safety will be insured. His liaison to Them will be Agent Fowley. He plans to stay with her at an undisclosed location until enough of the vaccine is produced."
Mulder frowned. "And we are suppose to just believe that he's safe? Just like that?"
Langley shrugged. "What else are we suppose to do? He said that it may be a while, but he will contact us when things have settled down."
An idea struck Mulder. "What about releasing the vaccine to those people in power? Maybe then we have a chance of getting Gibson back."
Byers shook his head. "We can't. Before we arrived to the mall, Gibson told us to only give them out if he didn't use the code word. When he called, he said it. We can only assume that he is as safe as he can be. If we don't hear from him in a year, that's when we have to go ahead to release the samples."
"A year?" Scully asked incredulously.
"I know this all seems a little extreme, Agent Scully, but I assure you that Gibson knows what he is talking about. He wouldn't jeopardize himself or us," Byers replied softly.
Scully thought about the hours she and the boy had spent together in the lab. She knew Byers was right; everything Gibson had done so far was to the benefit the advancement of the vaccine. "I just wish we knew where he was," she admitted softly.
Byers frowned sympathetically. "We all do."
******************
FBI Headquarters
Monday, 11:00 a.m.
Scully tried to force herself to sit still in the waiting room, waiting for Skinner to grant her entrance into his office.
After she came home from the hospital, there was a message from the Assistant Director, instructing her to come by his office to discuss what he called "misfiling of paperwork." Her stomach fluttered as the message ended; Gibson's request that she be reinstated into the FBI must have been fulfilled.
Before she arrived in D.C., she stopped by the clinic to let Father Downs know she would be unable to continue her service there. Though he was disappointed in her departure, he did not make her feel guilty about leaving. Reminding her that she always a place to return to, he blessed her and she went on her way.
The turning of the knob brought Scully's focus back to the situation at hand. Skinner stuck his head out of the office. "Come in," he told Scully.
Straightening her skirt, she got up and walked to the familiar room. Once inside, she sat in her customary chair and waited for him to address her. Moments passed as he sifted through paperwork on his desk. It was an annoying habit of his to make whoever was on the other side of the desk nervous. Normally his tactic didn't work, but this morning, Scully was falling pray to it. Just when she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, he looked up at her.
"Even when you're supposedly not part of the FBI anymore, somehow you manage to spoil my weekend," he grumbled.
She tried to mask some of the surprise on her face. Usually Skinner was not this gruff without a reason. "I'm sorry, sir," was all she could think to say.
"I get a call from human resources saying that something happened with your dismissal papers. That instead of being resigned from the FBI, you were put on temporary leave and that the leave was to end starting today," he said angrily. "Now, Scully, I filed that paperwork myself. I know I did not put you on a leave of any kind. So would you mind explaining what the hell is going on here?"
"Sir, I'm just as surprised as you. Though, I have to admit that this does work to my advantage because I was intending on trying to become reinstated into the Bureau," she said, dodging his question.
He leaned back in his chair. "And why is that?"
She licked her lips nervously. "After Agent Colton put in for his transfer out of the X-Files, I realized that there is probably no one in the Bureau who would be willing to give up their careers for them. Though Agent Mulder and I don't always agree with the outcomes of cases, I understand the necessity of them. To have them shut down because no one is willing to assist Agent Mulder is a terrible thing," she explained.
His eyes locked on to hers as he searched for the truth in her words. She refused to back down or be intimated by his stare. Finally, he broke away. "My hands are tied, Scully. It doesn't matter whether or not I believe your account because according to the records, you are once again a Special Agent assigned to the X-Files," he replied.
"Thank you, sir," she said, standing up. She couldn't wait to go down to the basement and tell Mulder.
"Wait," he said as she was preparing to leave.
She turned and saw her badge and gun sitting on his desk. "Thank you," she repeated, taking the items off his desk.
"And, Scully? It's good it have you back," Skinner said honestly.
As she walked to the elevator, she noticed the stares of agents around her, each too afraid to ask where she had been all this time. Scully was just glad she didn't have to wear that stupid visitor badge anymore. Once she got inside the car, she felt a sense of anticipation. Though she had made this trip countless times before, this time it would be different. She and Mulder had changed along with the playing field. They were going to win this battle.
She stepped out of the elevator once it had reached her destination with a smile. The smile grew once she stood outside the office door. Underneath the nameplate of Mulder's was a new shiny addition: Special Agent Dana Scully, M.D. It's about time, she thought as she opened the door.
Wonder of all wonders, Mulder was busy arranging a new desk for her as she entered the office. "I guess that means you are done with your meeting," he said as he closed the side drawer with a hopeful grin.
She set down her briefcase on her new desk and cupped Mulder's cheek. "Thank you. This really means a lot. So I guess that means you already spoke with Skinner," she said, referring to the new additions to the office.
He nodded. "Yep, called me into his office and grilled me about the mix-up. I don't know why he would think I would have anything to do with such a mix up," he said dryly. "He told me to expect you some time before lunch."
She looked around the room, which looked almost exactly the same than it did before the fire. "So," she said, moving away from him, "I suppose everything is back to the way things were."
"No," he said, pulling her into his arms. "This time it's better."