After the Future XVIII (PG-13)

"Mr., uh, Mr. Mulder. Please, come in."

"It’s just Mulder, Megan. Is anyone else home?"

"Uh, yes, Stan is. I think his daughter, Tricia, is outside somewhere. I’ll get him. Would you like something to drink?"

"I’m fine."

She managed a nervous smile. "Please, have a seat. I’ll be right back."

Mulder moved over toward the couch when she left the room. He looked around. The furniture was holding up pretty well. He didn’t see any personal items around, but they’d only been here a couple of days.

"Mr. Mulder." Stan hurried into the room, with Megan right behind him.

Stan looked like he had played football in high school, and had fleshed out as he got older, then lost weight like everyone else in the last few years. His face still retained some of that fleshiness.

Mulder shook the hand he held out. "I told Megan, its just Mulder. I wanted to make sure you were settling in okay."

"Are . . . are we going to be allowed to settle in?"

Mulder didn’t answer directly. "I would like to talk to you, now that things have calmed down a little."

"Of course." He motioned for Mulder to have a seat, then joined him. "You want to talk about Bill."

"Yes. I suppose you’ve heard who he is?"

"Yes sir. Scully’s brother. We didn’t know that, but . . . "

"But what?"

"We would have helped him get here anyway. He knew the signal, he knew you."

"Signal?" Mulder looked puzzled.

Stan seemed surprised at that. "You, you don’t know?"

"Know what?"

"There’s a . . . a signal, a symbol we use to make sure we know you. You know, like the early Christians?"

"You mean the fish?"

Stan smiled then, "Yeah. The first person draws an X, kind of by accident. Then, if the next person knows, they draw an F. You know for X-Files. That’s how we know each other."

Mulder sat there, stunned.

"You didn’t know?" Megan asked. "You don’t know that there are lots of us out there."

"Uh, no I didn’t. Are they all planning to come here?"

"No, some are eventually, but we stay in place, to do what you need. When the vaccine got to us, we decided you might need more help here, to synthesize it, distribute it, whatever so it was decided to send us."

"The vaccine got to you? How did you know, it’s supposed to be a polio . . . "

"That’s what it is, polio, unless you know the symbol. We’re careful Mulder. "

Mulder looked at him for a second, then decided to change the subject. He needed to think about this; talk to Scully.

"So, what did you do, before?"

"I was a line man for the power company. Had been for nearly twenty years. I was the foreman of the night shift and pretty good at what I did."

Mulder nodded, "I’m sure you were. You have a daughter?"

Stan nodded, "Tricia, she’s fourteen. Her mother died in the first wave."

"Was she ill?"

"She hadn’t been diagnosed, but she couldn’t stop smoking when I did. She had a cough . . . "

Mulder nodded, he had enough for now. "Do you have what you need here?" He looked around the room.

"Oh yes." Megan spoke finally. "It’s very nice. Becky and Marie are doing laundry over at Brittany’s house. There was, there was quite a bit of it."

Mulder grinned, "I’m not surprised."

"I’m not sure where Greg is."

Mulder nodded and rose, "Well, I know you’re busy. Come by the office if you need anything."

Stan escorted him to the door and shut it behind him, then looked over at Megan.

"Stan? Are we, are we staying here?"

"I . . . I was too afraid to ask."

*****

Mulder let himself inside the clinic and spotted Katy showing a man a drawing. She looked up and spotted Mulder. "Daddy!" She ran over to Mulder and he watched the new man rise quickly to his feet and brush off his hands. He didn’t extend his hand for shaking as Mulder approached with Katy in his arms.

"Mr. Mulder," he spoke quickly, "I’m the one responsible for Bill being here. I let him join our group. I’m the one that should be exiled. Please, let Megan and the others stay here with you, where they’ll be safe. Please."

"Greg, right? May I, uh, speak to my daughter for just a minute?"

"Oh." Greg blinked, "Of course, I . . . I’m sorry."

"No problem." Mulder stepped away from Greg and gave Katy a squeeze. "Were you having a nice time with him?"

She nodded, "Can I go see Kevin?"

"In a minute, Honey. Do you think it would be okay for Greg to live here with us?"

Again she nodded, "He likes plants."

Mulder’s smile grew. "Do you know you’re the best little girl I know?" Katy gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Want to see Kevin now?"

"Please!"

"Okay," he laughed and put her down. "If he’s asleep - "

"He’s not." She turned and ran toward the door to Kevin’s room. Mulder turned back toward Greg, who came to attention at his look.

Mulder gestured toward the couch, "Why don’t we talk for a minute Greg?"

Greg waited for Mulder to seat himself then sat across from him on the edge of the chair. If it hadn’t been so pitiful, Mulder would have laughed.

"So, you’re married to Megan, right?"

"Yes sir."

Mulder put his hand up. "I’m not that much older than you, I’m just Mulder. I was just over at your place visiting."

Greg’s eyes widened, but he kept his mouth shut.

"How long have you two been married."

"We, uh, we got married about two weeks before the virus hit."

Mulder nodded, "No kids?"

"We had talked about it, but when everything . . . we decided it might be better not to . . . "

"It is a scary time to be raising a family. What do you do, or did you do, before?"

"I’d pretty much just gotten out of the military. I was working in a glass factory, supervising the line. Oh, we’re from Lubbock, Texas."

Mulder grinned, "I had placed you somewhere near there," referring to the accent. The younger man still didn’t smile and Mulder sighed inwardly.

"So, you’re used to supervising men." Mulder leaned back. "Know anything about agriculture?"

For the first time, the man’s eyes seemed to lighten a little. "Yes sir, uh Mulder. I’ve always been at least a weekend gardener. Everyone always said I had a real green thumb."

Mulder nodded, "Around here, Brittany is pretty much the expert. She occasionally lets me haul compost but I’m pretty sure she’s not even happy with the way I do that."

Greg’s eyes again widened, someone living here criticized Mulder?

"What about Megan?"

"She was a secretary at the elementary school." He smiled, "She’s great. She can handle about twelve things at once and do them all well."

"That could come in handy. Think you and Brittany could get together, see if you can increase our food output for this year?"

"You . . . you mean we . . . you’re going to - " Before he could complete a sentence, or Mulder insult him by laughing, Scully walked over with Walt and Lexie in her arms. Mulder stood and Greg scrambled to his feet.

Mulder leaned down to kiss her and took Lexie from her. "Scully, have you had a chance to really meet Greg . . . Greg, sorry I don’t know your last name."

"Harvey, Greg Harvey." He held out his hand to Scully, who smiled and shook it.

"Pleased to meet you. Say, would you mind holding Walt for just a second. I don’t want Mulder using that arm and I need to check on Katy."

Mulder thought for an instant the poor man would faint at such an honor. He wanted to shake his head at this tribute, but was afraid Greg would die a natural death. Instead Scully seemed to ignore the whole thing and bundled the boy into Greg’s arms. Walt turned to smile up at the man and reached for his nose.

Scully winked at Mulder as she turned away to look for their daughter. "You might try Kevin’s room."

She nodded and waved.

"Walt always goes for the nose. I personally think he’s measuring them all to find one like mine."

Finally Greg managed to smile up at Mulder. "You’re really going to let us stay here?"

"Yes. We need good people here, and I’d like more information about what’s going on out there. I don’t get to travel like I used to. "

"Thank you."

"Scully and I will have you and Megan over sometime. We’d like to know how you heard about us; things like that. Oh, I do have one warning about living here."

Greg grew serious as Mulder looked around the room at the toys and kids and people all over, but giving them space. Mulder leaned in a little closer, so Greg did the same. "People around here are damn fertile. You need to be aware of that."

Greg blinked at him and then broke out into a genuine smile. "Uh, yes sir. I’ll, uh, I’ll watch out for that."

"You better head home, try to reassure everyone that things are okay. We’d like to know the new skills available and I’m sure Brittany will put you to work before you know it. Just put Walt down there, he’ll be fine."

Both men rose and Greg carefully placed the boy on the rug, then shook Mulder’s hand and left. Mulder could see that he was running by the time he’d left the porch.

He turned as Scully came up behind him. "Not bad for an ex-FBI agent, Scully."

"I figured you wanted to know all you could. I saw you talking to Katy, but I didn’t want to interrupt."

"Katy says he likes plants. Maybe he and Brittany can whip up some gourmet eating around here."

"Tired of fish, huh? Come on, help me feed the kids before the crowd gets here."

*****

After the kids were fed, Mulder looked around at the crowd eating and realized immediately that Walter and Mom had not joined the group. Rather than say anything to Scully, he gave her a quick kiss; "I need to head over to the office for a little while. Pick you guys up here later?"

"Don’t forget us." She warned and turned as MJ’s cup hit the floor.

Mulder escaped, shaking his head. This woman could do anything and it never seemed to faze her, from performing an autopsy to giving birth alone to running after what looked like a dozen kids at once. He sure as hell had lucked out.

Instead of turning toward the office once outside, he headed for Walter’s house. He tapped on the door, but let himself in.

"Oh, hi Mulder. Everything okay?" Walter came out of the bedroom at the sound of the door closing.

"That was my question." He looked past Walter at the closed door.

Walter sighed, "She didn’t feel like going out."

"Physically or emotionally?"

"Yeah." Was Walter’s reply. "Mulder, we have to do something. This is killing her. She won’t go see him, but she wants to."

"Then she should. He is her son. No one is going to think anything about her loyalty or commitment to this place. My god, Walter, she’s worth twenty of him."

"You’re not telling me anything new. Mulder, I’m afraid I’m going to lose her."

Mulder stopped then and looked closely at the man standing in front of him, seeing clearly for the first time just how shaken he was. "We’re not going to let that happen. I think the two of you need to baby sit Walt and Lexie tonight."

Walter’s eyebrow rose, but he didn’t protest.

"We also have to make a definite decision about what to do with the man. And I’m sure hoping you’ve come up with an idea."

"Thanks." Walter grimaced. "I’ve actually been avoiding it."

"Yeah, me too. But let’s face it, we’re in charge."

"What’s this ‘we’ crap, Kemo Sabe?"

Mulder grinned, "Yeah, Dad, we are."

Walter rolled his eyes, but didn’t dispute it. Mulder moved toward the door, "Mulder?" Mulder stopped, "You think Walt can help?"

"I hope so." He let himself out. Now what?

*****

"You really think it’s a good idea for Mom to get the little ones tonight?"

"Walter will be there. If anyone can help her . . . "

"Walt, I know."

"Mom doesn’t really believe that he’s able to . . . anyway, spending a couple of hours with them won’t hurt. Even if Walt were just a ‘regular’ kid, he’s a sweetheart and his grandma would feel better from being around him. Right?"

"Right. You want to eat here or at the clinic?"

"What if we sent Katy along too and ate here?"

"Ate?"

"Whatever you want to call it, Scully?" He grinned at her and she actually blushed. "Oh yeah, Katy’s going to visit Grandma and Grandpa tonight too."

"Mulder."

"Hey, what’s the point of having in-laws so close if you can’t use them sometimes. Pack the diaper bag. I need to head over to the clinic for a few minutes."

"What for?"

"I, uh," He shrugged, "I’m going to talk to Bill."

"Mulder, don’t."

"The sooner we make a decision, the sooner Mom can start to heal and we can get back to normal. Having a prisoner in the clinic isn’t good for anyone."

She seemed to slump against him, "I know."

He kissed her forehead and let himself out. His steps had gotten a lot slower by the time he made it to the clinic. Beth looked up from reading to MJ and Missy. She took in his posture, "Mulder, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Gotta go upstairs."

"Oh. Anything I can do to help?"

"I’m up for hearing some suggestions."

She looked down at the kids. "I’ll catch up with you if I get any."

He nodded, "Kevin okay?"

"Kevin is great. I’ve never seen anything like it. He was out of bed, sitting in the chair earlier."

"You’re kidding."

She shook her head. MJ tugged on her arm. "Weed!"

Mulder grinned; at least the people here kept his ego in place. He turned and headed upstairs.

Langly was reading outside of the room. "Hi, here for a family visit?"

"Yeah."

"Want company?"

"No, I’ll be okay." He opened the door. Bill was reclining on the bed, but the cuff was now around his ankle, leaving his hands free. He had a book in his hand, but it didn’t look like he was reading it.

"Mulder." Bill looked up.

"You doing okay?"

"What do you care?"

"For you? I don’t, but you should know Mom is not doing so well."

He straightened up, "She’s sick?"

"Not physically, not yet. Bill, having you here is hurting her. I’m sorry, I hate saying that to you, but it’s the truth. She loves you, and she feels guilty about what you did. We’ve all told her that none of us blame her, but she can’t seem to hear it. She wants to come see you, but . . . "

"But if she comes here, she’s being disloyal to you."

"I don’t feel that way, I don’t think anyone else does, but . . ."

"She does." He leaned back, "I suppose I should be honored to be the brother-in-law of an icon, a cult leader."

Mulder didn’t respond, just watching him.

"To be honest, I’m not sure I was coming here to kill you."

"Well that’s a real comfort."

Bill gave a harsh chuckle. "No, I mean it. I wanted to get Dana away from you; yeah I knew she’d be wherever you were. I didn’t know Charlie and all were here, but I knew the kind of sick hold you’ve had over Dana for a long time."

Mulder’s eyebrow went up, but he kept quiet.

"But then I actually started out for DC. I kept running into people that knew you. It was weird; it was like I was drawn to them. Did you know they even have a secret signal to weed out "non-Mulder" people? Oh yeah, they think you’re going to rise up and smote the . . . the . . . "

"Aliens." Mulder supplied.

Bill closed his eyes for a moment. "Okay, aliens. Anyway they see you as some kind of savior. I wanted to get Dana away from you. But the longer I hung around these geeks, the worse it got. They really believe in you, they . . . and I had to pretend that I was one of them. When I hooked up with the group I arrived with . . . God, Mulder, those stupid fools think you can walk on water!"

"You know better."

"You’re damn right I do!" But Mulder’s agreement seemed to surprise him, taking a little of the wind out of his sails.

"You and I both know I was a screw up at the Bureau. Oh I was smart enough, and I did seem to have the ability to get into pervert sicko minds, but I sure wasn’t headed for the fifth floor. Of course part of the problem was that I didn’t want the fifth floor. I wanted to work on the X-Files. I wanted to know what had happened to my sister. That was my whole life . . . until I met Scully. Scully is the real reason people come here. Do you know that?"

Bill’s eyes narrowed.

"I don’t want to be an icon or a leader. You can’t imagine how glad I was to see Walter Skinner when he showed up. He knows about leading men, like you do.

"But Scully has domesticated me. Now I’m a husband and a father and, yeah people that don’t know me see me as a symbol. They just want to own the earth again. I can’t give them that; you and I know it.

"I do know that the people that are counting on me, or what they think I am, are willing to try to keep the planet."

Mulder sighed. He hadn’t learned anything and for the first time he truly envied the abilities of the others in his family. He didn’t want Scully or the kids anywhere near this . . . this man, but he needed answers.

The man came here with an agenda. Yes getting Scully away from him was part of it. But would he really have traveled this far to ‘rescue’ his sister, instead of spending his energy finding out what had happened to his son?

Mulder had always known they were different kinds of men, but he had looked for his sister for over twenty years. If something were to happen to Katy, Walt or Lexie, he’d never quit.

He’d wasted his time here. Katy said the man was dead. That’s the angle they should be investigating.

He hated to ask, but Scully needed to give this man . . . Bill, a complete physical. He hadn’t been thinking like an investigator, he’d been thinking like a . . . a brother-in-law.

Bill was watching him, trying to read him, just as Mulder was to him. He shook his head, then rose and, without another word, left the room.

Langly wasn’t there, but Mulder knew he or someone else would be there as soon as they realized Mulder had left Bill alone.

He took a deep breath, he should get home and help Scully get the kids over to Walt and Mom’s.

He carried Lexie and the bag while Scully had Walt. Katy skipped ahead of them. Katy opened the door to let them in, the idea of knocking had never occurred to her. Scully looked over at Mulder and rolled her eyes.

"It’s a good thing, Scully."

"Unless she walks in on something we don’t want her to see."

Maggie was already hugging the child when they got inside. "I hear Walter and I are the designated babysitters tonight."

"I hope you don’t mind Mom."

"No, but I do think you’re worrying too much about me. I’m not stupid Dana. You’re trying to . . . I appreciate your concern."

"We love you, Mom. We want you out and about."

Maggie just shook her head at the two of them. She looked around as Walter joined them. Mulder handed Lexie to him and put the bag on the floor next to the couch. Scully put Walt in her mother’s arms.

The baby immediately reached up and patted her face. Mulder and Scully exchanged glances as Maggie smiled down at the boy.

"Don’t worry about the kids." Walter spoke, patting Lexie on the back as she jabbered to him. "And you," he looked over at Mulder, "remember, she’s my daughter now. Behave yourself."

Mulder grinned hugely, especially at Scully’s blush. "You keep an eye on them, I’ll watch after ‘your daughter’."

"Oh god, Mom, can I stay here?"

Maggie chuckled, "I don’t think so. We’ll see you in the morning."

"Hey, we weren’t planning to leave the guys here all night."

"Well do. I haven’t had custody of them in ages."

"Mom are you sure?" Scully looked at her closely.

"Positive. Katy, you want to spend the night here, don’t you?"

"Yeah! Hey Mom, can we stay?"

"Now that’s cheating." She shook her head at her mother, but already the woman looked . . . brighter. "Okay, but if you give them any trouble, I’m going to make Grandpa promise to bring you home."

"We’ll be good. I’ll help with the babies."

"Okay then." Mulder leaned over and kissed Katy, then the little ones and took Scully’s arm. Walter walked them to the door.

"Thanks, I think I owe you one."

"You keep the kids all night and I’ll consider it paid." Mulder winked at him and they headed back to their own place.

Once inside, Scully looked up at her husband. "I can’t believe you did that."

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You and Walter had gotten together - "

"No, honest Scully. We hadn’t. I think when he saw Walt touch Mom, he wanted them to stay. I don’t blame him, but I can’t help but be grateful."

She shook her head at him.

"What? I can’t still have fantasies about you?"

"We’ve been married for years."

He grinned, "Yeah, finally. Maybe when we’ve been married as long as I’ve lusted after you . . . no, I’m always gonna feel this way about you. Might as well get used to it."

She moved into his arms. "It is good to know you still want me after all this time, after having a couple of kids and - "

"And you couldn’t be more desirable."

"Well then prove it Agent Mulder." She took his hand and tugged him toward the bedroom.

"Be gentle with me, Agent Scully."

*****

Much later, as he held her in this bed where they had first consummated their relationship, he nuzzled her hair. "I need to ask a favor."

She shifted and looked up at him. "Favor? This isn’t enough?"

He grinned. "Never enough, but this is something else."

She pulled away from him slightly to look into his eyes.

"What?"

"I need you to do a physical exam on Bill. We need to know why Katy thinks he’s dead."

"I . . . I don’t know, Mulder. I don’t think he’d agree to it."

Mulder’s smile was almost feral. "Not a problem. If he wanted to kill me because he was fed up - "

"Fed up? He tried to stab you because he was fed up?"

"Okay, it drove him over the edge. He wasn’t completely sane before he started hearing about me. He’d lost Tara and he still doesn’t know what happened to Matthew. He never will, but he quit trying in order to come after me."

"That’s what you talked to him about this afternoon?"

Mulder nodded and pulled her back against him. "Enough of that. What if I try to make you feel good again?"

"Again?"

"Who knows when they’ll offer to keep all three of them again?"

"God, Mulder . . . "

*****

The next morning they stopped by to pick up the kids on their way to the clinic. Walter opened the door and actually laughed at their relaxed expressions.

"I’d say we’re even."

"Will you two stop it!" Scully hissed at the both of them and moved passed them inside. She missed the high five they exchanged, which was just as well.

"Mom?"

Her mother came out of the kitchen with Lexie in her arms. "Morning Sweetheart. The kids are fine, you didn’t have to rush."

Scully looked at her mother, trying to hide her amazement. She looked more like her old self and . . . and rested.

"Uh, we didn’t rush, but we did think you’d be ready to be rid of them."

"Nonsense. Katy’s helping me with the dishes, the babies have been playing with the pots and pans."

Scully smiled, "Sounds like they had a good time. We’re headed to the clinic. Beth and family stayed over last night."

"How long do you think Kevin will have to stay?"

"Actually, he’s doing so well I’d be thinking of releasing him if we were still in the old world. Since he lives alone, I want him to stay at the clinic. He can’t run after Katy yet, but it shouldn’t be long."

"You’re a good doctor, Dana."

"I had a lot of help." She took Lexie in her arms. "Hi, Sweetheart, did you miss me?"

The baby smiled at her and did her best to tell her about what she’d been doing since they’d last been together.

"Dana, this one wants to talk so bad. She’s got a lot to say." Maggie played with the baby’s toes. "Let me get their coats."

"Will you be over later?"

"Yes, Dana I’m feeling a lot better and . . . and I need to see Bill."

Scully nodded. "I’m going to be doing an examination of Bill this morning. Make sure he doesn’t have anything that could - "

"Dana? You’re not worried about contagion. You would have checked him out first thing."

Scully wouldn’t meet her eyes.

"You and Fox are looking for something, aren’t you? Walter told me his blood was red."

Scully looked a little startled at that. What did she know about these things? Lexie squirmed and drew Scully’s attention. Mulder and Walter had bundled up the other two and were waiting at the door.

"See you at the office later?" Walter asked Mulder.

"You don’t need a nap, Grandpa?"

Walter narrowed his eyes, "If you can’t behave I’ll sic your mother-in-law on you."

Mulder mock cringed, then leaned over and kissed the threat. "You wouldn’t hurt me, would you Mom?"

"Both of you get out of here. I have housework to catch up on. Dana, I’ll see you in a little while."

Mulder held the door for Scully as he held Walt. Katy scampered ahead, hurrying to see Kevin. Once the door closed behind them, Mulder turned to Scully. "Do you believe that?"

"No." Scully looked over at the boy in Mulder’s arms. "But I’m grateful. She said she was coming over to see Bill."

"Maybe she should wait until after the exam."

Scully nodded, "I mentioned that to her. She seemed to know more about things than I had thought."

"Like?"

"She asked what I would be looking for since he had red blood."

"Interesting. But she is married to Walter. Whether he ever admitted it or not, he knew about the things we had found."

*****

Kevin has sitting out in the front room with the fire; Katy beside him when they got there.

"Nice to see you up man." Mulder shook his hand and then seated Walt in his lap. The baby reached for his bandage. Mulder and Scully looked at each other.

Walt jabbered at Kevin, smiling. "Well, while you men bond, I’ll go nurse Lexie. It doesn’t look like I have a lot of doctoring to do on this crew."

After a minute, Mulder followed her to her office. "I want armed guards while you’re with him."

Scully thought about it a moment, "Who?"

"Todd and . . . and Frohike."

"Walter’s a better shot, if that’s what you’re going for, Mulder."

"Yes, but he’s also the man’s father-in-law. I don’t want anyone to hesitate to take him out. Todd and Frohike have no emotional attachment. If he makes a move to hurt you, you will be the only consideration."

After a moment Scully nodded. "He’s not going to like this."

"Imagine how much I care." He grinned. "I’ll go see who’s on duty upstairs."

*****

Bill wasn’t happy, but between the cuffs and the guns around him, he held his comments. He shuffled into the exam room, wearing boxers and a robe they had found for him.

"What is this about Dana? I’m fine."

"I’m sure you are Bill, but our families are here. If you’re going to be around we want to make certain."

"Like I’m going to be allowed around your precious families." He sneered.

"Just relax Bill. I am a doctor; how can it hurt for me to make sure you’re healthy."

His eyes narrowed, but he shut up. He glanced over at Todd in the far corner, then back to Frohike near the door. He gave a derisive laugh at the small man. "At least you’re not really worried about me hurting you, not with these guards."

"I wouldn’t push it Bill. You don’t have a clue what you’re up against and you definitely don’t want to find out. Sit here on the table."

She began with a visual exam, removing the robe from his shoulders and paying special attention to this neck. There was no evidence of an implant. She took his blood pressure, heart rate and temperature as a matter of course and scribbled the information on a pad. Then she checked his throat and ears, finally having him lie back to palpate his abdomen and listen to his heart.

Beth joined her and checked his reflexes. So far nothing stood out. Hopefully the blood work would tell them something. Scully drew his blood over his mutterings.

"Come on Dana, you not going to do a full exam? Maybe Mulder doesn’t satisfy you any more and you want big brother to make it better."

Scully looked up startled. The brother she remembered would never make a comment like that. They both heard the round that Frohike ratcheted into place. "Watch your mouth around the ladies."

"You want to shoot me for that?"

"No, I just want to shoot you, but I can use that as an excuse. Now shut your mouth."

Bill looked up at Scully to see if she was going to make a comment. She met his eyes then, but held her peace. He made a rude noise, but offered no further comments during her examination.

Bill was watching Scully and didn’t see Beth come up on the other side and slip the needle into his arm. "Ow! What the hell?"

"Sorry, I thought you knew I was here. It’s just a polio booster."

Bill’s eyes narrowed and he rubbed the injection site. Beth glanced over at Scully, who nodded.

"Bill," Scully looked up from her notes, "you seem to be in pretty good shape. A little underweight for you, but your appetite’s good."

"Right, can I go back to my cell now?"

"Yes." She looked over at Todd, who nodded and moved closer. "Do you mind if Mom comes to see you?"

Bill looked over at her as though she had distracted him, "What? No, I’d like to see her." He rose heavily from the table and seemed to stumble slightly.

"Bill?"

"I’m fine. Leave me alone, okay?"

"Sure, fine, whatever." Scully and Beth stepped back from the door and allowed Frohike to exit first, followed by Bill and Todd. The two women moved out into the hall to make sure that Bill gave them no problem.

Scully noted that his pace was uneven, but that might be due to balance, with his hands bound behind him.

When Frohike called down an all clear, the two women returned to the examining room. "You took a lot of blood. What tests are you planning to do?"

"The normal ones, but knowing Mulder and Byers, they’ll come up with something and I didn’t want to ask for seconds."

Beth nodded, "Was he always . . . "

"No, and I want to apologize for his rudeness."

"Don’t Dana. You aren’t responsible for him or for anything that’s happened to him. I’ll get Byers for you."

"Thanks, Beth."

Byers entered almost immediately. "Got something for me, Scully?"

"Yeah. Bill’s blood."

"Wow, what tests are we planning to run?" He surveyed the vials in from of him.

"The normal ones. But knowing you and Mulder, I figured you’d want to run something I hadn’t thought of. I did not want to double dip him."

Byers grinned. "Good thinking. I’ll get started and put the rest where it’ll stay fresh."

*****

It was about an hour before Maggie arrived. Scully had sent Beth home, but MJ and Frohike were hanging around with Mary and Missy, so that Beth could get some sleep. Langly had headed home as well, and Todd had replaced him upstairs.

Kevin had gone back to bed, and Katy was keeping an eye on Ruthie, while Anne straightened up the kitchen.

Maggie looked around the room and shook her head.

"What is it Mom?"

"I feel like a hippie sometimes."

"What?" Scully’s brow furrowed.

"It’s like I’m living in a commune."

That startled a light laugh from Scully. "Commune huh?"

"Well, look around." Then the smile faded slightly. "I’m going upstairs."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I can do this, but thank you. And thank you for last night. I’m not sure . . . it doesn’t matter, but I hope you explain it to me sometime."

"You’re just the world’s best grandma and being around them makes things better."

Maggie’s eyebrow went up in a gesture that Mulder would have recognized instantly, but she didn’t speak, turning toward the stairs.