::  Refuge  ::

Dana Scully gingerly climbed up the green hilly terrain; the formerly barren, muddy trail beginning to fill in with new spring growth. It had, after all been a whole month since she had last made her pilgrimage up to the rock formation where she held her monthly ‘service’. The going was rough because she could only use one hand. The other gripped the Grand Marnier bottle tightly. She had never once dropped it in the year she had been coming up here. This time, lulled by the warming afternoon sun, she wore only her faded blue jeans, one of Skinner’s old Marine Corp. sweatshirts, and a light windbreaker. It was early spring and the wind in this secluded spot in the Appalachian Mountains should have been chilly. As the sun dipped behind the tall hill, the air would cool considerably. But she would feel it for only a little while. Soon she would be warm from the fire she carried in her hand. Soon she wouldn’t care one way or the other if she was freezing. And when she finally passed out, she knew that she wouldn’t stay uncovered for long. ‘They’ wouldn’t allow it. She knew he had always followed her up here and sat and watched over her and when she fell into her stupor he would always cover her up. Just as she reached the small outcropping, she spared a moment to ponder who would do it now that Dogget was dead.

She settled herself on the outcropping, the slanted vertical stone a perfect backrest. She examined her treasure and grinned wolfishly as she always did when she considered Franklin’s grand plan for sobriety and fellowship.

In the beginning the only thing anyone had cared about was survival; their own and what was left of the human race. Franklin had set up the new seat of government in this secret military facility and led a desperate counterattack that had surprised everyone when it worked; who would have thought that H G Wells would become the prophet of their survival. The alien invasion had had been halted by the deadly strain of influenza that they had let loose into the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the aliens had unleashed their own strain of death upon the planet. Dogget and President Franklin, himself, had browbeat Scully into heading the research team looking for a cure into the slow moving but inescapable death. She had been too listless and defeated to fight them both. She had culled the last of her emotional strength and managed to pull together the odd assortment of professions that chipped in their talents to come up with a cure and more importantly the means of its delivery.

Then came the waiting time. People, who before wondered if they would ever see their beds, scrounged around for reasons to get up. No one was surprised, and most were elated when the quiet MIT grad student had built a still. Scully raised the bottle in salute. "Bless you young William, may your soul find peace." He had died nearly three months ago, an accident victim of all things. He had fallen from the back of a convoy truck and been crushed beneath the wheels.

He was dead before she could get to him.

Of course, Billy had only been the impetus to one of Franklin’s grand ideas. When he realized that people where getting drunk and disorderly on Billy’s potent rock gut, Franklin had called Dogget in for a long conference. The next thing Scully knew, Dogget’s team of commando’s had gone scouring the countryside until they had found one of the many deserted towns to the south and came back with a truckload of the ‘good stuff’. Franklin had put one of the many useless military aides in charge of the ‘bar’ and the word went out. "Free drink to everyone, every night." Franklin’s fine print, of course, was that anyone could have ONE drink each night. People at first grumbled, but in the final analysis Franklin had been right, AGAIN. Most people gathered at different times in the bar and got their one drink and slowly sipped it and began talking to the people around them. Scully was sure that the ‘organizers’ of the dart tournaments and the poker games and the dozen of other activities had been plants. But, who cared. It had provided an outlet and something to look forward to, for most people.

Dana sighed and pulled another long drag from the bottle. Most people, but not her. She had sat for nights staring at the bar. Never taking her drink. She knew that one would do nothing for the pain; nothing was going to rid her of her anger or hatred. But just once, before Billy had been convinced to shut down the still, she had gotten rip-roaring drunk and had been able to forget for awhile. One night, when she saw one of the ‘bartenders’ throwing out the empty Grand Marnier bottle, she had strolled over and retrieved it. She looked at Max and said, "Give me my drink."

Max had eyed her. "Sure, Doc. What’ll be? A stinger? How about a nice Rum and Coke?"

Scully shook her head. "Nah, give me a shot of…." She paused pondering her choices.

"….Maker’s Mark."

Max had shrugged and poured a shot glass and handed it and a glass of water to her. She smiled sweetly and took her drink and the empty bottle back to her table and sat resolutely down. It took her a long while, but she managed to pour the shot glass’ contents down into the bottle, not wasting one precious drop. She then took the cork stopper and sealed it.

She repeated her routine for a week. Of course, in an environment so devoid of anything original to do, she attracted a huge audience after a while. She never spoke to anyone, and few people had the courage or inclination to face her sharp angry tongue. Except, Dogget. On day four of her performance he plopped down into the chair across from her, just as she was beginning to pour the shot of Bombay gin into the bottle. "What are you doing, Agent Scully?"

She paused, glared at him and snapped, "I told you to stop calling me that! I’m the doctor here.

Remember? No more agents, no more FBI, no more…" She gulped then. "Fuck off, Dogget."

He never raised his voice, never showed any emotion when she got like this. "What are you doing, Doctor Scully?"

She didn’t bother to look up. "Just getting my nightly drink. You have a problem with that?"

Two weeks later, she had half a bottle. Franklin called her in, but got no further than Dogget had. She knew that they wouldn’t do anything to piss her off. She had already stormed out of the complex before. Only luck, and a very injured little girl had brought her back. So they watched and they waited and when she finally had her fine mix of shots in the bottle, she had taken it up to this place and had gotten royally drunk. And, when she woke the next morning, Dogget had been standing over her watching to make sure that she hadn’t been bothered during the night.

He had even thrown a snow survival blanket over her. He hadn’t said a word to her then, or after when she began ritual all over again. People had become accustomed to her ‘religious services’

by now and had decided that as long as she patched their wounds and set their broken bones, then she could do what she wanted once a month.

She sat on her rock and scanning the vista before her. It was probably beautiful if you still recognized beauty, she thought. But there was no beauty left in her life. There was nothing left and she tried hard to come up with the reason why she had never stepped off this outcropping into the ravine below. She didn’t know whether it was a last horrible vestige of a religion she now scorned, or a deep-seated fear that once she died, they would all die with her. Deep, Dana.

Real deep. And, real stupid. They are all already dead. Mary Katherine, her mother, Bill and Charlie, Skinner. But, not Mulder. Yeah, Mulder you bastard. You should be dead, you son of a bitch. She took a long drag on the bottle this time. She tried desperately to think of other things but the images came tumbling and she was unable to stop them.

She leaned back and gazed across the ravine and let the memories rake over her.

She had been in her eighth month of pregnancy when Mulder returned to them. He had been in pretty much the same state that she had been after her own abduction. He had tried to get back into the groove, after every doctor Kersh could throw at him had examined him and declared him fit for duty. Skinner had been in a daze for weeks after. Scully thought he was more relieved to see Mulder than she had been. And, finally, she conceded he probably was.

She had been so happy at first when he came back and she had tried desperately to help him fit back into his life and into hers. He had been bemused by her pregnancy, but willing to go with the flow as it were. She remembered those last two months only all too well. Mulder had done whatever she had asked him to do, but seldom volunteered anything. He had just been completely clueless. She had tried to tell herself that he was dealing with his own issues over the abduction, but she had still felt the pain when he had shown no real interest in her condition or their child. She hadn’t even mentioned moving in together because she knew she couldn’t bear the pain of knowing he wasn’t where he was supposed to be at night. At least alone in her own apartment, she was sheltered somewhat. She remembered her feelings of doubt from that time. She didn’t know how she would have done it at all without Skinner. From the very beginning, when she had told him in the hospital of her condition, to that last horrible time, he had been there for her. Been there for Mary Kate. He had begun dropping off items he deemed necessary for her well being as well as the baby’s about the seventh month. Though how a three-foot tall teddy bear could be considered necessary had escaped her at the time. When Mulder had returned, Skinner continued to keep watch over her, but from a distance for awhile.

Until that day.

She had talked Mulder into going to her last doctor’s appointment. He had been sulky and childish about it, but had agreed. She had purposely made the appointment for late in the afternoon so he wouldn’t have any excuse. She had met him in their old office - his and Dogget’s - until her return from maternity leave. He had stared at her, bemused, but her look clearly changed his mind about trying to weasel out. She had said good evening to Dogget and they had walked up to the parking garage.

As they were approaching Mulder’s car, Skinner had pulled into the Bureau garage. He had gotten out of his car and come over to exchange a few pleasantries. Mulder had been withdrawn, but Scully had been truly pleased to see him again. Skinner said goodbye to them and turned toward the elevator when a large black van pulled into the garage and screeched to a halt in front of them. Before Skinner or Mulder could draw their weapons, the rear doors opened and four men had jumped out aiming small automatic handguns. None of the hooded men said anything, but one of them motioned to Mulder to get in the van. Skinner had lunged at them but one of them backhanded him with the butt of his gun. Scully had watched in horror as they pointed their guns at her and again motioned for Mulder to get into the van. Once he was in the back seat, the men had looked at each other and then grabbed hold of her and pulled her over to the van and helped her in, with surprising gentleness. Finally, they had looked down at the prone Skinner and two of them had manhandled him in.

They were driven deep into the countryside and it was nearly dark when they had pulled up to the gated lane, about three miles off the highway. She was surprised that they hadn’t blindfolded either her or Mulder. She was further surprised when they let her tend to Skinner when he had started to move around. Of course, it had been difficult; she had been as big as a house by then. But she had managed to make sure he showed no signs of a concussion and had held his cheek in the palm of her hand a little too long, her look beseeching him not to try anything foolish. He had nodded and gotten as comfortable as he could on the floor of the van.

What they discovered at the installation should have relieved them all. They were brought to a small one-story building, housing only an elevator. As they descended, Scully checked the bruise on the side of Skinner’s face again. Trying to lighten the mood and calm her own nerves she quipped. "I’ve seen worse…on you." He tried to smile but grimaced instead. They both looked over at Mulder who had only a scared, but almost feral look on his face. When the elevator had stopped, they were led down a long corridor to double doors that were guarded by Army Rangers, who immediately admitted them.

The found themselves facing a long conference table surrounded by Admirals and Generals and tense looking men in custom made suits. At the head of the table they were astounded to see, not CSM, reincarnated yet again, but Thomas Howe Franklin, President of the United States.

Franklin stood before addressing them. "Agent Scully, AD Skinner, we are sorry for bringing you here like this. We have needed to talk to Agent Mulder for several days and our more benign attempts have failed. Forgive us." He paused and concentrated on Scully for a moment. "Agent Scully, are you well enough to stay, or should one of our doctors look at you."

Dana had cocked her eye at him, fury giving her more strength than she really possessed. She had started to give an angry retort, but looked down as a soft caress along her arm startled her.

She saw the large blunt fingers and jerked her head up into the intense stare of Skinner. They had gotten good at calming each other since Mulder’s disappearance. She kept her eyes locked on Skinner’s but managed to grind out, "I’m fine."

Franklin was surprised at who had somehow managed to defuse the situation; he had thought Mulder would step in and calm the very angry woman. He had heard that he was the father of her child. He shook his head. "Please have a seat, Agent Scully; Mr. Skinner. Agent Mulder, we have needed to talk to you for over a month. I understand from General Griswald that you have declined to meet with him."

Skinner and Scully stared at Mulder, unable to conceal their surprise. He had said nothing to either of them. He suddenly reminded Scully of a petulant child. He puffed out his chest and then let out a long deep breath. "Why should I? I’ve been through a lot and I haven’t felt like being put under another microscope." He crossed his arms and stared at the leader of the free world as if he were a suspect in a particularly ridiculous X-file. Skinner’s growl got his attention and for a moment, Scully thought Mulder was going to say something equally snide. She relaxed a bit when he sighed and flopped into the offered chair. "So, why all of a sudden are you interested in what I have to say? You’ve patently ignored every report that I have sent for the last seven years."

Franklin looked over at a man dressed in a pale grey Armani suit and quirked an eyebrow. "Mr.

Reeves?"

The sharp-featured man looked back at the President and then over at Mulder. He cleared his throat. "Mr. Mulder, we have been aware of your reports, of course. However, considering your involvement with the members of the conspiracy, you could hardly expect us to bring you in on our plans. Only the very…."

Whoever Mr. Reeves was, he got no further. Mulder snarled and jumped from his seat. Only Skinner’s quick intervention had prevented Mulder from flying across the table. Skinner pulled him back and sat him firmly in his chair. Skinner then spun and growled across at Reeves. "What kind of bull shit is that? Agent Mulder has fought the conspiracy and its members since he became aware of it. Often alone."

Reeves looked down at a paper before him. "Perhaps, Mr. Skinner. However, you are perhaps not the best person to be standing up for him. Are you?" Skinner hissed an oath and sat back down. Scully closed her eyes in pain. "Regardless, the seriousness of the situation makes it imperative that we pool our resources and modify certain plans so that the invasion is met and thwarted." The three of them stared at Reeves with a mix of emotions. Scully remembered thinking At last the government believes him.

Mulder jumped back up out of his chair, his face contorted in rage. "You knew. You’ve known all along and you’ve done nothing." His voice rose like a preacher’s in a traveling revival show.

Franklin finally took back control of the discussion. He snapped. "Sit down, Agent Mulder." He tented his hands, resting his chin lightly upon the tips of his fingers. He sighed and sat back in his chair. "Done nothing? I was briefed on the conspiracy three days after my inauguration. Mr.

Reeves informs me that Truman set up the counterintelligence team in 1952 to counteract what YOUR father and his friends were doing, Agent Mulder." He waited for another outburst, but Mulder remained seated, glaring at him. "It was a terrible and weighty responsibility to carry for the men and woman who watched and gathered data on such powerful people; often without any official presidential sanction. I’m told that Eisenhower knew and that Kennedy had been ‘vaguely briefed’, but no other president, except Reagan, had been told, before me." At Skinner’s grunted retort, he smiled ruefully and replied. "Yes, Mr. Skinner, that would explain the Star Wars program." He sighed deeply. "But now Agent Mulder we are hearing more and more distressing news from our observatories and from…from other sources. We need to gather as much information as we can. We need to know what you went through up there. We need you to tell us everything that you remember."

Scully took another long draw on the bottle. She wasn’t getting the hit that she usually did. By now she would be staring at the cloud formations above her or contemplating the pattern of the leaves before her. Instead she could still see Mulder’s awful continence. He had burst out laughing, almost hysterically. "What a laugh. Hoo boy. Finally, you all come begging for my help.

Well guess what, you bastards? I don’t remember. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zippola. Nothing." He had looked over at her and grinned. "Ain’t that right G-woman of mine. You don’t remember anything either do you?"

She had gently shaken her head, unable to meet his or anyone’s gaze.

Mr. Reeves had tried one last track. "Agent Mulder, would you agree to go under hypnosis? To help facilitate your memory."

It was then that Scully knew he remembered something. The looked of anguish and pain had nearly recaptured her heart. His face closed up quickly however, and he blithely retorted. "Been there, done that. Don’t think so." The feral look returned to his face. "So guys, are you going to hold us here or something?" He grinned happily.

Scully’s head had hurt and she rubbed her stomach, trying to calm her child who had decided at that moment to take up clog dancing. She looked over at Skinner and had seen the look of concern directed toward her. She broke eye contact when she heard Franklin speak up.

"Of course not Agent Mulder, we need your help, but no, we cannot compel it. I hope that you will decide to assist us." His sigh was deep and reached Scully’s soul. "You are free to go. The men who brought you will take you back. I’m sorry you couldn’t help us." He then looked over at Scully. "Agent Scully, I hope that we have not upset you too much. I wish nothing but the best for you and your baby."

The verdant green of spring replaced the dark conference room of Scully’s memories. The memories were less intense, skipping across the edge of consciousness now. The ride back was a blur. She could remember Skinner berating Mulder for his lack of foresight in turning down a chance to be part of the coming battle. Mulder maintained his sulking demeanor all the way home. She remembered that she tried to talk to him after the men had dropped them off at her apartment, but he had shut her out completely. Later that night her water broke and it was Skinner who she finally reached; Mulder seldom answered his cell phone. Skinner had driven her to the hospital. Skinner had stayed by her side and helped her pant while Mary Kate was being delivered. Skinner had called Maggie Scully and met her at the viewing window of the maternity ward. Skinner took Dana home from the hospital. And Skinner had died that day in the Hoover with her daughter while she and Dogget were out on a wild goose chase of an X-File that Mulder had dug up but was otherwise too busy to follow up on.

She had finished most of the bottle and the sun had finally set. She pulled her jacket close about her and cursed the alcohol that was not taking effect as quickly as it should. She heard the scuffling of stones behind her and wondered again at poor Dogget’s replacement. She sighed.

Maybe she could ask whomever it was to get her a coat. No. Must play by the rules. After all you made them up. The blanket always miraculously appeared. She never saw or thanked her vigilant guard. She sighed again. Dogget. It was Dogget who had saved her life. So by her drunken logic, Dogget was responsible for her current pain.

She hugged her knees to her chest, rocking in the remembrance of the pain. She and Mulder had come to an uneasy truce after the birth of her daughter. He had been there the morning after her birth, cooing and making silly little noise at his daughter. But when Scully had, quite crossly, asked him where he had been the day before he had hemmed and hawed and finally admitted.

"Me and the guys were checking on some stuff." Scully had groaned then. While she was gripping Skinners hand to the point where she knew she had left nail marks, the father of their child was off playing computer games with the three stooges. She knew then that she would never be able to count on him. She had thought that he would at least protect their child.

She had been back at work for almost two weeks. Mary Kate securely placed in the Hoover’s child-care center on the fourth floor. She had dropped her off at 8:30 like she had done for the past eight days. She remembered that she had smiled into the soft blue eyes of her three-month old daughter and cooed. "Daddy’s going to pick you up tonight, my precious. Mommy has to go on a trip with Uncle John. But I’ll miss you tonight, my darling." Mary Kate had reached out her arms and gurgled bubbles at her mother. That was the last time Dana had seen her daughter.

Scully and Dogget had been half-way to the small South Virginia town to check out Mulder’s latest X-file when they saw the huge space ship skimming above them. She had made him turn around and as they sped toward the place every other car was fleeing, she thought her heart would explode from the pain. By the time they had made the Mount Vernon exit, they could go no further. They had gotten off the highway and found themselves in front of the gates of Washington’s home. They had seen the glow before them and they ran past the guard and up the hill overlooking the Potomac. To the north they saw the red glow of the flames consuming the city. She had insisted upon getting as close as they could, but finally they were stopped at a police barricade just south of the Beltway. She had railed and screamed at the Lieutenant in charge of the checkpoint, but he had insisted that they could not get any closer, the flames were just too hot. She and Dogget had spent the night in the car. Around 3:00 AM her cell phone had rang. She had picked it up with some trepidation but breathed a sigh of relieve when she heard Mulder’s voice. "Scully! Are you okay?"

She had laughed, "Yeah Mulder I’m okay. Where are you and Mary Kate?" The silence on the other end of the line had killed her soul. She screamed into the phone. "Mulder! We saw the ship at 4:30. She is with you right?" Still no answer, only the far off static, barely audible above her now panicked gasped. "Mulder, damn you answer me?"

"Scully, I couldn’t get to her. I called Skinner. Honest I did. But I was checking…."

Hysteria had finally claimed her, "You bastard. You son-of-a-fucking-bitch. You swore to me you would pick her up." Dogget had finally pulled the phone from her.

"Mulder, its Dogget. Talk to me. Where are you? What the fuck are you doing in Norfolk? How could you possibly….What? How dare I talk to you like this, you stupid fuck? The mother of your child, you asshole, is sitting here dying and you ask me…hello? Mulder?" He had looked over at Scully then and saw her dazed look. "Scully, listen to me. Scully, damn it! Look at me." He had gripped her chin in his hand and forced her to meet his gaze. "I promise you that I will get into D.C. and see what is going on. I will find her if I can."

Tears of rage had filled her eyes. She spat out. "No. We will go in. See what you can do."

She hadn’t known then that Dogget had been contact by Reeve’s people a little after she, Skinner and Mulder had been brought to the secret installation. He had made some phone calls and three days later they had made it into D.C. proper. The destruction was complete. Only half the shell of the Lincoln Memorial and the ground level edifice of the Viet Nam Memorial were left of the once beautiful city. They had found out that the President had barely made it out in time.

A helicopter had picked him up on the lawn and had barely gotten away in time. His wife had been visiting a school in the Southeast Side. She, along with the two hundred and fifty school children and their teachers, never knew what had hit them.

They had slowly driven up Pennsylvania Avenue in the borrowed Army Humvee. They had managed to twist and dodge fallen chunks of concrete and steel I-beams. Finally, after passing the ruins of the White House they had come upon what was left of the once proud JEH. Only one part of one wall had been left standing. No one had survived the direct hit of the devastating weapon that had been used. Scully had keened her loss. She had jerked open the door and run toward the building. Dogget had finally caught up to her just as she was starting to claw at the rubble. He had spun her around and seen the look in her eyes. He did the only the he could think of – he hit her on the chin as hard as he dared. Her head had jerked back and he caught her as she sank to the ground.

The next thing she knew she awoke in the infirmary in the heart of the mountains in northwestern Pennsylvania.

For nearly a year she had used every little bit of clout she possessed in the fruitless search for her daughter and she finally admitted, for Skinner.

Mulder had finally made an appearance. He, along with Byers and Langley had been together in Norfolk when all hell at broken loose. She discovered the three of them had formed a rather effective resistance team against the last of the aliens who had survived the influenza attack. All across the country, what parts were still occupied, similar units had sprung up and had been instrumental in the final success. They were also invaluable, if unreliable source of intelligence.

Franklin had sent out a call for all ‘independent units’ to please check in with the local military.

Instead of checking in at Norfolk or Quantico, about six months later Mulder & Co. had waltzed into headquarters itself. Franklin’s original intention had been to keep track of the activities of the ‘independents’, perhaps even to get them to join the formal command. And, make sure they did not do what the commander of one small military installation in southern Ohio had done; set himself up as a feudal baron.

Franklin had to ignore the problem for almost six months after he had become aware of the situation through rumors and complaints from refugees fleeing from the south. Finally, he got together a small volunteer force, to be led by Mr. Reeves and Dogget. Mulder & Co. had checked in the day the team was leaving and signed on to help. The operation was successful. Reeves stayed on to set up the new chain of command. Mulder had come back just long enough to tell her that Dogget laid buried in the small grave yard outside an unknown town. It had been too much. All the pain and anguish he had caused her solidified then. She had slapped him and beat him with her small fists. He had made the mistake of blustering, "Jesus, Scully. It’s not my fault.

I didn’t…"

She screeched "Damn you, straight to hell, Mulder. Nothing is ever your fault. Mary Kate wasn’t your fault. Skinner wasn’t your fault. Just get out of my sight." He had looked at her with shock and pain and then turned on his heel. She had managed to stay on her feet long enough to return to her small room within the complex. All the rooms were set up for two people to live at very close quarters, but she had rated her own space, even though the extra cot had never been removed, and she had never tried to personalize the space in anyway. She even had a very tiny personal head. She thought she might be able to finally cry; for all the people she had lost.

Instead, all she had done was vomit, in private, most of the night.

That had been two months ago. Her monthly drunk falling two short days after Mulder’s visit.

She had been surprised when she had awoken and found herself, once again covered by the space-age blanket. Good thing too because, even though she had dressed much warmer than she had been tonight it had been very cold that night and she might have died had she not been covered.

She stared off into the deep black sky. So many stars could be seen from her perch. She had no idea what time it was. The moon was straight above her in the sky and she groggily thought that she should be able to figure out the time; that Ahab had taught her how to do it. The one thing she figured out just before she passed out was she wasn’t drunk enough.

The dawn light was persistent and she came slowly, awfully awake. She looked down and found that she was not covered by the usual blanket, but by a heavy warm fur coat. She gazed at it in wonder and painfully sat up. She grabbed her head and groaned and then gingerly brought her head up, her nose seeking the smell she thought she caught. A hand reached in front of her, holding a steaming cup of coffee in a small chrome-covered cup. She sipped and then drank the whole cup down, but still didn’t turn to her protector. That wasn’t part of the rules. The rules though flew out the window when she heard the lazy, cocky voice. "Christ, Scully. Why the hell don’t you just jump off the damn cliff?"

She buried her head into her arms and groaned. "Wonderful, terrific. Krycek. Maybe I will jump after all." She jerked back when he reached around her and grabbed the cup and filled it again.

As he handed it back to her, he snidely continued. "Well, don’t let me stop you."

She gratefully drank the coffee. Usually she had to stumble back down the hill and face the twitters and stares of the other early morning risers before she got coffee. "What are you doing here Krycek?"

He flopped down next to her, making sure that he didn’t get too close. He was pretty sure that she wouldn’t jump but he was almost convinced that she might push him off, into the ravine. "I got in early yesterday morning. Me and Marita and a couple of others just got back from Ohio.

We’ve been doing recon missions for Franklin for almost a year and a half. I’m surprised Dogget never mentioned it." He paused and looked out over the mist rising from the valley floor, the landscape finally taking shape, the road to the south just becoming visible. "I’m sorry about Dogget."

The words sounded sincere and Scully whipped around to stare at him. She looked down into the valley below her, sure that her head had fallen into it. When she regained her equilibrium, she looked over and saw his wry smirk. "Yeah, right, Krycek. You’re sorry. Just how many people have you killed?"

The truth of her words stung, but he gritted his teeth. "Enemies, Scully. I only killed my enemies. Dogget was a good soldier. I respected the man."

She really wasn’t surprised that the bastard had ended up on the ‘right’ side. She had always suspected that Krycek would. She was surprised to hear him talk about Dogget as if he had actually known him. "If you know Dogget so well, how come I haven’t seen you around, Alex?"

He raised an eyebrow at her familiarity, but let it pass without comment. "Oh I just drop in occasionally for supplies. Then, last time, the gang and I signed up for that little melee in southern Ohio. Nasty business. I…uhm…I was there when Dogget took the bullet."

She focused on a small moving dot far off down the road leading to the bunker opening.

Probably another group of refugees or perhaps the latest convoy bring supplies, though she didn’t notice the usual cloud of smoke from the crappy gasoline they were reduced to using. She tried to ignore his words, but some last bit of dignity forced her to ask. "Did he suffer much?"

Krycek followed her gaze. "Nah. He was pretty much out of it. He only had a minute. That’s why I’m here really. He made me promise to get back here to make sure somebody else watched out for you during your goddamn drunken orgy."

She closed her eyes. The sun is so damn bright. Yeah, Dana. Right. Her sigh shook her. Krycek barely heard her whispered, "Because, that’s what partners do."

Confused, he pulled his eyes away from ever enlarging dot. "What?"

She hugged herself under the warm fur coat and responded with more strength. "He said that to me once, after I screamed at him. I was mad about some bullshit thing and I ran up here." Her snort caused her to winch in pain. "I do come up here occasionally just to look around and be alone. But that time he must have thought I would do something particularly stupid and he followed me like some goddamn bloodhound. I asked why the hell he always did that. Why couldn’t he just leave me, the hell, alone? Why did he always have to keep an eye out for me?"

She gulped a huge lump stuck deep in her throat. "And he looked at me like I had two heads and he said, ‘Because, Agent Scully, that’s what partners do.’"

They sat there, together watching as the dot turned into two, no three, no two large dots and one smaller dot between the two. Finally Scully surprised herself by asking, "Mulder was there too wasn’t he?"

"Where?"

She looked over at him, "In Ohio."

Still watching the approaching trio he nodded. "Yeah, he was there. But not when Dogget died.

He and the two goofs had volunteered to sneak onto the base. The general’s men had us pinned down pretty good when Byers or Mulder, I don’t know which, managed to blow up the armory. I could have kicked some major ass over the loss of good ammo. But, what are you going to do? We thought it was pretty much over and Dogget had stood up. We never figured out who shot him; must have been someone they hadn’t rounded up yet. All I know is what Dogget told me.

Marita and I hightailed it back, before they buried him even, but we had some trouble on the way back. My guess is that Franklin assigned somebody to the detail. I told him last night that I would do it this time.

Shit. It’s just not worth it anymore. Not if even this bastard is going to take part. With that thought she looked down at the bottle she had been clutching, sighed deeply and flung it over the side. She listened for the shatter but barely made out the tingling of glass below. She managed to stand up and quickly donned the warm fur coat. She looked over to say something to Krycek but saw he was concentrating on the three people walking up the road. She really didn’t care who they were, since they obviously weren’t the scouting party and she started to turn away. She had just reached out to take hold of the rock to steady her descent when she heard Alex whistle. "Well I will be goddamn, go to hell. I thought he died at the Hoover."

She froze, gripping the rock. "What?"

"Come here and look. You were around him a lot longer than I was."

She forced herself to turn around and stumbled over to the edge. She was shaking so hard that Krycek finally grabbed her arm. "Hey, watch it will ya. I can just see Franklin when I tell him you fell looking at…"

Dana stared at the apparition before her. The dots had finally taken on enough form that height and sex could be made out even from this far up. They were only a few hundred yards from the entrance and she could clearly make out the giant, the troll and the tiny fairy, now being held in the giant’s arms. She fell to her knees and Krycek had to pull back on her to keep her from falling over. He held her head as she promptly vomited all the remaining liquor and her coffee down the ravine.

Krycek produced a mostly clean handkerchief from a pocket and she wiped her face and mouth.

He then poured her another cup of coffee and made her drink some of it. She swirled it around her mouth and then spit it out. She then flung the coat off and made her way down the hill as fast as she could. She entered the back of the bunker and ran through the corridors like a crazy woman. People who knew her and knew where she had been all night stared at her in awe, but parted for her. She made her way to the front of the installation and pushed her way into the outer defense perimeter. She didn’t see Franklin, who had been informed of the new refugees only moments before, come up behind her. She stopped so suddenly when she saw them that he ran into her, nearly knocking them both to the ground.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Skinner turned away from the guard at the main entrance.

Their eyes met and she thought she would faint. Franklin held her arms tightly. Skinner heaved a sigh so loud that everyone that heard it turned to stare at the tall bald man with the three-day growth of beard. The man beside him, so much shorter and so very scraggy, now held the tiny little red head in his arms.

Scully watched in awe as Melvin Frohike whispered something in the little girl’s ear. She struggled to get down and he gently placed her on her feet. The child took a tentative step toward Scully but then stopped and turned and suddenly scooted behind Skinner. Never taking his eyes off of Scully, he squatted down and spoke softly to the child. She came around and firmly took his hand. Skinner rose and slowly walked the child over to Dana.

After two years of icy controlled hell, tears finally welled in Dana’s eyes when she heard the deep baritone. "Mary Kate, honey, remember how Froky and I told you about your mom?" Dana sank to her knees and waited as patiently as she could while her daughter made up her mind about the reality of the woman in front of her.

Suddenly everyone in the room heard a clear baby voice squeal out. "Froky, it’s Mommy." She flung herself at Dana, who picked the small child up and hugged her tight to her chest, her tears spilling out and down them both.

She looked over the head of her daughter and into the eyes of the man that somehow had saved them both. Still holding Mary Kate tightly she reached out her other arm toward him and suddenly found they were both engulfed in a tight bear hug that threatened to force all the air from her. He let loose of them only when Frohike had come up and gently patted Dana on the shoulder. So tightly did Skinner hold them that she was barely able to remove her arm from around Mary Kate and include him in the hug.

Skinner reached around the little girl that he had protected for over two years, and gently kissed Scully on the lips. She tasted of coffee and tears and even faintly of alcohol and he didn’t care.

When they finally broke their hug. Dana clutched her daughter tightly and looked around. She was surprised that there wasn’t a dry eye on any of these hardened people. She heard Skinner’s gasp and saw he was looking behind her. She turned and saw Krycek standing in the doorway, just behind Franklin. She smiled then, perhaps for the first time since that morning in the Hoover nursery. She thought back over the years that she had known this supposed traitor and couldn’t ever remember seeing tears in his eyes.

Franklin had one of his aides show Skinner and Frohike to an empty room, much the same setup as Scully’s and more than most refugees ever saw. Dana took Mary Kate back to her room and gently washed the little girl off and wrapped her in a towel. She heard a light knock at the door and when she opened it, found a woman that she had never spoken to before standing there with a small bundle in her hands. Dana looked at it in wonder and then back up at the woman who she finally placed as Mrs. Dawson, wife of one of the guards. She barely heard the breathy, "I thought you could use these." And before she could thank her, Mrs. Dawson had disappeared down the corridor.

When she was done, Mary Kate wore a tiny T-shirt with a faded Elmo on the front and blue jeans that fit just right. Scully sat on the bed and pulled her daughter to her and rocked her and said all the things that mothers say when they can’t believe out lucky they are. Finally, Mary Kate looked at her mother. "Mommy?"

"Yes, my love."

"Where’s Da and Froky?"

Startled Dana looked searchingly at her daughter, but finally said only. "Let’s go find them."

She picked up the nearly weightless child and went down the corridor toward Franklin’s quarters. She found the three men sitting around the conference room table, Skinner and Frohike, cleaned up and in borrowed fatigues, eating eggs and toast and drinking coffee.

Franklin sat at the head of the conference room table and look over at his chief medico speculatively. "You up for some eggs, doctor? Or can you only manage toast right now." Skinner heard the underlying tone in Franklin’s voice and looked strangely at her for a second.

"Actually, Mr. Franklin, I could eat a horse, but eggs and toast will do me just fine. She looked at her daughter and asked, "And just what do you want for breakfast, pumpkin?"

Indignantly Mary Kate advised her mother than she was not a pumpkin, but a little girl and she would very much like to have toast and milk please. Scully sat next to the man that had just given her back her life and looked up at him, smiled and asked. "Da?"

Frohike tried hard to keep from laughing, particularly since his mouth was full. Mary Kate, sitting in her mother’s lap ignored everything but the toast in front of her. Skinner blushed a deep red.

"Uhm…sorry, Scully, but that’s what she’s always called me. I tried to get her to say Skinner, but it just never came out right."

From across the table they heard Frohike snort. "Oh I don’t know Big Guy, Sinner sounded right to me."

Dana touched his arm. "No. It’s perfect. Da is perfect." Her blush matched his for intensity and she spent the next several minutes studiously drinking her coffee and eating the eggs that someone had placed in front of her. Mary Kate finally squirmed out of her mother’s lap and began a slow search of the room. The four adults watched as she poked at a few things and then found the small stash of toys that Franklin had one of his aides round up.

Dana looked at the President in surprise. She had known that he lost his wife in the attack and she remembered that his only daughter had been on the west coast that day. She had been so wrapped up in her own pain and loss that she had never asked him if he had ever found her.

Now didn’t seem the time. Franklin watched the tiny redhead play with the blocks and stuffed animals for a while then turned to Skinner. "So, what took you so long getting here?"

Skinner reached for the coffee carafe and poured himself another cup of coffee. They had seldom gone really hungry these last two years, but coffee was becoming scarce and he couldn’t remember the last decent cup he had drunk. He sighed and stood and went to be near the child that he had devoted his life to and sat on the couch next to where she was playing. Scully quickly followed and sat on the floor next to her daughter. Franklin cocked his eye at Frohike who was on his third egg and showed no sign of getting up, sighed and went to join the other two, taking his cup with him.

Skinner alternated his glance between Dana and Mary Kate throughout the tale. "Well, of course, we shouldn’t be here. I was in a meeting all that day with Kersh. Around 3:00 o’clock my cell rang. It was Mulder saying he wouldn’t be able to get back from Norfolk in time to pickup Mary Kate from the nursery. And, could I please get her and give her to Frohike, who would be waiting in the park, in front of the Washington Monument. He would take her back to his place and Mulder would pick her up later that night." Walter Skinner paused and shuddered before he continued. "I was really pissed off at him, Dana. I couldn’t believe that he would do something that stupid. I’m glad he did now, of course. I stormed out of Kersh’s office and rushed down to the 4th floor. The staff didn’t give me any grief, and wrapped Mary Kate up snuggly in her blanket and put her in that nice carrier you used." He voice had dropped to whisper as he remember all the other children playing around him as Mrs. Johnson had handed his precious cargo over to him. "I made it down to the street and was walking across the avenue when I noticed the shadow overhead. God, it was so huge." He looked up at Franklin. "I saw the helicopter leave the White House lawn. Was your wife with you?" Franklin stricken look told him his answer, "I’m sorry, sir."

Gathering his thoughts, he sipped at his coffee before continuing. "I hurried down the side street and it was blind, dumb ass luck that Frohike even found us. He grabbed Mary Kate’s bag and we made a mad dash for the subway. But everybody else had the same thought, so we ran across the Mall. I don’t even think we knew where we were going at the time. But suddenly behind us the explosions started. I never looked back."

"I did." Dana wasn’t sure she had heard the little man speak before. "The White House just went up, kablooy. Just like it did in that movie. Then right down the Mall, the Capital Building went up.

Poor bastards. Never had a chance. After that you couldn’t make out exactly what was going up." He lapsed back into silence then and Skinner picked up the tale.

"We made to the Viet Nam Memorial and ducked for cover. There isn’t much over there you know. I saw the Lincoln Memorial get hit and it looked like some kind of laser or something."

Franklin nodded. They had discovered that the weapons, though powerful, had been pretty easy to figure out. Of course they had only a few ships to take out, once the virus had spread throughout the alien fleet.

"We stayed right there the first two nights. There was extra formula in Mary Kate’s bag and Frohike managed to liberate some food for us from one of the abandoned vendor trucks. The fire was just so out of control. On the third day, we started walking south. There was nothing to the north but rubble." The look on Dana’s face stopped him. "What?"

She whispered. "Dogget and I drove through D.C. on the third day. We could have been so close to you." Tears threatened to spill over again. "He died you know, about two months ago."

Skinner shook his head sadly. "We made it across the river. It was hard though. The bridges were jammed with burning cars, even then. But we found a boat that hadn’t been damaged and took it as far as we could. I had it in my head to make it to your mother’s, Dana, but by the time we made it there…"

Dana reached up and took his hand. "I know." After she had come to, she had made Dogget take her all the way back into Maryland to find out if her mother had survived. The only thing they could figure out at the time was that Margaret Scully had died of a heart attack. They had found her on the floor of her kitchen. No sign of violence at all.

She and Franklin listened in silence then as Skinner quickly chronicled two years of running and hiding from the last of the aliens and then from marauding humans, intent it seemed not on survival but on destruction and violence. Providing for Mary Kate had been their primary goal.

They broke into every store they could find and went first to the baby food aisle. They had managed to avoid most human contact, because they were unsure for a long time exactly who to trust. They had holed up the first winter in a deserted farmhouse in the middle of Virginia. The alien attacks had become almost non-existent. But, they had begun hearing, from people fleeing northward, of a devastating new illness. They had one or two people stay for periods of time with them that winter, and one had died. They had taken great pains to make sure that Mary Kate was never exposed but she had been sick a lot that winter. When spring came, they had moved north but the going was slow. Skinner had finally gotten them to the original compounded where they had been taken the first time with Mulder. It had taken some persuading but they finally told him that there was a doctor working at the headquarters in northern Pennsylvania.

He smiled over at Scully. "I got here as fast as I could, Scully, but I got sick this past winter. I don’t know how either of us would have made it without Frohike there to help." They both looked over at the little man, who was concentrating on the last streak of yellow on his plate. A deep red blush the only sign that he had heard Skinner.

They talked for hours. Franklin asking pointed questions on the conditions to the south. Skinner asking why Krycek was still amongst the living. He had asked about Mulder, but when he saw the pain and hurt in her eyes he had sighed and dropped the subject. Finally, Mary Kate dropped the block that she had been studying and stood. She looked around the room and then crawled into Skinner’s lap and promptly went to sleep. Skinner forced his eyes to Dana’s, expecting to see hurt there. It floored him to see the love instead. Love for her daughter, of course, but also for him.

He lifted the child to his shoulder and stood. "Mr. Franklin, I need to put her down to sleep. After I get her settled I’ll come back and we can discuss how I can help. I can’t speak for Mr. Frohike, but I’m tired of being on the run."

Franklin stood up. "I’ve got some ideas Mr. Skinner that I am sure you can help with. First thing I want to start moving people outside again. People aren’t meant to live in a mountain. It will be hard work, but I’m sure that with good people like you, Mr. Frohike and Doctor Scully, we have a good chance of starting over." He quickly squeezed Skinner’s forearm and turned to Frohike. As Dana led Skinner out of the office they heard, "Tell me Mr. Frohike, what do you know about computers?"

Skinner stood at the door of her small room. He went to put the small child down, when Scully scooted around him and said, "Wait a minute. Okay?" She quickly whipped the mattress off one cot and then the other. She pushed them together between the two frames, kicked off her shoes and sat on one. She reached up for her child and Skinner looking completely confused, lowered himself into a crouch and placed Mary Kate into her arms. She reclined and he started to rise when she whispered. "No. Stay. If she wakes and doesn’t see she someone she knows she might get scared."

Skinner sank to his knees and stared into the eyes of woman who had never once left his dreams. He sat gingerly on the other mattress and toed off his shoes. He then reclined and rested on his side, his head propped on his head. "Okay, Scul…Dana." His smile was shy and her returning one held a hint of fear. Finally she released her bundle and Mary Kate curled between them, her mother’s hand resting lightly on her hip. For the first time in two years, Scully knew she would sleep without any nightmares. Just as she drifted off she felt Walter Skinner’s large hand cover hers.

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