Title:  Coming to a Conclusion
Author:  Vickie Moseley  
Summary:  Post ep for Vienen and pre ep for Alone 
-- A twofer!  Mulder reaches a conclusion.
Category:  MSR, MA SkA
Rating:  Silly rabbit, Kix are for kids!  And so is 
this fanfic -- good for everyone.
Disclaimer:  Yadda Yadda Yadda no infringement 
intended yadda yadda.
Author's Notes:  Seems to me Mulder had come to 
some sort of conclusion when we see him in the last 
scene of Vienen.  Then, the very next week in the 
first scenes of Alone, we see Scully implying that 
she had reached a conclusion as well.  This is an 
attempt to connect the dots on those two scenes.  
Doggett is mentioned but really plays no part in this 
story.  

Coming to a Conclusion

I knew I was in for it when Skinner entered the 
exam room.  He had on his 'hard ass AD' look and 
then he huffed a sigh in my direction.  Looks like I 
won't be taking Scully to the Senior Prom after all -- 
I'll be grounded for the entirety of my next life.

He didn't speak for a long time.  I think he was 
expecting me to jump in with an apology or two.  
Sorry, Walt.  I gave up apologizing for my behavior 
right about the same time I figured out Kersh was 
holding everybody's choke chain.  Seemed sort of 
pointless to apologize when the world had gone to 
hell.

Finally, the man spoke.  "Are you signed out?"

That was neutral enough.  "Yeah.  I'm just waiting 
for Agent Doggett," I answered.

"Well, you're going to have a long wait.  He left 
about an hour ago."

I tried to hide my smirk, but I'm sure he saw it.  "So, 
Scully didn't trust us on the same plane going 
home?" I asked.

"She sent me to bring you home.  Those were her 
exact words.  I don't plan on screwing it up this 
time, so if you're done here, let's get going."

Just as I thought, Skinner was pissed.  Funny thing 
was, I knew Scully wasn't.  At least she wasn't when 
we talked after the chopper dropped us off on the 
roof of the hospital.  Minor burns, Doggett had a 
slight concussion from getting a pipe wrench to the 
head, but all in all fairly safe and secure for an X 
file.  Scully even went so far as to congratulate me 
on not ending up in Intensive Care.  But Skinner, 
that was another story.

"I'm ready.  Let's go," I said, gingerly sliding off the 
exam table.  I did mention that we were 'fairly' safe 
and secure.  I still felt like I'd been run over by a 
steamroller.  Or maybe just jumped 50 feet off an 
exploding oil rig and then swam a quarter of a mile 
to the wench lowered by the rescue chopper.  They 
should consider that as an event in the Extreme 
Games.  Scully's right, maybe I am getting too old 
for this shit.

Skinner kept his tongue for about half the ride to the 
airport, an act of patience that I'm sure was turning 
his liver to mush.  Poor guy, I know he was only 
trying to do the right thing.  He just had no idea.

"How could you do that?  How could you run off 
like that -- ditch her like that again?" he asked as we 
negotiated the Florida interstate system.  

"I didn't ditch her," I answered calmly.  

"You told her you were going to that oil rig?" he 
accused.

"Of course not!  But somebody had to go and there 
was no way I was going to let her go, so . . . "

"Doggett was assigned to the case," Skinner told me 
through a clenched jaw.  I figured that was going to 
be sore, but it was a condition I'd seen on him more 
times than not.

"Yeah.  Mr. Clueless.  He knew perfectly well that 
this case was similar to one Scully and I 
investigated years ago and yet he conveniently 
shelved it."

"Look, Mulder, Doggett is not the enemy here.  He's 
a decent guy, a damned good agent."

"That's what everybody keeps telling me.  I just 
wanted to see for myself," I replied.

Skinner licked his lips.  I think he was trying to 
figure out what I meant by that.  "So -- was it . . . 
you know . . . "

"The black oil?  Yes.  And Doggett saw it for 
himself.  We both did."

"He told me you were the one to destroy the radio.  
That it was sending a signal of some sort."

"A signal, a message, I'm not sure.  But since both 
de la Cruz and Garcia were trying to destroy it, it 
seemed important to put it out of commission.  And 
the minute we did, they let us leave."

"Do you think it was controlling them?"

I shook my head.  "I have no idea.  I know that they 
were trying to get to us.  I would be an idiot if I 
thought they weren't intent on killing the both of us.  
They killed Garcia, just as they'd killed de la Cruz."

"It was a stupid, reckless thing you did, Mulder."  
We were now successfully back to the original ass 
chewing.

"You expected me to do something different?" I 
shot back.  The world may have changed, but I 
hadn't.  Why was that so hard for everyone to 
understand?  

"You have certain obligations now," he sneered.  
"It's about time you started taking some 
responsibility for your actions."

"I'll pay for the banged up fender, Dad," I retorted.  
To be honest, I was dead tired and just wished he 
would start giving me the silent treatment so I could 
get some sleep.  Fortunately, that's just what he did 
when we boarded the plane to DC. 

Scully was waiting for us as we walked through the 
departing gate.  Skinner, confident that he would be 
leaving the continued ass chewing to my able 
partner, bid us both good night and headed off to 
short term parking.  That left just the two of us 
making our way to Scully's car because I'd caught a 
cab to get to the airport.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.  She wasn't even a 
mother yet and already she was force feeding me.  
But then I think she was concerned that I'd lost a 
total of 15 pounds while buried and she was 
damned determined to get me back to fighting 
weight.  Trouble was, I knew her dirty little secret:  
every time she fed me, she ate, too.  Late night 
burger runs and pizza at all hours had become our 
new 'trysts'.

"Want to just stop by Antonio's on the way?" I 
suggested and she handed me her cell phone.  

"Speed dial 7," she said and bit her lip.  I had to 
give her a strongly disapproving look but it pleased 
me to no end that she was smiling as she focused on 
the road.  I quickly placed the order -- medium thin 
crust, half meat lovers, half veggie lovers and was 
informed it would be ready in 25 minutes.  Just 
about the time it would take for us to get from 
Dulles International to Georgetown late on a -- what 
day was it?  Oh, yeah, Wednesday.

I must have dropped off again, because she woke 
me up in front of Antonio's.  I ran in and grabbed 
the pie, making it back to the car in less than five 
minutes.  In just another couple of minutes we were 
parked and heading up to her apartment.

The pizza was wonderful and I realized about half 
way through my side that I hadn't eaten in about 36 
hours.  Funny how you lose all sense of time when 
you're trapped on an oil rig with a bunch of alien 
virus-infected maniacs.  But Scully had some 
questions, some insights and I knew that it was time 
to debrief her.

"So you found the virus," I started the conversation.

"Yes, but as I told you, Mulder.  It was dead."

"Because de la Cruz was a . . . mestizo?"

She smiled at me.  "I can't tell you that, Mulder.  It 
makes sense, in a purely anecdotal way, but we'd 
have to have a bigger sampling to be sure."

That's my girl, always kicking me in the nuts just 
when I try and steal her thunder.  I smiled back at 
her and nodded.  "I don't think I want a bigger 
sampling to chose from, Scully.  The 30 or so we 
had seemed large enough."

"Mulder, I'd be foolish if I didn't point out how 
completely stupid you were, going down there 
without authorization," she said and I knew she was 
just testing the waters, deciding if I'd blow my top 
with a little well pressed heel on my neck.

I stood up and took the now empty pizza box to the 
kitchen.  When I came back I couldn't sit down.  I 
paced the room.

"I can't do this, Scully," I told her.  At the 
expression on her face, she misunderstood what I 
was saying.  "I can't keep playing by Kersh's rules."

"Mulder, Kersh is a Deputy Director.  His rules are 
Skinner's rules.  There is no one to appeal to here," 
she reminded me, after she wiped the relieved look 
off her face -- happy I wasn't referring to a more 
personal situation.

"I know that," I bit out and realized I had to calm 
down, be rational or she would never hear me out.  
"Scully, I know that."

"So you either play by Kersh's rules -- "

"Scully, back . . . before," I tried to say.  It was 
hard, thinking how much had changed while I was 
out of commission.  I'd joked about feeling like 
Austin Powers, but it was more than that.  I couldn't 
help feeling like Rip Van Winkle where I just 
wanted to find that same tree and fall back asleep.  
Looking down at her, I knew why I couldn't do that.  
Too much that I loved was at stake.  "Before Kersh 
became the head honcho, I could find solace in the 
files.  But if this is what is going to continue to 
happen, if every case we find is turned against us 
and we can no longer work them -- maybe -- "

The look she turned on me was so heartbreaking.  I 
sat down and took her hands in mine.  "Scully, do 
you really see us running after alien viruses and 
mutants when this little slugger is born?" I asked, 
placing my hand on her stomach just to feel the 
baby kick at my fingertips.

Sadly she shook her head.  She knew the truth, too, 
even if she didn't want to face it.  "But Mulder, 
there is still work that can be done.  The Bureau has 
resources -- "

"So do we, Scully," I told her.  "I have property that 
needs to be liquidated, I have money in accounts 
that needs to be gathered -- I realize I've been 
putting off doing any of that because of Mom . . . 
and Sam.  Now that I know what happened to Sam, 
there's no longer a need to keep all of it in stasis, 
waiting for her return.  She's not coming back, 
Scully.  I found her, she's just not coming back."  I 
didn't know I'd been crying until Scully pulled me 
closer and kissed away my tears.

She allowed me to pull back, but I kept my arm 
around her shoulders.  "You are not going back out 
into the field," I said in my best 'ok, I'm not your 
husband but I do have a little say in this' voice.  
"And neither will I."

Her eyes widened.  "Then what?  What will you do?  
Teach at the Academy?"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes.  "You can't be 
serious, Scully.  Think about what you just said," I 
implored her.

"You're right.  If you didn't incite a riot, the Marines 
would end up having to guard your classroom," she 
sighed dramatically.  A little more sarcastic than I 
would have liked, but then, Scully had just gone 
through a couple of rough days at my expense, so I 
let her have her fun. 

"Well, then what, Mulder?  I know how you get 
when you're on medical leave.  I'll end up strangling 
you in your sleep if you sit around watching Jerry 
Springer and Lifetime all day long," she intoned and 
I'm pretty sure that subtle threat was really a 
promise.

"Well, in the short run . . . you're gonna need help."  
I let my hand fall on her belly again.  The kid did a 
few backflips just to impress me.  I was suitably 
impressed.

"You -- a Mister Mom?" she croaked.

"You don't think I can handle it?"  I was getting 
offended, quickly.

She smothered the smirk that was playing on her 
lips and schooled her expression.  "Of course I think 
you can handle it.  Mulder, the question is -- do you 
_want_ to?  If you think paperwork at the Bureau is 
tedious, you haven't seen anything yet."

"But I think it's something I could do in the short 
term," I objected.  "Scully, the kid is going to go to 
school at some point in his life.  Until then, or until 
we can find a nice day care -- one at Fort Knox, say 
. . ."

She was shaking her head, but I knew she was 
starting to cave until another thought occurred to 
her.  "You know I'm probably not going back to the 
basement, don't you?"

"Do you want to?" I countered.

"Without you, no.  I don't want to be back there.  I 
haven't been happy down there since you came 
back."  She blinked when she realized what she'd 
just said.  "Mulder, that didn't come out right -- "

I took her hands in mine and caressed the little 
webbing between her thumb and forefinger.  She 
was practically purring.

"I know what you meant, Scully.  It's been hard, 
terribly hard, on both of us.  I keep thinking things 
are like they were when I -- before I was gone.  
You've had to live in the ruins.  I don't know which 
is worse, but I know I don't want to find out."

She nodded, tears forming in the corner of her eye.  
"I missed you so damned much," she whispered.  

I leaned over and kissed her.  "I know.  I was 
missing you just as much," I assured her.

"You're OK with handing the files over -- to Agent 
Doggett?" she asked, coming to the 800 pound 
gorilla sitting in the living room with us.

"Am I good with it? -- maybe that's a little strong.  
But to be honest, Scully -- and you know that I went 
into this hating the ground he walks on -- I guess he 
surprised me a little.  He won't take the hard cases 
on his own, but when one reaches up and bites him 
on the ass, he's not a horrible investigator."

She giggled at me.  "Mulder, such praise!  His ears 
will be ringing," she teased.  "He's not you.  I know 
it must hurt you to see him down there when you -- 
"

"Have other things on my mind," I interjected.  "If 
we're talking 'the big picture' -- I am OK with it, 
Scully.  The way things are down there right now, 
hell, the way they are in the Bureau as a whole -- 
good luck to him.  I really don't want to work 
someplace that has such a strong commitment to the 
Peter Principle and that's the only way I can figure 
they promoted someone as blind, deaf and dumb as 
Alvin Kersh to Deputy Director."

"Some people reportedly thought the higher ups 
were out of their minds to give you a division," 
Scully noted, just to bring me down a peg.

I smiled and she smiled right back.  "Some people 
were right," I whispered and kissed her again.  "But 
the higher ups were really crazy to send you down 
to me.  You, Scully, were the very best thing to ever 
come out of that basement.  Ever."

"So, how are you going to do this?"

I shrugged.  "I guess I go in tomorrow and tell 
Kersh the whole fiasco was my idea.  Let the chips 
fall where they may."

"And after he gets done with his happy dance?" she 
asked, her eyes twinkling.

"I think you and I are due for a nice long lunch.  
Make up a Drs. appointment, Scully.  I plan on 
getting roaring drunk and you have to drive me 
home."

She patted my cheek.  "Sounds like a plan.  And I 
won't be far behind you going out that door.  The 
doctor wants me to start maternity leave soon.  I'll 
clear up some things and then put in my leave 
forms."

I smiled at her.  "Sounds like a plan, too.  But for 
now, let's get some sleep.  We have a busy day 
ahead of us."

She nodded and I got up first to help her to her feet.  
She hugged me for a minute, I could feel the baby 
rolling around and that made me smile.  

"You get ready for bed.  I'll lock up," I told her and 
patted her ass as she turned toward the hallway -- 
for which I got a sultry look over her shoulder.

As I made my way around the room turning off 
lights and locking the front door, it all kind of hit 
me.  I was leaving the only job I'd ever known.  I 
still had all the same fears and worries that I had six 
months or more before, but now I had a few more to 
add to the list.  Was I completely out of my mind?

But the more I thought about it, I realized it was 
time.  Time to move on.  Time to actually put some 
of that money that had been collecting interest and 
dust all these years in the various accounts my 
parents left me to work.  It was time to save the 
world.

And as long as Scully was with me, what more 
could I ask?