Genesis
Ally

Chapter 1

Georgetown. Washington D.C. 7:06p.m.

Mulder found himself to be so preoccupied with his thoughts, that on opening the double doors which led in to Scully's apartment building, he failed to see the female who, at the exact same moment, was exiting. They collided heavily, and he suddenly found himself looking directly in to the angry blue eyes of his partner. Judging by her statement she had been about to give him a piece of her mind, but on realising who he was, her mouth closed abruptly.

"Mulder? ... what are you doing here? I thought you'd gone home."

Mulder waved the file at her.

"I need to show you something."

Scully groaned as she identified the tagged brown cover of a 'visiting' case file.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow? I'm kind of in a hurry right now."

"A date?" Mulder asked irrelevantly, trying to delay the moment for as long as possible. Scully smirked at him and folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, a date. With my mother. Which..." she checked her watch, "I'm currently running twenty three minutes behind for, and if you don't get out of my way I'm going to miss out on entirely."

Mulder made no move to allow her past, and as she looked intently at him, Scully felt the first impressions that something was wrong, nervous tension caused butterflies to break out inside of her, fluttering within her as her statement became guarded.

"Mulder, what is it?"

Her unease only intensified as her partner failed to respond, just stared down at her, the dilemma written clearly across his face. He spoke only when the tension between them became such that Scully could almost hear both of their heartbeats.

"Not here."

He turned the corner which led to Scully's apartment, and waited impatiently as she withdrew the keys for the door from her pocket, noticing how her hand shook as she fitted the key in to the lock. After what seemed like hours, she swung the door open and gestured him inside, following him in and slamming it shut behind her. Mulder flinched at the sound. Scully faced him accusingly.

"Whatever this is about Mulder, it had better be good," she warned.

Mulder crossed the room and picked up the telephone. He handed it to her.

"Call your mother," he advised. "Tell her you can't make it."

"What?.....Why?" The exasperation was evident in her voice, and Mulder held up his hand to silence her, a conciliatory gesture which indicated to Scully that he was aware that he was making a mess of things.

Sighing heavily, she backed down and accepted the proffered phone from him, watching him out of the corner of her eye as she waited for the call to connect.

As she greeted her Mother, Mulder used the time to get himself under control, wishing he felt more confident that he was indeed doing the right thing, that in coming here he was serving her best interests. He glanced around the familiar surroundings, recalling the time he had spent here in the past. He had always felt comfortable here, the open space and layout of the rooms a direct contrast to his own cramped apartment.

Scully took great care of her home and Mulder had never come here to find it anything other than neat and organised.

Tonight was no exception. The setting sun's rays danced brightly on the white walls, lending everything a bright, rosy glow. It was a place to relax in, to unwind after a hard day. It represented all that was positive about his partner, gave him valuable insight as to what she was like underneath the professional, tough facade she wore like a suit of armour. Her femininity manifested itself here more than anywhere else both in the decor and the layout.

He had been surprised when he had first had cause to come here, beginning to recognise her not merely as his partner, a scientist, but as a woman in her own right, living a life outside of work which he knew nothing about. Somehow, it made what he was about to relate to her all the more difficult.

"So are you going to tell me what's so important I had to cancel my evening or do I have to guess?"

Scully sat down opposite him and clasped her hands in front of her, crossing her legs as she regarded him quizzically.

Mulder took a deep breath, uttering a silent prayer as he did so.

"I came across an unsolved case amongst the batch that arrived today. It involves the disappearance of a small child out of San Diego. An old colleague of mine sent it out to me in the hope we could add some insight on to what may have happened to her."

He paused, trying to find the right words. "Her mother has alleged that it may be kidnapping, although there's no evidence of that being the case."

Scully raised an eyebrow, the confusion evident on her face.

"A kidnapping? You're not interested in kidnappings, Mulder."

"I'm interested in this one. I'm pretty sure you will be too."

He reached forward and handed the file to her.

"Here. See for yourself."

Scully frowned as she turned over the first page, eyes moving rapidly across the text as she absorbed the words. The bewilderment all too patently displayed across her features as she struggled to comprehend why Mulder had singled out this case amongst the thousands of children who disappeared every year. She could see nothing in this which would warrant their involvement.

She advanced a page forwards and froze, mouth dropping open as she slowly lifted her head to gaze uncomprehending at her partner. The color had all but drained from her face, so rapidly had the transformation taken place, that Mulder had been almost able to see it happen.

"Emily . . ." Scully whispered in a voice which was barely audible.

Mulder quickly got up and joined her on the couch, gently prying the folder away from her fingers which were locked on to it rigidly. He placed it behind him and turned back to Scully.

"No," he corrected carefully. "Not Emily. You know that can never be."

Scully focused on his face, responding to the compassion that was evident in his tone as she struggled with the emotion raging inside of her.

"Then who . . ." She trailed off as Mulder laid his hand over hers.

"You know who she is. Just as you know who Emily was, and how she came to be."

He watched her attentively as she digested the information. He had never expected that this day would come, had never foreseen that more children equivalent to Emily had been born. He should have accepted that this was at best a futile hope, that some day more evidence of what had transpired would come to the fore. He had prayed that the day would come later rather than sooner, but it was here, and he couldn't disregard the consequences any longer.

Scully shook her head numbly, and she pulled her hand away from Mulder, rising from her seated position suddenly. Her eyes appeared alarmingly blank as she spun around, away from Mulder, heading for the kitchen.

"Shit." He muttered, heading after her.

He discovered her at the table, shoulders shaking as she cradled her head in her hands.

"Scully . . ." he ventured uncertainly. She did not acknowledge him, and Mulder ran his hand through his hair, questioning himself over how to react to her. He understood her pain, but was equally aware that her reaction would only serve to precipitate that pain. He crossed the floor and came to a halt in front of the cabinet. Reaching down he removed a bottle of Brandy and a glass, then as an afterthought added another one, opening the bottle and pouring liberal amounts of the liquor in to each. He picked them up and set one on the table in front of his partner, pulling out a chair and sitting down opposite her.

"Scully."

No response.

He extended his hand and carefully drew her hands away from her face. With the other he pushed the brandy towards her.

"Drink some of this."

She eyed the glass's contents warily.

"Do it, Scully. It'll help," he advised.

Slowly, Scully wrapped her shaking hands around the glass, but was unable to still the trembling sufficiently to bring the glass to her lips.

Mulder recognised that in this situation at least, he had to take charge. Removing the glass from her, he set it down on the table before walking around the table and hunkering down beside her. Raising his own drink to her lips he inclined the glass just adequately enough so that she was able to take some of the liquid.

She swallowed heavily and the action brought about a storm of coughing as the unaccustomed alcohol burned her throat. When the sound abated however, Mulder was at least gratified to observe that she appeared to be more in control, that the shock to her system was lessening.

"I'm sorry, Mulder . . ."

"Ssshhh. It's OK. I half expected this. You don't need to apologise to me, you know that."

Scully gazed in to his face, and not for the first time realised how lucky she was to have him for a partner . . . and as a friend. She squeezed his hand.

"Thanks."

He smiled up at her.

"No problem."

Scully took a deep breath.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked shakily.

Mulder got to his feet.

"I'm flying out to San Diego tonight. I'll call you when I get there."

"What do you mean you'll call me?"

Mulder shook his head.

"I don't think that it's such a good idea for you to come with me right now. Not until I have a better idea as to what's happening out there . . ."

"No way," Scully said vehemently. Then, she let her voice soften slightly. "I know why you're doing this, that you're trying to protect me. But I need to go there, Mulder, I have to. I owe it to myself . . . and I owe it to Emily. Please understand that."

Mulder let his gaze settle on the window, watching his own refection as he struggled to find the right words to make her understand.

"I just . . . I don't want to see you get hurt all over again, and I'm afraid that if you come down there with me, it will become inevitable. I don't think you're ready for that. Not after everything you've been through."

Scully rubbed her fist across her eyes, grinding the last residue of tears from them. She recognised and appreciated Mulder's concerns, but this was the one time when her feelings towards her partner were not going to get in the way.

"I'm fine. I'll *be* fine. And I am going to San Diego. With or without you"

Her eyes challenged him to argue further, and Mulder knew that he was beaten. That she would follow her own path regardless of his reasoning to the contrary, and if she so chose, she was more than capable of doing it without him by her side. He wasn't prepared to let that happen.

"I'll book you a flight." He conceded wearily, praying that he hadn't just set her feet on a path of destruction.

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