Skinner tells Mulder that he looks pretty good for a dead man and has a lot to answer for but Mulder has a singular purpose and storms past him. Scully is suffering from hypovolemic shock from loss of blood and, when Mulder asks why, Skinner says, "She's dying." "Tell me why Scully lied for you?" Skinner asks. "The disease she has was given to her by somebody connected to the FBI; to a mole working here." Mulder tells Skinner he hasn't figured out who the mole is at which point Skinner repeats his claim of being a friend to Mulder. "Remember who you can trust." The Chunky Italian says, "We're too vulnerable. Our man in the FBI is exposed. What Mulder may have seen could expose our plans." CSM counters, "What Mulder's seen only serves us, serves our plans. Mulder's in trouble. He needs help. We can give it to him." "Mulder, Skinner's dirty. He's not your friend. I'm almost certain he's the man inside on this." Mulder says he doesn't believe this. Scully asks that he lay the blame for Ostelhoff's death on her. "Mulder, if I can save you, let me. Let me at least give some meaning to what's happened to me." Mulder says [the vial] he found was useless but CSM disagrees saying "it's essential to her survival". Returning to the lair of the Lone Gunmen, Mulder empties the vial again, muttering, "He promised me it would be in here." As he shakes the deionized water out of the vial, a microchip falls out, identical to the implant removed from Scully's neck. Kritschgau is an employee of the DOD technically but his salary is paid partly by a congressional lobbying firm called Roush. Skinner seems interested, writing down the name and asking Kritschgau if he knows what Roush is but the answer is negative. As Mulder sits a vigil outside Scully's room, Bill Jr. emerges. "You're a real piece of work, Mr. Mulder," Bill observes. "I've already lost one sister to this quest you're on, now I'm losing another." He asks if it's been worth it; if Mulder's found what he's been looking for and the negative response prompts Bill to comment that Mulder is "one sorry son of a bitch". CSM pulls up with a woman in the passenger seat of his car who looks exactly like the Samantha clones from "Colony/Endgame". She tells Mulder she was afraid she'd never see him again. That HE had always told her that something had happened to him that night. Who told her that? She turns back toward the car where CSM is lighting a cigarette and replies, "My father." Samantha is unaware that CSM has known of Mulder's search for his sister for years and that her mother is still alive. Mulder tells her CSM may have kept a lot of things from her and what he's told her may not be true. Unable to deal with what she is being told, Sam pulls away from Mulder's attempt to comfort her, asking him to let her go. CSM says it's only pieces of the whole picture and that Kritschgau deceived him with "beautiful lies". CSM offers Mulder the chance to know the truth but first he must quit the FBI and come work for him. Mulder's response - "No deal." Lifting her gold cross, Scully asks her mom why she wears it. Scully says she'll put that chip in her neck, subject herself to nonconventional treatment, and tell herself she is doing everything possible but it's a lie. Scully tells her mom that she's not getting better. The PET scan showed no improvement. The Chunky Italian sits in a darkened room watching the continuing senate hearings on cloning and we see Skinner taking a seat behind the row of senators. The Chunky Italian wants to know who Skinner is gathering information for. "Our colleague was supposed to have fixed the FBI problem." He tells whoever is on the other end of the line, "You will fix it now, do you understand me? Then I will fix it for good." Blevins says, "We believe [Scully] was going to name Skinner whom we have learned has been working inside the FBI with a secret agenda." Mulder refuses to believe it but Blevins says if Mulder names Skinner in his testimony, he himself may be exonerated. Mulder tells her he was offered a deal and when he left the hospital the night before, although he'd refused the deal earlier, he thought he'd decided to take it. "A deal with who?" Scully asks. "It doesn't matter. I'm not taking the deal. I'm not taking any deal." Mulder tells Scully, "We all have our faith and mine is in the truth." Mulder says he'll name the man responsible for Agent Scully. "The same man who directed that my apartment be surveilled by the DOD. A man I want to see prosecuted for his crimes. Who is sitting in this very room as I speak." Mulder says he can't answer Blevins' question because Blevins is the man he's about to name. CSM holds a picture of a young Fox and Samantha and gazes at it covetously. From outside the window, we see Quiet Willy aiming his rifle at our smoking friend. CSM stands and looks down, noticing a red laser site on his chest as a shot rings out. Lying on the floor, covered in blood, CSM reaches across the carpet to the now shattered frame and drags the picture closer as he loses consciousness. Following Mulder's bombshell, we see a panicked, sweating Blevins rush into his office, closing the door behind him as he leans back against it, out of breath. Seated at the desk is Blevins' right-hand man. As Blevins moves toward him, the man stands and turns, bringing a gun up and shooting Blevins point blank in the chest. Skinner finds Mulder sitting outside Scully's room. "Smoking Man's dead," he announces. He hands Mulder a picture forensics found at the scene. It's the blood-splattered picture of a young Fox and Sam. "We're assuming it's his blood," Skinner says. He tells Mulder no body was found but there was too much blood loss for anyone to survive. Mulder tells Skinner that Scully's cancer has gone into remission. "It's the best news I could have ever heard," Mulder says. They don't know what caused the remission and Mulder speculates that they may never know.

Redux Part II Mulder heads to the emergency room of a hospital with a very unhelpful staff and proceeds to burst a vessel when no one will assist him in locating Scully. Skinner is there and tells Mulder that she has been admitted to the ICU. He tells Mulder that he looks pretty good for a dead man and that he has a lot to answer for but Mulder has a singular purpose and storms right past him. Skinner says that Scully is suffering from hypovolemic shock from loss of blood and, when Mulder asks why, he answers, "She's dying." Skinner takes Mulder to Blevins' office where the three of them, and Blevins' ever present right-hand man, discuss the oddity of Mulder turning up alive during an inquiry into his death. They want to know what happened, what is the identity of the man found in his apartment, and they threaten criminal charges if their questions aren't answered. They want to know why Scully lied; who is protecting whom. Mulder answers all their questions with silence. As he leaves the section chief's office, an exasperated Skinner follows him, offering "advice from a friend." Mulder seems skeptical about whether Skinner truly is a friend but Skinner tells him that he saved his ass already by withholding the autopsy reports. He makes it clear that he knows Mulder shot Ostelhoff and used the shotgun to cover his tracks and the man's identity. "How can you help me?" Mulder wants to know. "Tell me why Scully lied for you?" Skinner asks. "The disease she has was given to her by somebody connected to the FBI; to a mole working here," Mulder explains. He goes on to tell Skinner that he hasn't figured out who the mole is at which point Skinner repeats his claim of being a friend to Mulder. "Remember who you can trust." CSM returns to the racetrack where he finds the Chunky Italian watching a small TV broadcasting senate hearings on the issue of human cloning. CSM seems to gloat as he asks the Chunky Italian if he has heard the news that Mulder is still alive. The answer is yes but he feels CSM played some part in Mulder's newfound freedom. CSM admits to allowing Mulder to leave the DARPA facility unharmed. The Chunky Italian says, "We're too vulnerable. Our man in the FBI is exposed. What Mulder may have seen could expose our plans." CSM counters, "What Mulder's seen only serves us, serves our plans. Mulder's in trouble. He needs help. We can give it to him." He goes on to say that they can help him in exchange for his loyalty. He still feels Mulder is more valuable to them alive. As CSM walks away, the Chunky Italian turns to his silent partner who has been behind him through the entire exchange and says, "You can proceed now." Mulder heads to the hospital and surprises a very sick looking Scully. She's worried for Mulder, unaware that he has already revealed his situation to Skinner. Kissing her on the cheek, he says, "I'm officially among the undead." He tells her he's going to testify to everything he knows in front of the FBI assembly; tell them about the conspiracy, the men behind it, and what he believes is its purpose. She tells him Skinner knows their secret and when he lets her know he's aware of this, she says, "Mulder, Skinner's dirty. He's not your friend. I'm almost certain he's the man inside on this." Mulder says he doesn't believe this and, despite Scully's warnings, says if he doesn't testify they'll start burying the truth. Scully asks that he lay the blame for Ostelhoff's death on her. "Mulder, if I can save you, let me. Let me at least give some meaning to what's happened to me." It's clear Mulder can't do what she asks but they are interrupted by the arrival of Dana's mother and Bill Scully Jr. so the discussion is left unfinished. As Mulder leaves, he introduces himself to Bill Jr., saying he's sorry about his sister. Bill says he knows about Mulder and what Dana has been through with him and asks if Mulder can leave the work away from Dana and the hospital. "Let her die with dignity." As he goes in to join Dana and her mother, a perplexed, saddened Mulder looks in from outside the door. Mulder exits the hospital and runs into CSM. "Please tell me you're here with severe chest pains," he says hopefully. CSM is there to pay Mulder some respect for his cleverness and resourcefulness in breaching Pentagon security and finding Scully's cure. Mulder says what he found was useless but CSM disagrees telling Mulder "it's essential to her survival". "I'm here tonight as a friend, Agent Mulder." Seems like everyone wants to be Mulder's pal. Mulder walks outside the hospital to listen to what CSM has to say. Returning to the lair of the Lone Gunmen, Mulder empties the vial again, muttering, "He promised me it would be in here." As he shakes the deionized water out of the vial, a microchip falls out, previously overlooked. It looks identical to the implant removed from Scully's neck and very well may reverse the disease that initiated near the time of its removal. We see Kritschgau enter a room and approach a table of men similar to the panel Scully answered to in Part I. Blevins is once again leading the inquiry and Skinner is also present. They hope Kritschgau can provide help in filing charges against those responsible for the murder of Ostelhoff. Kritschgau admits to meeting with Mulder and Scully and to giving them classified information. When asked what his motivation was he replies, "My knowledge of government involvement in a conspiracy against the American people." This causes a stir around the table. Blevins' right hand lackey interjects a pointed question regarding Ostelhoff's murderer but Kritschgau says he has no knowledge of who it was, nor is he aware of any connection between Mulder and Scully and the death. He tells them there is one death connected; his son who died early that morning. It comes out that Kritschgau is an employee of the DOD technically but that his salary is paid partly by a congressional lobbying firm called Roush. Skinner seems interested, writing down the name Roush and asking Kritschgau if he knows what Roush is but the answer is negative. Meanwhile, Mulder is at the hospital trying to convince Scully and her family that putting the chip back in her neck may reverse the course of her disease. Bill Jr. thinks it's crazy but Scully says it's her decision. Her doctor says conventional treatment has done all it can and his next course of action would be unconventional. Scully says she wants to try the chip. As Mulder sits a vigil outside Scully's room, Bill Jr. emerges and they exchange charged glances. Turning to where Mulder is sitting, Bill says, "You really believe this crap, don't you?" Mulder says he does to which Bill comments that Scully is his big defender but Bill thinks she just doesn't want to disappoint Mulder. Mulder says if the chip works, he doesn't care what Bill thinks she thinks. "You're a real piece of work, Mr. Mulder," Bill observes. Mulder asks if it's just because he doesn't think like Bill or because he's not willing to sit passively "watching the family tragedy unfold". "You're the reason for it," Bill returns. "I've already lost one sister to this quest you're on, now I'm losing another." He wants to know if it's been worth it; if Mulder's found what he's been looking for. Mulder says "no" but he thinks he knows how Bill feels because he's lost his sister and his father all because of his quest. "For what? Little Green Men?" Bill wants to know. Mulder's half tired, frustrated laugh in the affirmative leads Bill to observe that Mulder is "one sorry son of a bitch". CSM calls Mulder (who answers his cell phone "one sorry son of a bitch speaking...") and asks how Scully is and if the medical value of the chip has been confirmed. Since it hasn't, he guesses he still hasn't earned Mulder's trust. He says he has something else to offer; a meeting he's set up for Mulder. We next see Mulder waiting in a deserted diner. CSM pulls up with a woman in the passenger seat of his car who looks exactly like the Samantha clones from "Colony/Endgame". As Mulder goes out to greet her, she exits the car seeming reluctant and a bit scared. She tells Mulder she was afraid she'd never see him again. That HE had always told her that something had happened to him that night. Mulder is confused. Who told her that? She turns back toward the car where CSM is lighting a cigarette and replies, "My father." As they sit inside the diner and talk, it is clear that she's wanted to forget that night even more than she's wanted to remember. She says she was young and frightened, orphaned at 8 years old. Her foster parents eventually took her to see a man who claimed to be her father. CSM had explained to her how it had all been a secret and he and her mother hadn't told anyone to protect the family. She says CSM was kind to her and was the only one she could remember from before that night. Mulder says he can help her to remember but she doesn't want to. She says she only came because her father told her he'd found Mulder and that Mulder wanted to see her very badly. She is unaware that CSM has known of Mulder's search for his sister for years and that her mother is still alive. Mulder tells her CSM may have kept a lot of things from her and what he's told her may not be true. Unable to deal with what she is being told, Sam pulls away from Mulder's attempt to comfort her, asking him to let her go. She tells him she has a life now, children of her own and can't deal with this. Mulder holds on to her hand and tries desperately to stop her, then to simply find out how he can contact her, but she slips out the door. As Mulder looks out the window, CSM lays a comforting hand on a crying Sam's cheek before they drive away. Back at the hospital, Scully is being prepped for a PET scan. Her doctor is employing aggressive treatment to go after her cancer but he is only marginally hopeful. He tells her he's trying to jump-start her immune system by setting her cytolytic cells into motion to attack the tumor, possibly affording her a fighting chance. Scully asks him if he has ever witnessed a miracle. He says he's seen people make unexplainable recoveries that might be miracles but he doesn't dare call them that. Scully is apparently hoping for a miracle of her own. Throughout the episode, we've seen the Chunky Italian's silent consortium partner (known in the credits as Quiet Willy) putting together his scoped rifle and preparing for a little target practice. But he's been slow in producing a target. Now we see Mulder walking along a city street and he's in Quiet Willy's cross-hairs. As he stops, another man joins him on the street. It's CSM and now the target is uncertain since both CSM and Mulder stand in the line of fire. As the two walk and talk, Mulder asks what CSM wants from him. CSM gives him the things he wants the most (Scully's potential cure, Sam's possible return) but he can't figure out why. CSM says no act is selfless but he's come not to ask but to offer - the truth that Mulder seeks - the project and the men that conspire to protect it. Mulder says, "I know the truth." He informs CSM that he's spoken to one of his men and he's seen enough proof himself to believe the man's words. CSM says it's only pieces of the whole picture and that Kritschgau deceived him with "beautiful lies". CSM offers Mulder the chance to know the truth but first he must quit the FBI and come work for him. Mulder's response..."No deal." "After all I've given you," CSM comments. CSM claims to have provided Scully's cure but Mulder says there's been no improvement. And his sister returned, only to be taken away again. "You've given me nothing." CSM has murdered his father and given Scully a disease and, if she dies, Mulder will kill CSM. As Mulder walks away, CSM tells him the offer still stands when he reconsiders. Although CSM remains in Quiet Willy's cross-hairs, the gunman packs up and leaves both CSM and Mulder alive. Scully, looking drawn and hollow-eyed, calls her mother to come see her. She says she's sorry...that she's been stupid. "I've come so far in my life on simple faith, and now when I need it the most I just push it away." Lifting her gold cross from around her neck, she asks her mom why she wears it. Scully says she'll put that chip in her neck, subject herself to nonconventional treatment, and tell herself she is doing everything possible but it's a lie. Scully seems ready to allow her faith back into the forefront of her life. She tells her mom that she's not getting better. The PET scan showed no improvement. Margaret Scully hugs her daughter as they both cry. The Chunky Italian sits in a darkened room watching the continuing senate hearings on cloning. Picking up a phone, he speed dials someone and tells them to turn on the TV. We see Skinner entering the senate hearings and taking a seat behind the row of senators. The Chunky Italian wants to know who Skinner is gathering information for. He says, "Our colleague was supposed to have fixed the FBI problem." He tells whoever is on the other end of the line, "You will fix it now, do you understand me? Then I will fix it for good." Mulder goes to visit Scully. He sits next to her bed in the dark, very reminiscent of "One Breath". The next morning, he's in Blevins' office being told that something urgent has come to Blevins' attention. Blevins has the ballistics report from Ostelhoff's body and it's a match to Mulder's service weapon. "Unless you can offer up someone else who might have fired the kill shot, everything points to you as this man's murderer." Mulder asks why he's there. Blevins says Ostelhoff worked for the DOD and Mulder fires back, "The man was spying on me." Blevins asks if Mulder knows who Ostelhoff was working for, noting that Scully was prepared to name the man at the FBI involved in this whole conspiracy. "We believe she was going to name Skinner whom we have learned has been working inside the FBI with a secret agenda." Mulder says he refuses to believe it but Blevins says if Mulder names Skinner in his testimony, he himself may be exonerated. Blevins tells Mulder he recommends this course of action to Mulder "as a friend". Returning to the hospital to find Scully awake, Mulder tells her he was offered a deal and when he left the hospital the night before, although he'd refused the deal earlier, he thought he'd decided to take it. "A deal with who?" Scully asks. "It doesn't matter. I'm not taking the deal. I'm not taking any deal." He tells her how Blevins suggested he implicate Skinner at the hearing but tells her he won't do it even if it means they prosecute him. Scully once again tries to convince Mulder to lay the murder charge at her door but he says he can't let her take the blame "because of your brother, because of your mother, because I couldn't live with it." Mulder tells her, "We all have our faith and mine is in the truth." Scully asks why he came to see her if he'd already made up his mind and he says he knew she'd let him know if he was making a mistake. Father McCue arrives and, as Mulder leaves, Scully tells him he'll be in her prayers. It seems she has embraced her faith in a more active fashion. Mulder arrives late to the FBI inquiry and everyone seems agitated, especially Skinner. Mulder interrupts Blevins' opening remarks to say he's there to set the record straight and the guilty parties will be named. At this point, Skinner interrupts to request a short break but Mulder overrides him saying he's ready to proceed. He tells the panel that Scully lied at his behest. He says he has evidence of a conspiracy that includes the murder of those who would reveal its true purpose. As Mulder is giving his testimony, we see Scully in her hospital room praying a rosary with Father McCue. At the same time we see Quiet Willy aiming his rifle at CSM as he walks down the street. The committee, tired of hearing Mulder's speechifying, begin firing direct questions at him. "Did you shoot the man found dead in your apartment?" "Did you shoot Scott Ostelhoff, employee of the Department of Defense?" Mulder says he'll answer the questions after he names the man responsible for Agent Scully. "The same man who directed that my apartment be surveilled by the DOD. A man I want to see prosecuted for his crimes. Who is sitting in this very room as I speak." As the room is exploding with Blevins and his right-hand man firing questions and Skinner looking more and more agitated, Mulder says he can't answer Blevins' question because Blevins is the man he's about to name. Shocked looks and silence fill the room as an incredulous Skinner stares at Mulder. While all this is occurring, we see CSM enter a room in a highrise building. Sitting at a desk, smoking his requisite cigarette, he holds a picture of a young Fox and Samantha and gazes at it covetously. From outside the open window adjacent to his desk, we see Quiet Willy aiming his rifle at our smoking friend. As CSM stands, still holding the framed picture, he looks down and notices a red laser site on his chest. When he looks up in surprise, a shot rings out. Lying on the floor, covered in blood, CSM reaches across the carpet to the now shattered frame and drags the picture closer as he slowly loses consciousness. Following Mulder's bombshell, we see a panicked, sweating Blevins rush into his office, closing the door behind him as he leans back against it, out of breath. Seated at the desk and talking on the phone is Blevins' right-hand man. As Blevins moves toward the desk, the man stands and turns, bringing a gun up and shooting Blevins point blank in the chest. As Blevins slumps to the floor, the man wipes the grip of the gun free of prints and places the weapon in the dying man's hand. Back at the hospital, Skinner arrives to find Mulder sitting outside Scully's room. "Smoking Man's dead," he announces. When asked how, Skinner tells Mulder he was shot through his window. He hands Mulder a picture he says forensics found at the scene. It's the blood-splattered picture of a young Fox and Sam. "We're assuming it's his blood," Skinner says. He tells Mulder no body was found but there was too much blood loss for anyone to survive. Skinner asks Mulder how he knew it was Blevins and Mulder tells him he didn't. He just guessed. "Hell of a guess," Skinner says, going on to tell Mulder that Blevins had been on Roush's payroll for four years. They both know that whatever connections there were are being erased as they speak. Mulder tells Skinner that Scully's cancer has gone into remission. Skinner seems overwhelmed, saying it's unbelievable news. "It's the best news I could have ever heard," Mulder says. They don't know what caused the remission and Mulder speculates that they may never know. Tricky writers, leaving it to us to decide if it was the chip, the unconventional medical treatment, or Scully's return to faith. Cretins. Skinner asks if he can see Scully and Mulder says she's with her family but would probably love to see him. Sitting alone in the hallway, an exhausted Mulder holds the bloody picture in his hands. Weariness and grief seem to hit him suddenly. Despite being overjoyed at Scully's turnaround, he is still without his sister and filled with his usual angst. Just as when Sam left him to rejoin CSM in the car, Mulder is on the other side of the window. Alone in the hallway, he chokes back his tears.