I've never been to Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs, so the layout of the area in this story is a figment of my imagination fueled by some pictures of various area maps and tourist information. Massive liberties have been taken, most based on experiences from other parks and hiking trails. Apologies to residents of the area for any booboos you may encounter herein. I tried to find useful information online, but came up lacking.

Feedback: Yes, please.

Mulder turned into the parking lot of the visitor center and parked the car. He looked up at the building, then over at Scully. "We're here. Want to tell me why it was so important that we took a side trip to Colorado Springs?"

"There's something I want to see," she answered.

"And you don't want to tell me about it yet?"

"No, not yet."

Scully got out of the car and hurried toward the entrance to the visitor center, leaving Mulder in her wake. Rather than follow her in, he decided to wait by the car. It seemed obvious that his company was not needed right now, so he leaned back against the hood and took in the scenery.

She emerged from the visitor center. "Feel like taking a walk with me?"

"Sure you want me to come along?"

"Of course. Why would you ask such a question?"

He pushed off the hood and walked over to her. "Well, you asked me to bring you here but refused to tell me why; you've been giving me short, clipped answers to my questions and just now you ran off without me. You tell me why I might ask such a question."

Scully shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and cocked her head to one side. "Mulder, as many times as I've followed you into strange and scary places on little to no real information, I should think you'd be willing to cut me some slack once in a while."

"Oh, ok."

"Ok?"

"Yeah, ok," he said. "Where to?"

She pointed to the sign marked Ridge Trail. "It's not a long trail, just a half-mile loop with less than hundred feet elevation."

"That's it, just a short hike?"

Scully checked out the top of her shoes. "Well, we might be taking a detour off the established trail." She looked back at him. "Still game?"

"Sure. Let's go."

Ten minutes later, she stopped and looked around to see if anyone was nearby. "Come on." She climbed over the thick wire meant to discourage tourists from leaving the trail and waited for him to follow. When he had cleared the barrier, she reached for his hand and tugged him uphill, toward the towering rocks.

They hiked up the slope until they reached the base of the first spire. Mulder stopped to catch his breath. Scully let go of his hand and continued forward. Less than fifty yards later, she stopped and sat down on a small boulder.

"Find what you were looking for?" Mulder asked.

She nodded and made room on the boulder so that he could sit down beside her.

"Want to tell me what we're doing here?"

Scully pointed to a row of three crosses in the distance. "The year my parents got married, they made a pilgrimage here to attend sunrise services for Easter. Ahab used to tell me stories about this place every Easter Sunday, after we'd attended Mass. Mom never had much to say one way or the other, but it was a profound experience for my father. He wanted me to share it with him one day, but. . ."

"But you never got the chance."

"No. We lived too far away most of the time, then there was college and medical school, time got away from us."

"I'm sorry."

Scully shook her head. "Don't be. We're here now." She slid her hand into the front right pocket of her jeans and pulled something out.

"What's that?"

She opened her hand and showed him a small silver-colored eagle pin. "His Captain's insignia."

Mulder suddenly felt like an intruder in some private moment between father and daughter. "Do you want some time alone?"

"No, Mulder. I brought you here because I didn't want to do this alone." She leaned in to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Next to my father, you are the most important man in my life. I never got the chance to share this with him; I wasn't about to miss sharing it with you."

She felt his arm slip around her shoulders and his head tilt until it rested against hers. They sat in silence and listened to the world around them.

When it was time to go, Scully knelt and buried the insignia at the base of the boulder.

"Scully?"

"So I always know where to find him."

Mulder thought for a moment, then reached behind her neck and undid the clasp on the chain holding the small, gold cross. He held it in front of her. "So he's never alone?" he asked.

She nodded and watched as he buried the necklace with the insignia.

When he was finished, he stood and wiped the dirt off his hands and onto his jeans. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

She reached for his hand and held on tight as they navigated the slope leading back to the trail.