Title: Nova

Author: Angel

Feedback: Please!

Archive: Please!

Classification: MSR, Colonization fic.

Rating: NC-17 (for some parts-very mild but to be safe!) Others are probably PG-13 or so.

Summery: The inevitable happens. Mulder has planned ahead and now does everything in his power to keep Scully safe. You MUST read all parts to understand! Available at Ephemeral and my home page.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Characters are property of Fox, 1013, ect. No money is being made. No infringement is intended. Some poems are used without permission, names of authors are given. Prayers which I did not write, and I don’t know who wrote are included in some areas.

Homepage: (to find missing parts and sooner or later the completed version, also posted at Ephemeral)

A HUGE thanks to Evie my beta reader! Nova would never be doing this well, or going as fast, without her help! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!

Note: Want Nova updates in the mail? Just let me know!

"Baby don’t look up, the sky is falling." Tori Amos

……

(Day 75 continued)

Scully immediately walked to Skinner’s side and pressed a hand to his chest as he instinctively tried to sit up. "Lie still."

Skinner fell back against the mattress with a grimace. "Where am I?" His voice was strained and low.

Of all the things Mulder thought Skinner would ask, that wasn’t one of them. "Nova." He answered walking over to stand sit by the cot next to Scully.

Carefully Skinner reached up in search for his charm. He frowned as he fingered the small object. "Who shot me?"

"Another member… it’s a long story."

Skinner closed his eyes and nodded at Mulder’s explanation. "For some reason I’m not surprised to see you two here."

"Frankly I am surprised to see you here, Sir." Scully said smoothly.

He glanced at her with half opened eyes, obviously struggling to keep them open. "I found out about this place only a year ago. When I finally accepted the fact that it was going to happen I figured I better save my ass."

"Well," Mulder started before Scully could say anything. "You almost got your ass shot to death. Why were you walking around at night?"

Skinner shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want to answer these questions. Not now, not when he eyes felt heavy and his body throbbed with pain. "I knew I was close and I didn’t want to spend another night sleeping on dirt if I didn’t have to."

Frowning Scully stood up, taking Mulder’s hand and bringing him with her. "We are going to get some sleep. It’s been a long day. A woman, she’s a nurse, named Judy will be in a moment. If you need me for anything she will come and get me. Rest and try to drink and eat something when you feel up to it." Scully said in a decidedly cool bedside manner.

Mulder told Skinner he’d see him the next day as he shot him a ‘I don’t know what’s with her’ look and followed Scully out. They walked in silence, Mulder trailing behind Scully, to their room.

Scully walked in, still not uttering a word, examining hot ember remains of the fire she threw in a few logs. Once they caught she stood, stripped her clothes off and pulled on some sweats. Without looking up at Mulder, who was leaning against the closed door, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

He watched her settle on her stomach, fumbling with the sheets and pillows for a moment before he pushed himself off the door and changed. He was tired, not only physically, but mentally also. His racing mind had worn him down.

Laying down next to Scully he ran his palm under her shirt and over the tense muscles of her back. With a soft sigh Scully turned her head to face him. He leaned toward her and placed a light kiss on her lips, then her closed eyes, and finally her forehead. "What’s bothering you?" He whispered near her ear.

Scully forced her eyes open enough to look into his. "Skinner." She said simply.

Mulder ran his fingers through her hair. "I figured that much, but you said he will be ok. That’s true isn’t it?"

She nodded slightly, focusing on the base of his throat in distant thought. "I think he will be, especially now that he has woken up."

"So… what is it then?" Mulder asked after a moment of silence.

Scully met his eyes again with a frown. "Do you think he can be trusted?"

Mulder’s brow furrowed in thoughtful confusion. Skinner’s innocence was the least of his worries at the moment. "I don’t see why not Scully… I know we haven’t always been able to, but things are different now."

"But that’s the point. How do we know that he hasn’t been working with Them again to guarantee his future?"

Mulder leaned back from her slightly, taking it all in. After some moments of thought he responded. "He doesn’t look like he has been helping Them, Scully. He looks worse then we did when we got here."

Scully rolled away, with her back to Mulder now. "I knew you wouldn’t believe me."

Mulder sighed and wrapped his arm around her waist trying to pull her to him. "I didn’t say that. I just don’t think… maybe I don’t want to believe you could be right." He kissed her neck softly. "But you know there isn’t anything we can do about it. He was barely conscious. We can talk to him more tomorrow. He isn’t going to go anywhere or do anything how he is now." He gently rolled her over so she was facing him. "So let’s not worry at the moment, let’s just get some sleep."

Scully settled her head against his shoulder and let her eyes close. She was tired. She had been ever since Greg had woken her up, and hadn’t slept well the night before. But sleep was calling now and she wasn’t going to turn down the invitation.

Day 76

Mulder leaned back against the wall as he watched Skinner slip away into sleep once again. They had spent the morning talking when Skinner had enough energy for it. Actually it was more of an interrogation, Mulder being the interrogator. He had to admit he enjoyed it to an extent. After so many years of having to answer to Skinner, it is was a nice change.

But now his problem was talking to Scully. Mulder was certain Skinner had nothing but good intentions and now he had to try to convince Scully. He knew she hated to admit when she was wrong, but he wouldn’t ask her to. It was insane to expect her not to worry, he worried himself. He had gotten over the idea that Skinner could have been helping Them, but he had a feeling Scully wasn’t going to drop it as easily. Lately she had been overly protective of him and herself. But Mulder was not in the position to complain, for the first time he could remember their roles were switched.

Mulder’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the Medical Room door. He swung the down open to Greg nervously running his hand through his short blonde hair. Mulder nodded a curt greeting but shut the door to the Medical Room as he stepped out into the hallway.

Greg pointed in question at the closed door. "I just wanted to apologize to Walter about what happened."

Mulder nodded. "He’ll appreciate that, but he just fell asleep again."

"Oh… Well I’ll just come back later then, thank you Mulder." Greg turned to walk away but Mulder caught his elbow.

"Actually, Greg, I was hoping to have a word with you. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Um… Sure, but if this about what happened-"

"No. It’s not, don’t worry about that." Mulder interrupted as he gestured for Greg to follow him out a side opening and out into the bright sun. "I understand you made a mistake, you aren’t to blame."

"I’m not?" Greg asked surprised as he shielded his eyes against the sun to focus on Mulder.

Mulder shook his head and scanned around the area, they were alone. "Not at all. I blame Benjamin."

Greg looked like someone punched him in the gut for a moment. When he recovered he quickly shook his head. "I don’t think we should talk about this."

Mulder crossed his arms and leaned against the rocks next to the opening into Nova. If Greg wanted to leave he was going to have to walk a quarter mile around to the next doorway. "Why not?"

Greg let out a sigh. "Listen, Mulder, I know you mean well about this. But you just don’t go around putting blame on Benjamin."

"Why? I think it’s his fault. The way he runs things around here just isn’t logical. These rules he has set up-" Mulder paused searching for the right words. "They aren’t realistic."

Greg glanced around them nervously. "This is Benjamin’s place, we just let him do what he wants even if it is idiotic."

"So you agree with me?" Mulder waited but Greg said nothing. "Greg, you’ve got a family. Three kids and wife, correct?" Greg nodded so Mulder continued. "I only had to pay for Scully and I and that was a hell of a lot. In my opinion we should all have a say in what goes on here. Benjamin couldn’t have done this all alone."

Greg held up a hand and started to walk backwards slowly, obviously preferring to walk a bit instead of continuing the conversation. "You do or say whatever you want Mulder, I’d prefer not to get kicked out. So just leave me and my family out of it." Greg regarded Mulder with respect for a moment. "If you care about Dana the way I think you do you will leave her out of it too. Don’t ruin her life because you can’t except how things are here." He turned his back to Mulder and walked on.

Mulder watched Greg walk away even after he was out of sight. His words were slowly sinking into Mulder. A knot of guilt settled in the pit of his stomach. But he didn’t think what he felt was wrong. Mulder wanted Nova to be safe for Scully, and he didn’t feel Nova was incredibly safe at the moment. He made his way back to find Scully. He found her first try in the Medical Room. Quietly he opened the door and sat next to her.

Scully looked up from her book. "You going back to work?"

Mulder silently reached over and hand his hand down the back of her head, just to feel her. Remind himself that she is real and he has to be careful. Mulder pulled away nodding and glanced at Skinner, it didn’t look like he had woken. "Yeah, I my lunch break is over."

"Did you even eat?" She asked with a frown already knowing the answer.

Mulder leaned over and kissed her cheek as he stood. "I’ll grab something, I’ve got a fifteen minute walk to the field. I’ll see you later."

"Bye." She said softly as he shut the door. She hated to see him go. Before They came she sometimes felt like she and Mulder were together too often, now he seemed to be away too often. She only spent time with him at night, and often they were both too tired from the day to do anything other then sleep.

Scully pulled her knees up to her chest, balancing her small body on the set of the chair carefully, and went back to watching over Skinner.

"Oh!" Scully jumped in surprise as she walked face first into Benjamin as he rounded the corned into the Medical Room and her out.

"Dana, I’m sorry." He placed a hand on her upper arm to steady her.

Scully smiled up at the tall man. "It’s all right, did you need something?"

Benjamin smiled softly. "Not really. I just wanted to come and see how you were doing. Not many beautiful, intelligent, AND eligible women around here."

Scully blushed slightly and held up her bucket and gestured for him to follow her to the Main Room to get water. "Well thank you for the compliment… But I’m not exactly eligible."

"I have to admit I am a little curious about your relationship with Mulder. I know you worked together but I was not under the impression that the two of you were romantically involved."

Scully bit her lip as she dipped the bucket into the flow of water, trying to find the best way to answer him. She never felt comfortable talking to people about her relationship, and she didn’t quite know how to describe her and Mulder. "Well we worked closely together for over seven years, we have been through a lot and really depend on each other. We've only recently taken that next step but I think I have always known Mulder is the only man for me." She smiled shyly at that admission as they walked back toward the Medical Room.

Benjamin held the door open for her but waited at the entrance. "Well, Dana you never know when a relationship might change."

Scully nodded, that was a truthful statement. You never did know what would happen. "I guess, but I believe Mulder and I will be spending the rest of our lives together. We can’t survive without one another." She gave a small smile, looking at the blank wall, lost in thought, instead of Benjamin. "That’s just how it is."

Benjamin shook his head. "I don’t know about that. You are a very strong woman, I can tell. I think you would make it just fine without Mulder."

Scully looked back up at him, almost forgetting he was there at all. "I suppose I could make it on my own-"

"I didn’t say on your own, I just said without Mulder."

Scully smiled at his statement but continued as she had planned. "I wouldn’t want to without Mulder. Wouldn’t be worth it."

Benjamin frowned for a moment. "Well I’ll let you get back to work. Have a nice day." He gave a short polite nod and shut the door behind him.

Mulder slowly shut the door, trying to stay quiet when he saw Scully asleep on the bed. He changed into clean boxers and washed swiftly, anxious to be close to Scully after a hard day. He slipped onto the bed and stoked the exposed skin of her arm, warming the cool air away from her body. "Hi." He whispered against her ear before placing a light kiss on the lobe.

Scully smiled sleepily and rolled onto her back, cupping Mulder’s jaw in her hand she pulled him down to kiss her. He moved to pull away but Scully slipped her hand into his hair and held him for a deeper more passionate kiss. "I missed to you today." She whispered after he pulled away and settled his weight on his forearms on either side of her head.

"Mmm…" He kissed her neck softly, noticing for the first time she was only wearing her panties and a tank. "I wasn’t far away."

"I know." She mumbled, not happy with that answer. She gently pulled on his shoulders so he rested his weight against her body. "But I still don’t like it." Scully skimmed her fingers over his bare back, slipping her hands under the waistband of his boxers, pulling him even more firmly against her. "It just got to me today."

Mulder struggled to move away from her enough to pull her top over her head. He kissed the newly exposed skin of her breasts slowly but thoroughly. "Why?"

Scully sighed softly as her sleepiness segued into arousal. "Why what?"

Mulder smiled and picked his head up to look at her. "Why did you miss me more today then usual?"

Shrugging slightly she traced a finger up and down his upper arm smiling shyly. "I was talking to Benjamin-"

"What did he say?" Mulder asked quickly, pulling himself up off of her slightly so he could look at her better.

Scully’s brow furrowed. "Nothing really. He just got me to thinking about how much I need you… Why?"

Mulder let out a breath and lowered himself back down. "No reason, sorry." He traced his fingers over her belly to distract her, it worked. "You look beautiful." He said more to himself then her as he noticed the weight she had began to put back on. Her skin glowed naturally and her hair had regained its shine. She looked healthy and well.

With a slight frown Mulder traced his fingers against her hairline. "How have you been feeling, Scully?"

She smiled at his concern, some things never changed. Running her fingers over his cheek she gave him a serious look. "Fine, Mulder. No headaches, no nose bleeds, I feel fine… Actually really good lately."

Mulder dipped his head back down to her breasts as Scully struggled to get his boxers down. Once removed Mulder slid down her body, kissing and caressing along the way, taking her panties with him. On his return trip up he rested his head on her belly and gazed up at her. "You’ll tell me if anything is wrong, won’t you Scully?"

She nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Of course I will, Mulder." She laughed softly. "Want to focus on the activities on hand please?" She tugged him back up her body and into the cradle of her thighs.

He smiled and nodded. "I’d love to." He whispered as he pushed into her body.

Day 78

Scully shifted tiredly in the wooden chair she spent most of her days in while at the Medical Room. After rubbing the heels of her hands into her eyes she looked over at Skinner just as he shifted painfully. With a barely restrained groan she rose from her chair and walked across the room.

"How are you feeling?" She asked looking down at Skinner.

"Like I’ve been shot." He groaned out.

His attempt at humor didn’t go unnoticed by Scully, just unacknowledged.

She kneeled down by the cot and removed his bandage. "It’s healing nicely." Scully informed deadpan.

"Scully… What can I do to convince you I’m not here to ruin Nova? I’ve told you, I’m here for the same reason you are, to live. I don’t have any knowledge that anyone who is not a member knowing about it."

Scully ignored what he was saying as she cleaned the wound carefully.

"Scully?"

She looked up, brows raised, lips pressed together. "Sir… I really don’t want to talk about this. Ok?"

"No, Scully it isn’t ok. I’m going to be here whether you like it or not-"

"Well I don’t." She said simply. "I doubt that will change. And I am sorry, I truly am, but I don’t trust you. I honestly don’t feel comfortable with you around me and Mulder."

Skinner looked blankly at her. "I’m not asking you to trust me. I know that is too much to ask of you or Mulder. You only trust each other. I accepted that many years ago. What I am asking is that you accept the fact that I will be here. That just because you don’t want me here, that you are cold to me, doesn’t mean that I am just going to disappear."

Finished with the new bandage Scully stood over him once again. "Consider it accepted."

"Scully?" Skinner called as she walked towards the door. "Scully wait a minute please." The door shut firmly behind her. "Jesus." Skinner muttered to the empty room.

"Mulder!" Scully scolded as he stepped into their room, soaking wet from the rain. She sighed dramatically. "Get those wet clothes off." She started to tug on his shirt.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Scully gave him a serious look. "Mulder… I’m not joking around. I don’t want you to get sick."

"It’s ok, Scully. The rain was warm, I didn’t get cold until I walked inside." He pulled on a pair of dry sweatpants as Scully started to towel dry his hair after sitting him down by the fire. Just as she stepped away to hang up the dripping towel Mulder sneezed. Twice.

"Oh Mulder…" Scully sighed softly as she sat down next to him. She ran her fingers under his jaw looking for swollen glands.

He smiled innocently. "Don’t worry, I feel fine."

Scully sat back and looked at him with a frown. "What I am really worried about is the fact that any cold or flue is going to go crazy down here. Not much ventilation." She explained to Mulder’s questioning look.

Mulder patted her thigh. "Don’t worry, Doc. We’ll manage."

Many apologies!!! My muse took a vacation and took me a while to find her, club her, sack her, and drag her home. But it’s all good now! =)

And again, sorry for lack of smut. I’m working on it! I really am. Maybe later on… but are you really reading Nova for smut?! I hope not… =(.

Will do virtual wet t-shirt contests for feedback!!

Told you I would write it Evie!!! =)