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. Don’t sue me; I don’t have much, just a computer and a horse, not even a good car, believe me!

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!

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

(8/?)

Day 68

Scully awoke with a gasp at a loud chiming, the blood rushing from her head at the sudden upright movement made her feel dizzy.

Mulder chuckled softly from the other side of the room. "Benjamin said we wouldn’t miss that." He moved from the table where he was reading the rule-book to sit on the side of the bed.

Scully rubbed the sleep from her eyes in order to focus on Mulder. He had obviously been awake for a while, the lamps were lit dimly, the fire was going well, and he was clean and dressed. "Did you sleep alright?" Scully asked with concern, cupping his jaw in her palm and rubbing his cheekbone with her thumb.

He turned and placed a long kiss on her sleep-warm hand. "Yeah, just fine." He stood and motioned towards the table. "I already got our breakfast. I’ll even cook for you." He grinned over at her as he picked up the pan from the cabinet in one hand and the two morning eggs in his other. With a little wink that melted Scully’s heart he turned to start frying the eggs.

Scully climbed out of bed, wearing only Mulder’s tee shirt from the night before. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him between his should blades through his shirt. "I love you." She said softly. Even though they had confessed their love they didn’t get carried away with it. They knew how the other felt, but didn’t see the need to say it all the time.

He smiled over his shoulder. "I love you too… And I don’t want you to catch a cold. Get dressed before these are cooked."

After another quick kiss she did as requested. Dressed, Scully sat down in one of the chairs and took a long drink of the still very cold milk. She quickly became accustomed to the rich taste of the fresh milk, wondering how she ever drank fat free. She took a large bit of eggs and an equally large bite of bread. Chewing happily she looked up at Mulder. His fork was poised over his plate, but he was just staring at her with an astonished expression. "What?" She mumbled out around a mouthful.

Shaking his head he laughed lightly. "Nothing. Nothing at all." He hadn’t seen her eat with such relish in a long time. Good food after so long without it will do that to a person.

With a shrug Scully focused back on her food. "What are you doing today?"

"Chopping firewood." Scully looked up at him in slight question. "I have to meet the group at seven, we won’t be back until five tonight."

Scully looked back down at her almost empty plate. She didn’t know what to think. Working a day away from Mulder was not typical. Even when they worked in the FBI. It hadn’t happened in years.

"Hey." Mulder reached over and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "I know, it will be weird. Not seeing you for ten hours." He smiled in humor. "No cell phones, so I can’t call you every hour with some stupid reason to hear your voice." Mulder blushed slightly realizing he said that out loud, but Scully wasn’t surprised, she did the same thing. "But don’t worry. We’ll both be busy, the time will fly by." Scully raised her brows at him. "Yeah, I know, that’s a load of crap." He picked up both their empty plates. "But we’ve got to get used to it."

Scully leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head with a slight groan. "I hate to say it but you’re right."

"Oh, thank you Scully." He said with mock hurt.

She began to page through the rule-book Mulder had been reading.

"That is a pile of shit if I have ever read one." He said turning around after cleaning the dishes in one of the buckets of water.

"Why do you say that?"

"They are just unrealistic. ‘Anyone who steals will be banned from Nova.’ Like they are just going to walk away. I don’t think so. Another one was ‘Sexual harassment and other such offences are not permitted.’ Like having that written will stop it from happening." Mulder shook his head in annoyance as he started to tie his hiking boots.

"Well… we can hope right?" Scully sounded less hopeful then she meant to.

Mulder sighed when the clock chimed seven. "I better go. Not allowed to miss a day unless you file a note from the doctor, which is you by the way, with the work station." Mulder rolled his eyes then stood. After kissing Scully quickly. "I’ll see you later."

"Bye." She called as he closed the door.

Scully was sitting in the silence of the Medical Room reading when the creaking of the door caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder to see Mulder, he was sweaty and covered in dirt. Smiling he walked over and leaned down to kiss Scully’s cheek.

"No way!" She ducked down and out of the chair. "You are not laying a hand on me until you clean up."

Mulder held his arms out to display himself. "What? You don’t like the rustic lumberjack look?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

"Oh all right… I was just trying to kiss my woman hello when I get home from work." His voice was coated with humor.

"Tell you what, you go to our room, clean up. I’m going finish up in here and I’ll kiss you hello."

Nodding, Mulder walked out the door. "As long as I get a kiss I have no complaints."

Smiling to herself, Scully put away her medical book, turned off the lamps, leaving only the faint fire to light the empty room. Closing the door behind her she flipped over the wooden sign saying the doctor was no longer in. She walked towards the west hall smiling at the people she met during the day.

Scully smiled openly the moment she opened to door to their room. Mulder was lying on his side, facing the fire, he was cleaned and changed and looked completely exhausted. She toed off her shoes and sat next to him.

Mulder opened his eyes for a moment to look at her, then let them slip closed. "Do I get my kiss now? I’m all clean."

As her answer she leaned down and kissed his exposed neck. She stayed down, leaning her weight against his side.

Mulder rolled onto his back, causing Scully to land on his chest. "How’d it go today?" He asked taking her hair into his hands. He let the soft strands slip through his fingers, only to pick them up again.

Scully lifted her head, resting her chin on the back of her hands in the center of his chest. "There are two pregnant women here, I saw them both today."

"Yeah? Are they doing well?"

She nodded, looking at the wall behind him in thought. "Yeah, they are fine as far as I can tell." She paused for a moment. "I’m going to have to deliver the babies, Mulder." Her voice was just above a nervous whisper.

Mulder rubbed his palms over her back. "You’ve done it before."

"Once, Mulder. Only once."

Mulder turned her face with his hand to meet her eyes. "You’ll do ok Scully, don’t worry."

Frowning Scully laid her head back down on his chest and looked into the fire.

Day 69

Scully was sure of it, they had barely been at Nova for three days and Mulder had already gotten himself in trouble.

She had gotten back from the Medical Room over an hour ago, Mulder was supposed to be back an hour before her. His job today was to patrol. Mostly because of his experience with firearms. He had to walk to border of Nova all day, watching for anyone.

Scully paced the length of the room for the umpteenth time. She wanted to go looking for him, it was her first reaction. But he could be anywhere in the hundred square miles that Nova had ‘claimed’. There was no way for her to find him. But she wasn’t allowing herself to panic, yet.

With a frustrated sigh Scully walked out the room and down to the main room. She all but jogged down the east hall to the three rooms the Lone Gunmen had, all in a row. She rapped her knuckles on the first door, Frohike’s.

"Well Scully, what do I owe this pleasure?" Frohike greeted with his trademark leer.

"Have you seen Mulder today?"

His face straightened. "Not since I woke up, why?"

Scully frowned and leaned against the wall next to the door as Langly and Byers walked in from the Main Room. "He went on patrol today and hasn’t gotten back yet. He’s two hours late."

"We’ll go looking for him if he doesn’t get back by dark." Byers promised. "But give him time."

"Yeah, don’t worry yet Scully. All he had to do was walk a little farther then he planned and lose track of time."

Scully looked at Langly and tried to absorb the truth of his words into her reeling mind. Nodding slowly, "Ok… Thanks guys. I’ll come back over if Mulder doesn’t show up in a couple hours." She started walking back towards the Main Room.

"Don’t worry Scully, I’m sure he’ll show up." Byers called.

Scully studied the floor her entire walk back to the room, she wouldn’t be able to force a smile for anyone she ran into in the hallway so she didn’t want to make any eye contact.

Refusing to let herself pace anymore before she wore a tread into the rock floor she laid down on the bed, starring up at the rock ceiling. Studying the natural contours of how the stone broke away from the carved out sections was much like looking up at the clouds. At a quick glance they looked like nothing more then hills and valleys. But with the imagination of her stressed mind Scully saw many things.

In the far corner above the table there was a spiral, uneven and irregular, but it was there. Native Americans believed that symbol meant the continuation of life. It went on forever, no matter what.

Scully couldn’t imagine her life without Mulder, she hadn’t been able to for years.

The area above the stove had already turned slightly dark from the soot when the glass door was opened to add wood. The way the smoke spiraled up and around left a swirling mark. It looked like a large black spider.

Scully hated spiders. She smiled in memory at the time one had found it’s way onto her desk in their old office. She had screamed like a little girl, jumped out of her chair and told Mulder to kill it. But he wouldn’t, instead he picked it up in a scrap of paper and let it out one of the tiny ground level windows.

Scully hated this spider. Climbing off the bed she pulled a chair over to the spot. Standing up on it she was tall enough to wipe away the mark with her hand. Once it was nothing more then a blur of soot she climbed down and got back on the bed.

For many silent moments she stared at the area above the head of the bed. She knew her unconscious had a part in what she saw, but she didn’t care. To her the stone was cut in an ‘X’. She smiled at the appropriateness of it all.

Her eyes grew heavy at as she stared at that X. She didn’t want to sleep, but it was so much more inviting then waiting. She had always hated waiting as a child. She grew out of it as an adult, until she started working with Mulder. Then the waiting wasn’t just waiting, it was fear, annoyance, concern, and nervousness.

But she had no choice but to wait.

Notes: I am such a mean WIP writer =). Don’t worry, part 9 will be out very very soon. I just have to edit and stuff. Enjoy!