Someday-Part 7/7 Summary and disclaimers in Part 1 ***** That Same Day Starbuck Island, Northwest of Tahiti Mulder stood next to his rented jeep and looked up at the building in front of him. It was a lovely, two story mansion, built by a French trader in 1918, with a wrap-around verandah on the second floor. The tropical sun beat down on the white structure, making it almost too bright to look at. It was called the Barnet Hotel. He was still in a state of shock from the happenings of the last several days. After leaving the vicinity of the burning car, he had looked at the rest of the information in the folder. It seemed that Ian Zweifel was a wealthy man. A New York bank held more money in his name than Mulder knew what to do with. He was set for life, it seemed. Mr. Zweifel had also reserved a room in this hotel indefinitely. Mulder walked up to the building, feeling over-dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans; it was a tropical paradise after all. He carried a shoulder bag that held his few personal belongings. Just a handful of momentos from his past life as Fox Mulder. Another important object was tucked safely in his front jeans pocket. He had rescued it from his safe deposit box just before leaving Washington. Mulder checked in and was lead upstairs by a young bellboy, a native of the island, he assumed, looking at the kids Polynesian features. His room had French doors with a fantastic view of the ocean. The doors opened onto the verandah, which he guessed was shared by all the guests. He tipped the boy, sighed, then sat on the edge of the big, four-poster bed. He was tired. He had been on the move constantly since leaving D.C. He had flown to L.A., with a stop in Denver, then changed planes to fly to Hawaii. From there, he had flown to Tahiti, and then he had hopped on a puddle-jumper here. Starbuck Island. So, where was Starbuck? He had half expected to see her at any moment. Every corner he turned, he expected to run into her. Every door he opened, he prayed she was on the other side. He wondered if he was being too optimistic. Neither CSM nor WMM had confirmed that she was alive; maybe she really was dead. Or maybe she just wasn't here. Maybe she had been hidden away somewhere else. With a yawn, he began to undress. He would have to buy new clothes...again. He smiled, remembering shopping with Scully in Custer. After taking off his boots and socks, he stood and walked over to the French doors, unbuttoning his shirt. The ocean view was too much to resist, so he stepped outside, walking to the railing and bracing his hands on it. He closed his eyes, rolling his head around to ease his tired neck, breathing in the warm, salty breeze coming off the Pacific. When he opened his eyes, he saw her. She was standing on the beach below, not far from where the waves touched the white sand. She was wearing a white sundress that left her arms bare, the skirt swirling around her bare legs and feet in the wind. Her hair was red once again, the blonde having finally washed out, but it was shorter than when he had last seen her. Had that only been six days ago? It seemed like forever. He walked to the far end of the verandah, where a staircase led down to the sand. Once he reached the beach, he walked quickly in her direction. Before he had even had a chance to say anything, she turned to face him, smiling, as if she had known he was there before seeing him. He stopped sharply in front of her, letting himself drown in her blue eyes. "Hi." Her voice was soft. The wind, coming from her back now, blew strands of hair against her cheek. Slowly, as if he was afraid a sudden move would make her disappear, Mulder reached out to tuck the hair behind her ear. "Hi." "Welcome to Starbuck Island," she continued, her eyes glinting with amusement. "I'm Sara. Sara Wegner." She held out her hand. Mulder smiled and took her hand in his. "Ian Zweifel." She smiled. "Ian? I like it. It's a strong, Gaelic name." Mulder laughed, but his smile soon faded. "Your mother knows, doesn't she?" Scully's smile also disappeared as 'real life' was brought to her attention. She drew back her hand. "Not where I am, but that I'm alive, yes. They told me I could let one person know. My first choice was you, but they knew you would be watched closely after my 'death', and your reaction had to be real." She looked down. "I am so sorry for doing that to you." Mulder shook his head. "It was rough for a while, but your mother said something to me that gave me hope." When Scully gave him that familiar questioning look, he continued. "She said we'd be together again...someday." She smiled again. "Looks like 'someday' is finally here." She glanced up and down the beach. "Here in paradise." She looked at him again. "You know, I dreamed of this place. When you went missing. God, was that only two weeks ago? It seems like forever since we were in the Black Hills." "I know," Mulder agreed. "You dreamed? A premonition?" "Maybe." "I didn't think Agent Scully believed in premonitions." Scully watched him for a while. "No, she didn't. But Sara is willing to believe." "Sara." Mulder tested the name out. He shook his head. "How am I gonna do this? You're Scully. You'll always be Scully." "Your calm, rational Scully, as I recall." He nodded. "Yeah." "We'll make do, Mul-...Ian" They laughed. Then Mulder asked, serious, "What do we do now, Scully?" "That's easy," she replied. "We have the whole future ahead of us, Mulder. So let's start living it!" "Okay." That was just the opening he needed. He reached into his front jeans pocket. "Let's start with this. I need to ask you a question." He pulled out a tiny object. "I got this a couple of years ago, just before you left for Spokane. I bought it in New York, but it's an original." He held the object up for Scully to see. It was a ring. A diamond solitaire bordered by tiny, gold grape leaves dusted in shades of pink and green. "Black Hills Gold," Scully whispered. "Dana." Scully looked up at him, her eyes flooding with tears. "Scully. Will you marry me?" Scully bit her lip, then asked, "As Scully or as Sara?" "Both. Either. I don't care, as long as it's you." She nodded, blinking rapidly to keep her tears from falling. He reached for her left hand and slid the ring on her finger, breathing a sigh of relief when it fit perfectly. "Scully, I love you." She smiled, unable to keep the tears from falling. "I love you, too, Mulder." She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his. He took them like a starving man, drinking greedily from her mouth, tongue delving deep. She moaned into his kiss and rocked her hips against his. His jeans were already uncomfortably tight. He pulled away slightly. "As much as I'd like to make love to you on the beach, it is a bit public." Her answering laughter was incredibly erotic. She moved her hips against his once more. "We better take this inside, then. We can always come back here after dark." Mulder took a sharp breath. "Oh, yeah!" Grabbing her hand, he pulled her toward the verandah stairs at a run. Laughing, she followed without hesitation. They tripped up the stairs, ran across the porch, and slipped into the still open doors to Mulder's room. After quickly locking them, he turned and grabbed her up in his arms. They never made it to the bed. They didn't even bother to undress completely. Mulder simply dropped his jeans and lifted Scully's skirt up, removing her underwear with deft fingers. He lifted her and pressed her against the wall. There was no foreplay. There was no need. Both were more than ready for each other. With her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her hands gripping his shoulders, fingernails digging into him, Mulder was able concentrate on their pleasure. He shoved her against the wall, over and over, knowing he was probably going too fast, being too rough, but her responses refused to let him slow down. He contemplated using his hand to help her along, knowing he was going to explode any second now, but then he felt her internal muscles tightening and knew she was with him. It was quite possibly the quickest coupling Mulder had ever experienced, yet completely satisfying at the same time. When Scully gasped out "Fox!", Mulder felt his own explosion come with a force that stunned him. His knees gave out, and he sank down to the floor, Scully's legs still firmly clasped around him, her head on his shoulder. Soon, their breathing returned to normal. Scully lifted her head and smiled at him. "I love reunions." ************************************************************ Later, finally unclothed and in bed, Mulder watched Scully as she admired her ring. "It's perfect, Mulder." He was silent for a while. "When I held that vaccine in my hand for the first time, I thought to myself, 'Here is the future'." He looked at her. "I'm glad the vaccine's safe, and I'm glad we have the upper hand in this 'war', but I was wrong when I thought that." "What do you mean?" "I'm holding the future in my arms right now," he whispered. He felt slightly embarrassed to find tears in his eyes. Scully had seen him cry before, but not from happiness. Scully smiled though her own tears of happiness. "It's not going to be easy, this future. Even if we're not directly involved anymore, we still are a part of the X Files. I think we always will be." "I agree," he nodded. "But, as we have proved plenty of times in the past, we can do anything as long as we stay together." She nodded back. "Anything. I love you, Fox Mulder." "I love you, Dana Scully." Let the future begin. THE END How do you define normal?