Let's Face the Music and Dance-Part 6
Summary and disclaimers in Part 1

*****

Mulder wasn't blindfolded for the drive home. But it didn't
matter. He didn't notice much around him anyway.

His mind was too busy to care about where he was physically.
In the four hours he had 'talked' with Spender, Mulder had
learned a great deal about his mental abilities. He learned
that his 'gift' was a very good lie detector, especially
among people who knew nothing about his abilities. He had
also learned how to protect his own thoughts to keep other
telepaths from seeing his lies, just as Spender was doing
with the Grays. 

And at the end of the long, detailed discussion, he had
promised CGB Spender, the man who claimed to be his father,
but whom Mulder knew now was not, that he would not tell
anyone of their 'deal'. Anyone. Even Scully.

Spender had known Mulder wasn't going to keep that promise,
but he pretended otherwise.

Mulder's thoughts turned to Will. The Cancer Man hadn't been
lying about his lack of  involvement in Will's conception,
and Mulder had felt the first hint of fear in the old man
when he couldn't explain how Scully had become pregnant. It
couldn't have been the Grays, since they hadn't even known
she was pregnant until her third trimester. And though
Parenti and the others had been trying to protect her and
the baby, there had been no evidence that they had anything
to do with Will's existence. 

Mulder was beginning to suspect that the claim of a miracle
wasn't just an excuse. 

Susan Donahue sat quietly next to him on the long drive,
never saying a word. But he could feel her gaze on him from
time to time, and her emotions were strong. She was
contemplative. Fearful. Hopeful.

When they neared the apartment, Mulder looked at her. She
met his eyes with her own, then asked him softly, "Did you
agree?"

Mulder said nothing, knowing that his expression said it
all. 

She smiled slightly, her eyes now full of the hope he had
felt from her earlier. She nodded and looked away. "Good."

Mulder began to pray she was right. 

When they pulled up to the front of the apartment, Mulder
directed his thoughts toward the people waiting for him
inside. He sensed five different individuals, but only one
mattered at the moment. *Scully?*

*Mulder?* The emotion behind that one word was strong, full
of relief at his return and wonder at the fact that she
could 'talk' to him without either one of them speaking. And
love; he could feel that very clearly. *Where are you?*

Mulder smiled at the familiar phrase as he reached for the
door handle. *Right outside,* he told her. As he stepped out
of the car he looked at the window of the apartment just in
time to see the curtain move and Scully's face appear. He
nodded his head at her and smiled softly, not wanting to
clue Susan in on the fact that he and Scully could now
communicate telepathically. As far as he was concerned, no
one needed to know that. He hoped he could get Scully to
agree with him.

He bent down and looked back into the car at Donahue. He
opened his mouth to speak, then realized he had no clue what
to say. She smiled at him and nodded her head in response to
his confused look. "Goodbye, Mr. Mulder. For now." For not
being able to read minds, she sure had a knack for knowing
what he was thinking. 

He nodded back, stood straight, and closed the door.
Turning, he headed toward the building. Scully had
disappeared behind the curtains again, but she was still in
his head. She had felt his momentary confusion, but she
seemed to be facing an enigma of her own. *What's wrong?* he
asked.

The answer he received was unusual, since no words were
involved, only images and feelings. Yet, he quickly
understood the situation, and he started walking even
faster. When he entered the apartment, he was not at all
surprised to see Marita Covarrubias sitting nervously on the
couch. Nor was he surprised to see the baby sleeping soundly
in her arms. Skinner sat at the other end of the couch and
Scully stood at the opposite end of the room, holding a
tired but wide awake Will on her hip. The baby smiled when
he entered, and Mulder practically glowed in the absolute
trust and love he felt flowing from his child. "Hey, buddy,"
he said as he made his way toward them, purposefully
ignoring the other woman and child in the room; Marita was
afraid of him, and he wanted to give her some time to
collect herself before facing her.

Mulder reached for Will and lifted him away from Scully,
swinging the boy onto his own hip. Then, in a move that
obviously startled Scully, he leaned over and kissed her
soundly on the mouth. Her blue eyes widened in surprise.
Though they had been openly living with each other for the
last six months, neither of them seemed very comfortable
with public displays of affection. He grinned at her and
turned to face the others, but not before he saw Scully's
eyes narrow. Damn. She may not be able to read his mind when
he closed her off, but she didn't need to when she could
read his actions so thoroughly.

*Mulder?*

*Later,* he quickly answered. *Let's get rid of Skinner,
huh?*

Scully began to walk across the room to take a seat. *Why?*

*Because I don't want him involved any further.*

She sat down and looked at Skinner. "I think it's okay to go
home now, sir," she told him. To Mulder, she said, *And
Marita?*

*She's already involved too deep to get out.* 

Skinner stood. "Yeah. I guess." He headed for the door,
grabbing his coat off the rack as he strode by. "Call me if
you need anything." He looked at Scully carefully, and
Mulder knew he sensed there was something non-verbal going
on between them. The AD glanced at Mulder. "Anything."

Mulder nodded his understanding. Skinner didn't trust Marita
any father than Will could throw her. Mulder wouldn't have
either...if he wasn't able to tell by her emotions just how
terrified the woman was.

After Skinner left, Mulder turned to face the pale woman. He
nodded toward the baby.  "Alex know about her before he
died?"

As impossible as it seemed, Marita paled even further. She
shook her head. "I was too afraid to tell him," she
whispered. "And then it was too late." She took a deep
breath and met his eyes with her own. "Please, help us."

"What makes you think that I can?" Mulder asked.

"I know where you went today," she told him. "And I know
why. Now, I need to know if you said 'yes'. Because if you
did, the rebels will kill you. But if you said 'no', then I
give up now, because the world as we know it is over."

"Then we better figure out a good way to keep me alive,"
Mulder told her. "Because I said 'yes'."

*****

It was almost 2 AM. Will had gone to sleep hours ago. Marita
and little Rebecca were asleep in the guest room. And Mulder
also seemed on the verge of drifting off. But Scully
couldn't relax. Couldn't sleep. Even after the bout of
energetic, yet quiet, sex she and Mulder had just completed.
Her whole body was limp, but her mind would not settle down.

Mulder had explained to her and Marita what he had agreed
to, and how he was going to proceed with his objective
without getting himself killed. But Scully, who was now
incredibly, magically connected to this man, heard a
completely different story behind his words. After they had
retired to their bed, she had demanded he explain what was
really going on. Instead, he had distracted her with more
mind blowing sex.

Now she lay in his arms, her heart slowing, her body
cooling, her temper starting to heat.

*If I tell you, will you promise not to say anything out
loud?*

Scully caught her breath. She had been sure he was almost
asleep. *Why? Do you really think someone could hear us?*

*Yes, I do.*

*But not if we...talk...like this?*

*Not with the walls I learned how to build today.*

Scully didn't respond for a moment. *Learned? From Spender?*

*Yes.*

*You're really going to take his place, aren't you?*

*Well...*

*Mulder.* 

*I have an idea. But, I don't want Marita to know about it
until we go through with the plan.*

*She trusts you, now,* Scully told him. *Even I could see
that. I hope you aren't using her.*

*Scully, the rebels want me dead, because they think I'll
lead the Grays to a successful invasion. The Grays want me
alive, but are afraid of me, meaning I can control them as
long as I pretend to be on their side. In reality, I can
keep them from taking over. For a while, anyway. If they
knew my real intentions, they'd kill me without hesitation.
With Spender gone, I'm the only one they'll listen to.*

*Until Will and the others are old enough to 'take over'.*

*Exactly.*

*And you want to take Marita with you to Arizona?* Mulder
had told them that Spender had headed to a secret base in
the Sonora Desert shortly after they parted the day before,
and Spender expected Mulder to join him there soon.

*She understands the Grays AND the rebels. She'll be of
great assistance to the group.*

Scully sat up suddenly. *I can't believe you're thinking
like this!* She glared down at him. *What did he say to make
you want to become the leader of this...this new
Consortium?!*

Mulder sat up and shifted to face her. *I don't WANT to,
Scully. I NEED to.*

*Why?*

*Will needs to be protected. Hell, the world needs to be
protected.*

Suddenly, Scully began to laugh. *So, you really are about
to become the center of the Universe.*

Mulder couldn't help but laugh softly along with her. *Only
until our son is old enough to take care of said Universe
himself.*

Scully sobered. *Marita knew Spender was offering you
this...job. If she knows, then the rebels know, too. They'll
stop you.*

*Krycek tried that already. He believed what the rebels
believed, that I would eventually start working with the
Grays and stop trying to save the world. He didn't succeed.*

*Oh, I see. You going to take Skinner with you to Arizona,
too?* Even with telepathy, her sarcasm was clear.

*No, but I do have something in mind to insure the rebels
don't find me. And that they'll leave you and Will alone
when I'm gone.*

*What?*

Mulder didn't use words to explain the plan to her. It was
too complicated to spell out. She felt him concentrate on
her, asking that she open her mind to him even more. Images
and feelings spun through her head, swirling about wildly,
and she carefully began to sort them out, to separate them
into coherent ideas. The transfer ended, and they both took
a deep breath. 

*Wow.* Mulder projected. *That was almost as intense as...*
His eyebrows shot up and down suggestively.

Scully smiled. *Yeah.* Then she frowned. *Will it work?*

*It will if we believe it will.*

*It'll be hard.*

*How hard?* 

Scully swallowed. *Probably one of the hardest things I've
ever had to do.*

*Really?* Mulder's eyes had widened.

*Yes, really.*

*Me, too.* He took a deep breath, and his voice broke the
silence that surrounded the bedroom. "Marry me."

Scully felt her heart skip, just as it had every other time
he had said those words to her. "You think that will make it
any easier?"

"No," Mulder answered, his voice husky. "But it will make me
the happiest man in the world, alien or otherwise."

"Just like a soldier asking he best girl to marry him before
he goes off to war, huh?"

"Yeah. Something like that." He was nervous. She was so
attuned to him now, it was obvious. 

Taking another deep breath, Scully scooted closer to him. 

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I'll marry you."

***** 

'This is bullshit.'

John Doggett didn't say what he was thinking out loud, but
it wasn't the first time he had thought it in the last
several hours. Last several days, really. Ever since
Tuesday, when this had all begun. Now, he found himself
following a group of formerly joyous but soon to be very
depressed people out onto the tarmac of a small, privately
owned airport south of Arlington.

Tuesday. The day that Special Agent Dana Scully had visited
his office, which used to be hers, to invite him and his
partner to her wedding on Friday.

Now, it wasn't as if he hadn't been expecting it. He always
knew that Scully would marry Mulder some day. But, a little
part of him had been hoping that Mulder would get bored with
domestic life and up and leave one day. Then he could play
the hero and offer Scully a shoulder to cry on. Well, half
of his private fantasy was coming true; Mulder was
leaving...but he was marrying Scully first, insuring that no
other man would be offering his shoulder to her anytime
soon.

Doggett hadn't found out about Mulder's planned departure
until just before the wedding itself. It had taken place in
a little chapel near Manassas. That had been Doggett's first
surprise. He had always assumed Mulder would not appreciate
a church wedding; Scully had commented to him months ago how
Mulder wasn't the religious type. But not only had the
former agent wanted the wedding done in a church, he had
asked the Scully family priest, Father McCue, to preside
over it. It wasn't a Catholic ceremony (Scully had informed
him that that would have entailed Mulder becoming confirmed
as a Catholic AND six months of pre-matrimonial counseling),
but God was definitely present. 

And Mulder didn't seem to mind.

An old friend of Scully's by the name of Ellen stood as her
Matron of Honor, and Frohike, looking uncomfortable in a
tux, stood with Mulder. At Scully's request, and with
Margaret Scully's consent, AD Skinner walked the bride down
the aisle.

She had been gorgeous. Her dress was a simple off-white
sheath with a scooped neckline and an ankle length skirt.
Her elegant arms were bare, and her ever present cross still
graced her neck. Her hair, which she had been growing out,
was pulled up into a French twist at the back of her head. 

Mulder, decked out in a traditional black tuxedo, never took
his eyes off of her. Doggett couldn't blame him.

The ceremony had been short and sweet. After the couple had
exchanged rings, Mrs. Scully brought William up to the altar
to join with his parents. The baby had stayed amazingly
quiet throughout, and once in the arms of his mother started
gurgling happily, sharing his parents obvious joy. A joy
that Doggett knew would not last; Skinner had told him
Mulder was planning on leaving that night for parts
unknown...with Marita Covarrubias. His wedding night, and
the man was going away with another woman. Doggett just
couldn't fathom it.

After the ceremony, the wedding party, and the few guests
that had attended it, met at a nearby pub to celebrate.
Laughter and music had filled the old bar, and Doggett
gladly joined in, allowing his concerns to sit unnoticed in
the back of his mind for a little while. As evening had
neared, he finally managed to get the tiring Scully onto the
dance floor. He clearly remembered their discussion, which
she had started:

"What's wrong?"

Doggett looked down into a pair of worried blue eyes.
"Nothing."

Scully smiled. "Yeah, right. Nothing is the reason you
suddenly became stiff as a board."

For one second, Doggett misinterpreted her words and felt
his face heat. At her amused snort, her realized she was not
talking about what he thought she had been talking about but
about his whole body. 'Damn,' he thought. 'Did I just give
myself away?' He glanced off to the side where Mulder was
chatting with Margaret Scully and her daughter-in-law. 

"Don't worry," Scully said softly. "He's much too
preoccupied to care about what you're thinking. Besides, he
promised not to delve into anybody's mind tonight."

Doggett looked at her again, wary now. "You don't seem upset
that your...husband...can read minds."

Her eyebrows rose. "Should I be?"

Doggett shrugged. "Well, you've always seemed to be such a
private person."

She smiled again. "Yeah. I am."

"Then the fact that he can 'see' your secrets should bother
you."

She shook her head. "John - can I call you John? - you can
prevent a telepath from reading your thoughts. There are
easy ways to block them out. In fact, I found it much more
difficult to let down those barriers than to keep them up."
She gave him a wistful smile. "Besides, Mulder and I have no
secrets between us. Not anymore."

"So you know the real reason he's going away with
Covarrubias tonight?" Doggett knew his voice had hardened,
and he did nothing to apologize for it.

"Yes, I do. And as strange as it sounds to you, I understand
why he has to go, and I am okay with it." Despite her words,
there was a deep sadness in her eyes.

"Where's he going, Dana?"

She sighed. "CGB Spender is alive," Scully whispered. "I
know you know that name." She waited for his nod of
affirmation. "Mulder's going to make a deal with him. To
keep Will and myself safe."

"Are you saying this Spender is behind Teresa Hoese's death?
The abduction of her child?"

She nodded.

"And Covarrubias?"

"She's worked with Spender before. She's acting as the
go-between." She glanced away from him for a moment, and
Doggett had a funny feeling inside his gut that told him she
wasn't telling him the truth. Or at least not all of it.

"When's he coming back?"

"Within the week."

"Why now?" he pushed. "Why does he have to go tonight?"

"Spender gave him a deadline, and he has to meet it."

"And the wedding couldn't wait until he got back?"

Scully swallowed and blinked quickly, as if chasing away
sudden tears. "We decided that Mulder would have a better
chance convincing Spender to leave us alone if
we...officiated...our familial status."

Doggett stayed silent for a moment. Then, meeting her sad
gaze, he said, "You're lying."

The music had stopped then, and without responding to his
accusation, Scully thanked him for the dance and made her
way swiftly toward Mulder. Before she had even reached him,
her new husband had turned to face her, concern evident on
his face. Almost as if he knew what she was thinking. 

Of course he did, Doggett told himself. He's a telepath.

Now he was accompanying Reyes, Skinner and the three stooges
in helping Scully and William say farewell to Mulder and
Covarrubias. Why he was bothering to do so, he couldn't say.
He could have said his farewells at the pub and gone home,
as had all the other guests. But, like Monica, he felt a
certain sense of loyalty to the couple and their child; a
need to protect.

The autumn night was cold, but not quite freezing. The air
was moist, however, and puffs of steam appeared as if by
magic whenever someone breathed out. The pilot of the little
Cessna started the engine and Covarrubias, who had been
silent and sober all night, climbed aboard. He thought he
heard the little guy, Frohike, ask her about a baby, but she
ignored him and disappeared inside the plane. 

Mulder and Scully stood off to the side facing each other,
little Will tucked between them. Mulder had his head lowered
just enough for their foreheads to meet. No words were
spoken between them. Doggett knew now that none were needed.
With a sniff, Scully raised her face and pressed her lips to
Mulder's. Doggett looked away, unable to watch any longer.

Mulder finally boarded the plane without a backward glance.

The small group walked back toward the hanger at the edge of
the runway, where they stood silently watching the plane
taxi along to its end. It turned, sped up, and soon became
one with the air.

Doggett looked at Scully. She was looking down at her son, a
lone tear on her cheek. Whatever secrets she was keeping
from him, and most likely the others, her sadness at
Mulder's departure was real.

"Oh, my God!"

"Shit!"

Byers' and Langly's exclamations caused Doggett to turn his
attention from Scully and towards where the plane's lights
should have been fading in the night sky. Scully also looked
up.

There, in the sky where the plane should have been, was a
ball of orange light. It faded quickly, but the fire falling
from the sky would be visible in Doggett's minds eye for
many years to come.

As would the gut-wrenching scream from the woman at his
side.

"MULDER!!!!!"

*****

End Part 6/7

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