As Mulder and Scully unearth buried evidence
in the yard behind Mulder's father's home, memories are also unearthed.
Summary: At Mulder's father's home in West Tisbury, Mass.,
memories are stirred and some things stored are unearthed.
WEST TISBURY, MASS.
HOME OF THE LATE WILLIAM MULDER
Mulder and Scully exited Scully's car and circled the house
hand-in-hand for awhile. Because she knew the place had
an effect on him, Scully allowed Mulder his silence as he
contemplated everything that led him to that moment. He was
vaguely aware of Scully as his mind ran reel after reel of
his memories of the place.
"So. This is your place to live from now on?" Fourteen and
hurting, Fox was visiting his father for the first time after
he had moved out of the home he had shared with Teena Mulder.
"Yes, Fox. I know it's been hard on you, but this is for
the best. Your mother and I, we grew apart."
"You don't love each other any more?" Fox was kicking fallen
leaves around he walkway near the front of the house. "Is that
why?"
"There are things... we will always have love for each other.
We're not divorcing you, Fox. This is just the best way we
can live. No more shouting. I know you heard us fight. You
didn't need that."
"I need both of you, Dad. I miss doing things together. When
Samantha and I were... well, never mind. We always had fun in
the summertime."
"Fox, hold on to the good memories. Let them carry you
through. Someday, you'll need them to sustain you."
"Why?"
"Oh, sometimes we run into problems. I think the future is
coming far too quickly for my liking."
"The future. You keep talking about it like bad things are
gonna happen. Why?"
"Parents prepare their kids for life, son. Now, go wash up.
Turn on some T.V. I'll be fixing supper in a while." Before
young Fox could run off, Bill Mulder said, "Wait," and hugged
his son tightly, it seemed as if apprehensively. "You're too
mature for your age."
Present-day Fox finally spoke. "He was preparing me all those
years, Scully. He knew I'd pry, spy, investigate everything.
And he was right. He knew I'd run into things only a writer
could imagine. But he kept Samantha's betrayal so secret."
"I'm so sorry. You must have had a full plate for a teenager,
and carrying it all those years..."
"Led me to you. That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Yes, Mulder, it is. I must say this place is beautiful! So
quiet and yet so alive. Flowers, trees, lovely lawns. The
house looks well-kept. Not even a broken window. Great paint
job, too."
"Neighbours do me favours. It went to Mom, then to me. Want
to go in?"
"I'd love to see it, Mulder! Any of your old records or
toys in there?"
"No. Why you'd think that I'll never know. There is the odd
Mad mag. hanging around, I guess." Mulder's key still worked.
"Welcome to my legacy. Tastefully decorated New England style.
And see this writing desk? VERY old. He opened one of the
drawers, and Scully was as shocked as Mulder.
"One of those!"
"Yes, Scully... one... of... I wonder if he had one around when
I was younger. Nothing like self-defense."
"And your mother kept one, too. For so long, they lived in
fear. Do you fear them, Fox?" Scully put her hand on his
shoulder.
"I have a 'healthy respect' for them, as you do. Fear, well I
guess it was designed to ensure our survival. Let's get the
shovels out and get to work."
Their digging yielded quite the cache of files, pictures,
documents from various government departments, and files that
Mulder and Scully had duplicated and hidden many times to
preserve their work from fires, floods, Kryceks and aliens.
Statements from abductees, on tape and transcribed, computer
disks, even Mulder's regularly up-dated duplicate hard drive
all neatly hidden away until this time. A time when they would
need them.
"Scully, you're the greatest!" Mulder hugged her as if it was
Christmas. "You kept more than I asked you to."
As Scully hugged him back and kissed his lips, she felt so
much brighter than she had in weeks. "Mulder, don't you know
by now that I give 150 percent in all I do for you? ONLY for
YOU?"
"I do. I just feel..."
"Like you don't deserve it, I know. I could always tell by
your stutters, the way you would look at your shoes. You
shunned love for so long, afraid of hurt and loss all over
again. That's no way to live. We'd better get this stuff
inside. It's getting dark."
"We're staying awhile, Scully."
"I want to."
As Mulder picked up one box, a picture fell to the ground.
Scully bent down to pick it up and gasped. "Look."
"The Consortium my father belonged to. And yes, there are
several men we came across during our years together, Scully. A
few are alive. My Dad kept their contact information, but we
might need to do some updating on his notes. Cheer up. We can
play *office* in the house this time. Instead of the other way
around."
"We need to keep our eyes open," Scully warned him. "We have
no guns, no federal authority behind us..."
"But we have what it takes. We've got 'the right stuff'!"
"Yes. We have each other's strength. And, we have William to
think of."
As the twilight sky grew ever darker, all boxes, bags, and
necessities were safely in the house. Behind locked doors in
front of a fire, Scully and Mulder snuggled under an
afghan and contemplated their next moves.
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