#met an alien abductee there who was nice though

[weaver-z]

I joined a new age magic server out of boredom/curiosity last night, and no joke, an "empath" there told me my aura was pitch black and spiritually upsetting. It is the funniest thing someone has ever described to me.

#with enough practice i can destroy all empaths within a five mile radius #spiritual research #met an alien abductee there who was nice though

[ttooccaa]

Seeing the Ups and Downs

I just wrote a Soulmate AU bartuardo fic! I hope somebody likes it.

It’s under the cut. Here’s the Ao3 link as well.

Summary: Almost everybody gets a tattoo (or tattoos in some cases; also known as soulmarks), either when they are born or when their soulmate’s born, that represent their soulmate(s), the tattoo is just an outline, until the soulmate is met, afterwards it fills itself with colour.

That’s great and all, but Ed has never had one and just as he’s accepted that he’s probably never going to get one, it happens, problem is it’s 14 years too late, he’s been kidnapped by aliens, so he’s still unconscious and has no idea he even got one. On the upside, he might die long before he has to meet them and deal with everything so that’s… just peachy.

Santa Fe

December 14, 22:45 GMT-3

Ed had just officially ran away from home, it was surprisingly easy, he just had to wait for his abuelo to fall asleep in front of the TV, Ed had gotten really good at sneaking out, practice made perfect as the people say.

He had ran away before, but it was never serious and the police always found him anyways, but this time was different, it felt different. Honestly, he still didn’t know if it was real or not, as of right now he had one goal, get to America (and his father?) without being caught by the police.

Well, first stop, the bus station.

As he was walking through the dark streets, barely lit by the street lights, he once again thought how lucky he was not to have a soulmate. He had just recently convinced himself it was  something good, before he was sad, sure that he simply didn’t deserve one, that he was not worth it, but after seeing how restricting it was to have one, Ed started thanking his lucky star he was born without a tattoo. He was free to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted without caring if somebody might or might not be upset. It was also lonely, but recently he has really been trying to see the bright side of things.

Downside: I will probably be alone and lonely my whole life.

Upside: I am free.

Porto Velho

January 21, 20:16 GMT- 4

Ed was quietly sitting on the ground in an old, decrepit building, surrounded by other runaways and homeless people. He was eating a very stale and disgusting sandwich from a local gas station, while listening to other people talk or at least trying to, Portuguese was definitely not his forte, good thing their group was a mixed one and most everybody either knew spanish or english.

The person next to him moved and a guy took his place. “Hey!”

“What’s up, Lucas?” He greeted, mouth full with bread.

Lucas was one of the few people Ed had met while in this city, Lucas was older, twenty something, really skinny and tall, dirty blonde hair and a lot of small and medium sized scars all over his body, a few on his face. He was a nice enough guy, but really sad, he tried to hide it, but he couldn’t, Ed had seen him go into his depressive state once and it was more than enough. From what he heard it happened often.

They stayed in silence, until Lucas broke it “Have you met your soulmate, Edu?”

The Argentinian swallowed the last of the sandwich and answered “Don’t have one.”

Lucas nodded his head “So you’re one of those people.” He smiled gently, his gaze far away.

“What about you?”

“Oh, yeah.” His smile grew and his eyes started to glisten.

The silence stretched for a bit, until Lucas continued “She was perfect, god, I would’ve done anything for her, I did do everything I could and more for her. She was beautiful and smart and absolutely perfect.” He was still smiling, though tears were forming in his eyes.

Ed has started to feel uncomfortable, but his curiosity got the better of him “What happened? If… ugh… you know, you want to tell me…” He was blushing a bit.

Lucas nodded his head “Don’t worry, it’s not like it’s a secret. She left me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Hahha, not like that! I meant, she just left me, for another, said I wasn’t good enough for her and she was right, you know, I really wasn’t, still am not, now more so than ever.” Tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks, he looked like he was no longer in the room mentally. He probably wasn’t, relieving the good ol’ times he had with his soulmate. Lucas spoke up once again “Only reason, I’m still here, I hope she will take me in one day.”

Ed was shocked, he had heard of soulmates leaving before, but he mostly thought that they stayed together, no matter what. He had always thought that your soulmate was your perfect person, the one always here for you, the only one you can truly trust with everything, turns out he was wrong… very wrong.

Downside: I’m still going to be alone and lonely my whole life.

Upside: I will never have an abusive psycho for a soulmate.

Mitú

February 10, 23:01 GMT-5

The Argentinian had just arrived in the city, thanks to a bit of hitchhiking and a lot of walking, being on the run was exhausting and miserable…

He walked through the streets, the only thing he wanted was to find a somewhat safe spot and just crash over there and fall asleep. It’s not like he was afraid of somebody stealing his things, he didn’t have anything valuable left. Also no money, but right now that really wasn’t current Ed’s problem.

Just as he was considering passing out on a street corner and hoping for the best, he saw it, a bench! But not just any bench one in a secluded but still pretty lit part of the park in front of him. Ed gathered whatever strength he had left and walked to it. He took a blanket out of his backpack and laid down on the bench, his skateboard against his back and the backpack a pillow. He quickly felt sleep overtake him.

It felt barely like minutes had passed, but suddenly he was being woken up by a hand over his mouth and strong arms wrapping around him, he barely had time to register what was happening to him, yet alone panic as he lost consciousness once again.

Downside: I got kidnapped.

Upside: I (most likely) will not live long enough to be alone and lonely my whole life.

Taos

April 1, 18:15 MDT

Now Ed felt like even more of a freak, not only was he one of the few thousand people without a soulmate, but he also had weird, superpowers thanks to a gene inside his body… because aliens. He didn’t think his life could get any worse, at times like these he almost regretted running away from home.

Ed did, in a way, reach his goal - he was in America and with his father. He had forgotten just what a hoot his dad was, but Senior quickly reminded him by throwing his only son inside STAR labs like a lab rat.

He was walking towards one of the changing rooms at STAR labs, it wasn’t enough that aliens had experimented on him and the other abductees, apparently his dad also wanted to take a stab at it

Ed rounded a corner and opened the door of what he hoped was a changing room, he also hoped he would be alone, but no such luck was found. He opened the door, while Virgil was mid tacking his pants off.

Ed quickly started to close the door “Sorry, dude, I’ll leave you be.”

Virgil quickly recovered “Nah, it’s cool.”

The Argentinian went inside and opened one of the lockers, all of them contained the same white jumpsuits.

He took his vest off, then his scarf and finally his T-shirt. He started unzipping the jumpsuit.

“Damn, dude, cool soulmark.” Virgil whistled.

Ed looked at him like he was seeing him for the first time “What…?”

The other teen rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly uncomfortable “Well, ugh, you know, the thing on your back, unless it’s just a tattoo, than cool tattoo, but aren’t we a bit young for tattoos, I-I mean you do you… hahha.” Virgil was bright red and rambling.

“Calm down. Look, I don’t know if this some kind of American humour I don’t understand, but I don’t have a soulmate and therefore a soulmark. Whatever you’re talking about was probably a parting gift by the Reach.” Ed was trying to reason, feeling a little nervous, like he had ever since he’d been freed from the Justice League and been able to form more coherent thoughts than ‘Everything hurts.’

He tried to deny to himself over and over again the weird itch he’d been having on his back, hasn’t even looked at it, scared at what might be or might not be there.

Virgil looked thoughtful for a second “I’m not an expert, but it sure looks like a soulmark to me. Wait, I’ll take a picture, so you can see it.” He took his phone out and snapped a picture, before even Ed realised what was happening.

The phone was suddenly in front of his face and there it was right in the middle of his shoulder blades… a round clock? He took the phone from Virgil and zoomed in on it. It was a clock alright, but missing both of his handles, in the middle of it was a big lightning bolt, almost like the one the Flash had on his costume. He started at it for several minutes straight, then even tried to twist his head around to see it.

Ed threw the phone back at Virgil, who caught it while panicking a bit and dashed to one of the bathroom mirrors. Ed turned around and then twisted his neck uncomfortably and there it was - a clock…

Virgil approached him once again “Hey, man, you feeling good?”

Ed blinked rapidly, overcome with emotion, it was neither a happy or a sad one, tears were forming in the corners of his eyes “I-I… I didn’t think I had one, I don’t how to feel, I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.”

He had started to breath rapidly “First I lived months on the streets, absolutely miserable, then I w-was kidnapped and experimented on by Aliens! Then I got superpowers, and now I have a soulmate tattoo.” Everything was becoming blurry, he didn’t even know what he was saying anymore.

Virgil rushed in and helped him sit on the cool ground, he helped him with his breathing and Ed slowly started to calm down.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah, yeah… thank you.”

Virgil slowly reach out and hugged Ed, the later hugged him back and buried his face in the place between his neck and his shoulder.

Downside(s): I’ll probably never meet him(?), while I’m trapped in START labs and also WHAT KIND OF AN AGE DIFFERENCE IS 14 YEARS?!

Upside: I’m not alone.

The Warworld

May 30, post-03:36 UTC

‘Why did we have to listen to Virgil and come back to save the superheroes or whatever they called themselves?’ Ed thought for the what felt like the hundredth time, while teleporting behind a couple of Reach soldiers and taking them down.

Asami signalled to him in which direction to go ‘Finally, we’re getting out of here.’ He teleported next to her and they took off.

That’s when he saw him or at least felt him run past him, Ed suddenly felt this pressure on his back, his skin felt thigh and sensitive. He was so confused, but decided to chalk it up to the adrenaline from the battle and think about it later.

When the door burst open and Ed saw Nightwing, Miss Martian and a sphere he couldn’t be happier.

Everybody quickly got onto the ship.

Ed couldn’t help but steal a couple glances at this Impulse character, he hadn’t met him, but that’s what the others were calling him. He didn’t know why he was so nervous around the guy, he felt dizzy and like he might throw up. His stomach was in knots, he wanted to talk to him, but something was stopping him.

He sweared he felt Impulse’s eyes on him.

After Nightwing’s dismissal of Arsenal, they were just about ready to leave, but Ed wasn’t so sure, he wanted to leave, but he also wanted to stay, not because of Nightwing and his offer of joining some Justice League for kids thing, but because of the speedster, he felt this pull towards him. But still, he walked through the portal created by the Fatherbox in tow with his friends and Arsenal.

Before that he stole one last glance at the speedster and saw that his eyes were also trained on him.

Downside: My back really itches.

Upside(?): Is it possible for soulmate tattoos to appear late without a reason?

Taos

July 5, 09:37 MDT

Ed was currently once again at Star Labs, this time luckily not as an experiment. After what happened those few months all he wanted to do was lay down somewhere and sleep for as long as humanly (meta-humanly?) possible. But that wasn’t an option, at least not now. He was helping his father move some stuff around and get settled into STAR labs, after it was rebuild.

In the end he had decided to stay with his dad, maybe they will grow closer, maybe they won’t, no matter what happens, he was just happy that everything was over and that getting a citizenship was easier than ever, thanks to being kidnapped by the same aliens the American government trusted before their attack. It was a sort of “Sorry the Reach experimented on, want to not sue us, but instead live here, you illegal immigrant?”

The teen’s mind quickly drifted away and he started focusing on more interesting thoughts, such as the speedster. He still couldn’t explain why the guy wouldn’t get out of his head, he had a speculation, but that was impossible, right?

Just as Ed thought that, a strong gust of wind hit him from behind and Kid Flash was standing right in front of him, though it didn’t quite look like him.

Ed blinked a couple of times “Ugh, hi?”

Kid Flash smiled, a bit awkward “I just wanted to… thank you! You know for freeing us and helping out after.” He rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah, yeah I mean, I guess you should be thanking Virgil for the rescue, he insisted.” He cringed at himself ‘Wow, Ed, real smooth.’

Impulse blinked, awkwardness settling between them “Anyways… I’m Impulse! Well Kid Flash now, rebranding.” He said proudly, but full of sadness, while extending his hand towards Ed.

Ed looked at it for a second than took it in his own “I’m Eduardo or just Ed for short.”

The moment he said that and their hands touched Ed felt a burning, yet calming sensation on his back. He flinched and so did the speedster.

Without thinking the Argentinian teleported to the bathroom/locker room close by. He poked his head out of it and signalled for the new Kid Flash to follow him inside.

The brown haired speedster was currently looking at the inside of his left arm, but quickly followed Ed inside.

The stared at each other, neither saying anything.

The Argentinian swallowed and shook his head ‘Dios mío, this is so awkward.’ “So, ugh, there’s no other way to say it, but I’m going to take my shirt of to check something, yeah?” He felt like he might die of pure embarrassment alone, he was bright red and fidgeting awkwardly.

Kid Flash also grew increasingly red with each second “Yeah, of-of course, I’m gonna see something for myself as well.” He nodded once and reached for his left glove.

Ed quickly took his arms out of the T-shirt and left it hanging around his neck. He looked in the large mirror, twisting his neck uncomfortably and that’s when he saw it from the corner of his eye – his soulmark completely filled in. The clock was simply black and white, but the lightning bolt was like a real one, full of oranges and yellows with little sparks flying all around the clock.

His emotions were so mixed up, he was happy, ecstatic even, but also nervous and definitely scared… very sacred.

He put his shirt down and turned towards the superhero, who had taken his glove off and pushed the sleeve of the yellow costume up, exposing his inner arm. There right above the inside of his elbow was a stylised sun – a golden sun, simple, yet very beautiful.

Kid Flash slowly ran his fingers over the tattoo “Wow, I mean - I just –“ tears were gathering in his eyes.

Panic overtook Ed “Hey! Is that from happiness, is something wrong? Are you unhappy? You know I’m also very emotional right now.” He was rambling.

The hero sucked in a big breath, clenched his eyes shut, then exhaled, opened his eyes and looked straight at Ed. He smiled slightly “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Ed also returned the smile, his cheeks growing hotter “So, we good?”

Kid Flash grinned “We good, well I think proper introductions are in order!” He reached for the cowl.

The Argentinian was definitely a bit surprised, he wanted to know his… soulmate’s identity, but he also didn’t want the other teen to be uncomfortable or feel like he was forced to reveal it.

“It’s fine, if you don’t wanna, I mean I’d like to… but you know, if you don’t want to, that’s cool too.” He tried to sound nonchalant, he wasn’t sure he succeeded.

Kid Flash shook his head “If not now, then when?”

He took the cowl off “Name’s Bart Allen!”

Ed studied his face for a bit, he was quite simply, pretty damn attractive, not that it mattered, but it was still a nice touch. He smiled brightly and shook his hand once again “Pleasure to meet you.”

Bart winked “Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.”

Ed raised one of his eyebrows, still smiling, his cheeks had a light dusting of pink. Then it hit him, after all of the emotions of meeting his soulmate and confirming it was him, logic had started kicking in once again.

He let go of Bart’s hand “Sorry, I have to ruin the moment, but why did my tattoo appear just a couple months ago? No offence? But you don’t look like a one year old.”

The speedster rubbed the back of his head “Well, if it makes you feel better I was also quite shocked when I came here from the future and suddenly had a soulmark.” He was smiling brightly.

“Wait! The future?”

“Hah, let’s say we have a lot to talk about.”

Ed didn’t mind that at all “How about we have that conversation some place other than the bathroom?”

Downside: I don’t know anything about my soulmate (from the future?) and neither does he about me.

Upside: I am more than happy, that we can do that together.

#bartuardo #zetaflash #eduardo dorado jr #bart allen #el dorado young justice

[lokisgame]

A Generous Donation [8]

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7]

Mulder woke up to music and the scent of coffee, remembering last night and grinning like a madman. "I died and went to heaven," he said to the ceiling and got up. Though his neck and shoulder echoed a little, life still felt pretty good. He pulled a clean tee and jeans from the chest of drawers and headed for the shower. Pans and plates from in the kitchen told him she wasn't going anywhere.

Ten minutes later, he padded downstairs to see the living room straightened and Scully, by the stove in nothing but his yesterdays' t-shirt. Tips of her hair were wet and she swayed to Marley on the stereo. 'Is this love that I'm feeling' "From your mouth to God's ears, Bob," he thought.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, Mulder wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in, moving with her as he kissed her cheek. "Good morning." "Hey, you sleep like a deadman," she breathed, leaning into him as he moved to her neck. "Rarely." Scully chuckled, squirming but not pulling back. "Do you ever shave?" "First Monday after fool moon, otherwise no." "So I'm stuck with a lumberjack," she said then turned and saw his smile ready to land on her mouth. His lips were soft and his hand on her ass felt warm and she forgot the scratchy beard, bending backwards and holding on, because he was just so tall. "I'll shave, right now," he said, breaking the kiss, rocking her to the music. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down. "On second thought, I like my man rugged sometimes." "Yeah? Then how about." Mulder bent his knees and grabbed her waist. "No, wait!" Floor vanished from under her feet and she grabbed his shoulders for balance, laughing, and a second later she was sitting on the counter, next to buttermilk and flour, trapped between his arms. "Pancakes will burn," she warned. "No they won't," he said giving the pan a little stir and cranking down the burner. Then hands framing her cheeks, he kissed her for real, slow and sweet but building as she drew him in.   "There's some frozen bagels in the freezer, if you want," he breathed finally, keeping his forehead pressed against hers. "Cream cheese?" "Obviously." "Didn't find any." "Has to be," he frowned and let go to rummage through the fridge, "I swear I bought it last time." Scully hopped off the table and turned the heat back up under the pan, while around her doors banged open and closed. "There you are! Fraternising with the mayo, huh?" She laughed and he was back, bumping her away from the stove. "These will need a minute," he said loading four bagels into the oven. "You're surprisingly apt in the kitchen." "Well, at some point, I told myself that it's time to stop living like a frat boy and start behaving like a man." He got up and pulled two mugs from the cupboard above the coffee machine. "What kind of man can't feed himself." "An average man." Mulder chuckled filling her mug then handed it to her. "Well, then I'm an alien." "You're a role model," she took the mug and watched him take a sip. "Damn, you make a fine cup of coffee," he grinned, pecked her cheek and went to get the paper.

"So this is what you do," she said looking at the book in her hands. "It's a hobby." "Nine hundred pages, quite an extensive hobby, "I Want To Believe. A Psychologist's Take." "Yeah, it's kind of hard, to put it all in one book and still do the subject justice." "What is it about?" "People's stories mostly, self-proclaimed alien abductees, cryptozoologists, conspiracy theorists, your average outcast." "And the psychologist's take?" "I wanted to give these people some background, explain why they need to believe what they believe in, why the world dismisses and ridicules them, how it affects their lives and why they keep doing it anyway. Some of them are dreamers, some are scared for their lives and some went through things so bizarre that it's almost impossible to imagine, unless you're Steven Spielberg, on crack." "This is the book Will was raving about all summer." "Must have found a copy at the library." "Can I borrow it?" "Keep it, I've got a box of them in the basement." "I bet you give a copy to every girlfriend." "No," he chuckled, "not really." She folded herself beside him on the couch and he took the book from her, opening it on the fist page and signing it with a flourish before giving it back. Scully glanced at the inscription. "Hey, it says William, I thought it was for me." "You get the author," he smiled and pulled her legs over his lap, toppling them over, mouth on hers again. "I really should be going," she said a good while later, flushed and warm, tangled with him in the cramped space, again. "Will needs his mom," he agreed, doing absolutely nothing to let go. "My mom," Scully whined and hid her face in his chest. "She always goes to see him after church, and she'll be there today and nag me about the foundation thing." "What foundation thing." "She wants me to look for a donor through a foundation, and what she means by it, is that we should pay someone off and get Will bumped up the waiting list." "Is that even legal?" "No, but that's my mom for you, lie, cheat and steal for those she loves." "You blame her?" "No, but I don't want to think about it, unless I have absolutely no other choice." "Let me know if I can help." "You already helped," he mumbled into his tee, pulling him closer and his arms tightened around her, solid and undemanding. "You're easy to please." Scully laughed and made herself let go. "Okay, time to face the day." "You go girl." He said and sat up with her. He watched her gather her things, pull on her boots and stash the book in her bag. "The dish, hold on." He went to the kitchen and met her at the door. "Thank you for dinner, and breakfast," he said leaning in to kiss her gently, "and everything in between." "We should do it again sometime." "I have these papers to grade," "And I have to face my mom and see my son," "But tonight," "Eight o'clock?" "Your place." "My place." "I'll bring food." "Good man." She smiled, climbing on tiptoes to kiss him one last time, at least for now.

She had a nice lunch with Will, who was thrilled about the book, stroking its' glossy sleeve and the UFO hovering above the trees on it. "It's sold out everywhere, how did you get it?" "Had to pull some strings." "I bet you did," Will grinned wickedly and pulled on the collar on her shirt, revealing a bright pink bruise on her skin. "You're too young to know about that." She said, feeling the blush creep in as she swatted his hand aside. "About what?" Will smiled and the smile changed before her eyes. She knew them all, grins and smirks and beams and pouts, but now, with that wicked glint in his eye. "It's signed!" He exclaimed, before she could pin the thought down. "C'mon, he's your professor." "I couldn't ask for an autograph, that's embarrassing." "Well, good thing your mother isn't as proud." "I have the best mom," he said in a sing-song voice, hugging her tight for a brief second. "Now leave me, I want to read this." "You're crazy," she laughed. "Yup," Will grinned and opened the book and began to read.

Mulder showed up at 8, with a bag of Thai takeout and a six-pack of Shiner. "Damn, you're hot," she said, pulling him inside and straight into her arms, feeling him fumble with the bags and not giving a damn. "And you shaved," she grinned a moment later. "Well, you asked so nicely," he said and pulled her back in. "Okay, food first," she laughed surfacing and pushing him away, uselessly. "Hmmm, I dunno," Mulder mused, hands starting to roam. "You trust me?" "Yeah," "Then food first." He sighed, keeping her in his arms. "Fine, how's Will?" "He's fine, loved the book." "Happy to hear that." He stole a kiss and only then let her go. "And he's totally onto us," she said, taking the bag from him. Mulder chuckled, shrugging out off his jacket and following her into the kitchen. "Smart kid."

"How did this happen?" Scully mused stretched out on Mulders' chest, stomach full and every fibre of her body relaxed. "What happened?" "I know that my life may fall apart, that my son is in a hospital, hooked up to an IV, fighting for his life," she said, laying down her head on his shoulder, "but you make it all bearable, for the first time in weeks, I don't feel like I'm drowning." "I live to serve," he whispered, stroking her hair. "You'll get through this, both of you." "Can you promise me that?" "No, but I can help you believe." He said, completely honest and it was exactly what she needed to hear. "Will you stay tonight?" "I've got class at 10." "And I need to be at the hospital around 9." "So, what are we going to do with all that time?" "We'll think of something," she said and puled herself up to reach his mouth. Her last thought was that, between him and Will, she might need a longer couch.

The next morning, Scully sat in her car, waving Mulder goodbye as he drove off, when her phone pinged with an email notification.

From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: URGENT good news Dr. Scully We need to talk. Meet me ASAP. Walter

She pulled out from the parking spot and all but stomped on the gas pedal.

#generous donation #x files fanfic #au #sweet nothings

[myownsuperintendent]

New Fic: “Take Me to Your Leader” (Part Two)

It’s 2037, and Leslie Knope has just been sworn in as President of the United States, only to find her inaugural address followed by an alien invasion.  For help, she and Ben call on two experts–retired FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully–and the four team up to defeat the alien threat.  Parks and Recreation/The X-Files crossover, rated T.  Also here at Ao3.

This is my first crossover, my first Parks and Recreation fic, and one of my longest fics ever, and it’s been a lot of fun to write!  Tons of thanks to @emilysim for giving me the idea to focus on the colonization–you are the best and pushed me to actually write this.  Also tagging @how-i-met-your-mulder and @xv12 who have been very supportive of this story.

I’m splitting this into two posts because it’s long.  Part One is here.

.....

Scully climbed out of the car as soon as Mulder stopped it, hurrying to hug her son.  “Jackson!” she said.  “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you guys are okay too,” he said, hugging her back.  He hugged Mulder too, once he got out of the car.  “And the kid?”

“She’s safe.  She’s at the White House,” Scully said.  “What are you doing here?  Why were you in a hole in the ground?”

“Oh, this is our secure space,” Jackson said.  “We’ve been working on it for a while.  In case something like this happened.”  The woman who’d appeared along with him came forward then, and Jackson took her hand.  “This is Marina.  I’ve told you about Marina, right?”

Scully had known that there was such a person as Marina, and that she was Jackson’s girlfriend, but that was about all she could say.   “Sure,” she said.  “It’s nice to meet you, Marina.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Marina said.  “Jackson’s told me a lot about you both.”  She looked around.  “We should probably get back underground right now.  We don’t know who could be coming, and the car’s not exactly unobtrusive.”

“We can’t stay very long,” Mulder said, even as the four of them started following Jackson and Marina back towards the hole.  “We’re on our way to Lake Michigan.  To try to develop a vaccine.”

“Just until the area clears out,” Jackson said.  “They won’t stay in one place too long.  Why’d you bring the president?”

“Well, we’re working together,” Scully said.  “Skinner told her about us, and she called us in for help.”

“Maybe the government’s dealing with this better than we thought they would,” Jackson said, grinning at her.

The hole had a ladder leaning down into it, and all of them climbed in quickly.  Scully didn’t know what she’d expected to find inside, but it certainly wasn’t what she saw, which was some odd combination of studio apartment (well-furnished living area), 1950s bomb shelter (large amount of canned food), and laboratory (set-up of advanced computers). Marina, the last down the ladder, pressed a button, and a cover slid into place over the hole.  “Welcome,” she said.

“This place is…” Scully said.  She wasn’t sure what to say.

“We’ve been working on it for a while,” Jackson said.  “I know it’s seemed safe, these past years, but with everything that happened before…I mean, you never know, right?  You guys get it.”

“You’ve done a good job,” Mulder said, looking around approvingly.   “I think he’s our kid, Scully.”  She could have rolled her eyes, but she just laughed, out of relief or surprise or adrenaline or a mix of them all.

“Really, Marina should get most of the credit,” Jackson said, putting his arm around her.

“We both had the idea,” Marina said.

“But you’re the one who really figured out how to do it,” Jackson said.  “She’s a lot more organized than I am.  Doesn’t take much.”  She grinned at him.

“Whoever put that food area together did a great job,” Leslie said, wandering back from examining the shelves.  “It’s a good selection.   Very nutritionally sound.  And there are good breakfast options.”  She held out a hand to Jackson.  “Hi.  I’m Leslie Knope.”

“Yeah, we got that,” Jackson said, shaking her hand.  “I’m Jackson.  Nice to meet you.”

“You too!” Leslie said, beaming.  “You’re Mulder and Scully’s son?”

“Yeah, basically,” Jackson said.  “Anyway, you should all feel free to crash here for a little bit.  We’ve got plenty of food.”

“And we’ve been tracking the aliens,” Marina said, gesturing to the computer, “and it’s like Jackson said.  They don’t stay in one place that long.  They tend to move on once they’ve…well, once enough people in the area are infected.  So you should be able to move on by the morning, anyway.  And we can help you figure out the best route to avoid them.”

“Thank you for this,” Leslie said.  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“It’s fine, really,” Jackson said.

As they settled in, exploring the shelter, Scully joined Marina, who was looking at something on the computer.  “This really is an incredible space,” she said.

“Thanks,” Marina said.  “We’ve worked hard on it.”

“Jackson hasn’t told us that much about you,” Scully said.  She felt she should try to get to know Marina, even if this was an odd situation to do it in.  “How did the two of you meet?”

“Oh, we met online,” Marina said.

“On a dating site?” Scully asked.  That didn’t really seem like Jackson’s thing.

“No, on a site for people who’ve had personal experience with the paranormal,” Marina said.  That made a lot more sense.  “We’d had some similar experiences, so we started talking.  Then we met up and…well, here we are.”

“How long have you been working on this place?” Scully asked.

“A couple of years,” Marina said.

Scully sighed.  “Jackson,” she called across the space, “why don’t you tell me and Mulder anything?”

“I tell you lots of things,” Jackson said.  “What things don’t I tell you?”

“Well, Marina tells me you’ve been together for some years now,” Scully said, “and you’ve barely told us anything about her.”

“I guess I forgot.”

“Flattering,” Marina said.

“Well, I figured you guys would meet sometime,” Jackson said, “and then Marina could tell you herself.  Like she’s doing, apparently.”  He turned back to showing Mulder some sort of water-filtration device.   Leslie and Ben were examining the canned food again.

“So…well, where are you from?” Scully asked.  She wished she could think of something less banal.

“Near LA, originally,” Marina said.  Then she smiled.  “Look, we could just talk about the aliens.  I know it’s what we’re both thinking about.”

Scully smiled back.  “Sure, we could do that.  You said you’re tracking them?”

“Yes,” Marina said, opening a page on the computer screen.  “I’ve got a system of alerts set up, for whenever they’re seen somewhere—so long as people report it, which they usually do, online or wherever.  And then it follows their progress.  It’s not as good as I would like it to be—I wish we could have some actual surveillance—but it’ll do for now.”

“No, this is great,” Scully said, looking at the computer.  “It’s going to be really helpful.”

“And we’ve got it so people can view it online,” Marina said.  “Hopefully it’ll keep some people safe, anyway.”

“What made you…how did you learn about the aliens?” Scully asked.  “If I can ask.”

“Sure, you can ask,” Marina said.  “I’m…well, I don’t know all the details, even though I’ve looked into it as much as I can.  But as far as I know, my biological mother, she was an abductee.  And I’m from one of the hybridization programs.  The one from the 90s.  So I’m…well…”   She flicked her ponytail to the side, briefly, and Scully caught a glimpse of a green blister on her neck.  “Well, I was always different. And I got curious about it and started looking into everything.”

Like Emily, then.  She didn’t know why this should surprise her, that Emily hadn’t been one of a kind.  Scully didn’t know how to feel; there was still anger, still sadness, when she thought about what had been done to her and to so many others.  But right now, looking at Marina, in this space that she had made with Scully’s son, there was a strange kind of joy too.

She hugged Marina, impulsively, and smiled sheepishly at the younger woman’s questioning look.  “Just glad we’re safe for now,” she said.

“Yeah,” Marina said, “me too.”

Jackson and Mulder came up to them then.  “Marina showed you the tracking system?” Jackson asked.

“Yes,” said Scully.  “It’s very impressive.”

“I think it should be all right by the morning,” Marina said, showing him something on the screen, “but they’re still around the local roads.  See?”

“Oh yeah,” Jackson said.  “You guys can stay here tonight.  You too,” he called to Leslie and Ben, who came over to look at the computer too.

“Thanks,” Leslie said.  “We’re sorry to trespass on your space.   You’re welcome to visit us, though.  Once this situation is more under control.”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Jackson said.  “I always wanted to visit the White House.  Not the tourist parts.  So I could look for Lincoln’s ghost.  Have you seen him?”

“We just got there last week, so not yet,” Leslie said.  “But I bet we will.”

“I didn’t think he appeared to people,” Ben said.  “Just caused weird manifestations.  Didn’t Eleanor Roosevelt say Fala would bark at him?”

“Yes, she did,” Leslie said.  “I don’t know if he appears to a lot of people.  But I think he’ll appear to me, eventually.  At least by my second term.”

This led into a more general discussion of ghosts, which seemed to be a topic that interested everyone.  Maybe it was just that they didn’t want to talk about what was going on outside.  Even Scully found herself joining in.  It was easier to think about a threat that wasn’t real than a threat that very much was.

They broke into the canned food for dinner and by common consent decided to get to sleep early.  Jackson and Marina had a lot of sleeping bags and extra blankets, and they settled down throughout the hideout, saying good night in quiet voices.

Scully wanted to sleep, but it wasn’t happening.  She shifted in her sleeping bag next to Mulder.  “Are you asleep?” she whispered.  She was pretty sure he wasn’t, from his breathing.

“Nope,” he whispered back.  “You either?”

“I can’t,” she said.  “This is all so weird.”

“Tell me about it.”  He moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, comfortably.  That felt familiar, at least, even if the rest of this didn’t.  No, that wasn’t right.  It wasn’t that the situation felt entirely unfamiliar.  It felt all too familiar in some ways, a past she thought they’d shed.

“I thought we were done with this,” she told him.  “I thought we were finally done.”

“I know, Scully,” he said.  “I thought so too.”  They hadn’t had a chance to talk about this yet, with everything that had been happening. Of course, they’d barely had a chance to sleep either, and maybe they should be concentrating on that.  But right now, talking to him felt more important.

“And then…I didn’t know about all this,” Scully said.  “That Jackson had this whole place.  I had no idea.”

“Apparently paranoia doesn’t skip a generation,” Mulder said.

“Well, apparently it’s not paranoia, either,” she said.  “I’m kind of proud of him, actually.  Weirdly.  They’ve done a good job here.”

“They have,” Mulder said.  “We have a good kid, Scully.  Two good kids.”

She nodded.  “I hope Susanna’s…I hope she’s holding up okay.”

“She will be,” Mulder said, although she could tell from his voice that he was worried too, that he didn’t like being away from their daughter at a time like this.  “She’s strong.  Like her mom.”  He nuzzled her hair, and she pressed her cheek to his.  “Plus she’s got Pip.”

Scully smiled.  “That’s not nothing.”  They were quiet for a minute.  “Do you really think we’ll be able to stop this?”

“We have to,” he said.  That wasn’t really an answer to her question, but she knew he was right.

She squeezed his hand, under the blankets.  “We’re…we’re as prepared for this as anyone could be,” she said.  “That has to count for something, right?”

“Right,” Mulder said.

“We should try to get some sleep,” Scully said, half reluctantly.  “That can’t hurt either.”

“Right again,” Mulder said, and they huddled against each other and tried to rest.

.....

“Ben, are you asleep?” Leslie asked.  She tried to keep her voice down.  This underground hideout wasn’t especially large, and they were sharing it with people they hadn’t known all that long, so she thought it was important to be courteous.

“No,” Ben said.  “I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither,” Leslie said.  “You want to talk for a while?”

“Sure,” he said.  “What about?”  The light was very dim, but she could see his face looking up at her, sweet, sincere.  She thought about how much she loved him, not for the first time.  Alien invasions had a way of making you take stock.

“I’m kind of mad about this happening on my first day,” she said.  “I hope that doesn’t make me sound shallow.  It’s true, though.”

“No, you have the right to be mad,” Ben said.  “You didn’t sign up for this.”

“Well, I did,” Leslie said.  “That’s what happened when I took the oath of office.  I signed up for whatever was coming.  I just didn’t think it would be this big this soon.  And this…paranormal.”

“I don’t think anyone thought that,” Ben said.  “It’s not really something you could anticipate.”

“You did tell me that I had to fill you in if they briefed me on the aliens,” Leslie pointed out.

“True,” Ben said.  “Maybe I’m psychic.”

“It wouldn’t be the strangest thing that’s happened in the last few days,” Leslie said.  “It would be cool if you were psychic.  You could tell me what was going to happen on Game of Thrones.”

“No one can do that,” Ben said.  “Now that it’s so different from the books…”

“Good point,” Leslie said.  “Well, you could tell me how all this was going to turn out, then.  With the aliens.  If I’d be remembered as the president who presided over the demise of the human race.”  She didn’t want that, and not just because of concerns about her legacy.  She’d gone into government because she wanted to help people.  She didn’t want to think that this might be a situation where she couldn’t do that.

“You won’t,” Ben said.  “I know it.”

“How do you know?” Leslie asked.  “You’re not really psychic, are you?”

“For a couple reasons,” Ben said.  “First of all, there’s that thing they say.  About times getting the leaders they need.  This is a time that needs a great leader, and I think we’ve got one.”  He smiled at her, and she smiled back, sliding closer to him in their sleeping bags. “And whatever kind of time it is, you’re Leslie Knope.  You never met a crisis you couldn’t solve.”

“I never met a crisis this big,” Leslie said.

“How different can it be,” Ben asked, “from an unruly town meeting?   It’s just a lot of…beings…causing a ruckus because they can’t get what they want.”

She laughed.  “You’ve always been so excited about aliens and things.  And now you’re saying they’re no different from what we’re used to.”

“I guess I didn’t know what they’d be like,” Ben said, more soberly. “I’d just as soon do without them, now.  Not that some of it isn’t interesting.  Those stories Mulder was telling, when we were driving.”

“Yeah,” she said.  “I gathered you were interested.”

“Well, it seems like the two of them know what to do,” Ben said.  “It’s good we found them.”

“And we’ll figure out what to do too,” Leslie said.  “The two of us.  I’m glad we’ve got your brains, Ben.  And your butt.”

“And my butt,” he said, smiling sleepily as she wrapped an arm around him, and she held him close until they both fell asleep.

They were up early in the morning, eating pre-packaged breakfast food;  it was a pale imitation of the real thing, but it was still better than nothing.  They took a plan for their route with them, based on Jackson and Marina’s tracking system.  Hopefully they’d be able to avoid aliens on the road.

Leslie studied the plan as they started driving.  “Hey,” she said.  “We go right by Pawnee with this.”

“That’s where you’re from?” Scully asked.

“Lived there all my life,” Leslie said.  “It’s the best town in the US.  You’d love it.  Have you spent any time in Indiana?”

“There were a couple of cases,” Scully said.

“That Cher concert,” Mulder said; he smiled at Scully, and she smiled back.  Leslie waited, but they didn’t seem inclined to elaborate.

“Should we stop off when we get there?” Leslie asked.

“It might be good to get the rest,” Ben said.

“I don’t mean we should stop for too long or anything,” Leslie said.  “Just to eat and stretch our legs.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mulder said.  “Scully?”

“Sure, we could do that,” she said.

“Great!” Leslie said.  She didn’t want to delay their mission, but she liked the thought of stopping in Pawnee more than she could say.   Going home…it would be something familiar in the midst of all that was so confusing and scary.

Of course, it might not be that familiar at this point.  The aliens might have been there already, in which case things would probably have changed.  And they’d probably changed the town motto to “Welcome, aliens!” by now.

Still, she liked the idea of showing her town to people.  When they finally drove in (they had, in fact, changed the motto to “Welcome, aliens!”, although the sign declaring it was still a mostly-cardboard work in progress), she pointed things out to Mulder and Scully.  “That’s Pawnee Commons,” she said.  “It’s a park I built.  And those people sitting on the grass are the Reasonablists.  They’re a cult that worships Zorp.”

“Zorp?” Scully asked.

“He’s a twenty-eight foot tall lizard alien,” Leslie said.  “He’s going to come and bring about the end of the world.”

“And melt people’s faces off, I think?” Ben added.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Leslie said.  “And they like to play wooden flutes.”

“This is fascinating,” Mulder said.  “Do you know how they developed this belief?”

“Yes, someone wrote a book about it and it caught on,” Leslie said.   “There used to be a lot of them.  They even took over the city for a couple of years in the 1970s.  But now they’re not as active.  They’re probably out today because of the invasion.”

“When we have a little more free time,” Mulder said, “I want to hear everything about this.  This is one of the weirdest cults I’ve ever heard about.  And I’ve encountered a lot of weird cults.”

“At least they sound relatively harmless,” Scully said.  “Right?”

“Yeah, they’re not so bad,” Leslie said.  “Just careless with the Port-a-Potties.”  She pointed out the window again.  “That’s Ron’s house.  We worked together for a long time.  He’s one of my best friends.”  She looked at the others.  “Maybe we could stop just for a minute?  To see how he’s doing?”  If there was anyone who’d be going on just as before, she thought, Ron would.  But she still wanted to see.

They pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car.  Leslie knocked on the door.  She knocked again.  And again.  But nobody answered.

Ben put an arm around her.  “They’ve probably gone for cover somewhere,” he said.  “Somewhere that’ll be safe.  You know how Ron is.”

“I know,” Leslie said, and she did.  Most of her believed that Ron was alright.  She hadn’t realized, though, how much she’d wanted to see him and to talk to him, to get the kind of advice that only he could give.  “I’m going to leave him a note,” she said, “for when he gets back.”

She had a notebook with her, and she wrote her note quickly.  Dear Ron, It’s Leslie.  We came through here on our way to try to stop the aliens.  Ben says you’ve probably taken cover somewhere safe, and I’m sure he’s right.  I wish I could have seen you, though.  We’ll have to see each other once the aliens are gone.  Love, Leslie.  She tore it out of the notebook and slid it under the front door.  “All right, I’m ready,” she said.  “We should keep going.  I know where we can go.”

Despite her words, Leslie was a bit nervous as she knocked on the door; she didn’t know what could have happened, and she didn’t want to face the thought of another friend gone who knows where.  But the door opened quickly.  “Leslie!  And Ben!  Oh, I’m so happy to see you guys!”

“We’re so happy to see you too,” Leslie said, returning Jerry’s hug. She really was, too.  Happier than she could have imagined being.   Another strange thing about the last couple of days.

“What Leslie said,” Ben added, hugging him in turn.  “You and Gayle are safe?”

“Oh, yeah, perfectly safe,” Jerry said.  “We watched the inauguration, Leslie.  Your speech was great!”

“You really thought so?  Thank you!” Leslie said.  “I didn’t think anyone would remember it by this point.  Because of the alien invasion.”

“Oh, no one paid any attention to that,” Jerry said.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“I think some people paid attention,” Leslie said.  “They’re kind of trying to colonize us now, actually.  I probably should worry.”

Jerry nodded.  “All right.  Just not too much.  Remember, you’re the president now.”

“That’s exactly why I should worry,” Leslie pointed out, but Jerry was already moving on to other topics.

“You should come inside, all of you.  Are these your secret service agents?” he asked, gesturing towards Mulder and Scully.

“No, these are Fox Mulder and Dana Scully,” Leslie said.  “They’re two former FBI agents who are helping us deal with the aliens.”

“Well, they should certainly come inside, in that case,” said Jerry. “Do you all want anything to eat?  I’ll tell Gayle you’re here.”   He ushered them into the living room.

Jerry returned with Gayle; Leslie could tell Ben was about to start muttering his astonishment at how the two of them had possibly gotten married.  She nudged him with her elbow, sternly.  “It’s great to see you, Gayle,” she said.  “You’re doing okay?”

“Well, the circumstances could be better, of course,” said Gayle.  “But we’re together and that’s all that matters.”

“Has there been any alien activity around here?” Mulder asked.

“Not yet,” Gayle said.  “At least not that we’ve noticed.”  Leslie wasn’t surprised.  If the aliens had been in Pawnee, Jerry would surely have been the first person to get abducted.  She meant it in the nicest possible way, but it was true.  “But we’ve been keeping up with everything on the news,” Gayle said.  “Do you want to watch?”

“Sure,” Leslie said.  She’d been checking in with her advisors on her phone, but it would be good for her to see some footage of what they were dealing with.

They sat down, and Gayle switched the news on.  “…Now, the story of this oil is, it’s black.”

It was good to be home.

.....

It was afternoon when they left the house to drive on towards Lake Michigan.  Mulder had been glad of the rest, and Jerry and Gayle had been very hospitable to them, even if he hadn’t found the local news particularly informative.  At least it seemed like there weren’t aliens in the area, which was something.  They couldn’t be sure what lay ahead, but they could only hope.

Leslie was taking her turn at the wheel now, and Mulder was in the backseat with Scully.  “I never expected to get driven around by a president,” he murmured to her.

She smiled, a little sleepily.  “Me neither.  But it’s not bad.”

“You tired, honey?” he asked her.

“A little.”

“You should sleep then,” he said.  “We’ll need you firing on all cylinders, when we get there.”

“Okay,” she said.  Their years on the road had served them well in this; they could sleep anywhere now.  She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her.  In just a few minutes, he could tell from her measured breathing that she was asleep.  She’d probably drool on him, not that he minded.  In fact, he minded so little that right now it seemed like one of the things he wanted to fight for: the continuation of a world in which Scully could drool on him.

“It’s going to be okay,” Leslie said softly, from the front seat.  He didn’t realize until she added, “For the two of you.  And for everyone,” that she was addressing him.

“I’ve been trying to tell myself that,” he said; he kept his voice quiet too, not wanting to wake up Scully.  “It’s just that…we’ve been through a lot because of this.  The aliens, I mean, and the people who were working with them.  And we thought it was over.  This time we honestly did.  And I’m not complaining or anything, because I know it’s a lot bigger than just us, and I really—I want to stop this.  But I’m wondering, now, if it’ll ever be over.  I really wanted it to be.”  He didn’t want to get back into this, to go back to the way he’d been in the past—to the things that had hurt him and the people he loved, to the things that had torn him and Scully apart too many times.  He wouldn’t let that happen again—never—but he couldn’t help being afraid of what might become of them.

“I don’t blame you for being upset,” Leslie said.  “I hope you’re not…well, angry that I dragged you into this.”

“No, of course not,” he said.  “I wouldn’t have felt right, just sitting back.  And I know that goes for Scully too.”

“This isn’t something I ever expected to happen,” Leslie said.  “I’ve wanted to be president since I was a kid.  So I could help people.  And I know that…Ben and I were talking, last night, about hard times demanding great leaders.  But I just hope I can be that leader.  Right now, I’m not…I’m not one hundred percent sure.”  She almost laughed.   “Sorry.  I shouldn’t say that.  Not very reassuring.”

“Well, it’s refreshing, anyway,” Mulder said.  “You rarely hear a politician admit they don’t have all the answers.”  She was silent, and he went on.  “And it’s pretty unusual, too, for a president to personally drive across the country to defeat aliens.  I’d say you’re doing all right, under the circumstances.”

“Thanks,” Leslie said.

“Speaking of driving,” he said, “let me know if you want to switch.”

“I’m still good for now,” Leslie said.  She glanced over towards the passenger seat.  “And Ben and Scully are asleep, anyway.  We might as well let them keep resting.”

“Might as well,” he said, and they sat in silence as they drove on.

He must have dozed off himself; he started awake when the car stopped.  Next to him, Scully murmured, “Mulder…what…where…”

“We’re in the car,” he told her.  “Going to Lake Michigan, remember?  Leslie, why are we stopping?”

“Because we’re here,” Leslie said.  She was shaking Ben awake.

It was dim outside by now, but Mulder saw that she was right; the waters of Lake Michigan gleamed under the last rays of the sun.  “We should start looking,” he said.  “I’ll get the files out.”

“And I’ve got masks,” Scully said.  “We should put them on.  There’s nothing to protect against the oil completely, of course, but it could help.”

“And I’ve got flashlights in the trunk,” Leslie said.  “You shouldn’t go out in the dark without flashlights.”

“We couldn’t agree more,” Scully said.

“Also I have a bag of candy,” Leslie said, handing them the flashlights.  “Should I bring that too?  Or will it attract the aliens?”

“I don’t think aliens are really into candy,” Ben said.  “Or are they?  To be frank, I’m beginning to think that most things I thought I knew about aliens are lies.”

“No, they’re not into candy,” Scully said.  “That part’s not a lie, anyway.”

“I’ll bring it, then,” Leslie said.  “Let’s get going.”

They started walking along the shore, Scully training her flashlight on the files Mulder was carrying.  “We don’t have exact coordinates,” he said, trying to read and walk at the same time.  “Only some landmarks. There were reports of strange things happening next to a certain dock. It’s got a little footbridge leading up to it…and there are sand dunes…”

“That could be a lot of places,” Ben said, gesturing towards the shore.  “Is there anything more specific?”

“I’m checking,” said Mulder.  “Yes.  On one of the dunes there’s a tree that’s bent over.  So it looks like there’s a hole in the trunk.   One of the eyewitnesses…he said he thought it was a bad omen.  We should look for that.”

They moved their flashlights in the dark, scanning the landscape, looking for the tree that was mentioned in the files.  It was just a tree, Mulder knew—in this case, he didn’t really think it was a bad omen—but somehow everything felt more threatening, with the sun almost entirely gone now.  The masks on everyone’s faces didn’t help.

“Is that it?” Ben asked suddenly.  A tree was caught in the beam of his flashlight, a hole in the trunk illuminated.  Mulder squinted into the light; he was about to answer, but Scully spoke first.

“That’s it,” she said, and something in her voice made Mulder look down, into the beam of her own flashlight.  It was trained downwards, and he could see something moving along the ground.  Creeping?  Oozing? The oil, he realized.  The oil.

“Okay,” he said.  “We should…let’s be careful.  Especially the two of you,” he said, gesturing to Leslie and Ben.  “You haven’t been exposed to this before.  Scully, what do you need?”

“I’m going to get a sample,” she said, sliding on rubber gloves, taking a vial from a pocket.  He’d seen her like this a million times.   It had never felt more important.  “You guys just…keep watch for me, okay?”

“Of course,” he said; he saw Leslie and Ben nodding, their faces solemn above their masks in the glare of the flashlights.  He squinted into the dark again.  There was the tree.  There was the shore.  There was Scully, stooping down with her vial.  There was…there was a face looking back at him, coming out of the darkness towards them.  Advancing on Scully.

Mulder moved before he could think about it, running to head the figure off: he wasn’t sure, at this distance, if it was an alien or a human, but he could tell that it meant trouble.  But when it reached out and grabbed for him, he could tell.  An alien, and its grip was strong, forcing him back, and he wasn’t at the right angle, he couldn’t shoot for the back of the neck…He thought he heard Scully calling his name, thought he saw her rising out of the corner of his eye, but the alien was grabbing his neck now and his vision was blurry…

And then it released him, suddenly, falling to the ground.  His eyes were stinging—he knew this feeling, it was what happened when you came in contact with that green blood, and the masks didn’t seem to be doing much to stop it—but he wasn’t choking any more, for which he was grateful.  Next to the fallen alien stood Ben, holding a sharpened stick, wearing an expression that was equal parts proud, stunned, and extremely teary.

“I remembered…what you told us…” he choked out.  “Did I…just kill an alien?”

“Looks like you did,” Mulder said.

“So proud of you, babe,” Leslie said.  She was teary-eyed too, but she managed an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“Oh my God,” Ben said.  “This really stings.”

“Yeah, we told you about it, right?” Mulder said.  “They have green blood…and they release it, when you kill them.”

“Yeah, you told us,” Ben said.  “But I didn’t think it would be this bad.”

“It’s really bad,” Leslie added, nodding.  “But it’s okay.  You killed an alien.  You can tell the kids about it, when we get back.”

The idea seemed to mollify Ben somewhat, despite his continued choking noises, and in a moment Scully stood up.  “I’ve got a sample,” she said.  “And I think we should get out of here.  We’re too exposed, and we don’t know if there are more of them coming…”  She looked over her shoulder.  “Scratch that.  There are.  Let’s run.”

“We shouldn’t…?”  Ben brandished his stick vaguely.

“No,” Scully said.  “We should run.”  Mulder looked towards the trees—it was still dim, but he could see at least five aliens coming, and he took off along with Scully.  Ben seemed to see the wisdom of her words—flight over fight—because he and Leslie were right at their heels.

They used to do this all the time, Mulder remembered, on every case, and he wondered how they had managed it.  For now, the adrenaline was buoying him as he sprinted towards the car, but he knew that he couldn’t keep up this speed forever and that he was definitely going to feel this later.  Fortunately, the car wasn’t very far away; they each dove for the closest door, Ben ending up in the driver’s seat.  “Should I—?”

“Drive!” Scully yelled; she was somewhere on the floor of the backseat at the moment, tangled around Mulder’s legs.  And they sped down the road, not exactly in what Mulder would call a straight line.

“Don’t hit that tree!” Leslie shouted.

“Sorry!”  Ben swerved abruptly, and they all jolted.  That was Scully’s elbow in his eye, Mulder was pretty sure; his face was already swollen, of course, but this really didn’t help.  “I can’t see very well.  My eyes are still stinging.”

Mulder did his best to look out the back window of the car—it was dark, but he thought he could still see movement behind them.  “Well, keep going anyway,” he said.  “Maybe turn somewhere.”

“If there’s an actual turn,” Scully added; she was still half on the floor, and Mulder pulled her up onto the seat.  “No more of these swerves, if possible.”

“I said I was sorry,” Ben said.

“Shit, I dropped the candy,” Leslie said.  “Do you still have the sample?  I hope it didn’t go flying somewhere.  I’d just as soon not go back there, if we can help it.”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Scully said, holding out the vial.  “Hold it for me while I do my seatbelt?” she asked Mulder, and he nodded, taking it gingerly.

“So where to now?” Leslie asked.  “Once we shake the aliens.”

“We need to get somewhere that has a lab I can use,” Scully said.   “And somewhere we can stay for the night.  I’ll stay up and work on this, but there’s no reason the rest of you shouldn’t get some sleep.”

“Is there anything we can do about our eyes?” Ben asked.

“Not really,” Mulder said.  “You just have to wait for it to pass.”

“This’ll teach you to wantonly kill aliens,” Leslie said.  “Violence obviously isn’t the answer.”

“You said you were proud of me!” Ben said.

“I am proud of you,” Leslie said.  “But now that you’ve killed one alien, you don’t need to do it again.  How different can it be, killing one alien versus another?”  She looked into the backseat, as if she expected Mulder and Scully to provide an answer.

“Um…not that different,” Mulder said.

“See, Mulder says it’s not that different,” Leslie told Ben.  “And he ought to know.  See any more aliens coming?”

“I don’t think so,” Mulder said.  “We might have outdriven them, for now anyway.”

“It was probably all that swerving,” Leslie said.  “Still proud of you, babe.”

“Thanks,” Ben said.  “Where should we go to find a lab?”

Mulder looked on his phone; there was a research hospital in the next town over, one that Scully knew by reputation and said would have what she needed.  “There’s not much else in that town, though,” she said.  “I hope we can find somewhere to stay.”

They did, eventually, after a lot of driving around: a small motel near the hospital.  They all looked a little the worse for wear as they walked into the building, but the woman at the desk didn’t react.  “We’d like two rooms for the next few nights, please,” said Leslie.

“There’s only one room,” the woman said.  “Place is full up.”

“What?” Leslie asked.  “The country’s in the middle of an alien invasion and people are choosing this time to go on vacation?”

“Yeah, well, I think they wrecked some people’s houses or something,” the woman said.  “Besides, who are you to talk?  You’re trying to stay here too.”

“That’s different,” Leslie said.  “We’re here on important business.”

“Good for you,” the woman said.  “We still only have one room.”

“Should I pull rank?” Leslie asked, turning to the rest of them.

“Doesn’t matter what your rank is,” the woman said.  “Unless your rank involves conjuring up additional rooms.”

“Look, it’s fine,” Scully said.  “I won’t even be here most of the time.”

“Yeah, we’ve done this before,” Mulder added.  “Not a big deal.”  He turned to the woman.  “We’ll take it.”

The room was clean enough, and the bed was good-sized, at least.  “I think…I’ll take a very fast shower,” Scully said, glancing at the clock.  “And then I’ll head over to the hospital.”

Mulder sank into a chair.  When he next became aware of his surroundings, it was almost three in the morning; Leslie and Ben were lying on the bed, asleep.  He stretched—the chair hadn’t been the most comfortable place to sleep in—and headed for the door, passing by the front desk.  “Anywhere you can get food at this hour?” he asked the woman.

“Yeah,” she said.  “Diner next door.  Open all night.”

“Thanks,” Mulder said, giving her a nod and leaving the motel.

It didn’t take him long to get what he wanted—the diner wasn’t especially crowded at this hour—and he left the diner carrying sandwiches in a paper bag.  It only took a little longer to navigate his way through the hospital; he had to stop once and ask for directions, but he soon found the lab where Scully was working.  He tapped on the door.  She looked up.

“Hey,” she said.  “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”  Her smile, though, said that she was glad he was there.

He shrugged.  “I woke up.  And I brought you a BLT.  Do you want it now or…?”

“I’ll come out,” she said.  “It’s probably not a good idea to get bacon near the samples.”

“Probably not,” he agreed.  He kissed her cheek as she came into the outer room and waited while she washed her hands.  Then they perched side by side on chairs in the waiting area, eating their sandwiches.

“Where are Leslie and Ben?” Scully asked him.

“Still at the motel,” Mulder said.  “Asleep.”

“That’s good,” Scully said.  “You were all asleep when I left.  Did you sleep through until now or…?”

“Yeah, I did,” Mulder said.  “Don’t worry about me, Scully.  If I wanted to go back to sleep, I would.  I’d rather be here with you.”

She smiled again.  “I’d rather that too, Mulder.  If you’re really not tired.”

“I’m really not,” he said.  “Besides, there’s not much space to sleep anyway.  Even if I wanted to.  That chair was killing me.”

“I think we’re a little past our peak days,” Scully said, “for running around and sleeping anywhere.  I had such a crick in my neck from sleeping in the car.  And my feet are tired.”

“Anything I can do?” he asked.

“You already helped,” Scully said, waving what remained of her sandwich.  “And just having you here.  That’s good too.”

“How’s it coming?” he asked—he wasn’t sure about alluding to the subject, but he figured they’d have to talk about it soon enough, anyway.  “You making any progress?”

“I think so,” she said.  “Starting to get there, anyway.  I thought I’d get in touch with Leslie—we’ll need a way to distribute the vaccine, once I’ve figured it out.  She seems like the best person to coordinate that.”

“Sounds like something she can handle,” Mulder agreed.  “You want me to take a message back to her?”

“Sure,” Scully said.  “And then…come back here, okay?”

“Of course,” he said.

Leslie and Ben were still asleep when Mulder got back to the hotel, but they were only moderately grouchy and disoriented when he shook them awake.  “What?” Leslie said.  “What?”

“Do we have to kill more aliens?” Ben asked.  “Please no.”  His eyes still looked a little swollen, but maybe that was just because he’d been asleep.

“No more aliens,” Mulder said.

“Ever?” Ben asked.

“In this room,” Mulder said.  “Scully wanted me to give you a message, Leslie.”

“Okay,” Leslie said.  “Just a second.”  She fumbled for a pad of paper and a pen.  “Okay.  I’m ready.”

“She’s making some progress with the vaccine,” Mulder said.  “So she wants you to start setting up a way to distribute it, once it’s finished.  Obviously as broadly and as quickly as possible—”

“Pssh, I wasn’t born yesterday,” Leslie said.  “I know how public health works, thanks.”  She was writing rapidly on the pad.  “Okay.   First I’ll call the Department of Health.  We’ll need to start setting up clinics.  Ben, are you fully awake now?  Can you work on this with me?”

“Yeah, of course,” Ben said.  “You want me to get your health binder?”

“You know what I like,” Leslie said.

Ben headed for the desk, upon which Leslie had placed a large stack of binders.  “Let’s get to work then,” he said, retrieving the correct one.  “You can sleep on the bed for a while if you want, Mulder.”

“Thanks,” Mulder said, “but I’m heading back to the hospital.  Scully’s…well, I want to be with her while she’s working.”

“Understood,” Ben said, smiling at him.  “Tell her we’re rooting for her.”

“Of course,” Mulder said.

Scully was still working when he got back to the hospital.  She nodded to the chair next to hers, without speaking; he could tell she was on the trail of something.  So he sat down beside her, not speaking either, just wanting to be there.

The hours went by, and this chair wasn’t any more comfortable than the one in the hotel room—less, actually, since it didn’t have any cushioning.  He stayed anyway, though, only getting up briefly—to go to the bathroom or to find them more food.  “Just us again,” Scully said at one point, when they were grabbing a snack in the hallway.

“Just us again,” he agreed.  “Eating weird things at weirder hours.”

“Always,” she said, and she smiled at him, and he felt more hopeful, even if it was for no concrete reason.

He’d lost track of the time completely—the clock in the lab only had one working hand—when Scully turned to him, a look of anticipation on her face.  “I think…I have it,” she said.  Her voice was quiet, maybe calm if you didn’t know her well.  But he did know her well.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“As sure as I can be, now,” Scully said.  “We’ll have to see how well it works, obviously.  But I’m almost positive.”

He picked her up then, from her seat into his arms; she giggled.   “You’re brilliant,” he said, his mouth against her hair.  “Have I told you you’re brilliant?”

“I don’t mind hearing it,�� Scully said.  She kissed him quickly, then slid down to her feet.  “We’ll have to pick this up later, though.   There’s more work to be done.”

“You mean we don’t get to canoodle in a lab?” Mulder asked, following her as she gathered up her things, placing the vaccine carefully in an insulated box.  “It’s been years since we’ve canoodled in a lab.”

“You make a good point,” Scully said; they were out the door now, walking towards the elevator.  “We should plan on that, once we get home.  But right now, we need to work on producing more vaccine and on distributing it as quickly as possible.”

Leslie and Ben were intent on a pile of papers, but they looked up as Mulder and Scully came into the motel room.  “What’s the news?” Leslie asked.

“I think I’ve developed a working vaccine,” Scully said.

“You’re finished?” Leslie asked.  “This quickly?”  She was grinning from ear to ear even before Scully nodded.  “Scully, you’re brilliant and you’re beautiful!” she declared.

“That’s what I told her,” Mulder said, putting an arm around Scully, who was blushing.  “How’s it coming with the distribution plans?”

“We’re making good progress,” Leslie said.  “I’ve organized this kind of thing before—not on such a large scale, of course, and probably not quite this urgent, but it’s a start.  I’d think we should be able to start getting this out in the morning.”

“And we also worked on some ideas for quarantine,” Ben said, “for people who have already been infected.  We want you to check them over, of course—we don’t know how this virus works quite as well as you do.   But I tried to remember everything you told us earlier.”  He pointed to a document on his computer screen.

Mulder leaned in to read it, Scully looking over his shoulder.  “These are really good suggestions,” he said.

“Yes,” said Scully.  “I like this one especially, about repurposing existing facilities.”

Ben was the one who was blushing now.  “Well,” he said, “I just wanted to make sure I understood what the virus was like.  So I could do the best job possible.”

“Killing aliens and healing their victims,” Leslie said.  “Still proud of you.”  She yawned.  “I barely even know what time it is any more.  But it’s okay.  You two should have the bed.  We used it already.  For sleeping.”

“Thank you,” Scully said, heading for the bed and flopping down without further ado.

Mulder followed her.  “Do you want to take your shoes off?” he asked.  No answer.  “Do you want me to take your shoes off?”  Still no answer.  She was asleep already.

“She’s been up so long,” he whispered to Leslie and Ben.  “I’ll just take her shoes off.”  Having done so, he lay down on the bed as well; Scully had sprawled across a large portion of it, but he managed to find room.  By now, it wasn’t difficult to fall asleep.

.....

“Does my appearance,” Leslie asked him, “say, ‘Presidential, in-charge, successful against all threats from this planet or any other, but also thoughtful and concerned about ordinary Americans and the struggles they are still facing in rebuilding?’”

“Yeah,” Ben said.  “That was exactly what I thought, when I first looked at you.”

“Good!” Leslie said.  “We’re ready for the press conference, then?”

“Whenever you say the word,” Ben told her, and they walked into the press room.

Instantly, they were besieged with questions.  “President Knope, can you tell us more about the successful creation of the black oil vaccine?”

“Is the defeat of the aliens due to the army?”

“What should people do to be prepared against the future return of the aliens?”

“Now, these aliens, would you say they came from space?”

“One at a time, one at a time,” Leslie said.  The reporters quieted down, at least somewhat, and Leslie took her place at the podium.  “As I’ve always said—during my campaign and throughout my political career—there are two secrets to good government.  One is putting the people first.  And the other is having a strong team.  During the recent alien colonization crisis, I was very fortunate to have that.”  She smiled.  “When I was preparing for office, I of course did my due diligence on plans for extraterrestrial contact, but this turned out to be unlike anything I expected.  So I’d first like to extend my thanks to FBI director Walter Skinner, who recommended that I get in touch with retired agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.  Their help was absolutely invaluable in providing us with ways to deal with and combat the aliens, not to mention developing the vaccine that protected so many of our people against the black oil.  Without them, we might not be here right now.”

“What about the Battle of the Smithsonian?” one of the reporters asked.  “Why did you choose to attack the aliens in that location?”

“Because of its great strategic advantage,” Leslie replied smoothly; that sounded more presidential, Ben guessed, than because that happened to be where they parked their spaceship. “Incidentally, you’ll be glad to know that we are already working on plans to reopen the exhibits.  As soon as the air is determined to be fully nontoxic again.”

“What made the air so toxic in the first place?” a reporter asked.

“It’s what happens when you kill the aliens,” Leslie explained.  Ben watched her, marveling; only a few weeks ago, this would have been something out of a fantasy for him, something that he would never have believed could actually be real.  And now Leslie was talking about it like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.  “They release a green substance.  I have first-hand experience with it, I’m afraid.  I was present when Ben killed one of the aliens.”  She shot him a grin.  “He was another invaluable member of our team during this crisis.”

“Do you believe the aliens will come back?”

“No, I think we’ve shown that our planet is not amenable to the idea of being colonized,” said Leslie.  “However, we will of course continue to monitor the situation.”

“What message would you send to people who have come in contact with the black oil?”

“Hang in there,” Leslie said, “and it’ll get better soon.  Most people who were infected are already healing.”

“What are you planning to do next, President Knope?”

“I’m looking forward to acting on my campaign promises,” Leslie said.  “The more terrestrial ones.”

“What can you tell us about tonight’s celebration of the crisis resolution?”

“It should be a fun night!” Leslie said.  “We just arranged everything that we were originally planning for the inaugural ball.   Since that was cancelled.  Due to aliens.”  The reporters took frantic notes.

“You know, I didn’t know if I’d get to wear this,” Leslie said, examining her dress in the mirror as they were getting ready for the celebration that night.  “I thought the whole human race might be wiped out.”  Her tone was light, but Ben knew she wasn’t entirely joking.

“Well, we weren’t,” he said.  “And a lot of that’s thanks to you.”   He kissed her lightly.  “You were giving everyone else the credit earlier today.  But you deserve credit too.”

“Thank you,” she said, kissing him back.  They were quiet for a few minutes, as they finished dressing.  Ben was thinking about what they’d just been through, how excited he was to be seeing friends at the celebration tonight, when he’d thought just recently that he might not see those people again.

“I can’t wait to see everyone,” Leslie said—it wasn’t the first time their thoughts had been in sync, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.   “I’m just glad—we’ve been lucky.  That we’re all okay.”  He nodded, taking her hand, and then they went downstairs.  Sonia, Stephen, and Wesley were waiting for them in the entryway, all dressed up as well.   “Come on, everyone!” Leslie said, beaming, and they headed for the car.

The celebration was crowded already when they got there—everyone wanted to celebrate the defeat of the aliens, and Leslie never had the heart to refuse anyone an invitation.  They soon saw Mulder, Scully, and their kids, though.  “Hi!” Leslie said, moving through the crowd towards them.  “I’m so glad you could all make it.”

“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Mulder said.  “Never thought we’d get invited to a ball.  Or actually be in favor with government officials.   Right, Scully?”

“Right,” Scully said.  “Thank you so much for inviting us.”

“Yes, thank you,” Susanna added, blushing; she still seemed a bit tongue-tied around Leslie, although she’d become fast friends with the triplets during her brief stay at the White House.

“So what do the two of you have planned?” Ben asked.  “Now that we’ve saved the world and all.”

“Back to retirement,” Mulder said.

“And praying it’ll stick this time,” Scully added.

“Well, I’ll certainly miss having your advice,” Leslie said, “but I understand.  And I know we’ll stay friends—oh my God, there’s Ann.”  She abruptly pushed past Scully, as well as several people who were standing behind her, and rushed towards the door, where Ann was just coming in.

“Don’t take it personally,” Ben told Mulder and Scully.  “She’s like this with everyone, when Ann shows up.”  He wanted to say hello to Ann too, but he figured he’d let Leslie have her moment first.  “So,” he asked Mulder and Scully instead, “what eventually happened in that town with the vampires?”  He would have thought that what they’d been through would have cured his interest in paranormal adventures.  But somehow, he was finding, it hadn’t.

Ben and Leslie hadn’t really had a peaceful moment since the inauguration—even after the aliens were gone, they’d been concentrating on dealing with the aftermath—so tonight was especially welcome.  They spent time talking to old friends, of whom there were many; even Ron, who’d just emerged from the cabin in the woods where he’d holed up against the aliens, had agreed to make an appearance.  “Don’t think I’m not still against these large government functions,” he told Ben.  “But it’s Leslie.  You understand.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed.  “It’s Leslie.”

“And,” Ron added, “there’s breakfast food.”  He gestured complacently to his plate.  Ben hadn’t been sure that breakfast food was traditional for this kind of celebration, but Leslie had pointed out that she liked breakfast food and that most people found it very comforting, which was sorely needed in times like these.  He hadn’t been able to argue with that one.

There was dancing too, and Ben held Leslie tightly as they moved among the other couples; he could see Mulder and Scully, dancing nearby, and he gave them a quick wave.  They waved back.  Then he turned back to Leslie.  “Defeated an alien threat,” he said, “and threw a kick-ass celebration.  Not bad for your first month on the job.”

“Not what I originally had planned,” Leslie said, “but I agree, not bad.”

“It’ll really give you something to talk about,” he said, “in your State of the Union.”

She laughed.  “Too true.  But for now—let’s just dance.”

So they did.

#my fic #the x files #Parks and Recreation #Dana Scully #leslie knope #Fox Mulder #ben wyatt #crossover

[contrivedcoincidences6]

The Invisible Cord ch. 11

Need to catch up?

Thank you to @lepus-arcticus for editing!!!

@fictober​

December 2011

Location unknown

“We believe they’re somewhere north of Winnipeg.” The Krycek look-alike informs me.

I let out a long-suffering sigh. “How is it possible that you don’t know where they are?”

“Manitoba is a large area, all of Canada’s even larger. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. We think they have connections in the First Nations, and are hiding out on a reservation somewhere. People on the reservations don’t trust us, we stink of government.” Though he was just a clone, he still had the annoying arrogance of the actual Alex Krycek.

“Then convince them to cooperate,” I growl.

“I thought you wanted us to remain low key?”

Sighing, I fantasize about putting a bullet in the clones head, just for the sake of it, but decide it’s not worth the trouble of training a new one.

“Just don’t attract any more attention than necessary. On a local level we can deal with the people on the res.” I wave him away.

We’d been after them for a month. At times we would be close, but they always seemed to fall through the cracks. Two weeks ago, we’d even engaged them in a high speed chase that ended in three dead clones.

The children were developing their abilities, and it appeared to be working to their advantage. I open their files and glance at the catalogued photographs. Brian had been showing signs of extraordinary empathic abilities since he was a boy, but the other two hadn’t exhibited anything out of the ordinary.

Although it had been suspected early on that May would eventually demonstrate telepathy, no one could quite figure out if April was gifted at all.

But the car chase from a couple weeks ago hinted that April had indeed developed her own gift. One clone had survived the accident and had described an invisible force knocking them off the road and killing his three companions in the accident.

I held no doubts that either Kurt and Samantha or Mulder had connections in the First Nations. Mulder had lived amongst Native American’s for a time when he’d been alone on the run. Though Arizona was a long way from Manitoba, the various tribes of Native American’s have been known to fight against the Syndicate across state and country lines.

If they were indeed being aided by the Native American’s, they would be much harder to track down.

December 2011

Pinaymootang (Fairford 50 Reserve), Manitoba

My mother’s hands run through my hair as she plaits it and I watch the barren landscape through the window. The area was pretty but desolate.

Months before we arrived in Fairford, the Pinaymootang people had been struck by a flood that nearly destroyed their community. As we drive through, Kurt assures us that his source, Jacob Doyle, had stayed and rebuilt and had a place for us.

“How do we know we can trust this friend of yours?” Mulder asks for what had to be the tenth time.

Kurt’s face doesn’t change.

“We have known Jacob for many years. He has helped in the fight against the invading alien race and the powers that be. We trust him.”

“How does he have the resources to take in six total strangers?”

“He is a powerful member of the community.”

Not long after crossing the border, we’d switched to a large passenger van so that Kurt and Samantha could join us for the ride.

As we drive, I practice with a small, pretty stone I had picked up along the road. I hold it in my hand and try to move it with my mind. The night I discovered I was telepathic was also the last time I was able to do it. Dad says it was the stress that allowed me to do it. That it would just take time and practice. But I want it to work now.

It had happened in the midst of a high speed chase with the people who have been tracking us. We were still in two vehicles at the time, and were being followed by another two. I didn’t panic until my dad shouted out that we were running low on gas, I turned to look out the back and wished I could swat them off the road. As if on cue, the cars veered off the road as if it by an invisible train. Everyone watched silently, but neither car slowed down.

When we all caught our collective breath, I told them about what happened.

I could tell that Dana was still hesitant to believe it. May told me privately that my mom just wants a normal life for me and hates the idea that I can’t have that. My father, on the other hand, is excited by it.

I find it frustrating to no end. May has helped us avoid disaster multiple times, while I sit here uselessly.

She works every day on widening her reach and she is getting quite good at it. Brian has remained steady as ever in all the stress, keeping everyone on an even keel.

Violet and May have reached an uneasy, but kind, relationship. May still resents that we need parents. she craves independence, but has also began to admit that it’s nice to have a mother. Their mother dotes on them just as much as mine does, but in a more quiet and reserved way.

I like Violet, she’s kind and good natured but there is a deep pain about her that is also unsettling. My parents also carry pain with them but they also had each other. Violet has been alone for many years.

She and my mother talked about their experiences. Violet was amazed at my mother’s story of her recovery from the brain cancer that stalked abductees. As she told the story of her recovery, I watched my mother’s tender gaze often shift to Mulder.

The intimacy between my parents made everyone slightly uncomfortable.But I understood that they had only depended on each other for so long. they weren’t used to having others around. It wasn’t that they were very affectionate, it was how they would look at each other. When their eyes met, it was like there was no one else in the room.

May romanticizes it, calls it fairy tale love, but I have a feeling that it was a hard fought love that came from years of pain and devotion.

As we turn down a dirt path up ahead, I can see multiple mobile homes gathered together. The area is obviously poor, but the thought of getting out of the car is so appealing that I don’t care if I’ll be sleeping on rags. it has got to be better than the pleather seat of the van.

“Pull around the back,” Kurt orders, and we circle behind the ramshackle homes. The poverty is a striking juxtaposition to the beautiful scenery that surrounds it. Evidence of spring flood can be clearly seen, but these homes are on a slight rise,and it looks like they were nearly untouched by the destruction.

We pile out of the van eagerly, but the freezing air quickly dampens our excitement. Manitoba in December is not a welcoming place. a thick layer of snow covers the ground and I am once again happy that we’d stopped and stocked up on winter boots and coats.

Suddenly, the previously dingy mobile homes look inviting, with their small curls of smoke coming from little chimneys. A tall man with deep ochre skin and black hair came out of one of the homes to greet us. He is imposing but his face is kind. It’s impossible to tell his age, the lines on his face indicated age but there’s a feeling of youth about him.

“Hello! I’m Jacob, welcome to your winter home. Let’s get you inside, and then we can make proper introductions.” His voice matched the kindness in his eyes, and we all grabbed our belongings and followed without a word.

Scully and I are given our own room. Well, more of an alcove but it is still a space of our own. I throw myself down on the queen mattress, which drawing a small laugh from Scully.

“Come here,” I growl playfully grabbing her hips before she can escape.

“Mulder! Not now!” Her tone is firm, but there’s a smile on her face as she tries to bat away my hands. I sit up and pull her forward until she’s standing between my legs and I’m looking up at her. Her eyebrow is raised, and the smirk on her face looks perfectly kissable.

“Later, Mulder. Let’s get settled first. Aren’t you hungry?”

When she asks the question, I wiggle my eyebrows playfully, “I am hungry.”

She chuckles and swats at me playfully. I move my hands to her behind, and give a little squeeze before letting her go.

Scully places a small kiss on my head and shoos me out of the way so she can put a clean sheet on the bed.

I leave her to it, and move on to explore the rest of the small space that we’ll be sharing with the rest of our small group. Brian will sleep on a cot in the ‘living room’, April and May have a room for themselves, and Violet has her own little alcove on the other side of the trailer. It’s not a very big space, but it will do. I’ve heard nothing of where the clones plan on living or sleeping, and I wonder if they’re planning on leaving us for the winter. It seems likely.

And I'm not sure if I care or not. Their presence is comforting and unsettling at the same time. I still have a hard time looking at the clone of Samantha,and she seems to sense this and keeps her distance. I can't help but wonder how many of her there are.

I’m surprised to find April sitting at the small kitchen table. she looks up when she hears me, and gives a small smile. I grin back at her and sit down.

“How ya doing?” I ask. I haven’t been quite sure how to be around her. I want to be affectionate and take her hand, but I’m still unsure that she wants affection from me. She and Scully had hit it off relatively quickly, whereas I felt bumbling and unsure. Suddenly I was the father of a teenage daughter, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

As she looks around for an answer, I’m struck again by the fact that she is mine. The reality of Emily had always been an abstract idea to me. When I’d known her as a child, I hadn’t known she was mine, and by the time I found out, we’d thought her dead.

With William, the loss was painful in a more real sense, and with Emily it had brought more anger than hurt. There were times I’d cried over her life and death, but many times the sadness was overwhelmed by fury at the injustice of it all.

She looks up at me with the same eyes I see in the mirror every morning. “I’m alright. Exhausted. I suppose I’m happy we’re stopping for a while.”

“Still frustrated over the telekinesis?” I ask knowingly.

She sighs and nods, “I just wish I could be more useful.”

“If you hadn’t have found your powers when you did,  we wouldn’t be here now.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

I cover her hand with my own. Everything about her is long and thin, and it reminds me of myself when I was a teenager.

“Give yourself some time. These are superhuman abilities we are talking about here.”

She gives a little laugh and I squeeze her hand before letting it go.

I spot Jacob and Kurt talking outside and decide to go listen in.

Before walking out I kiss the top of her head.

“I’m so glad you found us.”

#the invisible cord #the x files #txf #txf fanfic #x files fanfic #i wrote this