Title:  Nothing Important:  Epilogue
Author:  Vickie Moseley   
Summary:  Final instalment of the Nothing 
Important Series.
Category:  MSR, babyfic, post Existence
Warning:  Minor character death
Rating:  E for Everyone
Disclaimer:  I did it and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  
But I didn't profit from it.  No copyright 
infringement intended.
Author's note:  The rest of the series, including this 
installment, can be found at my website 
http://vickiemoseley.freeservers.com  Thanks for 
everything, Lisa! 

Nothing Important:  Epilogue

Memorial Medical Center
Oregon Cave, OR

Voices were coming to her slowly.  All Scully 
really wanted to do was stay in the darkness.  In the 
void her head didn't pound, she didn't feel the need 
to throw up, she could just float.  But the voices 
wouldn't be still, wouldn't leave her in peace.  And 
finally their buzzing started to make some fractured 
sort of sense.

Mulder. . . Body. . . Autopsy.

Her heart froze when her sluggish brain finally 
connected the dots.  Doggett had killed Mulder.  It 
must have happened after Doggett had knocked her 
out.

She felt the tears form in her closed eyes until they 
overflowed her lashes and ran a path down the sides 
of her face.  

He was gone.  Why was she still breathing?  
Because she had no intention of following Mulder 
to his grave until she had avenged his death.

She would do just that.  She would find that smug 
son of a bitch who had pretended to be her friend 
and she would watch the very life extinguish from 
his body.  When he was cold in his grave, she 
would kiss her son goodbye . . .

William.  She cried all the harder when she realized 
she couldn't leave their son.  She would have to live 
out her life without the flame Mulder had provided.  
It was the nightmare she'd already lived through 
come back a hundred times worse.  

She couldn't do it.  She just couldn't do it again.  

Gratefully, she slipped into the blackness till her 
head stopped pounding and her heart stopped 
breaking.

Monica tapped lightly on the door to room 345 
before she entered.  "Has she woken up?" she 
asked, nodding to the patient lying still and pale on 
the bed.

"No.  The nurse thought she might have surfaced a 
little and was in so much pain she slipped back 
under.  There were tears on her face when I came 
back after talking to you in the hall," Maggie said 
with a tired sigh.  "How is Fox doing?"

Monica pulled a chair from against the wall and sat 
close to the bed near Maggie, being careful to avoid 
bumping the baby seat sitting on the floor with 
William sound asleep inside it.  "All the nurses 
would tell me is that he's holding his own.  The 
surgeon was writing in the chart and I was able to 
get him to tell me a little more.  Agent Mulder lost a 
lot of blood.  The bullet compromised an artery and 
did some damage to his intestines.  The surgery was 
successful, but because of the blood loss he's in a 
coma.  They moved him to the ICU.  I asked, they 
won't let me see him, but maybe you can get in.  
They seem to like you better," Monica said with a 
sad smile.

"I'm a mother.  They know I'm a force to be 
reckoned with," Maggie replied dryly.  "If you don't 
mind watching our young man here I'll go try to get 
in to see Fox.  I know that's the first thing Dana will 
want to know about when she wakes up."

"Sure, I'll watch him.  I might need to go out to the 
cabin again later and . . . " she swallowed and 
looked away.  "I probably need to go back to the 
overlook."

Maggie stood up and put her hand on Monica's 
shoulder.  "I know this has been so hard on you, but 
I really appreciate all you've done for us.  All of us."

Monica clasped Maggie's hand on her shoulder and 
squeezed.  When she looked up at the older woman, 
there were tears in her eyes.  "John was a good man 
once.  I still believe that.  When I knew him years 
ago, when we were searching for his son -- he was a 
good man."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Maggie said quietly.   She 
licked her lips and looked down at her sleeping 
grandson.  "They probably won't let me stay there 
long.  I'll be back soon."

Maggie had not been gone five minutes when the 
baby started to fuss.  Monica leaned down and 
picked the tiny boy up holding him in her arms.  His 
cries just got louder and Monica searched the area 
for the diaper bag, hoping there was a bottle 
somewhere nearby.  She found it, finally and 
William latched on to the nipple in desperation, 
sucking greedily.

"What an appetite," Monica whispered to the boy as 
he devoured his meal.

"William?"  The voice was rusty and little more 
than a gasp, but when Monica looked over to the 
bed, she could see the occupant was fully awake.

"Good morning," Monica said softly.  "Sorry if he 
woke you."

"No, thas' all right," Scully slurred.  "Let me hold 
him.  Please?"

She hesitated for only a second.  This family had 
been separated far too much, Monica decided.  "Can 
you adjust the bed?" she asked.

Scully sought out the controls and raised the head of 
the bed slowly.  It caused the pounding in her ears 
to increase a bit, but she ignored it and reached out 
for her baby.  Monica settled the child into his 
mother's arms and sat back, happy to be an observer 
of such a tender reunion.

"Hello my sweet, sweet boy," Scully murmured, 
caressing William's head as he continued to drink 
from the bottle.  "Oh, baby boy, I love you so 
much," she whispered hoarsely as tears ran freely 
down her face.

"Your mom will be right back.  She just went to 
check on Agent Mulder," Monica said.  

Scully looked up at her, startled.  "What did you 
say?"

"I said your mom is up in ICU, trying to get in to 
see Agent Mulder," Monica repeated.  She was 
surprised to see the affect her words had on her 
friend.  Scully choked up even more.

"He's . . . he's alive?" she rasped.

"Oh, Dana, yes.  He was shot and lost a lot of blood.  
Now that you're awake, I'm sure we can get one of 
his doctors in here to apprise you of his condition.  
He's . . . he's in a coma," Monica concluded 
somberly.

"But he's alive," Scully restated, her face lighting 
up.

"Yes.  He's alive," Monica said again.

"I have to go there," Scully declared, looking down 
at her son.  "We have to go to him."

"Dana, you have a concussion, I don't think the 
doctors -- "

"Screw the damn doctors, Monica.  Get me a 
wheelchair!"

Monica hurried out in the hall and returned with the 
required equipment.  William was finished with his 
dinner, so Monica took him from Scully so that 
Scully could move from the bed to the chair.

Scully's headache roared to life the minute she tried 
to raise up enough to get off the bed.  It took her a 
moment to let the dizziness abate.  By that time, a 
nurse was in the room, clucking nosily at the crazy 
woman trying to get out of bed.

"Ms. Scully, you are on full bed rest on doctor's 
orders.  I can't allow you -- "

"It's _Doctor_ Scully and unless you have a taser on 
you, there isn't a damned thing you can do to stop 
me from going up to ICU and seeing my partner," 
Scully growled.  "Now, if you want to be helpful, 
get turn off the damned IV alarm and open the 
door."

Monica intervened.  "Dana, maybe you should hold 
William and I'll drive," she offered timidly.

"Great idea.  Why didn't I think of that?" Scully 
said, shooting the nurse a venomous glare.  "Let's 
get this show on the road."

Waiting for the elevator was almost her undoing.  
Scully tilted to the left and Monica made a dive to 
grab the baby before the little boy tumbled to the 
floor.  

"May I just say that I think this is a really good 
intention but a really bad idea," Monica suggested.

"Duly noted and ignored," Scully said through 
gritted teeth.  The elevator dinged and the doors 
opened, revealing a very startled Walter Skinner.

"What the hell . . . " Skinner yelped.  "Agent Scully 
what are you -- "

"We're going to see Mulder," Scully said in no 
uncertain terms.  "Either help us or get out of our 
way," she added with enough heat to make the man 
wince.

"I'll drive, you hold the baby," Skinner informed 
Monica, who was more than happy to comply.

The party was stopped at the door of the ICU.  
Scully was adamant, but Nurse Althea Jenkins had 
the obvious advantage of standing on her own two 
feet and was flanked by two stern looking orderlies.  
"I'll page his doctor, but for now, there is already 
someone in with him," the nurse told her firmly.

"I know, that person is my mother.  But I need to 
see him, now," Scully said, her voice cracking.  The 
pain that was radiating through her whole upper 
body, the remnants of the awful dream she had 
where she overhead that Mulder was dead and 
delayed reaction from two months of running and 
worry was taking a toil on her usually iron strong 
composure.  In a very few minutes she felt she 
would cry and that would just make matters all that 
much worse.

"May I speak with you a moment, Nurse Jenkins?" 
Skinner asked respectfully.  "In private?" 

He was back in short order.  "Here's the deal.  
William will have to sit this one out.  But I got you 
in, even with your mom back there already.  
However, it's only for ten minutes and then you 
have to go back to your room and rest for the 
remainder of the day.  It's the best deal you're going 
to get," Skinner advised, squeezing her shoulder 
gently.

She didn't blink.  "I'll take it.  Monica, do you mind 
-- "

"Hey, you don't worry about us.  William and I will 
be just fine out here," Monica assured her.  She 
smiled at her friend.  "Give him my love, OK?"

Her chin trembled but her eyes were clear as she 
nodded.  Nurse Jenkins was a different person, 
pushing her through the door.  She'd even smiled at 
her as she kicked the brake off the wheels.  "He's 
doing much better than when they brought him in 
last night after surgery.  His b/p has been steady, 
he's only on partial vent.  I think he's just on the 
edge of waking up," she assured the woman in the 
wheelchair trying hard not to show how much she 
was hurting. 

"Thank you," Scully said hoarsely, the woman's 
kindness threatening to break her resolve.

"I'll come back and get you in ten minutes," Jenkins 
said, patting her gently on the arm.  "If you need 
me, just push the button."

Maggie had been standing on the far side of the bed 
and hurried around to her daughter.  "Sweetheart, 
should you be out of bed?" she chided.

"Mom, help me up," Scully said as she grabbed 
hold of the arms of the chair and prepared to stand.

"Dana, now is not the time to be stubborn," Maggie 
scolded, but grasped her daughter's shoulders and 
then helped her up from the wheelchair.  

Her face lost several shades of color at first, but she 
leaned one hand on the railing, the other reaching 
for and finally finding Mulder's hand in the myriad 
of tubes and wires.  "Mulder.  Mulder, I'm here," 
she crooned softly.

There was no change in the expression of the deeply 
sleeping man.  After just a few seconds, though, his 
eyelids fluttered briefly, his lashes parting for just a 
heartbeat.

"That's it, that's what I want to see.  Mulder, I don't 
have much time, they're going to kick me out soon."  
Her voice held an urgency that had some power 
over his pain.  When his eyes opened, they locked 
on hers.

"Hi," she whispered.

The tube down his throat and the one down his nose 
eliminated any chance of a snappy rejoinder, but his 
eyes lit up at the sight of her.  

"It's OK," she told him, finding a question in his 
face that others no doubt would have missed.  
"Monica's with Wills and I've got a knot on my 
head."  She ignored her mother's impertinent snort 
at the callous disregard for her own injuries.  
"You're going to be here a day or two but I'll come 
back to see you.  When they get you in a regular 
room, I'll bring Wills."

He blinked slowly, twice and rolled his eyes toward 
the ventilator near his head.  She smiled, 
acknowledging some kind of code.  "Soon, now that 
you're awake.  But for now, let it do the work.  
You're tired and you need the help."

He was already fading, so she leaned over as far as 
she could and pressed her lips against the side of his 
mouth.  "I love you," she breathed in his ear.  "I'll 
see you soon."

He was asleep before she straightened.  Then, all 
colored bleached from her face and the room grayed 
out.  When she came back, her head was down on 
her knees and her mother's hand was on her back.  
"All right, that's quite enough," Maggie said sternly.  
"You expect him to obey and you don't?  Wait till 
he's awake again and I tell him," she threatened.

"You wouldn't.  You know he'll use against me for 
the rest of our lives," Dana tried to joke, but the 
pain in her head and the nausea accompanying it 
wouldn't allow her much joy in it.

"We're going back to the room, you're going to bed 
and you're going to stay there."

"I know, it's the deal Skinner made with Nurse 
Jenkins," she admitted.  "I just . . . Mom, I just 
needed . . . "  She couldn't continue, the tears were 
looming and she didn't want to break down there in 
the ICU, with Mulder sleeping just inches away.  

"I know, honey.  I know.  But now, it's time for me 
to take care of you.  He's expecting it of me," 
Maggie said tenderly.  "You'll be together 
tomorrow.  I promise."

Two days later

Scully yawned and stretched after placing William 
in his car seat.  She'd been released the night before, 
but still refused to leave the hospital, staying by 
Mulder's side even during his move to a regular 
room.  He was as sound asleep as their son and it 
was the perfect opportunity for her to sneak in a nap 
herself.  She kicked back the foot rest of the 
reclining chair next to her partner's bed and 
attempted to cover her feet with the blanket the 
night nurse had found for her.  No sooner was she 
all tucked in than there was a tap at the door, 
startling her and waking Mulder.

"Come in," Mulder rasped.  His throat was still sore 
from the tubes, but he was looking much better to 
her critical eye.  He was still sleeping a lot, mostly 
from the pain medication, but the doctor had 
predicted his release in another day or two, 
provided all continued to go well.

The door opened and Skinner stepped in, a smile 
plastered on his face, a balloon with flying saucers 
on it tied to a greeting card.  "Did I wake you?" he 
asked.

"That's OK.  I'll warn you though, I tend to nod off 
in the middle of a conversation.  How are you, 
Walter?" Mulder asked.  "I heard you were around, 
but I must be sleeping when you come by."

"Monica said you've been busy, sir," Scully 
interjected.  "Have a seat."

"I'm fine, thanks.  I just wanted to stop by and give 
you this before I take off for the airport.  I got a call 
this morning and I'm needed back in DC."  He 
toyed with the edged of the card for a moment.  "I 
got a call from the Director."

Scully looked over at Mulder anxiously.  Mulder 
licked his lips and braced himself for the worst.  "I 
can't say I haven't been expecting this, but I wasn't 
prepared for the balloons," he quipped.

Skinner fought against his inclination to smile.  
Then the serious nature of the call resurfaced and he 
straightened up.  "Apparently, Deputy Director 
Alvin Kersh hung himself in his office last night."

"What?" Scully exclaimed.  Mulder simply stared at 
his former boss, incredulous.

"He left a note.  In it he stated that he used Bureau 
resources in a private vendetta against you, Mulder.  
He said he falsified documents in an effort to have 
you fired, or worse, imprisoned.  He fully admits all 
this and that he regrets his actions.  He even went so 
far as to request that you be reinstated, 
immediately."

"If this is a joke, Walter, I have to tell you -- it 
shows and incredible amount of planning," Mulder 
breathed.

"It's not a joke.  Here."  He handed Mulder the card.

"This has to be a joke," the younger man insisted.  
He took the card and opened it with shaking hands.  
Two silver keys fell out of the envelope.  It took 
him only a moment to recognize them -- the keys to 
the basement office.  He looked up at Walter, not 
hiding his confusion.

"I've been instructed by the Director to offer you 
your old position back.  You would head up the X 
files.  You would receive back pay from when you 
resigned.  Actually, I think you got a step increase 
on your anniversary date in May -- "

"Scully?" Mulder looked to her immediately.  He 
didn't need to voice his question, she understood.  
She looked over at Skinner.

"Both of us?" she asked.

"Well, Agent Reyes had expressed an interest in 
consulting on occasion, but she'll be working with 
BSU.  So realistically, just the two of you.  I'm 
afraid the Director didn't think we needed to 
increase the size of the X Files division at this 
time."

"I think I need to consider this a bit, Walter.  We 
have . . . someone else we have to consider," 
Mulder said leaning over to smile at the baby 
sleeping in the car carrier.

"I understand.  Take your time, there's no deadline 
on the offer."  Skinner looked toward the door.  "I . . 
. uh, I wanted to talk to you about something else," 
he said, squaring his jaw.  "There was something . . 
. disturbing found at the cabin."

Mulder shot a quick look to Scully before 
addressing his former and possibly future boss.  
"Disturbing -- how?"

"Blood.  And, well, it appeared to be bone and 
maybe dura matter," he said uncomfortably.

"Were you able to do a match?" Scully piped up, 
her interest showing.

"Yes.  It belonged to Agent Reyes."

"Monica?  But that's impossible -- Monica wasn't 
hurt at all," Scully objected.

"Did you tell Agent Reyes about this?" Mulder 
asked.  At Skinner's terse nod, he continued.  "What 
did she say?"

"She says she was knocked out.  She woke up and 
Alex Krycek was standing there.  She got dizzy, but 
then she was fine.  She doesn't remember any blood.  
But I had them run the lab results against a fresh 
sample from Agent Reyes and it came back a total 
match."

Scully glanced over at Mulder and silently they 
agreed to keep Krycek's secret to themselves.  "I 
don't know what to tell you, Sir," she said quietly.  
"Sounds like . . . "

"A future case?" Mulder suggested.  "For someone . 
. . " he trailed off.  

"Well, I'm still concerned about Krycek's part in all 
this, but it appears that there wasn't any damage 
done by his involvement."

The silence that met his comment only served to 
make him more uncomfortable.  He glanced down 
at his watch to cover his unease.  "I need to leave 
for the airport.  If you come to a decision, you know 
how to get in touch."

"Yes, sir," Scully said.  Mulder reached up and 
clasped Skinner's hand in a firm shake.

"Rest up, Mulder.  Even if you don't come back to 
work, you'll still need all your strength just to keep 
up with that young man sleeping there."

"Thank you, Walter.  For coming all the way out 
here and for the offer," Mulder said sincerely.  "I 
promise, we'll talk it over and get back to you."

"Well, I know you have a lot to think about.  Have a 
safe trip home."  

"Goodbye, sir.  Have a safe trip," Scully called as 
he left the room.  She turned to her partner.  "Are 
you tired?" she asked, taking his hand.

He shifted in the bed and pain flashed across his 
face.

"You're hurting," she said firmly, answering her 
own question.  Pressing the call button, she felt his 
hand tighten on her fingers.  "Too much too soon," 
she murmured more to herself than to him.  

In short order, the nurse arrived.  "Pain's bad, huh?" 
the nurse, Lisa, said with a sympathetic look.  "I 
have something for that right here."

Scully continued to hold his hand until it grew 
slack.  "Get some sleep, she told him.  She caressed 
his forehead as his eyelids drooped and he finally 
fell asleep.

Monica was sitting in the family lounge when 
Scully quietly left the room, holding a sleeping 
William.  Scully hadn't seen much of the other 
agent in the last day, paperwork keeping Reyes 
away from the hospital.

"How's he doing?" the dark haired agent asked 
anxiously.

"He's still in a great deal of pain, but the doctor's 
pleased with his progress to date.  They're talking 
maybe another five days here, six at the most."

"And then?" Monica asked.

Scully sighed and shifted William so that he was 
resting on her lap.  "Mom wants us to come home 
with her."

"Back to DC?"

"Well, to Baltimore, at first.  We have nothing left 
in DC, Monica.  We gave up our apartments.  We 
had to in order to make the break and run."

"I'm so sorry you had to do that," Monica said, tears 
welling in her eyes.  "I wish I could have done 
more."

"You were there when we needed you most," Scully 
reminded her.  "We will forever be in your debt.  
Mulder would have died out there on that overlook 
if you hadn't arrived when you did."

Monica smiled softly.  "Thank you.  I just wish it 
had never come to that."

"We all do," Scully said, reaching across the small 
space that separated the two women and taking 
Monica's hand.  "But it's over.  And the best thing 
we can do now is go on."

That night Maggie convinced her daughter to let her 
take the baby back to the hotel.  Scully refused to 
budge from Mulder's room.  His fever had risen in 
the afternoon and he was still experiencing a lot of 
pain.  She tried unsuccessfully to distract him with a 
baseball game she found on the television.  He 
wanted to talk about what Skinner had told them.

"Is the new painkiller helping at all?" she asked, 
stroking his hand.

"Yeah, a little.  Still hurts, but not quite as bad as 
earlier," he answered truthfully.  After a moment of 
trying to watch the game, he looked over at her.  
"Kersh is dead.  I didn't see that one coming."

"A suicide.  I didn't see that one coming at all," 
Scully said thoughtfully.  "Do you think this suicide 
might have been along the lines of Section Chief 
Blevins' suicide?"

"The idea had crossed my mind.  Your mom said 
that Krycek left because he had some 'loose ends' to 
clean up."

She'd found something and she wasn't sure if it was 
the best time to tell him.  Since they were already 
on the subject, she decided to bring it up.  "There 
was something else I found in a pile of newspapers 
from the last couple of days," Scully said, reaching 
over to the bedside cabinet.  She unfolded a 
newspaper and handed it to Mulder.  "Halfway 
down the page," she directed.

"Luxury hotel fire kills 13?" he asked.  At her nod, 
he read silently for a moment.  "Scully?"

"It just occurred to me, Mulder, that those deaths -- 
all men, all of them foreign nationals with 
diplomatic credentials -- came at the exact time we 
arrived in Oregon.  I think those were the people 
Doggett was working for.  I think that is what was 
left of the consortium."

"Krycek's buddies killed them," he said quietly.

"In the same way they killed those people on 
Ruskin Dam."

They were quiet for a moment.  "I'm still not 
convinced that Krycek is someone we can trust 
completely," Mulder said, chewing on his bottom 
lip.

"He saved Monica.  You know that as well as I do," 
Scully pointed out.

"I know.  Why?" he asked.

"She was going to help us," Scully replied.

"I guess," Mulder ruminated.

"Well, we have something else we have to figure 
out," Scully said, taking his hand.  "Where we're 
going to live."

He smiled at her and brought her hand up to place a 
kiss there.  "Now that sounds like a fun topic.  
Where do we want to live, Scully?  You like 
Georgetown, I like Arlington, but we could move 
anywhere we want."

"I guess it might make some sense to know where 
we're going to work," she suggested.

He sighed and leaned back into his pillows.  "My 
phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook with 
offers after I quit," he said pensively.

"You weren't exactly trying to find work, either.  
You needed time, time to adjust.  It was 
understandable."  She looked down at their linked 
hands.  "I don't want you to feel pressured into 
coming back to the Bureau," she said softly.  
"Money isn't an issue."

He smiled at her.  "You mean I should just settle 
back, be Mr. Mom and write my memoirs?"

She grinned widely.  "No, not by a long shot," she 
said.  "But if you do want to take some time, 
consider other options, I understand.   We have 
time.  I would like to stay out on maternity leave for 
at least another month or two.  Don't feel that you 
have to rush into a decision.  We have plenty of 
time to decide what we're going to do."

"Good answer," he said, kissing her hand again.  
"Now, how about you take our son to that nice hotel 
room your mom has for you and get some real rest."

Chevy Chase, MD
Six weeks later

Mulder had stayed at the hospital for five more 
days.  Scully enforced a rest period and they didn't 
attempt the trip home for another three days after 
his release.  Then it was a direct flight to Baltimore 
and Mulder barely kept his eyes open during the car 
ride to Maggie's house.  

Rest and good food worked their usual miracle on 
his battered body and in two weeks time, he was 
chomping at the bit to find a house.  In the end, it 
was surprisingly easy.  They contacted a realtor 
who showed them houses online.  After touring the 
first townhouse, Mulder put in a bid and it was 
accepted.  They closed on the sale three weeks later.  
A few phone calls were made, furniture was 
purchased and finally, it was moving day for the 
Mulder-Scully household.

Frohike lugged the last box up the three steps and 
into the foyer of the townhome.  "This one says 
'Mulder' and nothing else -- any clue?" he asked his 
friend, who was occupied setting up the new 10-
gallon aquarium in the corner of their spacious 
living room.

"Uh, garage," Mulder said, sifting gravel around the 
bottom of the tank.

"Scully says there isn't room for the car as it is.  No 
more boxes in the garage," the little man countered.

"OK, uh, laundry room."

"Nope.  You gotta face up to your past, Friend.  
Open the box and tell me if you really need it."

"Easy.  I know I don't."

"Goodwill it is," Fro said happily and turned back 
toward the door.

"Wait!" Mulder called out.  He hurried over to 
Frohike but didn't touch the box.  He looked back 
toward the kitchen warily.  "What did Scully do 
with, um, my . . . "

"Library?" the little man leered cheerfully.

"Yeah," Mulder said tiredly.

"She donated the whole shootin' match -- 10 years 
of Adult Video News, Celebrity Skin Volumes 
XXIX to XLV and your entire video collection -- to 
our humble abode.  We made a shrine.  You should 
come visit.  We'll waive the entrance fee," he 
answered not missing a beat.

Mulder closed his eyes and sighed.  He wasn't sure 
which was worse, but he was pretty sure he felt the 
air of the imaginary bullet that had just whizzed by 
his ear.  "Yeah, sure -- wait, 'entrance fee'?"

"OK, so we call it a donation.  Besides, the money 
isn't for us.  We give all proceeds to the Mutual U F 
O Network.  Byers has the bank records, if you're 
worried."

Mulder rolled his eyes and continued to arrange the 
gravel.  "Put the box in the office and I'll look at it 
tomorrow."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Frohike snarled, 
shifting the box to start the hard climb to the second 
floor where the bedroom, nursery and guest 
room/office were located.  

Mulder was still a little miffed that Scully had a 
tight hold on his very short leash.  He wasn't 
allowed to load the U-Haul from the storage unit, he 
wasn't allowed to carry anything into the new house 
and she'd relegated him to 'setting up the aquarium' 
when she decided he wasn't really fit enough to 
unpack the kitchen items because it entailed too 
much 'stretching and reaching'.  His wounds were 
healing, but as his partner pointed out -- at every 
opportunity -- he wasn't 33 anymore.  

"Fox, are you ready for the fish water?  I'd like to 
get the little guys moved in so I can wash the punch 
bowl," Maggie called.  Byers followed close behind 
her with two buckets of water.

"Yeah, the filter's all set.  We can pour the water in 
now."  He reached for the first bucket but Byers 
beat him to it.

"Sorry, Mulder.  Scully's orders," he apologized.  
Mulder sighed and stood aside so that his friend 
could fill the tank with water.  

"Look at it this way," Byers offered.  "If any of us 
move, we'll let you do all the work."

"Wow.  I can't wait," Mulder deadpanned.

The doorbell rang and Mulder looked over at 
Maggie.  "Do you think she'll let me answer the 
door?"

"Fox, she worries about you.  And from where I sit, 
you've given her plenty of things to worry about," 
Maggie reminded him.

Mulder sighed again and headed for the door.  
When he opened it, he found Walter Skinner 
digging through his wallet while a pizza delivery 
guy was patiently holding three large pizza boxes.

"Walter, here -- I've got that," Mulder said, digging 
out his own wallet and paying the young man.  
Walter took the pizzas and Mulder rolled his eyes as 
he followed behind him.  "She got to you, too?" he 
quarreled.

"No, but I know how you are and I know why she 
would worry about you," the older man replied.  
"Where do you want these?"

"Dining room table.  I'll get the beers -- unless a six-
pack is suddenly too heavy for me to lift," he 
groused.

He greeted Scully with a quick hug from behind as 
she put away the last of the new dishes.  "The 
pizzas are here, and so is Walter," he said with one 
final squeeze before reaching into the refrigerator to 
get two six-packs of Sam Adams.

"Oh, good.  I'll call Monica and Langly.  She was 
putting the towels away in the master bathroom and 
he was setting up the desktop computer upstairs in 
the office."

"Wills still asleep?" Mulder asked.

"According to the monitor," Scully smiled.  

The Gunmen had left no electronic stone unturned 
in outfitting the new house.  The baby monitor had 
audio and visual in every room, every level of the 
house was wireless and networked and their 
bedroom armoire was equipped with surveillance 
monitors of all sides of the exterior and a separate 
monitor just for the garage. 

"We do know how to turn that thing off, don't we?" 
he asked when she nodded to the tiny screen.  "I 
know the boys.  They likely made the one in our 
room a two-way with remote feed."

"I made sure every room had an 'on/off' switch," she 
grinned.  "I know the 'boys', too, you know."  She 
crooked her finger, beckoning him into her 
confidence.  "And I have a strategically placed wall 
hanging that can be lowered to cover the camera 
lens."

"It pays to hook up with a physics major," he 
growled and kissed her soundly.  

She pulled away, reluctantly.  "We have guests."

"Let's feed them and toss them out as quick as we 
can, then," he replied.

Three hours later, the house was in not quite perfect 
order with most boxes unloaded and the bed made.  
Maggie promised to come back in the morning to 
help with the final chores, but Mulder waved her 
off, telling her that all three of them would be over 
to visit in a few days.   As they closed the door on 
the last of their moving crew/guests, Mulder leaned 
against the hard surface and sighed in contentment.

"I love them, but I think hiring Atlas would have 
quicker."

"Not really.  We had the storage unit from your 
apartment and the storage unit from my apartment.  
At least the furniture stores delivered," Scully 
replied, walking on autopilot into the kitchen and 
warming up a bottle.

"Are you getting psychic?" Mulder asked, trailing 
behind her.  At her curious look he pointed to the 
bottle and then to the monitor that showed a 
peacefully sleeping infant.

"No, but he's been fidgeting around for the last 
couple of minutes and it's about time for his late 
dinner," she said, tiredly going through the motions 
of pouring the formula, screwing on the nipple and 
putting the bottle in the warmer.

"Can he eat in the living room?  I'll take this feeding 
but I wanted to watch the late news."

"Sure.  I'll meet you there," she said with a yawn.

Soon they were snuggled on the new double 
reclining sofa, Mulder fully reclined with William 
in the crook of his arm, Scully sitting with her feet 
tucked beside her, her head on his shoulder.  Mulder 
couldn't imagine a more comfortable way to end a 
very busy day.

"How's your side?" Scully asked casually.

"Bored," he replied, not taking his eyes from the 
television.

"Bored?  How is your side 'bored'?"

She could hear the little hamster wheel in his head 
revving up.  "Well, a certain someone refused to let 
me lift a finger today, so my side got really bored.  
If this keeps up, I think it intends to stage a protest."

"A protest?" she murmured.  She was already half 
asleep and the conversation wasn't doing enough to 
keep her from falling the rest of the way.

"A sit in," he replied.  "What was in that folder that 
Skinner gave you but you tried to make sure I didn't 
notice?"

She frowned slightly and sighed.  She should have 
known it would be impossible to keep anything 
from him -- she wasn't sure why she even tried.

"Scully?" he prodded.

"A class schedule.  They need someone to teach 
forensic pathology at Quantico starting in three 
weeks," she said, with much trepidation.

"You took a position?" he asked calmly.  

"No.  He just mentioned it and brought by the 
schedule and the curriculum.  Just so I could make 
an informed decision."

"Oh."  No comment, no elaboration.  Just 'oh'.

"I haven't made any decision," she told him firmly.

"OK."

"I just thought it might be a good opportunity," she 
continued.

"Teaching?  How is that a good opportunity, Scully.  
You've already put in your time at Quantico," he 
said in a low voice.  William's eyes were already 
drooping closed and the bottle was almost drained.

"OK, not necessarily a good opportunity, but it 
would allow me to have a sane schedule.  My first 
class would start at nine, last class ends at three.  I 
could be home in time to make dinner."

"Afraid of what I might do in the kitchen?" he 
asked.  She knew he was trying to lighten the 
moment, but it was falling flat.

"I mean, I always meant to go back at some point, 
Mulder.  You knew that."

"I know.  I just thought . . . I mean, teaching, Scully.  
You told me once you couldn't imagine ever going 
back to teaching."

"That was when we were working together on the X 
files, Mulder.  Now . . ."

"I'm still thinking about Walter's offer," Mulder told 
her, his voice rough with indecision.

"Well, then, this is a good short term 'opportunity'," 
she said quietly, hugging his arm.

"I guess," he agreed reluctantly.  He looked down at 
their sleeping son, the nipple lying slack against his 
full bottom lip.  "I'll have the 'opportunity' to stay 
home and get better acquainted with this little guy."

"It won't be forever, Mulder.  You'll make a 
decision, I know you will.  Either we'll be together 
again in the basement, or you'll find something else.  
It's our time.  You finished the quest, you found 
Samantha, you were instrumental in destroying 
those collaborating with the plans for colonization."

"There are plenty of cases in those cabinets that had 
nothing to do with aliens, my sister or even a 
government conspiracy, Scully," he murmured.

"I just mean you paid your dues.  It's your time, 
now, Mulder.  Your life.  You really are free."  She 
smiled at his startled look.  "Well, with two notable 
exceptions," she said nodding toward their sleeping 
child.

"I know.  I understand that I can do anything I want 
to do now," he said.  "And right now, I think I want 
to put this little guy up in his new bedroom and take 
you to bed."

"Now that's a plan I can get behind," she grinned.

Much later, as they lay entwined in their new 
bedroom, on the sheets Scully had picked out just 
two days before, he held her close.  "I think I'll give 
Walter a call on Monday.  See if that offer of the 
basement still stands."

She stroked his hair until he fell asleep, his head on 
her breast.  "Good answer," she whispered and 
kissed him good night.

The End of Nothing Important.

I've received some wonderful feedback on this 
series and I'm thinking of keeping the universe alive 
for a '10th season'.  If you like that idea, drop me a 
line and let me know what cases you would like to 
see our intrepid duo investigating.
Love ya
Vickie
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com