TITLE: 'The Beginning And The End' (part 26 of ??)
AUTHOR: XSketch (XSketch@hotmail.com)
WEBSITE: http://thesketchfiles.bravehost.com
DISCLAIMER: See part 1 for all disclaimers.

---------------------------------------------------

'You have to know that this wasn't my choice; that - in 
some way - it was never even my choice to make.  If it 
had been, you would never leave the sight of either 
myself or your father, and you wouldn't be reading this 
letter...I wouldn't even have to write it in the first 
place!

But, as I said, this wasn't my choice, and I have to 
make that vitally clear to you because I can't bear the 
thought of you growing up thinking that you were unloved 
or unwanted.  You're a very special little boy, more 
than you will ever be able to understand, and that made 
it too dangerous for you to stay with us.  Your father 
and I would die for you, but our fight against the dark 
forces out there left you too exposed...I had to send 
you away to unknown people, where you would never be 
found. 

All I can do now is pray our sacrifice was not in vain.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they left Ogden and pulled in for yet another gas 
stop, there was one thing Yves Adele Harlow knew they 
owed a great deal of credit to the Gunmen for, and that 
was their choice of transportation.  Despite the miles 
that had already been racked up on the dial by the time 
she and her associates took ownership of it, the old 
Volkswagen bus had become the most unlikely but reliable 
vehicle - taking them wherever they needed to go across 
dusty plains and city streets, with little mechanical 
fault whilst providing the space required for computer 
equipment storage and sleeping.

After learning that the supersoldiers were communicating 
with a military personnel somewhere in San Diego, they'd 
started back in that direction - hoping that being 
closer to the location would help pinpoint the actual 
base.  Jimmy - still in a mood she was yet to address - 
remained at the wheel despite her attempts to take over 
the driving for a change, while Kimmy monitored the 
computer.

At the moment, though, he was sleeping, and that was 
when the phone call came.

Without hesitation, Harlow snagged the receiver up but 
didn't reply - waiting until she was rewarded a second 
later by Mulder's slightly hushed voice.

"We're leaving now."

And before she had chance to tell him they'd stumbled 
across threads of information that may turn out to be 
vital to his and Scully's survival - before there was 
even a chance to ask if they were okay - the line went 
dead.

Kimmy watched her head lower in what appeared to be 
sullen defeat through half-hooded eyes and frowned.  He 
didn't regard her as a 'hard ass' or 'ice queen' as 
such, but the woman he'd come to know thrived on 
pressure and challenges, refused to let failure affect 
her...and yet--

"I need to get out for some air," she suddenly 
announced, realizing her companion was awake.  "I'll be 
back in a minute, and then we need to get there as 
quickly as possible."

~~~~~

Jimmy looked up as the side door slid open, but silently 
turned his attention back to the gas pump when Yves 
warily stepped out.

"What is the matter, Jimmy?" she sighed, fixing her gaze 
on him as she slumped against the vehicle.  "Being in a 
mood and not talking about it is not helping any matters 
whatsoever.  We need to be one-hundred-and-fifty percent 
on top of things... If you're having second thoughts - 
want to back out - you know you can...I mean, it's not 
as if--...I don't know...This isn't our job or something 
we have an obligation to do - as unethical as it may 
have seemed at times, I had a job that I could quite 
easily go back to right now.  But I saw what that 
supersoldier did to the police officer - what he almost 
did to Agents Doggett and Reyes - and in the end I know 
that we're the only ones they can turn to and that's why 
I am doing this: to do what's right--"

"It's not that," he solemnly uttered, shaking his head.

"Then *what*?"

He considered her and the genuine concern creasing her 
features for a moment and then confessed in a hushed 
tone, "I saw the guys."

Of all the things she'd been expecting to pass his lips, 
that had been nowhere on her list, and Yves had to do a 
double-take to check she'd heard him correctly.  When 
the words clearly registered in her brain and she saw 
his head lower even further, she opened her mouth to ask 
him to elaborate, but he continued without the need of 
her prompt.

"I saw their ghosts...They're really gone..."

Harlow faltered, unsure which to query first - the fact 
he'd doubted the deaths of the Lone Gunmen despite all 
they'd seen, or about his claim of seeing their ghosts.  
She'd always thought of Jimmy as a loyal dog, who stood 
by those he looked up to no matter how foolish or 
interfering that steadfastness was.  But his grieving 
over the loss of the three geeks was so much more than 
that - they had been his mentors, for lack of a better 
term, showing him the true evils that lay out there.  
With them now gone, she could see in his eyes that he 
felt as if he was floundering and drowning in a sea of 
conspiracy and murder and manipulation with no hope of 
salvation.

She took one of his big hands in hers.

"Did they say anything?" she asked instead, surprising 
herself with the sudden need to know and the lump that 
had appeared in her throat.

Bond blinked, stared at the dark haired woman for a beat 
longer with eyes brimming with unshed tears, and then 
shook his head.  "They didn't say anything...We drove 
past them on our way out of DC.  They were just standing 
on the side of he highway pointing at a billboard."

"What for?"

"For some new movie called 'Sibling Rivalry' opening in 
theatres...uhhh...tomorrow."

Yves pondered over his words, searching for any hidden, 
significant dots that needed to be connected, but then 
let it go - they were too tired and agitated to make any 
logical deductions.  Hopefully this chat would help 
clear the air in the bus a little.

"Well, I'm sure if they had said something they would 
have mentioned how grateful they are for us carrying the 
torch on, and how much they miss us.  Don't you?"

Hesitation.

"Jimmy?  You can't keep dwelling on this - we need to 
move forward if we're going to get anything done or keep 
their legacy alive," Harlow exhaled.

With a resigned sigh, Jimmy squeezed her hand and then 
returned the gas pump to its cradle.  Something was 
eating away at him, telling him that there was more to 
what the guys had been pointing at than met the eye.  
But he couldn't put the pieces together, and if Yves 
hadn't picked up on it there really was a reason to 
worry.

"Okay," he sighed, hoping that the answers would present 
themselves before it was too late if, in fact, there 
were answers to be found.  "...Okay..."

It was obvious it wasn't as 'okay' as he was making out, 
but Yves let him leave to pay for the gasoline...

The words 'Sibling Rivalry' echoing over and over in her 
mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WASHINGTON D.C.

Tired and believing himself to be well beyond the point 
of reason, Doggett searched the crowd of faces waiting 
at the gate as he left the plane, hoping to see a 
familiar one or one that would at least acknowledge his 
arrival.  Lots of greeting smiles and joyously teary 
eyes for the passengers rushing past, but none of them 
were for him and he couldn't help but wish he would 
catch a glimpse of Monica amongst the furor.  Before he 
had chance to even dwell on or brush away that thought, 
however, John noticed a solemn, grey-haired man nod 
imperceptibly when they made eye contact and then turn 
to slowly walk away.

Hopefully there would finally be some proper help.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

'D'you think he feels anything?'

'What kind of stupid question is that?  Jeez, come on, 
let's just collect this stuff and skedaddle before they 
get back to finish today's tests on him.'

'So, you don't think he knows what's going on?'

'You're one sick fuck, I know that much!  Why's it so 
important for you to know if he feels anything or not?'

'Natural enough question, I figure.  With all the drugs 
they're sticking him with, you gotta wonder how lucid he 
is.  So?'

'If he does, may God be with him, the poor bastard.  No 
one deserves to go through that.'

A muscle twitched - fractionally, but movement 
nevertheless - as life struggled to remain in the body 
lying on the staircase of the Van De Kamp's residence.  
Echoes of memories from nightmarish days gone by 
triggered tiny firings of nerves within the figure's 
brain before eyelids slowly fluttered open to half-mast.

'I'm your father, Jeffrey...'

Fingers flexed as clarity gradually came into focus, but 
still he couldn't get up.

Unbeknownst to Spender, the ghostly shadow of Walter 
Skinner shimmered into view in the open front doorway 
and then took several steps into the quiet house - 
surveying the area with a sweeping glance before finally 
focusing on the body sprawled across the stairwell.

"Oh no," he croaked, quickly taking the steps necessary 
to take him to Spender's side.  "Hang in there, Jeffrey 
- I've sent for help.  Jus--"

"Ska!"

Skinner's head sharply turned at the sound of the small 
voice from behind him - only just noticing now the baby 
seated in the corner of the hallway and reaching out a 
tiny hand toward him.

"Ska!"

Without hesitation, the former assistant director ran to 
the child and crouched down.  "William?"

The child stared back at him with recognition, 
understanding and something else Skinner couldn't quite 
interpret, and in that instant the older man realized 
how much he'd missed the young boy.

"Ska?"  The eagerly reaching hand clenched into a fist 
and then relaxed again as a frown creased William's 
features.

"You...You remember your Uncle Walt?"

Without a word, the toddler gave a solemn nod and then 
put his hand into his mouth, happily slobbering it.

"Do you remember...Do you remember your mommy?"

Still silent, there was a moment of contemplation and 
then the reaching digits withdrew to point at his thin 
crest of strawberry-blond hair.  Skinner faltered, 
unsure if he should ask his next question.  Before he'd 
even had chance to make his mind up, the same tiny 
fingers lowered to point at his nose.

"You remember your dad, don't you?"  How was that 
possible?  Mulder had only been there for two days of 
the baby's life before having to leave.  No doubt Scully 
had repeatedly mentioned the absent father's name and 
shown the boy countless photos of the tall man so that 
he would never grow up not knowing there was somebody 
else out there who loved him as much as she did, but 
surely expecting an infant to retain that information 
was beyond the realms of possibility?

"Ma-da," William cooed, the frown disappearing from his 
face as he smiled and tapped his nose again for 
emphasis.  "Ma-da dada!"

Clearly Mulder and Scully had created something more 
special than the realms of imagination could ever 
possibly conjure up.

There was another low groan from Spender, but Skinner 
couldn't turn - his attention was too drawn to the 
infant and the pointing finger; an inconceivable ache to 
touch the baby burning within him.

The sound of a car pulling up outside finally does pull 
him away five silent, intense minutes later, though, and 
for an instant he feels panic rise within him at the 
thought that the visitor isn't the person he requested 
for assistance... That, with a broken and motionless 
Spender laying on the stairs, only a few feet might be 
separating William from another wave of supersoldiers.


Skinner quickly stood to look out through the entryway.

And waited.

And when Chuck Burks' figure hurriedly stepped out of 
the dark-windowed vehicle, he felt himself relax and 
fade away into the background - William's round hand 
waving him goodbye as he went.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

'All I can hold onto is the hope that you'll stay safe, 
and that whenever this is over - when the dust finally 
settles - maybe we'll see you again...Or, if we have 
fallen during the battle, you'll understand why we did 
what we did.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the sun peeked above the horizon, the dusty SUV 
carrying Mulder and Scully passed across the state line 
into California - much to the male fugitive's relief 
(the last time he'd visited Oregon he'd lost six months 
of his life, so it had been no surprise to Scully that 
he'd wanted to keep their time in the state as short and 
fleeting as possible).

"Why Mendocino?" Dana's voice quietly queried as she 
watched the 'Welcome to California' sign whiz past them 
and then turned her attention back to the constantly 
weaving road ahead.  She'd been driving for the past two 
hours as her partner had rested in the seat beside her, 
but he was awake again and it was time to finally 
question the reason behind his plan.

"Why not?" he shrugged.  "It's as good a place as any to 
visit."

He glanced down at his watch.  6:34AM.  Everything was 
going to schedule... All he could do now was hope 
Doggett and Reyes had managed to get Maggie Scully to 
the botanical gardens without trouble.

Scully sighed, not sure what else to say.  His 
'unofficial' wedding vow back at their new home had both 
overwhelmed her and diverted her attention away from 
other, darker thoughts, but the pregnancy test results 
continued to nibble away at her and the return of the 
dream with William playing in his sandbox last night 
didn't help.

"Stop thinking."

The sound of his crisp voice cutting through the silence 
startled her and she shot a brief glance in his 
direction as her senses fumbled for composure.  Damn him 
for being able to know what was going through her mind 
just by looking at her!  "What?"

"I know what you're thinking about..."  Of course he did 
- it was the same thing refusing to let him be.  "I just 
wish you wouldn't keep it to yourself.  No secrets, 
remember?  I just want you to share with me..."  He 
faltered.  Was he asking too much of her?  She'd already 
laid everything she had to give in his hands without 
question, and he hadn't exactly been a role model when 
it came to not clamming up, so was asking her to give 
over her thoughts - possibly the only private thing she 
had left for herself - pushing the boundaries of their 
relationship too far?  "I just want you to let me know 
what you're thinking."  Better to ask than never know.

One of her brows shot up toward her hairline, and he 
felt his blood run cold as panic set in.

"I'm thinking I'll be making an appointment to see the 
local doctor as soon as we get back," she simply 
confessed, not looking at him as she pulled into the gas 
station.

It was enough to let him know she wasn't shutting him 
out.   

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Doggett yawned.  Dealing with the jetlag was bad enough, 
but he and Matheson had been up a majority of the night 
discussing the MJ file and the supersoldiers' likely 
agenda in conjunction with it.  After four hours of 
unsettled sleep, John had come to the conclusion 
somewhere in his addled brain that there was something 
the older man was intentionally holding back until the 
last minute.

And if there was one thing John Doggett hated, it was 
last minute surprises.

The dark, isolated house was still and silent, so he 
groggily shuffled into the kitchen to make himself a cup 
of coffee before the second bout of information overload 
began.

Only to find Senator Richard Matheson already standing 
at the kitchen window, looking out at thick fog that 
rolled across his desolate land.

"To think this will all be gone in a few short years," 
the older man idly commented, giving no indication as to 
if he was talking to himself or had detected the FBI 
agent's presence.  "And that I won't even be here to 
witness its disappearance... Makes you question the 
justice of it all, doesn't it?"

"I've seen too much injustice go ignored over the past 
year or so, sir," Doggett remarked dryly, filling a mug 
from the freshly brewed coffee pot, "so how about 
tellin' me what you're holding back so we can try get 
some justice in order?"

Matheson shook his head solemnly as the sound of thunder 
rumbled through the air and rain begun to spatter 
against the thick glass panel.   "You don't have any 
idea of the magnitude of this - how deep it goes...What 
lengths they'll go to to--"

"They're in the government - I got that already."

"You're deluded if you think that's it."  Matheson 
paused and turned his head to look at the agent.  "This 
goes all the way to the president."

The mug nearly fell from John's grasp as his jaw dropped 
to its widest point momentarily.  "That's a load of BS!" 
he challenged, pointing at the older man and readjusting 
his sweaty grasp on the coffee cup's handle.  "You can't 
seriously expect me to believe for one second that the 
president is one of these genetically altered beings..."

"He's not one of them - he's in alliance with them...He 
takes orders from them.  Think about it.  How do you 
think he's stayed in power for this long despite the 
high amount of public disapproval?"  The older man 
looked back out through the window.  "They control it 
all, and that's why it's pissing Them off so much that 
They can't even put an end to the three humans who could 
bring Their whole battle strategy crashing down around 
their ears."

"You told me that nothing could stop this," Doggett 
frowned.  "That Mulder and Scully could do nothing more 
than cause mass panic."

"That's because They've found a way of worming Mulder 
and Scully out - a much more earth-shattering way."

The agent hesitated before nervously asking, "This is 
what you've been holding back, isn't it?"

Matheson gave a single nod of his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You idiot!"

Startled, Mulder frowned as he felt a thin hand wrap 
around his arm and pull him to a private spot away from 
the car.

"I know you can't help yourself sometimes, but I never 
would have thought that you'd do something as stupid as 
this!"

He stared at Scully and the palpable level of pissed-
offness creasing her features as she stared back at him 
with eyes that could kill a thousand men with one 
fleeting glance made him panic.  He'd done many things 
in the past that had warranted her annoyance, but he 
definitely hadn't done anything wrong since the whole 
hotdog incident...Had he?  "What are you talking about?" 
he asked innocently.  On the up side, this was the most 
energetic he'd seen her since...Well, since she'd been 
begging him to take the stand at the mock-up court 
hearing at Mount Weather.

She shook her head in frustration and slammed the dirty 
newspaper into his hands.  "I found that on the floor in 
the restroom.  Made for interesting - if not 
enlightening - reading while I was relieving myself."

As she folded both arms across her chest and cast an 
inspecting glance around them to check nobody was 
watching or listening in, Mulder unfolded the paper and 
looked down at the page, on which was a small report 
with the headline 'Strange Lights Spotted Above 
Mendocino - Fact Or Too Much Surf Spray?'.  His head 
instantly snapped up.  "I didn't know anything about 
this," the tall man insisted, raising his eyebrows in 
surprise.  "I can't believe you think I'd really put our 
lives on the line for a silly little tabloid story."

The brow sharply raised.

"Okay, okay, I deserve that," he acknowledged in defeat.  
"But that was then and this is now, and I'm sorry to 
disappoint you, dear, but I honestly wouldn't do that."  
His voice trailed off as the unintended anger registered 
in his ears.  Admittedly he was hurt that she would 
think that of him, but he hadn't meant to become so 
defensive.

There was a moment of tense silence as she stared at him 
and then down at the paper, biting on her lower lip.  It 
was obvious she was trying to conceal the tears 
beginning to well in her eyes, and whilst he didn't 
totally regret voicing his hurt, he inwardly cursed 
himself for the billionth time in his life for being 
such a verbally-challenged klutz.

"I chose Mendocino for my own personal, quiet and 
calming reasons," he finished, closing his eyes briefly 
before turning to put the newspaper into the nearby 
trash receptacle, "but never that.  Especially not now."

Dana's shoulders slumped, but she didn't reply or move.

Thoughtful, Mulder stared at her half a minute longer 
and then sighed, "I'll be waiting in the car," as he 
slowly turned to leave.  He'd thought they were back on 
track to slightly resembling their former selves... Had 
he really been so mistaken?

It took a beat, but before he was out of reach one of 
her hands quickly snagged the sleeve of his jacket to 
stop his retreat.

He turned back and snatched in a breath as he waited.

"Old habits die hard," she tried to quietly chuckle, 
unsuccessfully.  Watery blue eyes lifted to stare at 
him.  "And the 'old' part is still trying to figure out 
the new..."  Deep breath, long exhalation, and then her 
back straightened so that she could look at him more 
squarely in the face.  "I'm sorry," she finally 
whispered, letting her hand slip down to rest in and 
entwine with his.  "I should have asked before accusing."

"It's not that," he explained.  "So much has changed and 
shifted this past year...These past few years, in fact...
I just thought you would have realized that my 
priorities have as well."

"I have!"

"Not enough to think I wouldn't go chasing after any ol' 
lights in the sky."

Good point.  Her eyelids slipped shut in defeat.  "Maybe 
part of me wanted it to be the issue," she sighed, eyes 
opening again, "That you'd smelt out a new case and were 
pulling me along for the ride like--"  Her voice cut 
short to kill the words she was afraid to speak.

"'Like the old days'?" Mulder finished for her, giving 
her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.  When she nodded, 
he gave a single nod also.  "Well, if it makes you feel 
any better, I'm still an idiot like the old days."

She couldn't hide the laugh at that.

"And I'm still excessively turned on by your fiery 
streak like the old days."

That really tickled her, and she swatted him with her 
free hand as he dove down to press a warm kiss against 
her forehead.

"So, no UFOs in Mendocino?" Dana queried.

"At the moment, the thought of living with you in our 
own place overlooking the sea is too paranormal in and 
of itself for me to worry about anything else,  
Sasquatch could come running out of the forest and I 
wouldn't blink an eyelash."

"I guess we'd better get back on the road, then."

He faltered.  This didn't feel as wrapped up and done 
with as he would have liked.  His smile dropped and he 
seriously promised, "You come first - *we* come first.  
Nothing else matters but that."

Scully let his honey-sweet voice soothe over the 
prickles in her temper and then gave a reassuring nod of 
her head.

Maybe it was like old times, after all - they still 
needed a disagreement every now and then to clean out 
the cobwebs. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

7:02AM PST

Monica Reyes walked down the front yard path to the 
Scully family's parked minivan with Maggie, reassuring 
her that everything would be okay.

"Somebody explain to me again why we're listening to 
some FBI agent tell us to go out for the day?" Bill 
groused, tying up Matthew's shoe lace before ruffling 
the boy's hair and sliding the van door shut.  "Is she 
our personal advisor now?"

"Why don't you just calm down, Bill?" Tara replied from 
her backseat.  "It'll be fun for Matty.  We don't get 
out much as a family as it is."

Margaret paused with her hand resting on the front 
passenger-side door handle and looked up at the tall 
agent.  Her mouth silently worked to find the right 
words to say, but nothing came out.

"Trust me.  I'll be there for back-up," Reyes promised 
quietly so that only the older woman would hear.  "If I 
receive any word or sense that something's wrong, I'll 
get you out of there straight away."

"And you don't know what it is he wants us to see 
there?" Maggie queried, just as quietly.

"All I know is that it's something special."

The minivan pulled away two minutes later, and Gibson 
was already seated in the FBI agent's rental car when 
she slipped into the driver's seat.

"She doesn't know what to expect when they get there," 
the boy remarked, not looking away from the windshield, 
"but she's still excited and nervous."

Reyes let his words soak in as she placed the key in the 
ignition and started up the engine.  "At the moment we 
just need to make sure they meet up safely," she 
replied, glancing at Praise.  "We can worry about how 
she's feeling afterwards."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"As you're aware, tests have been being carried out on 
ships," the senator elaborated, moving to rest against 
one of the kitchen worktops.  "And at naval bases.  What 
you didn't know is that the government have also been 
running tests on their armed forces personnel - trying 
to create true soldiers with superior faculties.  Those 
tests have primarily been focused on Navy and Marine 
officials, using their water supply."

Doggett felt his blood begin to run cold with dawning 
realization before Matheson had even had chance to utter 
the words.

"Captain Bill Scully Jr's base was one of the ones under 
the supersoldiers' takeover."


XXXXXXXXXXXXX
TO BE CONTINUED...