Chapter Nine - Relocation and New Arrival He rubbed his hands slowly over her huge belly, feeling the kicks from within. She was close to birthing. Any day now she would go into labor. Mulder wouldn't let her out of his sight. He was terrified he would miss it; from the first contractions, to the difficult and painful labor when he must encourage her, and finally the triumphant moment when the baby's head emerges with a cry of life. He had missed everything from her pregnancy with William. Everything. Too traumatized and in pain to acknowledge that she needed him, Mulder was thankful to a God he newly believed in for this second chance. The first time he had put the stethoscope in his ears and heard the rapid *thump-thump-thump* of his second child's heart, his knees went weak and his eyes filled with tears. He sat silently during the rest of the doctor visit, struggling to control himself. Dana was nearly asleep. His palms were very warm from the friction of the massage oil. William mumbled from across the room and tossed restlessly in his bed. He kicked off the sheet that covered him and subsided. "Bathroom....take him potty." A groggy mumbling, and the woman heavy with child rolled onto her side and snored lightly. Mulder smiled tenderly and moved to attend to the two year old. He lifted him effortlessly and carried him to the bathroom. Boxes filled the bedroom and were stacked all over the living room, but the man maneuvered easily past them. Once the child's nighttime business was attended to, he was tucked lovingly back in bed. William mumbled, "my own room," and Mulder smoothed his straight red hair back off his forehead. He couldn't sleep. He wandered back and forth between the two beds, looking adoringly at the beloved faces in slumber. His to protect. His to love. His family. Exhaustion finally overcame the family man at about 1:30 in the morning. Tomorrow would be a big day for them all, moving into the new Maryland home. It was huge and old, with beautiful wood floors and two fireplaces, several bedrooms and a huge backyard. He drifted off with a contented smile on his face, anticipating the rest of his life. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Once again he was in the parking garage facing a devil with an angel's face. This time... "Get out of the car." Krycek ordered calmly. Mulder climbed out slowly, wondering what in hell would happen now. There was a grim finality to Krycek that scared him a bit. "Doesn't seem fair now. Doesn't seem right. Coming down to this." he continued, drawing closer to Mulder. "What do you know about fair or right, Krycek? You're a coward." Testing the waters. How far could he push this dark side of himself? He slowly walked around the car to face him. "I could've killed you so many times, Mulder. You've got to know that. I'm the one that kept you alive." Alex was so sad, Mulder wanted to comfort him. Ridiculous. He pushed aside the sympathy, the intrigue he had always felt for this man, and focused on the rage instead. What he did to me. What he did to Scully! "Praying you'd win somehow." Was Alex about to cry? No. He seemed too determined on his course. "Then there really is no God." This couldn't be the same man he had battled and loved over the years. He would have said anything to wipe that look of determination and anguish from the sharp green eyes leveled at him. They hurt worse than any bullet could. Now Alex told him, "You think I'm bad. That I'm a killer." Mulder listened closely. There was something more here. It was almost like Alex was speaking in code, trying to tell him something, trying to make him understand something that hovered right on the edge of his brain. If only he could hear and believe..."We wanted the same thing, brother. That's what you don't understand." "I wanted to stop them. (you) All you wanted was to save your own ass." Mulder sneered now, disparaging a long ago claim that Alex would always survive. He would survive no matter how deeply twisted his values became. "No. I tried to stop them. Tried to kill . Scully's baby to stop them. It's too late. The tragedy's that you-- you wouldn't let it go. That's why I have to do this." He moved closer, lowered the gun a fraction, leaned closer to Mulder's face. Oh God. He was going to kiss him. "Cause you know how deep it goes. Right into the FBI." A gentle kiss, so like another given long ago. This one was on the lips, almost an affirmation, almost enough. The kiss of Judas. Betrayed. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mulder woke with an erection and tears streaming down his face. He rolled over and curled up around Scully's back, tucking up his legs so his turgid cock wouldn't awaken her. This was not a lust he wanted to act upon. He had never cried for Krycek, accepted his death with a matter of factness that later shocked him. He had been too focused on finding and saving Scully for the implications to sink in. Now, in the silence of the night, he mourned an enemy that should have been an ally. ------------------- A strange ringing percolated through Mulder's awareness, and heard Scully gently calling his name. He reluctantly tore his eyes away from the newborn blue depths of Katherine Ananda's beautiful eyes. "What?" She handed his phone to him with a smile. "Mulder," he answered, juggling his daughter into the crook of his arm and putting the cell to his ear. Scully took her from his arms and he relinquished his daughter almost absentmindedly. "Hey Mulder. I have good news for you." Frohike's voice greeted him. "I have even better news, my friend. It comes in a tiny pink package weighing six pounds even." Mulder didn't realize the incongruity of him quoting baby statistics like that. He had come a long way. There was a pause as Melvin switched mental gears, then spoke. "That's great Mulder! What's her name? How's Scully?" "Scully's great." He answered, glancing over at his mate who was gently placing the baby into her big brother's arms. Will looked more scared than excited. "Her name's Katherine Ananda." "Ananda? Does that mean something? The name Katherine I can understand, it's in the family." Mulder chuckled. "Scully didn't like the name at first. It means 'that joy in existence without which the universe would crumble.' Quite a handle for a little girl like her," Mulder bragged. "Wow. Scully must be some mother, making babies that deserve names like that." Frohike complimented his two favorite old friends. Mulder fairly glowed with fatherly pride. Frohike cleared his throat. "Umm, Mulder, you remember what you asked of us a few months back? We found 'em." Mulder knew exactly what he meant and sat up straighter. "Really?" "Yeah. Gibson wasn't hard to find, really. We haven't contacted him, either one of them actually. Teresa was the harder to find. She's living under an assumed name, and seems to have gone to great lengths to *not* be found." He let that sink in a moment. "Something must have scared her but good to make her go into hiding like that." Mulder scrubbed a hand over his face, thinking fast and furiously as he hadn't done in years. His intuition leaped to the forefront of his mind, eager to be exercised again. "All right. Sit tight on that information and I'll pick it up from you in person." Scully looked up sharply. "You covered your tracks?" "Mulder, it's *us.*" Frohike sounded almost insulted. "All right then. I'll be in touch." Mulder disconnected and smiled placatingly at Scully. She suspected that he was up to something, and he had to distract her. Before she could speak, he derailed her. "How would like that gift I've been hiding from you for two weeks?" She seemed amused. "You Mulder? You can't hide anything from me!" He laughed for the pure joy of it and rushed out of the room and to his car. He had hidden the gift in the trunk only one week ago, and had added to it that morning after Katherine was born. "Here. I got *her* something too," Mulder took his little daughter in his arms again. Scully had both hands free to open her gift, Katherine's gift, and help Will tear the wrapping off his 'Big Brother' present. "All right, dad! A baseball mitt!" "Mulder! What a gorgeous nightgown!" The simultaneous cheers made him laugh weakly and wipe moisture from his eyes. Could he love anyone more than he loved Dana Scully? Could he have any greater miracle than his life with her, his son, and now this beautiful girl? And now his oldest and dearest friends had given him the means to solve some of the puzzles left over from his previous life, without putting any of his family in danger. It was a week before he could get the needed addresses from the Gunmen. He was just too enchanted with Ananda to leave. If Will hadn't been so insightful, he would have complained that his father was neglecting him. As it was, he was delighted to have more time to spend with his mom. He was disinterested in his small sister once he realized she could not play with him. Mulder knocked on the door of the dingy apartment building with trepidation. He was not hopeful of his reception. Gibson had flat out refused to speak to him, had in fact slammed the door in his face when Mulder persisted in asking him questions. Later, his foster parents wrote a letter to him explaining that Gibson was trying to put his old life away, and Mulder was just a reminder of the trauma he had experienced before. Moments passed. He knocked again, louder, and this time heard a little girl say clearly, "It's the FBI man." He frowned. He hadn't been FBI in some time. The door opened a crack, and around the chain he could see her face. "Teresa Hoese?" He pitched his voice low, remembering what Frohike had said about the assumed name. "I'm Fox Mulder, do you remember me?" The fearful face looking out at him nodded once. "I'd like to talk to you if I could. Strictly off the record, I'm not with the Feds anymore. I think we have something in common regarding our children." The face of the woman looked even more fearful for a moment, then the door shut. Mulder waited for a long breathless minute. Then he clearly heard the chain rattling and the locks giving way.