Someday-Part 2/7
Summary and disclaimers in Part 1

*****

In actuality, it only took 16 hours to get to Rapid City
following I-90 all the way. She arrived in Custer, passing
both Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mt., just after sunset.
She was amazed by the number of people traveling in these
small but lovely mountains, and she had to go to four
different motels before she found a vacancy. The Triple M
Motel was small, but neat and clean, with a cafe and heated,
outdoor swimming pool. The manager was a spry woman with
grey hair who stood even smaller than Scully. She didn't
seem at all suspicious when Scully, wearing a baseball cap
and sunglasses, checked herself in as Gloria Samuelson. She
made sure she mentioned that her husband, Rod, would be
joining her tomorrow. The little old lady, Mrs. Conrad,
nodded her head. "I'm sure you both will have a wonderful
time!" 

Scully reached her room, exhausted but wired. She was too
tired to even shower, but she didn't think she would be able
to sleep, either. Falling down on the bed fully clothed, she
was asleep in moments, wondering what Mulder was doing right
now.

************************************************************

Triple M Motel 
Custer, SD 

The alarm that Scully had fortunately remembered to set
before falling asleep woke her at 4 in the morning. Feeling
groggy and stiff, she climbed off the bed. She wanted a
shower, but wasn't about to be late, and she had no idea how
long it would take to find the meeting place. Quickly, she
brushed her teeth and her hair and headed out to find the
Rock. 

The motel was located on Highway 16 west of town.
Desperately trying to remember Mulder's directions, which he
had told her 6 months ago, she drove through town towards
Custer State Park. It was just beginning to get light
outside, and the town was still asleep. The tourists weren't
out and about quite yet. As sleepy as she had been when she
drove in last night, she hadn't bothered to look around.
Now, she saw the incredible granite peaks that stood
sentinel over the area. Granite peaks just like the ones
that had been used to create man-made sculptures: The famous
Mt. Rushmore and the as-of-yet unfinished Crazy Horse
Mountain. 

It wasn't long before she saw the turn-off for the Outlaw
Ranch. She pulled onto the gravel road, slowing down for a
deer running across the road. The winding road passed
forests and meadows, still green and lush. These mountains
were incredibly beautiful and peaceful looking in the early
morning light. She passed houses and crossed a little creek.
Then civilization began to disappear. 

The forest began to thicken. Then she saw it. An old logging
trail that met up with the road she was on. She pulled onto
it, only to be stopped by a gate. She realized that the gate
prevented automobiles from driving onto the old road, but
allowed people on foot, bikes or horseback to travel by
passing through a small opening off to the side. She turned
off the ignition and got out. 

With slow, steady steps, she made her way up the trail. She
could see 'the Rock' just ahead. It wasn't as large as she
had envisioned. She realized that the large boulder was
sitting on a hillside, leaving one side low to the ground
while the other side created a drop of about 20 feet. With
nerves near the breaking point, she moved towards it. 

The morning air was moist, the ground covered in dew. The
sun, barely over the horizon, was touching the tops if the
Ponderosa Pines with a golden hand. It was going to be a hot
day, Scully could tell, and the birds were singing loudly,
as if they knew it would be too hot to do so later. She
recognized a chickadee, and what she believed was a pine
siskin. She smelled damp earth and heard flies buzzing, but
it all felt like a dream. What if he wasn't there? What if
he really was dead? 

Suddenly, a figure stood up from behind one of the smaller
rocks. Scully felt her heart skip a beat and she stopped
sharply, watching as the man replaced his drawn weapon in
its holster. The first thing she thought was, 'God, he's so
thin!' Then she felt her feet carry her forward. He met her
halfway, grabbing her up tightly in his arms, burying his
face in her hair. 

"I knew you'd come," Mulder whispered against her neck. "I
knew it."

************************************************************

"Am I that predictable?" Scully's voice was shaky as she
asked the question, but her hold on him tightened. 

Mulder didn't think he had ever felt anything as wonderful
as Scully's arms around him. The last week had been pure
hell. Little food, even less sleep, always looking over his
shoulder. It had been a little better since he had reached
the Black Hills. With tourist season in full swing, the
locals tended to ignore strangers. It was the perfect place
to hide in plain sight. And now Scully was here. He wasn't
alone anymore. 

He felt Scully pull back and regretfully loosened his hold
on her. She brought her hands up to his face, brushing her
thumbs along the weeks growth of beard. She smiled slightly.
"You look like a pirate." 

"I feel like a hobo." He had managed an occasional shower at
truck stops on the way west, but his clothes were the same
ones he had set out in: jeans, hiking boots, T-shirt and
leather jacket. He felt grungy, as well as incredibly tired. 

Scully sighed, looking into his eyes. "What's going on,
Mulder?" 

Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and pulled her over to the
Rock. Kneeling down, he pulled out the box. Scully's
eyebrows rose. "It's a lunchbox." 

Mulder grinned and nodded his head. It was indeed a blue
nylon lunchbox/mini-cooler. "But look at what's inside." He
unzipped the top and pulled the contents out. "I've had a
hard time keeping this cool." He pulled out a 50 cc vial
filled with a thick, pinkish liquid. Scully knelt down next
to him as he handed her the little bottle. "We've both been
injected with something similar to this before." 

Scully was inspecting the liquid closely. "The vaccine?" 

Again Mulder nodded. "But not the same stuff that the
conspiracy was trying to create. This is a true vaccine. Not
only does it kill the alien virus after it's infected a
host, but it can 'prevent' a person from being infected!
And," he paused, smiling. "It can be replicated." 

He knew Scully still had her doubts about the conspiracy and
its true objective, but she had seen and been through too
much to not understand how important it was for the world to
have a defense against the contagion she had been witness to
first hand. "How did you get this?" 

"A man named David Hendrickson. He was a doctor who worked
on the Project years ago, when my father was involved. A
grunt, basically. He left when he discovered their real
objective, and they let him go because they didn't think he
knew anything important. But he did, and he developed this
vaccine right under their noses, in Richmond." Mulder sat
down fully, his knees drawn up. "He contacted me about eight
months ago, wanting my help. He was afraid he had been found
out. Last week, he called and told me he needed to see me.
He wanted to hand the vaccine over to me." He lowered his
head. "He mailed it to me the next day. The day after that,
the day I got it, he was dead." 

"Eight months?" Scully sat back on her heels. "You knew
about this when you were in Spokane in February?" Mulder
nodded. "No wonder you were so insistent that I know how to
find this place." She looked up at the Rock. 

"We need to have this analyzed, to make sure it is what it's
supposed to be. Then we have to find a way to distribute
it." 

"As what, Mulder? Should we tell everyone 'It's okay. We
have the only protection against future alien invasion'? You
actually think anyone will believe you? You'd end up back in
that padded cell!" 

"What else can I do, Scully?" His voice had a hysterical
edge to it, and he tried to calm down. "As long as I know
this vaccine exists and where it is, my life is forfeit." He
grabbed the bottle and put it back into the box. 

"If we can replicate it, like you said, we could spread it
out, keeping batches of it safe in several different places.
We wouldn't have to tell how much or where. We could tell
only the people we know we can trust, and tell them only of
certain hiding spots, not all. 'They' would have no way of
knowing where we put them or who we told. They'd have to
leave us be." 

Mulder nodded slowly at her suggestion. "It might work."
Then he looked at her intently. "But what is this 'we'
thing? It doesn't need to be 'us'. You can leave anytime you
want, go back to work, tell them you tried to find me and
failed." He sighed. "A part of me really wishes you would do
just that." 

"But you know I won't. I can't." She reached over and placed
her hand on his knee. "You need my help. You asked for my
help. And you've got it. Always." 

"And your job?" 

Scully shrugged. She knew there was a good chance she
wouldn't have one when this was over. "It was starting to
get boring anyway." 

Mulder laughed softly, shaking his head. "Just us. Against
the world." He paused. "Contramundum." 

"What?" 

"Contramundum," he repeated. "It's Latin for 'against the
world.' You and me, against the world." 

"Contramundum." Scully sounded the word out. "Doesn't sound
so bad when you say it like that." 

They sat quietly for a while. Then Scully slowly stood up,
reaching down to Mulder. "Come on. I got us a motel room in
town. You can shower, shave and sleep the rest of the day
away." 

Mulder grasped her hand and stood. "Actually, I was thinking
of keeping the beard. It's a damn good disguise." He eyed
her up and down. "If you're gonna help, you should think
about changing your look, too." 

"Well, I certainly am not growing a beard," she quipped.
"Come on," she repeated. 

"Wait." Mulder gave her hand a tug. "I want you to see
this."

************************************************************

Mulder pulled Scully to the far side of the Rock, then he
started to climb. She followed him up the side of the
granite boulder, noticing bits of quartz and mica imbedded
in the rock, which was covered in a pale green lichen. It
was an easy climb to the top. 

Mulder looked out over the tops of the trees. The sun had
come up over the horizon now, bathing the mountains in a
golden glow. Older than the Rockies, there were no
snow-capped peaks in the Black Hills. But Mulder pointed out
a large mountain with a round, rocky top just off to the
west. "That's Harney Peak. The highest point in the U.S.
east of the Rockies." Then he pointed to a group of
monolithic rocks that pointed into the sky. "Those are
called the Cathedral Spires." 

He directed Scully's attention to the east. "You can't see
them from here, we're not high enough, but the Great Plains
are that way. Miles upon miles of grass. We're sitting on an
island of trees in the middle of an ocean of prairie." 

He looked over at her. Her expression was peaceful yet full
of wonder. "They're beautiful, Mulder." 

"You know, a lot of Northern Plains Indian tribes believed
all life began here in the Black Hills. They called them the
'Center of the Universe'. When I first came here, I could
almost feel their power. I still can." 

"I can, too," Scully whispered. Mulder gave her a sharp
look. "I feel like I could talk to God here, and know that
He hears me." 

Mulder smiled. "When I'm here, I can almost believe that
there is a God." His heart felt full; Scully felt the wonder
of these mountains, too! 

Scully looked up at him. "Thank you." 

"For what?" 

"For letting me be here, in this place. Your place." 

Mulder shook his head. "Not mine. Ours."

************************************************************


Triple M Motel
Custer, SD

By the time they drove back to Custer, the town had woken
up. Traffic had increased and more than half the vehicles
were from out of state. Scully knew their Washington license
plates wouldn't even be noticed. She dropped Mulder off at
the motel, telling him she had checked them in under the
names Rod and Gloria Samuelson. He gave her an odd look as
he gave her the key back and disappeared into the room.
Shaking her head, she left on an errand of her own. 

When she arrived back at the room a short time later, Mulder
was just coming out of the bathroom. Wearing nothing but
jeans, he was still damp from the shower. Again, Scully
noticed how thin he was. Mulder had always been lean, but
now his ribs were easily visible. He'd lost more weight that
a weeks worth of running would have done. Even his face
looked gaunt, despite the beard. 

"I brought you breakfast," she told him, handing him one of
the two small bags she carried. "Just save some for me. I'm
taking the shower next." 

Mulder took the bag of doughnuts from her, smiling
appreciatively. "Thanks." He looked at the other bag.
"What's that?" 

"You'll see," she smiled at him.

"Most of the stores don't open until 7 or 8," Scully
continued. "so we'll have to wait to get you some more
clothes." Moira had given Scully her ATM card with 
the promise of being paid back in full, with interest 
(Scully had insisted), when this whole mess was over. 
She wasn't about to use a lot Moira's money, but they 
would have it if needed. "I did, however, bring you 
these." She walked over to her carry-all and pulled 
out a couple of over size T-shirts. She had originally 
bought them to sleep in, but they would fit Mulder 
just fine. "I'll be back." 

When she had finished with her shower, and other tasks, she
looked at herself in the mirror. Like Mulder, she had
circles under her eyes, but not as bad as his. It would do
them both good to stay here for a couple of days, to rest
and plan, before heading out into the unknown. A part of her
was excited; adventure in her life had been rare since
leaving the X Files. Another part of her wondered why the
hell she wanted to go back to that kind of life. Her
reflection offered no answers.

Scully left the bathroom wrapped only in a towel, expecting
Mulder to be asleep or close to it. Instead, she found him
sitting on the end of the bed, remote in hand, staring at
the TV. He was watching some cheesy movie on the free
Showtime the motel offered. It was a pretty racy love scene.
It wasn't porn, but it was close. 

"Don't tell me you still watch videos like this?" 

Without looking away from the screen, he replied, deadpan,
"Only the ones with red-heads in them." 

Scully bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. He
finally turned his head to look at her, probably wondering
why she hadn't snapped out a quick comeback to his comment.
When he saw her, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
Scully let herself laugh out loud. 

"I may have to dig out all those videos with blondes in them
again," he said when he could speak. 

Still smiling, Scully walked up to him. She had chosen
blonde for her new hair color because it suited her
complexion better than darker hair. Besides, she'd always
wanted to be a blonde. She moved to stand between Mulder and
the TV. "I wanted to see if it was true." 

"If what was true?" 

"That blondes have more fun." She brought her hand up and
gently ran her fingers along his bearded cheek. "Mulder?" 

"Huh?" 

"Turn off the TV." 

Without hesitation, he lifted the remote, pressed the off
button, and threw it on the table next to the TV. 

"Thank you," Scully said simply. Then, without another word,
she stepped back, untucked the towel from around her, and
let it fall to the floor. 

************************************************************

It was well over an hour later when Scully got out of bed
and dressed, leaving a sleeping Mulder snoring softly under
the sheets. She hadn't planned on seducing him this morning,
but she could tell he was wired, like she had been last
night, and would need help to get his overactive mind
quieted. She had thought a little vigorous activity would
help. She smiled. And vigorous it had been, despite his
exhaustion. Now he slept peacefully. 

She brushed out her hair and pulled it into a ponytail. She
smiled at herself in the mirror; she looked like a
cheerleader! Scully had never been a cheerleader. Her eyes
caught the reflection of the little cooler sitting on the
dresser behind her. She turned and walked over to it,
opening it, and taking out the vial. Protection against an
alien invasion. She shook her head. Despite all she'd seen,
she still didn't know how it was possible. But she had seen
what Mulder called the alien virus kill. She herself had
nearly been a victim. This indeed was a gold mine she was
holding.

She placed the vial carefully back into the box, noticing as
she did so that it needed more ice. Quietly, she left the
room to get more ice at the cafe. While there, Mrs. Conrad,
the manager, saw her. 

"Mrs. Samuelson," they grey haired lady said. "Did your
husband finally arrive?" 

Scully turned to her smiling, thanking God, fate, or
whatever for making her wear a cap when she checked in the
night before. Hopefully, Mrs. Conrad wouldn't notice the
change in her hair color. "Yes, he did," she replied. "But
he's so tired, I wouldn't be surprised if he slept the day
away." 

Mrs. Conrad smiled broadly. "Well, you just best keep him
company, now. You are on vacation, after all. You'll have
enough time for sight-seeing later." 

Scully nodded. "I wouldn't dream of leaving him alone now
that I have him all to myself." She was only a little
surprised to realize she meant it. 

"Have a good day, then." The little woman walked off to
greet another guest, and Scully, cup of ice in hand, went
back to the room, where 'Mr. Samuelson' slept.

*****

End 2/7